jpagaduan.com

Mailing list and other exciting news!

I am launching my brand-new mailing list, and if you sign up you get to read the first two chapters of Savior of the Damned for free! They haven’t been through the loving hands of any professional editors yet so things will change, but I wanted to give you this opportunity to check it out…

October 11, 2022
Writing Process

The only way I can get anything done is to break it into as small pieces as I possibly can. Thinking about all that goes into novel writing is overwhelming, even as I round up on finishing the first draft of my current novel. It’s so easy to get paralyzed when I consider everything, I…

October 7, 2022
Podcast Story!

I submitted this a (long) while ago… and then forgot I even submitted it. Oops. Life has been rough and with everything on my plate, it slipped my mind. Well never fear, better late than never, right? I submitted a story to hauntedlypodcast.com about a real-life spooky event that happened to me some years ago.…

October 5, 2022
Resting

Part of the creative process is knowing both when to rest and how. Resting recharges our batteries, and much like sleep helps refresh us so we can continue to do the creative things we do. The problem is, how do you do that? When I was growing up resting was when you just did nothing.…

September 30, 2022
Tropes Versus Clichés

A lot of people have heard of tropes, and think they’re like cliches, but that’s not quite the same thing. Tropes can be clichés but only when they don’t vary at all. But let’s start with the definition of a cliché versus a trope. A cliché is defined as a trite, stereotyped expression by dictionary.com.…

September 30, 2022
Rough Drafts

I’m on the last leg of the drafting process that will take me from a rough draft to a first draft. I’ve seen arguments against using the term “rough draft” as it’s still a first, but the reality is that, at least for me, the rough draft is in fact a rough draft. To…

September 16, 2022
Discovery Writing and Other Tidbits

I’ve had to admit I’m a discovery writer. I admire those that can write outlines and stick to them because it’s a superpower I’ve never been able to achieve. My first book took eight years, give or take six months, to get to where I am in Savior of the Damned. Part of it was…

September 2, 2022
Restless Thinking

I haven’t beaten Tales of Vesperia yet. I have about fifteen or so hours left (depending on grinding should I get stuck and need more levels) but it’s not holding my attention anymore. It’s not that I don’t like it; it’s actually one of my favorite games I’ve ever played at this point in the…

August 19, 2022
Another Update

I just added a content warning section to my site. It’s generally safe to assume my work will contain many triggers (not all, I have personal lines I won’t cross) but I know from personal experience how much a heads up can help. If you’re unsure if a specific work is for you, you can…

August 9, 2022
Audiobooks Count as Reading (and Saying Otherwise is Ableist)

I see this all the time on social media, that audiobooks don’t count as reading. It’s listening. Aside from how heavily pedantic that argument is (seriously, does it really matter that much?) it’s ableist. Let’s unpack this, shall we? First of all, how do you think blind people read? Not all blind people read braille,…

August 5, 2022