Tag: writing

“Seeds of Life”: Word Count Reaches 60,000

by Diane, posted in Seeds of Life

The draft for my first dystopian novel, Seeds of Life, has reached 60,000 words. 60,480 to be exact. Approximately two thirds of the story has been written.

All the characters who play a major role in the story have been introduced and have all met. At the moment, their personal conflicts attempt to tear the small group apart. They don’t realise they’ll have to band together to fight an even bigger threat to their well-being.

The year is 2050. After a major set-back, society is struggling to provide the basic things, such as food and shelter, and they’re working to recreate major technology that had provided basic conveniences, such as electricity.

Sounds strange, but it’s not really. Everyone can flick a switch to turn on a light, but many don’t know how to create electricity, built components needed, deliver the electricity or construct a lightbulb. It’s like a car: many people can drive one, but not everyone can tear apart the engine and rebuild it. These days, some don’t even know how to change the oil.

Finding a survivor who knows how to create electricity and then finding the components is a challenge when everything is lost and everyone is focussed on finding food for them and their family.

Civility has prevailed, and the barbaric actions of desperate people have faded into history.

The major parts of the story take place at Ravencroft, County Regal, where society exists under the monarch system of government. This felt like a natural progression, given the small population and small area governed by the individual. The whole of North America is governed this way, with hundreds of rulers spread across the continent – or at least this is what the residents of County Regal believe. At this point, only 28 years after the Devastation, there’s not much contact with far-off locations.

The Devastation was world-wide, so all societies are dealing with establishing a stable population with the basic needs of life. No one has any time for war… Or do they?

The first raw, unedited draft for Chapter 1, Scene 1 is found on the book’s page.

30,000-word Milestone Reached for “Seeds of Life”

by Diane, posted in Fiction, Seeds of Life

For several years, the Seeds of Life story has rattled around in my brain. To silence the chatter, I started recording it on September 13th. I write approximately 500 words a day at this time of year because there’s so many other things going on.

On October 27th, I reached the 30,000-word milestone. When it comes to writing, my journey is like crawling up a large seesaw. At first, the going is slow; the climb is steep, and I need to build momentum. Then, around the mid-way range, the  seesaw levels out, and I pick up speed. The seesaw soon starts to tip in the other direction, and by the time I’ve crossed over to the last 1/3 of the story, I’m travelling quickly, non-stop to reach the end. It’s a rush, and I’m excited to learn what happens. I burn the midnight oil and I rise early to continue the adventure. I ignore everything and everyone until the final words are recorded.

At 30,000 words, I’m one-third the distance to the end. Within three weeks, the seesaw is going to be level, and then I’ll write a few thousand words a day. I expect to finish this story by the end of November. It will ripen for the next few seasons, then, if all goes well, it will be published December 2021.

Continue reading “30,000-word Milestone Reached for “Seeds of Life”” →

The Plane Crash that Inspired “Northern Survival”

by Diane, posted in Book Launch

Northern SurvivalJust over a year ago, I saw a video on YouTube by a man who had crashed his small plane in the remote wilderness of Quebec on July 27, 2019. He survived because his plane had a parachute. I’d never heard of such a thing, so I did a little research on the subject and found CAPS, which stands for Cirrus Airframe Parachute System. Their website states, “The parachute system is designed to protect occupants in the event of an emergency by lowering the aircraft to the ground after deployment.”

Cool. Right? That’s what I thought.

Continue reading “The Plane Crash that Inspired “Northern Survival”” →

What Have I Been Doing?

by Diane, posted in Castle Keepers

2019 has been an extremely busy year. It’s also been a year of many changes on the personal front. On top of all this, I feel an overwhelming desire to learn. I’m thirsty for knowledge. Most of the research I’ve done will influence my books, but some of the material was for personal development. However, if one is analysing one self, a writer can turn this into analysing a character. So perhaps all my research will influence my stories.

With winter knocking on the door and long nights allowing for extended periods of quiet time in the evening, I’m writing more.

Book 4 of the Castle Keepers series, Healing Stones, is in the editing stage. Excluding any wild catastrophes, it will be released by the end of the year.

Continue reading “What Have I Been Doing?” →

March Challenge – Book Haul

by Diane, posted in Non-fiction

Continuing with my March challenge, today I’m to write about my best book haul.

Book Haul

The best book haul was at Word on the Street, Halifax, about five years ago. I bought more than 20 books, some for me, some for my kids. The most recent book haul was bought at Dartmouth Book Exchange, Cole Harbour. It’s a wonderful story. If you live near it, visit.

March Challenge – Currently Reading

by Diane, posted in Non-fiction

Continuing with my March challenge, today I’m to write about what I’m currently reading.

March Challenge

Currently Reading

Since January 1st, my mind has been preoccupied 80% of the day with events that happened decades ago, leaving me little time to focus on work and the list of tasks to complete the novel I am writing, Mystical Series, book 2, and the one I’m editing, Scattered Stones. This leaves no time for reading for enjoyment.

However, I read blogs almost daily, and when I need a five minute break, I pull The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks from its spot next to my laptop and read a page or two.

March Challenge – March Writing Goals

by Diane, posted in Non-fiction

Continuing with my March challenge, today I’m to write about my March Goals.

March Writing Goals

  1. Complete the March Challenge
  2. Complete reading the proof for Scattered Stones, book 2 in the Castle Keepers series and release it.
  3. Begin editing Beyond the Myst, book 1 of the Mystical series
  4. Continue to write every day. Currently, I’m writing book 2 in the Mystical series. As of yet, I haven’t found a title for it. Perhaps that will happen this month.

March Challenge – Introduce Yourself

by Diane, posted in Non-fiction

I’ve accepted a March Challenge on Instagram, but I’m not on there often, only once-a-month often, so I thought I’d do the challenge here on my blog. The challenge is to write on a particular subject each day. On March 1st, I’m to introduce myself.March Challenge

Introduce Yourself

I’m Diane Lynn McGyver. I’m a fantasy writer. I was a teen in the 80s, so I’m a fan of 80s rock, but I also love country music, Newfoundland music (yes, it’s a thing), Scottish music and Gaelic music. What is my favourite song? That’s a tough one. There are many. At the moment, my favourite slow song is “Heaven” by Bryan Adams. My favourite fast song is “Drinking Again” by Luke Bryan.

That’s me on the left in a place that has always felt like home.

I can’t remember when I started writing; I’ve always done it. In elementary, I filled Campfire Notebooks with stories. I wrote my first full novel in my late teens by pencil in a coil notebook. I still have it. It was horrible, so I pulled it out about 15 years ago and did major rewrites. Not much of it survived. It turned into Shadows in the Stone, book 1 of the Castle Keepers series.

Why do I write fantasy novels? Fantasy contains many elements I admire: magic, swords, sorcery, thieves, honour, castles, horses, dwarfs, hauflins, quests, travel. Anything can happen in a fantasy story, and I get to control it.

My books contain many elements and my characters meet many challenges, but the overall theme of all my novels can be boiled down to two things: home and true love.

Home has always been special to me, and while I sometimes live where it doesn’t feel like home, I always know where true home is.

I don’t want to believe in true love, but my soul mate keeps reminding me he’s there, regardless if we are together or not.

Besides writing, my favourite pastime activities are hiking, boating, fishing, camping, playing cards, and hanging out with family and friends just shooting the … breeze.

Where would I like to be in ten years? Living near the ocean with my soul mate, writing a little each day and admiring the completed Castle Keepers and Mystical series sitting on my book shelf. Yeah, that sounds like a good destination.