I have recently been watching booktube videos addressed to authors: readers expressing their opinions on what they do and do not like in fantasy, what they would like to see in new books, and what just won’t cut it anymore. Of course these are just opinions, and if an author tried to satisfy every desire …
Author: rodericktmacdonald
Writer, pool player.
Find me at rodericktmacdonald.com
The Writing Life: Ain’t No Way But The Hard Way
So it has been a while. I was going to call this Breaking the Silence II, but I decided to share this song with you instead. When I am in the guts of a pool match, and I or my team are a long way behind, I think of that song, and dig in to …
Continue reading The Writing Life: Ain’t No Way But The Hard Way
Why I Write Fantasy: 30 Minute Fiction Edition
Okay, I have a stopwatch, and I'm not afraid to use it. I'm going to give myself 30 minutes, no more or less, and I will stop when the alarm goes off and post the result. Check out this post to get some background on the piece I shall be presenting to you. Ok, time to …
Continue reading Why I Write Fantasy: 30 Minute Fiction Edition
Why I Write Fantasy: To be Stymied by a Power Outage.
All right then, so I'm going to have a go at belting out something that might approach an idea I've been toying with: to write fictional commentaries on my next novel, The Killer and The Dead. Now before you decide I have disappeared entirely up my own fundament, TKATD is structured as a first person narrative …
Continue reading Why I Write Fantasy: To be Stymied by a Power Outage.
The Writing Life: Sunday Night Notification – free book giveaway!
Hello everyone, So yes, the Thursday rapid fire writing attempt did not happen - work and pool league (one I'd forgotten about) got in the way. Maybe tomorrow - I'd like to try writing a fictional report off the cuff and see what comes out. (I'll explain more tomorrow, honest!) So today is just a …
Continue reading The Writing Life: Sunday Night Notification – free book giveaway!
The Writing Life: Random Thoughts on a Tuesday
Good evening. 30 minute dash. Someday, if you own a car old enough, you too may experience the joy of locking your car with the keys still in the ignition, and the engine running. That's what I get for owning a 1999 vehicle, and wanting to beat a dude in a red shirt into Jimmy …
Continue reading The Writing Life: Random Thoughts on a Tuesday
The Writing Life: SPFBO Time
Hello everyone, This time last year I didn't pay attention and missed out on entering The Thief and The Demon into the Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off. This year I did. As of time of writing there are 163 entries into the competition, so if you have a self-published fantasy novel out there for sale which is …
The Writing Life: Chopsticks and Dust
Sometimes you just have to start writing in order to get anywhere. This is another made up as I go along blog - welcome to spontaneity land! I am still editing. That basement full of dust covered tables? I'm working on them with chopsticks, one tiny clump at a time. I can't say it's ideal, …
There’s a sale on…
Hey folks, Just to let you know the kindle versions of my book are on sale in the UK and US for 99p and 99c respectively until this Sunday and Saturday, again, respectively. My apologies to the rest of the world to whom I cannot offer a discount! Of course the book is free to …
The Writing Life: 107 & 1/2 steps to go…
Yep, I’m not making it up. In the two weeks since I last posted a blog I have managed to get just over halfway through step 1 of my intended 108+ steps to victory and final completion of The Killer and The Dead. I’m rethinking some of the steps. This is the rabbit hole folks. …
