Read more about the article Invisible Writing Progress – Q1 2020
On Writing / Personal Rants

Invisible Writing Progress – Q1 2020

So far, 2020 has been an odd year for me. I might not be a person to make New Year resolutions, but I had plans, solid and detailed, and I was ready to see them through. Yet, as always in life, unexpected things happen, and my plans got derailed, so the first quarter of the year for me, although somewhat productive, has been affected by a sudden loss of direction and then need to rearrange my goals.

And although writing isn’t necessarily as lonely endeavor as some people might paint it, the writing progress remains invisible until a novel or a story is done and published. That’s why I thought I’d share how my writing life has been so far this year, and what else I’ve been busy with. (more…)

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April 13, 2020
All Things Art

30 Inktober Witches

Back in October I took part in Inktober: a challenge for artists that encourages daily drawing and sharing art. It wasn’t my first time. Last year I had fun with quickly-drawn dragonflies (that later became regular guests on my social media), and this year I decided to push myself a bit more. By common demand (expressed via Facebook and Twitter polls), I was to draw witches.

I’m not very good with anatomy, so I had to settle for simplified humans rather than realistic ones, and many of the prompts pushed me far beyond my comfort zone, but all in all, I had fun, and missed only one day due to work overload.

If you weren’t following my witches on social media, you can find them here. (more…)

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December 9, 2019
Read more about the article A Month in a Writer’s Life – September, October, November 2019
A Month in a Writer's Life

A Month in a Writer’s Life – September, October, November 2019

It’s been a while since I updated this blog. It’s been mostly due to my freelance workload and the determination to finish my writing project, but I also realized that the monthly update on my life has become slightly repetitive: focused on my writing, I do very little outside of it that would justify monthly reports. Therefore, I bulked the last three months together in a larger post. Next year, I might switch to quarterly updates or find another formula. Until then, here’s what has been going on in my life while I was quiet. (more…)

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December 2, 2019
Read more about the article Friends Do Lie: Normalization of Lies in Fiction
Personal Rants

Friends Do Lie: Normalization of Lies in Fiction

After three and a half seasons of screaming at my tv, I finally gave up on Supernatural. The show had a lot of potential: good acting, interesting lore, and that speculative element I always welcome in my entertainment, so I was willing to give it a go, despite it being a little too close to horror for my liking. And yet, here I was, finally giving up after over three seasons of being less and less entertained. At the same time, I had similar experience with Stranger Things 3. I’ve been so hopeful for it, only to be met with disappointment. While I appreciate some aspects of these two and many other shows, they all seem to suffer from a fatal storytelling flaw. (more…)

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August 19, 2019
Read more about the article A Month in a Writer’s Life – July 2019
A Month in a Writer's Life

A Month in a Writer’s Life – July 2019

Another month went by, and it’s been quite different from what I thought it would be. Since in summer time businesses slow down, I expected some downtime in my freelancing business. It meant that I would have time to participate in Camp NaNoWriMo to which I promptly signed up at the end of June. Of course, life decided to prove me wrong, and July turned out to be a whirlwind. (more…)

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August 5, 2019
Read more about the article Mr. Roache’s Drummer: the Origin of a Story
The Origin of a Story

Mr. Roache’s Drummer: the Origin of a Story

In the Origin of the Story series I’ll be sharing insights of how some of my stories came to be. What inspired them, and what kind of process followed it. All of that spoiler-free, so you can still enjoy the story if you didn’t have a chance to read it yet.

Today, I’m going to share a story of the piece that I’m particularly happy with, the quasi-steampunk (or magical realism, if you prefer) short story, Mr. Roache’s Drummer (Polish: Bębniarz pana Roache). It was first published, long with its counterpart story, Seven Percent Chance (Siedem procent szans) in a Polish anthology by RW2010. Its English version is available as a part of my collection, Scourges, Spells, and Serenades, and you can get it for free. (more…)

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July 8, 2019
Read more about the article A Month in a Writer’s Life – May & June 2019
A Month in a Writer's Life

A Month in a Writer’s Life – May & June 2019

It’s been a while since I posted regularly. After nearly finishing the A to Z Challenge, I needed time to recuperate from intensive blogging, and I had to catch up with my writing. On top of that, the last two months were quite intensive work-wise, demanding my attention and time. So, with heavy heart, I decided to “disappear” for a while, including less presence on social media for the much-needed catching up with my priorities. (more…)

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July 2, 2019
Read more about the article A to Z Challenge 2019: V is for Veranesh
A to Z Challenge

A to Z Challenge 2019: V is for Veranesh

Welcome to my A to Z Challenge 2019 posts. This year I’ll be writing about the world of Kinyal which is the setting of my epic fantasy novels and short stories. These posts offer insights into the world’s history, locations, and factions, but do not spoil any of the events or secrets from the novel.

You don’t need to read them in order, and as the challenge progresses, I’ll do my best to add links to related topics for each post. (more…)

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April 27, 2019