Hi guys,
It's been 20 days, and I managed 118 views of my blog (and hopefully clicks on my links, especially that all important free beta copy of 3W over on Dropbox!)
And a lot has changed. Even my writing. Because my #WritingCommunity follows in the twitterverse, I've come into contact with tips from the writer's writer, Stephen King (no I still haven't read one of his books, but one day I'll watch Pet Sematary), namely his #6 - The road to hell is paved with adverbs.
Adverbs - verbs that you turn into an adjective, or an adjective you verbify. These are bad, these are weak writing, etc. And I'm guilty as charged. So, I'm on another polishing run - I was lining one up anyway, but this time its with vengeful purpose. I'm murdering adverbs. I'm having fun murdering adverbs. It's on like the Red Wedding. I'm a Lannister cutting through Starks with gay abandon.
Is this write? Should I be taking so much joy in this polishing run? Mass murdering words? It's hilarious fun! Good thing I'm tempering it with getting stuck into part two - I WROTE A PAGE, YAY ME! Though... it's a bit of a hard slog.
But here goes the plan. Write a page, spill lots of blood. More pages, more bloodshed. But its write a page from the very last chapter first; and I think I'm going to be writing The Ways Out more or less backwards. I think its for the best, but if you've gotten into my writing, or are getting into it, you have or will be acquainted with the roughness I'll put characters through.
What can I say? Having gone through the wringer, I associate with going through the wringer, and this one's by far worse than any of the fight scenes in TSH. I had no idea I would one day sit down to write a zero deaths story, but I have, and its quite the expression that pain, conflict does come in many forms, even as simple as challenging the self. But conflict with mad sword fighting skillz and Ragnar/Lagertha-level double team bloodletting will always be a fave, so, at least I get to go Mary Queen of Scots' grisly execution on something...
Though it's made writing harder, because I'm still adverbing, I'm aware of it, and I'm cutting it to pieces as I go. Not sure how this will affect progress on The Ways Out, but valiantly, violently, outwardly adverbally as I just did, I'm fighting on to the betterment of my technique. I think some more of my italics are going next, gotta reserve those for the definite impact of combat.
And yeah, there's a lot of change already going for 3W, even the beta copy, so any copies you get now do have adverbs and some tautology until I can post the new copy, so I extend my most heartfelt soz for that. But that's what beta copies and constructive criticism are for, testing the waters and improving the mad writing skillz. And that's where I'll leave it for now.
From the land of McMurderousness (maybe I should do a serial killer story), I bid you farewell, and kill the adverbs. All of them. LEAVE NONE ALIVE!
The joys of being an author.
Have a good one!
T. M.
Sunday, 26 May 2019
Monday, 6 May 2019
Hi guys,
Guess what I went and did?
Yep, I pressed the publish button.
THREE WAYS - THE WAYS IN IS NOW AVAILABLE ON AMAZON!
My baby - what I'm calling a published work in progress (I'll be doing more proofing in a month as I start on The Ways Out, I just need a break from it having gone through 4 times and to rest the writing fingers) - is out and about on the internet, where you can buy a kindle copy or the paperback...
But because I'm that kind of guy, and believe free books are good books (even the ones that still aren't quite up to scratch) I've gone and dropboxed the beta copy, which you can grab right here! 😁
So, what is Three Ways?
Get your minds off Pornhub, its about the three ways to see relationships and the self - Physical, Mental/Emotional, and Spiritual.
It's got everything a romance needs - two people falling for each other, an ex turning up when least expected, dating, kissing, sex - Oh, God, the sex! - but all with a male main character, a male viewpoint, and the main character based on myself,. As I'm saying, it's the autobiographical first novel I should have written, and it comes courtesy of an idea from my sister (thanks sis!)
This is going to be a shorter post, I have a lot to get on with advertising on Facebook and Twitter, but I will say my mood has moved from meh to gladness, it's been a four year journey just to get here - and a year of getting blocked on the last chapter, with a number of things to fall in place before I could finish - and I'm proud to announce the book, plus three introductory videos on YouTube!
Not that I'm finished - yes, still some polishing to go, which I'll get onto when I get going on The Ways Out - but such is life without being able to afford an editor (sigh). But it won't be without updates, maybe some more readings, and that all important free copy!
I'll call it quits there. Follow the links below for readings, and to join me on Facebook and Twitter, and you can always catch me here on the blog.
As always, and I hope to say this more often this time around,
Have a good one!
T. M.
Guess what I went and did?
Yep, I pressed the publish button.
THREE WAYS - THE WAYS IN IS NOW AVAILABLE ON AMAZON!
My baby - what I'm calling a published work in progress (I'll be doing more proofing in a month as I start on The Ways Out, I just need a break from it having gone through 4 times and to rest the writing fingers) - is out and about on the internet, where you can buy a kindle copy or the paperback...
But because I'm that kind of guy, and believe free books are good books (even the ones that still aren't quite up to scratch) I've gone and dropboxed the beta copy, which you can grab right here! 😁
So, what is Three Ways?
Get your minds off Pornhub, its about the three ways to see relationships and the self - Physical, Mental/Emotional, and Spiritual.
It's got everything a romance needs - two people falling for each other, an ex turning up when least expected, dating, kissing, sex - Oh, God, the sex! - but all with a male main character, a male viewpoint, and the main character based on myself,. As I'm saying, it's the autobiographical first novel I should have written, and it comes courtesy of an idea from my sister (thanks sis!)
This is going to be a shorter post, I have a lot to get on with advertising on Facebook and Twitter, but I will say my mood has moved from meh to gladness, it's been a four year journey just to get here - and a year of getting blocked on the last chapter, with a number of things to fall in place before I could finish - and I'm proud to announce the book, plus three introductory videos on YouTube!
Not that I'm finished - yes, still some polishing to go, which I'll get onto when I get going on The Ways Out - but such is life without being able to afford an editor (sigh). But it won't be without updates, maybe some more readings, and that all important free copy!
I'll call it quits there. Follow the links below for readings, and to join me on Facebook and Twitter, and you can always catch me here on the blog.
As always, and I hope to say this more often this time around,
Have a good one!
T. M.
Tuesday, 19 March 2019
Hi guys,
Yes, I've been quiet. Yes, it's my thing. I'm isolationary.
On the plus side, I've been quietly busy with whitesmoking, re-reading, editing Three Ways, and in very good news, I've finished the proofing stage and am ready to publish - but all things being fair, being unable to afford an editor this time, I will be doing further proofing runs as I go and updating the book as necessary!
Oh, what fun, and excitement, and wow, and... well, meh.
When I published TSH, I was full of excitement and beans, couldn't wait to share my work with the world (as messy as it was with the first edition). This time around, yes, I'm finding myself very ambivalent, and almost hesitant to put it out - not surprising, I was blocked for so long on this book, plus been at it for nearly 4 years (I surprised myself), and on my last read through I was getting very slow towards the end.
Empty nesting? Maybe. Scared to kick my baby out the door into the dangerous world of reviews? Probably. Worried that, given Three Ways is actually the autobiographical first story I should have written, and putting that out there means I'm vulnerable, and open to criticism? Yeah, most likely...
Guess I should just crack the knee back into position, pop the shoulder back in, and rip the band aid off at the same time, right? Give me a couple of days for setup, and I'll be fine 😀.
Anyway, I'm going back to getting Three Ways up for buying, and the next post will be the glorious release (and a big "phew" from me). As always,
Have a good one!
T.M.
Yes, I've been quiet. Yes, it's my thing. I'm isolationary.
On the plus side, I've been quietly busy with whitesmoking, re-reading, editing Three Ways, and in very good news, I've finished the proofing stage and am ready to publish - but all things being fair, being unable to afford an editor this time, I will be doing further proofing runs as I go and updating the book as necessary!
Oh, what fun, and excitement, and wow, and... well, meh.
When I published TSH, I was full of excitement and beans, couldn't wait to share my work with the world (as messy as it was with the first edition). This time around, yes, I'm finding myself very ambivalent, and almost hesitant to put it out - not surprising, I was blocked for so long on this book, plus been at it for nearly 4 years (I surprised myself), and on my last read through I was getting very slow towards the end.
Empty nesting? Maybe. Scared to kick my baby out the door into the dangerous world of reviews? Probably. Worried that, given Three Ways is actually the autobiographical first story I should have written, and putting that out there means I'm vulnerable, and open to criticism? Yeah, most likely...
Guess I should just crack the knee back into position, pop the shoulder back in, and rip the band aid off at the same time, right? Give me a couple of days for setup, and I'll be fine 😀.
Anyway, I'm going back to getting Three Ways up for buying, and the next post will be the glorious release (and a big "phew" from me). As always,
Have a good one!
T.M.
Tuesday, 15 January 2019
I must love hitting reset... either that, or bipolar is not all its cracked up to be
Hi guys,
Been a while, I know. My life's like that. I'm half disorganised, half lazy, and half crazy. These are of course the joys when you have bipolar with a side of anxiety on a bed of PTSD, the other joys being absolutely brilliant ideas (like one I had recently) I don't follow up with (because that's not my specialty) that I ultimately never realise is a pipe dream.
Good news, I've pulled it back... well, for now. Bad news for Your CWAGmire (which is still a brilliant idea, don't get me wrong). Good news for my writing, I can focus. Bad news for my writing because I'm stuck again, forgetting I hadn't finished a chapter and I'm a little blocked and sorting things out.
So, how's all of your lives? LOL, I hope you're all doing as well as you can.
But in brighter news, or unfortunate news, since you can't just up and change the name of your Facebook pages (guys, come on, what the frack?), I'm starting the page I should have started, just like I'm writing the first book I should have written, so you'll soon see links to my newly started, work in progress page simply entitled "T. M. Shannon" (or follow this wonderful LINK)
I'll be setting up this over the coming weeks, so mind the construction if you do check it out, there will be links set up for The Torment, The Shadow, The Heart, as well as Three Ways - The Ways In once I get that up and published. Hopefully I can kick my arse into finishing that sooner than soon, depends on the rest of my things as I'm getting a bit bogged down - hooray for mental illness, woo.
Yes, that's deadpan. Life is a struggle for me. But I've gotta keep going, I've been doing it for a long time, and I'll be doing it for a long time yet.
So, here's to brighter things, a farewell to one idea that's not my talent, and renewed focus on the writing that is my talent. Not sure how long it's going to take, however I'm just going to start again... again.
Don't mind the doldrums. Have a good one!
T. M.
Been a while, I know. My life's like that. I'm half disorganised, half lazy, and half crazy. These are of course the joys when you have bipolar with a side of anxiety on a bed of PTSD, the other joys being absolutely brilliant ideas (like one I had recently) I don't follow up with (because that's not my specialty) that I ultimately never realise is a pipe dream.
Good news, I've pulled it back... well, for now. Bad news for Your CWAGmire (which is still a brilliant idea, don't get me wrong). Good news for my writing, I can focus. Bad news for my writing because I'm stuck again, forgetting I hadn't finished a chapter and I'm a little blocked and sorting things out.
So, how's all of your lives? LOL, I hope you're all doing as well as you can.
But in brighter news, or unfortunate news, since you can't just up and change the name of your Facebook pages (guys, come on, what the frack?), I'm starting the page I should have started, just like I'm writing the first book I should have written, so you'll soon see links to my newly started, work in progress page simply entitled "T. M. Shannon" (or follow this wonderful LINK)
I'll be setting up this over the coming weeks, so mind the construction if you do check it out, there will be links set up for The Torment, The Shadow, The Heart, as well as Three Ways - The Ways In once I get that up and published. Hopefully I can kick my arse into finishing that sooner than soon, depends on the rest of my things as I'm getting a bit bogged down - hooray for mental illness, woo.
Yes, that's deadpan. Life is a struggle for me. But I've gotta keep going, I've been doing it for a long time, and I'll be doing it for a long time yet.
So, here's to brighter things, a farewell to one idea that's not my talent, and renewed focus on the writing that is my talent. Not sure how long it's going to take, however I'm just going to start again... again.
Don't mind the doldrums. Have a good one!
T. M.
Sunday, 26 August 2018
So I've had to hit reset and start small to become big. Anyway, here's a chapter reading!
Hi Guys,
So yeah, I've had to hit the reset button on Your CWAGmire. And I've been forgetting my writing. And a hole bunch of other stuff to do with the rigmaroles of online dating. And I've been forgetting myself.
That's just how my life goes, but here's some good news on both parts, and an adoption of a frugal lifestyle - now only one year to go on my phone plan at $90 but I should be able to drop down in prices as data becomes cheaper.
But enough of that, here's the good news, I've just posted a bit of background and a quick reading on The Torment, The Shadow, The Heart as part of the reset. Joy for you, you get to see and hear me break it down to brass tacks (ugh cliches are so cliche) and start with what I'm good at, the writing.
And yes, as I've posted, got my new work Three Ways on the back burner, so I'm going to churn out part one for adoption onto Amazon and kindle - be warned, not professionally edited, but I'm going to whip out the fine toothed comb and make sure its in good order. Thanks to my last editor, my writing has improved and is more economical, but I'll let the professional eyes go over things in a couple of months - money still tight, but them's the breaks.
So, will be in more contact, and more on the YouTube front, Your CWAGmire to go from the start again as a personal journey rather than hit the lofty heights outright (I don't have the audience yet). Its all part of getting out there and back into the world - physically moreso than online but I'll get myself there later.
For now, enjoy the background and reading of TSH, it's 30 mins long, but just skip to 14 minutes if you'd rather hear the reading - go ahead, I won't judge you! And I'll try and keep things up to date.
Cheers all!
T.M.
So yeah, I've had to hit the reset button on Your CWAGmire. And I've been forgetting my writing. And a hole bunch of other stuff to do with the rigmaroles of online dating. And I've been forgetting myself.
That's just how my life goes, but here's some good news on both parts, and an adoption of a frugal lifestyle - now only one year to go on my phone plan at $90 but I should be able to drop down in prices as data becomes cheaper.
But enough of that, here's the good news, I've just posted a bit of background and a quick reading on The Torment, The Shadow, The Heart as part of the reset. Joy for you, you get to see and hear me break it down to brass tacks (ugh cliches are so cliche) and start with what I'm good at, the writing.
And yes, as I've posted, got my new work Three Ways on the back burner, so I'm going to churn out part one for adoption onto Amazon and kindle - be warned, not professionally edited, but I'm going to whip out the fine toothed comb and make sure its in good order. Thanks to my last editor, my writing has improved and is more economical, but I'll let the professional eyes go over things in a couple of months - money still tight, but them's the breaks.
So, will be in more contact, and more on the YouTube front, Your CWAGmire to go from the start again as a personal journey rather than hit the lofty heights outright (I don't have the audience yet). Its all part of getting out there and back into the world - physically moreso than online but I'll get myself there later.
For now, enjoy the background and reading of TSH, it's 30 mins long, but just skip to 14 minutes if you'd rather hear the reading - go ahead, I won't judge you! And I'll try and keep things up to date.
Cheers all!
T.M.
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