Monday, May 26, 2014

Other Realms: Volume One Is Available Now!

The title says it all, folks. I've got a new collection of short stories out. In this slender volume you'll find a selection of never-before-published tales set in a variety of "other realms" of fantasy. This first entry will be part of an ongoing series of books I'll be doing in the months ahead. At this point, I am aiming for a quarterly release of volumes, but that is just an estimate. Right now the trade paperback is out and soon it will be available in various ebook editions.

Summary: Other Realms: Volume One is the first book in a new series that collects original short stories by fantasy and sci-fi author Shaun Kilgore. In this volume, you’ll be taken to far off fantasy worlds filled with magic, adventure, and the games of noble houses and the plights of brave warriors. This book contains ten stories, including “A Reckoning,” “Death To The Messenger,” “Midwinter Night,” “Oathsworn,” “The Beast Of Mern,” “The Prophet’s Return,” “The Risen Queen,” “The Ruling,” “The Traitor,” and “Winds Of Fate.”

Here is the link from the publisher website. 

Monday, May 12, 2014

Writing Streaks

I started writing again. I've not missed a day for three weeks now. So, I'm officially in a writing streak. I heard about streaks when I started reading Dean Wesley Smith's website three years ago. While I entertained the notion of officially doing a streak, I hadn't done so. This isn't to say I didn't have lengthy periods where I wrote every single day without fail. I did. But these periods were always separated by much longer stretch where little if any writing got done.

I know there are plenty of factors that cause one to not write during a given day. I won't talk about any of them. I'm sure any writers reading this will have their own lists of personal reasons. They may be good ones or just lousy excuses. Sometimes, a little of both. One reason I think I'm still going on the streak is that I just totally abandoned my efforts to maintain a writing quota. It seems I alway set myself up for failure by saying that I would need to hit a certain number of words daily or weekly.

The best I can say is that I try to get a single manuscript page. That's 250 words. Sometimes, I don't quite hit that minimum and, really, that's okay. I don't care if I get 100 words as long as I get some words. It all averages out. The goal is only to not miss a day of writing. 

I'm going to see how long I can keep this streak going. I'd encourage my fellow writers to try the same thing. Aim for a manuscript page. I've heard that even a page a day will get you a novel written by the end of a year. Just think if you get two pages a day. You could have two novels written. I know that sounds good to me.