The War of Memory Project

Hi!  I’m still alive!  It’s been a rough few months for me, writing-wise; between several disruptions of my work-schedule and some unanticipated stresses, I had a very irregular January and February, and have a few more odd events still to come in March.  But I’ve mostly recovered from the collapse noted below, and am back at writing 2-3 pages per day.  Yesterday and the day before were 3+ page days, at about 2700 words each, so that progress makes me feel much better.

Currently working on Chapter 26 out of probably 31.

Question 72 – Do you have a daily or weekly target for writing? What is it, and how do you achieve it?

Normally I have a target of 2-3 pages per writing day, and I write five days a week. I write before I go to my Day Job, so 2-3 is about the amount of writing I can squeeze in between gaining full consciousness and being forced to run out the door. There are two writing-days where I don’t have the Day Job hanging over me, so sometimes I get 4-6 pages in, and there are always outlier days where I get up to 8 because I feel very motivated. My main goal is to get -something- down on the page, and keep pushing at it until I have to break off for the day. It’s just persistence — and a steady schedule I guess, because my Day Job schedule was wacky for most of February and totally threw me off my writing game. Hopefully by the time this posts, I will have gotten back into the proper swing of it.

More: Authors Answer 72 – Writing Targets

One of my favorite things about writing: Learning!

Question 68 – What are some of the most unusual things you’ve researched for your writing?

Oh I’ve researched LOTS of stuff.  The most interesting to me was eye enucleation, but some recent ones include properties of silk armor, pre-modern heating and cooling, farming techniques, volcanic hazards, photosynthesizing sea-slugs, bee vision, unusual riding animals, fungus crafts, scar mobility exercises, eyeliner tattoos, and alpine survival.  All relevant to the story/world, even the sea-slugs!

More recently than this post, I’ve done a bunch of research on mountain climbing, altitude sickness and the Khumbu region (where Mt. Everest is), since I have some characters currently in an analogous situation.  I’ve learned some new terms like col and couloir to describe mountain structure, and the related images and maps are really interesting.  Always been distantly interested in mountaineering (I would never do it but the stories are absorbing) and other wilderness/disaster survival topics, so a lot of my research is about that — making sure my characters, astray in the wilderness, don’t have too easy (or too hard) a time of it, depending on their skill levels.

More: Authors Answer 68 – Authors Research the Strangest Things

Well, this one is obvious.

Question 62 – Who is your favorite character that you created (either for a book/story or just because)?

My consistently favorite character is probably the one that serves as my icon here on WordPress, Shaidaxi. I’ve played/written him since I was maybe thirteen, making him an easy skin to slip into when it comes to the series; also, he’s a snarky and erratic individual, so his dialogue is always entertaining to write.

“Nope.”

However, I’ve found that other characters occasionally eclipse him when I get a chance to focus on them, so I often have a temporary favorite that I dedicate a lot of side-story to. My current temp fave is Linciard, who I’m trying to un-mire from the plot swamp he’s been stuck in.

Linciard!  Put a shirt on!

More: Authors Answer 62 – Our Favourite Created Characters

Oops — looks like I missed this when it first popped up.  Granted, it’s been a busy few days, New Years being my dad’s birthday and all.

Question 61 – What are your goals for 2016?

Finish and publish my fourth book, hopefully by mid-year, and get started on the fifth. Well — get a good way through the fifth! I’ve been trying to reduce my required writing time, but it’s a war between motivation and my desire to lay on the floor and do nothing now and then. I should also get some short stories done, even though I hate short stories; there are certain side characters’ tales to either fill in or wrap up, so I have many ideas, I’m just not fond of the format. Must push myself. Beyond my writing-work, I really don’t have other goals…I just go along with my schedule. I’m dull! 😀

More: Authors Answer 61 – A Look at 2016