#WorkshopWednesday: Writing 1101

Welcome to the New Seminar!

Hello, all, and welcome to the first Workshop Wednesday of the new revamped series. This is the official start of my new Seminar, and we’re going to tackle a wide variety of writing topics. Since I’m a fiction author, the posts will be geared toward fiction writing, but the basic principles apply to all kinds of writing, professional, informal, or just for fun. My approach as seminar host is to provide as much useful and in-depth information as possible, so that you can take from it what you need or want. Topics will be grouped together on a scale of fundamentals (1000 level) to advanced techniques (4000), mostly as a way for me to keep things organized. Comments and questions are welcome, and I’ll be happy to elaborate on anything and provide additional examples. Thanks for joining me! Let’s get started.

2017 Year in Review

2017 Year in Review

First of all, I’d like to know where the heck this year went.

Second of all, it’s time for my annual look back at my year in writing. I love doing this, because it helps me consolidate goals and reflections, and helps me put my thoughts in order for the new year of writing and publishing. I feel like I learned a lot this year – and even if it wasn’t all pleasant, most of it was useful. I accomplished a lifelong goal, and I feel positive and ready to attack 2018.

Workshop Wednesday Revamp

My major goal for 2018 is to spend more time being productive, and less time falling down Internet rabbit holes. That will mean cutting back on browsing and checking, and more time actively writing books – and more time leading discussion in my “Writers Gonna Write” Facebook group for writers of all kinds. Here at the end of this year, I’ve gotten caught up in putting out first White Wolf, and then Shaman, and I’ve let my “Workshop Wednesday” routine fall by the wayside. I want to change that in 2018, and totally revamp the group with tutorials, prompts, and encouragements. The plan is to build a mix of basic, intermediate, and advanced topics, and I’m hoping to include lots of personal examples, videos, and some book discussion and grammar refreshers.

Look for Workshop Wednesday to resume next week! I’m going to put together a lesson plan outline, but of course everyone is encouraged to post questions in the group if you have a specific topic you want to discuss. Everyone have a wonderful holiday, and I’ll post the first new WW entry next Wednesday.

A (Dark) Christmas Surprise - Shaman

If you haven't yet seen it on my social media feeds, I released a surprise Dartmoor novella this week. Shaman is Christmas-themed...though more of a Die Hard Christmas vibe than a Hallmark one! It's Ian's story, a follow-up to the parking lot incident in American Hellhound that reminded Ian that, despite his wealth, power, and villainous reputation, he and anyone he cares about are still very vulnerable. 

In general, I wanted to check in with the Dartmoor crew one more time before the year was up. But in particular, Ian's story was one that appealed to me as a writer because it accomplished two things. One: it closed the circuit left open at the end of Loverboy, finding some closure and a beginning for healing for the other half of our badly-abused duo. And two: it was the most unique of the potential Dartmoor stories to tell. Anyone else's story would have been the same-old, same-old, but Ian's could be his own, and I've always enjoyed writing him.

I want to say "thank you" to those who've already read it, and been kind enough to review it. If you haven't read it yet, it's just a short, oddly sweet, expectedly villainous jaunt through the Dartmoor landscape. 

You can find it here on Amazon, and I'll post links for the other sites when it's finally live there. As of now, I'm not planning for it to be out in paperback, so let me know if that's something you want/need.