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Writing Progress Report – First Quarter 2024

Progress Report – First Quarter 2024 How was first quarter 2024 for writing? So I spent first quarter 2024 writing short stories. So there was that… First Quarter 2024 Posted Works First of all, I worked on a number of new short stories. These were all drafted on paper and so I spent some time writing and editing them. Then on Wattpad I posted nowhere, as I have quit the ambassador program…

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#Progress

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Do You Have Enough Spoons? Do I?

How Many Are Enough Spoons, Anyway? Relatively recently, I wrote about not having enough spoons to query my work, get it to beta readers, and so on. But what the heck does that all mean? The concept of spoons, and having enough of them, is a shorthand way of referring to mental energy. That is, does a person (you, perhaps) have the emotional strength do perform certain tasks, or any tasks at…

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#Personal

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Character Review — Rachel Gifford

Consider Rachel Gifford, One of My Original Characters So, who is Rachel Gifford? The wealthy head of one of the biggest robotics companies in the Solar System, Rachel’s got … issues. But money can’t buy her solutions, not really—she wants action. Where Did Rachel Gifford Come From? In order to get anywhere, the antagonist had to have access to money. I also needed a motive for them. Enter…

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#Obolonk Murders #writings

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Hot or Cold, Rough or Smooth, Hard or Soft—Tactile Cues in Writing

So, is your book running hot or cold? Hot or Cold and Other Touch Cues Touch is a somewhat complex sense because it can evoke temperature, pressure, and our experience of surfaces—often at the same time. Your readers are already feeling your book in their hands or on their Kindle or phone, or feeling their computer thrum if they’re reading on a laptop or a desktop. But how do you get them to feel…

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#writings

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Disgusting vs Delicious—Taste Cues in Writing

Are the tastes in your prose disgusting or delicious? It does matter, you know. Tastes: Disgusting vs Delicious or In Between? As writers, we may sometimes forget to add any sense cues beyond vision and sound. But there’s more to life than just those two. How much of the tastes of things do you put into your prose? So, let’s look at adding tastes to your prose. Food, Glorious Food! It’s pretty…

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#writings

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Mixing a Score in Words and Music—Sound Cues in Writing

Let’s consider words and music in writing. Sound and Fury, Full of Words and Music, Signifying, Well, What, Exactly? Of course, our books are full of words! Otherwise, they would be picture books. And not very good picture books, to boot! Because even picture books for the newest reader will have some sort of verbiage in them. Words and What They Do In Your Writing I have blogged a lot about…

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#writings

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Aroma vs Odor or Stench—Olfactory Cues in Writing

Well, which one is it, when you’re considering aroma vs odor or stench in your writing? How Choosing Aroma vs Odor or Stench Affects Your Writing I can’t recall where I read this (and it may have just been in a Facebook group on writing), but using three or more senses can really get your readers into the story. It’s a lot more intimate than just sketching. For many of us, the visuals and the…

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#writings

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Hairstyles and Costumes—Visual Cues in Writing

What do hairstyles and costumes really have to do with writing? Hairstyles and Costumes and How They Can Help Your Readers Out Now, you may very well be thinking that this kind of stuff doesn’t, truly matter. So what if a character wears shorts or jeans? How could it matter if they wear their hair down, or in a ponytail? A lot more than you may think. Let’s start with clothes. Clothes Maketh the…

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#Publishing #writings

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Set Dressing—Visual Cues in Writing

Let’s Steal from Film and Talk About Set Dressing in Writing Er, okay, you may be thinking. But just what is set dressing? According to PluralSight, Set dressing is a term that comes from theater and film and entails decorating a particular set with curtains and furniture, filling shelves and generally making it look real and lived-in. So, just like you have pictures on your walls or a chair with…

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#Publishing #writings

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Character Review — Olga Nicolaev

Consider Olga Nicolaev, One of My Original Characters So, who is Olga Nicolaev? For Mettle to work, Eleanor Braverman (an Alzheimer’s patient) had to have a caregiver. Because just letting her loose wouldn’t work. And because tying down Noah wouldn’t serve the plot. Enter Olga. Where Did Olga Nicolaev Come From? So you see, I had to have her. Because creating a character with Alzheimer’s means…

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#Mettle #writings

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Character Review — Eleanor Braverman

Consider Eleanor Braverman, One of My Original Characters So, who is Eleanor Braverman? Ellen Burstyn, who I see as Eleanor Braverman. By gdcgraphics, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5199528 I came up with the storyline and the characters for Mettle so quickly that it was unreal. My husband and I were on vacation on Cape Cod and it just… fell together. It was so fast…

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#Mettle #writings

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Character Review – Dez Hunter

Consider Dez Hunter, One of My Original Characters So, who is Dez Hunter? Kitty and Mink were easy and I thought of them almost immediately. But then I needed a boyfriend for Kitty. Where Did Dez Hunter Come From? I first decided that Kitty’s boyfriend would be a kind of bad boy. So, Dez comes with the trappings—skateboard, attitude, and a sparse goatee. Then, when I was developing his father in…

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#character #Mettle

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Character Review — Elston Young

Consider Elston Young, One of My Original Characters Who is Elston Young? When I first started to write Time Addicts, I needed an engineer. I already knew who the main villain was. But just who had invented the tech? Enter Elston. Where Did Elston Young Come From? His first name actually comes from the late baseball player, Elston Howard. But otherwise he is just a character who would be morally…

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#Obolonk Murders #Time Addicts

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Character Review — Tad Lewis

Consider Tad Lewis, One of My Original Characters Who is Tad Lewis? Tad—er, Thaddeus—Lewis sprang forth almost fully formed when I first thought of him. Josie would need someone who could shoot. She would also need someone who could afford her some physical protection. Enter Tad. Where Did Thaddeus Lewis Come From? Now, for the Time Addicts universe to work, the people who work for the OIA-DTN…

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#Obolonk Murders #Time Addicts

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Character Review — Shannon Duffy

Consider Shannon Duffy, One of My Original Characters Who is Shannon Duffy? The better question is: who are Shannon Duffy? Because this character isn’t human at all. They aren’t even one entity. Er, what? The idea behind Shannon is a totally wacky one, I admit. It comes from a thought experiment. What if your individual cells were sapient? If they ever could be, then they would presumably…

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#Real Hub of the Universe

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Character Review — Minka Lopez

Consider Minka Lopez, One of My Original Characters So, just who is Minka Lopez? A few of the characters for Mettle came to me quickly. Minka is one of them. But she was always the second half of a duo, Kitty and Mink. But she always felt like an insecure outsider. I originally envisioned her as a kind of hanger-on, who would essentially worship Kitty and the popularity Kitty could bring. Where…

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#Mettle

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Character Review — Adger

Meet Adger, One of My Original Characters Who is Adger? The final of the four chief characters in Untrustworthy undergoes almost as many changes as Tathrelle does. Where Did Adger Come From? By the time I got to this character, I was getting tired of making up alien names. Hence, his name is just the word badger with the first letter off. Er, sorry, character! The Past is Prologue — Backstory for…

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