https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/blog daily 0.75 2021-08-18 https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/blog/how-to-plan-a-writing-career-pt-1 monthly 0.5 2021-08-11 https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/blog/how-much-does-it-cost-to-be-a-writer monthly 0.5 2021-08-18 https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/blog/the-writing-journey monthly 0.5 2021-08-09 https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/blog/how-to-use-psychology-to-plan-character-arcs monthly 0.5 2021-08-13 https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/blog/how-to-use-psychology-to-write-better-descriptions monthly 0.5 2021-08-20 https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/blog/how-to-plan-a-writing-career-pt-2 monthly 0.5 2021-08-18 https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/blog/attachment-theory-and-character-backstory monthly 0.5 2021-08-27 https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/blog/improve-your-writing-with-statistical-sampling monthly 0.5 2021-09-01 https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/blog/the-social-cost-of-writing monthly 0.5 2021-08-18 https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/blog/the-reason-first-books-fail monthly 0.5 2021-08-25 https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/blog/how-to-plan-a-writing-career-pt-3 monthly 0.5 2021-08-22 https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/blog/time-management-for-writersauthors monthly 0.5 2021-08-29 https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/blog/how-to-use-functionalism-to-build-fictional-cultures monthly 0.5 2021-09-03 https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/blog/category/Help monthly 0.5 https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/blog/category/Time+Management monthly 0.5 https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/blog/category/Description monthly 0.5 https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/blog/category/Craft monthly 0.5 https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/blog/category/Generic monthly 0.5 https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/blog/category/Psychology monthly 0.5 https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/blog/category/Characters monthly 0.5 https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/blog/category/Process monthly 0.5 https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/blog/category/Statistics monthly 0.5 https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/blog/category/My+Story monthly 0.5 https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/blog/category/Worldbuilding monthly 0.5 https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/blog/category/Sociology monthly 0.5 https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/blog/category/20+minutes monthly 0.5 https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/blog/category/Budgeting monthly 0.5 https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/blog/category/Career monthly 0.5 https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/blog/tag/Money monthly 0.5 https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/blog/tag/Expenses monthly 0.5 https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/blog/tag/Spending monthly 0.5 https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/prompts daily 0.75 2021-10-16 https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/prompts/prompt-1 monthly 0.5 2021-10-16 https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/prompts/prompt-2 monthly 0.5 2021-10-16 https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/prompts/prompt-3 monthly 0.5 2021-10-16 https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/prompts/prompt-4 monthly 0.5 2021-10-16 https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/prompts/category/Parody monthly 0.5 https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/prompts/category/20+minutes monthly 0.5 https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/prompts/category/Contemporary monthly 0.5 https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/prompts/category/Historical monthly 0.5 https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/prompts/category/Noir monthly 0.5 https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/contact daily 0.75 2021-08-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60f628bb4f873037523ab4e0/1628028144693-K0EB4NABZP75UC9FVQG3/Norm%26Moose.jpg Contact Get in touch: Have story ideas? Drop me a line. Same for blog topic requests, or questions about me or my stories. Or if there’s a book I should read. Forewarned is forearmed: I may take a day or two to get back to you. Want to be a beta-reader/critique partner? Beta Reader - Email me at the link to the right. Include credentials and a review excerpt as an example critique. Critique Partner - Email me at the link to the right. Include an example work (1,000 - 4,000 words) in .docx format and why we’d be a good fit for each other. https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/about daily 0.75 2021-08-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60f628bb4f873037523ab4e0/1627843812078-YI4F3BRKIS80FMXGIGWG/Norm%2526Moose.jpg About James lives in Keene, New Hampshire with his lovely wife Caitlyn, their two dogs, and one cat demon. He makes full use of his psychology and sociology degrees in his day-job as a planning analyst for a local manufacturing company where he mostly solves complex logic puzzles, dreaming of the day when he can write full time and teach others to do the same. When he isn't working, daydreaming, or writing science fiction or fantasy, he enjoys games of all types, reading, and TV. And spending time with his wife. In no particular order, he swears. https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/reading-list daily 0.75 2022-05-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ec321c2af33de48734cc929/1607694583486-2PQT0LQ193RL7MCB6DX4/20140228_Trade+151_0046.jpg Reading List https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ec321c2af33de48734cc929/1618497259178-6XJGK9GR6YAVBQL5L519/20140301_Trade-151_012-2.jpg Reading List https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ec321c2af33de48734cc929/1607694644871-IC85FNH781UNZSZEGHDR/Aro+Ha_0428.jpg Reading List https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/song-of-brone daily 0.75 2021-11-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60f628bb4f873037523ab4e0/1627859424742-ABCKF1RG6G81ZPDTQH7R/marek-piwnicki-unsplash-song-of-brone.jpg Song of Brone - The Song of Brone Brone, a soldier-turned-outcast, quests to clear his name so he can marry the woman he loves. A mysterious magi promises untold power and a chance to fix the world, which broke when the God of Creation killed himself. But Brone’s mind is not his own; he shares it with a being that claims to be the God of Nothingness. Now the world breaks around them, natural laws come undone, and a war with a nearby nation threatens to shatter everything. Brone rises to the challenge, but how far will he go to get what he wants? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60f628bb4f873037523ab4e0/1628027318820-Z6ETUJ4YB9DXFWS31R4J/stormseeker-unsplash-song-of-brone.jpg Song of Brone - Progress Report The fourth draft of the Song of Brone is complete and ready for querying…maybe. The editing process after the first round of beta reads was grueling, but after 50+ hours of work, it’s ready. All that’s left is a map, three indexes (including a glossary, calendar system, and military hierarchy). This draft added ~7,000 words to the manuscript, bringing it to a total of 125,000. Draft five will cut it to 120,000 or below. Hope to see you at WFC 2021! https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/no-dragonslaying-allowed daily 0.75 2021-08-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60f628bb4f873037523ab4e0/1628027531788-7QTWTQ87KO4VAVQV27N0/sei-unsplash-no-dragonslaying-allowed.jpg No Dragon-Slaying Allowed - No Dragon-Slaying Allowed No Dragon-Slaying Allowed is a fantasy humor novel in the vein of the late great Terry Pratchett. When the chosen one goes missing, the governments of Excretia turn to his twin brother, hoping destiny and heroism run in the family. This reluctant hero must gather his adventuring team (because there’s always a team, isn’t there?) and embark on a quest to find his lost brother, hopefully in time to harvest the crops come summer. This novel is currently in the outlining phase. Work will begin in earnest sometime this November, right in time for NaNoWriMo. The jury’s out on whether I’ll risk my sanity trying to write humor at 1667 words a day. https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/sins-of-iron daily 0.75 2021-08-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60f628bb4f873037523ab4e0/1628027637044-5DEG6CG15OSVPAZUHTIY/jonathan-kemper-unsplash-sins-of-iron.jpg Sins of Iron - Sins of Iron Sins of Iron is an experimental bronze-age epic fantasy delivered in episodes on Kindle Vella. The Man in Iron is a legendary wanderer on a road to redemption. A fateful encounter with a local blacksmith gives him hope of forgiveness for his many sins, each represented by one iron chit affixed to his armor. Now he travels the land righting wrongs, hoping to lighten the weight of his many misdeeds. Progress Update Research continues. Currently that includes 24 Hours in Ancient Egypt by Donald P. Ryan, a healthy dose of google searches, and the Hardcore History podcast by Dan Carlin (particularly his three part mega-series Kings of Kings). With luck, I will put out weekly episodes of exactly 3,000 words, each told from the perspective whoever the protagonist is helping at the moment. If this doesn’t hone my characterization skills, I don’t know what will. https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/home daily 1.0 2021-08-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60f628bb4f873037523ab4e0/1627854216263-AYZ4XLIO1XDLDZYU8F2D/Norm%2522Moose.jpg Home James lives in Keene, New Hampshire with his lovely wife Caitlyn, their two dogs, and one cat demon. He makes full use of his psychology and sociology degrees in his day-job as a planning analyst for a local manufacturing company where he mostly solves complex logic puzzles, dreaming of the day when he can write full time and teach others to do the same. When he isn't working, daydreaming, or writing science fiction or fantasy, he enjoys games of all types, reading, and TV. And spending time with his wife. In no particular order, he swears. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60f628bb4f873037523ab4e0/1628027261867-MPNX4515JO3GNO7YMMCI/jonathan-kemper-unsplash-sins-of-iron.jpg Home - Project Spotlight: Sins of Iron Sins of Iron is an experimental bronze-age epic fantasy delivered in episodes on Kindle Vella. The Man in Iron is a legendary wanderer on a road to redemption. A fateful encounter with a local blacksmith gives him hope of forgiveness for his many sins, each represented by one iron chit affixed to his armor. Now he travels the land righting wrongs, hoping to lighten the weight of his many misdeeds. I’m so excited about this project. Research is kicking into high gear as I purchase historical sources, brush up on some Hardcore History podcasts, and perfect my google-fu in an attempt to deliver something realistic on a weekly basis. Each episode will be under 4,000 words and be told from the perspective of whoever our protagonist helps. This shifting perspective will help me master the skill of quick and artful characterization, hence the experimental tag above. Wish me luck! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60f628bb4f873037523ab4e0/79022e5f-e4ec-4e62-b651-3411a75c011f/stormseeker-oXo6IvDnkqc-unsplash-min.jpg Home The Song of Brone https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60f628bb4f873037523ab4e0/551b24f4-a064-489e-8f8e-221cc7fbade8/sei-EqodlcRMZOY-unsplash-min.jpg Home No Dragon-Slaying Allowed https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60f628bb4f873037523ab4e0/1f199204-b15a-4c26-8782-ab435b06afb0/jonathan-kemper-Y5euuAtArhU-unsplash-min.jpg Home Sins of Iron https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/excerpts daily 0.75 2021-08-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60f628bb4f873037523ab4e0/1628034286924-JT6GOXHNWVF3S7FDN5HN/marek-piwnicki-zx_uAAwUd30-unsplash.jpg Excerpts - The Song of Brone, drafts 0 through 3 The First Prologue - This is where it all began. This prologue was cut, reused, tossed, changed, then repurposed over four drafts. Enjoy this tone-busting excerpt. Draft 0 - This was a discovery written draft based on a decade of musings and thinking in which nothing was written down. I made it about 38,000 words in before giving up. It was the middle of November, 2018. The before times. Draft 1 - The first true draft, and finished at a whopping 166,612 words. I used an outline this time, and discovered I am an architect. Of words. It’s a metaphor. Draft 2 - The first true revision, weighing in at 126,648 words, it is a considerable cut. Whole plot elements were discarded or trimmed. The great deleting. Draft 3 - A polishing draft. I cut the word count down to 118,000 and have no idea how I managed an exact number like that. https://www.jamesbackstrom.com/404 daily 0.75 2021-08-02