2020 Marketing Goals Wrap-Up

On December 9, 2020December 8, 2020 By Steven D'AdamoIn On Publishing, Writers - Steve D'AdamoLeave a comment

Title card for Marketing Your Novel, photo from AwesomeCon 2019 table, The Warden of Everfeld: Memento fantasy novel, Steve D'Adamo

Well, it’s not quite the end of 2020, but I’m ready to put a pin in my marketing goals for this year. The main reason: marketing did not go well for me. I can likely point to a number of reasons that this is the case, but the primary one is that I was likely too ambitious to start the year, and even a little too ambitious with my adjusted goals at the mid-year point.

One key thing I’ve learned this year is to aim high in my goals while still being more pragmatic about which ones are really attainable. Let’s dig in. Continue reading “2020 Marketing Goals Wrap-Up” →

October Write Day: Non-Writing Progress

On October 7, 2020October 7, 2020 By Steven D'AdamoIn Fantasy, Writers - Steve D'AdamoLeave a comment

Well, autumn is officially here, and we’re into the final stretch for all goals 2020. September was a bit of a crazy month for me, mostly because of a couple work weeks with longer hours than usual. Continue reading “October Write Day: Non-Writing Progress” →

August Write Day: Energy Lacking

On August 5, 2020August 5, 2020 By Steven D'AdamoIn Fantasy, Writers - Steve D'Adamo2 Comments

July strangely felt like a long month, but I still can’t believe it’s August. Summer is almost over! And I haven’t been to the beach! I’m hoping to have an extended beach weekend in October, when there would be fewer crowds and (ideally) still some warm weather. But we’ll see.

I procrastinated soooo much in July. Maybe I cursed myself by declaring the Return of the Summer Doldrums. I also feel like I haven’t had a free weekend in months. We’ve been going pretty hard at home improvement things for like eight straight Saturdays.

Still, I did halfway decently with my goals.

Continue reading “August Write Day: Energy Lacking” →

Finding a Way to Enjoy Your Story

On May 27, 2020May 26, 2020 By Steven D'AdamoIn Creativity Sessions, Writers - Steve D'AdamoLeave a comment

Creativity Sessions writing process. Evening Satellite Publishing.

I don’t always enjoy the story I’m writing. There, I said it. Sometimes, the story doesn’t feel right, or it doesn’t excite me, and it’s just not working the way I had intended it to. And I start to dislike it… maybe even resent it a little for taking up so much of my head space and typing capacity.

However, there is one simple reason that I think lies at the heart of not enjoying the story you’re writing: you haven’t figured out what to like about your story yet. Continue reading “Finding a Way to Enjoy Your Story” →

Leaning into the Discovery Draft

On March 25, 2020March 23, 2020 By Steven D'AdamoIn Creativity Sessions, Writers - Steve D'AdamoLeave a comment

I’ve been known to self-edit when I write… a lot. For the first draft of WoEM, I think I wrote and rewrote the first couple of chapters three or four times before I made any real progress on the story.

I’ve been knee-deep in the discovery draft of my short stories for a couple months, and it’s taken a while to convince my brain that it’s only the discovery draft.

So I just wanted to talk about some things to keep in mind as you write a discovery draft. Continue reading “Leaning into the Discovery Draft” →

How Do You Organize Your World-Building Canon?

On February 26, 2020February 25, 2020 By Steven D'AdamoIn Creativity Sessions, Writers - Steve D'AdamoLeave a comment

As I write “Survivor”, my not-officially-titled duology, I keep thinking about how I might be able to organize my world-building canon better.

Most of what I’ve written in my fantasy universe has been in The Warden of Everfeld stories, of which I have one novel published and one in draft. “Survivor” is the first story that does not overlap WoEM, but shares some of its history and geography with those novels. And I want to make sure that what I write in one doesn’t contradict the other.

So, how do you organize your world-building canon? Continue reading “How Do You Organize Your World-Building Canon?” →

10 Stories to Experience with My Kid

On February 19, 2020February 17, 2020 By Steven D'AdamoIn On Storytelling, Writers - Steve D'AdamoLeave a comment

My son is eighteen months old now, and he loves listening to stories, turning the pages of books, listening to music, and watching cartoons. I’m not sure how much of any of it he understands, but it’s exciting to watch him experience those things.

A colleague recently told me how he was watching through all of the Star Wars movies with his eight-year-old daughters, hoping to bring them to the theater to see The Rise of Skywalker. He managed to catch it with them just last week, and he said their reactions and excitement in the theater was well worth it.

That got me thinking about the types of stories — movies, books, TV — I’m looking forward to sharing with my son. So here’s my top 10. Continue reading “10 Stories to Experience with My Kid” →

Burnout Story #1: The Post-College Glow

On February 12, 2020September 27, 2020 By Steven D'AdamoIn On Storytelling, Writers - Steve D'AdamoLeave a comment

Back in December I posted a review for one an Audible Original, a short interview-style listen called “The Burnout Generation”. Aside from being an interesting listen, this short had me reflecting on the various points in my life I’ve hit burnout, particularly post-college and as an adult.

So I’d like to follow up on some of those ideas and tell my first burnout story: the year or so after I finished undergrad.

Continue reading “Burnout Story #1: The Post-College Glow” →

Writing a Novel vs. Writing a Short Story

On January 29, 2020April 1, 2020 By Steven D'AdamoIn Creativity Sessions, Writers - Steve D'AdamoLeave a comment

For the first time in my authorly endeavors, I have two major works in progress… in progress.

I’m 60k words into The Warden of Everfeld: Legacy, a sequel-ish novel of 180-200k words that I know I’m not finishing this year.

Simultaneously, I’m 6k words into a duology/novella of about 60k words that I damn well better finish this year.

And after much deliberation and introspection, I can confirm: writing a short story is different from writing a novel. Continue reading “Writing a Novel vs. Writing a Short Story” →