Creating diversity one story at a time.
http://Photo by Amador Loureiro on Unsplash Do you wake up in the middle of the night, startling your cat and significant other, searching blindly in the dark for your pen, Moleskine notebook, or your smartphone? Have you ever dreamt of quitting your job just so that you can make a few nickels and dimes posting …
Continue reading "3 Signs You’re An Obsessive-Compulsive Writer"
Your regular writing routine falters. Ideas no longer flow from your skull like a junior high student's volcano project. You know your content needs to be king, but you feel more like an indentured servant to it. Then, the worse thing possible happens; writing stops feeling entertaining. Your "I ❤ The Writer's Life" smartphone's lock …
Continue reading "The Best Ways To Prevent Writer’s Fatigue"
Photo by Kym on Unsplash Last month, I attended the SunLit Literary Festival here in Florida and entered their annual writing contest. Unfortunately, I didn't win the writing contest with my sci-fi flash fiction story "Invisible Boundaries". However, I wanted to share the story on my blog with you to read and critique, if you so choose. …
Continue reading "“Invisible Boundaries” – A Flash Fiction Sci-Fi"
Photo by Pablo Merchán Montes on Unsplash Hiya literary fans, It’s 19 days until 4 winners will be chosen to receive one of the following: Enter to Win Here A copy of Syphons Or A $25 Starbucks Gift Card I believe this is my fourth giveaway. Last four times I gave away $20 bucks. So that’s like $80 …
Continue reading "Someone Made My Day at Starbucks and 19 Days Left in the SYPHONS Giveaway!"
Where did March go? I can't believe it's already April and less than 31 days from the release of my novel, Syphons. Check out the blurb below: Interested In A Chapter Preview? Blurb: CURVY, FIERCE AND A TOTAL RIOT! SOLSTICE BELLATRIX HAS ALREADY DIED ONCE, AND SHE IS NOT ABOUT TO LET HISTORY REPEAT ITSELF. …
Continue reading "Hey! It’s Time for An Update & A New Giveaway (Coming Soon)"
A few months ago, I started posting mini-confessions through my Instagram and Twitter accounts and have decided to explain the madness behind the post. I have roughly 20+ confessions and more to come. So, be prepared, here goes nothing. My confession above comes from the fact that in my youth and early adult years I …
Continue reading "Confession #1 – Avoiding Social Time for Writing Time"
What do stockbrokers, insurance agents, and the kid down the street selling lemonade on the corner all have in common? They want your money! You knew where I was going with that question. Here's the next one, why do writers have a hard time asking for money or to be paid what they are worth? …
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Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash Hiya Literary Fans, It's been forever since I've created work that isn't related to a giveaway or one of my novels, here. I miss posting some good ole' blog posts. Anyway, here's a quick update, I feel like a busy bee down here in Florida. Y'all up in the cold states, I …
Continue reading "A Brief Update on D. A. Smith Writes Blog"
Syphons, A Novel is my debut science fiction, new adult novel, which is set to be released on May 3rd, 2019 (pre-order date is on February 3rd, 2019). In honor of the release of my novel (synopsis here), I am holding a giveaway for you literary fans out there! If you love science-fiction. Enjoy diverse …
Hiya Literary Fans, If you love sci-fi. Enjoy Starbucks Coffee. Then, this post is for you! I've just completed my first debut novel, Syphons. Here's more info about my book. This week, I'm giving away the first chapter of the book absolutely free. Now, onto the good stuff: with a free copy of the first …
Continue reading "Day 3: Starbucks Gift Card & SYPHONS Giveaway (Contest Ended)"
Photo by Anthony Tran on Unsplash Write what you know. For some odd reason, while working on revisions of my current WIP, Syphons, a sci-fi/new adult novel, I started thinking about the write-what-you-know motto. In my novel, I wanted to create a revamped love story between a plus-size African-American woman who awakens with rare abilities due to her …
Continue reading "Write What You Know About Romance Even While Single & #ForeverAlone"
Photo by Hal Gatewood on Unsplash In my last post of Writing Science-Fiction for Beginners (Part 1), I focused on what science-fiction was and the beginning stages of writing your first draft. Now, I'm getting into some of the tedious areas of creating great science-fiction. I could focus on a number of different areas and …
Continue reading "For Beginners: Write That Sci-Fi As Easy As Pie (Part 1)"
Photo by Lukas Blazek on Unsplash The blinking cursor mocked me as I stared at my daunting 50k sci-fi novel which needed to be revised, edited, professionally edited, and then possibly revised again. I felt overwhelmed. I didn't want to rush through the revision process and produce a half-hazard work of fiction. This novel was my baby, I …
Continue reading "How I Wrote, Published, and Promoted an eBook in 7 Days"
Photo by Hal Gatewood on Unsplash So, you want to write science-fiction? Well, good for you. But, seriously, do you want to write in a genre that is saturated with novels, and that has been around since the beginning of storytelling? (i.e. Ancient Greek Myths). I mean, why even write genre fiction. Wouldn't it be …
Continue reading "For Beginners: Write That Sci-Fi As Easy As Pie (Part 1)"
Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash I checked my email the day after publishing my latest e-book on Amazon and sharing it through Twitter. I see five new messages through my official business email, I assumed they were readers of my blog. At first, I yay'd! Then, upon closer inspection, I noticed phrases like: "read your synopsis and... I …
Continue reading "Writers Are You Protecting Yourself From This Scary Trend?"
