#WriterWednesday - #Christmas Day 2019 Edition + The #Smashwords End Of Year #eBook #Sale

Merry Christmas! I hope that you're simply having a wonderful Christmas time.

At least, I hope you were before you started reading this, because I'm going to assume your holiday celebrations are over - or at least that you're between holiday activities, and have some free time - or you wouldn't be reading this. Right?

So, with that in mind, on to those writerly links I collected for you before (mostly) stepping away from the computer for the holidays, starting with this reminder of the 85K90 Challenge, which is something those of you wishing challenges like NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) would happen in the quieter months of the year might want to check out, since the aim of it is to get your novel written in the first quarter of the year (January through March). It also gives you 90 days to get your book written, rather than the 30 days NaNoWriMo gives you, meaning you have a lower word count to aim for each day than you would if you were doing NaNoWriMo. It even has months set aside for editing and publishing, so can technically keep you on track all year, and maybe even have you published in time for next Christmas, especially if you plan to self-publish. Check out the link I just posted for full details on how the challenge works.

There's also STORYSTORM in January, NaNoEdMo (National Novel Editing Month) in March, NaPoWriMo (National Poetry Writing Month) in April, Camp NaNoWriMo in both April and July, and NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) itself in November, if you need inspiration for other writing related challenges to sign up for next year. I dare say there are others I've forgotten or don't know about too. I've mentioned all of the ones listed in this paragraph on my blog before, but if you don't know what any of them are and want to check them out, a quick search will easily provide you with details, so either find my posts about them, or just type the challenge/event name in to your favourite search tool.

Ah, but should you plan your whole year? Well, that's up to you. But it might be an idea to have some kind of plan, especially if you want to do some of the challenges I mentioned above, or have your own writing goals you'd like to achieve. So, if you're thinking it might be a good idea to plan your whole year, take a look at the post I just linked to for a suggestion on how you might approach doing that.

Just remember, when you're planning your year, to schedule in some rest time, and don't over do it. Is writing supposed to be hard? Yes. But don't make it so hard you get burned out. Look after yourself while chasing your writing dreams. Please. Don't forget about the emotional side of the writing life. Look after your health; both physical and mental.

I mean, it's true that there is no time for 'someday'. But you do need to take care of yourself while doing the things. Plus, you need to allow yourself time to be bored, because it's good for a writer to be bored.

Anyway, here's an excellent post that answers the question, "Are people who write only as a hobby 'real' writers?" Short answer: yes. As long as you write on at least a semi-regular basis, and want to call yourself one, you're a writer.

Remember: while there are plenty of extremely valid reasons to not be writing regularly - or as often as you'd like to be writing, or whatever your personal situation is - make sure they really are valid reasons you're using, and if you are making excuses for not reaching your writing goals, rather than using valid reasons, leave your excuses at the door.

OK, so you're writing. Since that's the case, you might want to check out these tips to writing semi-coherent dialogue, and this advice on what to avoid with internal monologue.

Next, here's a great post that explains how objects tell your story.

Finally, if you got a new eReader for Christmas - or even if you didn't, but just want to get some new books at great prices - you may be interested to hear that the Smashwords end of year sale is now on, and you can go here to check out all the books on sale. Of course, I've enrolled my own books, which you can find via my Smashwords profile. Every one of my books is enrolled at 50% off, with coupon code SEY50 (which should be automatically applied when you add any of my books to your cart on Smashwords, but I'm giving you the code anyhow, just in case). So, if you want to get my books for half their usual price, you can do so exclusively on Smashwords through January 1st. Since my books are made available in all formats Smashwords offers, and they offer multiple eBook formats, this means there will be a format that works for you, regardless of whether you read eBooks via a Kindle, an iPad, your computer, or whatever. So, what are you waiting for? Grab some eBook bargains while you can!

#Writing Wednesday - October 26th 2016 (FD)

The Christmas story I'm writing - which I'll tell you more about soon - is coming along nicely. It's now in the stage where I'm starting to put it through the various editing processes. While I work on arranging that, Jacob Blackmon is working on the cover for me. I had hoped to have all the editing done by now, but the past couple of months have been busy, so I'm a bit behind my original schedule. There's still plenty of time for me to have it ready for an official release right before Christmas though, so it's all good. Yes, there's time, even though there's only eight and a half weeks to go until Christmas.

Uh-huh, I went there. Sorry folks, but it's true... Christmas is only eight and a half weeks away. If you haven't already done so, you may want to start thinking about it... Especially if you're an author planning a Christmasy release or promotion . Although, you might want to do so regardless... Just saying.

That's right, it's almost November already. So, whether you're ready for Christmas or not, are you ready for NaNoWriMo? I'm not participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) this year, officially or otherwise, but I know several people who are. As the post I just linked to said, remember to worry about only the writing part for now... You can worry about rewrites and edits later, like when NaNoEdMo (National Novel Editing Month) rolls around in March. For now, just make sure you're ready to put pen to paper, or fingers to keys, when November rolls around in just under a week. Here are five lessons one author learned from NaNoWriMo, and some tips from another author for keeping your word count up, in case you're interested.

Anyway...

This may not be what you want to hear, but here are some truths about what you should think about if you've decided to start writing a book. If you really love to write, don't let anything stop you. If you're doing it for fame and/or fortune, you should probably do something else. Just saying.

If you've decided writing is for you, no matter what, and are starting the rewrites and edits for your own work, check out this post on mastering the art of the scene, and this one on how to make your writing better by changing one word. Then, when you're ready to do the formatting, remember to give your eBook as much love as your paperback. Of course, this doesn't have to mean fancy formatting, since you can just keep things simple like I do. The point is, do all you can to try and make sure your eBook will look good too, and bear in mind that some things don't work well on some eReaders, especially the older models.

Planning to self-publish? Check out the basics every indie author needs before publishing a book. Trust me, having those things in place - or, when it comes to the social media part, as many as you think you can realistically handle - before you publish, will help when it comes to marketing your book once it's released. Also, here are some "Do this, not that," promotional tips, based on things one author has learned from personal experience, in the hopes they will help you avoid the same mistakes. Oh, and remember to think outside the bookstore when it comes to release or promotional events.

Next, here's a great - and fun - way to flesh out your character(s) for your story: get to know your character over coffee. Character interviews of any kind are interesting ways to flesh out character profiles, and it's surprising what you can learn about someone in the time it takes to share a cup of coffee (or tea, if you're like me and can't stand coffee) and maybe a cake... Just to keep your energy levels up... *Wink* If you're lucky, taking the time to have coffee with your character will mean you can avoid the need to tame a wild character. No promises though. This list of ways you can explore your characters' traits could also prove useful to you in getting to know your characters, and may even help with your efforts in taming the wild ones. Oh, and here's a pretty good post for if you're struggling with naming your darlings. BabyNames.com is a good source for names too, by the way. Once you've got your characters figured out, make sure you bear these ten things every writer needs to know about conflict in mind. WARNING: the last post I linked to contains some strong language.

Or, perhaps you write poetry? If so, check out this post on writing haiku, which contains a short list of tricks any poet needs in their writing toolbox.

Last, but by no means least, and regardless of the kinds of things you write... Always remember that illustrating a children's book is a real job, and so is being an artist of any kind. So bear that in mind when working with your cover artist, illustrator, or whatever, and don't take advantage of their talents.