Friday, October 16, 2015
We're Switching to TSU
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Stagnation
Progress has come to a complete halt.
So, why are we bothering to still blog about it?
Well, that's the value of this blog. If we weren't blogging about our book, the whole project would probably be buried under other priorities right now. In time, we might even forget about it entirely. However, because this book blog is right in front of us whenever we blog about anything, we are regularly reminded that we need to make time for this project. We are still committed to completing this book and bringing it to market.
Also, perhaps someone reading this blog also has a stalled project or two. Maybe this blog post can help us inspire others to revitalize stalled projects. If that's the case, good luck!
So, why are we bothering to still blog about it?
Well, that's the value of this blog. If we weren't blogging about our book, the whole project would probably be buried under other priorities right now. In time, we might even forget about it entirely. However, because this book blog is right in front of us whenever we blog about anything, we are regularly reminded that we need to make time for this project. We are still committed to completing this book and bringing it to market.
Also, perhaps someone reading this blog also has a stalled project or two. Maybe this blog post can help us inspire others to revitalize stalled projects. If that's the case, good luck!
Sunday, July 5, 2015
Focus!
Many years passed between when we first thought about writing a book and when we actually thought of a plausible topic for that book. Now that we are well into development, suddenly inspiration is plentiful. And because each new idea is exciting, there is a temptation to start new projects while each idea is fresh in our minds.
However, we are resisting those temptations to start any new projects before this first one is complete. While it occurs to us that multitasking may help somewhat with creativity, we are even more cognizant of the fact that multiple, unfinished projects generate zero revenue. Therefore, the prospect of generating revenue more quickly trumps any other literary desires.
That said, we are jotting down notes as ideas materialize. There are no pages, paragraphs, or even sentences, just bullet points so that we don't forget these ideas later.
If you are an author, especially of multiple works, we are curious how you handle multiple, simultaneous inspirations. Please leave a comment!
However, we are resisting those temptations to start any new projects before this first one is complete. While it occurs to us that multitasking may help somewhat with creativity, we are even more cognizant of the fact that multiple, unfinished projects generate zero revenue. Therefore, the prospect of generating revenue more quickly trumps any other literary desires.
That said, we are jotting down notes as ideas materialize. There are no pages, paragraphs, or even sentences, just bullet points so that we don't forget these ideas later.
If you are an author, especially of multiple works, we are curious how you handle multiple, simultaneous inspirations. Please leave a comment!
Sunday, June 21, 2015
Size Matters?
As we've been editing our book, mostly adding descriptive text to help readers visualize the story, we began to wonder approximately how long an ebook should be.
After searching the Internet, we have determined that the ideal size is inconclusive. Some argue that travelers on the go want relatively small books, perhaps something they can finish en route. A full-sized novel may, therefore, be impractical for your average reader. Conversely, others argue that longer ebooks sell better.
As a result, we are going to ignore the word count entirely, and allow the book to achieve its natural length. If we are forced to modify that later by a publisher, then we will cross that bridge at that time. In the meantime, we will focus on telling our story.
After searching the Internet, we have determined that the ideal size is inconclusive. Some argue that travelers on the go want relatively small books, perhaps something they can finish en route. A full-sized novel may, therefore, be impractical for your average reader. Conversely, others argue that longer ebooks sell better.
As a result, we are going to ignore the word count entirely, and allow the book to achieve its natural length. If we are forced to modify that later by a publisher, then we will cross that bridge at that time. In the meantime, we will focus on telling our story.
Saturday, June 13, 2015
Networking
Although our book is still in development, it is never too early to start networking. Using social media, we have quickly and easily identified others who can help us promote our book at the appropriate time. In addition to that, we have been able to observe how already-published authors do some of their promoting.
One of our challenges which does not apply to most others, however, is anonymity. You do not see our faces and you do not know our names. We have not been sharing this project with our personal contacts and, therefore, not asking them to "like," "follow," "share," and so forth.
As a result, we have been able to compare social media platforms in regards to their ability to attract a following. Keeping in mind that we have only been blogging for a relatively short time, Twitter easily had the quickest growth from zero to non-zero. Because we usually blog with photos, Pinterest is a distant second, Tumblr is an even more distant third, and Facebook activity remains virtually zero. Other social media platforms have not met our particular needs in regards to the content that we share.
One of our challenges which does not apply to most others, however, is anonymity. You do not see our faces and you do not know our names. We have not been sharing this project with our personal contacts and, therefore, not asking them to "like," "follow," "share," and so forth.
As a result, we have been able to compare social media platforms in regards to their ability to attract a following. Keeping in mind that we have only been blogging for a relatively short time, Twitter easily had the quickest growth from zero to non-zero. Because we usually blog with photos, Pinterest is a distant second, Tumblr is an even more distant third, and Facebook activity remains virtually zero. Other social media platforms have not met our particular needs in regards to the content that we share.
Sunday, May 31, 2015
Writing Methodology
The first draft is now complete.
We began with a very rough outline of the story. In fact, even though they have since changed, we began with the chapter titles. That seemed like the easiest way to organize the major plot points.
Although relatively unimportant at this stage, we then proceeded to add some basic formatting. This will likely change also, but it was somehow emotionally important.
We then started to add sentence fragments to each chapter. Most of the fragments later evolved into paragraphs, however a few were later merged with others.
Around this time, again more for emotional importance, we began thinking about cover art. The idea was to design something that might help readers visualize one of the most important moments in the story.
We then went through and ensured that every chapter had at least a few basic paragraphs. This resulted in additional detail.
We then went through, yet again, filling in timeline gaps with additional paragraphs. That brings us to the point we are at now, with a complete first draft.
However, the first draft only tells the basic story. It reads as if someone tells you his or her life story matter-of-factly, devoid of emotion. Therefore, the next iteration will focus on adding descriptive text. As previously stated, we want our readers to experience all of the sights, sounds, and feelings that we hope to convey.
After that, we will share the new draft with our inner circle. We will not yet be concerned with proofreading, but rather with the readers' experience. We see no point in having a grammatically correct bad story, but a good story can be checked before submission for publication.
We leave all that for another blog post.
We began with a very rough outline of the story. In fact, even though they have since changed, we began with the chapter titles. That seemed like the easiest way to organize the major plot points.
Although relatively unimportant at this stage, we then proceeded to add some basic formatting. This will likely change also, but it was somehow emotionally important.
We then started to add sentence fragments to each chapter. Most of the fragments later evolved into paragraphs, however a few were later merged with others.
Around this time, again more for emotional importance, we began thinking about cover art. The idea was to design something that might help readers visualize one of the most important moments in the story.
We then went through and ensured that every chapter had at least a few basic paragraphs. This resulted in additional detail.
We then went through, yet again, filling in timeline gaps with additional paragraphs. That brings us to the point we are at now, with a complete first draft.
However, the first draft only tells the basic story. It reads as if someone tells you his or her life story matter-of-factly, devoid of emotion. Therefore, the next iteration will focus on adding descriptive text. As previously stated, we want our readers to experience all of the sights, sounds, and feelings that we hope to convey.
After that, we will share the new draft with our inner circle. We will not yet be concerned with proofreading, but rather with the readers' experience. We see no point in having a grammatically correct bad story, but a good story can be checked before submission for publication.
We leave all that for another blog post.
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
TGIF
Out of curiosity, do any other part-time writers limit their writing to weekends? We find that at the end of any given work day our creative juices are just about dried up. Is it more common to try to push through a little bit each day or to just set aside larger blocks of time on days off?
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