The only thing that really matters

February 07, 2020Michele Amitrani

I’m looking at my calendar right now.

It’s February 7, 12:05 P.M. here in cloudy Vancouver, Canada. That means I’ve little more than 3 weeks left to get the next brand-new story delivered in your inbox.

I’m a slow writer. Three weeks don’t sound like an awful lot to me.

Too bad this time I have to stick to a schedule.

I started my 12X2020 challenge (read here if you want to know more) because I wanted to get my words out there, I wanted to listen to the effect these words have on people, and I wanted to learn what I’m doing right and what I’m doing wrong when it comes to the subtle art of storytelling.

It took me years to understand this simple lesson: You can’t learn how you write if you don’t show what you write.

My 2020 challenge

January 30, 2020Michele Amitrani

Hey, I've waited until the very last before deciding my year's resolution. Yeah, I know. Another guy who claims he's going to do stuff and that by the end of February goes back to eat chips and stare mouth gaping at some Netflix's show. Maybe. Maybe I'm going to do just that. Maybe I'm going to fail. But you're going to be the first one to know it.

The power of a name

November 12, 2019Michele Amitrani

I’ve always thought deciding the title of a book is for an author like naming a child: It’s not an easy task. It’s a blessing, but could easily become a curse.

Let me explain you why.

A few days ago, I was discussing with a fellow writer options on choosing the title of his upcoming book. He did something really smart. He submitted over a dozen different book titles to a group of fellow writers (myself included) and asked for feedback.

You are a rockstar

November 12, 2019Michele Amitrani

I can’t believe it has already been a week since I released Lord of Time.

My main goal with this book launch was to learn. Plain and simple. I wanted to gather feedback. To test my first English story with a wide audience. See what worked and what didn’t. But most of all, I wanted people to give me feedback. I needed them more than anything because I’m convinced that an author learns most when analyzing what readers think about his or her story.

Here's how I wrote my first novel

November 12, 2019Michele Amitrani

Today I want to tell you the story of how my dark fantasy novel Lord of Time came to be.

English is not my first language, and for years I have convinced myself I had no business trying to craft stories in a language that wasn't my own. Then I went to a writing conference that changed my life. I was listening to a discussion panel called 'Remember When This Was Fun?' (referred to the craft of writing) moderated by author Randy McCharles. I asked him what he thought about my doubts.