Remember the Grace Shown Unto You
Keys unlock things. That is the only reason they exist. They are not pretty to look at. They have no secondary purpose. But the keys you see above no longer open any door. Yet I keep them still on my key ring every day, and I treasure them more...
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Ten Years Later… I’m Coming Into Port
The first stranger is set to read my book…in the words of a famous meme from YouTube: Finis this real life? I have one more before my editor reads my book. One more week until a complete stranger reads my first novel. Could this really be happening? “Well yeah...
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Why I Write
TLDR version? I was created to do so (If you have not read my Mea Culpa identity blog, click here https://ericwsparks.com/mea-culpa/ to do so). This is simply what I was born to do. I do not mean this is necessarily how I’m destined to make my living (though it would...
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Mea Culpa
So, I wanted to make a blog about why I write. But I realized you needed me to be more candid about my identity before you could understand both how this affects, and how it doesn’t affect, my writing. I’m a Christian. More specifically, I’m a devout Christian that...
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Music Playlist for Writing in Fantasy
While I listen to plenty of background music when writing (I have a Pandora station with hundreds if not thousands of songs liked), the following are the ones that I purchased on iTunes so I could loop them over and over. After all, artists draw inspiration for their medium...
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Father’s Day Reflections on Getting My First Reader’s Review
Normally, I try to post blogs on tips for writing, or reactions to literature and/or criticism of literature. But today, I’m going to be a little selfish. My first Beta Readers have my first novel, and I’m going to give a little bit of a writer’s bio, as well...
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Why You Shouldn’t Chase Originality (Hint – You Probably Don’t Need To)
The elite of society, especially in artistic circles, has become obsessed with originality. The worst thing you can do is present something that reminds them of something else. The question is: why? Don’t get me wrong; copying another artist and just changing up some names is tacky at best...
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Self Publishing VS Traditional: Pros/Cons
The first thing to consider when you are choosing to self-publish or not is your genre. That’s because publishers are first and foremost interested in making money. They’ll turn away a brilliant novel that won’t sell, and they bought the rights to 50 Shades of Grey after it became...
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The Problem with the Concept of a “Children’s Story”.
I have just finished reading Mark Twain’s The Prince and the Pauper for the first time. I loved every minute of it. Never mind that it is a “children’s story.” As CS Lewis noted, “When I was ten I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed...
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Follow Your Character’s Path Over Your Outline’s
As someone who wrote multiple short stories, I had a huge learning curve when it came to my first novel. Last week, I wrote about the need to make sure you have a key component of your world set up before you write that amazing Fantasy novel. This week,...
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