I have some updates regarding my WIPs, a new site for aspiring authors, and a call for guest bloggers and maybe someone who might be interested in having me guest blog. Read on, dear friend.
First of all, you may have seen it already, but in case you haven’t, I started posting a new story called In Lieu of Underwear. It’s directly on my blog, so you’re welcome to read Chapter One here.
Here’s the truth behind this story: I was running behind on posting a blog post, and I thought, well, I have some short stories, I could just do a quick revision and then post it up, done and done.
My “quick revision” turned into a longer one, and I decided that the narrator wasn’t very likable, so I wrote what happened after that: Jess goes to Lai’s place. And then things get exciting from there.
The thing about Lai is that he’s been a character of mine for a long time. The way I started out writing was through forum-based prose role playing (RP). So he’s been in all kinds of stories before, but my favorites have been with friends I’ve become close with through RP. So this story is going to take what he’s already been through, make it into something consumable by everyone and not just us, and you’re going to get to love and understand Lai the way my good friends and I do. And since it’s not just Lai, but also some fantastic other characters along the way, you’re going to get to understand my collaborators’ characters and fall in love with them as well. We’re so happy to have you along for the ride. (I’ll reveal who my collaborators are when we’ve made things more official.)
In other news, I went to a writing conference last weekend! Even though I don’t have any finished manuscripts, I still was able to pitch my works-in-progress to two agents, and they both requested I send them multiple chapters when I’ve completed my story! This is most certainly a triumph. For one of them though, it was even more of a victory for me because the agent doesn’t represent fantasy, and I had even heard from other fantasy authors that she didn’t make a request when they pitched and instead she gave them contact information for other agents they could query. I gave the agents business cards and Shailo Satór stickers and they seemed excited about them! I’m excited!
The conversations with agents were a bit eye-opening. One of them, who is also an editor and an author, gave me some advice about writing from multiple POVs in fantasy. She said it’s usually best to limit it to two, and I was planning on doing… far more than that. I still might, but her advice was based on the observation that many authors don’t realize how much their own voice carries from character to character and can make the whole cast sound too similar.
So because of that advice and because of some other things I’ve been considering for a while concerning my WIP, I have decided to break Destroying Eden into two separate books, effectively making them entirely separate stories both set in the same universe. I don’t have any of this set in stone yet, but it does mean that the vampire chapter you may have read that you can download here, will most likely be a different book than the one about Jane and the Garden of Eden. I’m not sure of much at the moment other than that Jane’s story won’t change much because of this, and it’s possible I could finish a novel even sooner because I’ve taken some of the complexity out of the situation, which makes it far easier for me to jump back in on the writing process.
But since the two books will still have a whole lot to do with each other in terms of world-building, much is still up in the air, but I’m very excited to work on it all. If possible, I think it would be awesome to release both books at the same time and allow readers to choose where they start.
If you have any input on any of this, I would love to hear it! Though I can’t guarantee I can take all suggestions or advice. I’m very excited to get it all delivered to you, and I intend to participate in Camp NaNoWriMo in July, so with any luck, I will make some large strides toward completion of Jane’s story if not also the other story.
My next bit of news, which you may have already gathered from my previous post about dialogue, is that I have started another website called OkayWriter.com. It’s geared toward new writers as well as writers who identify as “aspiring authors” or “aspiring writers.” The Shailo Satór blog will continue to be geared toward readers of fantasy, vampire fiction, and Shailo fans, but I intend to save my writing advice for Okay, Writer!, and you can go there to follow me. If you’re interested in a free author starter kit from Okay, Writer!, check it out.
And finally, I want you all to know that I am looking for guest bloggers and for opportunities to guest blog.
If you want me as author Shailo Satór to guest blog, or you have a topic to blog about concerning vampires, paranormal fiction, fantasy, horror, or something related, contact me at shailo.sator@gmail.com and we’ll discuss guest blogging.
If you want me as Stace, creative writer, editor, and instructor, to guest blog, or if you want to guest blog about writing, editing, marketing, publishing, or graphic design, and you have a topic geared toward beginners, contact me at stace@okaywriter.com to talk about guest blogging.
NEXT WEEK, Chapter 2 of In Lieu of Underwear will be posted! If you haven’t read Chapter 1 yet, do it now!