Category: Writing

It’s That Time of Year Again

~ Kiki Writes ~ Leave a comment

It never seems to fail.

By about this time every year, I find myself strapped for cash and it lasts right into the new year. This time around it’s not exactly a shock considering the day job didn’t work out, but even when I was working three day jobs, by the end of October/beginning of November I’d be starting to feel the crunch.

So, I figure it’s a good time to remind everyone of the various ways you can give me money.

The most obvious way is to buy one of my books! I’ve got quite the selection going, something for everyone if you tend to like the creepy, disturbing, and/or scary. You can find the whole list here, but I have a few I’d like to highlight.

–Come to the Rocks–From Nine Star Press, this novelette is the closest I’ve come to a love story, so naturally it happens between a mermaid and a woman being stalked by her ex-boyfriend.

–Gone Missing–One of my first self-publishing ventures, this novella concerns a town of missing people who start to go missing.

–Yearly–My best-seller. A collection of 12 short stories, one for each month of the year.

–Spirited in Spite–This is a fun one that came from a failed NaNo novel. It’s one that I think deserves a little more love.

–The Haunting of the Woodlow Boys–This is one of my stories that I absolutely love, but it’s gotten so little attention! Please. I beg of you. Give this one a read.

And as always, if you do buy and read, please leave a review! It helps other people find my work. More eyes, more dimes. Or something like that.

If you’re looking for something with some commitment and membership perks, then become a patron! Murderville is my current Patreon project that’s scheduled to go for five “seasons”. Two seasons are already done. Season 3 will start next year. $1 an “episode” lets you read. $2 an episode lets you read, plus you get a bonus every other month.

I’ve also got a little feature called Writing for Tips. I’ve got a selection of free stories here on the blog for your enjoyment and if you feel compelled, you can drop a dollar in the ol’ tip jar.

And if you don’t feel at all like reading, or you’ve already read and raved about everything I have to offer, you can always just buy me a coffee or two.

It’s been a not great year, but I’m getting my groove back and I’m hoping to have some new projects coming out soon. Also, I hope to find a new day job that’s more compatible. But until then, every little bit helps and is very much appreciated.

October Writing Projects

~ Kiki Writes ~ Leave a comment

It is that time of year again.

Ah, yes.

Time to prep for NaNoWriMo.

And prep I will. But first, I have to finish the revisions on season 3 of Murderville.

Yes, I know. I’ve been working on this forever. Believe me, I feel it, too. Probably more than you. I’d love to be done with it. But it’s a two-fold issue. Number one, the rough draft has required a lot more rewriting than the previous two seasons. Like, I’m redoing a whole section of plot. Yeah. I’m also not thrilled with this and I’m not exactly sure what the hell I was thinking when I both outlined this and wrote the first draft.

On the plus side, I got a nice little side thing that happened in the first draft that I didn’t anticipate and it’s been nice to sort of bring that out and shine it up a little.

The second issue I’ve been having is with my mental health lately. My brains are scrambled eggs. While a lot of my energy issues resolved themselves when I started the iron pills for my anemia, my concentration is still shit in a lot of ways. I’m thinking it’s the usual culprits anxiety and/or depression. Leaning towards the former.

Anyway. It’s been a struggle to get through some days let alone a couple of pages of revisions. I’m going to attempt to step things up and try to push myself back to what I was doing before I was derailed about this time last year when the anemia started to worsen and I thought it was just me being lazy. I used to be able to revise entire “episodes” in one day. I need to get back to that.

Especially with NaNoWriMo looming.

2,000 words a day just doesn’t happen.

But what did happen? We hit another goal over on the Murderville Patreon. All patrons have been enjoying their reward and later this month, $2 patrons will be enjoying a bonus in the form of a cryptic poem dropping hints about season 3. Become a patron and get in on the goodies.

September Writing Projects

~ Kiki Writes ~ 1 Comment

Some good news on the Murderville front. Season 2 has come to a successful close and I hope all of my patrons enjoyed it. I also finished writing the first draft of Murderville Season 3. It’s a damn mess and it’s going to need a lot of work and that’s what I’m going to focus on this month.

Last month I also revised and polished the Season 3 preview story. Normally, I’d put that out next month, but until I get a good handle on where I’m at with Season 3, I can’t commit to that. Unless I’m sure that I can have Season 3 ready to roll on time, I don’t want to get ahead of myself with the previews and such.

If you follow me on Twitter, you might know that the day job is no more. Due to various reasons (some of which I may detail in another post), it didn’t work out, so I’m back to where I was at the beginning of May. In theory, I should be able to play catch up this month and put everything Murderville-related back on schedule. But again, I don’t want to commit to anything considering I’ve basically been disappointing if not everyone, then at least myself all summer with my ability to live up to my commitments. It’s been a very frustrating season for me.

But, it’s not frustrating for my patrons because the ebook of Murderville: The End Of comes out this month. Become a patron now and get in on this sweet deal.

August Writing Projects

~ Kiki Writes ~ Leave a comment

Wow, look at that. August already. This year is just rolling by.

And I’m still working on stuff that I swore I’d have done in June.

Yeah.

So, this day job is turning into one of the hardest retail jobs I’ve ever had and what was supposed to be an easy part-time gig to help pay the bills is actually a huge time and energy vortex that I’m getting swallowed up in. My plan was to write at least a page on all of my current projects on the days that I work and then really rack up the words on my days off. The struggle with that, though, is that sometimes I don’t have the time (or energy) to get in my one page on everything, and then on my days off, I can still only manage the absolute minimum because I’m recovering from working.

If there’s going to be anything new, then August will see a shift in priorities. As much as I hate to stop working on a project in the middle, The Coop Run rewrite has to go on the back burner for now. Season 3 of Murderville needs to be my focus until I get it done, and I need to get it done as quickly as possible. Ideally, I’ll have it finished in the first couple of weeks of the month so I can let it rest a bit and then revise it in September. Because here’s the thing. Season 3 needs to be done all the way down to the eBook before NaNo. I’m already way behind my usual schedule. Now I have to play catch up and hope I don’t fuck up.

I also need to make some time to revise and polish next season’s preview story. But that’s a problem for next month me.

Right now, it’s all about finishing Murderville Season 3.

I’ll work out the rest later.

Speaking of Murderville, the very last episode of season 2, The End Of, goes live on August 14th. Don’t worry! It’s easy to catch up. Just become a patron and you’ll get access to every intriguing moment. $1 an episode let’s you read; $2 an episode lets you read AND gets you swell bonuses every other month, like whatever is happening on the 28th. Don’t miss out!

July Writing Projects

~ Kiki Writes ~ Leave a comment

This projects post is going to be incredibly short because what I was doing in June is what I’m doing in July.

I’ll continue rewriting The Coop Run as a novella and continue writing the first draft of season 3 of Murderville.

Will I get them both done this month?

I don’t know. I’d like to think so. I’m getting better at finding the balance between the day job and writing. I’ve got more of a plan happening and I’m seeing the progress. How much progress I make is up to how well I work the plan.

Aside from that, I’m not putting any real pressure on myself. I talked a bit about my recent struggle, and I’m good with easing myself out of that.

So. Yeah. That’s about it.

Episode 7 of Murderville: The End Of drops on July 10th. Second to last episode of the season. But it’s never too late to become a patron. $1 an episode let’s you read; $2 an episode gets you a bonus every other month. Couch change well-spent!

Writing with a Day Job…Again

~ Kiki Writes ~ Leave a comment

When I set my writing projects for June, I didn’t have a day job.

By the time it posted, I did.

Life comes at you fast.

I’m back in retail, working at one of the local dollar stores. Every store does things somewhat differently, but a lot of the basics are the same. It’s like riding a bike. I haven’t forgotten.

Now I have to hope that I haven’t forgotten what it’s like to write with a day job. It’s been a while since I’ve been working out of the house for 15-20 hours a week. It’s been a while since I’ve had to write around that kind of schedule (as well as the other life things I have to write around, too). Right now everything is crazy because this day job happened very suddenly during an already busy time, both for writing and for real life. No doubt it’ll settle down and find a groove, but for now, I’m a little stressed and very tired.

I plan on keeping my June writing plan. The Coop Run is on a deadline, so it will get first priority, but I’m fairly sure I’ll be able to get a good chunk, if not all of season 3 of Murderville written. Hopefully, my productivity will be as high as my hopes.

Though the day job will alleviate an immediate need for financial support, like all of my day jobs, I view it as temporary. My goal is to make a (decent) living by writing.

I still intend to do that.

June Writing Projects

~ Kiki Writes ~ 1 Comment

Last month was all about the Patreon. I wrote the outline for season 3 of Murderville and wrote the first draft of the season 3 preview story. I also came up with an idea to be a little more active on my Patreon, but I’m still working out those kinks. I’m hoping to have something going before the end of season 2.

This month it’s going to be all novellas all the time.

I’m going to write the first draft of season 3 of Murderville.

I’m also going to be doing a little writer thrill seeking again.

I’m going to try to rewrite The Coop Run as a novella for submission in July. Yeah, not a lot of time to get it in order, but I have already started by reading over the original first draft, chopping it up, and making notes on what I need to write fresh. In the end, even if nothing comes of the submission in terms of actually getting published, I think the story will be better off. This first draft is a mess. There are many story elements that I like, but they do not work together as is. What I’ll take out, I’ll save. I happen to like the crew of the Nina Kitt and I wouldn’t mind exploring their world in other stories.

Speaking of that, even if nothing comes of the submission in terms of actually getting published, I will at least be able to say that I wrote an honest to goodness sci-fi novella. It’s not going to be the hardest of sci-fi, but dammit, it will be set in space on a spaceship and that’s a huge step into a new genre for me.

That counts for something.

There’s only 3 episodes left of Murdeville: The End Of. Episode 6 goes live on June 12th. $1 an episode lets you read;  $2 an episode lets you read AND you get some really nifty fun bonuses every other month, like the one that’s dropping June 26th. It’s never too late to become a patron!

Writer Thrill Seeking

~ Kiki Writes ~ 1 Comment

If you asked me to go bungee jumping or skydiving, I’d probably chuckle and politely tell you that if I wanted to see the ground rushing up at my face, I’d get drunk and fall over. Though I’ve had my thrills and sometimes I go looking for a certain kind, nobody would rush to call me a thrillseeker. I don’t know if I’d get on a roller coaster that goes upside down anymore.

But when it comes to writing, I’m far more game for a thrill.

The first week of May I decided to spend money I didn’t have to enter a script that I hadn’t written into a contest that’s deadline was the next day.

Okay, now this only looks like a last minute decision. To be fair, I thought the deadline was actually the next week. I did think I had a little more time. And I wasn’t sure I wanted to commit to doing the contest because, like I mentioned, really didn’t have the entry fee to spare.

But when I saw that I was wrong about the deadline, I sort of…well…went thrill seeking. The first time I entered a script in this contest, I spent a couple of months working on an entry that got me an honorable mention. When I entered last year, I spent about a week on a entry I thought would ultimately be a throwaway, and I ended up with 5th place.

I could not pass up the challenge of writing fifteen pages of script in two days and see if I couldn’t beat 5th place.

The idea is one I’ve had kicking around in my head and I even wrote a short story/first chapter for it. I already had an outline. I was actually going in pretty well stacked in terms of knowing what I was doing. It was just a matter of finding the time to get it all written.

Yeah, about that.

During the same two days I was writing these fifteen pages I was also prepping for my next Green Hornet chat with Dan, outlining season 3 of Murderville, writing my page a day, studying my four languages, and doing my daily life stuff.

No sweat.

This is how I get my high. By driving myself crazy. I honestly think that I’m not happy unless I’m committing some sort of busy-ness that pushes me to the brink of insanity. For the last few months, I’ve been taking it pretty easy on the writing schedule. I was struggling with my mental and physical health. I really didn’t have the energy to push it. Or at least it didn’t feel like I did.

I’m feeling a bit more energized now, though.

Maybe I just needed a little thrill to get going.

Writing for Tips

~ Kiki Writes ~ Leave a comment

In my continued attempts to support myself by writing (not only because it’s my ultimate goal in life, but also because I’m still struggling to find a day job), I’ve come up with a new way for folks to support me and my work.

Specifically, I call it Writing for Tips.

Right now, it’s a collection of the formerly-freebie stories and the stories I had in the Storytime Jukebox and I also plan to add a few more stories as we go along. Yes, the Jukebox is no more. It was a nice idea, a pay-what-you-want endeavor, but ultimately, it was just a little to prohibitive. Also, I’m just too clumsy to be expected to do that sort of thing well. Writing for Tips is better because it’s not only a pay-what-you want endeavor, but it’s also a pay-if-you-want endeavor. Meaning the stories are essentially free, but you can throw some cash my way via PayPal or buy me a coffee via Ko-Fi if you like my work.

Think of it as busking, but for writing.

Will people read and not throw any money in my open typewriter case? Yeah, probably. Hopefully, though, they will enjoy what they read. They’ll tell friends. They’ll look for my other work. They’ll buy it. They’ll read it. They’ll enjoy it. They’ll tell friends. I’m creating a cycle here. Also, there will be some who do toss me a buck or two when they can in addition to doing everything else. Both are very much appreciated.

It’s possible I might expand this to include some non-fiction/essay-type writing as well, but we’ll see.

In the meantime, if you like the tune, don’t be afraid to tip the player.

May Writing Projects

~ Kiki Writes ~ Leave a comment

You know, I said last month that April was my oyster. Apparently, I forgot that I don’t care for oysters. I did my page-a-day and my poem-a-day. I submitted a short story twice (same story, two different markets, a rejection was involved) and I submitted (Vampires) Made in America to a new agent.

And that’s about it.

I thought I’d be able to find a project to work on, but the best I did was rearranging my To Do List of Doom so it made more sense. I’ve still got a massive list of projects in various states and none of them made any progress in April.

I have my speculations about the reasons for this, but I’m not going to get into them here.

Instead, I’m going to move on. New month…well, same me, but actual stuff to work on.

I’ve decided to dedicate May to my Patreon. I’m going to outline season 3 of Murderville and write the first draft of the season 3 preview story. I’m also going to brainstorm ways I can be more involved on Patreon. Right now, it’s very much set it and forget it. I feel like I need to provide a little more content in order to entice new patrons and keep the ones I have. Can’t get by on my looks here.

Or anywhere, really.

Speaking of Murderville, episode 5 of The End Of is live May 8th. We’re over the half-way point here. Become a patron and enjoy the ride. $1 an episode lets you read; $2 an episode lets you read AND you get some really sweet bonus material in the form of other stuff I’m working on. It’s never too late to head to Murderville!