My Writing Failures 2025

  

 It's November, so we're heading towards the end of the year.

    Last January I had great hopes for all that I was going to achieve with my writing, but I've had a few failures as well as a few wins.

    So let's unpack it and see what happened.

    I planned to write and publish 3 novels. I only managed two. I was also going to write and publish more blog posts and articles, and a few ebooks, but I haven't managed all that either. Why?

    Well, late last year, we had to sell our home and move into a rental house until we could find a house to buy.

    Then in December, we'd booked a one-month holiday in a house in the country, thinking it was a place to relax and get plenty of writing done. Instead, we fled from there after only 9 days because the place was a filthy tip and the garden was so overgrown it wasn't usable. Plus, there was a rooster on the property that woke us up at first light every morning with its loud crowing.

    We then spent the next few months house hunting, which was so time-consuming.

    Eventually, we found a house, but we had to spend 2 months renovating it, which meant spending 12 hours a day working on the new house, plus taking one day off a week to do  "normal" things like cooking, shopping, cleaning and laundry. As you can imagine, we were exhausted.

    But even though we moved in two months ago, the work on the new house isn't over. I've spent every weekend making curtains, and I also have 2 roman blinds to make too. I’ve also been doing some cleaning on the outside of the house.

    Plus, we've had to adapt to living in a new suburb, which includes finding our way around locally, settling into a new routine in our new home and getting to know our new neighbours.

    Thankfully, our lives are becoming more normal again now, and I've even organised the cupboards so that I know where everything is. And there were all the other disruptions, like attending dozens of open homes, eating up all our chilled and frozen food to empty the fridge freezer before it was moved, all the trips to the DIY store to keep restocking the building materials we needed, choosing and organising flooring and carpets to be fitted, and organising the removalists. We also had to go back to the rental property to do a final clean and mow the lawn.

    We also had fun things to do, like dealing with lawyers and all the forms and legalities of buying a new home.

    As you can imagine, all this was not only time-consuming but also an extreme distraction to my life and my writing routine. But I did write and publish 2 novels, and sold many books too. So despite my low achievements, I still had an income, and I have a beautiful house to live in.

    The good news is that I'm never moving again-NEVER!

    Even if the house falls down or this turns out to be the worst neighbourhood ever-

    I'm going nowhere.

    The Big Question

    The question now, though, is what am I going to change to make next year more successful?

    Right now, I don’t know, but what I do know is that it won’t be disrupted by moving or house hunting or 12-hour days doing house renovations, so I know that I’ll get so much more writing done than I did this year.

    But I am going to give it a lot of thought between now and the end of the year. I’ve already started making a few plans, but I have several more weeks to finalise exactly what I  want to be working on next year.

    I do know one thing for sure about what I’m going to be doing.

    I’m going to stay home and write most of the time.

    It's my mission, after all.

 MISSION CRITICAL FOR LIFE

https://www.cheritonhousepublishing.com/books/MCFL.html

Is Being Straight and White a Disadvantage for a Freelance Writer?

I never give much thought to people being of different races. Racism holds no interest to me. We are all just people. I never give much thought to gay people either. It matters not to me who someone sleeps with.

 But it seems that being straight and white may be a disadvantage when it comes to publishing and freelance writing. And I’ll explain why.

I’m always on the lookout for high-paying freelance writing opportunities. And more and more I’ve been coming across submission guidelines that say things like “We like to publish authors from diverse backgrounds.” And that got me wondering what exactly that means?

Just this week I came across an interesting freelance open submission window that said the company was, "committed to uplifting voices from all walks of life. We actively welcome submissions from writers of every race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, religion, and cultural background. This includes — but is not limited to — BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, disabled/neurodivergent writers, immigrant authors, and those from historically marginalized or underrepresented communities.” Does this mean they have a preference for submissions from a gay person over a straight person? Or a young person over an older person? Or a black person over a white person?

A few months ago, a writer named Aaron Barry, experimented with his submissions. He first tried submitting his work in his own identity, a straight white man, and only had modest success. He then began submitting his work under several different “marginal” identities and had great success. His work was even published in acclaimed literary journals.

And, most importantly, he admits that the work he submitted (and was successful with) was just nonsensical gibberish.

For instance, one of his poems included gibberish like “voodoo prak tik casta oyal drip drip.” Another poem, that he titled Shakespeare’s Cmslt, opens with: “To ?️ or not to ?️ William Shakespeare’s ??? little cmslt ???: that is the question.”

The website that published the article about Aaron’s experiment said that it was interesting that “few questioned the authenticity of the work, until the author’s race and gender were revealed.”

Many other publications have commented on Aaron’s experiment as to whether publishers who claim to be “inclusive” by wanting to promote so-called marginal writers, do value a writer’s identity much more than their work. And do writers from “underrepresented” categories get preferential treatment over straight, white writers? They conclude that they don’t think so. But they don’t know.

Personally, I don’t submit to publications that say they are “committed to” or  “actively welcome” submissions from certain groups of writers. I believe that my work should be judged on merit and not on who I sleep with or the colour of my skin or whether or not I’m physically or mentally disabled, or my religion. I prefer to keep politics out of the art of writing.

But you can be the judge of your own work.

And if you think this is all controversial, well, you’re probably right.

But I have never understood why a publisher needs to know the colour of my skin, or my partner preferences, or my religion. None of that has anything to do with my writing and whether or not it’s suitable for their publication.

Unless, of course, the publication is aimed at a certain group of people. 

But the publications I'm talking about, are not.

Free Ebooks

All these ebooks are free to download straight to your computer. 

PDF or ePub.

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Ideas Just Keep on Coming

Sometimes it's a problem if you want to write, but you just have no idea what to write about.

I find that using prompts is the easiest way to get started. I use online word generators to get three nouns, and then I start writing, even though I have no idea where I'm going. All I know is that I have to use all three words in the first paragraph, and then it all somehow flows from there, and ideas just keep coming.

That's how I wrote my latest novel, Jackolantern. I wanted to write a short story, so I used a random word generator to get my three nouns, and one of them was the word pumpkin.

As I started to write, ideas started popping up like crazy, and when I finished the short story, I realised that it would make a great book. So I set to work on an extensive outline and added loads more creepy action until I had a brilliant outline for a novel.

And because the whole story is centred around a pumpkin, I called it Jackolantern.

The obvious problem with the story being about a pumpkin is that it's an inanimate object, so it can't move or do anything

But when it keeps appearing on the main character's front porch, he naturally thinks that someone is putting it there to annoy him because he hates Halloween. Eventually he wonders if the pumpkin is alive because no matter how many times, or no matter in how many different ways he gets rid of it, it keeps coming back, and its face is looking furious.

I had fun writing this story and inventing so many ways for him to destroy the pumpkin, only to find it back on his porch again, looking more battered and more angry than before.

 At first he is annoyed by it, but eventually, he's frightened of it and feels like he's losing his mind. Then he discovers what is really happening and he’s terrified.

This was definitely one of my favourite stories to write because the ideas just kept coming and coming.

Plus, Halloween is a dark and scary time, which is why there are so many horror stories and horror movies about it.

And, as I discovered, it's fun to write about.

 Jackolantern

Campfire Stories Book Two

https://www.cheritonhousepublishing.com/books/jackolantern.html

It's OK to Hate. It Makes Great Horror Stories

I think all horror stories are based on a dislike of something.

I always used to admonish my kids if they said they hated something (or someone). I'd say," Don't say hate. It's a strong word." I always think that the word 'hate' is dark and threatening.

But boy does it make a great horror story. 

In Stephen King's The Shining, the main character hated being an alcoholic and was looking for a place to escape to avoid alcohol.

In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the main character hated the belief that only God could create humans and tried to make one himself. 

In Iain Reid's psychological horror novel, I'm Thinking of Ending Things (which was made into a Netflix movie in 2020), the main character, Jake, hates his regret-filled and lonely life, so he invents a new one in his mind and plays it out.

In my latest book, Jackolantern, I can easily relate to the main character's hate of Halloween because I dislike all the made-up celebrations that are forced upon us, including Christmas. Most of them are based on fake reasons anyway. 

For instance, take Valentine's Day. It’s originally based on a Christian feast day honouring a martyr named Saint Valentine. 

Or Mother's Day. It originally meant the Mother Church and was a day that families could get together and visit the church where they were baptised or their local church. Hence the term 'Mothering Sunday' because Sunday is the day that Christians attend church.

The modern version of Mother's Day also spawned Father's Day and then Grandparents Day, meaning people have to buy more and more gifts.

All holiday celebrations are now geared towards commercialism and have lost their traditional meaning, including Halloween.

So I can relate 100% with my main character who hates Halloween and doesn't want to have anything to do with it, and is annoyed when he keeps finding a carved pumpkin on his front porch. 

I know that I'm not the only one who doesn't like Halloween. There are millions of others. 

The big problem with Halloween, as opposed to all the other occasions, is that kids going door to door trick-or-treating gives people no privacy in their own homes and little chance to avoid something they want no part of.

On the plus side, this misery that is inflicted on those who dislike Halloween is done by people in scary masks and costumes, which makes for a great horror story.

And my Jackolantern Halloween horror story is unique.

Jackolantern

Campfire Stories Book Two

https://www.cheritonhousepublishing.com/books/jackolantern.html

Why Jackolantern Isn't Misspelled

My latest novel, Jackolantern, was published last month. I enjoyed writing it and was pleased with the cover design and how the book looked.

But when my daughter saw it, she looked at the cover and said, " You've spelled Jackolantern wrong."

That was it. No congratulations, the book looks great, just a brief comment about what she thought was a wrongly spelled word. Of course, she was wrong. I hadn't misspelt anything-especially not my novel's title. Why? Because it's my book, so I can spell anything anyway I want.

The story is about a jackolantern, but all the way through the book I refer to it as" the pumpkin; '' so the spelling of the title is irrelevant.

Jackolantern is the story of a man who hates Halloween. One day he arrives home from work to find a carved pumpkin on his front porch. He thinks one of his neighbours put it there as a sick joke because they all know he doesn't like Halloween, and he always sneers at their Halloween decorations in their gardens.

He throws the pumpkin in the bin, but it keeps returning, and each time it looks angrier.. He soon realises it's not a joke. The reason the pumpkin keeps returning is much more sinister and evil.

And that, in a nutshell, is the story of my book, Jackolantern, and the freedom of writing fiction gives me the freedom to spell words anyway I please.

And, the way I see it, spelling something differently makes my title. stand out and might intrigue more readers.

Because, as the saying goes, why fit in when you can stand out?

It's not too late to grab a copy of Jackolantern before Halloween. Or buy a copy anytime.

Because a Jackolantern is for life, not just for Halloween.

Jackolantern

Campfire Stories Book Two

https://www.cheritonhousepublishing.com/books/jackolantern.html 

How To Stay Motivated and Write More

Sitting alone in a room and writing for hours can sometimes feel hard, because being a writer is so different to how others earn a living.

Writers don't have to get up at a certain time and don't even have to leave the house to travel to work. We just sit and write, which is why it sometimes feels hard, and why motivation can sometimes feel like it's lacking.

So, what is motivation, and how can you have more of it?

The word 'motivate' has the word 'motive' built right into it, which is why you need a good reason to do what you're doing.

I find that sometimes I lack motivation to write because I have no set deadline to finish what I'm working on, and no one will know if I've done my writing or not. That's why I always schedule my time so that I can sit down at a designated time and start writing.

Naturally, it's not as easy as it sounds, and many different things get in my way and try and stop me.

Just the other day, I promised myself that I'd sit down and write at 9 a.m. But I got distracted reading an article, and when I looked up, it was way past 9 o’clock, and I was angry at myself for getting distracted. But clearly, having a writing schedule doesn't always work.

It can be that the lack of motivation comes from a goal not being important enough to stick to. 

I found that the best way to stay motivated is to have a clear goal of what I want to achieve, and then I map out a plan of how I'm going to achieve it. Then all I need to do is stick to my plan. But the goal has to be important, otherwise, why would I care? These are the 3 things I need to stay motivated:

- A goal that's worth reaching 

- An action plan to get me there 

- A deadline

I think that the most important of these is a deadline. And this doesn't just apply to writing. 

As an example, when we were recently refurbishing the house we have now moved into, we knew what we wanted to do, but we didn't give ourselves a deadline. After a few weeks, we were sitting discussing what we still had to do and how long we thought it would take. We wanted to get out of the house we were renting as soon as we could because it was costing us nearly $600 a week to live there.

So we set a deadline for the end of the month, ev
en though the timing was a bit tight. 

Then we gave notice on our rental property, organised a removal company, organised the flooring and carpets to be installed 2 days before that, then we told the tradies who were putting in a new bathroom and kitchen that they had to be done before the new flooring went in. Not only did this deadline make us work faster (and longer hours at 12 hours a day), but it also mustered the tradies who were mostly not even turning up every day. Without a deadline, it might have dragged on for weeks.

And it's the same with my writing. If I have a deadline to meet, I get the work done no matter what. And I also need a goal and a plan to get there.

Once I know what I have to do, I have to make sure I stick to it the best I can. Every time I have a plan of what I want to do, life has an ugly habit of throwing as many obstacles in my way as it can, which often makes me want to quit.

But then I think to myself that the time is going to pass anyway. The only question is, how am I going to use it?

With the right motivation, I know I can achieve anything.

Why are Writers not like Other People?

One of the baffling things that I find about being a writer is that no one respects what I do. And it gets worse than that. Sometimes I don't seem to respect what I do either.

Let me explain what I mean by both these things.

People don't respect what I do for a living at all, which is probably because they don't understand what I do on a day-to-day basis. Non-writers don't seem to understand how writers work, which is probably because we sit alone for hours and don't talk to anyone.

If I went to an office every day and spent most of the day writing and typing, they'd understand. But because I sit alone at home and do that instead, it seems incomprehensible to most people.

Writers are never seen as noble as the man who comes to fix your oven, or a person who works on a construction site, or even the people who work in the cabins on a construction site.

Nope. If we don't physically go out to work every day, no one seems to respect what we do.

I find it strange because these same people will read a great book and admire the author, yet if they saw the author writing at home, they'd say it doesn't look like real work.

So how do you get respect from those you know for what you do?

You don't. It's impossible to convince others that you’re a hard worker and that what you do has merit if you're a writer working from home. Those you know you won't respect or understand what you do.

But they don't have to, so don't share.

It doesn't matter what anyone thinks about you being a writer. I’ve been earning all my income from my writing for over 20 years, and my friends and family still don't want to talk about it with me. Even if I bring it up, they change the subject.

My latest novel, Jackolantern, was published four weeks ago, in time for Halloween. It's selling steadily, and I even pre-sold quite a few copies before the publishing date because people were eager to read it. But my friends and family don't even know I wrote it, let alone that it's published and plenty of people are buying it ready for Halloween.

And they'll probably never know. So let them not know.

I enjoy what I do,

And that's really all that matters.

Mission Critical For Life

Start Living Life On Your Terms By Pursuing Your True Life Mission

https://www.cheritonhousepublishing.com/books/MCFL.html

Writing Freely and Hypnotically: Put Your Readers in a Writing 'Trance'

One of my favourite books on writing is Dr Joe Vitale’s "Hypnotic Writing." It's good because it's full of so much useful informa­tion. It's also good because it's written "hypnotically", so once I start reading, I can't stop.

And that is exactly what hypnotic writing is. It's written in such a way that the reader can't stop reading, which is exactly what we want from our writing, isn't it? We want our readers to be drawn quickly and deeply into what we have to say. 

And hypnotic writing is actually easy to do.

In the book, the author says that we have two Inner Writers, so inside all of us we have two inner selves.

Self One is the critic.

Self two is the master writer. 

Self one is a critic who picks on everything we write, so this is the one to ignore (easier said than done).

Self Two is a master writer. The author says, “When you allow the Master Writer to write freely and not be impeded by Writer One, the critic, you can do your most extraordinary writing. This is usually called 'free writing' and it's fun.

3 Steps to Free Writing

Step One. Set a goal of not only what you want to write, but also what you want

to achieve from it:

A sale? 

A Sign up? 

A drama? 

A comedy?

Step Two. Start writing and stay in the moment. Ignore Self One, the critic, and don't let him into your head.

Working this way is what Stephen King calls" the writer's trance." This trance is only possible if you can write without interruption from your inner critic.

Step Three. Trust what you're writing, whether you think it's good or bad. Just allow Self Two, the master writer, to come through completely, and you're writing will be great. If it’s not, it's because you allowed Self One to guide you.

Self Two, the master writer, will always come through if you give him complete freedom to do so.

Just plan what you want to write, then release Self Two. Trust him no matter what, and he will come through for you. 

I believe this 100% because my best writing is when I'm free writing.

" There is no great writing, only great rewriting."

    ~ EB white.

Write first and edit later. 

Hypnotic writing helps in the editing stage when you make improvements and make it all perfect so that your writing really works for you. You may even need to tidy up only a few sentences.

If you haven't tried it before, do it right now. Plan and then free write for just ten minutes. Release your creative master writer and silence your inner critic.

Just keep writing and see how hypnotic your writing really can be.

Hypnotic Writing: How to Seduce and Persuade Customers with Only Your Words
https://amzn.to/3ID9dO3

Doing The Math of Daily Word Counts

I was reading an online discussion recently between a group of so-called writers about how difficult it is to find time to write.

I called them 'so-called' writers because they all blamed a lack of time every day for their lack of writing. Hence, the term 'so-called.'

Not having enough time to write is a common grievance for many writers who want to write more, but they say there aren't enough hours in a day.

I say that's nonsense. Twenty-four hours a day is more than enough time to write.

Back when National Novel Writing Month was a thing, most people found it difficult to write a 50,000-word novel in a month.

I tried it two years in a row (a long time ago) and it's how I wrote my first novel, Playing For Real, which is still selling today.

Being my first novel, it was a bit of a shock to write so many words in such a short time, but my novel worked out to over 70,000 words. To be able to finish the first draft in a month, I had a detailed outline ready so that all I had to do was write, write, write

I also broke down the math of how many words I needed to write every day, and the following is the math of the daily word count to write a novel in a month.

It's well-known that many writers only write for 2 hours a day. So I figured on aiming for that.

Most writers average writing 1,000 words an hour, so 2 hours of writing is 2,000 words a day. For me, that was 10 A4 pages of writing.

- 2,000 words a day for 30 days is 60,000 words

- 2,000 words a day for 20 days ( 5 days a week for 4 weeks = weekends off) is 40,000 words

So I figured that if I wrote my novel in 2 hours a day for 20 days, it wouldn't add up to 50,000 words. But I'd probably write faster as I went along, so even if I didn't write on the weekends (I had a job and family obligations back then), I could still make the 50,000-word goal.

And I managed to write 20,000 words more than the expected 50,000. 

Now I'm not saying that everyone can write 50,000 words every month, but everyone can try. And as we know from experience, whatever we do regularly and consistently becomes faster and easier. 

And it's the same with writing. Working just 2 hours a day means you could start producing between 50k and 100k words a month. You may not be able to write that much every month, but imagine how great it will feel during the months that you do.

The math says it's possible, so all you (and I) need to do is make it happen.

The 12 Month Writing Challenge
Write and Publish 12 Books in a Year
https://www.cheritonhousepublishing.com/books/12MTH.html 

Copying Other Writers

 I’ve always loved to read about how other writers work. Not how they write, but how they structure their time. I can’t even say why this subject fascinates me, but it always does.

I used to subscribe to a UK writing magazine (I think it was called ‘Writing Magazine’), and it had an ongoing series called “My Writing Day.”

The series was interviews with successful writers about their lives and how they structured their writing time.

Some writers wrote every day, while others wrote in writing sprints for a day or two or a week or more, and they talked about what time of day they wrote and where they wrote. I always found it so interesting.

But I did notice that the way they described their lives sounded somewhat simple and predictable, making it easy to fit in plenty of time to write.

My life always seems somewhat chaotic with unexpected things happening all the time, no matter how much I try to plan and schedule my days.

But I do learn a lot by reading about how other writers work. One thing I did learn was to not try and be like any of them. We all have to do things our own way.

What else I’ve learned over time is:

- Not to try and force things to happen, just let them happen, and they will. 

- To know how I feel about things in my life. 

- To only do things that are fun.

Fun doesn’t mean only leisure activities. It can be renovating a house, working in the garden, or even cleaning the car. I love the satisfaction I get from working on big projects, so it makes them fun to do.

And this carries over into my writing. I only want to write things I love to write about. This makes it fun, keeps up my enthusiasm to do it, and makes my writing more authentic.

If you pay attention to what you love doing, it’s easy to love your life, be your authentic self, and enjoy what you do.

Mission Critical For Life

The 10 timeless lessons in this little book will help you to go from social awkward to extremely confident and help you gain more acceptance, more peace of mind and more money than you ever thought possible.

https://www.cheritonhousepublishing.com/books/MCFL.html

When Life Gets in the Way: My Writing Slump During a Big Move

I haven't written here for several weeks now. But it's not just here on my blog. I haven't done any writing at all for the last few weeks.

As I said recently, Dean and I have been refurbishing a house ready for moving in.

Naturally, as with everything in life, it took longer than expected. It was compounded by the problem of the company supplying our new kitchen and bathroom being weeks behind schedule, plus they made many mistakes that they had to come and correct, like the oven being installed crookedly, one kitchen cupboard door hanging down off its hinges, and installing the wrong kitchen sink tap. But in the end, we managed to move in, after spending twelve-hour days here doing most of the work ourselves.

It was so exhausting getting up early every morning and going to the new house to work straight after breakfast, and not getting home till well after dark. We'd then have showers, have dinner, then fall into bed late, only to get up and do it all again the next day.

So that is why I've been unable to write. Too physically exhausted and feeling brain-dead by the end of the day. But now we've moved in and after two weeks( exactly) we've unpacked everything, shopped for groceries(food stocks were pretty depleted) and regained full use of our aching limbs. Our arms and legs were stiffening up every night from all the physical labour.

One positive thing about being so busy every day was that it gave me plenty of time to think. And I thought about everything:

• My health
• My diet
• My income
• The books I want to write
• Marketing to sell more books
• My blog and how to improve it
• My websites and additions to make
• How to make social media work for me
• Doing more freelance submissions
• Doing more sewing, knitting, and crocheting
• My best hours for writing
• How to schedule my working days better
• And a whole lot more.

I also thought a lot about how much I dislike painting walls and skirting boards, how much I wished that so-called 'professional' cabinet makers could install a kitchen and bathroom correctly, and how much I wanted my normal life back.

Yesterday we took a well-deserved day off and went to the beach. We had lunch in a park, and then I sat and wrote out plans in my notebook for all the things I thought about while we were fixing and decorating our new house. As I sat and wrote, I realised just how much 

I'd missed writing, and I wondered why it was so. Is writing simply something I like to do, or is it an addiction?

I figured that it's not an addiction otherwise I wouldn't have been able to go without doing it for nearly two months.

And it's more than something I just enjoy doing because I can't imagine my life without writing being a part of it.

I think that being a writer is my mission in life. It's a part of who I am. It's not a job I do, it's what I have to do, and I can't imagine retiring from it when I get to old-age pension age.

I guess I'm Mission Critical For Life when it comes to writing. And that's a great way to be.

And if you're interested, here are a couple of before-and-after shots inside our new house.

Old Hallway

New Hallway

Old Living Room

New Living Room

New House & 15 Minutes Daily Writing

I am seriously enjoying my new Kindle Scribe and I've been using it to write all my blog posts and articles. The handwriting recognition software it has converts my scrappy writing to text effortlessly and accurately.

Sadly though, I haven't had much time to use it lately (not even for reading) because Dean and I have been busy because we bought a house. 

As you know, we had to sell our apartment late last year and have been renting a house for the last 8 months. And after months of searching we finally found a house we liked and bought it. Unfortunately, it needs a lot of work done to it, including having a new kitchen and bathroom put in, and a complete clean inside and out, and a complete paint job.

The house was owned by an elderly man who lived there for years and, it seems, let the place go to hell. We daren't even think about the junk-filled, overgrown garden yet. But what the house does have is amazing potential and a nice open layout.

We've spent the last couple of weeks cleaning and repairing the place, and it's looking (and smelling) so much better already.

The problem is that in addition to spending a lot of time working on the new house, we still have everything to do at home, too (at the rental house where we still live until the new house is habitable). So we are extremely busy and exhausted, and most days I'm too exhausted to write or read on my Kindle Scribe or do much of anything else.

One of the ebooks I was reading on my Scribe was Dorothea Brande's Becoming a Writer.

In it, she says that to be able to write more, you should write for at least an hour first thing every morning and for 15 minutes later every day. I wanted to get up and write every day, but at the moment, mornings are only for getting up, having breakfast, and heading straight over to the new house to work. But I thought I could write for 15 minutes at the end of every day, because I'm the author of 'How To Write an Article in 15 minutes or Less,' so how hard could it be? I managed the 15 minutes of writing every day for about 5 days, but it was tough because I'm always so damn tired at the end of every day now. One day I was so exhausted that my hands were shaking. Eventually, I decided to just give it up for now and try it again once my life is back to normal, and I'm not physically exhausted every day. I don't think I've ever been this tired in my whole life. Maybe I'm just getting too old for all this.

But while I was doing the 15 minutes of writing every day, I enjoyed it, and it was good to have a set daily writing habit. It was good until the last day, when I was so tired I felt brain dead and could hardly think at all. So I went to bed instead, even though it was only 7.30 pm. And I slept for ten and a half hours, so I must have been more tired than I realised.

If you want to grab a copy of Dorothea's ebook, it's only 99 cents on Kindle, and it's fascinating and insightful about how to write more. https://amzn.to/471PX6E 

And now it's late (well, not really, but I'm exhausted all the same), so I need my rest. Boy do I need it.

I'll try and still post on my blog when I can, but if I do go MIA you'll know why.

We're aiming to finish the house and move in six weeks.

Fingers crossed. 

Jackolantern

I don't often send out a sales post, but I just couldn't help myself this time because I'm so excited about my new novel.

It's a Halloween horror story called Jackolantern.

Here is the blurb:

When Gerald came home and found a jackolantern on his porch, he thought it was nothing more than an unwanted Halloween gift from a neighbour.

But it was much more sinister than that.

No matter how many times he got rid of it, the jackolantern returned, angrier than ever.

Eventually Gerald discovered what was really happening.

But was he too late?

This is a book that I had fun writing. 

It's the second horror novel in my Campfire Series of three books.

The first one was called Mackarb: A story so frightening that it cannot be told around a campfire near the woods, or worse, in the woods.

You can read more about Mackarb at https://www.cheritonhousepublishing.com/books/mackarb.html

Jackolantern is available to preorder and will be published on 1st September 2025.

You can preorder/buy it as a paperback novel or an ebook from Amazon, Kobo, Barnes & Noble and ebooks.com or any other bookstore. If you want to borrow it from your local library, put in a purchase request for them to buy a copy.

Or pre-order now from your favourite bookstore.

https://www.cheritonhousepublishing.com/books/jackolantern.html 

Happy reading

Free eBooks, Free Writing Competitions, and High-Paying Writing Markets

 For July 2025

Today I’ve gathered a few interesting and (hopefully) useful items for you to help you write more, earn more, and relax.

There are links to 3 free murder, mystery ebooks, 8 horror writing markets, free-to-enter writing competitions, and a link to a huge list of paying article writing markets.

Enjoy.

(Currently) Free ebooks:

  Imposter Syndrome: A Gripping Psychological Thriller

https://amzn.to/4lJiu53 

THE PICASSO SCAM: a gripping Yorkshire crime thriller full of twists (Detective Charlie Priest Mysteries Book 1)

https://amzn.to/40abWnS 

Whispers in the Fog: A Christian Suspense and Mystery Novel (Shadows of Harbor Point)

https://amzn.to/4eGuB0k 

Write for Magazines: 50 Magazines That Pay for Articles

https://makealivingwriting.com/write-for-magazines/ 

Free Entry Writing Competitions

https://womagwriter.blogspot.com/2025/07/more-free-entry-writing-competitions.html 

New or Reopening Market Listings/ Notes At Minimum Pro-Paying (5 cents+ per word)

https://ericjguignard.blogspot.com 

Start writing, reading and have a great weekend.

My New Kindle Scribe and What I Really Think About It

As you probably already know ( because I mention it all the time) is that I like to write by hand.

The only problem with this, of course, is that all my handwriting has to be typed up later. I've tried many times to write straight to the keyboard, but I'm just not comfortable writing that way, and my creative flow is stifled.

So I've been looking around for years now for a device I can handwrite on and have it converted to text automatically.

Years ago, I had a little PDA that I used for writing. The hand recognition software would convert my handwriting to text as I wrote. That was an amazing little device, and I used it every day. Sadly, as computer software changed, I could no longer upload my files because they were no longer recognised, and I had no way to update the little device.

I immediately went in search of another one, or a computer or tablet with handwriting recognition software, but I couldn't find anything.

A couple of years ago, I came across a device called Remarkable that can recognise handwriting, but all the marketing for it suggested that it was more for art than writing. I also saw that Amazon had brought out their latest Kindle e-reader. It's called Kindle Scribe because it's for writing as well as reading. I put off getting one for a while because I wasn't sure it was exactly what I wanted.

I use the Kindle app on my phone and computer to read ebooks, and I’ve been using it for years, so I knew the Scribe would be good for that because it meant I could read my books on a screen bigger than my phone. And with the pen that the Kindle Scribe comes with, I'd be able to highlight and make notes in all my books( they're mostly non-fiction). I read my books over and over, so it would be good to be able to make notes and do summaries.

As the software in the Kindle Scribe improved, I became more and more intrigued by_ it. Last week I took the plunge and ordered a new Kindle Scribe, plus a folio cover for it and a box of extra pen nibs.

The Scribe has what it calls ‘notes' for handwriting, which is great. It also has the option to convert a 'note' to text and email it to yourself or to anyone.

So I tried it out and it works well. No matter how untidy my writing (and it is pretty bad when I'm writing fast), the software converts it quickly and effortlessly to text and emails it as a simple text file.

And I wrote this article about my new Kindle Scribe, on my new Kindle Scribe.

I hand-wrote a note, converted it to text, emailed it to myself, cleaned up the formatting, and I was done. It was ready for uploading and publishing without any typing needed. And it's great to read my ebooks on a bigger screen, and it automatically adjusts itself for brightness and warmth so I can read it in any light, or lack of light.

So far, this Kindle Scribe is beyond useful and is currently my favourite device.

UPDATE: I’ve had my new Kindle Scribe for almost a week now, and I’ve used it every day, both for reading and writing. It is now my favourite device. 😀

How to Earn Money Writing Stories You Love to Write

I’ve recently started spending more time writing short stories, and what I’m finding is that the more I write them, the easier and faster it seems, which makes them a lot more fun to write. And that got me thinking about all the erroneous advice out there about writing, which makes it seem that there are too many rules.  

I sometimes feel that writers put too much effort into writing the “right thing”  or writing “the right way.” It’s no fun trying to write while sticking to rules, especially someone else’s rules. The thing about great stories is just that. They are great stories. You need to be a great storyteller, not a grammatical genius.

The most important thing is to enjoy what you write about. So if you want to make money writing short stories, write the stories you love to write. Forget about the current styles and character bios and whatever else is the latest fad way to write. Just write.

This isn’t just my advice. It’s also the advice of the mighty Stephen King, who said (and I paraphrase), write the stories you love to write and find somewhere to sell them later.

First and foremost, writing must be enjoyable. If you don’t enjoy writing and you hardly ever do it, then perhaps you’re not a writer at all.

The great sci-fi writer, Ray Bradbury, put it best when he said, “Fall in love and stay in love. Do what you love, don’t do anything else.” 

I know that writing isn’t just something I do, it’s something I HAVE  to do. I can’t imagine living a life where I don’t write. Even when I’m not doing my own writing, I’m studying and taking plenty of notes, or I’m journaling or creating a list of ideas for future writing projects. I’m always learning something new and writing something new.

So, if you want to write stories or articles, write about what you enjoy and find a market for it later. Research potential markets and tailor your work accordingly. It’s surprising how many markets there are once you start looking. Begin with a Google search for “write for us” or  “short story submissions” or something similar. 

Or start your own blog about a subject you’re passionate about, or blog about your writing, or collate a book of your own short stories.

Eventually, you’ll know what to do with all the stories you’ve filed away.

And when you do find a market for your work, remember that they like to receive work earlier rather than later in the submission window, so it helps to have a stockpile of stories. Plus, you’ll have a better chance of acceptance if you submit early while there are still plenty of open slots to fill.

But you can’t sell your stories if you haven’t written them.

So relax and enjoy writing stories.

And I’ll leave you with one more quote from the man who loved writing more than anything else in his life, Ray Bradbury:

“For the first thing a writer should be is — excited. He should be a thing of fevers and enthusiasms. Without such vigour, he might as well be out picking peaches or digging ditches; God knows it’d be better for his health.” 

https://www.cheritonhousepublishing.com/books/MCFL.html 

The Key To Overcoming Procrastination

In my ongoing life quest to get more done by managing my time, I read a book by time management guru, Brian Tracy.

The book is called ‘Eat That Frog.’ The premise of the title is that if the hardest thing that you have to do in a day is to eat a live frog, but you don’t want to do it even though you know it’s the most important thing you have to do and that it will benefit you the most, eat it first just to get it out of the way so that you can stop worrying about it.

Although the thought of eating a frog, alive or dead, is a disgusting idea, I can see how getting the most important task of the day done first, can save time and stress.

He also says that no matter what you’re doing you should always ask yourself, “What is the most valuable use of my time right now?” This, he says, is the core question of time management.

Answering that question is the key to overcoming procrastination and becoming a highly productive person.

Every hour of every day, one task represents the most valuable use of your time, at that moment.

Eating the frog and asking the core question may not sound like much, but they are transforming if you use them.

Let’s face it, none of us want to tackle our biggest and most important jobs first. It’s much easier to start with small, easy tasks. Easier, but they don’t help much.

What’s your ‘frog?’

And why aren’t you eating it?

Eat That Frog

Ignore Everyone. Just Write

I read an article recently that said to be a successful writer, you must have confidence and self-esteem to put your work out in the public.

I thought about whether or not that was true. Maybe it is, but it wasn’t my experience when I first began writing.

I just wanted to write, and so I did. The first thing I ever submitted was a short story I sent to a woman’s magazine. It was accepted straight away and I was paid $600. That boosted my confidence. But then again, it wasn’t luck. It was a good story, and I had to write it and submit it.

I later branched out to the max and wrote and published a novel. For that, I was criticized deeply by other writers all saying that publishing my own book was wrong and that I wasn’t a real writer.

Others wanted to know how I did it because back then self-publishing was almost unheard of, and it was scorned and frowned upon by those who had never done it.

So I wrote and published another book called ‘Self Publish Worldwide’ where I explained how I did it. That book was a hit. I was overwhelmed by how many people bought a copy. But I still had those haters all hating on me.

I ignored them all and carried on writing and publishing books and set up several money-making websites that I also wrote content for.

I was busy writing and happier than I’d ever been. I also went on to co-author two books as well.

So was it confidence and high self-esteem that kept me going?

Maybe.

What I do know is that I was on a writing and publishing mission and I had no intention of letting anyone or anything stop me.

Mission Critical For Life

The Danger of an Over-Loaded Schedule

We all have a finite number of hours in a day, but if you’re anything like me, you try and cram too many things into one day.

I use a diary to keep track of my time. It’s an A5 notebook where I write down everything I need to do every day. And not just writing projects. I include everything I want to do. But nearly every day I discover that things take longer than I thought. Even things I’ve done before many times can often take longer than expected.

And do you know what? It drives me crazy.

The worst thing about it is that if I don’t get everything done, I feel like a failure. I sit there in the evening, diary open, rolling things over to the next day while wondering where all the time went. I begin every day with good intentions, but by midday I’m struggling to keep up.

So now I’ve figured it out. Plan how long it’s going to take to do each thing, then double it. Other things always come up that need doing, like an email that needs a quick response, or a phone call I wasn’t expecting or there’s an issue with a piece of software that needs updating.

Just a couple of days ago, I needed to quickly print a couple of pages, but my computer kept saying that it couldn’t communicate with the printer. I kept retrying it and trying different things, but it wouldn’t print. It took me almost 30 minutes to figure out that the printer software needed updating because of a recent computer update.

So, a job that should have taken 5 seconds ended up taking almost half an hour. This is why a time buffer is needed for everything.

And it starts with knowing how long things actually take, and then you can buffer in extra time.

It’s the only way I know to be able to get everything done, and sometimes even have enough time left for fun.

 

Mission Critical For Life

 

 

 

 

Never Even Consider Copying Someone Else

Do you know what’s the most important thing about being creative?

Being authentic.

Being yourself and writing in your own voice.

There is no other way.

Years ago, someone tried hard to be me. He even bought my website for writers (Writeaholics.net) and published all my old articles on it.

Naturally, it was a huge failure.

Why?

Because he’s not me. The articles on that website were written in my voice so there was no way he could mimic that in the future. So, he didn’t even try.

And because he wasn’t me, he also couldn’t earn money from that website like I did. For one thing, I had a huge number of subscribers who I kept in touch with every week. But I don’t think he knew that. So, while he was failing to earn money from my old website, I began a new site, carried on making money from it in my usual way, and kept on emailing my subscribers.

There was no way that he could earn money from that website because he wasn’t me, so he couldn’t write like me, and he also wasn’t aware of how I was earning money online. How could he?

No one can work the same way someone else does. It’s impossible.

But if there is someone whose books and work ethic you admire, then there’s nothing wrong with letting what they do spark ideas of your own.

Just so long as they are your ideas, and you stay true to yourself.

And if you want to find out more about the guy who bought my website and tried to be me (he even published my old “about” page with my photos and all my information about myself until I told him to take it down), you can read the article that I wrote about it at the time by clicking the link below.

 

Writeaholics.net: Why I Don’t Trust This Website