Okay, so I don’t normally celebrate this – but that’s how our family grew up. We didn’t do Mother’s Day or Father’s Day, but I do acknowledge that a lot of people participate in this celebration.

We actually went to a wedding yesterday. Which was Mother’s Day for us. It was held at a place called Point Walter and it was an amazing event. The bridge and groom were on time, even though we suggested she should be late, and the only thing I could have faulted was that there weren’t chairs. Which is okay for those of us who can stand for over 30 mins, but the mother of the groom was in a wheelchair and I don’t do standing up very well at the moment.

The day was gorgeous, though, as only Perth can be in May. And it helps that we’re going through a warm patch in May. I remember the first winter I was here May was the coldest month in the whole year. Now we get a warm patch. Welcome to climate change. And that’s all I’m going to say.

So, today there are very few updates. Still waiting for manuscripts to be returned and for cover art to be completed. It’ll happen. I blame it on Mother’s Day. (Just kidding)

Don’t forget to look out for Finding Elara on Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music, podcast republic and wherever you stream music.

So, to give you something a bit more than just rambling about weddings and memories of growing up, I thought I’d add a few things I’ve learnt over my writing career (wow, sounds like I’ve been doing this for a long time! Not true).

Settings

Everyone reads different. Some people like lots of description, some people don’t. The main thing is to find a balance.

This is where brainstorming, mentoring, beta readers and the like can come in handy. They’ll let you know if there isn’t enough description for a reader to see the vision in your head.

But what if there’s too much?

I deliberately don’t put a lot of description in – unless it’s really important. Why? Because I still remember, in year 12 (yes, it was a very long time ago) skipping every second page of Anna Karenina. Anyone read Tolstoy? My apologies if that upsets you.

It’s taken me this long to realise I don’t enjoy information (info) dumps – or over-describing things.

And yet, one of my inspirations was the Saga of the Exiles and the Galactic Milieu series by Julian May. She had pages and pages of prologue and introduction and stuff like that. And lots of big paragraphs (being info dumps). And yet, I enjoy the books so much I can read them over and over again.

The first time I read them, I didn’t read the introduction/prologues. But I did the second and third times around. And while they held a lot of information, I was glad I hadn’t read them at the start. Why? you ask.

Because I didn’t need them. Julian had put so much of herself into those books that I didn’t need the background information the first time around. The second and third time it enriched what I was reading, I will admit that. But that first read was raw and only about the story.

When I went back and read the intro/prologue, I saw the depth of her world and its many details and how it all interacted in a much deeper way.

Do I regret not reading them the first time around? No. Because I still enjoyed those books.

Now, will I go back to Anna Karenina and read those pages I didn’t read? Not on your life. It’s not my style of reading. Feel free to do so for me, however (chuckle).

So, what does that mean for my writing?

Having come to terms with how I read, I take it on board that there must be others like me. So, I have tried to eliminate info dumps and turn that background knowledge into conversations – arguments, if I can manage it.

What I’ve also realised is that I’m not a fan of long paragraphs. And those who have read Dark Dimensions P2 and 2 and Dark Reign will have noticed those long paragraphs.

I analysed what I didn’t like about ebooks – because that’s all I read these days – and realised that I skipped those really long paragraphs, too (Sorry, Mark Hayden. I promise, I’m reading all the King’s Watch word for word, now).

That is now reflected in my own work. Those long-winded paragraphs are few and far between now and are more dynamic.

So, you might ask – but what’s this to do with settings?

Settings is where we usually have most of our descriptions and info dumps.

So, my advice to any writers out there is to consider how your readers might read and how you can assist them. Because they are the reason we are here. They are the reason we write.

Having said that – it’s still your style of writing.

This is not a “rule” as such, it’s just the way I write. Your story and your voice will show you how and what you write. Don’t let anyone else tell you how to write your story. It’s your story, not theirs!

So, I leave with these words of wisdom and hope to have actual updates when next I write!

Talk to you all later!