Stuart Benbow

Good writing day today. More than 6k words in, and the story’s shaping up nicely.

When life’s chaos forces a break from editing and writing, it gives you time to step back and reflect on just how far you’ve come. Getting recharged for the next big push while I help my wife recover from surgery. The next quarter’s going to be a wild ride.

Clarity’s off to beta readers. Time to finish drafting Heartbreak Harbor this week, then get back to editing Frost and Firelight.

Staying busy is keeping me sane while we prep for my wife’s Cancer surgery on Friday.

While doom scrolling narrated Reddit stories, my wife said, there would be a lot less drama if people just talked to each other.

I agreed. My upcoming Melody Farm series could have ended in a very short prequel where the MC’s grandfather got custody of the grandson his daughter didn’t want.

Big news 📚
I’ve launched Maple Shores Press LLC!

This press will publish my works across three paths:
💖 soft romance
🌌 urban fantasy
🌑 dark trauma & redemption (with content warnings)

Different genres, one mission: authentic stories that connect + inspire.
#booksky #writersky #selfpub #indieauthor

3633 words today, so far anyway. The plot thickens. #booksky #authorsky

My brain needs to remember that I’m supposed to be in editor mode. Waking up with an idea for a romance novel turned the days plan on its ear. Morning world building and outlining, afternoon and evening writing, 3500 words in when I’m supposed to be wearing a different hat today. Oops. #authorsky

ADHD brain in full scatter mode. Final edits on my novella tackling emotional and financial abuse, initial drafts of a novella that turns the tables on sexual predators, developing a 4 book urban fantasy series, final draft of book 1 of a small town romance series, & draft 2 of another. #authorsky

That moment when you’re up in the night with an idea, then feverishly knock out the first chapter and logistics. The morning after, realizing that I need to change the story trajectory or be completely out of pocket. #darkending #booksky

Not daily, but yeah. I’m not on FB as consistently anymore either.

Stuart Benbow - Author - Home Author Updates - Blog for Stuart Benbow, an americana artist from Westland

An afternoon of updating my website to carve out space for my writing endeavors was well-spent. It’s official, time to finish the editing process and set some books free.

stuartbenbowmusic.com/author-home

When I was little, I was told, get your head out of the clouds. These days, between medical chaos and the world we live in, I’m happier returning to those clouds. Crafting stories, whether in song, print, podcast or audio, it’s far more satisfying. Plans and effort every day. #storyteller #writer

Editing book one’s been a heavy chunk of my time lately, but I’m down to being nit picky at last. Meanwhile, books two and three are underway, along with a few short stories and novelettes.

Editing seems never-ending at the moment. I keep telling myself that with every rewrite and tweak, it gets better, but my eyes are blurry after another marathon session of hunting down mistakes.

Another day, another round of editing. Hunting down plot holes and tightening things up more every day.

That moment when you realize you need to split your writing project into three books, rather than three acts to avoid breaking tables when people eventually set it down. Oops.

I felt bad about what I did to my poor characters, so I wrote a short story set several months along to give them better things now instead of waiting. Does that make me weird? #writersky #writerproblems

They’ve definitely got brighter days ahead. The low though, I feel like I’ve kicked a puppy.

My poor protagonist. I know what I have to do to him. I just don’t know if I can make myself write it.
#writerproblems

So begins the deep dive into figuring out what worked better in the 1st draft, what was better in the revision, fixing the pacing, and starting draft 3.

It’s like my characters are in alternate realities with subtle changes based on different choices. I think that’s my favorite part of writing.

Today’s apparently a world building, or at least a town building day. Figuring out the economic and sociopolitical impacts my character will have on other businesses, residents and officials in town as their plans move forward. #writing

February Album Writing Month #FAWM is behind us. While I may not have hit 14 this year, I also wasn’t really trying. I got to 9, & wrote the first draft & half of my second draft for a new book. Between that, teaching, hosting live music & performing, I’m calling it close enough to be satisfied.

Scott Fishkind and I having a great time taking turns tonight at the Ypsi Alehouse. #livemusic #concert #YpsilantiMi #acoustic

Thanks for the photos of me, Scott.

It’s been a busy couple of weeks. I finished the first draft of the book, started the editing and rewrite process, and got my February song count to 9 as of this afternoon for FAWM. All that while the next semester of teaching started, and hosting and performing music. Sleep? Not so much.

Still plugging away on the first draft of the new book, 17k words in and I’m loving the story development so far.

I’ve been putting songwriting on the back-burner thanks to migraines for more than a week, but I’m only 4 songs off the pace for FAWM. Definitely not insurmountable.

I’m a gluten for punishment. The next semester of teaching just started, I’m in the middle of a songwriting challenge, I have two books in the editing phase and a third being written. What do I do? Start writing another boom in a whole new series.

Chronic migraines have been plaguing me all week, but I still managed my second tune for #fawm today. I don’t have it in me to do full production, but did a quick vocal-guitar demo to not fall too far behind. I’m performing tomorrow, so fingers crossed the headache finally breaks soon.

With Day 1 of February Album Writing Month now underway, I somehow overslept instead of getting to work on songwriting. Not a problem though, my first song is now written. While I can play a vocal/guitar arrangement, I’m challenging myself to attempting what’s actually in my head. #FAWM

Two days until @fawmchallenge.bsky.social begins. Participating? Follow me here:
write.fawm.org/@stuartbenbow
Not sure what #Fawm is? February Album Writing Month. The goal is to write 14 new songs during February. It’s all online, and people from around the globe join in. This is my 14th FAWM.

Songwriter by Stuart Benbow In the runup to February Album Writing Month, FAWM for short, I was noodling with my guitar and making up lyrics when this song came to me. I was going to let it slip away, but my wife insisted I wri...

Prepping for February Album Writing Month, or #FAWM, I ended up writing a new song.

stuartbenbowmusic.com/track/413338...