CM Simpson: Writer & Gamer

It's no secret that I publish my own work. Some say it's the height of arrogance. Some say it's because it's not good enough to be published by a 'real' publisher. To be honest, I had six titles published by 'real' publishers, before I decided I'd rather go indie, than chase the traditional dream. I also spent eight months researching blogs from independent authors, traditional authors who'd gone independent, or who didn't intend to, publishers, writing industry magazines, agency blogs and pretty much anyone who knew more than I did - and then I decided that independent publishing would suit me better than going forward traditionally. I've spent the last two years feeling my way and I think I'll continue. Here are ten reasons why: I can write what I love—not what I think the publisher will take; If it’s good enough, I can guarantee it will be published—because I can choose what of my work I publish, whereas a publisher is go

I'm still reading my way through my Laurell K. Hamilton collection. Here are the novels I covered this month - bear in mind I've been sick and I had no tutorials to attend, so there was a bit more reading time than usual. I don't think August is going to see quite so much:

I've seen this little guy around a lot lately, but never had my camera on me. When I finally saw him again, it was on a day when I had a case of "bad camera", but a couple of the shots are worth showing here. He was feeding in an open storm-water drain, not bothered at all by his reflection or the fading light, and then he turned and started walking up the drain towards me. At first, he didn't seem to notice me,  but then, he stopped and took a good look, and left shortly thereafter. You can find out more about white-faced herons at the following sites: http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Egretta-novaehollandiae; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-faced_heron; http://birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/white-faced-heron; http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/indeX.aspX?base=17061; and http://www.arkive.org/white-faced-heron/egretta-novaehollandiae/ .

In contrast to the week before last, last week was a bit of a loss. I was too sick to write or study or do much of anything on both Saturday and Sunday, and the doc prescribed two days off on Monday or Tuesday. You’da thought I could get some writing done on those, but I was truly too sick. The rest of the week was tied up with the new work and study schedule, and much of Saturday was tied up with homework. I’m still recovering from that ear infection, so no sword practice for me on Saturday, either. Not happy with the word production, but hopeful that it will improve as my health improves and I get into the swing of studying around work. Again, we’ll see.   Overview New words produced: 1,052 Old words revised: 0 Works completed: 0 Works revised: 0 Covers created: 0 Works published: 0 Works submitted: 0 Competitions Entered: 0 Bloggery: 0 Tier 1 Tasks Annual 13: Added 43 words Annual 14: Added 1,009 words Publishing Tasks Created 2 blog p

An englyn is a form of Welsh or Cornish verse, with a reputation of being hard to master. It has several different variants, all of which are governed by strict rules. This week, we’ll look at the englyn cil-dwrn. The englyn cil-dwrn consists of a three-line verse. The first line has 10 syllables, the second has 7, and the third has three syllables or less. The rhyme is introduced in the seventh, eighth or ninth line of the first line. The fourth syllable of the second lines uses rhyme or consonance to echo the last syllable of the first line. The last line follows the rhyme of the first two lines. Travelling Through the Black Between the stars there is nothing but black There’s no going back, they sing they sing The solar winds throughout all space prevail Utter darkness makes hearts race beating pace A world within walls of titanium coscalium, something tough steely stuff Protects, keeps out the freezing death of space Gives us a place, to draw

The week before last was the best week for the year, so far—production-wise, at least. Even coming down with an ear infection and pulling longer hours on course, I still got over 7,000 words complete for the week. If I could keep this rate of writing for the rest of the year, I’d almost be content, but another semester is about to start, so we will see. Overview New words produced: 6,966 Old words revised: 2,272 Works completed: 0 Works revised: 0 Covers created: 0 Works published: 0 Works submitted: 0 Competitions Entered: 0 Bloggery: 253 Tier 1 Tasks Annual 13: Added 824 words Annual 14: Added 5,755 words Tier 4 Tasks TweenNovel1A—Orb Wielder: added 2,272 words Publishing Tasks   Created 1 blog post for this blog; New Arrivals The following ideas arrived this week: Poem403—Orbital Lovers: about finding love amongst the stars; Poem404—Interplanetary Philanthropy: a poem about a rescue mission; Poem405—The Pric