No, I have not fallen into a black hole. Yes, I am still writing (even though the progress bars in the sidebar are not moving). So what have I been doing? The last few months have seen me more focused on writing than I have been in some time.

My progress with Whispering Caves was going quite well. However, writing in first person presented a problem where I couldn’t present vital information as the main character had no way of knowing about it (or finding out about it). I came up with a solution, but am not convinced it is working that well. Having written 15,000 words, I must admit that the manuscript has been placed on the back burner, once again. I’m not entirely happy with this decision, but feel I should be moving forward on other completed projects before finishing this one.

The reason I’ve put the manuscript on the back burner is due to another decision I’ve made about my Cat’s Series (for young readers). There are four books in the series. Two have been written and edited. The other two have been planned, but need writing. As mentioned in a previous post, I’ve decided to publish this series of books myself.

At present, I’m trying to decide if I want to set up a publishing company (small press) or find out if there are other options that would be more suitable for my situation. I’m usually quite resourceful, but have had little luck finding any good information on what options are available to me. This may mean the options are limited, but I want to make an informed decision so I’ll keep searching.

Ideally, setting up a business would be great except I have no knowledge how to go about it or what it entails afterwards and this scares me…a lot! In fact, my own fear is holding me back from taking further steps and this not only annoys me, but frustrates me too.

In the meantime, I’ve been working on covers for the four books. As I’m not an artist, I’ve decided to go with a theme that will cover (excuse the pun) the entire series. The background colours will be bright, the main image will promote the essence of the series and then there will be another image that will be unique to each book. Books 2 and 3 are done, but I’m having a devil of a time with the cover of book 1 – Cat’s Eyes. I’ve been to many royalty free websites and have not found anything suitable. I have used family photos of my own cats to try and achieve a pair of cat’s eyes that would be right, but haven’t come up with the right look yet. A simple pair of black eyes on a transparent background, at a size suitable for cover artwork, will not defeat me!

That’s what I’ve been doing – artwork, editing, refining plans for the unwritten books, writing blurbs, researching and reading websites regarding indie authors, thinking about formats and publication. All these things are writing related.

If you know of any resources that may help me, please let me know. I need all the help I can get.

At 1.30pm today I will disconnect the internet, turn off the phone and return to writing Whispering Caves (after a two week break due to illness). I will be home alone. There will be no distractions. And I will ignore the headache I’ve got, because I’m used to working through those now.

I want to write and I will write! Nothing will stop me.

This morning, I have surfed the internet, played games and faffed about doing silly things. I have attempted to get everything out of my system so that the quiet writing time I will have this afternoon will be totally focused.

I have even gone to numerous writer’s websites purely for inspiration. And there’s so much to be had. It’s wonderful. But the place I found the most inspiration today was The Clarity of Night website, where a competition is being hosted at the moment. The entries are in and readers are being asked to cast their votes. There’s over 70 entries but as they are flash fiction the entries don’t take long to read and I found myself reading them. All of them. I also found myself enjoying and being inspired by quite a few. Eventually, I decided that since I’d put the time into reading all the entries, I should cast a vote because it was the right thing to do. I want the authors of the entries I really enjoyed to receive points in the competition. I want them to know that someone appreciated their efforts. I want to add at the time that I’ve never been to the website before so I’m not associated with it in any way.

Reading the short pieces of flash fiction helped me get into the zone today. But as I read the pieces I came to realise that my preferences are clear – I like dialogue in writing, I’m not keen on all narrative pieces. That is the case when reading longer pieces too. I sway towards books with plenty of dialogue, I enjoy them so much more. But all readers are different. I know that. Writing is always about finding balance in our work. Writers can always appeal to all sorts of readers if they can just find the right balance. Easier said than done.

But enough faffing. Right now, I need to make myself lunch and a cup of tea. In just over half an hour I will open my manuscript and will be dragged into a fantasy world where lives are at risk, love is blossoming, secrets are being kept and the past and present meet. I can’t wait to get there.

I’ve got a plan and that plan includes thinking about book covers. I look at them and try to work out what works and what doesn’t (for me). All readers are different, so what feels good to me might be a complete turn off for you, but that’s life.

With this in mind, I set out to find book covers, lots of them and I found the Book Cover Archive. It’s a perfect place to look when book covers are on your mind. There are pages and pages of them. It’s easy to see what colours work well together and those that don’t. It’s easy to decide if minimal is the best option, and also when busy is perfect. It’s great for learning about layouts and fonts and images too. When I look at them, I know instantly which ones I’d pick up and the ones I wouldn’t waste my time on.

Yes, book covers are on my mind. My only regret is that I can’t draw or paint or do anything slightly creative in that sense. But does that mean I can’t make a good cover? I hope not because I’ll be needing one or more soon.

I’ve decided to publish my cat’s series. Books 1 and 2 are written, but will need another edit before I move into the next stage of my plan. Books 3 and 4 are planned, but need to be written. The target audience is 9 to 12 year olds, so I’ll need colourful covers that will appeal to that age group. Oh how I wish I could draw because I know what I want but can’t think of a way to get it without it being drawn.

Stay tuned for further updates as I move along the indie publishing road.

I’ve discovered another informative website – Publetariat.

If you click on the “Publish” tab, you’ll find a long list of articles that could steal several hours of your time. I read a few of them and intend to read more. But this post is related to one of the articles Setting Stories Free…For Free.

If you read the article, you’ll discover the author has been giving away free stories for nine years and she intends to continue doing so. Over the years she received a lot of flack over it, but that made no difference. Then, near the end of the article, she tells how she also has seven best sellers since 2005. No wonder she didn’t/doesn’t listen to the flack. What she’s doing is working in her favour, why should she stop doing it?

This is a great example of someone who made a decision and stuck with it. It’s also an example of how giving something away for free can lead to a readership that will support you when you publish too. But what I liked best about the article is that it gives a clear message of determination wins through, which is encouraging as we sometimes get disillusioned on this long journey.

These days, many people want to write a novel. They talk about it. They may even plan it in their head. Others will go as far as making notes. Several of them will even open a blank document and start writing. But very few of them will finish the manuscript.

There’s no trick to finishing a manuscript. Except, perseverance and dedication. If you truly want to finish a manuscript, you will. There will be no excuses, distractions or hard luck stories that will stop you. You’ll want to sit and write, so you’ll find the time or make the time to do it. It’s that simple.

If you do make excuses, then maybe you don’t really want to write. Maybe the idea of writing is pleasing, but the actual hard work of writing isn’t for you. That’s for you to decide.

Yesterday, I wandered onto the site of Timothy Hallinan and found a page called Finish Your Novel. If you decide you do want to be writer, yet you’re having trouble getting the words down, then maybe the articles of Timothy’s website will help you.

It’s common for fantasy stories to have a medieval backdrop – castles, men (or women) on horseback and fire torches instead of battery operated torches. Of course, writers don’t have to use this setting. They can do whatever they want, because it’s fantasy! That’s the beauty of the genre.

Anyway, by accident I stumbled on a great resource for those of you who do have a medieval type world (like me). The page is called Medieval Demographics Made Easy and I believe it will help anyone get started on a world that is believable.

I found myself thinking about book covers yesterday afternoon, as I visualised my unpublished books on the shelf of a book shop.  :)

Whispering Caves isn’t finished yet, but I have always had an image in my mind that I associate with the cover.  However, Cat’s Eyes is finished and because of that, I concentrated on that cover more.

Later in the evening, out of boredom, I opened Photoshop and tried to put my thoughts into an image.  It was difficult!  When I went to bed several hours later, I had a cover that appealed to me, but there’s the big problem…

…I’m a lot older than the intended audience.

This morning, I left my warm bed and decided to research the covers of children’s books and I found From A Childs View: 30+ Creative Children’s Book Covers.

To me, some of the covers shown in the post look old fashioned (and perhaps they are).  The ones that appeal to my young heart are the ones with vibrant colours.  They stand out from the rest.  They scream “READ ME” and isn’t that what every author wants?

Don’t judge a book by it’s cover, but remember when preparing one that just about all readers do, so investing time into a brilliant cover is worth the effort.

As mentioned yesterday in Writing Progress Bar, I have been posting a lot about other things but nothing has appeared lately about my writing. I wouldn’t blame readers for thinking it’s not happening, but it is. I can’t say I’m crunching the numbers, but slow and steady still finishes the race.

Over the last two weeks I’ve written about 2,000 words per week, which I think is good. It’s certainly better than not writing at all. As of right now, I’m hovering just below the 10,000 word mark, which is very exciting.

However, what I really want to post about today is how even the best planned stories can go off in a completely new direction. This has happened to me with Whispering Caves. My plans are sitting dormant and the storyline has changed. The main character’s personality is not how I envisioned. A rawer, gutsier woman is coming through and that is definitely a good thing. Her background has shifted too. She has had a tough upbringing and I guess that’s why she won’t take any crap from anyone. I like her.

But that’s not the only thing that has changed. My entire vision for the manuscript never saw the light of day. For starters, I surprised myself by writing in first person and then I surprised myself by splitting the manuscript into three parts. I won’t go into details as to why, but I’m pleased with the new direction.

Finally, remember that “book” thread that gave me so much trouble? Well, it seems all the thought that went into that thread has paid off because I am now completely rid of the old storylines and scenes that kept popping up in my head. (I suffered from “not wanting to let go” syndrome.) The cogs are turning in the right direction and the storyline is nothing like my plan, but it feels complete in my mind.

I may not give regular updates, but the status bar will indicate if I’m still focused and writing the manuscript. At this stage, I will not set a public goal as to when I want to finish the manuscript. I just want to write and setting goals could put unnecessary pressure on me. The manuscript will be finished when I reach the end.

This website is a personal diary where I record the things I’m interested in — namely writing, reading, genealogy, knitting and a few other minor activities such as computer programs and operating systems, and game playing such as Playstation.

At times, the website will be dominated by one of these topics more than the others. At other times, I’ll go relatively quiet because I haven’t got much to say at the time. Lately there’s been a run on computer and knitting topics because I’ve been using both of these things to help me relax as my blood specialist tells me I must not get stressed. Easier said than done.

You may have also noticed the new writing progress bar I’ve added to the sidebar. In fact, it’s not new, I’ve used it before but for some reason that I can’t remember I moved away from it. Now that I’m writing again — yes, I am writing amongst all the other stuff — I thought the bar would be a good indicator how I’m going even though I may not be talking about writing much. It’s also a good motivator for me, as I like seeing the numbers climb higher and will strive to make it keep happening.

I will give a proper writing update tomorrow.

Varuna The Writers’ House is situated close to me, but I had never heard of it until today. I’ve spent some time today going through the awards, competitions and events and feel this website could be useful to me.

I have already put my name forward to be added to their mailing list. Unfortunately, they had the Sydney Writers’ Festival last weekend and the Sunday program was of interest to me, but I missed out which is a shame.

However, there is a short story program coming up that I’m thinking of submitting to. A selection of stories will be published in an anthology in 2011 in Scribe’s (not associated with me) New Australian Stories 2.0. I have to write a short story first!