Hello, hey, hi!
I’m Cameron Montague Taylor (call me Cee), lover of Dark Fantasy / LGBT+ Romance novels. By day I’m a professional sailor. By night, I’m a blogger and commercial fiction author stumbling toward publication. The AuthorShip is a place for reflection on the journey and growth along the way. Join me as I learn about fiction writing craft, fine-tune my process, and find my way in the commercial fiction industry.
Why this blog?
Having consumed some amazing craft of writing blogs and podcasts, I’ve realized that the most helpful advice out there (for me, at least!) comes when a writer documents the nuts and bolts of their own personal process. While that process might never work for me, I enjoy reading and learning from specifics far more than generalizations. I hope deep dives into craft, process, and journey can spark interesting conversations and help you with your own work.
The format:
For each post, I delve into an idea or theme that I find interesting (though I’ll certainly take requests). I’ll round up advice on the topic – or attempt to articulate some of my own – and try any corresponding writing exercises I can find. By trying out the tricks other writers use, I hope to see whether I can incorporate them into my system and give you an idea of how and whether they might work for you.
Morning pages:
Four times a week, I’ll do a fifteen-minute free-write to a prompt selected from my calendar. I call them Morning Pages: fun warm-ups to start a day of productivity. I’ll post the prompts on the blog along with wordcount, what I learned from writing that day, and any other interesting goodies. Write along in the comments, start a blog train, or save the prompts for your own personal use – it’s up to you!
On Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, I’ll also hold craft discussions in the comments. Each day, I’ll pick a discussion prompt based on a craft question that came up while I was answering the prompt. You can participate by posting snippets of your own pages, answering the questions, or responding to other commenters. I know I learn best by doing and discussing, so that’s where the focus will lie. I hope the blog can be a place where you can engage with and get to know fellow writers.
On Sunday Funday, I’ll post my Morning Page directly onto the blog. In proper Sunday spirit, I’ll invite everyone who reads the blog to follow the prompt and post in the comments. This isn’t necessarily a critique exchange, so don’t feel intimidated — we’re here to share, have fun, and support our fellow writers. Of course, you can ask for critique if you’d like it! Use the tag #YESTHANKS at the beginning of your post to let us know you’d like a read with a critical eye.
Interested in seeing more of my Morning Pages? Patrons at the Follower tier or higher get access to the stories I write on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, too!
Sound like fun?
Hit that subscribe widget in the sidebar for notifications when I post. You can also find me on twitter and Instagram – links in the menu.
I look forward to seeing you in the comments!
-Cee