jpagaduan.com

Reading

I think it’s a given that I’m a reader. A lifetime ago I’d do a book every day or two but nowadays my reading is often interrupted by day-to-day life. But it doesn’t answer what I like to read. Well, the short answer is I’ll read almost anything I can get my hands on that I find interesting. Be it autobiographies, historical fiction, urban fantasy, even thrillers and…

January 14, 2022
Book Announcement

I am excited to announce I released a collection of short stories on the web novel site royal road! They’re a bunch of the stories I’ve posted to Patreon, cleaned up and ready to read for free. It’s been out for a little bit because I wasn’t expecting to be quite as ready as I was.…

January 1, 2022
Motivation

I have executive dysfunction. I don’t have a diagnosis of ADHD, but I do have bipolar disorder, and executive dysfunction is often a symptom people struggle with and I am no exception. When I was in school as a kid it was common for me to either show up or do my homework, but it was rare I did…

December 31, 2021
Imposter Syndrome

In the beginning, it’s hard to get started. There are always last-minute ideas to hammer out and things left to consider before a proper start gets underway. And once underway, it can take a while to get into a comfortable groove. After a few thousand words though, I’ll settle into a rhythm and make substantial progress. Towards the middle, which…

December 17, 2021
Influences

Every creative person that has ever existed has their influences. Many of them are in our own fields. But plenty of them are outside of our fields as well. I can list a dozen authors that have played an integral part in driving me, but it’s not just authors I draw inspiration and motivation from. For one…

December 3, 2021
Underwriting

I am a chronic underwriter. It’s something I’ve had to accept. My first drafts are lean, clocking in between 35k and 50k words for the first pass. It’s because I’m in a race to the end and my first goal is to get out as much as fast as possible. Details, unless they’re especially loud,…

November 5, 2021
NaNoWriMo 2021

As November approaches more and more people are gearing up to participate in NaNoWriMo. But what is it? Well, the name is short for “Nation Novel Writing Month,” and as the name implies it’s for writing an entire novel, beginning to end, in November. Last year I participated, but this year I’m sitting out. In two years, I’ve turned…

October 29, 2021
How many is too many?

WIPs (Work in Progress) progress faster if you mainly focus on one at a time. Of course, sometimes it’s not possible. Maybe you’re really stuck and need to get your head out of it for a while. Maybe (like me) you get so engrossed you absolutely need to switch gears for a little while to…

October 22, 2021
I’m done. Now what?

I finished my first draft. It still needs work, so what comes next? Novel writing is a lot of work, and by the end for me it becomes all-consuming; pushing everything else out of the picture because I can’t focus on anything else. Now that I’m done with this draft, I feel spent, as well…

October 15, 2021
Writer’s block

When I have writer’s block, it’s procrastination in disguise. It’s not that I can’t write, it’s that my brain is trying to come up with last-minute distractions. My go to method for dealing with this is a cup of coffee (iced when it’s warm, hot when it’s cold) and some journaling. Occasionally it’s not procrastination.…

October 8, 2021