May
15
19 Comments

WAR: preview chapter, plus news.

Posted in Books, Elantra, Short Stories, writing.

I seem to have misplaced April. First: News. I have sold DAW Books the first four novels in the series that is now called The Burning Crown, but which I’ve called The End of Days arc for decades. I have no titles, but do have dead­lines — the first of which is July of 2020. That’s when it’s due to the publisher. It’s not a publi­ca­tion date >.<. This is the last arc of the Essalieyan universe. I expect it to be roughly the same as the Sun Sword in length. (Well, no, I orig­i­nally thought, it’s just these two books, right? I have endings! Greek Chorus: No, Michelle, try to be real­istic for once. You thought the Sun Sword was two books, too — Broken Crown and Sun Sword. But I had key endpoints and the first … Continue reading →

March
24
23 Comments

State of the Author, March 2019 edition

Posted in Books, Cast, DAW, Elantra, Essalieyan, chapters, Mira.

I am, for the moment, done with the Writing Process posts, in part because they were an attempt to answer a ques­tion which has cropped up in different ways over the last few years. They were an enor­mous amount of fun for me. I do have one more post — about the evolu­tion of process — but it’s half-finished, and it has been set aside in favour of taxes. Which is about as much fun as it sounds. Taxes are being done early this year because the annual writing retreat has been moved forward to the end of April. Which would mean I’d be in a different country at about the time Tax Panic sets in. So: early tax filing for me. Writing news: First, the … Continue reading →

March
19
7 Comments

On Writing Process, part seven: Anxiety & Authoring

Posted in writing, process.

This is, indi­rectly, the answer to the ques­tion I was asked several years ago. That ques­tion wasn’t about how to write that first novel, or the rest of the ques­tions that we all had as new writers; it was about how, after the shine of that first novel dulled, the dust had settled, and one was not Rowling or Roth­fuss, one continued. Oddly enough, it is also a post about Anxiety and processing. Or not oddly. ANXIETY PART II I want to recap slightly, but also to be a bit more gran­ular. So, let me go back to my 3 points, because they’re not actu­ally 3 points. This is Michelle at peak effi­ciency: 1. Cast novel current words 2. Cast novel, possible causal forward writing … Continue reading →

March
15
8 Comments

On Writing Process: Interlude about work

Posted in writing, process.

My job is writing. No, let me start this again. My work is writing. Job implies pay of one kind or another, but… the work itself existed before I was paid. When I chose publi­ca­tion as a viable aim, I did that work in the hope that I might one day be paid for doing it. It was the same work as I do now, but I wasn’t as good at it. Writing is work to all of the people who want to share the results of that work in future with readers. While you are in the writing trenches, we are strug­gling to do the same thing. We are all working. We are all writing. Let me start with an anec­dote. *** When they were in … Continue reading →

March
13
12 Comments

On Writing Process, part six: Anxiety and writing

Posted in writing, process.

ANXIETY PART I This one is more compli­cated. Or at least it is on the inside of my head. So, let’s start with a digres­sion. An anec­dote. A friend of mine in real life, who also writes, once asked me a ques­tion. It was pretty simple. “What are you thinking about?” “I’m thinking about the struc­ture of this book.” (I don’t remember which book, but it was one I was writing, and not one I was reading, and yes, the distinc­tion does make a differ­ence.) “What else are you thinking?” “I’m wondering if there’s anything I can do to help Older Son sleep at night.” “What else are you thinking?” “I’m thinking that I don’t have enough things in place to write the Dragon Court book I want … Continue reading →