M.B. Weston's Blog, page 11

M. B. Weston’s Writing Diary: 02/04/15

The muse actually paid me a visit last night! And this time, I had some paper near me with which to jot it all down! (Unlike last time she showed up and I left her alone in the hotel lobby while I tried to find paper and a writing implement.) Seriously, the muse has been silent for almost a month and I’ve been left scrounging around the internet and other such research/inspirational places trying to figure out my novella…

So yeah, the muse showed up and I got the entire plot for my 3000-word steampunk superhero story nailed…

Of course, this all happened right as I was going to go to bed and after I spent about two hours researching steamboats, submarines, torpedoes, and shipwrecks… Fortunately, I’ve got it written down. Tonight, I will be writing with reckless abandon!

I also came up with a smashing first line: “I thought my hiding place was secure until someone grabbed my hair and yanked me out from behind the crates.” Unless I think of something better, that will be close to the final product…

Okay, now I have to go to work with this story playing out in my head…

How about you? When was the last time you were struck with inspiration? (And did you have access to writing tools?)

Toodles!

M. B. Weston’s Writing Diary: 02/05/15

The muse actually paid me a visit last night! And this time, I had some paper near me with which to jot it all down! (Unlike last time she showed up and I left her alone in the hotel lobby while I tried to find paper and a writing implement.) Seriously, the muse has been silent for almost a month and I’ve been left scrounging around the internet and other such research/inspirational places trying to figure out my novella…

So yeah, the muse showed up and I got the entire plot for my 3000-word steampunk superhero story nailed…

Of course, this all happened right as I was going to go to bed and after o spent about two hours researching steamboats, submarines, torpedoes, and shipwrecks… Fortunately, I’ve got it written down. Tonight I will be writing with reckless abandon!

I also came up with a smashing first line: “I thought my hiding place was secure until someone grabbed my hair and yanked me out from behind the crates.” Unless I think of something better, that will be close to the final product…

Okay, now I have to go to work with this story playing out in my head…

How about you? When was the last time you were struck with inspiration? (And did you have access to writing tools?)

Toodles!

Pretentious Word of the Week: Proppant

This week’s pretentious word is proppant:

Proppant: noun. Sand or similar particulate material suspended in water or other fluid and used in hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to keep fissures open.

In the Battlestar Galactica universe, proppants should not be used while fracking.

See if you can come up with a funnier, yet pretentious-sounding sentence! (Try to keep this one as PG rated as possible.)

Fantasy, steampunk, and paranormal novelist M. B. Weston is the author of The Elysian Chronicles, a fantasy series about guardian angel warfare and treason. Weston is also the hose of The Final Cut In Movies radio show that airs on TMV Cafe Monday nights at 8:00 EST. For more information on M. B. Weston, visit www.mbweston.com. To receive notification of M. B. Weston’s book releases click here to subscribe to Dark Oak Press & Media’s e-newsletter. Click here for a full listing of M. B. Weston’s published books, and be sure to check out her ever-growing list of published short stories here.

M. B. Weston’s Writing Diary: 02/03/15

As I mentioned a few days ago, I’ve got a short story due by Sunday, and it needs to be pretty clean by the time I send it off. It is a Steampunk Superhero story for Dark Oak’s Capes & Clockwork 2 edited by D. Alan Lewis.

I don’t have much time with this. I kinda just found out about the opportunity. I’m takin a few steps to get finished quickly yet still keep the quality level high.

—I’m making this one 3,500 words. Because I have to. That mans that my introduction can only be 850 words. This is a get in/get out story that probably only takes place over the course of an hour at most. (Gotta love how timing changes with the word count.) I’m really trying to keep it simple.

–I’m sticking to what I know in the world of steampunk. as a result off Angela Blackmore series, I’m familiar with Victorian London, so I will set it there. I’ve also done tons of research the social hierarchy of England during that time. My main character is a mudlark because I know about those. Research zaps your writing time. So I am going to figure out how to make this work.

Anyway, got pretty far along today. Hoping to be done with the skeleton tomorrow.

I also did a quick inventory, and goodness my plate got full all of a sudden. Here are the projects I’m working on:

–Due 04/15/15: A Pulp/Urban Fantasy Novella (30,000 words). It’s the story I’ve been working on for a while. I would like the final draft of this thing done in March so I can get some beta reader advice before turning it in.

–Due this weekend: the above mentioned steampunk story.

–Due ASAP: I do some copy-editing for Dark Oak as well and I have a novel that needs editing.

In the cue:

–A paranormal short story collection. Seeing as how I have so many short stories I have written…

—a paranormal thriller novel about a woman who discovers that the person stalking her is: 1) responsible for 90% of the world’s unsolved serial killings and 2) isn’t human.

–Book three of the Elysian Chronicles

–Believe it or not, I’ve got a story about a berzirkir who discovers he’s fighting on the wrong side stuck in my head…

Anyway, I’m quite glad I’m writing every day!

How about you? What is looming?

Toodles!

M. B. Weston’s Writing Diary: 02/02/15

Sometimes, a picture really is worth 1,000 words.

I love snow. However, I live in Naples, Florida, which means I don’t get much of it. During the winter, I like to change my computer desktop backgrounds to include some kind of snow slideshow. Right now, I’ve got some kind of “holiday lights” theme going on, which can basically means pictures of beautiful, snowy landscapes at night decorate my desktop.

While I was staring at my computer, I suddenly came up with an idea for a horror short story (or even a poem) when is saw this:

Basically, I came up with the idea of an ice fairy staring down at the town below. (To prevent spoilers, I will keep the rest of the story to myself.)

So tonight, I took a little break from Michael Lodestone the witch hunter and wrote a short story that will be about 500 words, which I hope will be featured in the paranormal/horror short-story collection that I will be finishing up right after I finish this urban fantasy pulp novella.

I love using pictures to stimulate story ideas. Who would have thought that a simple picture of a snow-covered valley at night would give me a horror story idea? It’s one of the reasons I keep pictures of landscapes on my phone and my desktop.

How about you? How do you get ideas flowing? Has a picture ever sparked a story for you?

Toodles!

M. B. Weston’s Writing Diary: 02/01/15

Sometimes if you want to get any writing done, you just have to take a power nap. I spent 3 days at ChattaCon, and it was awesome! I sold out of my first book, and I’m starting to see a trend back to action/fantasy. (Thank you Marvel!)

I knew I would be able to write on both of my plane rides back to Naples. However, the moment I hit the chair for the Chattanooga to Atlanta leg of the journey, I felt my eyes close, and I couldn’t do much to stop it. I reasoned that since the flight was only 25 minutes, I would just sleep.

It worked. I got just the right amount of sleep so that I was refreshed when I woke up instead of groggy.

Believe it or not, I have often used the power nap as a means of getting rid of the sleepy “edge” so I can write two to three more hours to meet a goal or a deadline. It doesn’t work all the time, but I highly recommend it (especially if you have a 10 hour drive home left to go and you know you aren’t going to make it without some shut eye).

How about you? Do you use power naps so you can keep going?

Toodles!

Today’s ChattaCon Panel Schedule 02/01/15

Here is today’s ChattaCon panel schedule. If you are going to ChattaCon, be sure to stop by the Dark Oak table where I will be signing books all day!

SUNDAY

12:00pm, Classroom B – Writers Panel- The Concept is Awesome! (but I can’t understand what you’re saying)**

Fantasy, steampunk, and paranormal novelist M. B. Weston is the author of The Elysian Chronicles, a fantasy series about guardian angel warfare and treason. Weston is also the hose of The Final Cut In Movies radio show that airs on TMV Cafe Monday nights at 8:00 EST. For more information on M. B. Weston, visit www.mbweston.com. To receive notification of M. B. Weston’s book releases click here to subscribe to Dark Oak Press & Media’s e-newsletter.

Click here for a full listing of M. B. Weston’s published books, and be sure to check out her ever-growing list of published short stories here.

M. B. Weston’s Writing Diary: 01/31/15

Writing on Saturday while at a convention is next to impossible.

First, there is staying by the table to make sales. That’s kind of a priority at conventions: make sales and introduce new readers to my books. And I’m not just talking sales of books. I got myself myself a another short story deal today while I was standing at the table and talking with a fellow author.

Then, there are the panels. I’m a bit obsessive about arriving on time to panels. If a convention has me as a guest, I want to fulfill my part of the bargain. That means I show up to panels on time, (preferably with a caffeinated beverage to help aid in the entertainment factor). Arriving late or missing panels isn’t an option. (The exception, of course, was MCFC this year when I got so sick I couldn’t stand.)

Then there is the after convention networking… It doesn’t leave much time for writing.

So here I am again, typing words into my phone after I had made a big deal about using a computer for writing sessions from now on only a day or two ago. But I’m writing. I am keeping the momentum of the story flowing.

Today’s session wasn’t much. I can feel that tingle in the back of my throat, meaning I’m about to get sick if my body doesn’t fight it. I can’t get sick again. I just got over two months of a sinus infection that took everything out of me. Basically, I made sure to jot down some of the ideas that I had throughout the day–especially after finding a few experts I needed to interview. I might pester them some more tomorrow.

How about the rest of you? What do you do to carve out time to write at conventions?

Toodles!

M. B. Weston’s Writing Diary: 01/30/15

My mission: Write write while at a convention.

Day 1 status: SUCCESS!

Yesterday, I flew into Chattanooga for ChattaCon. I knew I would have to really work to find writing time, and I managed to get at least 2 hours in!

First, I used the plane ride. I’m glad I brought my laptop, because pulling out a laptop is a silent signal to leave me alone. The only problem with laptops: they take up the entire seat tray, and I had to forgo my complimentary airline beverage due to lack of space.

Second, I arrived at the convention before registration, and I found a quiet spot to write just away from the lobby.

Without going into too much detail, I realized a major issue in my storyline I will need to monitor. My hero is immortal. It’s hard to created tension when your character can’t die. It’s possible, but it takes creativity and work. Fortunately, one of my friends, Cathe Smith, dropped by just as I was thinking through how I could increase tension in a scene where my hero had fallen into the ocean. After a quick conversation about it, Cathe basically confirmed my decision to make sure people knew he could still suffer even though he couldn’t die. We chatted a bit about the psychological effects of being immortal and other such things.

What a great experience! Writing is a solitary exercise, but no writer can complete a good story without the help of others.

Again, I am really seeing the benefit of writing every day. When you make it your mission to write everyday, you look for opportunities. I saw the quiet corner in the lobby because I was looking for it. I got some writing in and got to have a needed, meaningful conversation with a wonderful person.

How about you? Have you ever found that you were getting bored with your story and needed to create tension? What did you do?

Toodles!

Today’s ChattaCon Panel Schedule: 01/31/15

Here is my ChattaCon panel schedule for today. Be sure to stop by the Dark Oak table where I will be signing books all day!

SATURDAY

 12:00pm, Gallery A – Author’s Panel- Out of Nowhere: The Explosion of Young Adult Speculative Fiction.
01:00pm, Gallery A – Writer’s Workshop- World Building
04:00pm, Gallery B – Author’s Panel- Independent Author Marketing and the Future of Publishing.

Fantasy, steampunk, and paranormal novelist M. B. Weston is the author of The Elysian Chronicles, a fantasy series about guardian angel warfare and treason. Weston is also the hose of The Final Cut In Movies radio show that airs on TMV Cafe Monday nights at 8:00 EST. For more information on M. B. Weston, visit www.mbweston.com. To receive notification of M. B. Weston’s book releases click here to subscribe to Dark Oak Press & Media’s e-newsletter.

Click here for a full listing of M. B. Weston’s published books, and be sure to check out her ever-growing list of published short stories here.