Christopher Stocking's Blog, page 11

Saturday Update

Short post today as I get back into the swing of things. I just returned from a brief vacation to Rhode Island, which is always enjoyable. I spent some time with family and hit the beach. It was nice to get away from everything for a few days, except writing, of course.

During those four days away I only wrote about 550 words. However, I spent a lot of those four days thinking about writing. Mostly about Men of Hawthorne. I’m going to attempt to submit this to a small indie press. I’d like to...

Haters Gonna Hate

Here’s a little back story: Over a year ago when I wrote for Upstate Metal (a magazine I no longer write for and haven’t for several months), I wrote a bad review of a certain band. I didn’t like the music, so I wrote an honest review. That is what people expect, is it not?

Well, apparently yesterday the drummer found said review and did what appeared to be a fair amount of research on me. He commented on said review about how I have “dismally-bullshit book covers” on my “so called self-publis...

No Longer a Pantser, now I’m a Patster. Er, Plotser?

As you know from my post about Todoist, I’m working toward becoming more organized and working more efficiently, at least when it comes to school and writing, which should impact the organization and efficiency of my entire life. Well, hopefully, anyway.

So, with the combination of Todoist and advice from Mr. Chuck Wendig, I no longer consider myself a pantser (Pantser: One who “writes by the seat of their pants.”) I now consider myself both a plotter and a pantser. No longer will I simply wri...

Hey, Day Job, GO AWAY!

Sometimes I wish I worked in a cubical. (Image credit: Patti O’Shea via WANACommons)

It’s safe to say that I really can’t stand my day job. I dread going into work, and I can’t wait to punch out. The work itself really isn’t that bad. I get a lot of time to myself to think, and–even though I’m not supposed to–I am able to sneak off somewhere and get some reading done. One the weekends I can actually sort of lock myself away and get a large chunk of writing done. Usually at least 1,000+ words b...

5 Reasons you should Buy His Only Star

Here are five reasons I believe you, the reader, should buy my YA novella, HIS ONLY STAR:

Reason #1:Because, as an introvert, sometimes I die a little inside asking people to buy something of mine. I’m sure you have better things to do, or other things you could be reading. But, hey, what can it hurt to ask? Would you please purchase my book?

Reason #2: HIS ONLY STAR has received reviews such as:

“I could not put this book down and was so emotional throughout the whole story. Stocking gives you...

Todoist — Let there be Organization!

I came across this cool organizational tool from Kait Nolan’s blog, and it’s pretty nifty. It’s called todoist, and it’s a really handy tool for anyone looking to become more organized. Namely, me. I don’t view myself as unorganized, but a little organization never hurt. Todoist is really cool in that you can schedule things daily, weekly, for a specific date, once a week, the last friday of every month, or whatever you need. You can create multiple categories, and you can use it from your co...

Two Star Rating? Let’s Pretend This Never Happened

I’ve noticed while perusing some book review blogs that a number of them will not post a review if they rate the book below three stars. Now, while I appreciate that they are attempting to cut these writers a break, that doesn’t seem entirely right. This seems like a way to try and make it seem as if all books are essentially equal, which they are not. There are good books, bad books, okay books, fantastic books, all right books, “eh” books, “not for me” books, and a plethora of others out th...

Monday Updates

After a busy weekend, I finally finished going through every word ofBlack Powder Brigade. I made a few tweaks, filled a few plot holes, and adjusted a few descriptions, and it’s now in the capable hands of four beta readers, one of whom beta readHis Only Star, another whom edited London Darkness: Infernal Inventions, ESTRA Corp., and Bloodcrest, and two of whom are brand new beta readers (one being my wife, and the other Carly from The Creative Cesspool). It’s a good combination of strong wri...

Do Writing Prompts Really Help?

I follow a number of writerly fan pages of on Facebook, and many of them post writing prompts to help get the creative juices flowing for writers. This is great. Really. If it helps to fight writers block, then how can it not be great? However, I’ve noticed something about recent prompts that seem as if they might be hindering more than helping. Specifically the ones about your book’s/story’s characters.

Now, I understand that it’s vital to really know your characters. What do they look like?...

Let the Revisions Commence

After months of writing, stress, writer’s block, confusion, and a bit of luck, I have completed the first draft of “Black Powder Brigade.” It was interesting watching this book, and everything within it, develop and change over those months. I’ve really taken a liking to these characters and this world, which I guess is good news, because I somehow left room for a sequel, and even came up with a potential title for it yesterday: “Black Powder Assassins.” It’s interesting how these things work...