144 - June 28, 2020 - Writer's block, Cleric of the Wasteland, The Confidence Game, Sci-Fi Roundtable, Finding Flow, The Ravenglass Chronicles, Quarter three goals

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