Japan and the Joy of Sharing

Japan was awesome! I'm not a city person, and crowded Tokyo did nothing to convince me otherwise, but wow was it a study in engineering. The entire city seems designed to eke the most out of every available square inch of land. Buildings are tall. Stores exist on all floors, not just ground level. Our tiny hotel rooms were the epitome of efficiency, which made them feel less crowded.

One highlight was visiting the Pale Blue factory, who make cutting-edge ion thrusters for satellites. We got to hold them, and witnessed the faint ion trail of one in action inside a vacuum chamber. It was science fiction turned real!

And the countryside... oh, the beauty! We stayed in a tiny village outside Shizuoka, nestled in the mountains, where we were given a tour of the birthplace of wasabi by the wasabi master himself, got to harvest our own wasabi plants, and (separately) drank viper-infused sake (yes, as in the entire snake, poison and all). The entire experience was absolutely picturesque!

We were also very lucky to have arrived during peak sakura blooming season. Amazing!

I finished revising the supporting characters in Peleos (Timeless Keeper Saga Book 3), and am much happier with the story now. Unfortunately the Japan trip didn't leave much time for writing, but I hope to get back on track this month and push forward—especially since I left off just before the real action started. I want to know what happens! 😅

While in Japan, I met a delightful science fiction fan from my home state of Pennsylvania. I just happened to have a copy of Enigma, which I gave him. That sparked a fun email chain about the book and writing in general. I've never been so happy to have schlepped a paperback across the world. It sparked great conversation and (I think) forged a new friendship! He asked about my writing process, so I bullet-pointed it for him, and thought I would also share that with you—hence this month's feature. =]

In this newsletter

• My Writing Process
• Currently Reading

My Writing Process

In a Nutshell

I've written this out many times during my career. This one turned out particularly well, so I thought I'd share it with you. The person I wrote it for was surprised how much waiting time is baked in. I do that because I find it very difficult to edit with any quality when the story is still fresh in my head. Stepping away allows me to view it with the fresh eyes of a reader instead of the author, and results in a much clearer and tighter story.

1. Let a story idea bounce around in my head for 2 mo. to a year (often while other books are in the draft stage)
2. Sketch out character dossiers using RPG-like character sheets
3. Flesh out the world in a story bible (timeline, government(s), major events, factions, economy, technology, etc)
4. Write a high-level story outline, usually 10-20 cards of 1-2 sentences each
5. Begin writing! My tool of choice is Scrivener
6. Usually at the halfway point, I lose my way. I pause, re-outline the remaining story to fit with what I've actually written, then continue. This will include detailing subplots (which can number in the twenties) to ensure they adequately wrap up by the end of the story
7. Repeat the above at the 75% mark, then at the 90% mark
8. First draft complete!
9. Let the story sit for 1+ months, usually while I move on to a different book or series
10. Begin 2nd draft (first draft is telling the story to yourself; second draft is telling it to someone else)
11. Give it to my alpha reader and let it sit for another month or so. During this time, I usually begin working with an artist for the cover
12. Begin 3rd draft, which is some correction plus incorporating alpha feedback, but mostly polish
13. Deliver 3rd draft to beta readers
14. Incorporate beta feedback into 4th draft
15. Let it sit again, although only for a couple weeks this time
16. Final draft
17. Format for publication (ebook and paperback), create covers
18. Send to ARC team
19. Publish!

Currently Reading

Alexander Hamilton

I've watched the play more times than I can count, so it seemed natural to read the inspiration behind the masterpiece. It's very informative so far, and I'm only on the introduction! More to come.

Read full review

Wind and Truth (Stormlight Archive #5)

For once, my slow reading isn't to blame for this behemoth still being a work in progress. I've been reading a lot in my spare time, including the flight to Japan, my downtime during the trip, and the flight back, and I'm STILL only ~65% finished. The book jumps around a lot between multiple story lines and points of view, often within the same chapter, which has made it challenging to stay engaged (I don't write that way for this exact reason). It also semi-focuses on a character I wasn't thrilled with from the beginning (Szeth) and still aren't. That said, Sanderson moves it along at a satisfying pace that hasn't made me want to set it aside, so I'll keep churning. Here's hoping for a satisfying conclusion.

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