Announcement: Short Stories + YouTube Channel!

In my last update I mentioned that I had news about branching into other mediums. That news is… I am now writing short stories to supplement the novels of the Eastern Lands AND I am starting a YouTube channel, Fireside Improv! I love writing novels, and will continue to work on the planned novels for the Eastern Lands, but novels take a long time to write. But I also want to be able to create stories more regularly.

My first short story is already up. You can find it here, or through the navigation at the top. It relates to the first chapter of Twin Paths. My goal with the short stories is to explore the world through more down-to-earth stories, or through the eyes of every day people. Some of them will relate to the novels (while avoiding spoilers!), while others may explore locations and characters intended for future novels, or even places I don’t currently intend to explore.

The YouTube channel is going to be a story-based video game channel. To start with, I will be running a series with Total War: Warhammer 3. These series will be narrative-focused. I have always played games this way, and I am excited to be able to bring them to life in a more structured way!

Each series will have clearly defined main characters and goals from the outset, and we will see how the characters are challenged by the uncontrolled environments that game campaigns offer! None of the chapters are scripted, meaning I am recording the audio while playing and am not fully in control of what happens. It is all created ‘on the spot’. For those among you who enjoy Total War games, part of the goal is to inspire how you can create your own narratives as you play.

I can’t wait to get started and share these journeys with you! In the future I will be looking for ways to bring interactivity with the community to allow you to help guide the direction of the narrative. If you have any ideas, please look out for the videos and give them a comment!

See you soon!

Second Novel Update

Writing novels is hard. Writing good novels is even harder. In July of 2021 I wrote that I had a full draft of Rising Winds - and that was true! That said, my test readers provided some great feedback that I rushed to implement. The changes wound up opening the doors to further changes. I added characters, modified other characters’ journeys, and tightened up the narrative.

In the end, I wrote several new chapters and reworked several others. With a full time job, these changes took a fair while to implement, which in turn required a new set of testing and smaller changes. All of this to say - the final draft is now set.

So what is next, you may wonder?

Rising Winds has been renamed to Binding Roots, and it now needs its final touches before publishing. This includes formatting, book cover, and in-book artwork. I cannot commit to a firm release just yet, but I will provide an update as soon as I have a firm date!

Also, keep an eye out for other big news coming in the next few days! While I am fully committed to writing all seven of the planned novels of the Eastern Lands series, I also love storytelling in general and am branching into other mediums!

Rising Winds Progress Update!

Rising Winds has a full draft!

Rather, I should say it has had four full drafts. This book has been a challenge for me as it has never felt quite right. After creating a new character to be the protagonist, the pieces have finally fallen into place for a draft I can appreciate from start to finish.

That said, Rising Winds still requires editing and polish before it is ready for release. I can’t commit to a specific timeframe just yet, but know that this new fantasy novel inspired by Nordic and Japanese culture is coming soon! I’ll be providing more information in this blog in the coming days about how the cultures are used in Rising Winds as it takes place in a very different part of The Eastern Lands than Twin Paths’ Shindo.

Remaining motivated through this project has been at the front of my mind. So how did I keep motivated to write four complete drafts of this novel? Here are my writing tips for staying motivated!:

1) Keep your eyes on the goal

I found it easy to become discouraged when my first, second, and third drafts all failed to capture what I had been intending. Each time I had to put it down and walk away for some time to attack it with fresh eyes, and each time I found some of the issues and reframed the narrative to get closer to the target. It took a lot of effort to pick it up again and again. It was having that image of a line of my books sitting on my bookshelf that got me going.

Never give up on the dream!

2) Push through

I typically write novels from start to finish, chapter by chapter. I tend to hit a bit of a wall when I reach the middle. At that point it doesn’t have that fresh new feeling of starting the project, but it isn’t far enough in to be able to taste the end. This is when I slow my pace. To get through it I simply force myself to write. I give myself a 1000 words per day minimum, and even if they wind up being heavily modified in the end, at least I am making progress instead of staring at a blank page of a chapter I can’t quite wrap my head around.

You can always go back and edit after!

3) Appreciate the accomplishment

I find this last one in particular really helpful: even if a project doesn’t turn out how you wanted, appreciate the work you put into it. Finishing a project is better than being afraid of it. Go ahead and fail! Fail again and again, but never stop being proud of the fact you attacked it head on. Accept the failure. Learn from the failure. Do better next time. Keep working through the cycle and you will find success. I’ve been writing for over ten years and am still constantly failing and growing! 

Keep pushing on!