Today, maybe tomorrow too, depending on how long it takes me to write up the notes, I am prepping to start my next project.

I appreciate those who offered their thoughts on the title over on Facebook and my other social platforms. And those who helped me narrow down. The final title got a little adjustment in how I wrote it to really emphasize the aspects to the story, so it’s not as simple as it seems at first glance.

The final choice ended up being Guardians of The Void. You’ll note that I wrote The Void differently. Because The Void is something all in itself. As well as the Guardians are. So I felt it better to play with that in the title and illustrate it simply with capitalizing the last two words. Double entendres are something I truly enjoy playing with in my stories. Many of my titles have far more meaning to them. Especially those images or titles that other writers consider “cliche.”

That’s something I’ve learned through time. Many other writers will critique a lot of aspects of your things. Some very valid thoughts too so I don’t want to undermine what they think. The only thing is that many of those critiques one has to keep in mind, come from folks who will NEVER touch your work. They will never read it, be interested in it, find anything of it that appeals to them. So as someone once told me, “consider the source.”

Absolutely take in what people say. Everything can be valid and useful. That doesn’t mean that after consideration it is right for you. The example being my Dark Illusions series. When I first wrote it and published the work, whenever someone saw “vampire and human,” in anything I mentioned of it? They went straight to Twilight. It was still very much in the spotlight and it was very much a valid response. However if I marketed to people and spoke of vampires, would that be the first thought? More so if I mentioned how mean and aggressive and sexual they are? Most likely not. Especially for those who’ve never been interested in that realm of stories.

It’s like when I read “Guardians,” my brain goes to “of the Galaxy.” So I consider that too when I choose a title. There are comparisons right now. Twenty years from now if that title stays (I can always change my stuff later and that’s the beauty of my job) is the first thought of mine gonna be that movie/story series? Absolutely not. Cliches change, comparisons change. Many people might argue not to rely on certain genres, styles, cliches, but they forget that not everyone is them too. I was not into Harry Potter until I first saw the movie some years ago. Then read the books. Even now I’m not anywhere near the level some can be. Same with LoTR and others. I am an extreme horror fan so when I think of good writing (storytelling), I go Stephen King. Another won’t even know who he is.

If right now the “it,” thing was dragons (it could be, I don’t keep up with trends that much) and someone noted that my story has dragons? They’d think I was writing to market (writing what was popular just because it was). If I showed them a notebook I had of a few dragons stories, a drama sort of, annnnnddd a Sci-Fi-ish to pick through, would they think the same? Or if they knew I’ve been thinking about this book for about a year? More? What I always choose to write is what whispers within me, “this one,” and I feel excited when I think about it, about exploring the world, the characters, the story. I know that excitement will sustain me through writing it. I have tried “this seems like it will be liked,” and the story died. I (and you if you are a writer) are your first reader. If you don’t enjoy it? Don’t waste your time unless it’s to pay the bills and you have to.

That’s part of how I continue to speed through writing – I enjoy the story. I wouldn’t touch a book I don’t enjoy. As much as I value feedback, always remember to take it in, absorb it, consider it, decide what will work best for you. Consider future impact too. On your work, on the readers who may pick it up. Are they going to find it ridiculous twenty years from now? Always consider valuable feedback, but also remember that everyone (especially writers) will have plenty to say about your writing, but will they ever touch it? Argument could be – if they’re Stephen King, listen to that feedback. Yeah. If they’re Stephen King. lol

If they’ve been in the business for over ten years and have published a lot of work, written a lot of work, and they’ve read a lot of your books, it’s highly likely they should be listened to. There is a fine line though between altering yourself, and your writing to fit what another writer (or other person) says it should be, and following your gut and writing with yoru voice.

Good example would be all the people who want George R.R. Martin to hurry up and get the next book out for GoT. I don’t. I want HIS story. HIS style. HIS writing. HIS book. If he rushed, he’d be changing that to fit what IIIIII want, an to please me. No, thank you. I’d lose respect if he caved. Readers who love his work don’t get what that sort of feedback does to a writer who already knows they’re behind and feels terrible for it. You can tell he does care about his readers too.

The ideas for the cover for this book was grown like most of my ideas. Just a perusal of images and choosing one, playing with another. Altering this, altering that. Then I realized it was making me think of the Pern series from Anne McCaffrey. They had dragons on the covers a lot, featured in similar fashion. I definitely feel my memory of those went into this a little. It mimics an image I have in my head of a moment from what inspired the story too. So maybe my dream was even inspired a bit from those covers. Who knows?

Today’s numbers for Guardians of The Void.

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