Wielder's Fire and Writing in the Zone

At last I can announce the launch date for Wielder's Fire, the third and final book in my Wielder's Storm trilogy. 25th May! I'm super excited.

The first two books are currently available for free on Kindle Unlimited.

Wielder's Prize: Without training or discipline in the art of magic wielding, she is a danger to everyone, but there is someone worse on the high seas who wants her dead.

Wielder's Curse: Dark visions haunt her. Shadowy assassins stalk him. Together they must stop a powerful enemy from destroying their world.

Wielder's Fire: Marooned on an island, stripped of her magic, Jasmine must find a way of mending her heart and defeating the oncoming storm.


What are your rituals when you need help getting into the ZONE?

Below is my daily ritual when I'm editing. It looks different when I'm writing a first draft. With first drafts, I'm more focused, but that might be because I handwrite them while relaxed on the comfy couch. A necessary choice for less distractions.

After breakfast, I go for a morning walk.
Ready to start working, I sit down at my computer and check my sales. Because I can't help myself.
I check my emails for anything urgent.
My desk cries out to be cleaned and organized.
Nope. I have work to do!
I open the file I'm editing.
I stare at it for ten seconds then realize I need a glass of water...
and maybe some chocolate...
I settle back and check my emails again.
I do some editing...
until I come to a difficult section that requires more thought.
I stretch.
I get more water.
Facebook calls.
I ignore it.
Facebook calls again. I check it.
Fitbit tells me I need to get up and move around.
Why not? It's a good time to grab more chocolate. Don't judge. I'm editing!
I do a bunch of editing.
My stomach tells me it's time for real food.
Brain stops functioning mid-afternoon.
I try to keep working anyway.
I fail.
I give up and play a game, or read, or go for another walk.

As for "helping me get into the zone" for work? Well, it's more just a matter of deciding to stop being distracted and get on with it. Scheduling the same time each day to write/edit also helps. Deadlines are awesome too. Oh, and when the hubby is being super distracting because he is working from home due to the pandemic and we share the office, I put on headphones and listen to epic music (nothing with lyrics). That works a treat.

What are your rituals? What do you do to focus?

This post was written for the IWSG. Every first Wednesday of the month, members post on their blogs about their writing insecurities or offer some encouragement to others. If you are new to the IWSG or want to learn more, then please go HERE.

The Perfect Place to Write and More #IWSG

August was a busy month. Crazy busy. Mostly it's been all about the mad scramble to get everything ready for the October release of my debut novel. It's been a steep learning curve. Nothing I can't handle, but it has been time-consuming. Then in among all that, I took five days out to drive down to Sydney for my dad's birthday. While I froze to death in the cold Sydney weather, I did take the photo above during that trip. And a bunch of others.

A big thank you to those of you who offered to read an advanced reader's copy of my young adult adventure fantasy set on the high seas. If you didn't get my email for some reason, or are interested in a review copy, then shoot me an email.

 

The IWSG Question of the month: If you could pick one place in the world to sit and write your next story, where would it be and why?

My answer: The perfect place to write is right here, right now. (Or maybe on a cruise to some idyllic islands--just because). I don't need a fancy view or a special nook. All I need is either paper and pen or a computer. That's it. Oh wait. Time would be good. I'm looking forward to when I have time to write again.

--
August Reading
Considering how busy I've been, I managed to get through four books this last month. I surprised myself. Admittedly I was reading the biography of Leonardo Da Vinci in short bursts since February, and it's a tiny book too.

One Word Kill by Mark Lawrence -- What can I say? This is my kind of book. Time Travel! It's short and a quick read, and I enjoyed the writing. There are some great phrases that had me laughing out loud, even though it's not a humorous book. This story is a multi-universe take on time travel and has been likened to Stranger Things--probably because it's set in the 80s and the main character likes Dungeons and Dragons.

Leonardo Da Vinci by Sherwin B Nuland-- The language is a little old fashioned and formal but reading about Leonardo's life was hugely interesting. He was a fascinating man.

Grumpy Old Gods Vol 2 -- An anthology of short stories with roots in mythology. What happens when the old gods get old. A great read. Hugely entertaining.

Dragon Keeper by Carole Wilkinson -- written about 15 years ago by an Aussie author. It has won all sorts of awards. I can see why. This is a novel for the younger readers but still enjoyable by any age group, especially if you love Chinese dragons. 

What have you been up to this last month? What reading did you do? What other great achievements did you accomplish? Where would you like to write your next story?

Young Adult Fantasy ARC Giveaway #IWSG

If all goes well, I'll be releasing my debut novel in October. It's a young adult fantasy adventure set on the high seas. Although it's part of a series, it reads as a standalone. I have completed the maps for it, the covers for all three books in the series and I've even worked out the formatting for the ebook (For the ARC version, anyway--there are still some tweaks I want to do). That was a victory and a half. The formatting for print is yet to come. Eek.

Right now I'm looking for lovers of fantasy who are interested in an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) of Wielder's Prize, book one in the Wielder's Storm series. In exchange I'd deeply appreciate an honest review. Shoot me an email (lynfaw[at]gmail [dot]com) or say "Pick me! Pick me! Pick me!" in the comments ;) I'll be sending out a limited number, so be quick.

My current tagline for book one: No training. No discipline. No time.

The IWSG question of the month: Has your writing ever taken you by surprise?
Sometimes I do a detailed outline before I write. Other times I just wing it. When I wing it, anything can happen. Surprises galore! It's lots of fun. Of course, outlining does the same, only earlier in the process.

July Reading

July was a slow reading month because I was down with the flu for half of it and super busy the other half. It was also a month of thrones. Giggle.

Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas is a young adult fantasy, the first in a series. I quite enjoyed it, though it wasn't quite what I expected based on the cover and blurb. It still carried me away to another land, and I like that in a fantasy.

The Templar Throne by Paul Christopher is the third in the series about Doc Holliday's adventures of tracking down ancient Templar relics. Each book has been different in its own way and all of them have been enjoyable. I think there's another four or five in the series. They are a light, fast read and full of action and intrigue. The first is The Sword of the Templars.

That's all I have for July. I've been reading lots of short stories lately too. It makes me want to write more short stories.

What have you been reading lately? Has your writing ever taken you by surprise?