Category: On Writing

The Terror of New Things 😨

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This is one of my world-famous emails, sent Friday 24 May 2019. Get on the list here. Being asked to do something different can be terrifying. There’s a thing happening in AuthorLand™ – readers want new things and authors do not know WTF to do. I, because I have very little sense, pride, or self-preservation instinct, am trying new things anyway. This week: How’s Boundless going? Terror, and A sample. Let’s dig in. Your Boundless update. Boundless is kicking ass and taking names. I’m about 11,000 words into the manuscript so far (even ignoring the ~3,000 I ditched as a result of my Meriwether experiment [that link will take you to a before-and-after shot of two versions of Boundless’s co-hero, Meriwether]). I’m having a lot of fun with it. I’ve spent more time worldbuilding this one than anything I’ve written Read More …

Testing Meriwether Versions

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Long time followers might know I experiment with different scenes to test characters. I will sometimes put them out of place — like putting a werewolf in a hair salon — or try different versions of the character. Boundless is a new thing for me, with a whole new cast. The two main characters are Geneve, a Church Knight, and Meriwether, a fugitive from the Light’s justice. It’s okay, we love him anyway. When constructing Meriwether, I wanted to find out whether he feels better as a strong hero, or a disempowered one. Behold, two versions of a what’s-next chapter*. The first is strong Meri, who can conjure illusions without breaking a sweat. The second is Meri the lesser, who has a … rougher time. * These are first drafts, full of errors, inconsistencies, and other fuckery. Do not send Read More …

Where we talk about Boundless ⚔️

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Here’s one of my world-famous emails, originally send Friday, 12 April 2019. You can get on the list here. Building New Worlds. I’ve talked a bit about Boundless, and now it’s time to talk more about it. This week, we’ve got: The writing process – Part One! An excerpt. Let’s swing that blade. The Writing Process Part One: Outlining vs. Discovery Writing There’s a holy war in the writing community, excluding a bunch of people like me who DNGAF. It’s the outliners (sometimes called the death-by-boredom style) vs. discovery writers (unflatteringly referred to as pantsers). Outline writing is what people like James Patterson prefer; you structure your story down to the last minutae, then write it out. Discovery writing is where you start with almost nothing but a bright idea, and start hitting keys until magic falls out the other Read More …

Scapple: Meet Boundless

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I’ve been doing a chunk o’ worldbuilding and plotting for the revised Boundless. While my World Anvil is pretty sparse (spoilers, people), my internal notes are growing. Yesterday, I dug up this super-old relationship wireframe: Dug up this super-old relationships concept (this is like 0.1 ALPHA, and there's 600 others, with far more detail) for Boundless. It's funny how some of these stick with me and others are dead and buried. #WritingCommunity #indieauthors #amwriting #amworldbuilding pic.twitter.com/Ifa3XhLGu7 — Richard Parry 👾 (@ParryForte) April 10, 2019 I figured you might get a kick out of seeing what the current story scaffold looks like. I’m a mix of outlining and discovery writing; I like to have an end state in mind, but freestyle the rest of it. The approach gives a structured tale while letting the characters tell their own part of it Read More …

Is Writing Everyday Really Necessary?

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I see this one a lot. Is writing everyday really necessary? from writing The short version is no, and the longer verison is that it might be harmful to your creativity, depending on how your brain works. Let’s get into this. The prevailing advice from the world is, “Yo, you should write every day. Every! Day! And twice on Sundays.” I’m not 100% sure where this craziness comes from, but it could be misguided thinking around the power of habituated behaviours. Habits can be good! Humans love habits. Making and breaking them takes effort, and while a crack cocaine habit is most likely bad, a fitness habit is probably good. You’ll have heard how habits take 21 days to form, and while it’s a little more complicated than that, doing something often, perhaps on a schedule, can be good for Read More …

An Experiment, Where You’re the Subject

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Alan wrote me probably an eon ago when I offered a deal on Night’s Favor, saying something like (and I paraphrase), “How about a deal on something else?” I’ve been ruminating about this for a while. What’s the best way to run a sale? How do I give something to the fans, while also offering a good series starter price? It’s maddening running a deal on, say, book 3 in a five-book series; no one cares, especially if they don’t have book 1, and first-in-series books are often discounted — where’s the shine? Let’s try to fix that. Starting today is a grand experiment (because I love me some science). Enter: [My Cr4zy Deals Page] I’m aware that I’m doing this on April Fool’s Day, but this is legit (…assuming all the store fronts updated, FML). The basic idea is Read More …

Boundless, Wikis, and RPGs

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I’m considering keeping track of Boundless information in a wiki, because after writing 7 Ezeroc Wars novels, 5 novellas, 6 short stories, and 3 mid-range books, I’m losing track. I know, I know, #hardfail, but it is what it is. Then I got to thinking: should I make the wiki based on a point of relevance, like D&D? If there are, say, orcs (…not telling, yet), do I adjust character bios to include stats? Would that be cool? Would it be confusing? Would Chuck Wendig approve? *loads unpopular opinion shotgun* Tried to read LOTR a bunch and couldn’t get through it. Worldbuilding is not plot. Your book shouldn’t read like an RPG manual but should also make me wish someone made your book into an RPG. The Chosen One is a tiiiiired narcissistic trope. https://t.co/1oF8tVFuvK — Chuck Wendig (@ChuckWendig) March Read More …

Releases, a giveaway, an interview, and a partridge in a pear tree 🦜

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The latest of my world-famous emails, originally sent Tuesday, 19 March 2019. You can get on the list here. I was a little quiet last week. This is because the new job is all-consuming; I’m working in a tibanna gas mine, minting fuel for hyperdrives.This week: The latest and last two Empire’s Rogues stories; An interview with Aethon Books; Getting the word out for John; and A giveaway. And who says nobody gives you anything anymore? Let’s roll. The Empire’s Rogues Ganymede Plague released last week without fanfare, because ^^ as I mentioned I’d been sucked into a vortex of horror, otherwise known as working for a living. This week Ganymede Plague’s joined by the fifth story, Dragon’s Rescue. These are the finales for the six-part series. You might notice a fancy cover ⬅️ over there. This is because of Read More …