David R. Michael's Blog, page 35
February 7, 2011
Recent Lessons Learned (or at least Noted)
1. I should do my novel planning *before* I need it. Which is to say, I should plan my next novel (or two) while working on the current novel. Otherwise, I'm going to have downtime (AKA "days I'm not writing") between novels.
It's possible that the downtime between novels isn't a bad thing. I expect I'll always take a few days off between novels. But I didn't expect to take nearly 3 weeks off.
It's also possible, though, that it's *hard* to plan Novel B while writing 3000-4000 words a day on Novel A. I guess I'll find out.
2. I shouldn't sign up for short story contests and then almost forget about them and/or wish they would start later than they will. Or have.
Maybe I should just go back to my previous stance of "Don't sign up for (or otherwise participate in) writing contests." I mean, sure, prizes are nice…or they look nice. I've never won a prize in a writing contest. I don't take direction well, which is something of a handicap in writing contests.
I think the short story contest looked more interesting/doable in December, when I wasn't working on anything in particular. Now, I'm working on stuff in particular, and the contest feels a bit like an imposition. But I will write my ghost story with claustrophobia and send it off. And then forget about it. Unless I actually proceed to the second round. That would be weird. Cool, maybe. But weird.
3. I shouldn't check my book sales so damn often. My goal is to put off checking my sales numbers until the end of February. And then, hopefully, be pleasantly surprised.
It's not like checking sales reports makes the sales come in faster. I mean, duh.
Sometimes I might end up seeing sales-related information. Like when I had to log in to CreateSpace to complain about a misprinted book. But I will not seek out such opportunities and will try to ignore whatever information is there.
At my current rate of sales, checking the numbers is a lot like watching paint dry. Or watching cold molasses pour out of a bottle.
I expect sales to trend upward over time. I don't have much control over how much time, unfortunately, so I cope as best I can. Which means checking less often. A lot less often. And writing. And getting more books ready for release (The Door to the Sky is coming soon).
In other news, which has nothing to do with any lessons learned, I started writing GoSH1 today. I hit 3003 words. I finished the first draft of chapter 1 and started chapter 2 (out of 20 total chapters). I'm getting into the voice/mindset of the first of the main characters, and having fun defining her relationship with her little brother. Writing in the voice of 13-year-old Stevie Buckbee was fun. Writing in the distinct voices of three new 11-year-old girls should be a lot of fun too. If I can pull it off.
Onward the writing!
-David
Win a FREE Signed Copy of Demon Candy!
Enter from now through Monday, March 7, to win a FREE copy of Demon Candy!1 FREE signed copy of Demon Candy in trade paperback will be given away.
Click Here to Enter
Four linked stories of Hell, and Life, and Life in Hell. Illustrated with paintings by Don Michael, Jr.
"Summer Breeze" – The demon Jike decides he needs a change.
"Inferno" – Undead hellcat Canto gets a night out on campus of lust and gluttony and the other deadly sins.
"Sweet Tooth" – Donut baker Ted Millet, divorced and broke, has a new customer that makes his ex-wife seem almost human.
And in the novella "Afterimage" Emily M-Something March, dead and damned for thirty years, finds herself back in her home town with a fifty-foot demon looking for her.
Click Here to Enter
-David
Win a FREE Signed Copy of The Summoning Fire!
Enter from now through Monday, March 7, to win a FREE copy of The Summoning Fire!1 FREE signed copy of The Summoning Fire in trade paperback will be given away.
Click Here to Enter
All Reese Howard has left is pain–and a pump-action shotgun. Sam is dead. The Old Man killed her right in front of Reese, a blood sacrifice to fuel his latest powerplay in Hell on Earth. Reese hopes the Old Man made a mistake, leaving her alive and armed. But she doubts it. He knows she's coming. The bastard has to know. Whatever. Reese plans to make him pay. And she plans to die trying.
Click Here to Enter
-David
Win a FREE Signed Copy of The Girl Who Ran With Horses!
Enter from now through Monday, March 7, to win a FREE copy of
The Girl Who Ran With Horses
!1 FREE signed copy of The Girl Who Ran With Horses in trade paperback will be given away.
Click Here to Enter
It's summer vacation and all 13-year-old Stevie Buckbee wants is to be close to her family again and to ride her horses–especially Jack Rabbit, her first horse all her own. But past tragedies threaten her plans before the summer has a chance to begin. Even as she discovers that she is somehow able to communicate with Jack Rabbit and the other horses on the family ranch, she finds she can no longer get through to her Dad and brother Blake. And what good is it to be able to run with the horses if no matter how fast and how far she runs, everything she knows and loves is lost?
Click Here to Enter
-David
Writing Progress Report
Writing progress report for the week starting Monday, January 31, 2011.
Writing Project
Words
Monday
Tween novel outlining – chapters 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.
Tuesday
Tween novel brainstorming & outlining – chapters 11, 12.
Wednesday
Tween novel brainstorming & outlining – chapters 13, 14, 15.
Thursday
Tween novel brainstorming & outlining – 16, 17, 18, 19 & 20.
Friday
GoSH1 (very little; I gave a character a last name)
Saturday
Sunday
SSC2011 brainstorming.
Total
Marketing/Submission
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Updated the blog "Books" page.
Friday
Updated "Baptism" blurb on Amazon and Smashwords.
Created new giveaways on GR for TSF, HG, and DC.
Saturday
Sunday
Reading List
The Handmade Marketplace: How to Sell Your Crafts Locally, Globally, and On-Line by Kari Chapin.
February 4, 2011
Short Story Challenge 2011 Underway
I signed up for the Short Story Challenge 2011 back in early December. February seemed so far away then.
Suddenly…it's here.
So…sometime in the next few days I'll be writing a short story (max length 2500 words) with the genre "ghost story", about "claustrophobia".
Should be fun.
Here is my first, one sentence flash fiction creation:
Waking Up With Company
"Bloody hell. What do you mean I got used casket?"
Have a good weekend!
-David
February 3, 2011
Planning (Almost) Finished
I just finished my outline for the tween novel, which I will henceforth refer to as GoSH1. (Whoa. That's a great acronym and working title for the project, and I never realized it until I spelled it out just now.)
I count 14 days of brainstorming and outlining so far for GoSH1 going back to the week of Xmas. That probably comes to about 40 hours total, most of it the past two weeks. Which seems like a lot of hours spent planning. Especially since I expect (hope) it will take me only about 100 hours to write the actual book. The outline is 8300 words, which is about 10%-15% of the planned total word count. I'm pretty sure that's the longest outline I've ever made.
In any case: Here's hoping all that planning pays off.
I might start writing tomorrow. Probalby not, though. What I expect to do tomorrow is to read through the outline, start to finish, at least a couple times. I'll tweak and expand and probably write more notes about the setting and backstory. I might do that once more over the weekend, as well.
I'm excited to see how it all comes together.
Sure, sure, I know how the book comes out. But, as I like to say, paraphrasing Morpheus, "There's a difference between knowing the path and walking the path." For me, the outline is the bird's eye view of the route. The actual writing, though, is where I walk that route and see what waits for me along the way.
-David
January 31, 2011
More Planning Than Writing
I *will* get back to writing. First, though, I want to get the tween novel plotted out. As of this morning, I've plotted through chapter 7 and into chapter 8. I'm hoping to have half the book plotted before the end of the afternoon (through chapter 10).
I was planning to start writing today with what I had ready, but decided against it. I do best when I know where I'm going. So that's my current focus: Learn the path. Then I can start walking it.
Somewhat amusingly, my chapter outline summaries for this book are longer than I typically write. What's amusing about that (perhaps even ironic [to me, anyway]) is I'm planning shorter chapters for this book. I want to average about 3000 words per chapter. I'm willing to have 4000 word chapters for this book, but I don't want to go over that if I can help it. I guess I'll see how well I hit that target once the Real Writing begins.
As of last week, with the release of Demon Candy, I now have 2 novels, 3 short story collections, and 2 short stories available. That gives me an "eRace Score" of 21.
Last week was a bit scattered for me, because of releasing Demon Candy and an update of The Journal and The Journal's monthly newsletter and … and … and …
This week, I'll be more focused.
-David
Writing Progress Report
Writing progress report for the week starting Monday, January 24, 2011.
Writing Project
Words
Monday
"Selene"
2564
Tuesday
Tween novel brainstorming.
Wednesday
Tween novel brainstorming.
Edited "Encounter".
Thursday
Tween novel outlining – chapters 1, 2, 3, 4.
Friday
Tween novel outlining – chapter 5.
Saturday
Tween novel outlining/brainstorming.
Sunday
Total
Marketing/Submission
Monday
Tuesday
Updated TSF promo thread on KB, MR & NB.
Updated HG promo thread on KB, MR & NB.
Wednesday
Uploaded Demon Candy to DTP, SW and PubIt.
Thursday
Friday
Announced Demon Candy on the blog and FB, and created promo threads on NB, KB, & MR.
Saturday
Sunday
Reading List
City of Bones by Michael Connelly.
Warmachine Prime Mark II.
January 28, 2011
Demon Candy – Now Available!
Four linked stories of Hell, and Life, and Life in Hell. Illustrated with paintings by Don Michael, Jr."Summer Breeze" – The demon Jike decides he needs a change.
"Inferno" – Undead hellcat Canto gets a night out on campus of lust and gluttony and the other deadly sins.
"Sweet Tooth" – Donut baker Ted Millet, divorced and broke, has a new customer that makes his ex-wife seem almost human.
And in the novella "Afterimage" Emily M-Something March, dead and damned for thirty years, finds herself back in her home town with a fifty-foot demon looking for her.
Demon Candy Edition
Price
Trade paperback (Amazon)
$11.95
Kindle edition (Amazon)
$2.99
Nook edition (Barnes & Noble)
$2.99
Ebook (Smashwords)
$2.99
Happy reading!
-David
