Category: Updates
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Staycation Update
Previously I shared my decision to take a month off from posting in order to focus on serializing my unpublished novel set in the same fictional world as Pearl Fields and the Oregon Meltdown. That turned out to be a productive strategy even though I could easily fall into grumbling about only truly accomplishing one…
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Focus Time
Today after wrapping up the initial stage of serializing my unpublished novel set in the same fictional world as Pearl Fields and the Oregon Meltdown—a prequel of sorts—I decided to dedicate any available focus time over the next few weeks to the rewriting/revising stage of the process. Even though I thoroughly enjoy posting twice a…
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Pistachios
Nothing like spending the better part of an April morning sitting on a porch basking in the sun, cracking open pistachios, & taking in the spectacular blue sky. As the pile of shells grew ever larger, I found myself imagining one story after the other involving pistachios . . . using them as metaphors, historical…
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The novelty of it all (update)
Time to pause & celebrate a bit since I’ve nearly reached the halfway mark of my first foray into serializing a novel. I’m happy to report it’s going even better than I’d hoped (surprise, surprise). Dividing longer chapters into shorter episodes has proved fairly easy, but deciding what to keep, cut, or add in order…
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The novelty of it all
Time to pause & celebrate a bit since I’ve nearly reached the halfway mark of my first foray into serializing a novel. I’m happy to report it’s going even better than I’d hoped (surprise, surprise). Dividing longer chapters into shorter episodes has proved fairly easy, but deciding what to keep, cut, or add in order…
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Taking the plunge
In my last post (“Episode 1”), I mentioned considering trying my hand at serializing a story I’ve already sketched out/written that as of yet hasn’t seen the light of day. As the title of this post indicates, I’m actually giving it a go. So far so good, I’m happy to report—aside from my usual stumbling…
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Episode 1
Here’s an interesting question: what do the following have in common? That’s right—serialized storytelling. Not that I would ever imagine tossing my hat into the prestigious ring listed above, but for some reason, I am intrigued by the idea of writing in such an age-old tradition. Maybe it reminds me of podcasts or everyday storytelling.…
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Time for a reset
Well, nothing like reaching the end of a concentrated marketing push on my recently completed novel to make me wholeheartedly embrace my next dance with fiction writing. As I’ve previously mentioned, the promotion side of my independent author journey has been the most difficult for me all along, but like most challenging paths I choose,…
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My favorite part
Take a deep breath . . . one . . . two . . . three . . . Gotta say, I’m relishing this extra slow morning even if I did intentionally schedule it instead of just letting it happen as if I were truly living in the moment. Considering the pace I’ve been subjecting…
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Getting closer by the day
As I started writing this post, I realized how childlike I can be at times like this—downright giddy—while of course, maintaining my adult sense of calm & clearheaded perspective on my self-publishing journey. (Cue the laugh track.) Yes, dear reader, another milestone approaches. This one has to do with navigating the marketing shoals looming ahead.…
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Good question
The other day somebody asked me out of the blue why I write. My answer, as usual, is extremely simple—that’s a damn good question. Of course, on occasion I do challenge myself to justify spending hours hovering over pen & paper or keyboard & screen—especially on a beautiful spring morning—instead of going for a longer…
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Hero of the day
My take on the prevalence of hero worship throughout history & across many cultures usually borders on the hypercritical. But don’t be concerned, dear reader, I’m not about to launch into an ill-conceived tirade reflecting my personal beliefs on the subject. Instead, I’ll freely admit to having a new hero figure of my own—fickle as…
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Just wanting to write
Some days I really don’t mind working on the business side of this self-publishing adventure of mine—all right, to be clear, it’s more like I don’t resent it as much as I do most of the time. It’s just not something that draws me in, know what I mean? If you’re a puzzler or chess…
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Spinning yarns
Growing up in a family with storytelling as the coin of the realm was wonderful but perplexing. I just assumed it held sway in every other family too, so the first few times I sat through dinner at a friend’s house with only a few niceties being traded I was stunned. My friends were even…
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A blank canvas
Writing a rough draft like I did for this post is the closest I get to understanding what a visual artist might feel starting a painting, sculpture, clay pot, tapestry, piece of furniture, or any other medium. I almost always enjoy the sense of wonder at where the newest piece might wind up when it’s…
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On my own terms
Just a bit ago, I took a break from my morning writing routine to take stock of my independent author’s journey thus far. I have to admit, I couldn’t help but laugh at some of my stumbling in the dark through this maze of options & decision points with almost no background knowledge to help…
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Undaunted
I’m not really sure why getting another positive review this morning impacted me so much. It might be due to fact that Pearl Fields and the Oregon Meltdown has so far only received a handful of reviews in total, both positive & otherwise (six on Goodreads & two on Amazon). As I’ve already mentioned, I’m…
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What’s next?
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts—possibly once or twice too often—figuring out an endgame strategy for this phase of promoting Pearl Fields and the Oregon Meltdown has proven to be a blend of challenges, frustrations, realizations, & laughs. (Trust me, I’ve been leaning heavily on my quirky sense of humor at almost every turn.) See,…
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Reframing Part 2
In my previous post, I made a connection between solving mental puzzles & my current venture into the world of self-publishing. I also mentioned being surprised by the overall positive response to Pearl Fields and the Oregon Meltdown on Goodreads especially—4.0 with 11 ratings, 5 reviews—when I already knew firsthand that some readers find Pearl’s…
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Reframing Part 1
At times I wonder why I’m drawn to solving mental puzzles of my own design like plotlines & character arcs. Maybe it has to with spending untold hours in days gone by sprawling on the living room floor, organizing thousands of puzzle pieces into piles by patterns & shadings, then meticulously nudging them together clump…
