Friends,

Autumn is approaching! I love the smells that are in the air, the feel of the cool morning breezes on my skin, and the sense of impending change that defines the season. It’s one of my favorite times of year, and I’ve decided to use it as a tool to help revitalize my drive and ambition, with the hope of completing my current projects to the best of my ability! Let’s get down to this week’s details…

The Faces of the War Collection

Much progress has been made since last week. I have no more than 3,000 words left to write to reach my target word count (or close to it), and it is my intention to knock out those words in the coming week. I mentioned last week that I received the finished front cover of Imminent, and that I’ll reveal that properly as the release date of the book gets closer. It is still set for December 11, with the aim being that the book will be available for purchase before Christmas – in case you want to gift it to someone! I’ll continue to give updates on this project through this blog, so continue following to stay in the loop!

Inkitt Short Story

There is still time to read my latest short story on the website Inkitt, and to vote for it (if you like it) before the contest ends on September 24. I’ve said it before – I’m not looking to win the contest, but rather to get my content “out there.” If I were to win, great! But if not, I’ll just be glad to have been able to create something new for you, my readers, to enjoy. Let me know what you think!

YouTube

I am looking forward to continuing into the autumn and winter with my videos. I am making it a goal of mine to get into a better habit of recording more throughout the week rather than just one or two days. Videos will still be posted on Fridays, sometimes skipping weeks here and there if my personal schedule is particularly hectic. You can find my videos on my channel, and be sure to “Subscribe” so that you can see my latest videos in your home feed. And tell a friend – I’m always looking to connect with new viewers and followers of my work!

Indie Writing Advice

When writing your first draft, it’s wise not to worry about making it perfect. I’ve said this before – doing that will hinder the flow of creativity and ideas, and will draw out the writing process much longer than it should be. Save the fine-tuning for later. One thing to do as you write, though, is to take a mental note (or actually write it down on a pad of paper) of the words or phrases you often tend to resort to often.

For example, I tend to picture in my mind the scene I’m writing as it plays out. I sometimes have characters nod in agreement or understanding, and I find that I write it as such quite a bit. So what I do is simple: I’ll go into the finished first draft and run a search for the word “nod” and see how many results come up. I’ll then go through and try to replace it with a different action that will convey similar emotion, tension, etc. in that scene. This not only decreases repetitive wording, but it forces me to freshen up my vocabulary and by extension helps round out my characters and what they do. I include this in my editing read-throughs after I finish the first draft. This way, these repetitive actions and dialogue beats will be ironed out and made pretty before handing the story over to my editor, which cuts down on their work in the end.

That’s all I have for this week, but stay tuned as progress is made this week and next, and as the story nears its completion. The publishing process will begin to pick up speed as the autumn presses on, so join me for the ride in the coming months as we move closer to release!

Until next time,

-Eli