Category: Writing

If you’re not into any kind of writing, then this is highly likely to not be the blog for you.

Ya think???

How and Why Does Writing Speak to Us?

The written word is something that we have in common with the ancient Egyptians, with people on the other side of the planet, and with celebrities who we will never meet.

Fiction writing, in particular, bridges gaps in the world, and through time. Have you ever read something written by an author who is long dead?

Whether it’s Jane Eyre or The Art of War, we can hear the author’s voice as we read (and yes, I am well aware that The Art of War isn’t fiction. I’m kind of tired, okay?).

But I digress.

Independent Writers Do It All

When we do it well, and we do it right, the indie author wears many hats. Researcher. Editor. Planner. Marketer. Cover artist (or at least hirer of the cover artist). Bookkeeper. Advertiser. Tax Preparer.

Indy writing is a small business. So, like it or not, you’ve got to know these things, or be able to hire someone who does.

Past, Present, and Future Authoring

One of the best things about authoring is the concept of eternity. Now, I don’t honestly expect anything I write to end up being studied in college or becoming movie fodder. But it is still there, and it can be there forever if you can (and are willing to) preserve it.

This is why I encourage publishing, by the way, even if you never make a dime.

Eternity.

Self-Review – Unreliable

Short Stories, Road, My Aliens, Last Patient, interview, Surprises, Props, shipwrecked, child, Killing Us Softly, Ditte, Band, three minutes, Longest Night Watch, Nothing Good Ever Happens, Complications, Your Call, Darkness into Light, canaries, gentrification, Cynthia, True Believer, Short Stories, Wilder Bloom, Dish, Mitalisque, kitten, Last Try, Minnesota Wish, Dominick and Angela, Alix, Alix’s Apocalypse, A Chance Encounter in Time, A Crime in Time, A Show for the Galaxy, Alien Justice, And the Band Played the Apocalypse, Babel 2.0, Side Pages, Frozen Assets, Julie's Dollar, Mandy Goes to Aspen, Martin's Choice, Mike’s Grades, Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan, Sarah’s Invention, Small Acts of Defiance, The Future Has No Foundation, Unexpected Help, You Will Drink Your Coffee and Like It, Unreliable, East Side of the Universe, Eros vs Thanatos, Dust Between Our Stars, A Show for the Galaxy, A Fairy Tale for Skeptical Adults, A School for Scavengers, Frozen Assets, Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan, 1960s Temporal Crimes, Lizzie Borden is Vital to the Timeline, Walls Came Tumbling Down Again, The End, Will's Dog, Building Trust, Message in an Odd Bottle, The New Kid, What's an Animal, A Touch of Gray Hair, Guilty of Imperfection, Jared's World Turned Upside Down, Caring for Carole, Nuremberg Redux, Art Has All Sorts of Effects, When Russia Invaded Texas, Failure, Tumble in a Tomb, Beauty is Only Earth Deep, Peddler, Escape Violinist, Shimmering Wasteland, Cave Canem and Cave, Skating, Uninformed, Stellar Stowaway, dinosaurs, fragments, none of this is real, buzz, quartz, water, verity, quarrel, rivalry, breakout,

Self-Review – Unreliable

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on May 23, 2024

Review – Unreliable

My decision to write Unreliable wasn’t just based on the fact that it would be a lot easier than coming up with a new plot for NaNoWriMo 2023, heh.

It was also because I wanted to correct a lot of the issues in Untrustworthy. I was also glad to be able to add to the Untrustworthy universe, and fill it out a lot more.

Background

Tathrelle really had no childhood in Untrustworthy. But she had to have had one! When I scoured the old book, one thing that really leapt out at me was a throwaway line about remembering an earlier life of vagrancy. So, I took this one short line and I ran with it.

Plot

The plot of Unreliable is essentially Tathrelle, Ixalla, Velexio, and Adger before the events of Untrustworthy really kick off.

Before the events of Untrustworthy, Tathrelle runs from a man who reminds her of her father. When she runs into Ixalla, her life changes. And, at the same time, the lives of all Cabossians start to change.

Unreliable Characters

The characters are Tathrelle, Ixalla, Velexio, and Adger. Students aren’t really seen but they are heard. Ixalla’s supervisor, the Lead Instructor, is also present, but this is the person in that position before Untrustworthy starts.

Are the characters truly impossible to rely on? Are they lying to the reader (or, at least, to Tathrelle), or are they simply ignorant of reality?

Memorable Quotes

The fashion of the day—such as it was—was sensible monochrome slacks and tunics, regardless of age or gender or fertility status. The only colors anyone ever wore were various shades of tans and browns. The entire populace of Caboss could blend in effortlessly with the reedy herbs growing on either bank of the Central River if they chose. Tathrelle’s mismatched patched tunic and slacks could fit in even more seamlessly.

But that camouflage was only good for the sides of the river. It did not work for an urban setting. The buildings, as uniform as the people, were all done up in shades of gray, their brutalist architecture spare and lean and efficient with no niceties or flourishes.

The only thing differentiating a school from a medical facility, or a nutrition market was an equally boxy, squarish sign, its letters perfectly, uniformly painted in black against pure white, no serifs allowed.

A Rating That is Anything But Unreliable

The story has a T rating. There is a particularly violent flashback. I am not kidding. You have been warned.

Takeaways

Unreliable answers questions which range from why the Cabossians have such stilted speech to whether a planet with transportation sleighs is covered in ice.

I think what I love the most about it is that I am a much better writer than I was when I wrote Untrustworthy. The proof is in the prose.

Leave a Comment

How Do I Write a Book?

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on May 21, 2024

So, how do I write a book?

Aspiring authors ask this all the time. While there are any number of people who simply work off inspiration, there are others who are filled with doubt. They ask: how do I write a book?

Well, I’m here to tell you. But keep in mind: your personal writing process is valid, too. There’s no one, right way to do this.

How Do I Write a Book and Get Started?

You should start with short stories. Seriously. Much lower stakes. And write lots and lots and lots of them. Funny, sappy, scary, sad — it doesn’t matter. Fanfic is totally cool; so is nonfiction. Tropes are fine, of course. However the spirit moves you.

Write about 1500 – 2000 words per day if you can, but don’t beat yourself up if you miss a day here and there or you miss word count. No biggie. Stuff happens. This is also how to win NaNoWriMo, an activity I highly recommend.

Do this for at least a year.

What Happens Once that Year is Up?

At the end of the year, if you’ve written 2000 words per day, you’ll have written 730,000 words. The vast, vast majority of them will be garbage. This is nothing personal. It is life.

Usually you need to write a good million words or so before things start to get good. By this point, you’ll be nearly 3/4 of the way there.

Time to Review

Then look back, particularly on your older stuff, and you will see how you’ve improved. You will also see how some of your work could be expanded. Maybe it could get a sequel or a prequel. Maybe you need to describe a character better. Whatever.

Edit and Expand

Do that expanding. Of course this also counts toward your million words. A million isn’t some magical number; it’s more that it’s easy to remember. And it tends to show quality because by the time you’ve written that much, you’ve gotten the garbage out of your system.

Get Inspiration

Observe the world around you. Family. Friends. Work. School. The people on the bus. Nature. Traffic. Etc. etc. etc. Write down what inspires or interests you, even if it’s just a phrase someone utters or the scarf they’re wearing. Use those observations as fodder for more of those short stories (yes, you should still be writing short stuff).

Keep Going

Another 6 months or so and yeah, you’ve hit a million written words. Again, look at what you wrote. See if you can change it, combine it, expand it, and otherwise mutate it.

How Do I Write a Book? Now’s the Time to Start Converting Your Short Scribbles into a Book

If you like organization (I personally do), then write an outline for what you think might be a decent book. Steal from your short stories for that book. They are a bank. You have made thousands of deposits. Now it’s time to make some withdrawals.

Tie it together with transitions. You really just care about characters –> conflict –> crisis (also called the climax) –> change. The scene is a particular species of character.

Get to at least 75,000 words. Send it to beta readers and listen to what they have to say (but keep in mind, they may be wrong). Edit it until it bleeds.

Reread it as if you were a fan, not the writer. Fill the plot holes. Sew up the loose ends. Edit again.

And voila, you’ve got a book.

How Do I Write a Book and Have it Go Anywhere?

So that’s the answer to ‘how do I write a book?’ For the answer to how do I get it published, read on.

How do I write a book? It’s easy. It’s hard. Yeah, it’s both.

Leave a Comment

Self-Review – The East Side of the Universe

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on May 16, 2024

Review – The East Side of the Universe

While I will admit one reason I wrote the East Side of the Universe was to get out of having to come up with a whole new plot for NaNoWriMo in 2022, there were other reasons for it.

One was to address a few issues with Ceilidh, particularly concerning why and how she would be so eager to leave behind Ballyvaughan and everything she knew.

Another was because, in all honesty, I wanted to visit with her and a lot of the gang in The Real Hub of the Universe again!

Background

One of the harder things for beta readers to swallow was the question of why Ceilidh would leave her family so easily. She would not be the first woman to simply accept her lot in life.

Also, Ceilidh isn’t someone who goes to salons or is otherwise getting exposure to the more radical ideas of the 1870s, such as women’s suffrage.

So, I hit upon an idea. She would be changed by someone she meets briefly. Just like sometimes you can pour your heart out to someone you sit next to during a long bus ride, she would pour her heart out to someone she would only be in contact with for a few days.

But who would come to backwater Ballyvaughan and only stay a few days, who wasn’t family?

And then… I got an idea.

Plot of the East Side of the Universe

Ceilidh O’Malley’s life is forever altered by two events in her past. One is the death of her beloved father, Ryan. The other is the arrival of a rogue—Michael Hollis.

Hollis isn’t just a rogue, though. He’s also politically aware of what is going on in England and Ireland at the time. This makes him a threat to upset the ‘apple cart’ that is Ballyvaughan.

Characters

The characters are Ceilidh O’Malley; her mother, Mary; her sister Maeve; and various village residents. There’s also the Barnes family, mainly Nora, Jack, Johnny, Father Paul, Christopher, Harriet, and Alfred.

Plus a pivotal character in her life—Michael Hollis.

And, yes, Michael Hollis is a direct reference to The Obolonk universe‘s Charlie Hollis.

Memorable Quotes

“Has it never occurred to you that there might be more than one Michael in the world? Then again, if you’ve only seen the people in this village, then I suppose I can’t fault you for thinking it’s the center of the universe, the hub of everything. But it’s not. It’s not even the east side of the universe. It’s a lot closer to being a lot of nothing.”

“Ballyvaughan is far from being nothin’. An’ I still don’t think ya’re Michael.”

“What’s this other fellow Michael’s full name?”

“Michael Sweeney.”

“Well, then I ain’t him. I would tell you mine, but like I said, there’s an awful lot to explain, Miss…?”

“O’Malley. Ceilidh O’Malley. An’ now ya’d best tell me your whole, true name, an’ show your face, so we can be properly introduced.”

“Promise you won’t say anything to anyone?”

“I can promise ya nothin’ if I don’t know ya, now, can I? So, show yourself so I can make up my mind.”

“You’re a hardheaded woman, Miss Ceilidh O’Malley. It is Miss, isn’t it?”

“Yes, ‘tis Miss, if ya truly must know.”

“Ah, you wound me, Miss O’Malley. But my loss of face is something I should have anticipated. After all, turnabout is fair play.”

Rating

The story has a K+/T rating. Johnny’s antics are neither cute, nor are they excusable.

Connections to Other Writing

If you saw the surname Hollis and thought of the Obolonk universe, then give yourself a cookie or whatever small reward you like. Because Michael is related to Charlie. Is he a direct ancestor? Probably not, particularly given Michael’s circumstances at the end of this piece.

But I absolutely intend a connection there.

Takeaways for The East Side of the Universe

For Ceilidh to truly grow as a person, she has to change from a rusticated farm girl to a Boston servant to, eventually, a person with a degree of standing in the world. And to be able to accept the science fiction aspects of the Real Hub universe, she has to have an open mind.

While there is no science fiction in it whatsoever, I think The East Side of the Universe contains the events that open her mind.

Want More of the Real Hub Universe?

If the Real Hub Universe resonates with you, then check out my other articles about Ceilidh, Devon, Jake, and the others as they keep the Earth from becoming collateral damage in the War of Knowledge.

Character Reviews:

Ceilidh O’Malley
Dr. Devon Grace
Frances Miller Ashford
Johnny Barnes
Shannon Duffy

Prequel: The East Side of the Universe
Self-Review: The Real Hub of the Universe
Self-Review: The Real Heart of the Universe
and also Self-Review: The Real Hope of the Universe

Leave a Comment

Advice for Dealing With a Rejection

Publishing, Published, Positive Reviews, Middling Reviews, Bad Reviews, Teasing, Blurb, Query letter, Elevator pitch, teasers, pitmad, rejection, Easter eggs, Starting, Digital Publishing Game, pocket conflicts, Manuscript Wish List, Reading, Submission Guidelines, Set Dressing, Hairstyles and Costumes, Aroma vs Odor or Stench, Mixing a Score in Words and Music, Disgusting vs Delicious, Hot or Cold, Publishing Stats, Jewish characters, trust your readers,

Advice for Dealing With a Rejection

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on May 14, 2024

Dealing With Rejection

Rejection stinks. There’s no two ways about it.

Here are three things you can do if you have received a rejection from an agent or a publisher.

Mourning a Loss/Rejection

1) Mourn. Yes, mourn! It kinda hurts so allow yourself to feel hurt. But! Put a time limit on that. As in a week. Then consider yourself done with mourning what was.

Leave it!

2) Stick it in a drawer for three months, minimum. Let it go and move onto other things (another good reason to work on a lot of stuff at once).

Review it!

3) After the magical three months (or more) have elapsed, take out the file and the rejection slip.

Objective Considerations

Consider a few objective things: (a) was it the wrong genre for that publisher? Then be more careful next time and keep track of which publisher accepts which kinds of works. (b) was it not submitted correctly? Then take the time to do submissions right.

Do they want an attachment? Then send one next time. Do they want just the pitch and three chapters? Then send that.

Do they just want the pitch? Then only send that. You get the idea. (c) Did you submit to more than one publisher when this one said they didn’t like that? Then don’t do that again.

See what I’m getting at? Pluck the low-hanging fruit, as it were. Don’t get knocked out of contention due to what are essentially unforced errors.

Subjective Considerations with a Rejection

Also consider subjective things: (a) did they not understand what your story is about? Then you need to work on your pitch/blurb. A writers’ group is a great place to do that.

Or (b) did they say they had trouble getting through your story? Then you need to edit that sucker. Never mind if you already did. Edit again. And consider working with a pro editor. They are pricey but that is for a good reason.

If you absolutely cannot afford a professional editor, then you need to hack away at your work yourself. So determine whether scenes or characters can be combined, as a start. Go back to beta feedback (you did work with beta readers, right?) and figure out what you hand waved away and work on what they told you to do. Because they were probably at least partly right.

Or (c) did they say it just wasn’t for them? Then figure out why.

Maybe they got three other moose detective stories before yours. Or maybe they’re closing the imprint you queried to. Maybe they’re just swamped.

Moving On from a Rejection

Most importantly, keep the fires burning. Keep works in five categories:

† Idea stage. You’re just kicking this one around.
• Outlining stage. If you don’t outline, then consider this the ‘serious ideas’ stage. At the absolute minimum, write down the bare bones so you don’t forget anything!
† Rough draft writing stage. Get it on paper or pixels.
• Beta reading/editing stage. Polish that prose and alter your work in response to feedback.
† Querying stage/publishing stage. If you’re self-publishing, then this is just the publishing stage.

The mourning, etc. I listed above? Call it stage #5a, or #4a if you really need to go back into the guts of the piece.

Your writing in any form is worthwhile, even with a rejection. If nothing else, always consider it to be a learning experience.

You can do this.

1 Comment

Self-Review – The Dust Between Our Stars

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on May 9, 2024

Review – The Dust Between Our Stars

I wrote The Dust Between Our Stars, in part, to kind of get out of having to come up with a whole new plot for NaNoWriMo in 2022. But there is a lot more to this story than that.

I also found, after I was done with the Time Addicts trilogy, that I really liked the Hawthorne family. But I had no real way to write about them again. And then I realized—the original history would be the way to go.

This story neatly fills in an enormous gap in the Obolonk universe. That is, what the heck happened when the Obolonks first came to Earth? And more importantly, how did we avert what could have been a real disaster?

Because it should be pretty obvious—a lot of people, particularly Americans, would shoot first and ask questions later if they ever met a space alien.

Background

First contact stories are nothing new. Hell, there’s even a Star Trek film with that name. And, they’re not news to my writing, either.

A lot of The Enigman Cave centers around the protocols for a first contact. Complicating matters in that book is the fact that the technological differences are so great between us and the Enigmans. But at least we’re in the driver’s seat.

But with Dust…, I wanted us to be on a more equal footing than with the Enigmans. Yet it’s not perfect. They do have faster than light travel, after all. In the first trilogy in that universe, I also establish that also they have fast terraforming methods which we just plain do not have.

But for the purposes of this plot, I only needed the FTL travel bit. The Obolonks need it to get to us, naturally. And by only really focusing on that as being a major piece of technology way ahead of ours, I was able to add more relatability to the alien beings coming for a visit.

Plot

Divorced mother Drusilla Hawthorne takes her children on an Earth Day hiking trip to the Grand Canyon.

But their comfortable life is upended—as is everyone else’s—when Kent Crossier, a guy with a decent-sized but not professional telescope, spots something orbiting Jupiter, just above the Great Red Spot. Something big.

Complicating matters is the fact that Drusilla is high up in the United States military. She has got to report this, whatever it is. And that means someone will at least be considering the use of military might.

Characters

The characters are Trinity Hawthorne; her brother Neo; their mother, Drusilla (a general in the US Armed Forces); Tim Mayfield, Coralynne Anderson, Trinity’s extended family, Kent Crossier, and reporter Belinda McKey-Ross.

Of course, Neo and Trinity are named after characters in The Matrix. But where does Belinda’s name come from?

Very sharp-eyed readers (as in, blink, and you’ll miss it) may spot the first half of her surname as matching that of Craig Firenze‘s boss, Chet McKey, in Mettle. It’s probably the tiniest Easter Egg I’ve ever added to a story.

But there’s a second Easter Egg pointing much more directly to Mettle. It’s the satellite radio station, KOLD. The real KOLD is in Cold Bay, Alaska, but in my universes, it’s in Houston. This also means it points to The Duck in the Seat Cushion.

And there’s even a third, because a RickRoll also shows up in The Obolonk Murders.

Memorable Quotes {Trini is driving to the Grand Canyon while Neo sings along to EVERY song and commercial jingle on the radio} from The Dust Between Our Stars

Arizona truck drivers were impatient with her speed, but Trini was mindful that Mom would ground her if she sped too much. Then the truckers started pantomiming to her to take off her top. Yeah, like I’m gonna flash you, ya losers. She flipped the bird to more truckers than she could count.

Neo’s constant caterwauling was getting on her nerves. And it made sense that truckers would be pressing for her to either speed up or drop her top. Past the exit for Route 93 south, there was nothing but tumbleweeds. It was boring.

Neo was giving his entire heart and soul to belting out, “Never gonna…” when she changed stations.

“It’s K-O-L-D, the cold gold! Coming to you from Houston and all points north, south, east, and west, via satellite radio! Up next, it’s Patsy Cline, with Crazy…”

“Damn, Trini, I was just about to go in for the big finish. Now I’ll have to go all weepy and pretend I’m an alto.”

“I’ll make ya an alto if you don’t shut your cake hole, Neo. You are giving me a massive headache.”

Rating for The Dust Between Our Stars

The story has a K+ rating. While nothing truly awful happens, there are the very real dangers of what could happen if we were to meet aliens on our turf, where we would essentially be the primitives.

Takeaways for The Dust Between Our Stars

This one was a great deal of fun to write. Neo in particular was like taking dictation.

And I would like to think that someone with the authority of Drusilla, the audacity of Neo, the persistence of Trinity, the faith of Coralynne, and even the Alpha male nonsense of Tim would realize that the people of Earth would not be served by anything but a peaceful gesture.

And as for what the dust between our stars really is, well, you’ll just have to read the story to find out.

Want More of the Obolonk Universe?

If the story of the Obolonks resonates with you, then check out my other articles about how our society turns tripartite, with humans, robots, and Obolonks.

Character Reviews: The Obolonk Murders

Humans
† Peri Martin
• Greg Shapiro
† Rachel Gifford

Robots
† Tommy 2000
• Selkhet 3000

Obolonks
† TSTITO

Character Reviews: Time Addicts

The Good Guys
• Josie James
† Carmen D’Angelo, MD
• Dalton Farouk
† Tad Lewis
• Cyndi Mendez
† Bobby Brodie
• Keisha Darnell
† Vera Travers

The Bad Guys
• Peter Ray
† Dae Ou Xiang
• Elston Young
† Corwin Zachary

The Obolonk Universe

Starburst Method for Writing a Novel

Starburst Method? What is it?

I’ve found it helps to consider some scenes. Not to write them. You may even want to role play them. And consider, e. g. when, say, a main character named Jennifer reveals she’s a zombie (or whatever your story is about), then there has to be some time before where the other characters think she’s a normal person. Hence that scene doesn’t come at the very beginning.

And I am suggesting a middle or even ending scene like this and not the start because I think it puts less pressure on me (your mileage may vary).

Dependencies

Hence the idea is to consider dependencies. I also will use a kind of (it’s not the official ‘snowflake method‘) starburst method where I will take a legal pad and write a major character’s name (or what the character is if I don’t have a name yet, e. g. the cab driver) and circle it. Just write it in the middle of the sheet.

Then draw spokes coming from the circle, as many as you like, and write more character names in circles, on the other ends of the spokes. Then, along the spokes themselves, write the connections. Not every character needs to connect to all of the others.

Connections

So in the example, Jennifer the zombie might connect to a cab driver because he picks her up after a concert. Some of those connections might turn into scenes, some of them might become back story. Or they might be scuttled. There’s no need to write absolutely everything.

Now we have Jennifer at a concert. Maybe she’s performing. And so we can work backwards a little, to determine a bit about her life or even when she became a zombie (maybe it was during music school).

Plot Advancement with the Starburst Method

We also go forward with the plot. Where does the cab driver take her? Maybe he takes her home. Or maybe he takes her to wherever she reveals she’s a zombie. Or maybe he kidnaps her. She might even make him her victim.

Consider where you want her story to begin. With her schooling? When she became a zombie? Right before she gets into that cab?

Consider where you want her story to end. With her revelation? Or with people accepting her new condition? With them killing her? Or with her striking back?

Hence you also ask questions (and you can have your friends ask you questions if you like, such as how she got zombified or whatever).

It’s not perfect; you still need transitions, but it works.

1 Comment

Snowflake Novel Outlining Method Revisited

Inspiration, names, physical world, news, literature, aging, speculating, Military, Myths, friendship, Childhood, Eavesdropping, pets, Religion, life events, medical care, Music, sexism, Getting story ideas, Children, visual artists, Senses, Education, Employment, Ideas jar, marriage, politics, films, TV shows, science, exercise, Writing about Technology, mental energy, Inspiration videos, Character Questionnaire, Tropes, Make Characters, Writing POC, Main Characters, snowflake,

Snowflake Novel Outlining Method Revisited

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on April 2, 2024

A Look at the Snowflake Novel Outlining Method, Revisited

Snowflake is but one method for outlining a novel. It’s not the only kind, and your methodology is probably best for you. But this is what I do. And it does not truly matter which genre I am writing in!

See, I do a variation on snowflake. Do this on paper. I’ve never been able to do it on a screen and I think paper gives some semi-permanent feelings. But if you can do it on a screen, then have at it. As always, you do you.

The First Snowflake Falls: Getting Started

1) Start with a concept. Let’s say the concept is that the world has run out of pumpkin spice.

2) Name a main-ish character (this can always be changed). So let’s go with a sapient chipmunk.

3) Write the main character’s name in the center of a page and circle it.

4) Write the concept down as well, maybe at the top of the page and circle it.

The Next Snowflake Will Fall: Making Connections

5) Draw 3 lines between them, but fewer if it’s a short story, more if it’s meant to be a series.

6) Along those lines, write possible connections. But don’t worry about them sounding stupid. Your sapient chipmunk might be hoarding it (and thereby is the villain). Another option is they might be searching for it as some sort of chipmunk holy quest. Or they might stumble upon it by accident.

It could be that they might have to pay it as ransom to the mean squirrel which kidnapped their baby chipmunks, whatever.

7) So now you’ve got more characters and more scene concepts.

Look, Another Snowflake: Supporting Characters

8) It’s time to grab a new page of paper. Same name in the center, circled. Now surround it with the names or at least descriptions of the other characters you came up with. In this case, the mean squirrel, whoever sent the chipmunk on the quest, whoever hid the pumpkin spice treasure our heroine stumbles over, the kidnapper, etc.

9) Draw connecting lines to the main character and, as before, write along those lines what the connections are. And do this even if you already have them written elsewhere. Otherwise, you’re going back and forth between pages, which is a pain.

Flurries: Supporting Scenes

10) Third sheet of paper: do the same with the concept and possible scenes. So these are scenes like the dramatic kidnapping, receiving the ransom note, a news story about the spice theft, the stumbling, etc.

More Flurries: Create Order (for the Scenes)

11) Fourth sheet of paper: take your scenes and put them in as coherent an order as you can and number them accordingly. Plus this can be changed. You’re just getting a rough idea here. So #1 kidnapper makes plans. And #2 spice is stolen; #3 meet the chipmunks, etc. Maybe you need to go back earlier to when the kidnapper first thought of the idea of kidnapping – that’s scene #0.

Hence maybe you want the news story between #2 and #3 – then rename it #2a and move on.

Snow Showers: Moving Onto Your Computer

12) Transcribe the scenes into a word processing document. I use Word; some people like Scrivener or Google docs, etc. In addition, continue to reorder the scenes and see where the filler and the exposition go.

13) Transcribe the character types and any names you’ve got. First of all, you’ve got to get across that the chipmunk heroine is sapient. So does she have an amazing backstory? Sketch it out, but do not feel married to it. Because it may or may not end up in the book.

Sometimes a backstory doesn’t need to be explicitly stated, but if you know your chipmunk was an escapee from a science lab, that might inform how you write her.

Just because you researched or thought of something, does not mean it absolutely must end up on the page.

I cannot stress that enough.

The Blizzard: Assign Tasks

14) Time to figure out who does what. Hence maybe the crow delivers the ransom note, or the wolf acts as the squirrel’s henchman and does the actual dirty work of kidnapping.

15) Keep refining and go back to the paper if you need to.

Note: a lot of people who don’t like outlines feel they have to show every single little thing planned out. But this does not have to be true. Because all you really need is a general idea for a scene, like someone kidnaps the chipmunk babies kidnapped, pumpkin spice shortage reported in the news, etc. Just know what your scenes’ purposes are.

Post-Storm Clean-Up: Do You Really Need That Scene or Character?

A scene should have one of two purposes (it can have both):

1) Develop characters (particularly the main character) or

2) Advance the plot.

So any scenes which do neither should get scuttled or altered.

Lather, rinse, repeat. This is my version of the snowflake method. But it’s not the only way to write a snowflake novel.

And once again, for the cheap seats – you do you. Everyone else is taken.

Leave a Comment

Writing Progress Report – First Quarter 2024

Writing Progress Reports, First Quarter 2018, Second Quarter 2018, Third Quarter 2018, Fourth Quarter 2018, First Quarter 2019, Second Quarter 2019, Third Quarter 2019, Fourth Quarter 2019, First Quarter 2020, Second Quarter 2020, Third Quarter 2020, Fourth Quarter 2020, First Quarter 2021, Second Quarter 2021, Third Quarter 2021, Fourth Quarter 2021, First Quarter 2022, Second Quarter 2022, Third Quarter 2022, Fourth Quarter 2022, First Quarter 2023, Second Quarter 2023, Third Quarter 2023, Fourth Quarter 2023, First Quarter 2024, Second Quarter 2024, Third Quarter 2024, Fourth Quarter 2024, Writing Progress Reports Hub, First Quarter 2024, Second Quarter 2024, Third Quarter 2024, Fourth Quarter 2024, First Quarter 2025, Second Quarter 2025, Third Quarter 2025, Fourth Quarter 2025, First Quarter 2026, Second Quarter 2026, Third Quarter 2026, Fourth Quarter 2026,

Writing Progress Report – First Quarter 2024

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on March 28, 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.

This included …And the Walls Came Tumbling Down Again.

Then on Wattpad I posted nowhere, as I have quit the ambassador program there. It was just plain too much for me to handle. I could not do anything else, and I don’t honestly foresee that getting better any time soon.

Milestones

Also, I have written over 3.5 million words (fan fiction and wholly original fiction combined). So right now, my stats on Wattpad for wholly original works are as follows:

• Dinosaurs – 42 reads, 11 comments
† How to NaNoWriMo – 26,183 reads, 340 comments (pulled from Wattpad due to their severed association with NaNo)
• My Favorite Things (like kibble) – 992 reads, 133 comments
† Revved Up – 59,486 reads, 531 comments
• Side By Side – 21 reads, 2 comments
† Social Media Guide for Wattpad – 16,862 reads, 592 comments. This is under my actual name, Janet Gershen-Siegel.
• The Canadian Caper – 510 reads, 37 comments
† The Dish – 251 reads, 24 comments
• There is a Road – 189 reads, 28 comments

Published Works as of First Quarter 2024

Also, I am amassing quite the collection of published works! So, here’s everything that has found a home so far.

Untrustworthy, which is my first published novel. So yay!

A True Believer in Skepticism, published in Mythic Magazine.

Almost Shipwrecked, a story in the January 2019 edition of Empyreome, a site which unfortunately is no more.

Canaries, a short story in the March 29, 2019, edition of Theme of Absence.

Complications, a story in the Queer Sci Fi Discovery anthology. So this is an anthology where the proceeds went to supporting the QSF website.

Cynthia and Wilder Bloom, stories in the Longest Night Watch II anthology.

Props, a story in the Longest Night Watch I anthology. So this is an anthology where the proceeds go to Alzheimer’s research.

Surprises, a story in Book One of the 42 and Beyond Anthology set.

The Boy in the Band, a story in the Pride Park anthology. So this is an anthology where the proceeds go to the Trevor Project.

The Interview, the featured story in the December 14, 2018 edition of Theme of Absence. So they even interviewed me!

The Last Patient, a story in the Stardust, Always anthology. This was an anthology where the proceeds go to cancer research.

The Resurrection of Ditte, a story in the Unrealpolitik anthology.

This is My Child, a short story published in the April 8, 2019 edition of Asymmetry Fiction, another site which is no more.

Three Minutes Back in Time, a short story published in Mythic Magazine.

Killing Us Softly, a short story published in Corner Bar Magazine.

Darkness into Light, a short story published in Corner Bar Magazine.

WIP Corner

So my current WIPs are as follows:

The Obolonk Murders Trilogy – so this one is all about a tripartite society. But who’s killing the aliens?

The Enigman Cave – can we find life on another planet and not screw it up? You know, like we do everything else?

The Real Hub of the Universe Trilogy – so the aliens who live among us in the 1870s and 1880s are at war. But why is that?

Mettle – so it’s all about how society goes to hell in a hand basket when the metals of the periodic table start to disappear. But then what?

Time Addicts – No One is Safe – so this one is all about what happens in the future when time travel becomes possible via narcotic.

Time Addicts – Nothing is Permanent – this is the second in this trilogy. What happens when time is tampered with and manipulated in all sorts of ways? It’s the ultimate in gaslighting, for one thing.

Time Addicts – Everything is Up For Grabs – as the timelines smack together and continue to diverge, it gets harder to tell the “real” timeline from all the newer fake ones. And what if some of the changes are for the better?

Prep Work

So currently, my intention, for 2025’s NaNoWriMo, is to write the third trilogy in the Time Addicts/Obolonks universe. But I need to iron out the plot! So a lot of this year has been spent on that. I have no name for this one yet.

For 2022 – 2023 NaNoWriMo, I have decided to create a prequel for each of the 5 main universes: Real Hub of the Universe, Obolonks, Time Addicts (while the Obolonks and Time Addicts are in the same universe, I just plain want to write two separate prequels!), Untrustworthy, The Enigman Cave, and Mettle.

In 2022, I wrote the prequels for Time Addicts and The Real Hub of the Universe. For 2023, it was the Untrustworthy prequel and Obolonk prequels. And for 2024, it is the Enigman Cave and Mettle prequels.

So, I anticipate a lot of fun and perhaps a little confusion. But it’s all good!

First Quarter 2024 Queries and Submissions

The older ones have moved. You can find them on my Publishing Stats page.

It’s been quiet. But that has been by design. Right now, I just plain don’t feel like putting myself out there these days. There, I said it.

In Progress

As of first Quarter 2024, the following are still technically in the running for publishing:

This list is the name of the story and then the name of the potential publisher.

† I Used to Be Happy – Gemini Magazine
• Justice – Adbusters
† Mettle – RAB
• Soul Rentals ‘R’ Us – A Thousand One Stories
† Who Do We Blame for This? – Sonder Review

First Quarter 2024 – Productivity Killers

So it’s looking for work, what else? I am working part-time and also searching for full-time work. It’s a pain, and definitely cramps my writing style. Unfortunately, first Quarter 2024 will not be the end of that….

If my works resonate with you, check out my other articles about my progress:

Querying and Publishing Stats
Previous Progress Report Post
Next Progress Report Post

Writing Progress Reports Hub

Leave a Comment

Do You Have Enough Spoons? Do I?

Adventures in Career Changing, Welcome to my Welcome Mat, Color Theory Videos, Cheat Sheets, future of the lonely writer, Second 5K, Contact me, Tech Boston, More Than This, First 5K, This Sunday, Monday morning dash, My Appointments, Fun at Andala, Job interview, site map, my reinvention, karmic wheel, sail on, which universe, my videos, Sense and safety, universal explorations, job at Neuron Robotics, Social Media Club, enough spoons, Happy Birthday Mass Innovation, a look at Pegasystems, our collective future, Future of the Lonely Writer, Job Seeking, AI hype train, Writing Freedom, Chance Encounter in Time, Show for the Galaxy, Sense, my sitemap, site map, cheat sheets for you and me,

Do You Have Enough Spoons? Do I?

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on March 21, 2024

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 all?

And while I am not considered to be a disabled person, so I don’t want to misappropriate this term, I think the term applies well to the query trenches.

Trenches. Now, there’s an excellent word for it.

What Does Not Having Enough Spoons Mean in the Context of Querying?

The biggest problem and the biggest triumph of querying are the same thing. It’s that you put yourself out there. And, as a result, this means you will be judged. More often than not, we indie writers are found wanting. But why?

Blame it on Volume

Does everyone have a book in them? Maybe. Does everyone have a good book in them? Heh, probably not. But what does “good” mean in this context? Often, it means less that you have a page turner, and more that you have a book which can be marketed well and will hit popular taste at just the right time.

A book about the life and times of a blacksmith would, right now, have an uphill climb when it comes to querying. Many readers would not find that person to be relatable. But they can be made so. It’s not impossible. But change that blacksmith to a mommy blogger and you’ve just crossed the first hurdle.

Now, you may not cross any other hurdles. If the book’s not relatable for other reasons, then you’re probably out of luck.

Blame it on Changing Tastes

We’ve all got the attention spans of gnats these days. As a result, what was in two years ago is out now. Hell, what was in two weeks ago may very well be out. Yes, already.

Case in point. Consider stock photos. The images of people masking up were all over the internet in 2020 and 2021. You saw them in blogs, brochures, and online advertising.

Now? They just look dated. This doesn’t mean the pandemic is over (it’s not). It doesn’t mean there are no good reasons to mask up anymore. Of course there are. But what it does mean is to ditch the masking in stock images unless you’re writing about something like medical care, nursing homes, or sick kids.

When Ambition Meets Fatigue, Busyness, and Anxiety, it Crushes Your Spoons

I had wanted to start to put out a newsletter, and I had wanted to start it today. Yes, on the vernal equinox. It feels like a momentous day!

But alas, I did not have enough spoons. Because the ramp-up is somewhat steep. There’s a lot riding on it, because it’s a marketing tool.

But as I think more and more about this, I feel I was putting the cart before the horse. After all, a marketing tool isn’t really necessary if, right now, I have very little to really market.

It would be better for me to get my act in gear on beta readers, an ARC team, a street team (maybe). Understanding how to format for self-publishing, or at least who to hire to do so, would also be good. Maybe I just need to let querying go completely, and strike out more or less on my own.

I don’t know.

But one thing may very well be true.

I may have had enough spoons all along. I was just spending them on the wrong stuff.

Thanks for listening.

Leave a Comment

Self-Review – Complications

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on March 14, 2024

It’s Time to Review Complications

So Complications is one of those stories where it takes me a moment to remember – oh, yeah, it’s that one. And that never bodes well for readers.

Background

So this was originally a het fan fiction story. But with a few changes, it could go in another direction. And both of the characters were wholly original. But in the published version, it’s two different characters anyway.

Essentially, the only thing I used was the scenario and some of the dialogue.

So it shows. This was, unfortunately, not exactly a big effort on my part. If I was to do it again, I would have worked harder on this. But when I needed to hand it in, I was pressed for time.

The Plot of Complications

The truth is, this story has very nearly no plot. Basically, it is a vignette with little plot, only sketches of characters, and no crisis or conflicts at all. Hell, it is barely even a scene.

Characters

The characters are the narrator, Suzanne, and her lesbian lover, Tellina. Tellina is not a human.

Memorable Quotes from Complications

“And you’ve never done this with a human before?”

“I’ve never done this with anyone before, Suzanne.” They kissed.

“And,” Suzanne asked, “When does it all, er, end?”

“I’m uncertain. I don’t know how much precedence there is for such things. What do you generally do after, uh, afterwards?”

“Get a snack, watch the viewer, go to sleep, hell, I’ve left on occasion.”

“Most of those are out of the question right now. Could you sleep, perhaps?”

Rating

The story has a K+ rating. While the action occurs “off screen”, there are certainly some allusions to it.

Upshot

So while it was great for Queer Sci Fi to publish it, Complications really did not deserve to be published anywhere. Because it is just not that good a story. I have written far, far better, both before and since. So be it. They can’t all be gems.

Complications could have been better. Ah, well.

Leave a Comment

Category: Writing

How and Why Does Writing Speak to Us?

Independent Writers Do It All

Past, Present, and Future Authoring

Review – Unreliable

Background

Plot

Unreliable Characters

Memorable Quotes

A Rating That is Anything But Unreliable

Takeaways

Like this:

How Do I Write a Book and Get Started?

What Happens Once that Year is Up?

Time to Review

Edit and Expand

Get Inspiration

Keep Going

How Do I Write a Book? Now’s the Time to Start Converting Your Short Scribbles into a Book

How Do I Write a Book and Have it Go Anywhere?

Like this:

Review – The East Side of the Universe

Background

Plot of the East Side of the Universe

Characters

Memorable Quotes

Rating

Connections to Other Writing

Takeaways for The East Side of the Universe

Want More of the Real Hub Universe?

Character Reviews:

Like this:

Dealing With Rejection

Mourning a Loss/Rejection

Leave it!

Review it!

Objective Considerations

Subjective Considerations with a Rejection

Moving On from a Rejection

Like this:

Review – The Dust Between Our Stars

Background

Plot

Characters

Memorable Quotes {Trini is driving to the Grand Canyon while Neo sings along to EVERY song and commercial jingle on the radio} from The Dust Between Our Stars

Rating for The Dust Between Our Stars

Takeaways for The Dust Between Our Stars

Want More of the Obolonk Universe?

Character Reviews: The Obolonk Murders

Character Reviews: Time Addicts

Prequels

Self-Reviews: Obolonk Trilogy

Self-Reviews: Time Addicts Trilogy

Like this:

Starburst Method for Writing a Novel

Dependencies

Connections

Plot Advancement with the Starburst Method

Like this:

A Look at the Snowflake Novel Outlining Method, Revisited

The First Snowflake Falls: Getting Started

The Next Snowflake Will Fall: Making Connections

Look, Another Snowflake: Supporting Characters

Flurries: Supporting Scenes

More Flurries: Create Order (for the Scenes)

Snow Showers: Moving Onto Your Computer

The Blizzard: Assign Tasks

Post-Storm Clean-Up: Do You Really Need That Scene or Character?

Like this:

Progress Report – First Quarter 2024

First Quarter 2024 Posted Works

Milestones

Published Works as of First Quarter 2024

WIP Corner

Prep Work

First Quarter 2024 Queries and Submissions

In Progress

First Quarter 2024 – Productivity Killers

Like this:

How Many Are Enough Spoons, Anyway?