Work, Relax - A Needed Concept in an Author

It is amazing to watch others write.  Some write for the money, some for non-fiction as it is a constant source of income and I might do some of this if I ever cannot teach.  Some write for fame - but don't want the work it takes to achieve fame.  And some, write like I do, because the story bubbles behind the self conscious, teasing and creating anxiety until you write it down.  My brain sees things and goes - that would make a good story, hears things and goes - that will make a good story, feel things and goes... well you get the idea.

I cannot refrain from writing. If I am not writing, I am role playing which is just another kind of writing, but you don't know where the end will be.   I am also a pantzer - this means I don't outline. I am all about characters and well, they tell the story.

However, I do have a mentor that I strive to model my routines after - Ray Bradbury.  This amazing author wrote 1000 words no matter what and many of them never reached but a few in the public eye. Regardless, he wrote.  For those of you that like writing novels, that is a new rough draft every 120 days.  As an independent writer, the long tail effect begins to ebb after about 180 days.  So if you want to stay viable, you have to write daily and read daily.

Livewrite: Ferryman of the Damned

Anonymous submission
slavetrader
place where I was born
addiction
Mud puddles

The sound of pelting rain, it never failed to fall when it was most unwelcome. Curt tugged up his collar of his jacket in a gruff manner. Giving a heavy sigh, he ran through the streets of the coastal city of Davenport. The streets barren of anyone living that didn’t have to be out in the pouring rain, soon he would be out of this mess and back to his ship. The new goods had come so quickly from the seller, his crew had hardly set foot onto land before they were wanting to shove off again.

 His thoughts yanked back as he misstepped and sank ankle deep in mud. Falling forward, his right arm came into contact with another puddle as the mud oozed through his fingers. With a growl, Curt wrenched free his arm and foot. The rain making it no easy task and further soaking his clothing.

 “Great, juuuust great.” muttering as he shook off the muck. The squishing of his boot sounded just above the din of the rain falling. Home after warm home and inn he passed, tempting him with a place to hole up until this mess of wind and rain was over. But, duty called and he wasn’t getting paid to sit comfortably on his ass in a warm hut. After rounding yet another switchback in the streets, the port was in view, his ship, Mari Toth, bobbed in the waves.



A smirk crossed his face once he got closer to the warf inns and saloons. The sound of revelry whispered like a siren’s call. He could imagine his men trading slips and tokens for drinks and the touch of soft pleasures, oh how he desired that. A gust of wind whipped surf into his face as he looked up. One of the crew was looking over a soaked manifest near the ship. His expression sour, Curt knew instantly that this was not a job he wanted to be taking.  His crew were standing around with large eyes and the ship was strangely quiet enough to hear the small harbor ripples hit the side of the massive ship.

Monsters in the Stars

Antiquated social orders gathered the stars of the night sky into groups of stars, a practice related to stargazing, the most established of the regular sciences. Confirmation of cosmology can be discovered everywhere throughout the world, including China (around 1300 BC), Mesopotamia (around 1200 BC), Mesoamerica (between 3000 BC and 1200 BC), Egypt (around 3000 BC), and India (around 300 BC). Greek, and later Medieval European, space science acquired the Mesopotamian framework and built up its own special framework something like 400 BC.

Groups of stars regularly memorialize essential occasions, generally of a mythic sort, such a large number of heavenly bodies exposed the names of saints or creatures or divinities. These mythical beasts and serpents have gotten themselves celebrated in the night sky; thus, monsters are among the stars.

Truly Alone - Live Write

Rafael Cerqueira

1. Immortal man, middle aged in appearance, jaded in nature.
2. The crumbling burial site of a loved one from millennia ago.
3. Human race has ended by it's own hand. The land is a barren, rocky wasteland in most directions.
4. Wind up music box. The kind with the spinning ballerina on top.

Ballerina found on Deviant ART - Page was no longer available

Adam made his way through the old burial ground. It was overrun and most of the stones were so weathered they were decaying or at least unreadable.  However, when you have made the trek for a millennia, your feet know where you are going even though the eyes might have deceived.  He was not sure why he still came other than it seemed the one thing that tied him to his humanity.

Adam wasn't sure why he was alive.  Somehow, when the disease spread rapidly through the population of North America, he had come out the other side of it.  But he had come out different, he didn't seem to have aged a day since he got up off that sick bed.

Free and Reduced E-book Sale!

Read an E-Book Week - March 5 through March 11th

The first week in March is always "Read an E-Book Week" on Smashwords.

I have two books in the selection for 50% off!

Outcast - a past top 10 Amazon Best Seller in Coming of Age
Once Upon a... Wait! - Top Seller in Children's Dragon Books

Find them both here: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/Dragonsgeas

Here is a little more detail about the week's activities and where to find the full catalog.