L.G. Estrella's Blog, page 41

English Was Not My Best Subject

Let me tell you a story.

Back when I first started high school, English was probably my worst subject. In seventh grade, I finished close to the bottom of my class, and my report card featured comments noting my small vocabulary and poor writing skills.

During the exams, I did poorly, and my responses showed a lack of attention to detail and made fairly few specific references to the assigned text. Indeed, the highlight of my seventh grade English career consisted of me drawing a map. That ma...

Reading Is A Two Way Street

One of the things that has always fascinated me is how different a book can seem from one reading to the next. There are some books that I was convinced were absolutely brilliant the first time I read them, yet not all of them have stood the test of time. However, there are others, and these are the ones I consider truly great, that remain remarkable no matter how many times I’ve read them or how long it’s been since I’ve read them.

But why do we view books differently from one reading to the...

Writing Around Your Strengths

In combat sports, competitors are often told to fight to their strengths. A tall boxer with an excellent jab will usually be advised to fight behind that jab, utilising his superior reach to attack from a position of relative safety. Likewise, in mixed martial arts, a striker will generally be told to keep the fight standing since that is where they are most effective. This same logic can also be applied to writing.

If we examine what makes a story work, we can come up with fire different are...

Irregular Amazon Behaviour

Lately, I’ve noticed some unusual behaviour with regards to my books on Amazon. However, at least some of this seems to be due to me being in Australia (e.g., some search results in Amazon are geographically linked). Using a US proxy seems to fix most of these issues, but I would appreciate a second pair of eyes on this. For example, one issue I’ve noticed is that Monster Whisperer appears on my author page when I am in Amazon.com.au but not when I am on Amazon.com. However, if I use a US pro...

“Monster Whisperer” Is Now Available On Amazon

Do you like monsters? Do you wish you could study monsters? Does running for your life while being chased by a hungry hydra sound like your idea of fun? If you answered yes to all three of these questions, then I’ve got the story for you. Monster Whisperer is now available on Amazon! In a world where monsters are real, can an intrepid monster researcher film the television pilot episode the world has been waiting for, or will he end up as another monster researcher statistic?

You can get Mons...

The Importance Of Distance

One of the hardest things a writer will ever have to do is to critique their own work. This is where distance, both emotional and physical, can be very helpful.

Writing can be an intensely personal experience. A writer will almost always put something of themselves into what they write, and criticism, no matter how kindly phrased or well intentioned, can sometimes feel like a personal attack. When a writer is asked to critically examine their own work, it can feel like an impossible task, esp...

Progress Report 29-07-2019

The second draft of the next part of The Unconventional Heroes Series has been completed. It took roughly three weeks to complete, and it weighs in at a hefty 139,000 words. In comparison, the first draft was only 82,000 words. There will be at least one more draft, and I expect certain sections may need additional drafts on top of that. The final word count is thus likely to be higher. At this stage, it’s more about polishing and refining. The plot and other essentials are mostly in place. I...

Progress Report 06-07-2019

Well, it’s time for another progress report. Here’s what’s been going on.

The first draft of the next volume of  The Unconventional Heroes Series has been completed. It weighs in at a beefy 82,000 words. Considering the fact that the first draft is always significantly shorter than the final draft, the finished story is likely to be in excess of 120,000 words. The first draft took roughly three weeks to complete, and the second draft should take a similar or slightly longer time since I’m not...

The Trouble With Eldritch Entities Is Now Available On Amazon

You learned how to fight werewolves from a veteran agent of the Australian Department of Unusual Events in The Trouble With Werewolves. But werewolves aren’t the only monsters menacing Australia. Are you ready to learn how to fight eldritch entities? If you are, class in now in session.

The Trouble With Eldritch Entities is now available on Amazon. You can get it here, and here is the blurb:

You rookies really think you’re ready to fight eldritch entities? Don’t make me laugh. You’re not read...

Flexibility

One of the most underrated qualities a writer can have is flexibility. Things rarely go exactly to plan and being able to adjust, adapt, and improvise can be incredibly important. This applies across all facets of writing although it is probably most obviously seen in areas like:

Plot Style Character

When you plot out your story, you likely have some idea of how it begins, progresses, and ends. Depending on your personally style, you might have a fairly vague idea, or you may like to really...