Happy Birthday Songbird!
Today is a really special day. It marks exactly one year since I started working on A Songbird’s Tale instead of just dreaming and planning. When I set out to write this novel I figured it would be a quick short story. Dustin even offered to let me write it in Galhadria so I didn’t have to spend time world building. Awesome! Well, here I am, one year later, and my book still isn’t done. It’s not exactly turning out the way I planned.
HOWEVER.
It’s turning out way better that I imagined. My husband is always talking about keeping a victory log, and I am notorious for having ‘success amnesia’. So in honor of Songbird’s birthday, I wanted to celebrate my accomplishments over the last year:
1) I finished my first draft! I didn’t realize what a huge accomplishment this was until I actually wrote the final words. The sheer amount of hours spent, not just writing, but planning, thinking, brainstorming, discussing, and more, was far greater than I anticipated. In addition, this was a really big step because it proved I can actually do the thing. If I did it once, I can do it again, and do better next time.
2) I got a song for my book! I had no intention of getting a song when I set out to write ‘A Songbird’s Tale’. After lots of discussion with Dustin, I think music plays a really important role in Galhadria. I tried writing ‘The Tigraen Song’ and failed miserably. After several attempts I finally gave up and got out of my own way and got a professional to help me. After commissioning Rowan to write and record a song for my book, I think it’s one of the best decisions I could have made and money well spent. It really brings the world alive in a way I had not anticipated. (Check out the Tigraen song “How Many Souls” here and a blog post on my experience on hiring Rowan here.)
3) I got art for my book! Dustin was slowly working on getting some concept art for his characters and for Galhadria, and I wanted concept art too. I like to draw, but I am far from good at it. I wanted someone who could do the characters justice. So I went out and commissioned a bunch of artists to do some concept art. Yay supporting artists! Currently I’ve received work from Iromonik and Maria Dimova, both of whom were fantastic to work with and very fast. As of writing this I’m waiting on a three more pieces from two other artists. I cannot tell you what a difference it makes to see your characters come to life through illustration. (Although someday I hope to cosplay Songbird.) Similar to the music we’ve had made for Galhadria, it really helps to add depth to the world.
4) I learned a ton! Learning is one of my favorite things, and I’m learning a lot about crafting a good story. How to create a solid plot, how to find plot holes, how to keep the pacing up, how to keep the tension high and when to give your characters a breather, how to create ‘beats’ in a scene, how to drive things forward with conflict. There is so much more that goes into making a good book that pulls a reader in than I ever realized. It’s hard work guys. I know it won’t be perfect, but I’m really working hard to craft an engaging story that doesn’t drag and takes the reader on a roller coaster of emotions. <Fingers crossed>
5) I was a thorn in Phil and Dustin’s side. I annoyed the heck out of them until we got Blacksteel press named, got a website, and started blogging to build and connect with our audience! For those of you who don’t know me personally, I can be ‘recklessly optimistic’ at times. I love helping other people achieve their goals, and I’m very task oriented. Give me something to do and I’ll get it done. Dustin has been working on Galhadria for a very long time. I think he often refers to it as his “heartbreaker project’, which I think he got the term from D&D YouTuber Matt Colville. This is a project that is just in you, and you have to do it and see it through, even if it never makes you a single dollar, because it’s just in your soul and it needs to be made. I want to help Dustin realize his dream of making a world guide and having concept art and writing stories in Galhadira. So, here we are.
I have plans. Big plans. Possibly bigger than Dustin and Phil are aware of at this point. I think most writers dream of ‘making it big’. Becoming a best seller, getting a movie deal, having your work become a house hold name, and so on. Even if we don’t achieve that, at least we’ll have tried. We’ll have made some amazing stuff, and hopefully touched someone or made their life better along the way. I would rather fall short of climbing to the top Mt. Everest than fall short of climbing the top of the hill in my back yard.
At some point down the line, I would like to publish my own heartbreaker project(s) through Blacksteel Press (some of which do not take place in Galhadria), but right now it’s enough to be building an audience, learning the craft of story telling, and helping Dustin build his empire. As they say, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” You have to take action or your dreams will always be just that, dreams. Another of my favorite quotes from Rory Miller: “Damned the dream, and dreamer too, if dreamings all that dreamers do.”
With that, I’ll wrap up. It’s been a heck of a year for so many reasons. Looking back over the last 365 days, I’m really proud of what I’ve accomplished. (Which is actually a big deal for me, and I managed to do it while working a full time job in healthcare.) I’m even more excited for what next year has in store for all of us at Blacksteel Press.
Finally, for Songbird being the title of this post, she was in it surprisingly little, so as a bit of a consolation prize, I want to share the artwork that I got from Maria Dimova of her. Words do not do justice to how much I love this piece of artwork.
Till next time dear readers, get out there and chase your dreams! xoxo - Tiff
Songbird by Maria Dimova.
