L.G. Estrella's Blog, page 33

Tough…

This season has been very tough for Spurs fans. Our last game was… disastrous. I really don’t know what else to say. I still remember the days when the Spurs being up 10 was essentially a death sentence. Nowadays, no lead is safe. Seriously, watching us attempt to shoot in the second half was like watching a baby deer try to fight off a pack of starving wolves.

As much as many Spurs fans like to criticise Derozan, it’s telling that he is basically the only person who can get his own shot when...

Writing Genre Fiction

Not all fiction is the same. It’s why we often divide stories according to which genre or sub-genre they belong to. In the case of fantasy, it’s not unusual to see stories classified as epic fantasy, or humorous fantasy, or dark fantasy, amongst many others. Each of these genres or sub-genres has its own quirks and conventions, and a reader can generally tell whether or not a story fits fairly quickly. As a writer, then, what are some of the things you should consider when writing for a particul...

Sheep Dragon Developer Notes #3 – Word Length From Draft To Draft

Drafting is a process that varies markedly from author to author. Some authors only ever need two or three drafts to arrive at the final version of a story. Some may need more than a dozen. Often, it will depend on the story itself. Some stories are easier to write than others and will require less drafts to get right. Others are very tricky, which necessitates more revision and drafting. What I’d like to talk about today, however, is how the word count can change dramatically from the first dra...

Sheep Dragon Developer Notes #2 – Planning A Collection

One of the questions I’m often asked when it comes to writing a collection of shorts stories is how much planning should be done beforehand. As always, the answer to this question is very much an individual one. There are writers who thrive off thorough planning, and there are others who benefit from free styling as much as possible. That said, I can still talk about my approach although your exact mileage from it may vary. I’ll start off by speaking in generalities before giving examples from T...

Sheep Dragon Developer Notes #1 – Writing a Collection

Unlike the books in the main part of The Unconventional Heroes Series, The Sheep Dragon and The Hungry Dragon Cookie Company are collections of short stories. Writing a collection of short stories can be a very different process to writing a single full-length story. In this post, I’d like to talk about some of the things I considered while putting together The Sheep Dragon. I’ll start off with some general comments before getting into the specifics. Naturally, the latter will involve some degre...

Developer Notes

How would you guys feel about a series of posts going over the writing process for The Sheep Dragon? It would be kind of like getting the developer notes from someone who’d put together a piece of software. I’d be covering topics like:

What order the stories were written in and why they were arranged in a different order later onWhich stories I enjoyed writing the most and which ones were the hardest to writeHow many revisions were involved and what changed between revisionsWhat sort of them...

Upcoming Titles

With the Sheep Dragon now available on Amazon, I thought I’d share some upcoming titles with all of you. After all, what better day than the 1st of April? So, without further ado, here are some titles you can look forward to:

Two Necromancers, an Electric Banjo, and an AccordionTwo Necromancers, a Sea Turtle, and a SharkTwo Necromancers, a Love Story, and A ComedyTwo Necromancers, an Economic Apocalypse, and a Dodgy ReferendumTwo Necromancers, Three Dragons, and a Parrot

In case it isn’t ...

“The Sheep Dragon” Is Now Available On Amazon

The second part of The Unconventional Heroes Series Side Stories is now available on Amazon! Join Timmy, Katie, Spot, and the rest of the gang as they get into (and out of) even more trouble and adventures in The Sheep Dragon! Witness both the pasts and the futures of our two favourite necromancers and their allies. Whether it’s attending a necromancer convention or fending off a demonic invasion, there’s plenty of fun, action, and adventure to be had!

You can get The Sheep Dragon from Amazon he...

Almost There…

We’re not far away now…

Ultimate Battle

Spot licked his lips as he eyed the pineapple. It was right there for the taking. All he had to do was reach out and grab it. However, as he lunged forward to claim his prize, someone else decided to do the same.

That’s mine! Spot growled, glaring at the raccoon that had dared to come between a dragon and his prey.

The raccoon jabbed one finger at him and gestured extravagantly. The raccoon’s elaborate robes billowed outward, and ash began to gather in the air above him. Spot scoffed. Ash agains...