Mur Lafferty's Blog, page 17
March 31, 2022
[ISBW] Mystical Agent Wizards and their Wizarding Mysteries
Open
2022 Word Count: 41200 (?)Good News Good News
Team Rejection count: 93 (maybe? Bots broke themselves) Ditch Diggers returns April 4! Horizon Forbidden West Family Game TimeMain Topic: Agents, and the Magic We Need them to Do
Listener question: when to approach an agent when publishing agreements are already in place How to find out who represents an author Basic reasons why you need an agentMarch 22, 2022 | Season 18 Ep 24 | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty | BY-NC-SA 3.5 License
March 25, 2022
[ISBW] Ursula Vernon, Chaos Demigoddess, Is In The House
Open
2022 Word Count: 39600ish Ursula’s word count today: 1120Good News Good News
Team Rejection count: 93Main Topic: Ursula Vernon. ‘Nuff Said.
A Wild T. Kingfisher Appears! Here There Be Cursing… Sushi Good, deep fried fish bad… wait, what? Nah, really? Book Club: We Fear No Spoilers Here (or, Don’t Talk About Spoiler Club) The dietary habits of oxpeckers Story time: Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking Evil Mur and Evil Ursula Appear! Ursula’s new project: Steven Universe meets Silence of the Lambs The discovery of birdwatchingBonus Content
Pitching & Selling books on Twitter How Live Hate-Tweeting Midsommar led to a sale Top Three Tips for Writing Middle Grade StoriesMarch 17, 2022 | Season 18 Ep 23 | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty | BY-NC-SA 3.5 License
March 22, 2022
[ISBW] Brain Weasels that have nothing to do with Writing
Open
2022 Word Count: 38500?Good News Good News
Team Rejection count: 93 Last chance Hugo nominations (ends March 15) Upcoming changes at Escape PodMain Topic: Brain weasels
When brain weasels attack and charge down riding the avoidance buffaloes Juggling the various stresses that live rent free in your brain, when they don’t need to be there The weasels may be strongest at the start Control the lure of the distractionsMarch 15, 2022 | Season 18 Ep 22 | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty | BY-NC-SA 3.5 License
March 17, 2022
[ISBW] Fiction Traps and How to Avoid Them
Open
2022 Word Count: 38083Good News Good News
Team Rejection count: 81 Yay Premee Nebula nom Yay secret project update Notes on Writing the Other [ dog cam and dog treats activated ]Main Topic: Falling into those Fiction Traps, and Ways to Sidestep Them
Writing yourself into a corner using a background character that grows beyond your boundaries Art imitating life, but life is not narratively tidy, while fiction tends to be Feed your subconscious deeply and well, and let things percolateMarch 10, 2022 | Season 18 Ep 21 | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty | BY-NC-SA 3.5 License
March 15, 2022
[ISBW] Task Avoidance: We WANT to write… right?
Open
2022 Word Count: 37083
Good News Good News
Hugo nominations are open through March 15 Team Rejection count: 81 Nebula Awards Finalists announced, and there was much rejoicing! Ditch Diggers updateMain Topic: Task Avoidance Hows and Whys
Taking action: applying things learned from self-help tips Finding the reasons (fears) we are practicing task avoidance with the writing that needs to be done (perfectionism, sunk costs fallacies, etc) Ira Glass “The Gap” https://www.thisamericanlife.org/extras/the-gap https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/the-gap-by-ira-glass-9651a750408f Taking writing baby steps can build confidence and momentum, and treat yourselfMarch 8, 2022 | Season 18 Ep 20 | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty | BY-NC-SA 3.5 License
March 12, 2022
[ISBW] Sanderson's Success, As Told Through Animal Crossing
Open
2022 Word Count: ~34809 Doing character research… ?Good News Good News
Hugo nominations are open through March 15 Team Rejection count: 78 ISBW Book Club launch imminentMain Topic: Why most writers can't duplicate Sanderson, told through Animal Crossing metaphors.
Clearing the slates in Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing Building a new island with Brandon Sanderson-like business aplomb Working to make enough money to be able to buy cool stuff to make your island betterMarch 3, 2022 | Season 18 Ep 19 (Episode 650!!!) | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty | BY-NC-SA 3.5 License
March 8, 2022
[ISBW] How Can We Use Agency to Make Our Stories Better?
ISBW S18 Ep18
Open
2022 Word Count: ~34000Good News Good News
Hugo nominations are open for 2022 Team Rejection count: 55Main Topic: The Agency that Characters Should Have
Giving lead & side characters the ability to make choices about their own paths Good choices, bad choices, at least they make the choicesMarch 1, 2022 | Season 18 Ep 18 | murverse.comCopyright 2022, Mur Lafferty | BY-NC-SA 3.5 License
March 1, 2022
[ISBW] Story Bibles: What are they, Do I need one?
Open
Mur’s newest, STATION: ETERNITY, will be out on October 4 2022 (Cover So Pretty) 2022 Word Count: ~31000 Murder mysteries should not be boring There’s no such thing as a working convention visit Authors cannot control book prices. Don’t yell at them about that, please?Good News Good News
Hugo nominations are open for 2022 Team Rejection count: 44 Beefing up story in Midsolar Murders Book 2 Will Staehle: Art GoodMain Topic: Making Story Bibles Work
Why you might need a story bible, and how you might start one Building a list of what needs to be in a story bible Maintaining continuity is key for both authors and readersFebruary 22, 2022 | Season 18 Ep 16 | murverse.comCopyright 2022, Mur Lafferty | BY-NC-SA 3.5 License
[ISBW] Which Word is Worst: Could or Should?
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STATION ETERNITY will be out on October 4 2022 (Cover So Pretty) 2022 Word Count: ~34000Good News Good News
Hugo nominations are open for 2022 Team Rejection count: 50Main Topic: The Burdens of “Could” and “Should”
Analysis Paralysis has entered the building… with a shiv… now what? When stories are wanted, needed and cared about. Or not. Evil Mur appears! What to work on when Move on to new projectsFebruary 24, 2022 | Season 18 Ep 17 | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty | BY-NC-SA 3.5 License
February 25, 2022
[ISBW] The End... ?
Open
Mur’s newest, STATION ETERNITY, will be out on October 4 2022 (Cover So Pretty) 2022 Word Count: 29193 Heading for BoskoneGood News Good News
Hugo nominations are open for 2022 Team Rejection count: 42Main Topic: Ending Your Stories
Ambiguous endings: where lies the story satisfaction? The endings structure of romances Save the Cat Beat Sheet for story parts Advice on Endings from James Patrick Kelly “Beginnings, Middles, and Ends” by Nancy Kress “Save the Cat Writes a Novel” by Jessica BrodyFebruary 17, 2022 | Season 18 Ep 15 | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty | BY-NC-SA 3.5 License
