So, recently during the editing process of my work and in this blog, I admitted that I had to split my “Magnum Opus” into two books if I wanted to have a product that readers who favoured my genre of “Gaslamp Fantasy” would most likely pick up. My late-to-the-game market research revealed that the average size of such novels ran about 80,000 (or maybe a little more) words and around 350 pages. Trying to push a tome of almost 200,000 words really wasn’t a fight I wanted to take on. I could have found a way, I suppose, where I gutted the book and squished it down to 100,000 words but what effect would that have on the story? And that’s where a writer’s/artist’s idea or vision comes up against “What the Market wants”.

For some reason among creative types, the idea of “Writing to Market” is sometimes seen as selling out. After all You’re supposed to be an artist following some sort of “Divine Calling”. Right? Ahh, those pesky 19th century Romantics and their cute ideas about the artist’s life. I could punch them in the nose. Most artists or writers do not want to starve in an attic while waiting for their Fairy Godmother of Inspiration to descend and bestow Celestial Insight. We got bills.

So, for practical reasons I’m breaking my novel into two more marketable books. On the creative side, I’ve been able to go back and flesh-out supporting characters and bring in new ones that lend even more depth to the world I’ve created. That, weirdly, was a nice surprise and I suppose if I was more of a hardcore “Plotter”, I might have foreseen this. But, that’s okay. My goal is an adventurous, suspenseful, with a little romance, story that will draw readers along for a great escape.

I’ll reveal more and more about the plot for my book over the next while and you’ll get to be the first to see how it develops. There won’t be a Fairy Godmother in it but there will be monsters because….Do I really need a reason?

You can find another great escape in our graphic novels, the fantasy-adventure trilogy The Sorcerer’s Children or go for high-flying sci-fi in The Adventures of Astrodog. Let the stories and characters take you away on adventures of your own.

I’ve been swept up in a number of personal responsibilities so I thought I would repost a funny diversion until I can get back to you about my main focus. Hope you like it.

I always know when I need a break from writing my novel when my mind insists on wandering down sometimes ludicrous paths. After reading the above, I hope you know what I mean. Of course, I do still wonder what it would be like to go to a Superhero Potluck. What would you bring?

If you’d like to take your own stroll down the path of an entertaining diversion, consider checking out our graphic novels like the fantasy trilogy The Sorcerer’s Children and dive into magical adventure in the land of the Twin Kingdoms. Or leap into sci-fi hijinks with The Adventures of Astrodog. If you like dogs, especially dogs on the moon, those graphic novels are for you!

Last week I wrote about the challenges of maintaining one’s motivation to create. Especially when it seems there are forces that are actively working against you. An example of such Resistance was personalized in the figure of the Fairy Godmother of Meh and her interference with our little pal, Ralph Elfalfa. However, hope of regaining his ambition appears when a good friend arrives on the scene…

Sometimes we get by with a little help from our friends. Hopefully, everyone has a Randy Dandylion in their lives; someone to break the curse of the doldrums and uncover a person’s hidden passions. So, “Take That! Fairy Godmother of Meh!”

If you need a break, to take a walk, to play with your new kitten, to meditate or to climb a mountain, whatever it takes to revitalize your creative energy, I would encourage you to do it. As long as it leads you back to your passion.

I would also encourage you to find inspiration by checking out the work of others like our graphic novels the fantasy-adventure The Sorcerer’s Children or the high-flying sci-fi adventure The Adventures of Astrodog! Perhaps we’ll even see Ralph and Friends again here in a doodle blog. Let me know if you’d like to see further shenanigans from those magical characters. Until then, keep those “Mehs” at bay and get to work!

We’ve all been there. Those days when the motivation to work on our “art” is weak to non-existent. In his book, “The War of Art”, writer Stephen Pressfield, speaks of “Resistance” in such cases. In his theory, this force is a very real thing that works against your plans to pursue your creative goals. Resistance wants you distracted and/or struggling; it feeds off it in a way. That’s one idea anyway. In my book, you get a visit from the Fairy Godmother of Meh! Case in point, our friend Ralph Elfalfa in the magical land of Ding Dong Dell…