Happy Birthday Upstream Writer!

Wowee! Six years already? Gee whiz! What a ride it's been!

All right, so last week's Upstream Update kind of gave you a look back over some of the things I've accomplished in the last year--at least as far as the writing is concerned. Let's just go over a few "blog stats", though, for old time's sake, shall we?

Okay, for starters, I did pretty good in terms of numbers--not as stellar as in the first few years, but not too shabby! I managed to publish 80 posts over the last year, and the blog got over twelve thousand hits--that's roughly a thousand a month! 

One of those posts was my 800th post-- "The Sheriff's Showdown" Excerpt: "A Home In Phantom Gulch" is an excerpt from the third book in the A Writer's Tale series. For those who don't know, it's based on a serial story I wrote on a whim for National Novel-Writing Month, and it tells the story of stymied author Laura, who tries her best to start yet another story on a magical typewriter, and ends up opening a portal that leads to the physical worlds of different stories she'd abandoned in the past, so she finds herself a main character in settings and conflicts of her own creation, and must survive in order to make it back to the "real world." In The Sheriff's Showdown, she ends up in a Wild Western town and has to help the Sheriff convince the rest of the townspeople to stand up and defy the dastardly outlaw who has run every other sheriff out of town--or killed them, just to show the people who "really" runs the town. This particular excerpt, then, is more of Laura getting acquainted with the different characters and settling into her new "reality." She'd just come off a spaceship from the last book, see, so there's a bit of "culture shock" involved!

Meanwhile the post from this year that has the most views by now... is not even one that I wrote! Instead it was a guest post I hosted, as part of a "blog hop" during a "cyber convention" I participated in for the first time this year--it was fun, definitely a learning experience, and I am confident that if they run it again in the coming year, I would definitely take the opportunity to share about my stuff and network some more! The post is here: OWS CYCon Presents Science Fiction Romance Author Hywela Lyn

The last notable stat has to do with my Reader's Reviews. I've already said that I managed to write 17 Reader's Reviews this year (actually, at the time it was 16, but I just barely squeaked that last one in!) but do you want to know which review out of those 17 ended up with the most views?

It's The Tannis Project by Daryl J. Ball! A rather quaint and fascinating take on the whole idea of vampire lore--Ball gave his vampire character a blog, and so readers are treated to a series of "posts" composed by a 200-year-old vampire, regaling us with stories of his own escapades, while debunking common "misconceptions" about vampire myths and legends. I'm not usually "into" stories that are just about vampires (I mean, having a vampire side character in a paranormal/supernatural genre story doesn't bother me) but I found Tannis to be an engaging character and the whole thing was rather pleasant to read! 

Some other posts of note from 2019 that might be worth your while:

The Last Inkweaver: An Excerpt Comparison--Rewriting The Last Inkweaver took up most of my year, and there were several times when I didn't know if I would make it all the way through. After all, this was the third time I'd actually attempted rewriting something, and I hadn't yet finished a complete rewrite of anything in my life! But I did, and I was intensely pleased with the results--so pleased, in fact, that I posted this excerpt comparison to show just how much improvement there could be!

Introducing the OWS CyCon!--The term "CyCon" stands for "cyber convention", in essence, a group attempts to set up pages and groups on various social media or website forum platforms, to function like "booths" at a live convention. It works... mostly. In theory. During the week leading up to that weekend "convention", I joined about twenty others in a week-long blog hop, which we all responded to similar prompts, and swapped around blogs, so that we were all hosting someone else, while a different person "hosted" our posts. On this particular post, you'll find links to my guest posts, as well as the posts I hosted on my blog. (There are also other things mentioned, like my "Author booth" and the "event page" and whatnot, but I don't believe those links are viable anymore...) It was a fun time, and I got to host authors I'd never heard of--but after that event, these people are definitely on my "book radar"!

Red The Wolf--This was the serial that took me just about all year to finish and post! I had no idea from the outset just how long it would be. All I knew is that I wanted to write a story about a girl who could shapeshift into a wolf, and served as the Guardian of a mountain town. Things are all right, and only the villagers of this one town know that the Wolf that shows up sometimes, when someone is in peril, is a good sign and a friend to them, and only a select few know that the girl and the Wolf are one and the same (the rest all think it must be her pet or something)--but things fall apart when she ends up in the custody of an unscrupulous scoundrel who'd been stealing from the village without anyone knowing--and she finds herself stuck in the form of a wolf. 

I had many scenes that I tried out for the opening of the series, and a lot of those scenes didn't end up making it into the "final" story at all--originally conceived as a submission to an anthology, I wound up patching together an "abridged" version in time for the deadline, and then moving on to rewrite and produce a "full version" that was slightly different from the submitted story, which I then had to wait until after the anthology's release to start posting! But now it's all on the blog, and you can see it there! (And if you're curious to read the "abridged" version, to compare it--I highly recommend the anthology! It's for charity--all proceeds are going to a worthy cause!)

Storytime Saturday/Dreamtime Authors Presents!--Look carefully, as there are TWO hyperlinks there! Speaking of the anthology, Dreamtime Damsels and Fatal Femmes, presented by the Dreamtime Fantasy Authors--over the course of August, clear through till October (because there were so many!), I joined my fellow authors in running a promotional series of sorts, where twice a week I would share a short excerpt (some shorter than others!) and a list of 10-20 "fun facts" about each of the submitted stories in the anthology! I'm not sure how well it worked at the time--but if you're interested in finding out more about what you might find in this anthology, these two post series (since the two I linked above contain links at the bottom to all the other stories available) are the perfect sample size!

The Prince and The Rose--Yes, this is a post from FOUR YEARS AGO, but it's linked to all the other posts, including the ending which I wrote and posted this year, so it still counts! Yes, it's taken me that long to first of all decide that I wanted to write more, then also to decide how I wanted it to turn out--I think I'm really enjoying putting twists on favorite fairy tales! We all know the story of a fearsome, horrible beast that once was a prince who becomes just as ugly on the outside as he is on the inside, and the brave, selfless girl who comes into his life and dares to see what no one else would acknowledge... But how would the story be different if the beast-prince actually did see the error of his ways and try to turn his life around--but it was the girl who remained "closed off" from him and steadfastly refuse to acknowledge anything but the appearance of something she couldn't stand? Flipping the trope on its head sure is fun, I'll say that much!


Well, that's enough of a look back--now it's time for a Look FORWARD into the year 2020!

My "token word" for 2020:

 "INTENTIONALITY."

I've spent the last couple years fighting to "catch up" with things, wrestling with, namely, The Last Inkweaver and wondering what I'm going to do next, getting fatigued with writing and treating it like an optional hobby, even though there is not a day that goes by that I don't actually feel like writing at some point... I just end up procrastinating until I run out of time for it, which doesn't help anybody!

That's over. Starting now, I'm going to prioritize my writing more. I'm going to approach it with a list of "must do's" and make each word count. No more letting it slide, or wondering if I'm "going to feel like it," I'm going to make time and I'm going to get things done. I have a lot that I might want to do (as you will soon find out) so I can no longer afford to "waffle around" about it!

I'm also going to make the effort to be more intentional with my reading. Too often, I found myself mucking around with other things, and "not having time" to read--and consequently, my writing suffered. There is the principle that "writing is like breathing out, as much as reading is breathing in," and I definitely see that a lax attitude about one will definitely affect the quality of the other!

For once in my life, I've actually set a reading goal! That's right--I've given myself a list of 20 indie books to read, getting through my TBR list by hook or by crook, and I'll also make plans to ensure that I will successfully read no less than 30 library checkouts this coming year--which means I intend to read 50 books in 2020. I haven't achieved that many since 2016--I figure I'm due! And if this works--hey, I can get through my TBR list in only a couple years, instead of forever!

Coming This Year!

Speaking of reading and "Reader's Reviews"... I've come to realize that the past few years, I've used a pretty consistent model as far as formatting my blog posts and stuff... but the few years before that, I hardly knew what I was doing! Therefore, one of my big projects I'll be tackling in January is bringing my first 3 years' worth of posts (I think there are more than 300 of them...) up-to-date, with functioning links, relevant thumbnail images, and making them look spiffy in general. It's going to be tedious, but I think, in order to maintain a consistent look for my blog, it definitely needs to happen! So feel free to click through those old things, see how I'm doing so far, and please do drop a line to cheer me on! That would be the BEST EVER, and it would really make this whole thing feel worthwhile! 

Also beginning next Saturday and hopefully continuing on till the end (which might take a couple months!) is the series Priscilla Sum. Those of you who have been around for a while might remember a couple years back when I tried to start it after finishing The Clan of Outcasts... but it kind of "bombed" and I stopped after only a couple installments--first of all because it wasn't getting the hype and interest I thought it might generate, and second, because I wasn't 100% sure on where I wanted to go with it.

Well, now I'm sure, and I spent part of October and November jotting down notes for it, clear to a possible resolution, so if it works out, I should have the whole thing completed at least by March.

Why that specific date? Well, the fact that Priscilla Sum deals with Greek mythology fits rather well with a proposed anthology theme, one that I've already bought into, even though I haven't really finished the series yet. I may submit that, or if it's not ready or I get to the end and I don't feel completely confident with it, I have 2 other stories on backup, one of which has already been published in a limited-release anthology before, so I know for certain it's a good fit.

The third thing I'll be up to right away in the new year is editing The Last Inkweaver for publication! That's right! I'll be looking into different options for the coming year, whether it's going to be the traditional route, or self-publishing. I think if I did traditional, I'd be concerned with over-committing myself, agreeing to do certain things in a certain time frame, and winding up being unable to deliver. By the same token, self-publishing is a lot of effort and up-front costs and whatnot... So the question remains, is that really the best option for me?

At any rate, I'll be getting my ducks in a row for that one, so that the minute an opportunity presents itself, I'll be prepared to jump on it, at least!

Meanwhile, as the ball starts rolling for The Last Inkweaver, what other work might take prominence as my main WIP?

I have options!

I could go ahead and start plotting and plugging away at the next book in The Wordspinner Chronicles series (oh yeah, The Last Inkweaver is only the beginning!), tentatively titled The Story-Healer's Song. The thing I'm not sure about is whether or not to move ahead with a series no one has seen yet... but then again, I don't want another 2 years to pass between books in this series, so if I'm publishing The Last Inkweaver this year, I most definitely have to get a jumpstart on Book 2 as soon as possible!

OR MAYBE I COULD....

I dunno, write a sequel to Princess of Undersea three years later? This is still something I'm mulling over. I've known ever since I teased it all out in "What Happened To Simon" that it might be fun to do a sequel, turning the young runaway trying to escape the ruthless ringmaster of a traveling carnival, a la "Pinocchio"... But then just the other day I was looking over my list of "ideas that might someday become projects", and especially after "The Dragon's Mark" and "Red, The Wolf", I did have this idea jotted for a re-telling of an Aladdin-style story...

Well, suddenly my brain wanted to use some side characters from "What Happened to Simon" and expand the world beyond the coastal kingdom of Crossway--a region in the style of the Australian "outback" known as "Outwest" (even though it would be covering the eastern portion of the continent...) where the outlaws rule supreme. Wouldn't that be a perfect substitute for a "den of thieves"? So then I had my third book. And just wait till you learn what I have concocted in place of a genie in a lamp!

It didn't take long to decide that I was going to need a fourth book, and the fairy tale that would tie in would be "Snow White." Only instead of a jealous queen wanting to do away with her innocent young step-daughter... A jealous "step-daughter" from Undersea would be used by certain enemies to do away with the innocent young Queen Ylaine! That part struck me as genius, since I really did think that if the series lasted this long, Nathan definitely ought to be able to spend a little more time as a merman, more than his brief stint in Princess of Undersea. But maybe that's just me...

So it's either sequels all around... or I can just continue the trend of "move on to the next thing" and give a prior project the rewrite treatment, something like Merely Meredith, the Fairies Under Glass duology, or even Laurel of Andar. Too chintzy, though? What do you all think? I welcome any input!

Anyway, while all this is going on, I will also be working towards finishing The Writer's Tale series. Not sure if I'm going to officially publish that at some point, but at least it will feel good to be all the way done. Also, it will all be available on Wattpad for you to read, whether or not I publish it for real. I also have two anthologies I've submitted to that will be releasing this year, so you have that to look forward to! One of them will be a limited run, so you won't want to miss it when it goes down!

To apply all of these ideas under the notion of INTENTIONALITY, then, it's going to require a lot of pre-planning and setting things up. That means:

-Writing blog posts ahead of time;
-Planning blog post releases so that I can get them written ahead of time, instead of cobbling something together at the last minute;

-planning days when I'm going to be writing certain projects, spacing things and balancing them so I don't get "burnt out" but I also don't want to slack off, either! I can't afford it, with how many things I want to write and finish!

-writing things down in my planner ahead of time; I picked one of those up for the first time in June, and it's been nothing short of amazing to have space to write things down every day--except that the one I chose was just a short, cheap one so I know I'm going to have to get a bigger one at some point, to have room for everything!

-I've already figured out that the time between thinking that I want to write at some point today and actually sitting down and writing because now the Muse has arrived and the words flow easy is about one hour... so if I had a more consistent writing time, I could start the process of getting myself into the "headspace" for writing, with enough time so that when the block of time comes, I'm ready!

There's a lot I need to do, and I figured that blogging about it will help with the accountability factor--don't hesitate to leave me a comment asking questions about things, or letting me know that you're following this and rooting for me, because those questions and comments really do a great job of keeping me motivated--and with all that I want to accomplish this year, I'm going to need that motivation more than ever!

As we head into a new year and a new decade with fresh perspective...

Catch You Further Upstream!