The famous Russian writer Anton Chekhov had a rule: Remove everything that has no relevance to the story. If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off. If it’s not going to be fired, it shouldn’t be… Continue reading Trope Tuesday: Chekhov’s Armory
Category: Gunslinger Trilogy
Late November Update
Is it time for another update? Why yes, I suppose it is. Sons of the Starfarers is coming along quite well. Book 6, Patriots in Retreat, is up for preorder right now with a release date of January 19th. My editor just got back with the edits for book 7, A Queen in Hiding. Haven’t… Continue reading Late November Update
Late October update
I’m running at about 70% to 80% right now, but should be back up to 100% next week. However, since the blog is usually the last thing I get up to speed after a major life event, it will probably be another week or two before the blog is running like I want it. Right… Continue reading Late October update
Back in Utah
So! It’s been a while since I updated this blog, and there’s actually a good reason for it. I quit my day job in Iowa a couple of weeks ago and just moved back to Provo. In other words, I made the pioneer trek in the wrong direction and repented. Driving across Wyoming, I got… Continue reading Back in Utah
Beginning of September Update
It’s September, my favorite month of the year! Maybe I’ll revisit that post in a blast from the past or something. So many reasons why September is awesome. Things are going well on the writing front. I’ve switched up my daily routine to make more writing time, and it’s working well so far. My alarm… Continue reading Beginning of September Update
Gunslinger to the Galaxy cover—how do you like it?
Just playing around. What do you guys think? I’m going to try to put out my book covers and descriptions before the books are actually written. That way, I have an image I can use whenever I’m blogging about it. Also should help with promotions. Gunslinger to the Galaxy is coming along well. Should finish… Continue reading Gunslinger to the Galaxy cover—how do you like it?
Mid-August update
It’s already mid-August? Where in the heck did the last eight months go? Feels like the election drama from last year never really died down. Don’t worry, this post isn’t about politics. Not enough time in the day to follow the latest circus sideshow in the Emerald City of Oz. Time has been on my… Continue reading Mid-August update
All of my books and stories, in series order
A friend of mine recently asked me to give him a list of all my books in series order. That was just the kick in the pants I needed to put this page together. For your convenience, I’m putting it up as a blog post too. The links to all the book pages will appear… Continue reading All of my books and stories, in series order
So! It’s been an eventful month. Hard to believe that June is over already. So much to do, so little time.
On Friday, I finally finished Patriots in Retreat. Needs a quick revision pass before it’s ready to be published, but that shouldn’t take more than a couple of days. For now, it’s on the back burner while I move on to the next book in the series, A Queen in Hiding. Should be a lot of fun.
I want to finish off these Sons of the Starfarers books quickly so I can move on to other projects, like Edenfall and the next Gunslingers book. The important thing right now is to build momentum. I want to be writing at least 2k words a day, which shouldn’t be too difficult to do, provided I guard my writing time from interruption.
There was a lot of life interruptions in the last couple of weeks. My truck’s transmission went the way of all the Earth, and I need to replace the catalytic converter as well. It’s almost worth it to buy a new one, but I already know the problems with this vehicle so it’s probably better to keep it. Definitely stressful, though.
My blogging experiment in June was actually a lot of fun. At the same time, engagement didn’t increase notably, so I think I’ll scale back to three or four posts a week, rather than posting daily.
Lots and lots of work on the publishing side of things. I’ve got a backlog of tasks that need my attention. Fortunately, they’re logged in such a way that I’ve been able to keep up with all the important and urgent stuff. The 4th of July vacation should be an excellent opportunity to catch up with the rest.
The deadline for my next WIP is July 29th. I’m going to need to double my daily output in order to hit it, but that’s a very doable goal. Just in case, I’ve given myself a two week buffer before starting the next one, but I’m going to do all I can to avoid going over it. Any extra time is for short stories, and there’s a bunch of them that I’ve been waiting to write.
That just about does it for now. Onward and upward!
So it’s the beginning of June already, and it’s starting to feel like summer here in Iowa. Because it’s so flat, the sky stays light F O R E V E R, which is kind of neat. Lots more time to go on walks, which is where I work out plot points and other stuff.
Patriots in Retreat
In any case, Patriots in Retreat (my current WIP) is coming along well. It’s turning out to be shorter than I’d expected; there’s only three chapters left, and it’s not quite 20k words. Will probably come in between 3ok and 25k, making it one of the shorter Sons of the Starfarers books.
Middles are tough, even for short novels. I have no idea if this draft is going to turn out clean or not. But I am trying to cycle through as I write, to minimize the number of drafts I need to do. If I can master that technique, I can double or triple my production.
The Sword Keeper is just about finished, only a few more touch-ups before I send it out to my editor. Need to get back in touch with him. We’re definitely still on track for a release this fall, and I’m super excited because I think this is one of the best books I’ve written. Look out for a WIP excerpt later on this week.
There’s a couple of short stories I really want to write, but I’m so swamped with the other stuff that I don’t know when I’ll be able to get to it. I’m not behind (yet) on my current WIP, but I need to keep a steady pace of just under 3k words to meet my deadline, which is going to take some effort.
I haven’t started writing Gunslinger to the Galaxy yet (the sequel to Gunslinger to the Stars)… well, that’s not quite true, because I have written the first line:
My name is Jane Kletchka, and I’m here to set the record straight.
…but in any case, I’m starting to get a bunch of great ideas for that one. Will probably start working on it sometime this fall.
Publishing-wise, I’ve got a ton of stuff to work on but not enough time to juggle it. Most of the stuff falling by the wayside is marketing stuff, which isn’t good, but sales seem to have picked up in the last month so hopefully that isn’t too much of a problem. Still waiting for some reviews to roll in for Gunslinger.
Major items on my publishing to do list include:
- Write the author’s notes for “The Open Source Time Machine” single and short story bundle.
- Compile the metadata for “The Open Source Time Machine” single and short story bundle.
- Format and publish “The Open Source Time Machine” single and bundle.
- Send The Sword Keeper to Josh Leavitt for editing.
- Write the book description for The Sword Keeper.
- Find a cover artist for The Sword Keeper.
- Rewrite all short story descriptions.
- Make a new cover for A Hill On Which To Die.
- Upload all books to DriveThruFiction.
Not a small list—and that doesn’t include all the maintenance-type stuff!
So that’s the big challenge: making time for all of this while working the day job. It’s only 5-6 hours a day, but it adds up. I am saving money, though. My goal is to turn around at least $100 from my writing profits each month into investments. It would be really cool to start investing in space technologies, and the research for that could tie into my writing projects very well. Virtuous cycle and all that good stuff.
That’s what I’m up to these days. Peace, love, and penguins y’all. Thanks for reading!