by jacob | Aug 26, 2022 | Writing Blog
⭐️ Day 26 Prompt: Dream Cast For Your WIP ⭐️
It’s Day 26 of #AuthorAugust22, a prompt series by @mariahankenman!
Whew. What a week. Bought a newer car, got slammed with large work projects, and had an unplanned pediatrician visit for the little. How was your week?
Honestly, I never thought about a dream cast for any WIPs. Though, if I did for The Traveler, I would probably choose Simon Pegg and Lake Bell as the titular characters. They have such excellent movie chemistry together.
If you couldn’t guess it by now, I’m basically taking their personas from the movie they both starred in as said titular characters, titled Man Up. It may still be on Netflix, not sure, though. Cute movie.
Simon has the appeal where he could play a hopeless romantic and professional historian wanting nothing to do with his father’s legacy. And Lake has the kind of appeal for playing the ambitious, career-driven professional, leaving her past in the rearview mirror to follow her dream as a bookstore owner.
What is your dream cast for your WIP?
by jacob | Aug 25, 2022 | Writing Blog
⭐️ Day 25 Prompt: Do Your Family/Friends Know You Write? ⭐️
It’s Day 25 of #AuthorAugust22, a prompt series by @mariahankenman!
Slamming some coffee back as I’ll soon be taking my toddler to the pediatrician today for what I suspect is a UTI. And I received a dozen work emails moments ago for a large project with a tight deadline. Awesome.
Do my family and friends know I write? 100%. They were some of my first buyers for Over The Creek. And I’m not shy about posting my work online, too. So, there’s…that.
I don’t get the hilarious reactions from them as I write children’s books mostly. Now, if I jump into some other genres, I wouldn’t be as confident posting those WIPs online as often, haha.
It took me some time to post even The Traveler (see yesterday’s post). At most, there’s only a hint of a potential romance. Wait, that makes me sound as though I have something against romance books. I don’t. I’m simply not confident enough for writing #romancebooks or really any other genre for that matter. Not yet, anyway.
Should I start writing outside of children’s books, I would likely only post in private critique groups for the genre I’m writing in. That was a long way of saying if I do start #writing outside of my current genre, they, and likely everyone else (publicly), won’t know about it for some time, haha.
by jacob | Aug 24, 2022 | Writing Blog
⭐️ Day 24 Prompt: What’s The Best Writer Moment You’ve Had? ⭐️
It’s Day 24 of #AuthorAugust22, a prompt series by @mariahankenman!
Shower, Foundation, Coffee, Edible. That’s the latest routine I’m hoping I can keep consistent in the mornings. I didn’t wanna wake up today but the noise of the weekly lawn maintenance arrived.
Recently? The best writer moment I’ve had recently was writing “the end” on a children’s book project. Or any project in recent memory, in fact. You know how that feels; it may not be perfect but you’ve accomplished something so wonderful at that moment. Right?
The BEST writer moment I have ever had, though, was winning a #shortstory / #flashfiction competition years ago put on by Paranormal & Romance author, Devin O’Branagan. Go check out her work, she’s amazing. You can find all of her books on Goodreads.
The piece was called The Traveler. I’ve been going back and forth on whether I’ll expand on it. Plenty of people who’ve read the story so far have unanimously agreed I should. So….maybe?
The Traveler has more of an Oscar Wilde-esque aesthetic/setting. Though, I’ve been told that if I do rewrite or expand the story, I should modernize the setting.
Anyways, that was the best writer moment I’ve had. Well, if you don’t count the Guinness World Record Challenge in 2014, that is…..
by jacob | Aug 23, 2022 | Writing Blog
⭐️ Day 23 Prompt: Tuesday Teaser – Post A Short Snippet From Your WIP ⭐️
It’s Day 23 of #AuthorAugust22, a prompt series by @mariahankenman!
I’m sitting in my car in a Mcdonald’s parking lot typing this post out on my phone because I was supposed to pick up a new car I purchased online; apparently, it isn’t ready yet.
Unfortunately, I can’t think of what I can post here today from my WIP. I’m terrible (or great?) at forgetting even my own writing.
Has that happened to you?
I have probably a dozen WIPs currently, but even then I still can’t remember them all. Is that bad?
Anyways…the premise, at least, of my latest WIP is about a costume contest between dragons. Neat, right? We’ll see. I’m planning on rebooting my Patreon account so I can post a number of unedited junk and other stuff there. Maybe get back into art again and come up with some unique designs for the characters.
I don’t know, I’m trying to stretch out this Instagram post because it’s….it has been a day so far.
Well, I’m gonna go eat so I will see you all around later.
Thanks!
by jacob | Aug 22, 2022 | Writing Blog
⭐️ Day 22 Prompt: What Is The Most Frustrating Thing About Being A Writer? ⭐️
It’s Day 21 of #AuthorAugust22, a prompt series by @mariahankenman!
It’s only 11:10am and I’m already exhausted. How about that? I just made a nice cup of coffee after sweating my butt off cleaning my SUV out. Why? Because I’m picking up a new car tomorrow that I bought online through Carvana last week. I would have done it over the weekend but the monsoon storms were not having it.
Why am I drinking hot, black coffee after sweating from cleaning the car out? Your guess is as good as mine.
Anyways, let’s get to today’s prompt.
I can joke and say it’s “writing”, but I would be lying. The most frustrating thing about being a writer is feeling like you’ll never be good enough for “breaking into publishing”. It’s a common enough feeling that the self-publishing world has seen a drastic boost in recent years. With chains like Barnes & Noble making it more difficult for new authors to be discovered, the harder the blow is to my confidence as a writer.
It was my dream to one day have my book in B&N locations. In an odd way, I sorta had that dream come true. But it was extremely short-lived. Only a few weeks after Over The Creek was being sold in several B&N locations, the book was pulled.
I could go on a rant about Barnes & Noble and the publishing industry right now, but not here. Follow me on my blog for more about that junk.
So…yeah…we need more independent bookstores. It’s one reason out of many why I hope to one day do just that – open an indie bookstore that is meant for everyone, regardless if it’s on a bestseller list or not.
What is the most frustrating thing about being a writer to you?
