I was planning on writing a long post about magic and military fantasy this week when reality intervened. I was recently put on medication for diabetes and my metabolism still seems to be adjusting to it. I've had to make some dietary changes as well which are not helping. A lot of the day I feel pretty slow, particularly just after I have taken the tablets in the morning. It's not exactly conducive to writing either fiction or blog posts. Under the circumstances there is only one thing to do: learn, adapt and roll with the punches. I've spent the past couple of weeks watching my body's responses and I've reached a few conclusions. I am slowest in the morning, almost normal in the afternoon and early evening and then I slow down again when … [Read more...]
The Small, Nagging Voice
Yesterday I finished the first draft of my Kormak novel, Mask of the Necromancer. I did it ahead of schedule, just carried along by the flow of the writing. You’d think I’d be happy, but no, being a writer and a neurotic, I’ve found a way to make myself unhappy about this. Since I believe in spreading the misery, I thought I would share my method with you. This week I made a commitment to write 3000 words a day, 50% more than I normally would. Mostly this was a result of reading Rachel Aaron’s 10K a day article and recognising the truth of it. One of the big changes I made to my work routine was to set Freedom for one hour instead of 30 minutes, which is normally how long I write for to avoid RSI problems. When I was younger I used … [Read more...]
In the Meantime, In Between Time
I am in that strange space you sometimes get into as an author. I am revising one manuscript, preparing another for publication and writing another all at the same time. That seems to happen more and more often these days as I do my work for Black Library, try and get my backlist into print in ebook format and even write a new novel. So what exactly have I been up to? Well, yesterday I killed an ork with a shotgun. OK-- I didn't. Leo, the narrator of The Angel of Fire did. I just watched him do it while keeping my usual lookout for detail. I mean what's it like facing off against an ork? What do they smell like (oddly fungal and acrid, like athletes foot in old socks), what happens when you hit one on the head with the butt of a shotgun … [Read more...]
Magic Bullets
When it comes to technology, some writers like to believe in the magic bullet -- the operating system, the computer, the piece of software that will make all the difference. If only they can find this wondrous thing, it will transform their productivity. I've spent as much time as anybody else in pursuit of this particular Grail. I’ve probably tried most pieces of software aimed at writers and most of the common operating systems. It's never really made a lot of difference. I have found one piece of software I really like (Scrivener) and one that does make a difference but not perhaps for the reasons I would like (Dragon NaturallySpeaking.) Scrivener makes a lot of stuff easier but it does not make me hugely more productive. I write … [Read more...]
Angel of Fire Delivered
I have just sent The Angel of Fire in to Black Library. It's my first 40K in a long time and it's my first ever book written for Black Library in the first person singular. It was a lot of fun and a very different experience looking at the 41st Millennium from the point of view of an ordinary soldier rather than that of a Space Wolf. I am now waiting for feedback from my esteemed editor Nick Kyme at Black Library and soon, I hope I will be making the necessary revisions and pushing on to the second book in the Macharian Crusade trilogy. I won't be idle in the meantime. I have to revise the fourth Terrarch book, Shadowblood, and prepare it for e-book release at the end of the month. I'll also be scribbling down ideas for any changes to … [Read more...]
Living In Writer’s Time
Just like deadlines some special occasions sneak up on you. It's Gamesday in a couple of weeks and Blood of Aenarion is going to be released there and yet somehow, while wittering on about writing and Macharius and short stories, I have forgotten to talk about it. You're probably wondering how that is possible. I mean it is a major hardback release with the most astonishingly beautiful cover and it features some of my favourite characters ever. It's also my first new book for Black Library in what-- 8 years? (Bloody hell!) How did this escape my notice? The secret, young padawan, is that, like most writers, I live in a different timestream from the one you see. Most people connect to writers through their books and they can only do that … [Read more...]
What to Do When You Don’t Feel Like Writing
Yesterday, I felt really slow of mind. I was tired after being woken in the middle of the night by an incredible thunderstorm. The day was very hot and sticky and I really wanted to be outside. My RSI was playing up. There were men working with loud power tools in my building. I did not feel inspired in the slightest. I did not want to write. I found myself planning a blog post about it then I thought this is stupid and I went and did some writing. What is my secret technique for doing this? I opened up my word-processor, looked at what I had written the day before and began to edit it. Once I had finished doing that, I kept typing a new scene. I didn't stop to wonder whether it was any good. I just wrote it. Once I had finished I went … [Read more...]
An Easy Way To Increase Your Productivity
For the past few days I have been out in the country. Like many Czechs my in-laws have a chatu, a small place in the country, usually with minimal facilities but close to nature. On the weekends and in the long warm days of summer you leave the city, and go na chatu. Our’s is in a small village about 50 kilometres from Prague. It is surrounded by many lovely forest trails. There is no television, telephone or internet, and not much in the way of heating so we don’t go there much except in the summer. In the summer, it is very quiet, peaceful. There’s not a lot to do except have barbecues, read, talk and go for long walks and cycle runs. A few years ago, as is my wont, I had to spoil things by taking my computer along. At the time, I … [Read more...]
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