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Feels like ages since I posted anything.
First off, poor Ginger hurt her back and is on bed rest. Unfortunately bed rest does not compute to her little doggy mind and because she's on pain medication, all she wants to do is run around. But she can't for two to three weeks, so I have to keep her penned up in my room. Except she's quite the escape artist when she wants to be. We also have foster kittens, who she wants to play with constantly, and whines when she can't because they hopped out of the blockade I set up to keep Ginger in my room, which she escapes whenever I leave. Two to three weeks of this. Fun times! :P
I've also decided that I'm going to make a goal to draw more. I've been trying to figure out ways to bring more attention to my author blog, and from what I've observed, it's my really, really short stories and artwork I post that get the most views and even likes. So I want to start doing more concept art for upcoming novels, which means I need to hone my art skills.
Plus I've heard it said time and again that when it comes to advertising yourself you need to do whatever will draw in your target audience. My main target audience are fantasy readers, but other than the obvious writing fantasy novels and getting them published - which takes time - and writing short stories - which also takes time, probably even more so than writing a novel since I'm not a fan of writing short stories - I could never figure out what else to do to help draw in fantasy readers. Talk about fantasy stuff, I suppose, but I've yet to come up with a specific topic that isn't gear more toward writers than readers.
But lately I've been feeling like art is the way to go, and not just because of the veiws on my art posts. I don't know if this is the same for most people who read fantasy, but every time I come across a peice of fantasy art based on or made for a particular fantasy book, it's made me curious about that book. Not that it made me rush out and buy the book, but I did add it to my mental "book to look into" list. My art won't be anything spectacular, but if it draws in the curious looking for something to read, all the better.
First off, poor Ginger hurt her back and is on bed rest. Unfortunately bed rest does not compute to her little doggy mind and because she's on pain medication, all she wants to do is run around. But she can't for two to three weeks, so I have to keep her penned up in my room. Except she's quite the escape artist when she wants to be. We also have foster kittens, who she wants to play with constantly, and whines when she can't because they hopped out of the blockade I set up to keep Ginger in my room, which she escapes whenever I leave. Two to three weeks of this. Fun times! :P
I've also decided that I'm going to make a goal to draw more. I've been trying to figure out ways to bring more attention to my author blog, and from what I've observed, it's my really, really short stories and artwork I post that get the most views and even likes. So I want to start doing more concept art for upcoming novels, which means I need to hone my art skills.
Plus I've heard it said time and again that when it comes to advertising yourself you need to do whatever will draw in your target audience. My main target audience are fantasy readers, but other than the obvious writing fantasy novels and getting them published - which takes time - and writing short stories - which also takes time, probably even more so than writing a novel since I'm not a fan of writing short stories - I could never figure out what else to do to help draw in fantasy readers. Talk about fantasy stuff, I suppose, but I've yet to come up with a specific topic that isn't gear more toward writers than readers.
But lately I've been feeling like art is the way to go, and not just because of the veiws on my art posts. I don't know if this is the same for most people who read fantasy, but every time I come across a peice of fantasy art based on or made for a particular fantasy book, it's made me curious about that book. Not that it made me rush out and buy the book, but I did add it to my mental "book to look into" list. My art won't be anything spectacular, but if it draws in the curious looking for something to read, all the better.
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Date: 2016-02-12 03:38 am (UTC)From:I would agree on the art being an awesome way to keep producing content and draw in a fantasy audience! Art can take me a long time, but man, I'm like you on the short stories. I can rarely manage them well, and there are only so many selections from longer works it's practical to post... So comparatively speaking, it's much faster and easier to produce frequently. And visual work is a great way to engage people and earn their first attention. Once you've got someone intrigued they're more likely to slow down and check into your other work. I know online, even as much as I love reading, there's so much content out there that it's easier to scan past a story rather than stopping to read. But when I see a piece of intriguing art? I'm far more likely to pause and look more closely.
no subject
Date: 2016-02-13 12:23 am (UTC)From:I know online, even as much as I love reading, there's so much content out there that it's easier to scan past a story rather than stopping to read. But when I see a piece of intriguing art? I'm far more likely to pause and look more closely.
I think I talked about this in another post, but I feel like visual media kind of has it easier than stories, because art is right there and takes only a moment to look at, while stories involve more of a commitment. And I think it's because of that commitment that people are hesitant about reading something since they don't know exactly what they're getting into. My hope is art from story = piqued curiosity.