One thing I tell my daughter, multiple times per day, is that I love her more than air and sunshine. I also tell her that she is the most wonderful, most important thing in the whole universe. I want her to feel loved, valued, and appreciated.
I also want to write.
This is hardly a unique challenge, so I’m not going to generalize, I’m going to be specific for what worked – and works – for me.
I am not a morning person. Everyone has a natural rhythm, where their internal clock is happiest. My ideal eight hours of sleep would be between 2 am and 10 am, but alas, the real world could care less about my preferences. Unfortunately for me, my daughter wakes up in a matter I would charitably describe as Sauron the Destroyer, though after two bites of food, she’s much more like Pinkie Pie from My Little Pony.
Side note for any parents out there – the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic series (2010 to present, IMDB ID tt1751105) is amazing and I can’t recommend it enough. Strong female characters, who work together, care about one another, and actively work to support one another. Solid if you have a girl between 5 and 8, and probably beyond that. But I digress.
Also, Pinkie Pie is objectively the best character, though I am willing to defer to Twilight Sparkle as well – notably for the episode where she runs through her checklist to assemble her checklist making supplies.
After rousing Sauron, she needs to be cajoled into getting to school. This leaves me between 15 and 30 minutes before my full-time job begins. I generally fill this with coffee and reviewing my work calendar. Then my day begins.
I work in enterprise software, with a specialty in performance engineering of software platforms. It is definitely not a set number of hours, and I find myself working sporadically throughout the day and into the evening.
Break for school pickup, then dinner, then – depending on the day – extracurricular activities. This takes me to between 7 and 9 pm. Bedtime routine, now it’s 9:30.
Time to write!
Except… there are often days when I am exhausted. There are days when I’m motivated to write, but I sit and stare at the screen, unable to muster any coherent thoughts. There are days when I have the ability to write, but not the desire.
I’ve given up trying to understand this part of myself. When I find the time to write and I’m not in the right frame of mind, I don’t force myself. Instead, I’ll do research, read, or do something else that I enjoy.
Sometimes, I am in the right frame of mind to write… but I have work interference. My job role is global, so I often work irregular hours, getting on conference calls or zoom meetings at all hours of the day.
Sometimes, though, everything lines up and I can write. I sit down, ready to start… and my daughter comes into my office, complaining she can’t sleep or needs a drink or is hungry. I, of course, humor her, because she’s super awesome 100% great. 😊
That leaves those rare times when I am in the right frame of mind and there are no interruptions. Hours will pass, and I’ll get between two and four thousand words, doing a lot of editing as I go. These moments when they happen are extremely rewarding for me, since I tend to get an entire chapter completed. I also tend to write very cleanly – my background in technology has prepared me well to take advantage of the features of the program I use (such as spelling and grammar checks).
This happy occurrence happens perhaps once every other week.
What is important for me is making sure that four things remain true:
1) My daughter knows that her daddy loves her.
2) My wife also knows that her husband loves her.
3) I don’t screw up any work commitments.
4) I continue to enjoy writing.
The last point is especially important, despite being listed last. I have the luxury of enough free time and extra income to pursue a hobby I find rewarding and fulfilling. Would I do this as a full-time career? Absolutely – all I need is to sell thousands of copies of Beginning of Arrogance, or my upcoming release, Futility of Defense! I’m very fortunate that I have the time, desire, and ability to write and take pleasure in it.
More than anything, I’m very fortunate to have a daughter and a wife that love me as much as I love them. Prioritizing them overwriting is easy because the story I want to tell is always within me.
So, what works for me? Just prioritizing things. Not stressing that I only get two solid sessions of writing each month. It lets me enjoy writing and ensures that my family knows I care more about them than anything else.
A Paladin’s Journey
Book One
Bryan Cole
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Fat Paladin Incorporated
Date of Publication: June 30th, 2022
ISBN: 9780228868682
ASIN: B0B5JJ338K
Number of pages: 410
Word Count: 125,476
Cover Artist: Vilenko Vujicevic
Tagline: Paladins are nothing but trouble
Book Description:
Paladins are nothing but trouble. Stories about paladins are everywhere, noble warriors riding magic steeds into battle against terrible foes. Champions of their gods. Heroes to everyone, except those who already have everything. Paladins are notorious for upsetting the balance of power, to the detriment of any who don't worship their deity.
So when Krell is called to service by the capricious god of the seas and skies, ReckNor, those with wealth and power can't help but be concerned. ReckNor hasn't called a paladin in years, and his nature is ever-changing and erratic. The fact that Krell is also an uneducated nobody with a stubborn streak as wide as the sea turns their concerns into fear.
All of which matters less than the threat clawing its way from the waves, ready to turn the ocean red with spilled blood...
Excerpt:
Gerrard fell
back and walked beside Krell for a moment.
“So, Krell, how
do you know about the Forge Father and all that? Never heard you say anything
like that before, you know?” Gerrard smiled up at him.
Krell laughed.
“It’s true enough, Gerrard, that my education could best be described as
lacking. Most people say I don’t know anything. I grew up alone, you see, so
nobody taught me anything useful. I had to learn it all myself.”
Gerrard looked
at him questioningly. “Alone how? I can’t see humans, even as insane as they
often are, abandoning a youngling to grow up alone.”
“Oh, I had a
family. Still might, somewhere, maybe. But I was lost at sea when I was young.
Not sure how young. Washed up on an island somewhere and spent a bunch of years
surviving.” Krell looked up at the sky. “My memories there are… poor. Can’t
remember much, but I remember the cold, the loneliness, and the hunger. Those
stand out in my mind.” Krell shook his head and frowned.
“Olgar taught me
basically everything I know, aside from how to survive alone. Whatever
knowledge I have is thanks to him, and one thing he made sure I knew well was
who all the gods and their followers are. Paladins apparently spend a lot of
time in conflict with faiths other than their own.”
“Ah,” said Gerrard,
nodding in agreement.
Krell shrugged
and looked back at Gerrard. “Whatever else I am, Gerrard, I’m a survivor. Maybe
that’s why ReckNor chose me to be a paladin. Maybe he wrecked the ship on
purpose to see if I had what it took. Maybe he didn’t. Either way, I hear the
call. My blade is in his service, my will is his will. His voice thunders in my
head, making his will known to me.”
“Wow. You know,
Kraven’s right, you are intense!” Gerrard walked along in silence for a few
minutes next to him. Then he turned and said, “That sounds really hard, having
another voice in your head all the time.”
Krell laughed.
“Nah, it’s really easy. When he tells me something, I do it. When he doesn’t
say anything, I do whatever I want.”
Gerrard frowned.
“I thought paladins had all sorts of rules they had to follow.”
Krell grinned at
him. “You’re thinking of followers of Hieron the Honorable, lord of justice.
There’s a big temple of his in Heaford, just up the coast, where the duke holds
court. I’ve never met one of his followers, but apparently he loves calling
paladins, and they’re pretty common in that faith. Most paladin stories are
about paladins of Hieron.”
“Not common in
ReckNor’s faith, though?”
“Not remotely.
Apparently, Olgar can’t remember the last time ReckNor called one. He’s… well,
most people think he’s insane, and that if you don’t appease him, he’ll destroy
you. A cult of sailors and the mad. That he’s temperamental enough that even if
you appease him, he still might destroy you. Which is all… somewhat true, I’d
say.”
Ahead, Tristan
laughed. “You’re telling me you think your god is insane?”
Krell shook his
head. “No, but temperamental? Absolutely. Appease him or else, which is how his
faith works. Sailors and those who live and work on the sea pay homage, though
for many, it is out of fear. He’s often thought of as a survival-of-the-fittest
sort of god.”
Krell noticed
they were all looking at him now. Orca looked unhappy, Kraven appeared to be
controlling his laughter, and Tristan and Gerrard were looking at him like he
was dangerous.
“So… what does
ReckNor teach, then?” asked Gerrard. Krell thought about it, and Tristan looked
like he was dreading an explanation. Better to keep things simple for now, he
thought.
“Basically two
things. The first is that the seas and skies are his, so make offerings when
you use them and he’s happy. The second is that he takes joy in the freedom of
choice.” Krell went silent, and they walked on for a few moments before anyone
said anything.
“I thought you
were going to drone on incessantly about your god and how great he is all the
time,” said Tristan. Krell looked at him and smiled.
“I’m a paladin.
If you want that, go talk to Olgar. I’m here to show the faith of ReckNor
through action, not through words.” Thunder rumbled in the distance as if on
cue, adding ominous weight to his words.
Gerrard snorted.
“Did ReckNor just add some thunder in the background to make you sound more
intimidating or dramatic or something?”
Kraven laughed, and Krell joined him. Orca said,
“That’s ridiculous!” at the same time Krell said, “Probably!”
Bryan Cole is the author of the Paladin’s Journey series. New to the writing world, he spent years working in the enterprise software space, focused on quality assurance and delivery of software applications. Which is weird, because that has nothing to do with writing fiction.
For that, we need to go back – way back – to his first experience with Dungeons and Dragons. His friend Chris brought over the box set for Myth Drannor, eager to play. Together, they realized they had no idea what they were doing, because neither of them owned a copy of the Players Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, or the Monster Manual.
From those incredibly awkward beginnings, a lifelong passion for epic science fiction and high fantasy adventure was born. Everything from his grade 4 teacher letting him stay after school to play a video game where you were the wizard on a quest, defeating monsters by answering math problems, to some truly memorable movies like Willow that showed him a world bigger and more exciting than the real one.
Of course, Star Wars and Star Trek have had a major influence on him. Want to get in good with Bryan? Lead with a Star Wars meme.
From one of the good movies. Otherwise, your plan will backfire.
Bryan is also an avid gamer, and enjoys video games, board games, and tabletop roleplaying games.
These days, he lives in Toronto with his wife and daughter, and his adorable cat.
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