My new schedule is awesome. I have a new schedule at work, by the way. For well over a year I had been trudging through an early shift, 6am to 3pm. I loved having a full afternoon of daylight ahead of me when I got home, and I even enjoyed being in the office a solid three hours before most everyone else — 3 hours of peace and quiet before the fluorescent lights blazed and the coffee machines were overrun with empty mugs waiting to be filled.
Tag: The Warden of Everfeld: Memento
Short Story Update – The Deadline is Coming!
So I’m pretty sure I mentioned last week that I’m working on a short story to submit to an online litmag contest this month. Right? Yes, here!
Five on the Fifth‘s submission deadline for their short fiction contest is looming rather large on August 31. I currently have about 1,500 words of a first draft, with a pretty clear idea of how I will set up the final act and conclude the story. I think my submission will end up finishing around 2,500 words, but I’ve been known to miscalculate projected word counts in the past. Continue reading “Short Story Update – The Deadline is Coming!”
Writing Lesson #37: Writing Consistently is about Balance
Lesson #37 from finishing my first manuscript: Try to find that balance.
Accomplishing anything effectively is about balance. Finishing the first draft of The Warden of Everfeld: Memento over the last few months was a bit tiresome. I had not met my monthly writing goals since the end of NaNoWriMo 2015, and I was constantly falling behind – according to my own exceedingly high standards. I just wanted it done, but I didn’t always have the motivation or the willpower to just sit down and write.
Continue reading “Writing Lesson #37: Writing Consistently is about Balance”
What is that Novel Really Worth?
Now that The Warden of Everfeld: Memento is officially past the stage of being just a collection of ideas and dreams locked away in my brain and/or on a flash drive, it’s time to start thinking about it in terms other than its qualitative worth. Yes, I am of course talking about money and its necessary attendants: marketing and business — the collective bane of artistry, creativity, and human-made beauty in the world.
Because when we talk about publishing, that’s really what we mean: the promotion and sale of a piece of work. As writers, we tend to lean on the adage that the writing of a novel is its own reward, and that any material gain that comes of it is a bonus. Luckily, most of us are telling the truth when we say this. Continue reading “What is that Novel Really Worth?”
We’re Now on Facebook!
Red String PaperCuts has joined Facebook! Like our page if you want to receive occasional updates (2-3 times per week) and connect with us more directly. We’ll also be sharing other blogs, articles, and fiction we find around the web on that page.
You may have also noticed that our menu bar has changed a bit. Check out our new page, “The Warden of Everfeld” for all of the most recent updates on my upcoming novel. Our individual author pages are now under the “About Us” menu, to help clean up the header a bit.
Anyway, thanks for the continued support. One love.
Steve D
Manuscript: Alpha is a Go – and it has a title!
Well, it is actually finished now, at least for the current moment. Manuscript: Alpha has been revised, printed, bound, and sent off to my four lovely, devoted, selfless alpha readers. 176,000 words, plus a glossary, and a crudely drawn map to guide their mental wanderings as they read. Continue reading “Manuscript: Alpha is a Go – and it has a title!”
Evening Satellite Publishing 