Steven J. Pemberton's Blog, page 3
January 31, 2024
January's writing progress
I wrote about 5,000 words of The Last Dragonrider this month, so it now stands at 72,000 words.
The video of the talk that I mentioned in my last post is now live at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xcdX... (1 hour 38 minutes).
And that's it so far. The pointless busywork at the day job that was chewing up all my time has mostly stopped, so I might have something more interesting, or at least more words, to report next time.
The video of the talk that I mentioned in my last post is now live at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xcdX... (1 hour 38 minutes).
And that's it so far. The pointless busywork at the day job that was chewing up all my time has mostly stopped, so I might have something more interesting, or at least more words, to report next time.
December 29, 2023
2023 Retrospective and Goals for 2024
The good news: I wrote over 110,000 words of new fiction this year. The bad news: almost none of it is published or in a publishable state. I set myself only one goal at the start of the year, to finish Command Authority. I got stuck on this partway through May, after changing my mind about the third act too many times. I started writing what I thought would be a short story that fit into my Dragonriders series. That story, The Last Dragonrider, quickly exploded into a novella, then a novel, which currently stands at 67,000 words. I had hoped I might finish the first draft by the end of the year, but the day job got in the way over the last couple of months.
I wrote six short stories and started two more. A reading of one of these, St Augustine's Eve, is on my YouTube channel, at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LvLd... (I originally called it The Regrettable Events of St Augustine's Eve, and it appears on YouTube under that title.) Another story, The Old Palace by Torchlight, is a bonus for newsletter subscribers. Go to http://eepurl.com/_5EDX to sign up. The welcome email will tell you how to read the story, as well as the previously released bonus stories. (Full disclosure: three of the bonus stories are also available in Racing the Storm and Other Stories.)
I joined two writers' groups, one here in Blackpool and one in the neighbouring town of St Annes. Both groups regularly give out writing prompts, which were responsible for all of the short stories that I wrote this year.
I attended the Self-Publishing Show Live, a writers' conference, in June. I picked up a few tips about promotion, which encouraged me to resume paid-for advertising in September. This has yet to break even, but it's doing better than previous efforts.
And finally, I had my first time headlining an event, at the venue used by the St Annes group. Attendance was a little disappointing, but the audience enjoyed it, and I sold some books, and they've asked me to do another one next year.
So - goals for 2024. As with this year, I'll try to keep them simple. I'd like to finish The Last Dragonrider and publish another audiobook. I'll be interested to see how long recording takes when I don't have to stop every fifteen minutes for a train to go past!
I wrote six short stories and started two more. A reading of one of these, St Augustine's Eve, is on my YouTube channel, at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LvLd... (I originally called it The Regrettable Events of St Augustine's Eve, and it appears on YouTube under that title.) Another story, The Old Palace by Torchlight, is a bonus for newsletter subscribers. Go to http://eepurl.com/_5EDX to sign up. The welcome email will tell you how to read the story, as well as the previously released bonus stories. (Full disclosure: three of the bonus stories are also available in Racing the Storm and Other Stories.)
I joined two writers' groups, one here in Blackpool and one in the neighbouring town of St Annes. Both groups regularly give out writing prompts, which were responsible for all of the short stories that I wrote this year.
I attended the Self-Publishing Show Live, a writers' conference, in June. I picked up a few tips about promotion, which encouraged me to resume paid-for advertising in September. This has yet to break even, but it's doing better than previous efforts.
And finally, I had my first time headlining an event, at the venue used by the St Annes group. Attendance was a little disappointing, but the audience enjoyed it, and I sold some books, and they've asked me to do another one next year.
So - goals for 2024. As with this year, I'll try to keep them simple. I'd like to finish The Last Dragonrider and publish another audiobook. I'll be interested to see how long recording takes when I don't have to stop every fifteen minutes for a train to go past!
November 30, 2023
November's Writing Progress
I've been very busy at the day job this month, doing what I've decided to call "adding Braille to the controls of a fighter jet." This means I've written a mere 2,000 words of The Last Dragonrider, which now stands at 67,000 words. On the bright side, I wrote nearly 6,000 words from a couple of writing prompts given by St Annes Writers' Group, so overall, I wrote about as much as I did last month.
Oh, all right... what I've been doing at work isn't nearly as dangerous or exciting as making a military aircraft usable by a blind person. But it feels almost as pointless. There's nothing unusual about the one customer who's asked for this capability, so if there was a genuine need for it, I'm certain that other customers would've requested it at some point in the 14 years that I've been working on this product...
Oh, all right... what I've been doing at work isn't nearly as dangerous or exciting as making a military aircraft usable by a blind person. But it feels almost as pointless. There's nothing unusual about the one customer who's asked for this capability, so if there was a genuine need for it, I'm certain that other customers would've requested it at some point in the 14 years that I've been working on this product...
October 30, 2023
October's Writing Progress
(A day early for once, because I'm going out tomorrow evening.)
Progress on The Last Dragonrider continues. I wrote 7,000 words of it this month, so it now stands at 65,000 words.
I wrote a couple of short pieces for prompts from the writers' groups that I'm in, which might end up as bonus stories for newsletter subscribers. (Reminder - if you're not already a subscriber, you can join for free by clicking here - http://eepurl.com/_5EDX Currently there are five short stories for subscribers, though three of them also appear in Racing the Storm and Other Stories.)
My talk at Urban Arts went smoothly. (It should, after all the planning that went into it.) Attendance was a little disappointing - a few people who said they would've liked to come had the nerve to go to a football match, of all things. But the audience seemed to enjoy it, I sold a few books, and the organisers asked me if I'd like to do another talk next year. So I'd say I can consider it a qualified success.
Progress on The Last Dragonrider continues. I wrote 7,000 words of it this month, so it now stands at 65,000 words.
I wrote a couple of short pieces for prompts from the writers' groups that I'm in, which might end up as bonus stories for newsletter subscribers. (Reminder - if you're not already a subscriber, you can join for free by clicking here - http://eepurl.com/_5EDX Currently there are five short stories for subscribers, though three of them also appear in Racing the Storm and Other Stories.)
My talk at Urban Arts went smoothly. (It should, after all the planning that went into it.) Attendance was a little disappointing - a few people who said they would've liked to come had the nerve to go to a football match, of all things. But the audience seemed to enjoy it, I sold a few books, and the organisers asked me if I'd like to do another talk next year. So I'd say I can consider it a qualified success.
September 30, 2023
September's Writing Progress
Progress on The Last Dragonrider has been good this month, though a little slower than previously. I added 11,000 words, so it now stands at 58,000 words.
On Wednesday 25th October, I'll be doing my first ever face-to-face talk, at Urban Arts Studio in St Annes. I'll read from some of my books, share the inspiration behind them, and talk about my journey as a writer. It starts at 6pm, and tickets are £5 on the door.
On Wednesday 25th October, I'll be doing my first ever face-to-face talk, at Urban Arts Studio in St Annes. I'll read from some of my books, share the inspiration behind them, and talk about my journey as a writer. It starts at 6pm, and tickets are £5 on the door.
August 31, 2023
August's Writing Progress
I kept up the momentum on The Last Dragonrider, though I didn't write quite as many words this month - 14,000 instead of 17,000, so the total for this book now stands at 47,000. The end of the first draft is in sight (I know I've said that a lot these past few years). It will probably come in a bit shorter than most of my other novels, which are around 100,000 to 120,000 words.
I spent a couple of days writing some little programs that trawl through my 18 years'-worth of backups, to try to figure out my average rate of writing and whether it's changed in that time. The answers are, if you consider it over a long enough interval, (1) about 240 words a day (about the same as one page of a paperback) and (2) no.
The total time to produce a book has gone down, partly because I tend to keep more of the first draft now, and partly because I don't spend as much time editing as I used to. In some of my early books, I wrote a lot of material that I ended up not using, and changed a lot of the material that I did use, because I was still learning how to tell a story, and wasn't so sure of the story I wanted to tell. Sometimes, I'm still not sure of the story I want to tell. See, for instance, Command Authority (except that you can't yet...).
I spent a couple of days writing some little programs that trawl through my 18 years'-worth of backups, to try to figure out my average rate of writing and whether it's changed in that time. The answers are, if you consider it over a long enough interval, (1) about 240 words a day (about the same as one page of a paperback) and (2) no.
The total time to produce a book has gone down, partly because I tend to keep more of the first draft now, and partly because I don't spend as much time editing as I used to. In some of my early books, I wrote a lot of material that I ended up not using, and changed a lot of the material that I did use, because I was still learning how to tell a story, and wasn't so sure of the story I wanted to tell. Sometimes, I'm still not sure of the story I want to tell. See, for instance, Command Authority (except that you can't yet...).
July 31, 2023
July's Writing Progress
The new story has come along very nicely this month. I added about 17,000 words to it, so it now stands at about 34,000 words. (Mind you, about 1,200 words of that is the main characters taking a hot bath for the first time, so it'll be interesting to see how much of it survives the edit.)
It now has a working title, The Last Dragonrider, though just to be confusing, it's a prequel to The Accidental Dragonrider and The Reluctant Dragonrider. It's not "the third dragonrider book" that I said I was planning to write once Command Authority was out of the way, so there will eventually be at least four books in the Dragonrider series.
I don't know if there's something about the dragonriders' world that makes it easy and quick to write about, or if I'm just relieved to be working on a novel that isn't Command Authority. (I love that world and its characters, but I started it in October 2020, so it's coming up on its third anniversary. The last book I spent that long on was Death & Magic, over 10 years ago.) It might be a bit of both: The Reluctant Dragonrider was fast to write as well.
Let's see whether I can sustain the momentum next month!
It now has a working title, The Last Dragonrider, though just to be confusing, it's a prequel to The Accidental Dragonrider and The Reluctant Dragonrider. It's not "the third dragonrider book" that I said I was planning to write once Command Authority was out of the way, so there will eventually be at least four books in the Dragonrider series.
I don't know if there's something about the dragonriders' world that makes it easy and quick to write about, or if I'm just relieved to be working on a novel that isn't Command Authority. (I love that world and its characters, but I started it in October 2020, so it's coming up on its third anniversary. The last book I spent that long on was Death & Magic, over 10 years ago.) It might be a bit of both: The Reluctant Dragonrider was fast to write as well.
Let's see whether I can sustain the momentum next month!
June 30, 2023
June's Writing Progress
Famous last words, indeed... the new story I mentioned last month is now just over 17,000 words and is a long way from being finished. I have two possible endings, one simple, one complicated. I might use both of them.
Breda and I spent last week in Hertfordshire and London, visiting friends and relations, and playing at being tourists. I went to a conference about writing, self-publishing and marketing, which involved getting up at "oh my god it's early" o'clock to catch the train. I enjoyed it and learned a lot, though I'm not sure yet how much of it will prove applicable to my current situation. I took a lot of notes, but haven't tried to decipher them yet.
On the subject of marketing, I'm taking a part in the summer/winter ebook sale at Smashwords. Death & Magic, The Mirrors of Elangir and Simon and the Birthday Wish are all free, and the others are 50% off. Go to https://www.smashwords.com/profile/vi... and get yourself some new(ish) reading material!
Breda and I spent last week in Hertfordshire and London, visiting friends and relations, and playing at being tourists. I went to a conference about writing, self-publishing and marketing, which involved getting up at "oh my god it's early" o'clock to catch the train. I enjoyed it and learned a lot, though I'm not sure yet how much of it will prove applicable to my current situation. I took a lot of notes, but haven't tried to decipher them yet.
On the subject of marketing, I'm taking a part in the summer/winter ebook sale at Smashwords. Death & Magic, The Mirrors of Elangir and Simon and the Birthday Wish are all free, and the others are 50% off. Go to https://www.smashwords.com/profile/vi... and get yourself some new(ish) reading material!
May 31, 2023
May's Writing Progress
First the bad news. Progress on Command Authority has stalled. I think I'm going to have to make an(other) outline of it and figure out what I've promised the reader, and how to deliver it.
Now the good news. The short story I mentioned last time is now live for my newsletter subscribers. It's called The Old Palace by Torchlight. A mysterious plague is slowly killing the people of the city of Korayaesh. An equally mysterious personage called the Benefactor has taken up residence in the Old Palace, and offers a cure to anyone who wins a lottery. A young man called Hinaeg suspects that all is not what it seems, and so when his elderly neighbour wins the lottery, he gives up his place to Hinaeg. There's just one catch - the cure requires a one-way trip to the Benefactor's homeland.
This story is separate from any of my others, and so is spoiler-free. To read it (and four other short stories), subscribe to my newsletter by going to http://eepurl.com/_5EDX The welcome email will tell you where the stories are. (Full disclosure - three of the five stories also appear in my collection of sci-fi shorts, Racing the Storm and Other Stories.)
The even better (I hope) news. The latest writing prompt from one of my groups got a bit confused. Someone suggested mosaics, then someone else suggested kites, then a third person suggested sand dunes. I thought I'd try writing something that featured all three. (I've found that writing prompts work best for me when they're fairly specific. If you give me a vague or broad one, I find it too hard to pick from all the possibilities.) By the time I got home from the meeting, I'd decided to write a short story set in my dragonriders world, about what happened after the dragons had decided they didn't want to be ridden any more. I thought I'd finish it in a few days, but it's nearly 9,000 words, and has occupied most of the month, with more to come. It should be done in time for the next of these posts (famous last words!).
Now the good news. The short story I mentioned last time is now live for my newsletter subscribers. It's called The Old Palace by Torchlight. A mysterious plague is slowly killing the people of the city of Korayaesh. An equally mysterious personage called the Benefactor has taken up residence in the Old Palace, and offers a cure to anyone who wins a lottery. A young man called Hinaeg suspects that all is not what it seems, and so when his elderly neighbour wins the lottery, he gives up his place to Hinaeg. There's just one catch - the cure requires a one-way trip to the Benefactor's homeland.
This story is separate from any of my others, and so is spoiler-free. To read it (and four other short stories), subscribe to my newsletter by going to http://eepurl.com/_5EDX The welcome email will tell you where the stories are. (Full disclosure - three of the five stories also appear in my collection of sci-fi shorts, Racing the Storm and Other Stories.)
The even better (I hope) news. The latest writing prompt from one of my groups got a bit confused. Someone suggested mosaics, then someone else suggested kites, then a third person suggested sand dunes. I thought I'd try writing something that featured all three. (I've found that writing prompts work best for me when they're fairly specific. If you give me a vague or broad one, I find it too hard to pick from all the possibilities.) By the time I got home from the meeting, I'd decided to write a short story set in my dragonriders world, about what happened after the dragons had decided they didn't want to be ridden any more. I thought I'd finish it in a few days, but it's nearly 9,000 words, and has occupied most of the month, with more to come. It should be done in time for the next of these posts (famous last words!).
April 30, 2023
April's Writing Progress
I added 4,500 words to Command Authority, which now stands at 159,500 words.
I've discovered a couple of writing-related groups in St Annes, the town just south of Blackpool. The first is a once-a-month open mic night, which has been going for a while, and the second is a twice-a-month writers' group, which started recently. We'll see what comes of them.
I wrote a new fantasy short story from a prompt given by the Blackpool writers' group - "Someone wins a small fortune in a lottery but gives it all away. Why?" I might share it with my newsletter subscribers, once I've thought of a better title than The Lottery.
If you're not already a subscriber to my newsletter, go to http://eepurl.com/_5EDX to sign up. Subscribers get to read (so far) four other short stories. (Full disclosure: three of them also appear in Racing the Storm and Other Stories. The fourth one, Theory and Practice, hasn't (yet) appeared anywhere else.)
I've discovered a couple of writing-related groups in St Annes, the town just south of Blackpool. The first is a once-a-month open mic night, which has been going for a while, and the second is a twice-a-month writers' group, which started recently. We'll see what comes of them.
I wrote a new fantasy short story from a prompt given by the Blackpool writers' group - "Someone wins a small fortune in a lottery but gives it all away. Why?" I might share it with my newsletter subscribers, once I've thought of a better title than The Lottery.
If you're not already a subscriber to my newsletter, go to http://eepurl.com/_5EDX to sign up. Subscribers get to read (so far) four other short stories. (Full disclosure: three of them also appear in Racing the Storm and Other Stories. The fourth one, Theory and Practice, hasn't (yet) appeared anywhere else.)
