April 2018

Book Two Title Redux

/ Book Rec, Life, Writing

The working title we decided on for PR book two has to change because it’s too similar to another Voyager book coming out next year. So it’s back to the drawing board.

Boo.

I like for my titles to have a deeper meaning, even if I’m the only one who will get it. It’s one of the reasons naming things takes me eons.

The verboten title had that extra layer of meaning, so I bid it adieu with some regret. And now I can’t think of anything else I like as well. Partially that’s just my brain being stuck on what it can’t have, and I have some time, so I’m giving my subconscious a chance to mull it over.

I passed 20k words last week, and while I’d like to be closer to 30k (or, let’s be honest, 90k), I’m at least off to a solid start. This is also where doubts tend to assail me and I start thinking that the beginning is all wrong. However, there is no time for doubting. I must forge ever onward. If it really is wrong, I’ll fix it later. …

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The Quest for the Perfect Pen

/ Life

For years my favorite pen has been a Uniball Signo DX in .38mm. I have it in a rainbow of colors and it’s glorious. It’s precise, doesn’t smear, and doesn’t do that annoying blob of ink thing some pens do. Here’s an example of writing long-form with it. Ignore my chicken-scratch handwriting and the rough draft nature of the content. :)

Signo DX Example

But, in a case of putting the cart waaaaay before the horse, I decided maybe I should start thinking about a pen that would also be good for signing books. After all, it’s only nine-ish months until Polaris Rising comes out, barring any schedule changes, and at least one of my friends will want their book signed, right? Right? Hello?

And possibly because I like nothing more than procrastination. :) …

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A Peek at Book Two’s Plot Timeline

/ Writing

At a certain spot in every story, I get to the point where I can no longer remember which day it is (in story—happens out of story, too, but that’s a whole different problem). When I hit that point, I sit down and create a story timeline.

I usually use paper and a pencil because I’ve yet to find a digital solution that I like as well. If you have any suggestions, I’m all ears.

This morning I hit that point because my characters were switching planets and timezones. And if I don’t write it down and keep track, it’ll be Thursday for the whole book. …

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TQG Final Edits

/ Writing

For those of you waiting on news of The Queen’s Gambit, you’ll be happy to know that the final edits landed today. Overall, my agent liked the changes to the second half, so yay for that!

Thanks to various other things, it’s taken a bit longer than I expected (how are we already in mid-April?!?), but we should be getting preorder links up in the near future. I’ll post when they are available. :)

Busy, Busy

/ Life, Writing

Copyedits for Polaris Rising are done and turned in! As part of the copyedits, I wrote the dedication and acknowledgements sections. That was fun and only mildly nerve-racking, especially because it came after the copyeditor looked everything over. If there are typos in those sections, you’ll know why. :)

The book-making machinery keeps inching forward. I wrote my author bio and now we’re brainstorming ideas for the title of book two so we can include an announcement in the back of PR.

Titles are hard for me and usually come at the very end, after the book is written. My Scrivener projects are saved as scifi, scifi2, and serial. That’s PR, PR2, and TQG. Authors who can title a story before they start writing are like wizards to me—amazing and possibly imaginary.

I also signed up for the RWA conference yesterday. I’m an introvert, so conferences tend to be exhausting and/or terrifying, but I am looking forward to meeting people and attending the workshops. As a new author, I’ll take all the advice I can get.

Now I must get back to making words happen on book two while I wait for title inspiration to strike, because clearly I am an artiste.