Try New Things

May, almost over and it has not been nearly as crazy as April. The previous month was loaded with trade show work for clients, tax season and the launch of YEGman, wow. Not really sure how I managed to get it all completed. I suppose sleep was sacrificed to the gods. This month, no sacrifices were made to the higher-ups. Thank god(s?). Free time gives us the opportunity to try new things, and that is exactly what I did.

Welcome to another edition of Unprocessed Thoughts

With YEGman launched, media/marketing changes, conventions booked – with some completed – I have had to take a step back and look at where I am going with the writing career. I’ve been pondering the question on and off since the winter, knowing that the backlog of releases was coming to an end and I would need to start planning new stories to release and juggle my contract life. That time is now.
Back in February I worked on a slasher plot outline and put the story aside, letting it sink into my mind and grow into something tangible. It did, I wrote the first completed draft for the story from start to finish this month, reaching 50,000 words. It is far from finished, but a lot of the heavy lifting is done.

What to do with a finished slasher draft?

Here’s some inner workings of my writing career planning: Should I go self published, or go traditional? Truthfully this question enters my mind every time I have a completed draft. It has come up again and I will weight the options for the slasher draft.

To Release Yearly or Not to Release Yearly?

This is another question that enters my mind, do I keep bringing out a new novel every year? Can I handle the weight of the work, keep the quality, and maintain my sanity? Is there a way for me to use my time wiser and write more effectively? Or do I just work on each novel gradually to ensure they are perfect before release. The trap of perfection can be a curse on its own though.
These are the thoughts that float through my mind about each new novel that I write. Not to mention the Mental Damnation series needs to come to a conclusion.

When you really break it down, as an indie author you don’t have to answer to anyone but yourself. You should be aware of your reader-base and the market to make your next move too. You can also move very quickly and realign your goals as you need to if life throws something weird at you.

Flash Fiction

In the spirit of continually offering stories to you guys, the readers, I’ve started doing flash fiction on a monthly basis. This will serve a couple of purposes. One, I get to experiment with the writing craft. Two, you the readers get fun new tidbits. This was also a result of the thought processes mentioned above. This is a lower risk use of time and offers some fun content for everyone while I work on the next novel, whether it comes out next year or not.

Beer Note: Bent Stick Rush Job IPA

For this month, I tried the Bent Stick Rush Job IPA. Bent Stick is a local brewery here in Alberta that makes a number of good beers. I’ll have to make one of the Unprocessed Thoughts beer notes about them. This one in particular though was a fun experiment. It is basically whatever they have at that moment to throw together and make a batch of beer. This one was lighter, quite hoppy and bitter – everything I love! With my hoppy taste buds in mind, I’d give this a 4/5.