In some ways, having moved from an entirely different climate with what can only be described as contrasting terrain, I am seriously experiencing sensory overload. It’s wonderful, but I’m beginning to feel as if I should start taking notes because I’m afraid I’m going to forget my first impressions as everything becomes “everyday” to me.
The Independence of Self-Publishing Djuna Shellam The Write OWL Episode 24 To be sure, there is and probably always will be a certain controversy regarding the independence of self-publishing. The controversy itself is fluid and changes with the ages. Back in the beginning days of publishing, there seemed to be a lot of self-publishing going […]
As a publisher who handles most of the production aspects of my writing, it is imperative that I be able to do most of the production tasks myself. Using Word and Pages was a nightmare. Time consuming and, frankly, unprofessional. Somehow, in searching for a conversion program, I found Scrivener and my writing and publishing life was forever changed.
Finding story ideas is the very first step of my writing. Now, I’ve been writing a series for many years, so for me, story ideas are always considered as to how they can be woven into my series. Sometimes, I’ll come up with an idea that I know won’t fit into the series and it will go onto the “after the series” pile of ideas.
However, ever since I’ve embraced the writer in me, I now see life’s challenges as potential fodder for my stories. Anything that’s difficult, interesting, new, or just plain awful, I now tuck away for future reference. Rather than allowing negative and terrible experiences to get me down, I think of the potential storylines or plot twists I can catalogue along with my insights from the road for future writings. Honestly, if not for my writer’s perspective, I’m convinced I would have gone mad many years ago.
As with most of my characters, Praire Fire somewhat appeared out of nowhere. In fact, she took the place of another character I thought would fill that role that I conjured many, many years ago. Sometimes, for me, I make plans for a story, but then when I start writing the story, it has other ideas. Yes, the story has its own ideas about how things should go. Sometimes I feel as if I’m more of a stenographer taking dictation from my master—I mean, my Muse—than a writer.
I’m continuing on this week with the theme of moving, only because it’s all I’m doing. Since last Wednesday, I’ve been packing, packing, packing; yet, I look around and nothing seems to have changed. I expect that any moment now, I’ll look up and realize I’m done. Right?
Moving, as I’ve said on many occasions, is not my friend. I’ve moved quite a bit in my lifetime, but haven’t done so (for myself, at any rate), in nearly fifteen years. And there’s a reason for that. Moving sucks, especially when it’s just you doing it. And it’s keeping me from progressing on my writing. Yeah, yeah, I might be whining a little.
Dot Baverstock Djuna Shellam The Write OWL—Episode 17 Dot Baverstock, the much beloved character in The Em Suite Series, is the subject of discussion in the Wednesday episode of Djuna Shellam The Write OWL. As mentioned before, Dot Baverstock was a walk on character in Book One of the series, The Incredible Transformations of Alice […]
Writing A Series Djuna Shellam The Write OWL—Episode 16 Writing a series is my topic for this Djuna Shellam The Write OWL—Episode 16. As a reader first, I love the series. When I watch a movie, if I’m completely engrossed in it, I’m saddened at the end because I want more. The same, of course, […]
