Ask the Author: D.F. Hart
Answered Questions (8)
D.F. Hart
Hi Rosalind!
I'm an Accountant by day and I guess maybe that mindset translates a bit over into the writing side of my brain? I keep charts and graphs and a literal writing schedule. The goal is four books a year going forward, because for me that's a much more comfortable pace. When I went down the rabbit hole of beginning to write my romance stories in addition to the Vital Secrets books, I decided to purposely make those romance books shorter - novella length, less that 40k words each. That helped.
I'd like to be able to say that I write every day, but I still have times where I don't get any words in during the week, so the weekend becomes nothing but catching up that count. One of my 2021 goals is to get better about that - if I can write even 1,000 a day, that's 365K words, or four books that are longer than my series average of 85K. Totally doable, and it will mean my weekends aren't consumed as much.
One of the single biggest tools that I use to 1) stay on my word count goals and 2) keep myself organized is a feature that Story Origin offers called "Goal Tracker". You can set up each of your projects with a start and end date and the number of words you're shooting for. It's a really easy way to keep track, and it's very rewarding to be able to update your manuscript's word count and watch the "percent complete" number go up!
Story Origin is currently free, and also has a promo and NL feature but at the moment I use it mainly for the Goal Tracker.
Hope this helps!
Best,
D.F.
I'm an Accountant by day and I guess maybe that mindset translates a bit over into the writing side of my brain? I keep charts and graphs and a literal writing schedule. The goal is four books a year going forward, because for me that's a much more comfortable pace. When I went down the rabbit hole of beginning to write my romance stories in addition to the Vital Secrets books, I decided to purposely make those romance books shorter - novella length, less that 40k words each. That helped.
I'd like to be able to say that I write every day, but I still have times where I don't get any words in during the week, so the weekend becomes nothing but catching up that count. One of my 2021 goals is to get better about that - if I can write even 1,000 a day, that's 365K words, or four books that are longer than my series average of 85K. Totally doable, and it will mean my weekends aren't consumed as much.
One of the single biggest tools that I use to 1) stay on my word count goals and 2) keep myself organized is a feature that Story Origin offers called "Goal Tracker". You can set up each of your projects with a start and end date and the number of words you're shooting for. It's a really easy way to keep track, and it's very rewarding to be able to update your manuscript's word count and watch the "percent complete" number go up!
Story Origin is currently free, and also has a promo and NL feature but at the moment I use it mainly for the Goal Tracker.
Hope this helps!
Best,
D.F.
D.F. Hart
Hello Rosalind! Hope you're doing well and staying safe. My wesbite is www.2ofharts.com, although I do need to get busy updating the romance books page!
D.F. Hart
Up until recently, I was working through my mystery/thriller series and it was pretty much flowing along on its own.
But one secondary character that I wrote in book three resonated with me so much that I've opted to follow that string in a new and vastly different direction completely apart from the series, and see where she leads me.
But one secondary character that I wrote in book three resonated with me so much that I've opted to follow that string in a new and vastly different direction completely apart from the series, and see where she leads me.
D.F. Hart
For me, it's never really been a full-blown case of writer's block (and hopefully I did not just jinx myself saying that.)
In my experience it appears as more of a thoughtful pause, and it's usually when I am trying to line out logically the next steps of the plot or story in my head while trying to remain true to both the story and reader expectations.
So, I will sometimes deliberately step away for a dew days; symbolically move what I'm wrestling with to the 'back burner', and turn my focus to other aspects, such as shoring up a pending marketing effort. Then I return to my writing and many times find my subconscious has sorted it out.
In my experience it appears as more of a thoughtful pause, and it's usually when I am trying to line out logically the next steps of the plot or story in my head while trying to remain true to both the story and reader expectations.
So, I will sometimes deliberately step away for a dew days; symbolically move what I'm wrestling with to the 'back burner', and turn my focus to other aspects, such as shoring up a pending marketing effort. Then I return to my writing and many times find my subconscious has sorted it out.
D.F. Hart
Being able to structure, then build, your own little world. The only thing better than that is being able to invite readers to join you in that world, and of course the icing on the cupcake is when you know they've enjoyed that world as much as you do.
D.F. Hart
First, don’t be afraid to fail. I don’t believe I’ve yet met or talked with one single author that’s ever said they 100% did everything right, right off the bat. There’s a learning curve involved, to be sure, particularly for the self-published. You might not do everything correct, or in the right order, at first. Learn from those times, allow yourself some grace and keep trying.
Second, follow your passion and believe in yourself, always. There may be days you’re not motivated to write, or research, or edit, or some of the other tasks that are part-and-parcel of being an author. Do them anyway. Keep moving. You’ll thank yourself later. BUT – With that, also practice good self-care. Maintain a healthy balance.
Lastly – Get on some of the review sites out there (Bookbub, Hidden Gems, NetGalley) and use them – As a READER. Two reasons why:
It gets you very familiar with their processes, so that when the time comes to list YOUR books, you have an excellent feel of what to expect.
It just might, as it did for me, open your horizon to other genres you aren’t aware of or fluent in, that you might want to read or to create works in.
Second, follow your passion and believe in yourself, always. There may be days you’re not motivated to write, or research, or edit, or some of the other tasks that are part-and-parcel of being an author. Do them anyway. Keep moving. You’ll thank yourself later. BUT – With that, also practice good self-care. Maintain a healthy balance.
Lastly – Get on some of the review sites out there (Bookbub, Hidden Gems, NetGalley) and use them – As a READER. Two reasons why:
It gets you very familiar with their processes, so that when the time comes to list YOUR books, you have an excellent feel of what to expect.
It just might, as it did for me, open your horizon to other genres you aren’t aware of or fluent in, that you might want to read or to create works in.
D.F. Hart
My most recent book is actually a collaborative effort with my mom. She had a really wicked (no pun intended) plot idea, and asked me to write it. It's pretty cool that I get to share at least part of this writing journey with her; she's not just my mom, she's one of my best friends.
D.F. Hart
I am starting chapter sixteen of "List of Secrets", the third book in the Vital Secrets series. Some pretty cool turns and twists in this one, really fun to write! Schedule to be complete and sent to editor is September 1 but I may get it cranked out more quickly than that.
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