Focus Fox says: By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. Said no Panster ever. Benjamin Franklin and nanowrimo mashup
Category: writing
Nano and me
I joined nano in 2005. I needed something to convert writing from something I thought about to something that I did. Many of the novels I’ve completed this year have their roots in nano. Book of Secrets started off as a book called Pack in 2015 and then was revised for 2016. Relic was the…
How can something so wrong, be so cool?
At the local Renaissance Festival, they had a mermaid cove. It was the last weekend of the faire and some of the attractions were mid switch to Halloween. Hiding in the weeds was the scariest thing I’d ever seen… How can something that shows a lack of understanding of anatomy still be so cool? I’m…
Getting my poop in a group
At the end of 2018 and beginning 2019, I completed two books and I’m in the middle of a third. The reason I was able to make such great strides was because of a few key breakthroughs I don’t write romance. I wanted to. The community is a great one and they have amazing classes….
Newsletter Blues
I asked one of my buddies who is on her 7th published book what she wishes she’d have done differently. Her advice? Newsletter. She wishes that she’d started her newsletter even before she’d published her first novel. I asked around to other writers about what they did and was referred to a book “Newsletter Ninja.”…
Authentic Self Rant
Every time I read advice about how to be a great <insert whatever here> they say to be your authentic self. Be a great leader – be your authentic self. Find core readers – be your authentic self. Cure halitosis – be your authentic self. You get the idea. My issue is that…
Focus Fox: Direction of your Dreams
Focus Fox says: Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined. Unless you write horror. Inspired by Henry David Thoreau and Calley Jones
Random Grim Fates
Random list of Grim fates. Electrocuted by a howling maelstrom of lightning. Mind consumed by alien nightmares. Flesh melted by acid. Eaten alive by an infernal nightmare. Crushed to death by a mysterious force. Swallowed whole by an antediluvian behemoth. Entombed within alien machinery. Brain removed by an eldritch machine. Trapped forever within a sorcerous…
Drawing blood
I had an element in a story I’m writing where a character needed to give blood. There were no sterile needles or medical personal in this story. The story was set in a Merged world where science and magic co-exist, but magic was winning. So I googled around and found this interesting article. https://kotaku.com/the-dramatic-palm-slice-a-fantasy-trope-ive-never-unde-5988457 Uggg,…
Focus Fox: Perfect
Focus Fox says: In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they’re still beautiful. The same can be said for your characters, let them be contorted, bent in weird ways and still be beautiful. Inspired by Alice Walker