Clara D Munro

Blog

  • Publishing Options

    Publishing Options

    I am at the stage where I can start considering which option I want to go with for publishing Shadow Fox and the books that will be in the World of Tierra series to come.

    1. Traditional publishing through a literary agent
    2. Self-publishing through IngramSpark
    3. Online Publishing with Wattpad

    Traditional publishing is by far the hardest of the three option. It’s a lot of work for very much little to no pay off. It’s a competitive market out there since writing has never been easier to accomplish. Between the use of AI and advance word-processing programs – anyone who puts in the time can write a book. I am not sure that I have the energy to do what it takes to woo a literary agent. I haven’t even come up with a list of agents that I even want to try asking.

    Self publishing appears to be the smarter choice for someone just starting out without a long history of other publications behind them. I have been seriously considering IngramSpark for my books because they take care of everything and all I need to do is upload it and then do my own marketing.

    Online Publishing is by far the easiest of the three. I have used Wattpad in the past and it’s easy to upload, make edits, and then remove if you no longer want it on that platform. What I may do to start with is upload the books onto there first. Let it get views and comments on there and then use that final bit of feedback to make the ultimate final draft and then use IngramSpark to publish it once and for all.

    The reality of our world is most people read on their phones these days. Whether we like it or not, our smart devices are part of our everyday life now. The average person spends between 4-5 hours on their device a day. I know that I read a lot on my phone. I choose to read on it rather than scroll endlessly on social media apps. If I choose to online publish first and then move to IngramSpark to both get my books up on shops like Kindle and Kobo and also physical bookstores like Indigo Chapters and Coles here in Canada, then I will have checked off every way in which someone can access the books.

    I have said it before, I am not in this for money – I am writing because I enjoy it. If someone else likes my writing, that’s awesome and if they don’t – let’s hope they aren’t mean about it. If somewhere down the road I feel comfortable reaching out to a literary agent or one reaches out to me, I can cross that bridge when I get to it.

    Fun fact that I learned this week – Canadians get ISBN numbers for free from the Canadian government! All you need to do is apply for one. You need one for each type of publication too. It’s one of the few places in the world that the government helps to facilitate creators.

  • 2nd Draft Done!

    2nd Draft Done!

    That’s right, the second draft of Shadow Fox is done! I used my stay-cation to just focus on getting the work done. It ended up being over 100K in words and over 450 paperback pages in length. That is the most I have ever written for a single project.

    Now, I am ready to move onto getting trusted friends to read through it. I need new eyes to read it and help me locate plot holes, improve character development, and catch the likely obvious spelling and grammar errors that I am sure are there. I am just going to let the other readers cook on the book for a while and collect as much feedback from them as possible for probably a month or two.

    I know that this part is really scary for some people but a career with the Walt Disney Company has taught me how to take constructive criticism without making it personal. I also took more than enough creative writing courses to know how to filter feedback so that I get the best out of it.

    While all of that is happening, I am going to start the planning phase for book two. I went out and got some old school blank paper composition books from the dollar store and some new pens to start the process. The next book is going to be taking our heroes out of the Fae lands and into the Human lands and then into the ocean to sneak into the Obsidian Empire itself to mount a daring rescue.

  • Summer time madness

    Summer time madness

    It’s officially summer in the Shuswap and I have continued to be busy with traveling and recovering from traveling. I went to Alberta for a Summer Druid Camp with the Chinook Grove of the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids. I had an amazing time and even shared a bit of the novel around the fire.

    With all of traveling and recovery days, I have not been working much on Shadow Fox. However, I have a stay-cation planned for this weekend. I have five days booked off and I plan to take some serious time to work on the 2nd draft of my novel. I am going to swap the hours that I would normally be at my job for working on the novel. Five solid 8 hour days of focused work. I am hoping to get all of my 2nd draft story edits done in that time.

    Once the 2nd draft is done, I can then move onto the 3rd draft with is where I am going to focus on the grammar, spelling, and formatting. I have been doing some passive editing while reviewing the story but I haven’t been making it the focus of the 2nd draft.

    After that, I will upload the draft to a location where I can send out private links for trusted friends to review it and create a way for them to make suggestions for improvement and cuts. Once they have finished, I will then do one final pass before creating some query letters for literary agents. I am also going to move forward with the self publishing process at the same time. No matter what happens, this book will be published for others to read.

    I am not looking for fame here – I just want to share what I have been working so hard on the last 9 months.

    This is the blurb for Shadow Fox:

    Victoria Oak has led an uneventful life of a student studying celtic literature until a trip to Ireland sends her into the ancient world of the Fae. She must find her way back home before she’s swept up into a eons-old war between the Fae. Together with a group of Fae she befriends, Victoria finds out who she really is and what she’s capable of. 

    Aidan Rowanheart has been plotting his revenge on those who killed his mother for over a hundred years. Everything is going according to plan until he picks up a stray human who has accidentally stumbled into his world. After swearing to help Victoria return home, Aidan finds himself torn between getting his revenge and keeping his promise.

  • Back from Otherworld

    Back from Otherworld

    Last weekend, I attended an arts festival put on by the Victoria Burning Man community called Otherworld and it takes place on Vancouver Island, BC. It was five days of magic and wonder and really hot weather. My brother invited me to join his Camp, Ironic Spin, which is a sound stage with amazing music.

    Somehow, I managed to break my one and only set of glasses at the event. I currently have a new set ordered and hopefully they will be here this week. I have been unable to spend much time on the book because I can’t look at the screen for too long with my contacts. So instead of writing, I edited a video of my experience at Otherworld and posted it.

    This is only a small fraction of what I experiences. I had many magical moments that didn’t get filmed, most of which were with people that I love and care about. The theme this year was Frog Bog which is why you will see lots of frogs.

    This is my second time attending and I was more settled into it this time. There’s never enough time to see everything but I saw enough to say that it was better next year. If you would like to learn more about Otherworld, please visit their website: https://otherworld.ca/

  • The Road So Far

    The Road So Far

    I started the process of writing Shadow Fox back in November. I am currently elbows deep in the second draft. I am focusing this draft on making the story be as best as it can and I am not worrying about the spelling and grammar until the next draft. I’ve already cut some scenes that were not working and I have plans for more to add.

    When I think back on my life there was one thing that I was always chasing and that was to be a writer. I think I wanted it because I wanted to tell the stories that were playing out in my imagination. I struggled with learning to spell as a child which eventually led the to false internal narrative that I was a terrible writer. It didn’t help that I had friends who would make fun of my spelling and were not supportive of me. Or they would say things like, “Your writing makes me feel uncomfortable.” Like that was my problem? I am not responsible for how another human feels – they are and need to take ownership of that.

    I didn’t feel free to write for a long long time. Anytime that I would someone would come along and disrupt me and I would let them. It wasn’t until I felt stuck in my job that the desire to write became overwhelming. I’ve dealt with a lot of criticism in my life from work and friends and I am at the point where I no longer have any fucks to give about how someone else likes what I write. I have gone so far as to tell someone who is trying to be helpful to mind their own business and stop giving me unsolicited advice or feedback. If I don’t ask you, I don’t want your opinion because your opinion doesn’t matter to me.

    Do I suffer from Imposter Syndrome? No, not at all. I am a writer because I write for others to read. Am I published author? No, not yet but I will be at the end of this project one way or another. When I see other writer say they suffer from Imposter Syndrome it confuses me. I know they are writers and I don’t care if they write fanfiction for a niche audience or novels ready for publishing – if you write with the purpose of someone else reading it then you are a writer to me.

    The point of this ramble is to hopefully let you know that you are the one who gives yourself permission to do something – to create something. Fuck everyone else and just create!

  • Pause

    Pause

    I am on a pause from working on Shadow Fox (the title of Project Fox Hunt). I tried to start editing right away and found that I was overwhelmed by going right into it. I am taking a full month off from it in order to get space from it. This way I can go back and edit with a clearer mind and be more objective in how I edit the second draft. Even now, I know there’s a bunch of stuff that I want to cut and some stuff I want to add.

    While on pause I have been completing other things like helping my parents repaint their deck (I also got help from two very good friends). I have been finishing up other little projects such as my Ovate review and a knitting project that I have been working on since last year.

    I have a Beltane camping trip planned for this weekend and I am excited to see everyone again. This is one of my favorite group pagan camping events of the year. I am lucky to have found such an amazing tribe of like minded people.

    All the while, I am researching what I need to publish my book. I am leaning towards Ingram Spark and self publishing. I am learning about copyright laws and checking on what I need to do in order to get help with the cover and how much that will cost me (it’s looking like $900). I might just go to Fiver for help with that since I don’t think I can afford a professional.

  • The Rough Draft is done!

    The Rough Draft is done!

    Clocking in at 98,400+ words so far, the rough draft of Project Fox Hunt is done.

    I started this project in November and so much has changed in it that it doesn’t even resemble the original concept for the story anymore.

    So now the hard part comes into play. I have a lot of work left to do before any other eyes can even attempt to read it. There’s some missing scenes and a whole lot of editing to do. Seeing as how I am just at the start of my work week on it, I will spend the rest of this week going through it chapter by chapter and reading it over, filling in the blanks, and writing the connecting scenes that are missing.

    The end goal is still 120K words and I suspect that it won’t take much for me to get the last 21.5K written. I am hoping for an 8 hour read by the end of this.

    No victory lap just yet but it’s nice to have this part of the journey done.

  • 90K words done!

    90K words done!

    This is a huge benchmark for me. My original goal for writing a novel was 90K words and now that I am here, I am excited to still have more of the story left to write.

    Writing was a bit of a struggle at the start of the week. It took longer to get going than it normally does. I haven’t had quite the flow of creativity that I had last week but I kept at it despite the trouble.

    That’s the key to writing I have discovered. You have to keep at it. Even it it’s just a paragraph or just a few words at a time. Sitting your ass in the chair and just working at it.

    I have come this far now and I am not going to stop. I know that the hard work comes after the first draft is done and I am mentally preparing myself for that. I have put all other projects on hold until this draft is done so that I can just focus my limited energy on it.

    30,000 more words to go! I can do this.

  • 86 K words completed

    86 K words completed

    Not even halfway through the week and I have already written 6000 words. I definitely feel like I am on a role with my writing right now. Every thousand words brings me one step closer to my goal of 120K words.

    Every book I wrote before this was only 50K and then my inspiration burned up. I didn’t know how to get past it. This time, I took it slower to start with and I took breaks.

    I take weekends off from writing. I only write Sunday- Thursday and then I take Friday and Saturday off. I keep it in line with my job which is the same days. I only work until I finish the scene that I am writing.

    At 8pm, I turn off my phone for the night. Then I start my wind down for the night. I’ll either watch something or just read a book. I have read 10 books this year so far.

    I know that once the first draft of this book is done, the real hard work starts. I know that I have lots to edit and re-write already but I am not going to focus on that until I have completed the rough draft.

    I am writing the book I would want to read. Everything about this book is informed by that desire. I am telling stories about characters I want to know more about and every page that I write, I learn more about them. I love this process and I am happy to be on this path and writing this book.

  • 75K Words Completed

    75K Words Completed

    The novel is coming right along now. I hit 75K words today and the new start to the story is working much better. I have had to scrap only about 5K words so far and I have added so much more since.

    With only 45K left to go in my 120K word goal, I feel like I am over the hill of the hardest part and now it’s just a matter if letting the rest settle in.

    I have about 10K written at the end of the story which might get moved into book two. I have three books planned for this story.

    Of course, I also got inspiration for a whole new story this week and I have been making notes about it on the side as I work on the main project. The thing about creating your world world to write in allows for you to pretty much create endless stories to go along with it.

    One of the hardest parts of the process so far was the world building. I have a vague framework when I started writing and lot of what I wrote in the first half of the book was defining the world and its rules. Now that I have those settled enough, I can use them to dig into the story.

    One of the things I need to create soon is a map of Tierra (that’s the name I gave to The Otherworld). When I first started writing, I thought maybe Tierra would be a parallel universe Earth but as I started expanding the story, the world changed into its own planet.

    I can share a bit of the creation myth with you since it won’t give away any hints about the story:

    In the beginning, there was only the Void.

    Thoughtless and endless in its expanse.

    There were no stars and no planets.

    Life did not yet exist.

    Then a stirring began deep within the Void.

    The first to emerge was the Goddess Danu, The Mother of the Ever Flowing Waters of the Cauldron.

    She was the water and the earth.

    She gave form to the formless.

    Then came with her consort, The God Beli, The Father of the Undying Flame.

    He was the spark that ignited the heavens.

    He breathed life into all things.

    Their passion gave birth to the Universe.

    Their love became the stars and their children were the planets that orbit them.

    The first beings to walk on these worlds are known only as the Ancients.

    They were the ones who founded the first civilizations.