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What to Write Next?

May 29, 2013 By JPMcLean 4 Comments

I’m in an interesting phase of the writing process. It’s the world-is-my-oyster phase; the time between writing projects. What to write next?

I’ve finished writing Book III of the gift trilogy, Book II is about to be published, but as I learned after I finished writing Book I, the ideas don’t just stop because the book’s done. They flood in, rudely interrupting thought and sleep and other moments they choose.

But this time around, with the trilogy complete, the possibilities are even bigger. Do I start a brand spanking-new project or continue with Emelynn’s story in the trajectory in The Gift? Do I continue writing in the fantasy thriller genre or do I change genres? What about the narrative? Do I continue with first person POV, or switch it up with multiple POVs?

There are so many possibilities for how and what to write next and so few hours in each day. What to do? It’s a time of asking questions, researching and brainstorming.

What would you do next?

2020 update: I did, in fact, continue Emelynn’s story. The Gift Legacy stands complete at 7 books. You can read about the books here.

What readers are saying about Secret Sky:

Photo by Edi Libedinsky on Unsplash

Readers Beware!

May 23, 2013 By JPMcLean 2 Comments

Readers Beware!

I thought writing fiction took imagination; apparently reading fiction is imagination’s poker equivalent of, “I’ll see that bet and raise you.”

At least that’s the impression I get from the speculative feedback coming in from people who’ve read Awakening. Readers are buying chips, taking seats at the card table, and throwing all they’ve got into their bets.

A typical opening starts with… “I’ll bet that such-and-such happens,” or … “I bet so-and-so will do this.” And then they present a wild-ass twist that would never have crossed my mind. I don’t have a very good poker face and many times I’ve had to peel my eyebrows out of my hairline. I’m happy to say that some of these crazy suggestions are really good. Bent, but good.

It’s yet another reminder that once you publish your book, it’s not yours anymore.

So readers beware! I’m taking notes and names. What you say can and will be used in a future book.

Your favourite author is probably on-line. Go ahead—give them some crazy-ass feedback. They’ll love it.

What readers are saying about Secret Sky:

You can purchase all of my books through the Bookstore Tab.

Photo by Heather Gill on Unsplash

Write What You Know

May 16, 2013 By JPMcLean 4 Comments

Write what you know is one of the classic nuggets of advice to writers. There’s much to learn when you write a book and more still when you publish it. Not all of the learning is fun, but it’s never boring.

One of the more interesting things I learned was how much of myself I inadvertently reveal in my writing. It seems I’ve written more than one quirk of my own into my characters.

Friends who know me well, point them out: The giant mug of tea, the out-of-control hair, the boring clothing choices, and the main character’s propensity to get lost are just a few. It seems I’ve taken the adage, write what you know to heart.

Now that I know I do that, and since I’ve already mined my own foibles, I’ll move on to more fertile ground. In future, if you find yourself reading a book of mine and a character description is a little too close to home, go ahead, raise an eyebrow. You might even think, hey, wait a minute, I resemble that remark.

If you ask me, I will, of course, deny it.

Have you read a character that hits a little too close to home?

All of my books are available to purchase through the Bookstore Tab.

Photo by Daniel Gonzalez on Unsplash

Impulse Purchase

May 8, 2013 By JPMcLean 3 Comments

Impulse Purchase

We were at Liquidation World* last week because we heard they had good prices on airless wheelbarrow tires. It seems our current wheelbarrow tire makes a better sprinkler than a tire (something to do with an excess of wild rose thorn holes).

I know you’re thinking well then, don’t you already have an airless tire? Indeed we do, but the variety my husband sought was sponge-like and wouldn’t ever leak again and require his attention.

Anyway, I digress.

While the husband checked out airless tires, I spotted a beautiful blue/green pot I thought would look nice on our front porch. (We don’t need a pot that would look nice on our front porch.) But it sported a neon SALE sticker and the blue/green colour went well with the new siding.

But there was no price on the pot. So with the husband otherwise occupied, I inquired as to the lovely blue/green pot’s, SALE price. While the clerk looked it up, I considered how much I’d pay for a blue/green pot we don’t need even if it does match the new siding.

Then the clerk said it was just $35.00.

Oh dear! Now I had a dilemma. Not only was the lovely blue/green pot (that we didn’t need) reasonably priced—some would say cheap, but the clerk informed me that it wasn’t just a lovely pot. It was a lovely pot that included a water feature; one of those numbers with the bamboo spout and a wee pump the size of your thumb. I imagined a tiny pond; something into which you could drop a lily pad or some other aquatic plant (which I know nothing about).

How could I resist? The husband didn’t even roll his eyes when I handed over the cash. He then trundled our new blue/green fountain pot—that we don’t need—out to the truck.

It’s now situated on the porch. It’s been washed, filled with water and, I’m happy to report, sounds just like a tiny babbling brook. I closed my eyes and smiled, picturing a forest creek with river rocks and overhanging boughs dripping moss…

And then it hits me…

Don’t we already have running water from October through April? Of course we do – we live in a rain forest. It rains a lot. In fact, isn’t that babbling brook of a pump reminiscent of the water that dribbles through our gutters and into our downspouts for most of the year?

What was I thinking? As I write this post, I can hear the water in the pretty blue/green pot babbling away. It sounds like someone is peeing on the porch. Forget the lily pad – I’m going to buy some soil and pot up something quiet and dry. A cactus appeals to me for some reason.

Do you have an impulse purchase you want to fess up to?

All of my books are available for purchase on the Bookstore Tab.

*Liquidation World has since closed 🙁