Seven Deadly Writing Sins

All right, if you want to WRITE BOOKS and GET THEM DONE, you've got to do the work.  There's no getting around that.  So, do the work, and avoid the Seven Deadly Sins:

SLOTH- Don't be lazy. Sit down, but in chair, and do the writing.
GLUTTONY- Don't try to shove EVERYTHING into a story.  Save some ideas for something else.
WRATH- Don't get angry and destroy the work you've done when it's coming out wrong.  Walk away, cool down, look at it fresh.
PRIDE- Take your critiques with humility and grace.  Seek out critique partners who will challenge you.
LUST- Avoid the lure of the New Shiny.  Work on the project you've got going on, get it DONE.
ENVY- Eyes on your own paper. Don't worry about what other writers are doing.
GREED- ... ummmm....

Greed's fine in this business, actually.  Go after whatever money they'll pay you.  You've earned it.   Don't work for free.  Or "exposure".  Or copies that you need to sell.  GET PAID.  Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.


So what are you still here for?  Get down in those word mines, get to work.  I'll see you down there.

Juggling the cat herders of interwoven plots

So let's talk about plot weaving.

Just a reminder that novel writing is an industry where you have to fight REALLY HARD to get to do something and when you win the fight, you ask yourself, "Why did I agree to do that?" https://t.co/h0JvDfwPDn

— Marshall Ryan Maresca (@marshallmaresca) May 22, 2019

I'm working right now on the draft for People of the City, which is the culmination of Phase I of the Maradaine Saga, and... friends, it's a lot.
I mean, I've been the person who's been all "YES LET'S DO THIS" but bringing together the threads of four different series in a way that comes together in a single book that needs to be A. a solid story in its own right, B. the third Maradaine Elite novel and C. the twelfth Maradaine Saga novel that closes and caps and satisfies a bunch of storylines, while setting the stage for more things in Phase II and beyond.
It's a lot.
I've been saying it's like juggling a chainsaw, a flaming machete and a baby. 
However, this is what all those outlines have been for.  I've been working up to this moment, and I've known what this one was going to be about, and how the different elements were going to come together here to unite the plot lines into what the plot of this book needed to be about.  I knew what I needed to seed in the previous eleven books.  The work has been building to this.  Seven main characters from four different series coming together into a big event.

But that doesn't change the fact that it's A LOT.  And I'm more than a little scared I won't pull it off.  But I've done the work, laid the foundation, and I think I've got it.
Because I fought to do this, and wow, I'm really getting to do it.  That's incredible.
So mark your calendars for Fall 2020.  We're going to have something awesome.

Announcing Two More Projects for 2021

My friends, I've been a bit radio silent the past few weeks, but it's because THINGS HAVE BEEN AFOOT.

Some of those things involve just doing the work.  At any given time, I'm drafting one thing (currently, PEOPLE OF THE CITY), expecting or working edits on another thing (THE FENMEREJOB) and copy-edits/final proofs on yet another (SHIELD OF THE PEOPLE). And if you've been paying attention to my blather, you might recall that PEOPLE OF THE CITY will mark the end of Phase I of the full Maradaine Saga, but also that it's the last thing I've got currently announced, and if things go to schedule (things are currently on schedule), the drafting of that will be done later this year.

So, I needed to have something to do next.

WELL GUESS WHAT.  I can now tell you a bit about that.  I have signed contracts for two more novels with the wonderful people at DAW Books: THE VELOCITY OF REVOLUTION and A CONSTABULARY OF ONE.

First, what these books are NOT.  They are not Phase II of Maradaine.  And not because I don't have EVERY INTENTION AND PLAN for Phase II-- I do, and I hope I've earned some good faith about delivering books in a timely manner.  BUT, I also feel I need a bit of a palate cleanser before diving into Phase II.  But it is definitely on the agenda.

So what are VELOCITY OF REVOLUTIONand A CONSTBULARY OF ONE?

First, VELOCITY OF REVOLUTION.  This is going to be a standalone dieselpunk fantasy novel, in a brand-new secondary-world setting. In a post-war, post-colonization city, occupied by foreign administrators, rebellion is being sparked by a mysterious messiah figure, and an undercover cop of mixed heritage has to infiltrate the local cycle-racing rings to find his way to this leader.  

Or, as I've been pitching it: FAST AND THE FURIOUS meets JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR with MOTORCYCLES and PSYCHIC MUSHROOMS.

Second, A CONSTABULARY OF ONE.  This is not Maradaine, but it is set in the same world.  If you've read A PARLIAMENT OF BODIES, then you might have an idea of what this book is about.  Briefly, it follows one secondary character from the Maradaine Constabulary as she ends up stuck in a city on the other side of the world.  She'll have to navigate her way through the foreign culture, struggle to earn her way home, and fight for the new chosen family she forms there.

So, it's not part of the Maradaine Saga, strictly-- it's more or less standalone.  But with the comparisons of Maradaine to the MCU: This is the Guardians of the Galaxy of the world.

With both of these novels, I've set a new high bar for myself, taking on new challenges.  Both of them are going to be hard, but I think I'm ready.  I'm super excited about both of these books, which should be coming out in 2021.

(And then?  We'll get to Maradaine Phase II.  But let me get Phase I done first, and we'll talk.)

Back to work.