February 2020 Updates

​Welcome back for a brief update! We are over halfway through winter, and based on our friendly groundhog’s prognostications, spring is almost here. I do enjoy the brisk winter days and shorter nights, yet I also look forward to enjoying warmer days without three layers. 😊

January’s productivity came in multiple ways: I made progress toward the audiobook for The Alterator’s Light. The word count for The Blighter’s Shadow moved to around 100,000 words. Keep in mind that word count is for the first draft. Cover art for The Blighter’s Shadow is coming along quite well, which is exciting as I move into the second half of the book. I was also invited to speak with a local book club about The Alterator’s Light. We chatted about the book over dinner, and I enjoyed hearing feedback as well as answering their questions.

My sci-fi book, Adalaj, was on hold throughout January. I’ve been thinking about how best proceed with that project—self-publishing or traditionally publishing. Soon, though, I’ll be putting a few of the initial chapters on my website.

The reader question for this month:

Where do you get your ideas, specifically concerning the worldbuilding component?

This question is tough to answer in a brief synopsis. I’ve formally studied history, philosophy, and geography, coupled with a wide variety of science-related information. Studying history and philosophy certainly assisted the worldbuilding in each of my novels, at least from the perspective of creating realistic societies. Science and geography have helped me understand how to create a realistic world into which the reader can become immersed. Additionally, I’ve studied other successful authors who are well-recognized at worldbuilding. Resonance is a key point for any novel to gain an audience’s interest. One hint for those attempting to build a world from the ground up: don’t dive too deep into the details. By getting bogged down into minutia, you’ll find you have an awesome world with little written for the actual story. The world will flesh itself out as you write.  

Next month’s question:
Out of your own writing, who is your favorite character?

If you have questions for future updates, please be sure to shoot them my way at [email protected]. You can also find me on Twitter at @brigmanauthor and on Facebook at Dan Brigman, Author, or on my website, www.danbrigman.com.

Thanks again for your support!