tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32960717903014780492024-02-08T01:09:00.356-05:00Scott Niven - AuthorScott Nivenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13884995224013397488noreply@blogger.comBlogger77125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296071790301478049.post-5138329156411582362022-06-21T09:11:00.000-04:002022-06-21T09:11:18.038-04:00New story "Under Contract" is complete!<p>Sometimes it takes forever to pull an idea out of my mind and put it onto paper. Fortunately, this was not one of those times!</p><p>A couple of weeks ago, I had the kernel of a story bouncing around in me head. Okay, it was less of a "kernel" and more of a "single event" that would occur within a story, but the idea prompted me to sit down and see what I could flesh out. Ten days later and the story is complete. I'll probably let it sit for a week and then do another edit, but I don't expect it to change much. Very pleased with the end result. It isn't science fiction or fantasy, so it was good to stretch a bit and write something outside my normal playground.</p><p>I wish all stories flowed out of my brain that quickly!</p>Scott Nivenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13884995224013397488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296071790301478049.post-46443551996165113862013-07-24T13:40:00.001-04:002013-07-24T13:40:53.347-04:00Journal that chronicles my son's lifeI've just about completed volume three of the set of journals I've been writing that detail my son's life. As I wrote about in a recent Facebook post, I've spent a large part of the past six months catching up on my journal entries, fleshing out short entries and adding photos to the completed ones. I know the eventual audience for these books is small (perhaps just him and a few family members), but after seeing how happy the first two books made him, I knew I wanted to keep going with the project. It's incredibly fun to sit with him and read a printed book that details major (and/or funny) points in his life.Scott Nivenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13884995224013397488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296071790301478049.post-66875842307376351592012-12-02T14:01:00.003-05:002012-12-02T14:02:16.737-05:00Gifts from GEvery year, my son and I go to Toys R Us, buy a bunch of toys, and then drop them into the Toys For Tots bin. This year, though, we took the toys and donated them to "Gifts from G". Gifts from G was created by a family in our neighborhood who lost their 8 year old son, Gavin, last December. Gavin spent many holidays at Duke University Medical Center, so all the toys the family collects for "Gifts from G" will be donated to the medical center. If you are interested in donating as well, you can find out more here: <a href="http://giftsfromg.blogspot.com/">http://giftsfromg.blogspot.com/</a>Scott Nivenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13884995224013397488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296071790301478049.post-23700908943624715362012-08-21T13:19:00.000-04:002012-08-21T13:19:54.613-04:00This one is for the Lord of the Rings fans<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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You have to love Google's sense of humor. If you want to know what I'm talking about, go to <a href="https://maps.google.com/">Google Maps</a> and click the "Get Directions" button. Switch to walking directions, and then enter "The Shire" as your starting destination and "Mordor" as your final destination. Then read the message highlighted in yellow below your destinations. :-)Scott Nivenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13884995224013397488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296071790301478049.post-88701398663686857962012-07-12T19:14:00.000-04:002012-07-12T19:14:37.655-04:00Time ManagementLately I've struggled to find time for all my hobbies.<br />
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This is mostly my own fault. I made the decision to run longer distances each day, I made the decision to start working out, and I made the decision to go on some amazing trips. (Oh, and I made the decision to purchase that pesky time-suck that is known as an iPad.)<br />
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When you combine all these decisions with the other things in my life I enjoy, such as parenting and writing and keeping up with my friends and family, and then when you throw a full-time job into the mix, well...the minutes disappear quickly.<br />
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This has led me to think about how I allocate my time, and to think - to really think - about what I’m doing with the precious minutes I have available to me each day. Some things are non-negotiable and won’t be changing. These include the time I spend with my son, and the time I spend with friends and family. If anything, I think my life would be more fulfilling if I increased the time I spend with those people important in my life.<br />
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I’m not going to stop writing either. I haven’t had that many great writing days over the past couple of months, but that’s starting to change as I allocate more time to my writing. And there is nothing that compares to the feeling I get when I have an awesome writing session. When the words are flowing, and when the verbs are popping out as fast as my fingers can type them, it doesn’t matter if I only write one paragraph or twenty pages. Life is good, and I can float on the good feeling from a strong writing session for several days.<br />
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But if I’m spending more time writing, what have I thrown out the window?<br />
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I’m still running and working out, although the humidity is shortening my runs. But according to my bank account, it’ll be awhile before I can take another trip. That means no weekends without a computer, which means I’m able to fit more writing in the nooks and crannies that make up a long unplanned weekend.<br />
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The biggest change, however, has been with my iPad. I’ve limited how much I use it over the past five days as an experiment, and it’s amazing how much more time I have. I had no idea those ios board games were eating away so much of my time! Word with Friends. Hero Academy. Ascension. I was losing bucketfuls of those precious minutes of each day keeping up with all the games I was playing. It was fun, but it also demanded a lot of my time, time I am no longer willing to give up so freely.<br />
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So I’ve scaled back my gameplaying on my iPad, and I’ve started limiting how much I use it. Which is probably why I had time to write this blog post. :-)<br />
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Do you ever think about the ways you spend the minutes of each day? At the end of the day, do you feel satisfied with what you did?Scott Nivenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13884995224013397488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296071790301478049.post-22819779672975296552012-03-08T13:49:00.000-05:002012-03-08T14:26:06.019-05:00Marketing Yourself When You're a Self-Published Author: March 2012 NumbersLongtime readers will remember that I used to show a graph each month detailing how my forays into social media were progressing. Well, it's time to bring that feature back, at least for one month. Rather than show the entire graph, I'm going to show my first month and my most recent month. Take a look:<br />
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Here are some notes about the numbers:</div>
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<li><b>Go Viral: </b>Almost every number across the board got a bump last month when I posted <a href="http://www.scott-niven.com/2012/02/star-wars-re-imagined-as-judy-blume.html">3 mashups of Judy Blume book covers combined with elements of Star Wars</a>. Did those mashups have much of anything to do with my writing? No. Did they bring in new readers, Facebook followers, and Twitter followers? Yes, yes, and yes. Moral of the story: If you post something and it goes viral (or if you get lucky and Judy Blume tweets about what you've done), you could suddenly find yourself with a lot of new readers and followers. I know <a href="http://wahoocorner.blogspot.com/2012/02/my-amazon-kdp-select-free-experience.html">David Kazzie</a> has debated on his blog if his "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9fc-crEFDw">So You Want To Write A Novel</a>" YouTube video actually led to more book sales. Well, I can tell you for sure that the Judy Blume covers definitely led to some book sales for me.</li>
<li><b>If you post it, they will come. If you don't, they won't. </b>Okay, this one is easy enough to understand. I posted very few times between September of 2011 and January of 2012. Guess what? The number of views I got on this blog dropped like a rock. The good news is that it works the other way too. Post more often and the readers will return. I'll probably never be a consistent blogger, but it's nice to know that whenever I do go into blogging mania, I'll have some readers along for the ride.</li>
<li><b>Twitter numbers are deceptive. </b>Wow, look at that. I've got 5,639 followers on Twitter. But guess what? The number of followers who actually ever see or read my tweets is probably a tiny fraction of that number. The reason? Twitter static is hard to overcome. There's just so much out there, and so many people tweeting, that it's hard to stand out and get your tweets noticed. I still enjoy tweeting, and love reading other people's tweets, but if I don't get many responses to something I tweet, I never take it personally.</li>
<li><b>Facebook fans rock!</b> Out of all the types of social media I'm now using, I love Facebook the best. When I post something on Facebook, I usually get lots of great responses. It's gotten to the point now where I post stuff on Facebook not because I have something to say about a topic, but rather, because I want to hear what others have to say about it. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/scott.niven.author/posts/360082157355969">Wondering what Gandalf's job would be if he lived in our world</a> may seem like a silly topic to some people, but we had a great time on my Facebook page discussing exactly what type of job he would find. (ZZ Top band member and Industrial Lights and Magic technician were two of my favorites.)</li>
<li><b>It's okay to ask...occasionally.</b> Don't forget to occasionally ask people to join you on your social media platforms. I don't do this often because it would annoy people if I did, but letting your social media contacts know about the other ways they can follow you can be a good idea, especially if you're dabbling in a new social media platform. (I'm looking at you, <a href="http://pinterest.com/scott_niven/star-wars-humor/">Pinterest</a>!) Oh, and by the way, here are the social media platforms I'm using the most right now. I'd love it if you'd join me on them. :-)
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<li><b>Facebook:</b><br><a href="http://www.facebook.com/scott.niven.author">http://www.facebook.com/scott.niven.author</a><br /><br /></li>
<li><b>Twitter:</b><br><a href="http://www.twitter.com/scott_niven">http://www.twitter.com/scott_niven</a><br /><br /></li>
<li><b>Google+:</b><br><a href="https://plus.google.com/106173654340380035920">https://plus.google.com/106173654340380035920</a><br /><br /></li>
<li><b>Goodreads:</b><br><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/scott_niven">http://www.goodreads.com/scott_niven</a><br /><br /></li>
<li><b>Pinterest:</b><br><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/scott_niven">http://www.pinterest.com/scott_niven</a><br /></li>
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To close this out, let me just say that I'm extremely pleased with these numbers. I've come to really love social media, and especially the people I've met using social media. It's been a great 12 months, and I think the next 12 months are going to be even better!</div>Scott Nivenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13884995224013397488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296071790301478049.post-90836651808897399872012-03-06T18:24:00.000-05:002012-03-06T18:28:10.805-05:00The iPad 3 Revealed!I don't own an iPad, but I still get excited whenever Apple holds one of their iPad announcement parties. An anonymous source sent this exclusive ad for the iPad 3 to a friend of a friend's cousin, and that friend's cousin sent the image to me. Looks like Apple's going retro this time around...<br />
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And with that bit of silliness out of the way, time for a 5-hour (?!?) editing marathon!Scott Nivenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13884995224013397488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296071790301478049.post-22429701898139130572012-03-05T19:22:00.000-05:002012-03-05T19:22:16.154-05:00Vacation is over! Time for more editing!I took my son to Orlando last week, so I missed a week of editing. It was worth it though, as we had a great time! (For more on my feelings about the trip, check out my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/scott.niven.author/posts/293440024056496">Facebook post about "Disney Magic"</a>.)<br />
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I came close to completing my edits on chapter 3 before we left on our trip, but decided not to rush it since a lot of important events happen at the end of the chapter. Once I complete this chapter, I'm going to reveal my book title and provide some details about the story. I'm going to eventually release the entire first chapter for free to get people excited about the book, but I plan on waiting to do that until I have a better idea when the book might actually be complete.<br />
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I've got more I'd like to post, but every minute I spend writing this blog entry is a minute I'm <i>not</i> spending editing my book! :-)<br />
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Till next time...Scott Nivenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13884995224013397488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296071790301478049.post-74339630694314611052012-02-21T09:33:00.000-05:002012-02-21T09:51:14.804-05:00Star Wars Re-imagined as Judy Blume BooksI designed these three Star Wars/Judy Blume book covers last night while I was looking for something -- anything! -- to do to delay editing my novel. (I ended up editing over 1000 words, so eventually I DID get to work.) The covers I ended up with made me laugh, so I'm posting them here for your enjoyment. Let me know what you think!<br />
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Blubber <a class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal" href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.scott-niven.com%2F2012%2F02%2Fstar-wars-re-imagined-as-judy-blume.html&media=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F-ejXOMT3pDQE%2FT0OqKE_rUGI%2FAAAAAAAAPpI%2FMdyXGPnMOUc%2Fs320%2FBlubber%2B-%2BScott%2BNiven.png&description=Blubber%20(Star%20Wars%20Re-Imagined%20as%20Judy%20Blume%20Books)">Pin It</a><script src="http://assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.js" type="text/javascript">
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Otherwise Known as Leia the Great <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.scott-niven.com%2F2012%2F02%2Fstar-wars-re-imagined-as-judy-blume.html&media=http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-jWo8pg13Z_w%2FT0OqK_ogXLI%2FAAAAAAAAPpQ%2FYJ6HgypQllA%2Fs1600%2FSheila%2B-%2BScott%2BNiven.png&description=Otherwise%20Known%20as%20Leia%20the%20Great%20(Star%20Wars%20Re-Imagined%20as%20Judy%20Blume%20Books)" class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal">Pin It</a>
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Then Again, Maybe I Won't <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.scott-niven.com%2F2012%2F02%2Fstar-wars-re-imagined-as-judy-blume.html&media=http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-2pQAoz1NFHg%2FT0OqLaXpUzI%2FAAAAAAAAPpY%2FukZ5qrRe9wg%2Fs1600%2FThen%2BAgain%2B-%2BScott%2BNiven.png&description=Then%20Again%2C%20Maybe%20I%20Won't%20(Star%20Wars%20Re-Imagined%20as%20Judy%20Blume%20Books)" class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal">Pin It</a>
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<br />Scott Nivenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13884995224013397488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296071790301478049.post-42922759673145135052012-02-20T12:00:00.000-05:002012-02-20T12:00:52.745-05:00Site Redesign (and Editing News)I've updated the site a bit to make it more streamlined and easy on the eyes. The long list of random stuff that occupied the right side of the screen is now gone, replaced by a short simple menu and a few social media icons (including an icon for Pinterest, which is a site I'm not sure I understand yet). I've also enlarged the image at the top of the page while removing some of the random links that were hidden in the image. And finally, I've tried to simplify the blog itself by enlarging the font, making the font black, and placing the font against a light background. What do you think?<br />
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In editing news, I'm currently at work on Chapter 3 of my book. This chapter, like Chapter 2, is going to take awhile. The first half of the chapter doesn't have much dialogue, and I seem to slow down in editing when I'm not writing scenes where people are talking. Some pivotal things happen in this chapter, so I'm also going slow to make sure the scenes play out as I want and need them to.<br />
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That's it for now!Scott Nivenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13884995224013397488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296071790301478049.post-81820417025789897092012-02-01T12:37:00.001-05:002012-02-01T12:37:20.267-05:00Editing my Novel: Chapter 2 is complete!Okay, chapter 2 isn't really complete, but I did make it all the way through the chapter last night with my first editing pass. I'm going to do a few more passes on the last half of it, and then I can finally move on to chapter 3!<br />
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Hopefully most chapters won't take as long to complete as this one did. I was sick for about 10 days, then struggled to get back into a groove with my writing after that. Now I'm back at full speed and making great progress! :-)Scott Nivenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13884995224013397488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296071790301478049.post-2514968401815581932012-01-16T21:54:00.002-05:002012-01-16T21:55:16.661-05:00Editing my Novel: Days 5-8I've been sick for the past few days, so I got very little writing done. I did do a bit of editing on Friday, and then a bit more on Saturday, but that was it for the extended weekend. I still have the creeping crud, so I'm not looking forward to work tomorrow. Hopefully I'll get some good writing done tomorrow night. It's difficult to write when you can't go a minute without coughing!<br />
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Good night, everyone! Sleep well!Scott Nivenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13884995224013397488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296071790301478049.post-65894112025410042532012-01-12T21:53:00.002-05:002012-01-12T21:53:44.587-05:00Editing my Novel: Day 4Well, just as I predicted, tonight was<i> nothing</i> like yesterday. Tonight I could do no wrong. My fingers flew over the keyboard and every sentence I wrote sounded perfect. I felt like the computer screen was a big piece of stone and I was Michelangelo chiseling out the statue I saw waiting to be released from inside it. Really, if every day was like today, I think I could breeze through this whole editing thing in a matter of weeks.<br />
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But every day won't be like today. That's okay, though, as long as I have the occasional day like today to help me see past the <i>bad</i> writing days.<br />
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I'm still editing chapter 2, but that doesn't surprise me because I knew this chapter would be tough. When I wrote my first draft of this chapter, I was still trying to decide if I wanted to write the story in first or third person. So I switched back and forth between the two, trying to find the story's voice. Now that I know I'm going with third person, I'm having to clean up all of my earlier experimentation. I know that doesn't sound like it'd be fun to edit, but for some reason, it is. My guess is that the obsessive-compulsive part of me loves the cleaning and tidying up of all those different narrative styles! :-)Scott Nivenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13884995224013397488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296071790301478049.post-85737402497000942822012-01-11T23:44:00.003-05:002012-01-11T23:44:51.855-05:00Editing my Novel: Day 3For the past two days I've had great editing sessions. Tonight...not so much.<br />
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It's a strange thing to be a writer. One day you can read what you've written and feel like you're the next Tolkien or Bradbury. The next day you can read that same text again and wonder if you should delete the entire chapter and start fresh. I've learned that during these bad days, you just have to plug away at the editing and look forward to the <i>next</i> editing session, because more often than not everything will turn back to gold tomorrow. :-)Scott Nivenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13884995224013397488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296071790301478049.post-9103025589541250272012-01-10T21:08:00.004-05:002012-01-10T21:09:58.532-05:00Editing my Novel: Day 2Today I focused on chapter 2 of my novel. I only got 1,400 words edited, but I knew this chapter was going to take a lot of time so the word count doesn't bother me.<br />
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One thing I'm enjoying is the challenge of writing a book that contains lots of references to death in the first two chapters. The novel is an epic fantasy and death is not one of my central themes, but I needed to establish some character traits early on and forcing my characters to deal with death has given me lots of great options for doing that.<br />
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In the next few days I'll put together a "back of the book style" teaser that will reveal more of what my book is about. I guess at that point I should also reveal the name of my book too. :-)Scott Nivenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13884995224013397488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296071790301478049.post-56791169809810035172012-01-09T22:42:00.000-05:002012-01-09T22:42:39.900-05:00Editing my Novel: Day 1As I begin editing my novel, I'm going to post short but regular updates on my progress. Public accountability is a wonderful thing, don't you agree? :-)<br />
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Today was Day 1, and I accomplished a lot. I managed to edit all of chapter 1, a chapter which currently sits at 3,209 words. I was already happy with this chapter, but it definitely needed some tightening up. So...I tightened it. :-) I'm pleased with the final result, and so this chapter will most likely be the one I release for free to get people excited about my book.<br />
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That's it for tonight. After four hours of editing, I'm ready to get in bed with my Kindle Touch and read <i>Streams of Silver</i> until my eyes won't stay open.<br />
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Good night!Scott Nivenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13884995224013397488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296071790301478049.post-42067598754901120842011-10-06T16:27:00.000-04:002011-10-06T16:27:54.504-04:005 star review for Sounding Waters by B. T. Hoskins<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSjM5cSPxmUjzZv5i7hEjir0aFY7g7A6q2M_YQHH7PzsSIWHloUAOyiX1hSeYI6uZoFnkocau3ctq-MUIVqAsVx3XFMkfZBcC7xIMExr72e_diJVLTcXTyHxoQl_SKdctGcfB5qLebJu2j/s1600/41DXG7zYOWL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSjM5cSPxmUjzZv5i7hEjir0aFY7g7A6q2M_YQHH7PzsSIWHloUAOyiX1hSeYI6uZoFnkocau3ctq-MUIVqAsVx3XFMkfZBcC7xIMExr72e_diJVLTcXTyHxoQl_SKdctGcfB5qLebJu2j/s1600/41DXG7zYOWL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" /></a></div><div>One of the things I get to do on this blog is highlight books I've enjoyed reading. Last night I finished <i>Sounding Waters</i> by B.T. Hoskins. Here's the review I posted on Amazon: </div><div><br />
</div><div>I just finished reading Sounding Waters, the debut fantasy novel from B.T. Hoskins, and loved it. If you've read and enjoyed any of Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea books, then I believe you'll enjoy Sounding Waters. That's not to say that the storylines are similar. Mrs. Hoskins has created a unique world populated with memorable characters that are all her own. But her writing style and development of the story resembles the tone and pace of Earthsea books 2-4. And that, in my mind, is a (very) good thing.</div><div><br />
</div><div>One thing I really enjoyed about Sounding Waters was my inability to guess what would happen next. Each time I thought I'd figured out some of the mysteries present in the book, a new twist would occur that would cause me to reassess what I'd read so far. These creative (and logical) surprises continue all the way until the final page of the book. I'm not going to say anything more because part of the fun of this book was in learning about the story as it occurred.</div><div><br />
</div><div>In closing, if you enjoy well-written fantasy, then you really need to order or download a copy of Sounding Waters today!</div><div><br />
</div><div>Where you can purchase <i>Sounding Waters</i>: </div><div><br />
</div><div><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sounding-Waters-ebook/dp/B0058UOH24/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=A3TVV12T0I6NSM">Amazon Digital Copy</a></div><div><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sounding-Waters-Mrs-B-Hoskins/dp/1463596669">Amazon Paperback</a></div><div><br />
</div><div><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sounding-waters-mrs-b-t-hoskins/1104216060?ean=2940011394270&itm=2&usri=sounding%2bwaters">B&N Digital Copy</a></div><div><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sounding-waters-mrs-b-t-hoskins/1032081684?ean=9781463596668&itm=1&usri=sounding%2bwaters">B&N Paperback</a></div>Scott Nivenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13884995224013397488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296071790301478049.post-30310606124478953852011-10-05T16:21:00.000-04:002012-02-01T23:28:47.643-05:00My deadline is fast approaching...Last June, when I began writing my novel, I gave myself a deadline for the first draft. At the time, that deadline was in the distant future, and I figured I would finish way before the deadline arrived.<br />
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Fast forward to today - October 5th. My deadline for my rough draft is Halloween, so I've got 26 days left to finish things up. I <i>am</i> going to make the deadline, but still, Halloween is approaching a lot sooner than I imagined it would. (Hmmm...maybe disappearing to Italy for a month is partly to blame.)</div>
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So what happens once I finish the rough draft?</div>
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Well, that's when the editing will begin in earnest. At that time, I'll also break my self-imposed silence about my book and start to give more details about what the book is about. I won't give anything away with my updates, so you'll be able to continue reading this blog without worrying about spoilers. It'll be nice to share my characters with you so you can get to know them. They've been living in my mind and on my computer for months (and in some cases, years), so I know they're dying to be set free.</div>
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So many things still to do:</div>
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<ul>
<li>Edit</li>
<li>Convert my maps into a larger format than the pencil drawings I've done. (Might need to talk to Jacquelyn Smith at that point, as <a href="http://www.waywardscribe.com/2011/10/new-worlds-from-scratch-designing-your.html">she has posted a lot lately about maps</a>.)</li>
<li>Edit</li>
<li>Find someone to design the cover</li>
<li>Edit</li>
<li>Create a blurb for the back cover of the book</li>
<li>Oh, and did I mention editing?</li>
</ul>
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Anyway, I'm glad to have you all here with me. It's a good feeling knowing there are people out there interested in what's happening with my book! :-)</div>
</div>Scott Nivenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13884995224013397488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296071790301478049.post-6137064763836018652011-09-27T21:17:00.000-04:002011-09-27T21:17:28.692-04:00Parallels through three generationsEarlier this month I took my first trip overseas. I've already talked about that trip, but what I didn't mention was that my son also took his first trip overseas over the exact same time period. So while I was exploring Italy, he was exploring just about every other country in Europe. :-)<br />
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Now here's the really cool part: Right now, my dad is on a Mediterranean cruise, enjoying <i>his</i> first trip to Europe. This means that all three generations of the Niven family experienced Europe for the first time - at virtually the same time! I love this!<br />
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This isn't the only coincidence that the three of us share. Last Saturday was my son's birthday. The very next day was my dad's birthday. And now let's see if you can guess who has a birthday on Friday? :-)<br />
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Serendipitous events like these are amazing, because they connect me with people I care about, and they connect me to them in random and surprising ways. I know I've written about <a href="http://www.scott-niven.com/2011/04/perfect-moments-in-time-father-and-son.html">this type of thing</a> before, but I had to mention it again because the whole overseas things makes me smile every time I think about it.Scott Nivenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13884995224013397488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296071790301478049.post-7216912019717816672011-09-13T12:41:00.000-04:002011-09-13T12:41:02.449-04:00These aren't the discs you're looking for...I had some fun with Photoshop last night to celebrate the release of the incorrect versions of Star Wars to Blu-ray...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAZbOaIH_AWN9DftSclcPz8VxewQ2HgJZunxoG6W_BlxC563iRqA8JjZRZeIT_OAFfbprwUujloLMvUMIkinkqFCXS7cae9SfRRZLNrhlZjNT94Z0vfL6iEBDD03wq2pGenaAqkC9kWdGx/s1600/star+wars+han.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAZbOaIH_AWN9DftSclcPz8VxewQ2HgJZunxoG6W_BlxC563iRqA8JjZRZeIT_OAFfbprwUujloLMvUMIkinkqFCXS7cae9SfRRZLNrhlZjNT94Z0vfL6iEBDD03wq2pGenaAqkC9kWdGx/s400/star+wars+han.jpg" width="362" /></a></div>Scott Nivenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13884995224013397488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296071790301478049.post-81193977345352185482011-09-08T12:19:00.000-04:002011-09-08T12:27:49.932-04:00Italy was fantastic!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv-cP5GSR7xodrqm42BEXqQH3MCj6_09F0VnujpGBDW2Y-O6P6op3_yDOM0l4QUYEnBmkIYEs9t5IwQsiNNYSXvdFE5UnNrh4rGq79j4qR4MeSNfIQW8oeVIMwL1bnrE3_sxom_yLygCGZ/s1600/IMG_1334.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv-cP5GSR7xodrqm42BEXqQH3MCj6_09F0VnujpGBDW2Y-O6P6op3_yDOM0l4QUYEnBmkIYEs9t5IwQsiNNYSXvdFE5UnNrh4rGq79j4qR4MeSNfIQW8oeVIMwL1bnrE3_sxom_yLygCGZ/s320/IMG_1334.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
For the past three weeks, I've been in Italy. What an amazing country! I didn't get much writing done, but that's okay because my writing is still going to benefit from my trip. Every city I visited and walked around gave me story ideas. Especially Venice and Rome. Getting lost (on purpose) in Venice, then wandering the narrow nooks and crannies of that amazing city provided me with lots of details I plan on adding to my current WIP to make my cities feel more alive and vibrant. And Rome...wow! Touring the Colosseum should be on every fantasy lovers bucket list. And I haven't even mentioned Pompeii yet!<br />
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Anyway, I don't know if my photos will help inspire your writing, but I thought I'd post them anyway, just in case:<br />
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Day 1: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.262793777082481.77720.100000555823384&l=344e919ce1&type=1">Venice</a><br />
Day 2: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.263349220360270.77870.100000555823384&l=833ab81d29&type=1">Venice</a><br />
Day 3: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.263858843642641.77996.100000555823384&l=ea038cdd96&type=1">Venice</a><br />
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Day 4: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.265520880143104.78387.100000555823384&l=4468f4b689&type=1">The Cinque Terre</a><br />
Day 5: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.265525063476019.78391.100000555823384&l=d6f0f13c15&type=1">The Cinque Terre</a><br />
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Day 6: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.265541356807723.78393.100000555823384&l=4c3f69b85e&type=1">Pisa and Florence</a><br />
Day 7: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.266032916758567.78474.100000555823384&l=6cb7dd2b50&type=1">Florence</a><br />
Day 8: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.266518753376650.78586.100000555823384&l=f520c78090&type=1">Siena and Florence</a><br />
Day 9: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.266981566663702.78707.100000555823384&l=25ddd8a2b4&type=1">Florence</a><br />
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Day 10: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.268862236475635.79091.100000555823384&l=7c4030d7eb&type=1">Naples</a><br />
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Day 11: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.268862849808907.79092.100000555823384&l=ba8ea060a6&type=1">Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius</a><br />
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Day 12: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.268866193141906.79094.100000555823384&l=efbb157125&type=1">Rome</a><br />
Day 13: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.269072176454641.79148.100000555823384&l=d0a10ed97c&type=1">Rome</a><br />
Day 14: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.269664779728714.79237.100000555823384&l=bc1096bd6c&type=1">Rome</a><br />
Day 15: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.270112329683959.79316.100000555823384&l=10485d992b&type=1">Rome</a><br />
Day 16: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.270647042963821.79458.100000555823384&l=82a2b2ba86&type=1">Rome</a><br />
Day 17: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.271131069582085.79547.100000555823384&l=7e1ce4af2d&type=1">Rome</a>Scott Nivenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13884995224013397488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296071790301478049.post-65046476216751049482011-08-19T10:51:00.000-04:002011-08-19T10:51:57.521-04:00Reached my target word count of 120,000!!!Wow, I remember when I was at 15,000 words and was only on chapter 3. I wondered if I'd ever make it to the end. Well, I'm still not at the end (I've got 3-4 chapters left), but I've completed my goal of reaching 120,000 words. It feels good, but I know it'll feel even better once I've actually finished the entire rough draft. Anyway, that's all I've got to say. Just wanted to post this message to celebrate! :-)Scott Nivenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13884995224013397488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296071790301478049.post-65884225035659862332011-08-09T21:00:00.001-04:002011-08-09T21:00:39.575-04:00Italy will be my muse!If you've read any of my bios posted on any of the websites where my books are sold, you've read the following passage:<br />
<blockquote>When I'm not writing or spending time with my son, I enjoy snapping forgettable photos, running through my neighborhood, and hopping on airplanes. I've visited 39 states, 15 national parks, and sadly, 0 foreign countries.</blockquote>Soon I'll have to change the last sentence in that paragraph, because for the first time ever, I'm going overseas! And rather than visit lots of places for a short amount of time, I'm going to visit only one place for two and a half weeks: ITALY! I'm going to wander alone around all the tourist hotspots, while also trying desperately to get lost in the many side streets and alleys that look so amazing in all the photos from Italy I've ever seen. I have no idea how many fantasy books feature ancient cities as their setting, but I'm looking forward to pretending I'm a character in one of those books, exploring all the nooks and crannies of buildings that were built long before anything in America even existed.<br />
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I'm nervous though, because I'm nearing the completion of the first draft of my book, and I don't want anything to stop my momentum. So here's my plan. I'm going to get as close to the end of my book as I can before I leave, then try to finish it in the evenings in Italy. Really, I'm not sure I could come up with a better muse than Italy. I mean, the country just begs to inspire writers to reach for ideas they would never think of sitting at home in their office.<br />
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My blogging, Tweeting, Facebooking, and Google+ing will not be as frequent for a while as I divide my time between writing and studying travel books on Italy. If you've ever been to Italy, I'd love to hear about your experiences. And if you've got any advice or things you think I absolutely must do, please let me know!Scott Nivenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13884995224013397488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296071790301478049.post-80231483947050215652011-08-02T21:34:00.002-04:002011-08-02T21:36:41.117-04:00My Writing ScheduleOver the last few months, I've had a lot of people ask me about my writing routine. Most of the people who ask this question are friends or family who are wondering where I find the time to write. But I've also received that same question from other writers, which gave me the idea of posting my writing schedule here on my blog. If you're a writer and you're reading this, I'd love to hear about your writing routine in the comments!<br />
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So here's how my schedule plays out over two weeks. Why two weeks? Because I have my son for 7 days, then his mother has him for 7 days. Those weeks work very differently, because when I have my son, time with him wins out over writing ever time.<br />
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On the weeks when I <i>don't</i> have my son...<br />
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<ul><li>Friday: 45 minutes of writing at lunch</li>
<li>Saturday: 60 to 120 minutes of writing during the day while my girlfriend naps</li>
<li>Sunday: 60 to 120 minutes of writing during the day while my girlfriend naps.</li>
<li>Monday: 45 minutes of writing at lunch, 3-4 hours of writing after work</li>
<li>Tuesday: 45 minutes of writing at lunch, 3-4 hours of writing after work</li>
<li>Wednesday: 45 minutes of writing at lunch</li>
<li>Thursday: 45 minutes of writing at lunch, 60-120 minutes of writing just before bed </li>
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On the weeks when I <i>do</i> have my son, my schedule is...boring. But hey, it works!<br />
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<ul><li>Friday: 60-90 minutes of writing (after my son is asleep)</li>
<li>Saturday: 60-90 minutes of writing (after my son is asleep)</li>
<li>Sunday: 60-90 minutes of writing (after my son is asleep)</li>
<li>Monday: 60-90 minutes of writing (after my son is asleep)</li>
<li>Tuesday: 60-90 minutes of writing (after my son is asleep)</li>
<li>Wednesday: 60-90 minutes of writing (after my son is asleep)</li>
<li>Thursday: 60-90 minutes of writing (after my son is asleep)</li>
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Obviously I can't stick to this schedule all the time. But if I have to modify the schedule because of random life events, I don't beat myself up over it. I just plan to return to the schedule the next day. This will be important later this month when I go to Italy for a couple of weeks. I have high hopes of writing every night when I return to my hotel room, but we'll see how that really works out for me! :-)</div><div><br />
</div><div>Your turn. Let me know your schedule in the comments section below!</div>Scott Nivenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13884995224013397488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296071790301478049.post-10319402220648344542011-07-25T19:15:00.000-04:002011-07-25T19:15:21.588-04:00100,000 words!This post has no purpose other than to announce that I've written over 100,000 words in my W.I.P.!!!<br />
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I've still got a long way to go though. I estimated the book would be around 120,000 words, and now that number is going to be low. And this is just the first draft. Unless my style of writing changes, my 2nd draft will lengthen the book, not shorten it. Lots of you said that you enjoyed my short stories and wished I'd written something longer. Hope you really meant that! :-)<br />
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I'm going to refrain from going into detail about my W.I.P. until I've finished the first draft, so stay tuned...Scott Nivenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13884995224013397488noreply@blogger.com