Are Standalones Easier to Write?

Hi all,

This week I'm writing about something that I've seen has been talked about a lot in the writing world. Are standalone books easier to write than those in a series?

As a writer who has written standalone books and several series, I thought I'd wade in on the subject.

I find standalone books easier to plot as its just one book so I don't need to worry about as many subplots or characters. Whenever I've written a series, I usually move onto a standalone book next to clear my mind. In a standalone book you are only writing one story for one book. While with a series you need to worry about weaving several stories across several books.

But, I have found that I'm more satisfied after writing a series. Seeing the series done is an amazing feeling and I get so excited to read the books again when I'm editing them. I also love seeing the characters grow across each book and how they deal with all the problems they face.

To me, I find standalone books easier to write. This is because once I get to the end of the story, that's it. I can always edit it later and change bits that I'm not happy about. But with a series I find myself getting drained from writing in the same universe over and over. It's one of the reasons why I write a standalone or two after finishing a series.

The Original Elementals series is supposed to have ten books in it with seven currently written. I haven't written any Original Elementals books this year because I've become a bit burned out by it. Next year I'm hoping to pick the series up again and finish it so I can start publishing it.

In November for NaNoWriMo I'm more than likely going to write another standalone book. It also clears a bit of my book ideas folder as the series don't tend to sit there very long!

In conclusion, I personally find a standalone book easier to write as it gives me more time to jump between book to book, genre to genre. This might not be the same for everyone, but it works for me.

That's it for this week! I hope you enjoyed reading, see you next Sunday. 

PS; don’t forget to check out these book bundles before they end:

Horror Giveaway September

All Genre Boxset Readathon!

Reedsy BookEditor Review

Hi all,

This week I'm going to talk about Reedsy BookEditor. It's a tool that you can use to write, edit and format your book. I use it exclusively to format my books and all of mine have been done through this tool.

When I first learned about formatting a book I was instantly overwhelmed with how it could be done. From having to make sure that everything stayed inside the margins to using headings for chapters, I just didn't get it. I watched a tutorial on how to do it in Word and it instantly made my anxiety flare up. I was worried that this was the point where I would hit a dead end. That maybe my book wouldn't get published after all.

But then I discovered the Reedsy BookEditor and it couldn't have been more simple. I just uploaded my book and it did everything for me! The only thing that I had to do was the front and back matter, but that was easy enough to add.

If you wanted to, you could write and edit your entire book in it. I've never done this as I prefer using Word and then uploading it. The tool does do a simple spell check but I've found that usually picks up on character names and places so I've never really gone with its corrections.

It's really been a lifesaver when it comes to publishing and I can't see myself going forward without it. The only downside is that there aren't a lot of fonts to choose from. I go with the default so it doesn't bother me but it may be an issue for others.

Overall, I would highly recommend it. Even if you only use it for short stories or reader magnets. It saves a lot of hassle of either formatting your book yourself or hiring someone to do it for you. This is one of my favourite tools and I don't see that changing anytime soon.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments! That's it for this week, see you next Sunday. 

PS; take a look at this giveaway before it’s over!

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Infostack Review

Hi all! 

I'm not sure about how many authors are aware of Infostack and the deals they offer, so I thought I would give my thoughts here. I've purchased their Write, Publish, Profit bundle three times and I'm happy with what I got. 

Infostack offer cheap bundles with certain themes and businesses in mind. The one that I'll be talking about is Write, Publish, Profit. They do other bundles as well, such as wellness, healthy eating and marketing. I've never tried any of them as they haven't been of any interest to me, but from what I've seen they look quite good too. 

They contact a variety of writers, marketers and course owners and bundle it all into one for $49. They have several ebooks, courses and worksheets that you can work through. Some are discounts on software or services, such as cover design or editing. There is a cheatsheet you can buy to help navigate your way through the bundle if you're confused too. 

My favourite part of these bundles are some of the courses you can take. I've always struggled with marketing and a few of the courses are really good and have helped with that. 

Anyone can purchase the bundle at any point in their writing journey. It covers starting your story to marketing it when it's published. Even though I've published books previously, I still find some of the writing and editing courses useful. 

I'm a huge fan of Infostack because of Write, Publish, Profit. I've just purchased 6.0 and I'm getting through everything in there slowly but surely! It's only offered once a year for a week, which means you have to sign up to their newsletter or risk missing out on the deal. For $49 you get a bundle worth thousands of everything was purchased individually. I was cautious when I first heard about it as I thought it was too good to be true. I'm so glad it wasn't! 

So, if you've never heard of Infostack before or you've been on the fence about purchasing from them, I'd say do it. The deals are amazing and have helped me so much with various aspects of being an author. 

That's it for this week, don't forget to check Infostack out! See you next week. 

Tips for Writing Around Work

Hi all, 

This week I'm going to share my tips for writing while working. I do most of my writing around my working day and I usually aim for a word count of around 2000 words a day. 

Evernote. 

I use Evernote to write on my phone throughout the day. I write during my breaks using labelled notes to keep track of where I am. I also outline novels and character designs using the app. It makes it easier for me to switch between notes to keep track of everything. All of the notes are no more than 10K long so I can keep a general track of my word count. 

Silver tipped gloves. 

When it gets colder in the winter months I still want to write while out and about. Silver tipped gloves enable me to use my phone without my hands getting too cold. They work really well, it just takes a bit longer to type. 

Write during breaks. 

I write during my breaks at work and usually on my commute. It means I don't have to write as much when I get home which enables me to relax a bit and focus more on the marketing side of things. 

Small word count goals. 

Writing in small bursts multiple times during the day really helps me to stay focused and gives me enough breaks in between. 300-400 words in my ten minute breaks and 800-1000 words during my lunch break. 

Outline beforehand. 

No matter if you're a planner or not, make sure you have a rough outline before you start writing. This will make it a lot easier to write on the go. I have a rough plan of where the plot will go and what the characters are like. 

Edit at home. 

I write around my working day and then edit at home. It means that I'm not tempted to edit while I'm writing. I edit on my laptop to catch most of the typos that occur due to writing on my phone. 

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading! See you next week. 

My Outlining Process

Hi all,

I posted a poll on Twitter to help me decide what I should blog about this week. Talking about my outlining process is the winner! Outlining a story means to take your ideas and organise them in some sort of order. For example; plot points, character profiles etc.

Premise.

I start by writing down the barebones of my story. What happens in the book? How will it end? This is usually no more than a few sentences as I go back in and fill in the rest of the details later. Here is very basic the premise of Elemental Dragons #1: Blood and Water:

Main character gets dragon egg at fifteen. Has water element. She gets water markings on her back that only dragons can get. Scientists bring extinct dragon back to life. Extinct dragon goes after the main character using the markings as a beacon.

It's only a few sentences long and let's me get down the basic details of the plot. Adding in other characters, side plots and more details comes later.

Main Character.

When I'm writing the premise I usually come up with a pretty good overview of my main character. I don't have the finer personality details decided yet, but the appearance and name are the first things I decide on. This is how I first described Hazel from Elemental Dragons in my notes:

Hazel Adams (15-18) - Dirty blonde hair, hazel eyes, pale skin, acne, scar from nose to right eyebrow, 5"5 - anxiety. Water. Light blue swirl markings up back and neck.

I have her name, age and appearance done. I've also linked her to the premise by giving her the water element and the markings that will attract the dragon to her. I usually give my characters heights as well just so I can get a general idea of how tall they are compared to other characters. It can be an insignificant detail at first but I find it helps with my writing later. I give all of my characters surnames, even if they aren't mentioned in the book itself.

Main Plot.

Now that I have my main character and the premise, I move onto filling in the main plot details. No matter how much I outline I always end up deviating from what I've planned! So, I try to keep my outlines short and sweet as I know I'll change details later. For Elemental Dragons, the main plot is:

Hazel gets her dragon egg when she moves to Aria, a camp for Elementals. Her egg hatches into a black common dragon, which has never been tamed before. Hazel is looked down upon by others for being a commoner and is often ostracised from certain activities. Hazel starts getting dragon markings on her back and she starts meeting others who also have markings. She joins up with them to find out what's going on. She also has to deal with the Cindaraans, who are recruiting students into their group. The leader wants to know more about the dragon markings and orders Hazel and her friends to report to him. An extinct dragon species is brought back to life by scientists and escapes.

Setting.

Most of my books are set in the UK, so my main location is already decided. Next I decide on where the story will be set and the areas around. For example:

Aria - Elementals camp. Contains cabins, school, shops and hotel.

Arimouth - City near Aria. Mostly an urban area filled with workplaces, shops, housing and government buildings.

Mountains - Area from Draca's memories.

Again, basic descriptions just in case I change my mind!

Other Characters.

Now that I've outlined everything else, I can move onto the other characters in the book! I found the most fun ones to do were the dragons. I had a lot more fun with their designs and their personalities started coming through as I wrote them. Here is the outline profile for Aqueous, Hazel's dragon:

Aqueous Adams - Common Western black, turquoise eyes, markings to face and front feet. Hazel = Water.

Again, short and sweet as I like to develop their personalities while writing.

Write!

Now that I have my outline done, the only thing left to do is start writing! I haven't outlined many of the side plots as I find I change this while writing. So I try to stick to the main plot, though this often goes off course as well.

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading! See you next week!

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How to Find Anthologies to Submit to

Hi all!

This week's blog post will hopefully help other writers to find homes for some of their stories! I specifically chose anthologies as they are the ones I submit to most; and I think it can be harder to find ones willing to publish new authors.

Facebook.

There are loads of Facebook groups out there dedicated to submitting to anthologies. They are filled with authors looking for, and posting about, anthologies that are looking for submissions. This is also a great way of seeing which anthologies are worth submitting to, and which ones don't hold up their end of the bargain. Other authors won't recommend anthologies that are looking to scam them. One group that I'm a part of is Anthologies Seeking Submissions. They're great because they don't allow posts from 'pay-to-play' anthologies, where authors have to pay a fee to submit their stories without guarantee that they'll be published.

Christopher Fielden.

Although there are plenty of websites out there dedicated to showcasing places for authors to submit their stories, Christopher Fielden's website is the best. Not only does he regularly update his website with writing opportunities but he also hosts writing challenges. Once he has enough stories, they're all gathered together and made into an anthology! I've been published in several of his anthologies and attended one of the book launches. Proceeds from each book sale is donated to various charities, so you add the book to your publishing portfolio and help charity at the same time. He also hosts his own writing competition, which you should also check out!

The Submission Grinder.

This one I discovered thanks to a post by Christopher Fielden. It's an easy to navigate website where you can filter by genre, word count and type of submission. I have used this website and managed to get three stories accepted because of it! If I had never heard about this website I never would have found those anthologies, and the others that I also plan to submit to. In my opinion this is the best way to find new anthologies with various themes and word counts. By searching through their filters you may even find homes for stories that you wrote a while ago but never got published. That was the case for me with a few of the stories I have submitted.

Word of Mouth.

See what other authors are published in. Are there more anthologies from the same publisher accepting submissions? Will they publish more in the future? It's also a lot better knowing that other authors have submitted to these anthologies and are happy with the results. If you don't want to ask the author directly, check out their websites or Amazon author page. Usually all of the books, and anthologies, that they've been published in will be listed there.

That's it for this week! I hope this has helped someone who is looking to add more publications to their portfolio. See you next week!

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Why I Went to the Zoo to see the Big Cats

Hi all!

If you’ve been following my social media, then you’ve probably seen that I went to a zoo earlier this week. I was mostly interested in the big cats, though my boyfriend and I did see other animals as well.

At one point, we came across two housecats that were just wandering around the zoo. (My boyfriend was more excited to see them than any of the other animals…). I did remind him that we see a cat every day as we have Mishka, but he said that these cats were different. Thanks to Mishka and Rocky, I think I’ve almost maxed out my research on cats!

I wanted to see the big cats the most as I wanted to see the way they acted and moved, to make sure I had it right for all of the books that contain big cats. I’ve watched a lot of videos and studied pictures of them, but I wanted to know whether seeing them in person would be any different.

The cheetahs were sunbathing and rolling around, just chilling out. It reminded me of Mafdet, and how playful she is with Bastet and Sekhmet in Curse of Anubis. The way they swished their tails also reminded me of her!

We briefly saw a lion as well, who was also sunbathing before he got up to patrol the other side of his enclosure. I wasn’t aware of how often lions flick their ears to keep flies away, so I’m going to make sure that I add that into Curse of Anubis. I imagine Sekhmet to have a proud strut than a tired lumber that the lion had. I didn’t see any lionesses, just the one male lion. As Sekhmet and Mother Earth are both lionesses, I’m going to do some more research into them.

The tigers were out of sight so we didn’t see them unfortunately. I’m planning on writing a tiger into a LitRPG book I want to write, but that it is in the very earlier stages right now!

Once we’d seen almost all of the animals in the zoo, I couldn’t help myself at the giftshop. I got two little stuffed animals that look exactly like Sekhmet (maned lioness) and Mafdet!

I think I’ve managed to get a few pointers from the big cats on how to write them better. Although, it was quite sad to see them in enclosures than out in the wild. In the future I will just stick to videos and pictures, and try to gauge their mannerisms that way.

Currently, I have the following big cats in my books:

Panther - Celestial Plague series.

Lion - Years.

Lion, Cheetah, Leopard - Curse of Anubis.

Panther - Street Rats.

Tiger, Snow Leopard - unnamed LitRPG.

That’s it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading! For my blog post next week, I’m letting you decide! You can head over to my Twitter to vote on what I should blog about next.

PS; looking for some new books to read? Check out the ones in these bundles!

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Terrifying Adventures - Horror Giveaway

How I Name My Characters

Hi all!

This week I'm going to blog about character names, and the different ways I come up with them. Some have more mundane origins than others, but I thought this would be fun to talk about!

Baby Name Websites.

The vast majority of character names, usually side characters, I will look on baby name websites for. This is usually for side or background characters. Such as Naomi from Elemental Dragons and Eularia from Street Rats. Although this can be quite boring, I will trawl through hundreds of names until I come across the name that I immediately associate the character with. Some I find completely by accident, thinking the character wouldn't suit that name, but then they do.

Letter-Based Names.

Sometimes I'll think that I want a name to begin with a specific letter, such as 'S' and I'll Google those names. From there I'll search through websites until I find a name that suits the character. This tends to be more for main characters and side characters. Examples include: Raya from Celestial Plague and Melia from Elemental Dragons. I've done this for my series books as I think it can get confusing to have loads of characters with names beginning with the same letter. It keeps a variety in my books and also helps readers identify the characters more quickly.

Sound-Based Names.

When I was writing Curse of Anubis, I wanted Darrus to have 'Russ' in his name. So I Googled names that contained the letters 'Russ' and searched through what came up until one fit. This is a less common way that I look for names, and so far I've only used it for Curse of Anubis. I'm not sure if I'll use this method too often in the future, though.

Names with a Special Meaning.

This one I've used more frequently as of late for main characters. I wanted a name meaning 'pure' so I searched that and found Tahira, for Curse of Anubis. Or Genesis in Damaged Goods, which means 'origin' or 'the beginning'. This one I use if I want the character's name to be a homage to their personality or their trials through the book.

Anadromes.

These ones I've only used for Parasitic Aliens so far, which are: Anne, Nola and Alli. The aliens in the books are called: Enna, Alon and Illa respectively. I did this because the characters in the books are the first ones to come into contact with these aliens, so they are named after them. I'm not sure if I will ever use this method again though, as there aren't many anadrome names out there, and I struggled to find ones to fit the characters.

Names I Come Across in Media.

Names like Hazel and Marco in Elemental Dragons I heard while watching films, and fell in love with them. A lot of the characters in Elemental Dragons were named this way, and the rest were Googled. I used this method a lot when I was younger, as I was more influenced by the films and books I liked at the time. I hardly ever do this now.

Characters Named After People I Know.

I have never done this, as I just don't think it's fair to people that I know. Only Normie, Rocky and Mishka have characters named after them, but I don't think they care too much as they're cats! I'd hate to name a characters after someone only for them not to like that character, or get offended that their name was used.

Names by Culture or Time Period.

In Damaged Goods, the first book is set in ancient Greece. So, I had to look up names that would suit that time period. Pyrrah, the main character, is the name I liked most for her. It means 'red' or 'flame-coloured'. In the future I want to write a series about Norse mythology, so I will be looking up names from the Viking Age to name the characters.

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading! See you next week!

PS; looking for some new books for your bookshelf? Check out the ones in these bundles:

September Urban Fantasy Sale

Terrifying Adventures - Horror Giveaway

Creating Alien Planets

Hi all,

This week I'm going to be talking about alien planets. I recently created one for a short story but I now intend to use it for a short story collection! The collection will be about the Gods, Goddesses and Deities of this planet. The collection will probably take a while to complete, as this is a side project of sorts. I intend to get individual stories published elsewhere and then combine them all into one book.

Here's a quick profile of the planet:

Planet name: Vusuunah-RM89.

Colonised by: Humans. 

Type: Earth-like.

Technology: Minimal.

Trade Routes: None.

Alien Species: Many, most undocumented.

Alien Fauna: Many, most undocumented.

Human Settlements: 216.

Because of this, I wanted to make a post about how to create a believable alien planet. So, let's get started:

How far is it from other planets?

You need to keep this in mind if you are planning on having multiple planets and worlds. If your planet is out of the way, it's unlikely that it's going to have good access to trade and newer technology. This also means that your characters may not be able to visit it as often as other planets.

What is the climate of your planet?

Is it similar to Earth, with different areas? Or is it all the same no matter where you go? You can have areas that are extremely hot and areas that are terribly cold, you are not bound by rules stating it has to be a certain temperature. You can also make it a warm tundra, or a freezing desert. It's up to you.

Is it colonised by humans?

Not all planets have to be colonised by humans - you can have alien settlements as well. Depending on who has colonised it you need to think of the following factors: clean water, climate and oxygen. If your species doesn't rely on these three things as much as humans then you don't have anything to worry about. However, humans are extremely unlikely to attempt to live on a planet that has rare access to clean water and oxygen. Your planet has to be hospitable.

Have any species been wiped out?

If your story focuses on humans, have they purposely or accidentally wiped out alien species? Across history humans have been known to hunt animals to the point of extinction, or destroy their habitat so much they die off. If humans colonise new planets, this behaviour is unlikely to stop. For example; an alien species relies on a certain habitat to survive. Humans think this is the perfect habitat to settle in, and start destroying it to make room for farmland and cities. With nowhere else to go, that species will die off.

Is anything toxic to humans?

Of course with alien planets almost anything you like can be toxic to humans. If that's the case, settlers are unlikely to live there.

Are there any enemies?

Is there a rival species that yours constantly battles with? Is their way of life different? You need a good reason for these species to constantly fight. It could be as simple as one burned down another's house. It doesn't have to be a deep rivalry that has spanned generations.

Are there different cultures?

When you think of earth, your mind doesn't go to one specific culture. On a different planet with separate settlements they'll each have their own cultures. Try to include a few in your writing, or at least allude to more if your focus is only on one.

Is anything worshipped?

My short stories focus on the origins of certain Gods, Goddesses and Deities. If humans move to a new planet, they are bound to find new things to worship. If your species has a religion, or multiple, think about how this effects their day-to-day life.

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading! See you next week.

PS; love fantasy books? Check these books out!

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Designs of my Winged Characters

Hi all! 

This week I'm going to talk about something a bit different, winged characters. There's a great blog post about them already, detailing little quirks and what it would be like to live with them. Link here: Tumblr Post

However, in a lot of books winged characters are given the same generic design, white angel wings or black demon ones. I used to go with angel wings but then realised I could branch out, so I thought I'd share some of the designs of my winged characters. None of these books are published yet by the way, but there won't be any spoilers! 

Damayanti by @KanizoArt - dragons are the first winged characters that I started writing

Shannon Pennylove - Celestial Plague. 

In the Celestial Plague series winged characters are scrutinised for being clumsy and useless on the ground. Despite having wings, she's also afraid of heights so she is teased even more for this. I thought I'd give her hybrid wings that would make her stick out more. Her wings are: bat-shaped with cream and brown ombre feathers. She's a mix of her parents, one has bat wings and the other has bird-like wings. Instead of giving her one or the other, I thought I'd just mix them together. 

Eularia - Street Rats. 

Eularia lives in a parallel universe where technology is only used by the elite. I've given her a four wing design, two large ones and two smaller ones beneath them. They're shaped like pigeon wings, but the top ones are blue while the bottom ones are a mix of black and white and aren't useful for flying. This book is a long way off from being written so the wings are the only aspect of her design that I have so far. 

Unnamed characters - unnamed Sci-Fi. 

This book is in the very rough stages, I only came up with the idea from a dream I had a few weeks ago. Winged people live in the sky, but rely on a factory that generates all their electricity which they use to fly. I went a bit wilder with this design, as I thought that since electricity is such a large part of their lives that they would incorporate it into their wings. They're metallic, with a featherless membrane that is either neon blue, neon green or neon orange. The wings are implanted in their backs when they're young and grow with them. Without electricity they can't fly. 

In short, don't be afraid to go a bit out there when designing wings. Seeing something exciting and new is better than the same design over and over. 

Do you have any winged characters? Let me know in the comments! 

See you next week! 

PS; like book bundles? Check these out!

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Joyful June Books!

There’s also free books linked below!

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