Jon Cronshaw's Author Diary - The Real Life of an Indie Author | Writing | Publishing | Disability

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Welcome to Jon's author diary for the week ending June 28, 2020.

This week I had what I can only describe as writer’s block. Yes, the dreaded writer's block.

I always thought that writer’s block was a myth, that it is something that only happens to authors who don’t have a plan going in.

On last week’s Author Diary podcast, I talked about an experiment to write by the seat of my pants, to going in without a plan…and lo! Writer’s block reared its ugly head.

Many authors have told me they go in without a plan, that they follow their characters’ lead. I do this, but I also have an outline.

The first few days felt liberating. I followed my gut, the story seemed to flow out of me…, and then I stopped. The cursor blinked. It kept blinking.

I tried to sleep on it.

However, the words didn’t come.

I wouldn’t go as far as to say it was a failed experiment, because I learned a lot about my process. I’m an outliner. I need a plan.

My plans are pretty loose, maybe a sentence per chapter. But without that, I can’t seem to get through the story and the writing suffers on a sentence-level as a result.

At least I know where my strengths and weaknesses are, so it wasn’t a complete waste of time.

Magic systems

I’m a huge fan of magic systems. A magic system done well is almost as satisfying as a great story. If those two things are combined—well, therein lays genius.

On the latest episode of The Sci-Fi Roundtable podcast, I’m joined by Shane Thomas, Ken Goudsward, and Geoff Habinger to talk all about magic systems.

We discuss Brandon Sanderson, Patrick Rothfuss, Terry Pratchett, and J. K. Rowling.

Plus, I go into a lot of detail about the magic system I developed for The Ravenglass Chronicles, and some influences which will probably be obvious if you’ve read Temperance.

You can find the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Overcast, or through your favourite podcast app (I like Podcast Addict on Android). Alternatively, you listen directly at anchor.fm/sci-fi-roundtable.

Cleric of the Wasteland

The fourth and final book in my post-apocalyptic Wastelandseries is almost ready for release.

All being well, the book should go live on July 18.

If you’ve not read my Wasteland books before, you can get the first three books for just 99c/99p for a limited time on Kindle, or read for free on Kindle Unlimited. Click HERE.

Blind Gambit

Finally, my gamelit novel Blind Gambit is free today on Kindle.

Think Ready Player One if the main character was blind, written from the perspective of a severally visually impaired writer. Click HERE to grab your copy.

Happy reading!

Jon

Welcome to Jon's author diary for the week ending June 21, 2020.

After the intensity of last week getting Cleric of the Wasteland ready for the editor, I decided to take this week off. That lasted about two days before I started getting twitchy!

So, I started work on The Moon (episode 18 of The Ravenglass Chronicles). I’m five chapters in and I’m using a different method to write than usual. Instead of working from an outline, I thought I’d try writing on the seat of my pants.

It’s scary, as I’ve honed my method over the past decade of writing. But it’s an experiment to see whether I can do it. I’m not sure if it will work. I may end up halfway through, realise it sucks, and go back to my old way of doing things.

As a process, it feels weirdly liberating. I’m letting Kat and the tarot cards guide the story. I’m little more than a stenographer along for the ride at this point.

Let’s see how it goes…

The Star is now live!

Episode 17 of The Ravenglass Chronicles is now available on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited. Click HERE to grab your copy.

This means we’re closing in on the final leg of the story. Based on my current trajectory, I’m hoping to have The World (episode 21) out by autumn. I’ll then turn my attention to writing you a free novella called Dawn of Assassins, which will be a prequel to my next series in the Ravenglass Universe.

I’m thinking of my next series as the midpoint between Robin Hobb, Scott Lynch, and Brent Weeks. Imagine roguish thieves turned reluctant assassins…with wyverns—can’t forget the wyverns.

Sins of Empire

I read Brian McClellan’s book Sins of Empire this week, which I highly recommend. It’s a regency-era epic fantasy with guns, gods, and great characters.

It’s the second trilogy in his Powder Mage series (which is up there as one of my all-time favourites).

Because of the lockdown, I’ve not been in the right headspace to read fiction, so it’s been wonderful to enjoy a good story well told.

What are you reading at the moment? Can you recommend any fantasy series set in the 18thor 19th centuries?

Take care,

Jon