Tonight on YouTube, yours truly will be live narrating a short passage, along with a bunch of my fellow talented colleagues.

Swing by and check it out!

https://www.youtube.com/@PANAconConference

1. Segui solo le regole dichiarate da scrittori che ammiri e vorresti imitare.

2. Ricorda che, qualsiasi regola ti diano, devi decidere tu se è adatta alla tua scrittura e alla persona che sei.

3. Non ridurre mai la narrativa scritta secondo regole che appartengono ad altre forme di arte o narrativa.

4. Leggi, scrivi, correggi, riscrivi e in tutto questo mi raccomando divertiti.

5. Non usare il titolo di scrittore come sostituto del lavoro dello scrivere. Prima o poi deve esistere un'opera compiuta che lo giustifichi.

6. Se mentre scrivi un paragrafo ti senti nudo sei su una buonissima strada.

7. Se a un certo punto non hai voglia di scrivere smetti, se ti accorgi che non scrivi per mesi forse sei entrato in una fase della tua vita in cui la scrittura non ha parte, va comunque bene anche così. La scrittura è una parte della vita, non è la vita.

8. Se infrangi qualche regola, che sia di grammatica, che sia di sintassi, che sia di narratologia, prima di cancellare tutto chiediti per quale motivo l'hai fatto perché magari c'è un motivo ed è bene che sia così.

9. Ogni scelta narrativa dovrebbe avere una ragione, anche se il lettore non la scoprirà mai.

10. Non ingannare mai il lettore. Puoi sorprenderlo, depistarlo o lasciarlo nel dubbio ma non tradire mai il patto che hai stretto con lui.

11. Leggi i grandi del passato, non per copiarli, ma per capire la conversazione nella quale stai entrando.

12. Ti consiglio fortemente di usare un sottomano, il foglietto volante è il nemico naturale dello scrittore.

13. Le regole che contano sono solo quelle che ti fanno scrivere meglio, non quelle che fanno sembrare più intelligente parlare di scrittura.

(p.s. ricordati che dietro ogni teoria della letteratura c'è sempre una persona vera seduta davanti ad un computer, ad una macchina da scrivere o a un pezzo di carta. Non esistono dei, non esistono idoli)

Simple question; in the books you've read, who has been your favourite villain?

Might be someone truly reprehensible, or someone you maybe find sympathetic? Maybe you just loved having them on the page?

Maybe you've got several?

Do share :)

This is really just to get it off my chest. I wrote my first book and am half way through writing my second one and for the first time, I shared that information with a member of my family. It did not go well. A few words of fake interest and then right back to talking about themselves.

If I can't even get my family to care about what I write, am I already cooked? Alternatively, I have considered that my family are self absorbed jerks. And also, that both things can be true at the same time.

Anyway, just getting this off my chest and asking what sorts of support networks do you have to rely upon?

So this idea pertains to the ending of the writing chain within the language, this language is based similarly off an ancient Chinese dialect in the way it’s written, which is from top to bottom and there are multiple symbols that come together to form a sentence and they mean different things based on position, orientation, and obvious difference.

But the main idea that I wanted to share with you guys is the ending of this writing chain, I call it…the “cradle” and, the interesting thing about it is I based it off of how these people would view bringing something into existence, and so it refers to a woman cradling a child after having the baby because she has brought life into the world, and so they actually apply this same sort of thinking when it comes to writing or the bringing into existence a concept or a thing, (specifically the idea of the text) when you are writing you are manifesting something you are bringing something into the world you are basically affecting life in bringing that thing into our plane of existence because it is coming from your mind, your thoughts and being made into something physical into something understandable by your hand…so to them it is not necessarily the end of a sentence when they’re writing it, it is the act of bringing life to something since in their view, ideas and concepts affect life, and they come from the human mind, so it is not an end, It is essentially a new beginning, It is something to be celebrated, It is something to be cared for.

Literature rests in the mind of the reader, so in order to take those things seriously we must carefully inspect them, and it’s an interesting philosophy, I think and I just thought I’d share it because I thought it was really cool, and I thought I’d get creative, because I’m trying to stay true to the story and I’m trying to stay true to the way I’m writing it and things of that nature because these people are very ancient in the story and so they’re going to relate to certain things to things we wouldn’t necessarily relate to.

I hope that’s understandable, please ask questions!!! I need thoughts, inquiries, and suggestions.

I love writing and am currently writing a four book series (about half way through the second book in terms of drafting) and I have made a SnipFic account (A!yer588 if you want to check it out) where I post daily snippets and have asked for alpha readers. My dream is to be able to write full time (but that mostly relies on blowing up on social media which is its own Mount Olympus). I’ve seen so much negativity on the r/writing subreddit about how shit the industry is and how it’s unrealistic to want to become a best selling or well paid author (even if you are someone that blows up like Rebeca Yarros or Lauren Roberts). I’ve always dreamed of people making fan art, edits of movie adaptation, general discussion, etc. as if it was a well known work even if just in the BookTok community. I don’t entirely blame this community for telling the truth but it’s paramount to being stabbed in the throat, re-affirming everything I thought to be true as a means of discouraging myself. Do you guys also notice the negatively in this sub and what are your thoughts (if you agree or not, what you would say to someone in this situation, how would you approach it yourself, etc.?)

I find writing blurbs the hardest part of novel writing. Just exactly how much information about the book should I disclose without heading to spoiler town.

Does my Blurb sound intriguing enough to pick up?

Covers, front and back, made my me with stock art. No use of AI.

This is for my latest project that I finished today 🍾

Finished within my given deadline

Here's the 1st chapter of my fantasy-romance. 1800-ish words.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GX-VxvD3bYGWFxbBh2WH5kQcEQ3Nhj1L/view?usp=sharing

Thanks for looking!

It's a 11 000 words horror novelette. It's not much. It's not a huge novel series, but the last thing I finished before that was a 75k words novel when I was 18. I'm 37 now.

I wrote a lot in between, but never finished anything. I have all these unfinished stories sitting in my documents folder. I always end up losing interest in them around de 20k -30k mark, so I decided to try to write something shorter because at that point I was losing hope. And it worked!

Second draft is done. Now I'm letting it rest aside for a moment before going back for more drafts. I'm just happy I got to write an ending for once... and one that I'm proud of at that! I needed to get it out, now I'm going to open myself a nice cold one to celebrate.

This is the first thing I've written in a very long time. I'm in the very early stages of fleshing out the world and the characters, but I have the basic premise figured out and I know where I want the story to end up.

Our protagonist (currently unnamed) is a member of a seafaring culture on a planet largely consisting of oceans and small islands, who through some mistake becomes a central part of a scheme devised long ago.

I would really appreciate feedback on the prose, the clarity of the visuals being presented, whether it is too simple or vague, and if it's compelling enough to keep reading.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ju-tbob1AExzBQC2cQQ3Dg1AkBdSemGhgsanIYY0qg8/edit?usp=drivesdk

I always struggle with this and I'm looking for tips. The story I'm working on is inspired by 80s action shlock and I want to come up with dumb but cool names that fit with that. So far I have been looking up action movie character names and trying to mash them together but I wanted to see if any of you had any other suggestions?

At the start of the week I gave myself a weeks deadline to finish my second draft of my current manuscript. I was skeptical I wouldn't even get close but I feel that the finish line is on reach.

Ideally I want this done by the weekend as the school six week holidays start after Friday as time will become extremely limited

I know planning isn't for everyone, but I spend a lot of my own time doing it.

Characters, plot-lines, sub-plots, settings, story beats, themes; the whole works. To the extent I know most of everything before I start page one.

It's likely just my age, but I still find it easiest to plan the old fashioned way, with pen and paper (more often than not, on small cards). I've tried digital, and it feels like more of a faff. With paper or card, I can scribble and move things around in front of me. Stopping every few moments to switch screens or search folders, or move cells around, doesn't help my head space.

For this of you who do plan, how do you go about this? What works for you?

A fun little poll, I'm curious to how long you spend writing, editing or general work on your novels or short stories.

For me, on a good week due to life circumstances I have the flexibility to put in 4-5 hours a day (mon-fri), at most a 25hr writing week if I'm having a good week and fewer commitments but realistically I'm looking at the 16-20 hours a week of dedicated time.

I do subscribe to the Stephen King way of writing that it is entirely possible to write a novel within 3 months when you can make time for it.

I would love to know your approach to setting aside time for your projects. I know I am probably in the minoroty of invested hours just because of my situation.

So, I'm currently editing Act 2 of my novel, and I'm doing some minor rewrites to the beginning of the first scene. I'd like to have some feedback about the rewrite. My goal is to make it feel disorienting, and with some kind of slow-motion vibe. Also hopefully the new version invokes a sense of gloom and dread. Ignore any spelling mistake for now.

OLD

Two soft slaps on her face woke her up.
All the lights were off, except for the red emergency ones that painted the now-chaotic Cabin for seconds. She was against a wall, her left foot over the seat that was pressing the other. She closed her eyes shut for a couple of seconds. She felt dizzy and disoriented until she realized the ship was inclined. The only thing she could remember before everything turned to black was the metal screeching.
A dark figure was looking at her and saying something, but she couldn’t listen. Another slap, this time harder, made her shake her head.
“―right?” a voice Alice could barely listen or understand said.
“What?” she asked, closing her eyes. Her own voice hurt in her ears.
“Good, you’re alive,” the voice said as if it came from far away and in slow motion. “Oh, I’ll help you with that.”
The figure disappeared for a moment and then the seat trapping her foot liberated her. She sat when the lights illuminated everything again, and rubbed her temple. The figure appeared again at her side and helped her stand.
“Can you stay on your feet? Alice, can you stand?”
Alice nodded still dizzy, and the figure separated from her.
“She’s alright,” the figure said in the darkness. “Got any luck?”
“No, everything is dead. Only that light is working.”
“If we could find something to force it…”
“We need our suits first. If one of the areas got decompressed…”
Alice was trying to walk, but the moments of darkness were making her lose her balance. Making a real effort, she reached the meeting desk and used it as support to stay on her feet. The red light illuminated the door, next to which the two figures were standing. She identified Natasha’s body right before the light turned off again.
“Natasha,” she said.
“Alice, are you okay?”
“I’m dizzy, but I― I think I’m fine.”
“Good.”
“Why― Why do I just see two of you?”
Natasha’s figure looked down and remained silent for a while.
“We… We lost Fred.”
Alice turned to the front of the Cabin, but the devices and screens that once were on the walls were hanging from them or scattered all over the place, and the red lights made difficult to identify any shape. She bit her lower lip with guilt. At the end, she was the one who put them there.
She took a deep breath in to calm herself and looked at the figures of the other two. Natasha and Ian had been doing something next to the door for a while in heavy silence, until the captain sighed frustrated and sat on the floor.
“Leave it, it is useless…”
“What are you doing?” Alice asked, less dizzy now. “I could help.”
“There is nothing we can do,” Natasha said. “We need Apala to get back online.”
“And how do we do that?”
Nobody answered.
Alice walked to the pilots. Her senses were getting back to normal, and the metallic smell of blood reached her. Scared, she looked at them, but it was impossible to see if they were bleeding under that light. Was it her? She touched her forehead and temples, but they were dry. She inhaled deeply trying to calm herself, ignoring her revolting stomach, and stood next to the captain for some minutes of silence, only broken by the sound of their breathing.

NEW

Two soft slaps on her face woke her up.
The red emergency light that painted the now-chaotic Cabin for a couple of seconds at a time was the only thing on. She was on the floor against a wall, her left foot over the seat that was pressing her right one. She closed her eyes shut, feeling dizzy and disoriented. The only thing she could remember before everything turned to black was the metal screeching.
A dark figure was looking at her and saying something, but she couldn’t hear over the ringing in her ears. Another slap, this time harder, made her shake her head. “―right?” a voice Alice could barely listen to or understand said.
“What?” she mumbled and closed her eyes. Her own voice hurt in her ears.
“Good, you’re alive,” the voice said as if it came from far away and in slow motion. “Oh, I’ll help you with that.”
The figure disappeared for a moment and then the seat trapping Alice’s foot liberated her. She sat up when the lights illuminated everything again. The ship was inclined. The figure reappeared beside her and helped her stand. “Can you stay on your feet? Alice, can you stand?”
Alice nodded slowly and closed her eyes.
The person released her. “She’s alright,” their voice said, getting away. “Got any luck?”
“No, everything is dead. Only that light is working.”
“If we could find something to force it―”
“We need our suits first. If one of the areas got decompressed…”
They remained quiet. With her eyes still closed, Alice rubbed her temples in circles until her head stopped pulsating. She then opened her eyes.
Red light showing chaos.
Darkness that consumed it all.
Red light.
Darkness.
When everything got painted red again, Alice lunged to the meeting desk, still in its place, and held onto it, afraid of losing her balance and falling once everything got plunged back into darkness. Her whole body hurt, as if she had been punched everywhere.
Next to the door were two figures, standing, doing something to it. She identified Natasha’s body right before the light turned off again.
“Natasha,” Alice called.
“Alice, are you okay?”
“I’m dizzy, but I― I think I’m fine.”
“Good.”
“Why― Why do I just see two of you?”
“We…” Natasha’s figure looked down and remained silent for two light cycles. “We lost Fred.”
Alice turned to the front of the Cabin. The red light made it difficult to identify any shape. The devices and screens that once were on the walls were hanging from them or scattered all over the place. She bit her lower lip with guilt. If she hadn’t built her device... She took a deep breath in to calm herself and held it as long as she could.
For a while, the heavy silence reigned, until the captain released a frustrated sigh and sat on the floor. “Leave it, it is useless…”
“What are you doing?” Alice asked, less dizzy now. “Maybe I could help.”
“There is nothing we can do,” Natasha said. “We need Apala to get back online.”
“And how do we do that?”
Nobody answered.
Alice approached the pilots, and as she did, the metallic smell of blood reached her. Scared, she looked at them, but it was impossible to see if they were bleeding under that light. Was it her? She patted herself down, but she was dry. She glanced at the front once more, dread crawling slowly up her back. She took a deep breath to calm herself, ignoring her revolting stomach, and stood next to the captain. For some minutes, she just focused on avoiding thinking at all.

I have been getting emails from readers that the print version they received from Amazon have been having issues sometimes with pages cut off, missing, and misalignment. It's more common nowadays. I'm i the only one facing this.

Any advice will be appreciated 👍

Thank you.

A week or so ago I posted a pic of myself with my newly published scifi/horror novel, Symbiote. I'm currently healing from face surgery but wanted to do another post showing my collection of concept art for the story. These pieces are done by me (I know I'm not a super great artist but they give the REAL artists an idea of how Symbiote's characters look in my head) or others; I wanted to do a little blurb about each of them and hopefully give people some more insight into the species and designs of my debut novel.

If you'd like to pick up a copy of Symbiote, you can grab one on Amazon here: https://a.co/d/0goi3LBZ

1. Vexie is my main character, this is a simple facial expression doodle my cover artist Natalie de Corsair did of her.

2. Very very early Vexie/Wahker design sketch, they were decidedly more opossum coded at the time. Drawn by my ex back in 2017.

3. Zeva/Ferean head study. The Fereans are another species in Symbiote that live their entire lives in a gasmask/atmo helmet. They have six LED displays that function as eyes, and it's through the shape of these that they display any emotion. Drawn by me.

4. Vexie/Wahker head study. This is the final design for my MC that I did and was happy with before handing everything I had off to Nat so she could interpret it in her own style. One thing that my design was big on was the immobile horn-ears that lend the top of the Wahker's heads their arrowhead shape. Nat changed this a bit, but other than the ears they wound up looking very similar. Drawn by me.

5. Vexie roar sketch, to be used as a component of the final cover. Drawn by Natalie de Corsair.

6. Reyshan, Vexie's brother, in traditional Zealot holy circuitry war paint and clad in his custom built gauntlet. This sketch was my first depiction of a male Wahker, as well as my first detailed drawing of a gauntlet, an incredibly powerful, reality warping weapon that's integral to Symbiote's plot. Drawn by me.

7. RAZE design drawing, a depiction of the chainsaw sword that Vexie built. It is possessed by some entity (no spoilers!) and Vexie's conflict with that entity is central to the novel's plot. Drawn by me.

8. Vexie/Wahker armor leg study, a drawing of how the jump jets and plating would fit around the Wahker's raptor feet. This was adapted into the final design that Nat went with for the cover. Drawn by me.

9. Vexie armored character drawing. This was the first rough drawing Nat did when trying to nail down the Wahker's look for the cover art. Drawn by Natalie de Corsair.

10. Full completed cover artwork (front/back/spine) with no text. Depicts a weary Vexie in the snow drifts of Turius, the planet where the story begins. Behind her, the swirling precipitation forms into the faces of her loved ones, haunting her thoughts as she readies herself again for battle. Drawn by Natalie de Corsair.

11. The original mk 1 cover artwork concept that we WILDLY strayed from. Very happy with Nat's input and that this was able to evolve into the much more cohesive piece I finally got. Drawn by me.

12. Vexie armor concept, just trying to convey a sense of how the Wahker's armor fits on them. Intentionally an homage to halo mjolnir armor. Drawn by me.

13. Vexie flat color character piece, drawn by Natalie de Corsair. Gives an idea of the true coloring of the different parts of the final cover.

14. Cover mock up mk 2 after some input from Nat, drawn by me and Natalie de Corsair.

15. Cover mock up mk 3, this is the finalized layout and placement that ended up on the eventual completed cover, drawn by Natalie de Corsair.

16. Very early Zealot gauntlet concept and Zeva/Ferean mask-helmet profile view. Drawn by me.

17. Vexie plain-clothes drawing, I based it off the roaring head shot from the cover artwork and used it to show more of the hide plating that the Wahker's have covering their body, as it's usually covered by her exoskeleton. Drawn by me.

18. Mutated wolf-beast that Vexie encounters in the first chapter of the book. Drawn by me.

19. Fusion-powered rifle and handgun combo that Vexie employs (was my first time drawing a gun and I kinda messed it up but figured I'd include it anyway). Drawn by me.

20. Primalius ship schematic, an overview of the converted human transport ship that Vexie employs for most of the story. Not to scale, drawn by me.

Anyway, thanks for looking y'all! I'm very excited to finally get this story and these characters out to the world!

As someone who repeatedly failed English in secondary school, writing has been and always will be a hobbiest passion regardless of my technical skill level.

It disheartened me today to realise that I made the mistake of capitalising the first word after dialog. Not just on my current project but also my first. As someone who wants to have a novel that both looks the part and reads the part. It's time to go back and correct two novels worth of mistakes even though I have no intentions of getting published or self publishing.

None the less, this is only a minor set back that will hopefully further strengthen my storytelling.

Mortal of my stroy, mistakes will be made and that's okay. I'm enjoying the journey through regardless of the terrain, potholes (not plotholes) are everywhere.