Do the Math

Last week, I decided to revise the timeline for my books. With The Heralds of the Crown series, I established a timeline that differed from the rest of the saga, so I had to implement that system and do all kinds of crazy conversions and calculations. I also had to remember the system I put in place to begin with.

What? A writer doing math?

Yes, it's true. Writing is so much more than just throwing words on a page.

We have to be English experts. Masters of vocabulary, sentence structure, punctuations, etc. And there are those of us who have created entirely different worlds and universes, so we need to master foreign or made up language as well.

We have to be historians. If you're writing historical fiction, especially. But it's good to tie in lessons or have a frame of reference. And again, if we've made up a universe, we need to be the experts on their history.

We have to be psychologists, analyzing the deeper motives of our characters. The ins-and-outs of these imaginary souls. How they react to certain situations. Their past. Their present. Their hopes. Their goals.

After the book is published, we have to marketing experts. It's nearly impossible to make your voice heard in a loud crowd. This may go back to the psychologist aspect, but we have to know how to build relationships with our audience.

We have to be time-managers. Teachers. Students. The list goes on.

And yes, it includes mathematicians. Who knew?

I have picked up so much through writing my books. I've learned the craft, and I still have much more to learn. But the research aspect is fascinating. Thank goodness for the internet!