A lot has been happening over the last few months. First off, this week I gave a presentation on word and page count for the Maryland Writers’ Association Frederick County chapter. I meant to record it for my YouTube channel. Sadly, I did not. Oh well. Maybe I’ll do that next time I give it.
For those of you who’ve followed me for a while, you may remember me discussing this topic before. For those of you who haven’t, here’s that post:
A new poetry anthology is available featuring six of my poems, courtesy of poets Robbie Cheadle and Kaye Lynne Booth, who not only featured me but also allowed me to discuss my experiences with poetry as part of their Treasuring Poetry blog series a year ago. Many thanks to them, and also to Merril D. Smith for featuring a video of me reading one of my poems, which I’d written in college, as part of the anthology’s blog tour.
With the new year coming, we always think about what we’re going to do differently. I’ve discussed resolutions before, but now I’ll speculate on where things may be going next for me as a writer.
Presently, the sequel to Mystical Greenwood is is in the hand of beta readers, and Fae Corps is aiming to release it in late August, just as the second edition of Mystical Greenwood was. Editing it had been my focus at the end of last year, and since I have always intended for the One with Nature series to be a trilogy, that means there will be one more book about Dermot and his fellow sorcerers.
But as I’ve said so many times, I don’t want to be confined to just one or two genres, so I do hope to venture out into all the others. I’ve had, over the years, different ideas for each, but I have discovered that I can only work on really one or sometimes two at a time. Many of them have really never come to fruition and remained solely based on themes or interests of mine that I’d like to pursue. Now, they could be late bloomers, but an episode of the Merry Writer Podcast from last year encouraged me to consider that I ought to be willing to let go of ideas that don’t grow. That could be.
True, I may not totally give up on all bits of them, but perhaps letting go can lead me to discovering new, better ones instead. Outside of One with Nature, that one mystery story involving abused pets has had the most attention, mainly because of how it had once been a college assignment. Still, I hope to finish it. Some of those themes previously mentioned are in mystery and horror, and I would like to do something in science fiction. I also hope to find some ways to dust off stories from history that, to me, aren’t as well known, but I admit that some of my favorite historical periods have been popular in fiction and film. I would also like to explore science fiction, but nothing concrete has formed in my head.
I won’t go into too many details, but just know that other ideas are there. Plus, they may not all be unique, something discussed in another good Merry Writer Podcast episode, but as long as I have some that I feel are unique, I’ll be content. Case in point, some reviewers of Mystical Greenwood described it as a typical fantasy hero’s journey, which it is, but that the focus on Nature made it stand out. Well, we’ll see where this year goes. Last year I resolved to be more positive and less worried about being perfect. I don’t believe I kept that. All I can do is try again and keep trying.
Many thanks to Sally Cronin for featuring Mystical Greenwood in her Christmas Book Fair. Enjoy this reading from earlier this week of a sneak peek from my next book. Happy Holidays to all!
Many thanks to Craig and Roland of The Hidden Gems Author Podcast for featuring me in their 89th episode! I discuss with them the challenges I’ve had to face as an author due to my Asperger syndrome.
You can also listen to the episode on Podbean! If you’re an author with a writing-related subject you want to discuss, be sure to check them out!
And many thanks also to Sally Cronin for featuring an excerpt from Mystical Greenwood on her blog! Maybe that’ll entice you buy it! If you’re an author looking for more promotional opportunities, be sure to check out Sally’s site!
Plus, I have more great news! A few weeks ago, after so much time, I finally completed a draft for the next book in the One with Nature series! Not only that, but Fae Corps is also aiming to publish it next August!
If you’re planning to attend the Maryland Writers’ Conference, I hope to see you there. I am also giving a presentation on manuscript and book formatting later this month. You can attend in person or via Zoom. You can promote it on Facebook too!
It’s a question that all writers get asked at least once, including me. Some writers plan everything out in advance. Others make it up as they go, writing off the seat of their pants. It’s one of those things where writers seem to fall into one of two camps, it seems, similar to print vs. digital books when reading.
There are pros and cons for each method. With plotting, writers know exactly where they are going and able to consistently progress with their outlines, and so the likelihood of writer’s block is much smaller. I imagine that with some genres with plotlines or formulas already laid out, like the hero’s journey, historical fiction, or cozy mysteries, plotting might be easier for some. On the other hand, if the situation should arise where the writer doesn’t like where the story is progressing or even a specific element, starting over is even more difficult. I’ve encountered this feeling whenever I’ve grown dissatisfied with character names and wanted to rename them or other details, and often it feels like the only way I can move forward is to start over.
Being a pantser, in contrast, offers more freedom and flexibility. A story can develop more fluidly and build upon itself like a voyage of discovery. Opportunities for creativity are greater, but, as one would expect, so is the possibility of running into writer’s block. Most people I’ve met have expressed their surprise when they learn I’m not a full-blown plotter, because, as someone on the autism spectrum, I do prefer to plan ahead with many things, and have a preference for patterns and routines, in my life as a means to avoid anxiety. But life doesn’t always work out like that, and I get anxious anyway, so I have tried to not always have patterns, and some have been given up, I’m happy to say, because I’ve learned I don’t always need to have them.
Nevertheless, I’m also aware that even careful planning doesn’t always lead to things working as hoped for. But does that mean I’m a pantser? No, not entirely. Every writer has their preferences. Some see the first draft as their plotting, or seek a middle path, what is called a plantser. So perhaps this is like planting seeds and then watch them grow.
I don’t know if I even fall into that category. It could always change in the future. But I think that just like with print vs. digital books, we shouldn’t simply fall into camps because of what we prefer. Everyone has their preference and should be respected for it. I just write, and I am constantly seeking my own way, which is always evolving.
P.S. Check out the Moonstone Arts Center’s 2023 haiku anthology. It features five of mine! I also changed the site’s theme a few days ago. I hope you like it!
I’m happy to announce to you all that a short story of mine is appearing in an upcoming Christmas anthology by Mystic Publishers, Inc. this year!
The story is called “The Red House,” and has its origins in my high school years of writing. Like pretty much all of my writing attempts from back then, I’d thought it lost, until one day when I discovered a printed copy of it along with some other pieces (including what would become “Crossing the Estuary” in the Fae Corps anthology Fae Dreams).
Change happens all the time. As someone who suffers from Asperger syndrome, I can tell you that change to routines and patterns, stepping outside of my comfort zone, has never been easy. Change, especially when it occurs outside of my control, sends my mind spiraling, and I feel trepidation.
But change can lead to benefits. As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve been making efforts to cut back on social media time, but I’m also seeking to change my online habits, too. During the COVID shutdown I spent more time online, especially Twitter. I did get the word out about my work more and made some new connections, but now the hashtags I followed haven’t helped with book sales. The same’s been happening with tweets asking for book recommendations. These habits and the time spent on them and other sites feel more like a hindrance. To counter them, I’ve tried walking more, and for that, I’m glad.
With most sites, I’ve gotten down to generally 1-2 logins per day. Nevertheless, that is also something that could change in the future. Sometimes, I’ve found myself going up again if I need to do something specific, like website maintenance. I’ve felt if I can limit myself with those moments, I’m fine.
Nevertheless, the temptation is still there, and it can eat time. Plus, I’m aware these efforts could turn into new patterns that could become just as constrictive and worrisome. I need to curb the scrolling, searching, and that addictive, time-eating cycle that can result, but simultaneously, I also shouldn’t try to control everything, because anxiety always comes from not being perfect. It’s been said that with reviews, quantity over quality. With online time and content, it’s the opposite. Now I need to put it into practice.
Likewise, I’ve tried getting back into the writing routine I’ve mentioned before. Sometimes it doesn’t happen, and other times I do not get the word count I’d like, but I need to remind myself that progress is progress, no matter how small. I need to see the fun in writing again, as author Nour Zikra put it. This year, I hope to be more positive about my writing, my online/social media time, my habits, and, most of all, myself.
I realized through prayer that I need to think more positively. Then, at the beginning of Advent, when I was feeling low and anxious again, after an earnest prayer to God, I opened my copy of the Bible without any specific section in mind. It opened to Psalm 77, and as I read it, I knew my prayer had been answered. Even if you’re not Christian or religious, I hope you too will remember all the good that’s been in your life when distressed. If I need to make changes to meet new circumstances, I will have to do so.
P.S. Enjoy these videos of my readings from last year’s open mics!
Many thanks to author Jamie Adams for this opportunity to discuss the appeal of reading fantasy and science fiction stories. I enjoyed his work The Fathers, The Sons, and The Anxious Ghost.
It is a question every writer is asked at some point in their careers: “Where do you get your ideas from?” It’s become a cliché, really. Still, there are others out there suffering from writer’s block who feel their well has gone dry, so to speak. Or perhaps you’re in the middle of an ocean of ideas and don’t know which fish to bait for. Well, I’ll elaborate on some familiar answers, which in my opinion aren’t always suited for every situation.
Write about what you know.
This has been said a lot of times, and it is logical. You’re pretty much guaranteed to do well with ideas you are knowledgeable about. The situations and experiences from your own life can help provide a far more solid base upon which to build a story. Such examples can include professional experiences (Jeremy Lloyd drew on his experiences working in a department store for Are You Being Served?) or places you have visited or lived (Stephen King’s stories are often set in his home state of Maine or in Colorado, where he went on vacation once he was financially able to do so). Then there are personal hobbies and interests, which leads to the next point.
Write about what interests you.
Writing about what you know won’t be enough if passion isn’t in it. It will show in your writing if passion was absent. Interests and hobbies are a great source of ideas because the writer can share those passions through stories and perhaps spark interest in readers. Plus, your passion can compensate because you will compel yourself to drive and learn more about your passions/interests in order to write a better story. Bram Stoker spent seven years writing and developing Dracula, and he never visited Romania, where a good portion of his book his set. He drew on research and his own imagination.
So perhaps in the end, perhaps you need to draw on a combination in order to make a blend. And in my case, certainly, I need to remind myself to not stress over it, which I admit is still hard to do. I must keep hope that ideas will come, especially when I’m not looking for them.
Time is a curious thing. I’ve found when we focus on time, it seems to drag on at a snail’s pace. Yet when we do not pay attention to it, it flies right past. When it comes to fiction, time can play an interesting function. Stories and novels can take place from anywhere to the course of a single day (or less) with a few characters, to several years, decades even, covering generations of people. At other times, a story can seem to go by slower or faster than it really does. Simply put, in stories, as in life, time and how much we pay attention to it can affect how things play out.
A story that takes place in a short amount of time by drawing it out, such as chapters and sections being either specified by time (like a subtitle) or within the text (such as a character mentioning the time). The constant mention of time helps to make the shorter time feel longer. With a story set out over a long period of time, I usually have found there isn’t as many references to the time, which can make the time go faster. Interesting paradox, isn’t it?
I also want to talk about time in a different sense. Perhaps all writers think about what shall become of their work as time goes on. This became more apparent to me because I recently learned that my novel’s publisher, Mockingbird Lane Press, has sadly had to close. No doubt writers want their work to outlive them, to still be read and assessed long after they’re gone. It does seem that any work defined as a literary classic these days is one that has withstood the test of time, to still be printed and sold years, centuries, after it was first published. There are many writers who are remembered for a single thing out of their entire literary output.
Sometimes I think writers wish they could see where their work goes in the future, similar to how in an episode of the Spanish TV drama El Ministerio del Tiempo (The Ministry of Time), a cynical and suicidal Miguel de Cervantes was shown by the protagonists the impact Don Quixote would have on Spain and the world in the centuries after his time (their goal was to ensure its publication, as they’d faced a threat it might not be, thus changing the course of history and literature). Their efforts gave Cervantes the courage and drive to finish Don Quixote (specifically the first half, as the book was actually in two parts with more than a decade in between being published), and go on with his life, thus ensuring he and his magnum opus would make history. In the end, I suppose, what matters is hope: hope that something creative will someday reach that level.
Time is indeed a curious thing. But it keeps going on, as must we. And don’t worry, I do intend to republish my novel.
P.S. I’ll be giving my Importance of Names presentation once more, at the Cumberland Chapter of the Maryland Writers’ Association on the 20th at 7:00 PM EST via Zoom. If you haven’t seen it yet and still want to, register online! It’s on Facebook, too! It will also be a hybrid meeting for those who want to be at the chapter in person (my Events page has the address). Though I will be on Zoom, I hope to see you all there either way!
Andrew McDowell 