How do you remain motivated to write when things aren't going well?

There's a reason for today's post, besides the fact that I hear that question pretty often. The answer is both simple and complex.

First of all, I've been sick for the last two months and counting. No, it's not the Covid virus, I had a bout with some sort of food poisoning on or before Thanksgiving morning. While that is long gone, it left me with ongoing intestinal issues that have begun to rule my life. This consists of chronic sudden diarrhea with nasty cramping, some nausea and stomach pain, and an inability to eat anything heavy, dairy, fibrous, acidic, greasy/oily, along with many vegetables and fruits—especially raw. I'm stuck with bland foods in small quantities. I've been tested for just about every known toxin under the sun, and all came back negative. I can't leave the house and go somewhere that I won't have access to a bathroom immediately on short notice. No way to predict when this thing will flare up and I'm still occasionally finding foods that are at least temporarily off limits. Even my decaf coffee with a non-dairy creamer and my beloved dark chocolate upset me. Yeah, this sucks!

This is on top of my usual issues with mobility due to advanced arthritis that have left me hobbling with a cane for the last several years. The pain and stiffness of that in the affected areas is a constant issue that I deal with daily also. I have medication for it, but it only knocks it down to a level I can live with. It's widespread for me, all the major and many smaller joints as well as my entire spine. I do whatever I have to in order to control it. Add on the other more current issue and that's a recipe for curling up in bed and feeling sorry for myself. Can you blame me?

Well, I can't afford to do that. First of all, I do have family who want to see me, and while I may not always be great company, I do my best to remain part of their lives. And I am a writer, I have books and other projects I'm working on, and want to make headway in. It's not just my commitment to publishers and fans speaking here, though that is important to me. I need this writing time to take the focus off what's going haywire in my life and the world around us so that I don't dwell too heavily on all that. That's a slippery slope that leads to depression and while I have my moments, I've learned to combat it with doing something positive and creative—like writing. Plus, in order to remain relevant in my career niche and grow my fan base, I need to put material out regularly. To do that you have to actually write and not just think about it.

I'll admit it's been hard lately. Some days I just feel so crummy I don't get a whole lot done. Yet I still sit myself down at the desk and do whatever I can. Every word on the page moves the story forward and leads to other new ideas. I've always been a writer who has more than one project going at a time so I can toggle back and forth between them if I feel I'm getting stale. That saves me from what everyone calls 'writer's block'—where you stare at a page and have nowhere to go with the next line or paragraph. For me, I average 3 days on most projects before switching to another, but I will switch out sooner or later depending on my mood. The idea is to write something, not give up on writing altogether. Like falling off a bicycle or a horse, I've got to get back up and write again to avoid that woo-woo fear that builds up, telling me that I can't do this, it's too hard and I'm not good at it. Yeah, even after 20 books in print, plus over a half dozen more awaiting a slot and quite a few short stories, I still have those days where I doubt myself. I'm human, not a machine.

One of the things that seems to help me commit to writing when things are rotten around me is making myself accountable. I post an almost daily stat of my writing progress on social media, mainly Facebook and Twitter, where I have followings. I also belong to a small but very supportive online group that meets regularly to read what we're working on to one another. The support and feedback are wonderful. I've had this blog for a while but over the last year or so I have made much more effort to keep it updated. I have a little more time on my hands now, so I can spare a weekend afternoon for blogging. Sometimes just talking about writing, makes the struggle to actually get something done much easier. When I'm really frustrated, I might chat with a writer friend, send an email, or blog. Usually within the course of airing that grievance, I somehow manage to work it out. This is why I tell potential writers, find your tribe, and listen as well as share. We all face the same issues with writing, though our lives outside of banging keyboards to make stories might be very different indeed. It's the rest of life that often seems to get in the way. Putting my current health issues into perspective by listening to what others are going through in order to gain writing time makes me realize that in some ways I'm more fortunate than my peers. Many of us are denied time to focus on a creative endeavor that could become a career because we have 9-5 jobs, extremely debilitating circumstances, families to care for, and bills to pay. Yes, those things must take priority. That's incentive for me to keep going as well.

In the end I guess it's just plain stubborness for me. I spent a lot of my life caring or working for others. Writing is something I chose just for me, and it does work well with my rather laid-back and introverted lifestyle and current disability status. I enjoy it immensely, because it gives me the chance to be creative and actually get paid something for it. So I can't afford to collapse myself into my own woes and not write, because readers will move on. Whether it's 50 words or 5,000, what I get done on a regular basis does add up over time. It's that persistence that pays off. I don't find time to write, I make it wherever I can. I use that time wisely, and get as much done as I'm able to. Along the way, I leave the world and all the problems in it behind while I'm immersed in one of my own design. There is a great feeling of satisfaction that comes at the end of each writing session, when you know you've gotten something accomplished that most people would never be able to convince themselves to tackle. When a project is finished and turned in, you've hit another milestone. I keep my focus on that, because it will bring me back to the desk day after day.

So there's no magic to motivation really. It's a mindset. You do it because you want the end result. It's harder when you have things that interfere with your ability to concentrate, but it can be done. I'm proof of that.

Write on,
~Nancy

Jezebel Johnston: MASTIFF has set sail!

I just got the news today folks,  that the 7th JEZEBEL JOHNSTON novel, subtitled MASTIFF, is now available on Amazon. For the time being it is only in paperback format, but should be up as a Kindle download quite soon. So stay tuned because this is yet another adventure of our intrepid pirate lass that you won't want to miss!

This is the awesome cover by artist Adam Shaw. There are also 9 black and white illustrations by Airship 27's own in-house artist/setup man, and all around nice guy, Mr. Rob Davis. Here's one of them again, so you can see how drool-worthy they are.

Here is what my publisher, Airship 27 said in their press release: 

AIRSHIP 27 PRODUCTIONS

Presents

JEZEBEL JOHNSTON Vol 7

MASTIFF

Airship 27 is thrilled to announce the release of volume 7 in its best-selling pirate queen saga, Jezebel Johnston by Nancy Hansen, “Mastiff.”

Stranded far from her Caribbean homeland, pirate Jezebel Johnston struggles to survive over the alien waters of the Barbary Coast. Through a strange twist of fate, she, and two other freed slaves, Zuri and Amaka, come under the protection of the famous Maratha Indian Warlord Shivaji Bhonsle. The soon to be Maharajah has a strong disdain for foreign interference in his country along with a unique respect for the faith of others and the intelligence of women.

Thus Jezebel and her sisters-in-arms feel a strong obligation to aid the famous warrior by volunteering to participate on one of his seagoing raids against the Mughal overlords. To do so, they will have to become spies, gather information on which ships are carrying what cargo and how best to take them.

It is a dangerous game, one Jezebel and her companions are aptly qualified for, their bravery mingled with their natural charms set into motion a daring seagoing assault that will have serious repercussions throughout the Indian world.

“I’ve pretty much run out of words to describe how amazing this series is,” says Airship 27 Production Managing Editor Ron Fortier. “Nancy writes a sweeping, historically accurate adventure saga sure to entertain any lover of pirate lore. The action never stops and her characters are truly colorful rogues battling their ways across the seven seas.”

Pulp Factory Award Winning artist Rob Davis provides the 9 black and white interior illustrations and the amazing Adam Shaw the beautifully painted cover.

AIRSHIP 27 PRODUCTIONS – PULP FICTION FOR A NEW GENERATION

So this is the deal mateys, you buy some of these books, and I'll keep writing them as long as I know I have an audience. When you consider what 2020 was like, isn't a good read that allows you to get away to a different place and time for a while worth a little expense? Writing this one kept my head together when it seemed the world around me was coming apart at the seams, and something scary was in the news daily. So you get your copy as soon as possible, because I am already over 4500 into the next JJ novel right now, and going strong. This is what I do for a living these days, and it's the most rewarding job I've ever had. Sure would like to continue doing what I love right into my old age. So please, if you buy it and you enjoyed it, spread the word. The more readers I can reach, the better for all of us in this small niche of the publishing field. This is 100% homegrown business, and a labor of love for most of us, but we need your support. Thank you, each and every one of you, for your patronage and your willingness to support the kind of fiction and artwork that is hard to find now at such affordable prices.

~Nancy

A Pirating We Will Go!

 

Well matey. I've got some news on the piratin' front to pass along. To be specific-like, I be talkin' the JEZEBEL JOHNSTON series of pirate yarns that I've been writin' for yer readin' pleasure. So sit yerself down fer a bit and rest them weary bones, git yerself some grog and have a listen to a few tales about what-all be coming yer way...

Okay, now that I have that out of my system, here's what's going on with this popular series. First of all, JEZEBEL JOHNSTON #6, subtitled SISTERS OF VENGEANCE, just came out in audiobook format from RADIO ARCHIVES. Now this audiobook has 7 hours of listening pleasure involved, so even at the full price that is quite a bargain. But right now, you can get that half price. Imagine being able to sit back with earbuds in or headphones on and eyes closed, letting this book take you out to another place and time. You'll go off to where daring deeds and tropical climes have you alternately on land or sea, fighting to survive in a hostile environment. You'll be in places where enemies abound and danger is always around the next bend or coming at you with the tide. After the continuing insanity of the past year—which seems to have carried over into this one—couldn't you just use such a break? Think about it, because $6.99 for a 7 hour vacation from reality sounds like a bargain to me!

And yes, the paperback and Kindle versions are still available on Amazon. So you do have options. By the way, any of these books are available in PDF format for a reasonable $3 directly from the publisher Airship 27. Scroll down on the left and you will find a menu that takes you to the books you want to see. And look around while you're there, because there are a lot of really good books by other authors as well. 

Well, now  I've got news of the next book in line. I recently got the galley proof back for JEZEBEL JOHNSTON #7: MASTIFF. A galley is the book in a format set up to be printed. It's the author's last chance to do a final pass before it goes to print. I knocked that out in a couple of days by doing a line-by-line read through and leaving notes for the setup guy. My understanding is we're waiting for the cover art on this one, but the Rob Davis interior illustrations are all done and in place, and folks... they are gorgeous! I always love to see what Rob has for me. Rob has done a couple dynamite covers for me too—SISTERS OF VENGEANCE was one of his covers. I was told that the very talented Adam Shaw is doing the cover for this particular book, and I was thrilled to hear that. Always exciting to see your characters come to life via artwork. I'll let you know when the book comes out, I usually annouce them here as well as on my Facebook page and you can find me on Twitter.

So what's next for our pirate lass? Well I'm glad you asked! On the 5th of this month I began writing the 8th JEZEBEL JOHNSTON novel. This one doesn't have a subtitle yet, but it picks up where #7 MASTIFF left off in the first chapter. Now I have a habit of adding a short prologue to each book first, to kind of connect it in some way to the last one without doing a continual flashback scenes. Hopefully that helps readers who come in somewhere in the middle of the series to pick up what's going on and where we are. We were just about to engage with another ship in the final scene of the last chapter of #7, so that's where Chapter 1 starts in book #8. I'm already over 2200 words into it, and if I finish this blog post early enough today, I might add a few more.

This second group of four books in the series from #5 through #8 have taken place on the way to or in the East Indies, that area between the east coast of Africa to the far Orient. This was the early heydays of the East Indian trade, and while there were some pirates in the area, they were not as well established in this Age of Buccaneers (1650-1680) as they became during the Pirate Round (1690s) and into the Golden Age of the early 1700s. These books are historcal fiction and as close as I can make it to realistic, so there aren't any zombies, mermaids, or skeleton pirates meandering through them. We're in the time of the buccaneers in this series, but moving toward the end of it, before the more famous pirates sprung on the scene. People like Blackbeard, Calico Jack Rackham, Black Sam Bellamy, Anne Bonny, Mary Read, and Charles Vane show up later, though Henry Morgan has been mentioned in passing, as he was on the early side. A lot of this part of the the JEZEBEL JOHNSTON series is based in the Indian Ocean or in India itself. I do plan on having Jez head back to the Carribean at the end of this one, because I have something important for her to do there. That set of adventures might fill another 4 books, which would give me 12. I don't think I'll be done writing about her after that though. Jez is still quite young yet and needs to make her way up the pirating ladder of success, and I'm just having waaaaay too much fun getting her in and out of trouble. Plus I've learned a lot along the way about things like ships and seafaring, colonization of the New World, politics and social conditions in Europe and the Asian Orient, and famous folks who lived in those times that you really never hear about. For instance, the the much revered Maratha Indian Warlord who became their Maharajah (king), Shivaji Bhonsle popped up in my study of this era in India, and he just happened to have an established navy as well as some amazing forts both on land and sea. Talk about serendipity! Shivaji was known for his guerilla raids on the Mughal overlords, his disdain for the foreign interference in their country, along with his respect for the faith of others and the intelligence of women—which are unsual characteristics for his time. Shivaji first appears in JJ#6  SISTERS OF VENGEANCE, continues to have a presence in JJ #7 MASTIFF,  and we will be finishing with him in JJ #8. You never know what little gems of history you might stumble across when you research for books like these. It brings the world of the past back to life in my mind, and introduces me to people, places, and ideas that I'd never heard of before.

One of the things I have tried hard to walk a line with this series is between making it authentic sounding, but also accessible. I have kept the language for the most part English, though I will throw in a foreign phrase in dialogue or naming of things like ships here and there. I try hard to get that as close to properly translated as I can make it. I use some vernacular or dialect, but only in small batches. I'm sure all the spoken languages were far more different that how we speak today, but find the 'thees and thous' sort of speech tiresome, and so I figure readers will too. What's more important is getting the characters right. You'll see a smattering of pirate jargon and plenty of seafaring terms, but I try not to overdo that either. Like spices in a dish you are cooking, you want them to enhance the flavor without overpowering it. The bigger issue for me is a balance between the heavy action, intrigue, and adventure that a book about pirating needs contrasted with character growth and details about the locales we're in so that readers can envision what's going on as well as where it's happening and to whom. Plus I must keep in mind that to be affordable to readers and to allow the publisher a chance to make a profit (they can't afford to print these for free you know), the book has to meet a very defined wordcount range. After you've written enough of these sort of high action/adventure novels, you get a feeling for the pacing. Every word counts. Every sentence, paragraph, and chapter has to lead you forward and leave you wanting more. Hopefully I've managed that because I'm told this series is popular. I'm really glad too, because this is a labor of love for me as well as my chance to leave something tangible behind in the world when I'm no longer on this side of the veil of life. I'm going to be 64 in April so this is a late life career for me, and it's something that I can likely do no matter how old and creaky I get.

So if you enjoy these stories, please let me and/or my publisher know. Reviews are wonderful, and I have no problem with honest critiques. They just give me something to think over so that I can do better next time. I'm available through the comments section of this blog, I have an Amazon Author Page, and the aforementioned presence on Facebook and Twitter. Follow or Friend me, I make regular posts on both social sites about what I am writing and how it's going. If there's some other social site you'd like to see me post on, let me know. I don't want to spend all day online, because I need time to write as well as have a homelife and be with family, but I'll do whatever I can to connect with readers. You folks are the reason I'm doing this after all. It sure isn't to get rich! Maybe I should take up pirating for that...?

That's it for this week folks. Carry on and keep reading, and I will keep writing them!

~Nancy

End Of 2020 Roundup

 

Most of us will be glad to see this year over. It certainly was a difficult one! As a writer and someone who is used to being housebound most of the time, I had it easier than most. I already work from home so I've long since gotten over that 'cooped up' feeling. I was able to stay in contact with family outside of my household and friends via the cell phone or online on my PC. I have a tablet with a camera so chatting with folks virtually face-to-face was possible. Still there were some scares, shortages of supplies, and a lot of anxiousness over loved ones who had to be out there where the germs were floating around. Plus we had all sorts of unrest and the storms and wildfires... This was a year I'd like to move on from myself.

Yet plenty of writing got done here. I finished the 7th Jezebel Johnston pirate novel, wrote a western novel that I was invited to do, got my proposal accepted and completed another story for the third and final Monster Earth anthology Mechanoid Press is issuing, and also banged out a second Chandra Smoake short that I still need to finalize, thought it's essentially done. Off and on I worked at a Vagabond Bards novel I started last year, but never quite finished because it kept getting set aside. I also continued picking away at another Sinbad tale for Airship 27's series that might just turn out to be a novel, because the concept is big enough. That's what I've been plugging away at quite often lately. I don't get as much writing down around the winter holidays because there's so much else going on, but I've sat down and banged keys whenever I could. I've dabbled here and there in other projects without much to report, and I've done some editing for friends who asked nicely and return the favor. I wrote my last town newsletter column back in November, because the person running it decided to shut it down. I'd been with them since June 2013 and wrote one for each month of the year since. December will be the final one. It was fun while it lasted, kind of a busman's holiday.

In March, Airship 27 released the 6th Jezebel Johnston book, SISTERS OF VENGEANCE.

 I had one book this year come out from Pro Se back in April, BY THE WAYSIDE TALES.

 In June, my first Chandra Smoake short story, SMOAKE AND MIRRORS, appeared in Occult Detective Magazine—which was my first UK sale.

I did do a galley draft review for one of the Companion Dragon Tales books LAZLO AT HOME back in October, but it hasn't come out from Pro Se yet and I'm doubtful I'll see it before sometime next year—hopefully! We haven't had a release in that series since 2016, and there are three books in the queue right now. Overall I have not had a lot of releases this year, but it's been a slow year for everyone. Yet on my end, the writing goes on, regardless.

I did get some good news from Airship 27 recently. The 7th Jezebel Johnston book, subtitled MASTIFF, is in production now. I have seen and am posting here one of the gorgeous interiors done by the uber-talented and regular nice guy Mr. Rob Davis.

I hear that Adam Shaw will be doing the cover art. The book itself should be out by the end of January/beginning of February according to head honcho and Air Chief Ron Fortier. So there's something to look forward to while I'm working on JJ#8!

Well that's what's been happening with my writing this year anyway. I'll tell you honestly, I have not made enough money writing to even think of supporting myself, though I work at it every chance I get. But other than raising my family, and all the gardening along with the music and art & craft stuff I've done over the years, this late life career choice has given me the most satisfaction out of anything I've ever tried to build a profession from. 

I really enjoy writing. I love the entire process of going from vague concept to finished manuscript—even when it gets frustrating. Being somewhat of an introvert who doesn't mind spending countless hours lost in her own thoughts, sitting at this desk every day with fingers on the keyboard and words flowing from mind to screen has brought me a lot of satisfaction and a great sense of accomplishment. I can't picture doing anything else to leave my mark on this world. I have a very understanding family who support my craft and cheer me on, and am at an age and stage in my life where quiet, creative work is preferable to being out there pressing the flesh and hawking my wares. I get up every morning looking forward to sitting back down here to pound on those keys once more. I'm not antisocial, because I'll talk about writing with my fellow authors or really anyone who has the time and patience to listen. This is my passion. This is what I was born to do. That's why I keep at it, because while it would be nice to say I'm making a lot of money, there are faster ways of doing that. This is about honing a craft. This is about creating something that will hopefully outlast me. It's about leaving a legacy of books and stories that will continue to entertain folks long after I'm one with the dust.

Even in a trying year like 2020 has been, I always had something positive to look forward to and feel confident about. I can't stress enough the importance of that. At a time in my life where my ability to get around well has become problematic and my eyesight is so-so, I needed something to focus on that can be done sitting down without having to travel outside my house to get to work, but also gave me the satisfaction of being creative. I write them, I send them off, and when they are accepted and published, I feel like a winner. It's a good time in my life for this too. I'm no longer responsible for other people on any regular basis, for we're an all-older adult household. My sons are men now with lives of their own. My mother passed last year and while I miss her, I am no longer part time caring for her so I have more time for me. My grandkids are growing up and all 3 are busy with school and their own activities. So while I stay in touch with them all and see them often, I'm home a lot with multiple hours to myself. And I'm okay with that. I like being who I am at this age. Being a writer who is now a published author with 19 books and 15 short stories in print (with more in the wings), has added a personal dimension to my life outside of wife, mother, grandmother and so on. This I do strictly for me. And it makes me smile.

I do it for the readers as well. I know you're out there, I can hear you breathing! Reviews don't come that often, but when they do I'm always glad to hear someone actually read what I wrote and took the time to say something about it. Feedback is so important! I have a small but loyal cadre of fans who do contact me to let me know if they enjoyed something and what they're looking forward to. Now and then I stumble across someone who just read something I wrote for the first time and made the effort to reach out to me and let me know. Thank you, I treasure each and every one of you. You give me the incentive to keep going. Hopefully I've given you something to escape with so that years like this one don't seem so scary and drear.

So 2021 will be more of the same for me. More writing, more books and stories to complete and find homes for. More projects, maybe a couple with deadlines. We'll see. But until they find my cold, still body hunched over the keyboard, I'll be banging those keys most days, and chatting about what I accomplished at other times. It's all about writing, because that's what I love to do.

Be well,
~NANCY

Wearing A Different Hat

As a writer, you learn over time to do more than one thing. If you write anything with a setting you've never been to or a historical backdrop, you learn to do your research. Nobody wants you to turn in unedited work, so you learn to edit. If you want your writing to be interesting, you improve your vocabulary. You have peers that you befriend and kibitz with that you can learn things from. You have to understand how and where to market your work. You might even dip a few toes into the publishing realm. Along the way, folks might invite you into review groups, convention panels, podcasts, or anthologies/novel series with multiple authors. So you add to and develop your skill set as you go along, increasing your circle of friends and business contacts while also hopefully growing a fan base. The more exposure you get, the easier it is for potential readers to find your material. So while you are trying to sell books, you're also marketing yourself as an author.

I am mindful of this with every post I make public online. While I am friendly and at times will express opinions, I keep in mind that I am also there to promote my books to all who are interested in reading them. So I tend to stay away from controversial topics and sweeping statements, though if asked I will certainly express my beliefs honestly and for the most part politely. I don't climb on too many soapboxes and I am careful what I say and to whom. I share some details of my life outside of writing, because not everyone is interested in just that and I think it's important to let other know that I'm not just a one-trick pony. I have friends and family online who just want to chat and catch up with whatever else I'm involved in. I'm mindful as well that I also represent the publishers who have allowed me to sell books through their business, and I am grateful for that opportunity. So I am careful of not only what I say, but what language I use when I say it. They don't need any negative publicity that something I spouted off about might bring them. Writing is my career that I have worked very hard at, and being published and read is a privilege. I have to handle myself in a professional way. I strive to do the best I can at being someone others are proud to know and work with.

Right now I am wearing my editor's cap. Over the holidays I am taking a short break from writing to carefully go over a very good friend's manuscript for an action/adventure thriller. To be asked to do this is a testament to being trusted with someone else's brainchild, and I take that honor very seriously. I don't do it often for others these days because I'm awfully busy writing and promoting my own work, but I take it very seriously when I do. Besides the usual copyedit stuff with grammar, spelling, typos, etc., I watch for redundancies, sentence structure and paragraph flow, awkward phrases and passages, and things I just can't decipher. Is the story complete and does it have a logical procession from opening to conclusion? Was there something in there that I know was wrong or that threw me out of the story? So it's a fine tooth comb readover with comments as well as editing. I don't charge for doing this so I can't do it for everyone or I'd have no time for my own writing. But this is a person I trust with my own manuscripts, someone I've worked with before and we know each other's style well. It's not easy to get a manuscript back and have it all marked up with changes and suggestions. So you need to have complete confidence that this person has your best interests at heart and that she or he knows what they're doing. This is another reason why I network with other writers. Nobody understands what we do like people already in the business.

When I'm done with this manuscript, it will get emailed back to the author with a cover message, and then he will go through it looking at the things I changed, suggested, or left notes about. It's up to him after that if he wants to make and keep those changes or not. I'm not the editor for his publisher so he can totally ignore what I did and just go on to the next stage. And yes, it will still be edited by the publishing house it was intended for. What he won't get there due to understandable time contraints is a lot of feedback, although all the conscientious publishers will send you a galley draft to have a final look at and make necessary changes before it gets published. Most likely once I am done with this manuscript, my writer hat will go back on for a while, until another project comes up. I can't give any details, but I happen to know that I and one other writer friend have a special project coming up at the turn of the year. We are going to collaborate on finishing up a partial manuscript by one of our peers who passed away earlier this year. So that will require reading, editing, and then ghostwriting the rest of the tale in the name of our deceased friend. Ghosting something unfinished is not easy, because you need to be able to decipher where the story was headed, and also pick up the style of the original author. It's an honor to be asked to do that, and so we both want to do a good job. It will take some time and attention to detail, and that's a whole different hat from creating your own fiction. Again, this is one of those things you get to do when you've been around the writing world long enough. While I'm working on that project I will also be writing my own stuff, likely on alternate days.

I enjoy what I do, and don't mind having all those hats to wear. Mixing up what I need to work on during the week keeps me from getting stale or bored with a project, and it helps in those times when the words just don't flow. That's what leads to the situation people call 'writer's block', where you need some time off from what you're working on to get past the frustration. Kind of like falling off one horse and getting back up on another one so that you don't lose your confidence in riding. This may not work for everyone, but it has for me, and I still manage to get things done in a timely fashion. A good part of that is the dedication I have to making writing, along with all the side projects that crop up, a regular part of my life. It takes some self-discipline and a willingness to shuffle things around so that the writing time is there. Fortunately for me at this age and stage of my life I am now an empty-nested in an all-adult household who doesn't work outside the home. Being partially disabled, I can't do a whole lot else. Sitting at my computer and typing is easier on my body so that's what I do. It gives me something to get out of bed for each day. Along the way, I've accumulated a bunch of hats as well. So I get to be someone different now and then.

Hope your writing or whatever it is you find joy in is going well, and that you've read something here that inspires. That's why I'm sharing my world with you, after all.

Be well,

~Nancy

Where Do The Words Come From?

There's a great Dave Mason song, called 'The Words' that really speaks to me as a writer. Very easy to find on Youtube in case you're curious and the link above gets cut off. The lyrics even mention John Steinbeck, who is one of my favorite mainstream authors and whose stuff I readily devoured as required reading back in High School English classes. But it is a puzzle sometime when you are writing, to figure out just how to phrase something so that it's clear enough to put the proper picture in the minds of readers. Other days it's about generating a unique idea for a new story that leads me to staring at a blinking cursor, wondering how to get anything on that page. When I find myself frustrated that I can't come up with a good opening for a project, I just type some random sentence that seems to lead in the direction I want to go and then let that drag me into typing another one. Before long that opening scene is done. I may revise it 5 more times, but the idea is to get the project underway in the first place.

A couple of writing friends and I were talking about that recently, discussing how we come up with certain characters or series of stories. It's kind of hard to explain the writing process in simple terms because everyone does it differently. For me, I am a visual thinker. I usually get a cinematic picture of some sort of scenario and then have to find the words to describe it. Occasionally I will have a vivid dream that sticks with me long after waking. Or some random scene from a TV show or movie strikes me as worthy of my own sort of retelling. I might hear a song or even a piece of instrumental music and the writer mind kicks in. Now and then it's a new line of dialogue from a well-established character in one of my books that just kind of pops into my head. I've built stories—and in fact entire novels—around small vignettes like that. For many tales, I have some aspect of the character's life and times that I want to get across. The seminal idea is often a tiny fleeting spark, but it's the craft of writing that makes it come to life. The writing itself takes a lot of hard work, perseverance, and self-discipline. You have to have a will to see a longterm project through and the interest and passion to stick with it on those days when nothing goes right, there are constant interruptions and distractions galore, you want to do something else instead of write, or the words just don't come easy.

Maybe I was just born to write, because the words seem to come easier for me than they do for others. I was first and foremost a reader, and so I have a love for books and stories that take me out of my world to places where I never imagined going before. I was a pretty decent writer all through school. Still it wasn't until I was well into my adult years, raising a family of my own and thinking of some later life career goals, that I started to think about writing. I have only a 12th grade education, and no college. We didn't have the time or the resources to send me back to school and there were so many hoops to jump through to get a degree I just didn't want to face all that. So I took a couple of correspondence courses in writing, and they helped me quite a bit with the basic knowledge I'd need. The rest was all up to me. That was prior to getting a home PC and well before email and the internet became a big part of life, so assignments were typed and mailed back and forth. Once we did have a computer and an internet hookup, an entire new world opened up for me. I eventually found other writers online and learned a lot more about the business from them.  I wrote my first book in those days, a ponderous manuscript of over 850 pages that that took me 2 years of pounding keyboards, and saving on various disks. That along with some short stories were all rejected by every place I sent them to. I'd take some time off to de-stress and lick my wounded ego, but I kept writing. It would be another ten years or so before I got published, by chopping up that big book and ramping up the action inside. Currently I have 19 books and 15 short stories in print with more in the wings waiting to be published and others in various stages of being finished. Not too shabby for an intense 10-1/2 years of work.

While I can write to someone else's idea and will give people who invite me in on projects what they want, normally I am not one of those writers who plots and plans everything out. I'm what we call in the business a 'pantser', as in I write by the seat of my pants. I sit in this chair and I type something, and that leads to more ideas to type. I might have a general idea of where I want a story to go and who should be involved, but the story just evolves as I work on it. That kind of open-ended process isn't practical for everyone, so if you're more comfortable with outlines or some sort of guide to what to do when, go for it! Don't let the experts sway you, there's no right or wrong way to write. Whatever keeps you motivated and gets the project done is fine. I'm not here to tell you how to do it. I'm just saying that if you want to do it, you have to stick to it. If you wait for the spirit to move you, you're not going to get much writing done. The words don't come out of thin air, there has to be a will to get something down on the page on a regular basis. Just like thinking about a garden doesn't plant it, or having a guitar doesn't teach you to play. You learn by actually writing, and that includes making mistakes and getting feedback, both positive and critical.

Scary isn't it, thinking about sharing your words with other people? Yet with writing anything that will be read by potential readers, that's the ultimate goal. I started writing knowing that I wanted to be published. You need to be sure that's what you want too, because you work will get critiqued at some point, either by editors at a publishing company or fans. Unless this is just a hobby you're pursuing for kicks, others have to see it and then you are going to get feedback. Now some folks are kind and they're going to tell you it's wonderful, and they may well mean that without really thinking hard about what you just shared. Others consider themselves literary critics and will pick every sentence apart just to be thorough. Some just won't get what you're writing at all and turn up their nose. As for who I share with, I find it's best to pick a group of peers in writing who at least have some interest in and knowledge of the kind of writing I'm doing. For instance, I write a lot of action/adventure fiction in the fast paced pulp style in numerous genres. While all writers appreciate a good tale well told, not everybody reads the kind of stuff I love to write. So if I shared this with folks who read and write romance fiction or highbrow literary stuff, they're not going to enjoy it as much and that often results in rather dismal observations. My closest peers all write stuff that is similarly categorized as mine. That way we can share and they will at least understand how the pacing and storytelling is supposed to be, and so they will listen attentively and give me criticism that is tailored for my style. I find they have the most helpful observations I've ever gotten, and they catch things I hadn't thought out well, but it's delivered with an understanding of what is needed for this type of writing as well as in a kind way. That makes me a better writer, and I can head off potential problems before they show up in print. At the very least, find a beta reader (someone who reads the manuscript before you submit it) that you trust, and reward that person for their time and efforts. I've been doing that for years now with fellow writer and sometimes collaborator Lee Houston Jr., and I go through his stuff in return. If he mentions something that bothers him, 9 times out of 10 I will alter it, because I figure other readers will feel the same way.

So that's where the words come from folks. There's no magic formula, you just have to sit down regularly and pound them out. The more you do it, the better at it you will become. If you have a will to write, you will make time for it somehow. If you want to be published, you have to learn to write well. 

Writing Onward,

~NANCY

The Writing Goes On...

That title is kind of how things turn out in this business. No matter how many manuscripts you finish, there's always something else to do. In past years I'd take a bit of a break between the prep week for Thanksgiving and New Year's Day, but I'm busy enough now that I really can't afford to do that. I'm working on more writing projects now than I've done in the past several years.

I had intended on writing an update last weekend, but over the past couple weeks I've gotten back two book galley proofs that had to be gone over. If you don't know what a galley is, that's the final stage before a book gets published, where it's laid out as it will appear in print. My job as author is to read through it and either make or authorize corrections that have been made by an editor. This is a courtesy to authors so that something doesn't get changed that shouldn't be altered, or so we can pick up on any mistakes (yes even editors make mistakes). 

The first galley I got back about mid-month was a pleasant surprise—one of the outstanding Companion Dragons Tales books from Pro Se, LAZLO AT HOME. I'll have more about what's in there on the CDT's blog, but it's basically a collection of adventure short stories featuring everyone's favorite little blue dragon adjusting to life with his witch companion in the magickal place where they live. My job was simply to read through the galley and make notes of what I might want changed. That got turned back in fairly quickly, these are half-size books (novellas at around 30,000 words) to keep them affordable and an accessible read for kids, though plenty of adults seem to enjoy them as well. They are a labor of love too.

This past weekend, I received an editing draft of my western for Wolfpack Publishing. I was asked to do a couple of things besides proofread the editing notes. There were far too many instances of the word 'so' in the manuscript that needed to be dealt with. Also the ending I had was rushed and not satisfactory because it didn't really resolve the main issue of the plot. Oops! This is what happens when you're hurrying to meet a deadline as well as concerned about word count. I was trying to make a good impression on a new publisher and do things in a timely manner, and I shot myself in the foot instead. So this one was on me. There were some positive comments as well, it wasn't all dismal. So I set aside all the other stuff I was working on and got right down to business on that galley, which took several days to go through. Most of the editing changes were fine, I only found one I disagreed with and that was a very minor issue. I got rid of a ton of instances of the word 'so' and had a good laugh at myself for how often that appeared in there. Again, minor rewriting was involved. Then... I had to write a new ending, one that sewed up (no pun intended) the plot holes I'd left. That took a few days. Fortunately I was able to add most of it to the original ending, by shuffling a few things around. It added some serious word count, but I was told to just get the story completed. I'm satisfied that I did, and hope the publisher feels the same way.

That is a part of writing too, where things aren't always as cut & dried as you think they are and you need to set aside your ego and dig back in. I hold no grudge against someone asking for a rewrite. I've done my share of editing over the years as well, rework comes with the business. Being published is a privilege that not every writer gets. Getting a book from concept to finished form is a major task for all involved, so we have to work as a team. I know how to write, but the folks on the publishing end know their market and how they as publishers need to present their offerings to potential readers. I try and handle myself as professionally as possible no matter who I am working with. This is a career for me, not just some hobby I indulge myself in. I'm doing all I can to satisfy those who read my stuff and those who put out the books and stories that I write. But I will say, I sure was glad to get that one back to them so I could continue with other writing projects I have going.

Since the last time I posted here, I have turned in both the Monster Earth short story as well as the 7th Jezebel Johnston novel, subtitled MASTIFF. Those were two important projects I was pushing out over the last few weeks. Monster Earth had a firm deadline, but I also wanted to get that pirate novel in before November for a change. There's a lot of research with the latter because it's historical fiction, and so the average JJ adventure takes about 9 months to write. Monster Earth stories are being collected before being read because there could be continuity issues that must be dealt with. This book concept involves an ongoing scenario over a short period of time and stories are being written by multiple authors. Contradictions can happen, so there could be some rewriting ahead. Plus people write at different paces. So no feedback yet. I have heard from Airship 27 head honcho Ron Fortier that he is enjoying my latest pirate yarn, so I think we're good there. Now I have turned my attention back to other writing projects that have been waiting in the wings.

I went over the second Chandra Smoake paranormal investigator tale. Other than some minor tweaks, as far as I am concerned, that's complete and ready to go out once Occult Detective Magazine is looking for more submissions. It's saved and in a file, waiting. Right now I am toggling back and forth between that Vagabond Bards novel I started last year after my mother passed, and the 3rd Sinbad adventure I am writing for AS 27, which I began a year ago in mid-September. Yeah, things do get shuffled aside when they don't have a real deadline. But recently I've been making good progress on both. I'd like to have them finished by the end of this year if possible. I'm not sure what I'm doing with the Vagabond Bards novel because Pro Se still hasn't released the last one I wrote, and this one is rather large for their usual fare and still growing. I'll worry about that when I get it finished, I'm working on the big climatic scenario now. Sinbad will at least be a novella and it's possible it could become a novel. I'll see how that pans out as I go along. Providing nothing else pressing comes up, I should be able to knock these two out. I tend to toggle 2-3 days on one before switching to the other. That keeps me fresh, and I don't forget the storyline arc in that short a time.

You know, the turn of the year is not that far off. I'm already thinking about the next pirate novel, a third Silver Pentacle book, and whatever else I might get invited into. Some of my older series in the Terran World fantasy realm have been begging for sequels as well. No, I don't get tired of thinking about stories I want to write, I get frustrated that I can't get them written any quicker than I have. I'm far from the world's fastest writer and there are those who can turn out far more work in a year than I do. But I try and write good stories that I'd love to read, and so far I haven't lost my joy in the craft. Between my ongoing battle with mobility issues and this viral pandemic which is just not going away anytime soon, some days can be hard to handle. Yesterday we had our first snow of the season, reminding me that the days of slippery walking and biting cold are just around the corner. All that stuff can get to you. Writing gives me a reason to get up in the morning and something creative to look forward to that I can accomplish sitting down, without leaving home. Through my daily online contacts with peers in the business and the occasional fan, I don't feel like I'm sequestered in some remote location with no one to talk to. And my poor family doesn't have to listen to me natter on about things that frankly, they just don't understand. This is more than an art or a business, it's a lifestyle for us who dream of strange things and make them appear in words on a page. I love being able to share my passion for the written word with others, because reading was my escape for most of my childhood, which was often a very lonely time. Back then I read books that took me out of my world to times and places I'd never dreamed of. I'm still very much a reader today. But now I can create those tales so others can read them too. What a magical thing that is!

The magical quality of books to transport you elsewhere is good way to end this on Halloween. May that magic always be there to take you to places you never dreamed of...

 

~NANCY