Friends,

This week, we’ll be getting into October! It’s crazy how fast these last few months have flown by, and how quickly the autumn and winter seasons are approaching. I hope that with a new season upon us, you are able to have a renewed opportunity to work toward achieving your goals and seeking your ambitions. Let’s get into today’s material…

The Faces of the War Collection

I recently finished the read-through editing of my manuscript for Imminent! Upon completing the first draft, the manuscript was just shy of 43K words. After this first read-through, it is just over 45K. This is right where I originally wanted the story to be in terms of word count, so we’ll see what changes end up being made once I get the returned manuscript from my editor.

Also, as I’ve mentioned before, you can expect a cover and synopsis reveal probably around Halloween. I’ll give more details regarding the reveal as the next four weeks press on. I want to be sure that I have the manuscript back in my hands completely edited before moving forward with the reveal. The point is, you can surely be excited in the anticipation of it!

I alluded to something in my most recent vlog that has to do with my next project. It is going to be the next book in the WWII collection, the story of which is already planned out and ready to be written. I am excited to get Imminent off the ground, but I’m also excited to continue writing into the next project! More details about that will come in due time.

Indie Writing Advice

I have learned through writing my first two books, as well as during the writing of Imminent, that a good habit to have is to be conscious of the characters you write. When it comes to writing main characters, you must make them relative and understandable to the reader, for it is those characters that the reader experiences the story. The story line should differ from book to book, and so the character’s experiences should be unique to their circumstances.

In a series or collection, like what I’m writing, it’s okay to reintroduce familiar themes or motifs across different stories, because it helps the reader understand the world they’re reading about and the characters within that world. We draw on preconceptions of places or things if we come across them in reading multiple times, and so that can be used to help establish a better understanding of what’s actually going on in the story and where. However, you don’t want to fall into a habit of writing what is known as a flat character – someone in the story who lacks a dynamic personality or who doesn’t really change through the course of the story. In the same way, you don’t want to have a flat story line, either.

So if you are new to writing, don’t be afraid to explore your world and your characters, and on the same token don’t be afraid to revisit places or people in an effort to help keep a newly formed story familiar to the reader.

That’s about it for this post. There’ll be more in the coming weeks as Imminent progresses through the publishing process, so stay tuned! Follow my blog or join my mailing list (by emailing me at elikale.author@gmail.com) to stay as updated as possible on this project!

Until next time,

-Eli