a brimming blue sphere on even darker blue background; the title planet myrthe is written in glowing purple over it

Writing

Becoming a writer has always been one of my dreams. Turns out I needed to find the right language to get started. While I could (and did) write decent academic papers in German, my stories and characters come to me in English. Goethe would call it the language of my heart.

After I learned how to type superfast during my PhD, it was time for the next stage: Writing a novel. This is a life-long project, perfect for a scanner like me because every book is different. Planet Myrthe is the fictional home of the fantasy stories and novels I write and self-publish under the pseudonym M.B. Ratel. You'll find the official homepage, including a couple of free stories, here or follow my work on Twitter.

At some point I plan to write thrillers too. One book at a time.

a lavender 3d button; the words Planet Myrthe are written in dark purple over it

I practiced:

  • writing really fast
  • improving my process
  • slowing down
  • focusing on the sentence right in front of me
  • asking for feedback and accepting it gracefully

I learned:

  • how to write and edit a novel
  • about ProWritingAid, an editing tool I absolutely love!
  • book cover design
  • I'm not a good alpha reader and critique groups are not for me
  • writing is easy, revising/editing is difficult and publishing is scary.
  • how the traditional publishing industry works
  • to think of one book as several products and how to run an author business
  • how important copyright really is.