Archive for June, 2009

Interest Driven By Word Of Blog

Posted: June 29, 2009 in General
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In the past week I’ve read two articles about how more often blogs and twitter are now driving interest in books and sales.

The first was a post from Alan Baxter, talking about comments he’d seen in a post by the agent Nathan Bransford.

The second came via a link via twitter. in a post from Follow the Reader, asking whether Twitter and Blogs really drive book sales.

It is hardly surprising really when you think about it.  In the old days you often relied on word of mouth from family and friends about new books, music, movies etc and whether they were worth seeing or getting.

Now days your circle of friends tends to be much larger and more connected via blogs, forums and of course twitter.  It is not surprising that more people are getting their recommendations from it.

It is certainly something worth thinking about – and something I am slowly trying to build on, to garner interest in my works via these media and hopefully, at some stage, build up some type of critical mass.

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Tauren Druid Form Video

Posted: June 29, 2009 in General
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WOW.com has just put up a video of the World of Warcraft Tauren druid forms, both bear and cat, for viewing.

It comes in at 10 minutes and shows all the various colours available.

Can’t wait to try them myself.

I Knew I Shouldn’t Have Done It

Posted: June 28, 2009 in writing update
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I went to the movies yesterday. I had been tossing up whether to go or not – it had been a while since I last went and I should have really been writing. But in the end I went.

I ended up seeing Transformers 2. The first one had been decent, but not great, and I was hoping the second would be as well. Parts were – the parts with giant robots thrashing it out. The rest, well, it was filled with far too much juvenile humour, stupid plot and useless characters. But enough about that.

As I was watching I got thinking about writing. Yeah, even when I was taking time off the old brain never stops. In this time a completely new idea was sparked, in part inspired by fragments of the movie and in part from another story I’d recently come across.

What was odd is it is really a genre I’d never considered before. Or genres. The concept covers a few genres – part sci-fi, part action-thriller, part military-adventure and even part horror. The plot has been unfolding itself before me fairly rapidly.

Whether I use it or not is another question. I should probably write down the ideas that are spawning in my fevered imagination just in case…

Another One Down

Posted: June 28, 2009 in Pure Escapism, writing update
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Just finished off the third short story rough draft for Pure Escapism Volume Three. Only one more to go and I can start the major task of editing.

The fourth one is going to be the longest, but I hope to have its draft completed by the end of the month, just a couple of days away. So far it has panned out that in each volume there is one major story that takes up about half the book and three others that fill in the rest. Not sure how that happened, but I think I’ll stick with it.

Fantasy Fans Arise!

Posted: June 27, 2009 in General
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I’ll admit it. I’m a fan of fantasy. The books, the movies, the games. I’ve always been a fan, even when I didn’t know it. I was proud to admit it through my schooling days, and still am.

Yet we aren’t always taken seriously.

So I was pleased to come across the following post – Let’s stop sneering at fantasy readers. Good advice.

As a reader first, and now hopeful writer, it has always been my genre. I’ve tried dabbling in other genres, but always returned to it. Most of my favourite books are fantasy books. Tolkien. Gemmell. Pratchett.

And while my writing is often fantasy with some twists and variations, it is still proudly planted in the fantasy genre.

And that is the way I like it.

Pushing Forward

Posted: June 27, 2009 in Pure Escapism, writing update
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After finishing the second volume of Pure Escapism, I know I said I was going to move back to the novel, but somehow that hasn’t happened yet. Instead I’ve been working on the third volume and to date have two rough drafts done for stories, and two more in progress. One of those is plotted out and I hope to have done by the end of the day.

At this rate I’ll have all the drafts done soon and I can edit it all together. Hopefully I can also improve the Pure Escapism part of the site at the same time, and expand on the podcast for it.

Speaking of, when I get back to working on the novel, I might have a go serialising it via podcast as well. We will see how that goes.

Free Fiction Online

Posted: June 27, 2009 in General
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Just came across this site (possibly via twitter – can never keep track of what linked to what anymore) called Free Fiction (Online).

Basically it is what is says it is – a site dedicated to seeking out and sharing all the free fiction that is around on the ‘net.

Worth keeping an eye out on I think.

Today Is A Good Day To Write

Posted: June 26, 2009 in writing update
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I’m an early riser. If the sun is up, I have to be up. I’ve always been that way.

However, I really don’t take advantage of that. I get up and the first thing I do is wade through mail and blogs and twitter and forums and webcomics and news and the like. Then comes shower and breakfast. By the time that is all done up to a couple of hours may have passed and no writing has been done. And by the time I do start it may be three or more hours since getting up.

I tried something a little different this morning. I started with mail and the like as per usual, but more browsed through it quickly rather than reading fully. Then I did some writing, even before breakfast. Only around 400 words, but it was something, and better than the output of some whole days.

I think, after that success, I should change my morning habits. Having a good start like that in the morning can set the course of the whole day. The idea is that each morning, before anything else, even mails and the like, to set a goal, even if only a couple of hundred words, then do everything else. That way I have had a start made and am in the right frame of mind.

Hrm, you know, if you turned the title into a decent looking logo and stuck it on mugs and shirts and caps and the like, it may even sell…

Minor Update to Pure Escapism: Volume Two

Posted: June 25, 2009 in Pure Escapism
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Volume Two of Pure Escapism has had a minor update, basically fixing a few formatting/spelling/grammar errors.

Preparing To Write

Posted: June 25, 2009 in writing update
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My desk at the moment is rather a mess, covered with the scattered detritus of living – books, letters, bills, notes, loose change, whatever I find in my pockets and throw down on it at the end of the day.

Toss a couple of computers into the mix and it is rather cluttered. A lot cluttered actually. I am sure that all that mess is not really conducive to a good writing frame of mind. It is on the To Do list to clean up, but that list never seems to get much progress made on it.

Getting in the right frame of mind to write certainly helps the progress. Somewhere without clutter and without distractions – no loud music or other loud noises and the like.

I know for myself that at times I find that hard and is something I need to work on. To limit my usage of email/twitter/forums/etc while writing. To not need to get up every few minutes to find something.

One thing I do do is have small snacks at hand – keeps the energy up and gives you something you can reward yourself with; chips, biscuits, chocolates or the like, plus drinks.

Anyway, I’m writing this instead of writing something else, so should get back to it…

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