Edward Cookley

Thoughts

Start with a hook

I just started reading James Patterson’s Gone. Regardless of what you think of him and his author partnerships, the man can make sure a book is gripping. Right off the bat, Gone begins with action. The backstory gets sprinkled in a bit a time, and before you even realize it, you understand why certain things are happening.

That’s hard. It’s hard to give enough detail that the reader doesn’t feel confused, while not overloading them with unnecessary information. It’s hard to keep it moving, keep the action running, and also set the stage.

In my own book, the first couple chapters have been shaping up to be a whole lot of set up. Background. Details to get through before the story can start. I’m going to change this. The way things are now, it’s not very engaging, and if it’s not engaging, I doubt anyone will keep reading.

April 30, 2024

Putting in the work is hard

“How do you write a book? One word at a time.”

If you’ve ever heard the old adage about how do you eat an elephant (one bite a time), the above will sound familiar. That doesn’t make it any less difficult.

Making the time to write, if it’s not already a habit, may be harder than the writing itself. This is where I’m at right now – I’m having trouble making the time to write.

I could give you a dozen different reasons why, but the reality is, I’m not sitting down at the keyboard. I’m not putting in the work. Because it’s hard.

I’ll try to be better tomorrow.

April 5, 2024

I’m working on a new site

That’s it, really.

My current hosting provider is closing shop, and so I figured I would take this opportunity to build again from scratch. This time around, I’d like to be more strategic about it.

What’s the goal of this site? To sell books. Do I have any books for sale? No. So what’s the new goal of this site? To help build a little following of readers, so that, when I do have a book for sale, maybe those readers (you?) will be interested in purchasing one.

Time to start building.

April 4, 2024