Projects for self-isolation

Many of you, like me, will be stuck at home at the moment. I'll admit it's not a huge drama, I'm happy with my own company. But that's my choice, not because I've been told I have to. It's a great time to be getting on with the latest work in progress but I'm finding it hard to concentrate on the new novel. To try to get past that, I've signed up for Campnanowrimo, which is like a mini version of Nanowrimo. You can check it out here.

In the meantime, I've been mucking about with Photoshop. I've had the Creative Cloud version in the past when I actually earned some money from writing but these days I can't justify AU$180 per year for something that's an occasional toy. I bought Photoshop Elements years ago and I'll stay with that (although I have upgraded to the latest version). It can do almost everything that PS CC can do – just not the really fancy stuff like manipulating smart objects. That's a shame because I came across some great ways of creating 3D covers.

Here are some examples, all created using Covervault templates. You'll find videos on how to use the templates in a section called "tutorials". I can recommend this resource – but you do need PS CC.

However, there are lots of other things you can do to support your writing projects. For instance, you can create posters using just about any simple graphics software that lets you add text to pictures - and you can have fun browsing the stock photo stores for suitable pictures.

This one is simply a bought stock photo with a teaser. Great for things like Twitter if you add a buy link.

This one is a combination of a background with a snippet of text – a quick way of inviting readers to look at your book rather than having to click over to a website to read the snippet. Again, don't forget to add that buy link.

And then there are online tools that let you create fun posters. Photofunia is one I've used several times. Just upload your cover and the software does the rest. You don't need any skills and it's free.

Here are a few of my results.

For this one I uploaded a poster I'd made.

Even if you can't get your head around writing, you can have some fun with these projects.

The ups and downs of writing

This writing thing is such a roller-coaster ride. I go months without a thing to write, then all of a sudden a story beats my brain with a stick, demanding to be written So, I've written it. I just finished the first draft. I think they're called novelettes these days, kind of a long short story. It simply poured out like something hot and sticky, at around 1,500 words a day. I really like it and I hope you do, too. It's a straight out romance set in space with planets and spaceships and aliens.My friendly cover designer has created a first class cover, which I'll share some other time.

I shared a snippet from the story (Ella and the Admiral) on my own website. It's here if you're interested.

In between bouts of writing I've been having a play with Photofunia, a fun website that lets you upload your own photos and recasts them in different modes. Here's a few I've done with my book covers.

Why don't you try it? It's lots of fun. Here's the link again.