Just call me Senpai

Dear Diary,

One of the questions I get asked most often (and by most often I mean damn near twice a week) is how to write a story – how to get from point A to point Z. And I legit hate this question, though probably not for the reasons you may think. I hate it because I highly encourage everyone to come up with their own modus operandi, their own way of crafting a story that is not only unique but comfortable and natural to them as well.

However, I understand why they’re asking. Writing can be (and often is) scary when you’re first starting out. You’re always wondering if you’re doing something wrong, how to be better, and how to get an edge over what everyone else is doing to make yourself stand out and sell more books.

I understand. I get it. I was like that when I first started out too.

And then I just said fuck it. 😅

I don’t agonize over sales anymore, and generally don’t care what the next author is up to (though I do admittingly stalk several authors such as Amanda and Selina because I find them fascinating as fuck). I also don’t write what I think will sell best (shut up Quickies), I write what’s screaming to rip its way out of my head. But that’s me now. I’ve clawed my way to this point, and to be honest, it wasn’t easy.

So I understand. I get it.

Which is precisely why I’m about to do a short series on story crafting. I’ll be posting it on Patreon at the rate of about one episode a week, with a link to it here in the pages of my Diary and on social media. So keep an eye out for it. 😊

Some of you may be like “Hold up wench. What makes you qualified to produce a series on story crafting?!”

I’m glad you asked.

The quick and dirty answer: I make a reasonably decent amount of money every month doing it, so I must be doing something right.

The better answer: experience.

See, I’ve learned a lot over these past few years as a self-published author, most of which from being hard-headed and making about every mistake imaginable. Hell, my first handful of books didn’t even have a table of contents or metadata because I was trying to be different. It wasn’t until I had a spicy back and forth with a representative from Smashwords (whom I no longer publish through) that I began to see the error of my ways. It was then that I decided to start taking this author stuff seriously. On several levels.

Hopefully, you’ll come check the series out and let me know what you think.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to writing a tale of love, ghosts, and incest… 😏

#Alexa

“If I practiced sex, out of moral conviction, that was one thing; but to enjoy it… seemed a defeat.”

– Martha Gellhorn