March 2021 - Update

Forever Ireland! While I don't have any Irish ancestry, I can certainly appreciate what the Irish have to offer. "How the Irish Saved Civilization" by Thomas Cahill is a good read, if you'd like to learn more.

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• Progress on the first draft of The Blighter’s Shadow’s slowed down a bit this month. I took a much-needed vacation/spring break in the middle of March. It allowed me to refresh my mind and body so as to dive back into the work.
• Despite that short break, 2021’s workload is pacing well. Finishing Book 2 remains as my primary goal, and then I’ll focus on a shorter science fiction novel later this year as I work on the editing process for The Blighter’s Shadow. I estimate it’ll take 3 months to get the edits completed. Book 3, The Originators of Sa’un – the end of the trilogy – is scheduled for completion in late 2022.

Inspirations:

Critiques and reviews are inspirations for me, and I know I am not alone in this mindset.

Getting a critique of a book during the editing stage, for example, can help bolster your writing in a way that is impossible to measure in worth. Many sets of eyes can find rough spots in the initial drafts, which can be smoothed out throughout later drafts. Without critiques, a book is simply not going to be in its best form.

As I mentioned last month, the idea of what is “good” is up to the reader. The old cliché — beauty is in the eye of the beholder — carries truth. Online reviews can be a tool to enhance what works well and to gauge what can be improved upon in future writings.

Reviews are exceedingly important, nonetheless, for an author. Reviews are a gift to the author — a gift which takes only a few moments to complete. From an author’s standpoint, I’ve gained a much greater understanding of why reviews are important, so I offer my feedback for each book I finish reading. I even offer those reviews on my own website to offer my readers insight into what I’ve been doing besides writing. 😊

In essence, the more reviews a book has, the better chance it has of being seen by a wider audience. Online booksellers, such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc. use algorithms that allow a book to be seen more based on the number reviews. This helps authors in two ways: allowing the work to potentially be read by more people and to support the author whose work you enjoy. So, my request to you: offer reviews when you can, as they help authors immensely. 

Please be sure to check out the website for continuous updates on my progress. Some of the updates are below: 

• I continue adding a few short book and/or movie reviews. I finished a few books in the last month. You can find my thoughts here.
• I finished a short volume of philosophical mini-essays by David Whyte - Consolations: Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words. Whyte's essays are exactly what I needed.
  • The study of philosophy is a major part of my life’s focus. I began formally studying philosophy in college through several general education courses, such as Intro to Philosophy and Deductive Logic. Later, I broadened that study to Ethics, Medical Ethics, and Ancient Philosophy.
  • I added another course on Formal Logic, which further cemented my love of logic. (If you’ve never worked with formal logic I highly recommend it!) I even wrote my MA thesis based partially on the works of a famous historian/philosopher: David Hume. Philosophy, or the love of wisdom, is an endeavor which requires constant and vigilant study.
  • Why study philosophy? you may be thinking.
    • From my experience, it helps you with at least one thing: thinking more clearly.
    • In addition, humans have been thinking about the nature of reality for many millennia – how to become better people, how to live more harmoniously in the world/universe, how to live a more tranquil life, and how to treat other human beings. Some good reasons to study a bit of philosophy if you ask me. 

If you have questions for future updates, please be sure to send them to [email protected]. There are numerous media links for your convenience: on Twitter at @brigmanauthor, on Facebook at Dan Brigman, Author, or on my website, www.danbrigman.com.

Thanks again for your support!

Besides taking the time to read my updates, please visit the following links to create a review of The Alterator’s Light, The Point of Woes, or The Tower of Dread if you’ve read those stories. Reviews are quick to create! They offer potential readers insight into what you thought about the book.

Reviews are quick to create! They offer potential readers insight into what you thought about the book. They also help get the word out about the stories and the author. You can simply search for the title of each of my books on Goodreads and/or Amazon or follow the links below.

For Amazon, please click here.
For Goodreads, please click here.
​You can also check my work out at BookBub by clicking here.

Until next time, I wish you a wonderful April!