The Great Serialization Experiment, Part 3 - Writing and Cookies!

The last post on lessons learned from writing Nigh is up over at Black Gate Magazine!  I talk writing and cookies. (The two most important component of serializing a novel.) 

Cookie Monster approves of this blog post.

The Great Serialization Experiment, Part 2

Check out my Black Gate post where I chat about numbers, business and Power Rangers. (All very important factors in serializing your own novel.)

Strike a pose. It's Serious Morphing Time.

How Good Are You at Hustling?

I'm late with yesterday's post because I took the weekend off.  I actually took it off, without work or social media, not even writing. I went to visit some friends I've been meaning to spend quality time with, and I had a great time!

Stinky Car is Angry Melty Car.

Then, on my way home, the car in front of me on the highway swerved a bit, then a lot, and bounced up. I took my foot off the gas, but a car hugged my car butt so I wasn't about to hit the brakes. The cause of the leading car's distress soon became my own - a tractor-trailer had lost the rubber from its wheel, and it now bounced toward me. To my left was a car, and to my right a ditch. I wasn't following closely so I managed to move as far right as possible before striking the tire. It hit under the driver's side, thunked my whole car up and then bounced off the highway. (The rude butt hugger got away clean. Road Karma, don't fail me now!)

Serialization: Part 1 of 3

Are you thinking of serializing your own novel?  I'm sharing some of my thoughts and experiences from serializing Nigh, from why I did it, to some technical lessons, and of course the most important part - how to adapt your story so that it works as a serialized piece.

This is the next part of the writing life series, although it's hosted over at Black Gate Magazine. Check out this first post!  

A Year Later, I'm Still Standing (Mostly)

Life isn't an adventure. It's an experiment. A glorious experiment, with more variables than can be controlled, too little time to try even a pinch of the possibilities, and so many deviations that we don't even have a good comparative baseline. The only certainty is the final outcome. So don't just spice your life. Throw some freaking explosive chemicals into the mix and see what happens.*

A year ago, I left my gainful full-time employment for a slew of reasons. But mainly I wanted to try full-time creation as my main breadwinner.  It was a tough decision, and one that I've only regretted a few times (the only way you don't give up a full-time salary and not regret it is if you're independently wealthy, I've learned).

But, overall, it's been worthwhile.  I honestly believe that we can make art a viable career option. I'm currently experimenting to see if I can personally make it work. I haven't chatted much about this decision on my blog. For me, writing is a very personal process, and this entire journey has often left me feeling unbalanced, teetering from terror to elation. It's dizzying.