It's funny how the warmer weather can have such a profound impact on one's own creativity.
Usually in the fall and winter, my muse, as it applies to my writing, has a tendency to go wandering off to the land that time has forgotten about. Where the air is warm, the breeze is cool and gentle, and life is exceptionally easy and sleazy. Thus, my writing screeches to a halt. Dried up. Dried out. Barren as a blade of grass in the Mojave desert.
But...when the warmer weather hit, that's when things start to heat up.
My muse comes in from the cold, shakes off the aftereffects of sun, wind spray, more sun, more wind, sand, etc. etc. etc. etc.
.....
.....
Muse steps over and uncorks a high hard one that sends good old G.B. flying out of the chair and face first to the ground. She looks over and after being satisfied with a job well done, sits down in front of the computer and starts to type.
Coming back from the cold, eh?! Where the hell do you get off telling these good people that I'm a slacker?! I'll have you know that I ain't no slacker! Contrary to popular opinion, while you was busy pretending to be the man you ain't, I was busy conjuring up new ideas and fresh approaches to old ideas.
But did you pay attention to me? Hell no! You were busy being the martyr and playing that bullshit "woe is me" persona that fools everyone but me.
During the rant G.B. starts showing signs of life. He grabs hold of the chair and slowly pulls himself up. Muse, suddenly aware of her chair being moved, looks to her left and spies G.B. doing the moving. Narrowing her eyes until they were mere slits, she delivers a hard elbow to his jaw, dislodging him from the chair and knocking him out cold.
Again satisfied at job well done, she turns her attention back to the computer.
Sorry for the interruption, but the f.b.i. guy was trying to butt in again. Now where was I? Oh yeah. I was busy working my tight little ass off coming up with a slew of fresh new ideas that would knock your socks off. But was he paying attention to me and my ideas? Of course not. He would listen to my ideas, then say, "yeah, sure, okay that'll work, thanks." before dismissing me with a wave of his slimy little hand.
This went on for quite a while and each time that he would do it, I would get wetter than a mad hen. Until finally he went to the well one to many times and..."
"No I didn't, sweet thang," said G.B., who had finally regained consciousness.
"Excuse me."
Muse gets up and within the span of thirty seconds was having another knockdown drag out battle with G.B. Punches were thrown, screams could be heard, clothing was torn and rip, then suddenly all becomes very quiet.
Uncomfortably quiet.
Passionately quiet as one could just vaguely hear a few choice words and phrase drifting out from outside the computer desk.
Many minutes later, Muse returned and took a seat in front of the computer. Looking like something the cat dragged in after a passionate night and day of lovemaking, she sighed deeply and lovingly, before viciously attacking the keyboard.
So after he went to the well one too many times, words and passionate...ummm...hostilities were exchanged. Eventually we came to a mutual understanding about what my future will be in this partnership.
......
......
Damn!
......
Ummm....well...I leave you with this thought. My main man G.B. has once again found that his creative juices are just bursting at the seams, and he would like to thank yours truly for helping him find the spigot to unleash those juices.
'Cause after all, a muse like myself knows all the moves and has all the weapons at her disposal, in order to make her writer shine like polished gold.
Showing posts with label Genre Writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Genre Writing. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Thursday, May 16, 2013
5 Cubed Minus 5 Squared Times 10 Equals 1,000!
The old cliche that every journey and every goal that you undertake always starts by putting one foot in front of the other, most definitely applies to this blog.
Except that this particular journey was started not by me putting one foot in front of the other, but by getting the traditional bum's rush out the front door.
My abnormal journey (yes abnormal) began when I fell victim to the current malady that has infected this country for the past five years back in 2003. In 2002, our state was hemorrhaging red ink, which like today, was due to one party being unable to practice fiscal restraint. So in 2003, I was made redundant.
In July 2003, I was made non-redundant and eventually made it back to the agency that made me redundant in the first place. In January 2004, I made the fateful decision, although I didn't know it at the time, that eventually got me to where I am today.
I accepted a transfer to another agency.
Fast forward to 2007.
I was roughly one year into my writing journey (although at the time I was a pretty sucky writer), when by happenstance I decided to comment on a news story, which in turn led me to the world of the chat rooms, where I proceeded to spend 3 1/2 turbulent years losing what little sanity I had to begin with and developing full blown paranoia. But this post is not about that.
In 2008, a cyber friend to whom I had reconciled with, suggested that I should move my ramblings over to the blog world. That way, I could still be funny, not worry about censorship issues and most importantly, I could practice my writing.
About my writing: I never did any kind of creative writing until 2006 (age 41). Until then, most of my creativity was verbal and the most writing I ever did were monthly reports and business correspondence.
So on May 24, 2008, I introduced the cyber world to my fractured little mind that is Cedar's Mountain.
About the blog name: It's partial tribute to the mountain I live next to and partial tribute to one of the most divisive chat room personas that was ever created in the latter part of the 2000's.
I will now spare everyone the overly redundant minutia about this blog and my writing that has been covered in more ways than the OJ Simpson car chase, and instead concentrate on writing a free-form monologue that pays tribute to you the reader.
When I had first starting writing this blog back in 2008, the only person I wrote it for, was me. I figured that if I had any other people show up to read my ramblings, then it was considered icing on the cake. But after doing a few months of writing for myself, I kind of got tired of writing for myself. So off I went to do the blog surfing that is part and parcel of bringing people to my neck of the woods.
Sure enough, that blog surfing paid off as for the next five years, you have honored my blog by gracing it with your presence, because to be brutally honest, my blog would be nothing without you being here to read my ramblings, to comment on my ramblings, to commiserate, to cajole, and every once in a blue moon, call me on a few of my more provocative posts (Gracias Dave Barber and Lynn).
Only you the reader, has inspired me to be my very best, which at times has been detrimental to my well being, since my high standards have exacted a toll that I'm still paying for today. Nevertheless, no matter what my high standards may have done to me negatively over the years, they are minuscule to what they have done for me on the positive side of the chart.
For if anything, they have made me keep this blog going on consistent basis for almost 5 solid years. Why? Because the one thing I have going for me, and everyone has this trait in them, is my word. I told myself years ago, and I've mentioned on this blog periodically as well, that I don't dare disappoint my readers. My readers have my word that above all they come first in this blog, for without you, then all I'm doing is sucking up space and not making a world of difference to anyone.
You have kept me going through all of my highs and all of my lows. You are what helps me keep going whenever I get down in the dumps, suffer burnout, suffer through doubt and even bouts of self-pity.
In essence, you are my friends. Whether you choose to lurk and read or read and actively comment, I treasure each and everyone of you that stops by to visit Cedar's Mountain.
So to all of my new friends, my old friends and friends that have passed me by, let me reintroduce myself to you.
Except that this particular journey was started not by me putting one foot in front of the other, but by getting the traditional bum's rush out the front door.
My abnormal journey (yes abnormal) began when I fell victim to the current malady that has infected this country for the past five years back in 2003. In 2002, our state was hemorrhaging red ink, which like today, was due to one party being unable to practice fiscal restraint. So in 2003, I was made redundant.
In July 2003, I was made non-redundant and eventually made it back to the agency that made me redundant in the first place. In January 2004, I made the fateful decision, although I didn't know it at the time, that eventually got me to where I am today.
I accepted a transfer to another agency.
Fast forward to 2007.
I was roughly one year into my writing journey (although at the time I was a pretty sucky writer), when by happenstance I decided to comment on a news story, which in turn led me to the world of the chat rooms, where I proceeded to spend 3 1/2 turbulent years losing what little sanity I had to begin with and developing full blown paranoia. But this post is not about that.
In 2008, a cyber friend to whom I had reconciled with, suggested that I should move my ramblings over to the blog world. That way, I could still be funny, not worry about censorship issues and most importantly, I could practice my writing.
About my writing: I never did any kind of creative writing until 2006 (age 41). Until then, most of my creativity was verbal and the most writing I ever did were monthly reports and business correspondence.
So on May 24, 2008, I introduced the cyber world to my fractured little mind that is Cedar's Mountain.
About the blog name: It's partial tribute to the mountain I live next to and partial tribute to one of the most divisive chat room personas that was ever created in the latter part of the 2000's.
I will now spare everyone the overly redundant minutia about this blog and my writing that has been covered in more ways than the OJ Simpson car chase, and instead concentrate on writing a free-form monologue that pays tribute to you the reader.
YOU THE READER
When I had first starting writing this blog back in 2008, the only person I wrote it for, was me. I figured that if I had any other people show up to read my ramblings, then it was considered icing on the cake. But after doing a few months of writing for myself, I kind of got tired of writing for myself. So off I went to do the blog surfing that is part and parcel of bringing people to my neck of the woods.
Sure enough, that blog surfing paid off as for the next five years, you have honored my blog by gracing it with your presence, because to be brutally honest, my blog would be nothing without you being here to read my ramblings, to comment on my ramblings, to commiserate, to cajole, and every once in a blue moon, call me on a few of my more provocative posts (Gracias Dave Barber and Lynn).
Only you the reader, has inspired me to be my very best, which at times has been detrimental to my well being, since my high standards have exacted a toll that I'm still paying for today. Nevertheless, no matter what my high standards may have done to me negatively over the years, they are minuscule to what they have done for me on the positive side of the chart.
For if anything, they have made me keep this blog going on consistent basis for almost 5 solid years. Why? Because the one thing I have going for me, and everyone has this trait in them, is my word. I told myself years ago, and I've mentioned on this blog periodically as well, that I don't dare disappoint my readers. My readers have my word that above all they come first in this blog, for without you, then all I'm doing is sucking up space and not making a world of difference to anyone.
You have kept me going through all of my highs and all of my lows. You are what helps me keep going whenever I get down in the dumps, suffer burnout, suffer through doubt and even bouts of self-pity.
In essence, you are my friends. Whether you choose to lurk and read or read and actively comment, I treasure each and everyone of you that stops by to visit Cedar's Mountain.
So to all of my new friends, my old friends and friends that have passed me by, let me reintroduce myself to you.
My name is G.B. Miller and I welcome you to my little slice of heaven located smack dab in the middle of suburbia that is called Cedar's Mountain.
And believe it or not, I really do go out in public like my picture, 'cause you know that the world indeed does revolve around me.
Except when Joanne says otherwise.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Verbiage? What Verbiage? I Don't See No Verbiage.
Which about sums up my lack of writing this year. But, be that as it may, I shall make a genuine effort at regaling you with tales of daring do, or rather, tales of from the deepest darkest cranny of my brain.
Anywho, it's been a very long while since I've told everyone what in the wide wide world of sports is going on with my writing, so I thought I would take the time by telling everyone what the agony of victory and the positive thrill of defeat is going on.
With that being said, let us get rid of said cliches and get on down to the nitty gritty of what's what with what.
shush, i am on a ron-a-roll here, so sit back and enjoy.
Line 21
Line 21 has been out for about five and a half months now, and I'm very proud with the way things have been unfolding with it. While it has been a series of ups (out as an e-book and as print) and downs (having to shut down a book signing early due to complaints, and striking out at a few fairs because of the content), I am very proud of what I've accomplished for myself. No matter what else may happen in my writing career, I will always look back on this moment with an overwhelming sense of pride.
So if you haven't had the chance to check out a truly unique piece of quirky fiction that is a smidgen of romance, a smidgen of mystery, a large slice of paranormal fantasy, a healthy slathering of reconciling personal values with the real world and a positively overflowing wading pool of exploring the salacious side of life in all of its glorious excesses, here is a five page preview of what Line 21 is all about.
A Shadow Warrior's Redemption
Not much going on with this at the moment. I have three queries out and I'm doing a careful search and destroy for other publishers to query. I haven't forgotten about writing a few posts about it (much like I did with Line 21) but things have been a bit chaotic for the past few months in the real world and I simply haven't found the time to do the topic justice. As soon as I can find the time, I will write some very intriguing posts about it.
Time To Go
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about getting back into the swing of things with my writing. A few days later, I gave serious thought to what a particular commenter had said about always moving forward. I was already have second thoughts about merging my very decent chapbook into the slush novel of the same name, but this particular comment basically pushed me into the direction that I really needed to go in, but not with the item that I've been experiencing a major conundrum with ever since I started writing the damn thing.
My personal slush novel.
You know, the one that was inspired by a particular disgusting scene from an Australian crime movie in a genre that I have a love/hate relationship. Where I had taken pen to paper and wrote a particularly scathing blog post about back in 2011. The one that if it ever got published, people would look at me in a not-very-good-way.
Yes, that novel.
Last weekend (4/5-6), I took out that novel and spend the better part of the weekend getting in touch with my inner demons and the plot line. I did a little editing, took a few more notes, clarified a few others and thought, "WTF am I getting myself into?"
I eventually answered the question on Sunday while having lunch with the wife: I started writing down new character names in a memo pad. In front of my wife. You should know that in the almost 7 years that I've been writing, I have never, ever, ever written down anything related to a story in front of my wife. Ever.
I'm sure you're curious as to what I wrote, so I'll tell you, and afterwards, you can let your imagination run completely wild as to what kind of novel I'm actually writing.
Two of my lead characters were called Toi and Davy, which if you think about, aren't really fitting for a novel of this kind. So I changed them to Tomas and Dean.
Have fun. Nice shot man.
Anywho, it's been a very long while since I've told everyone what in the wide wide world of sports is going on with my writing, so I thought I would take the time by telling everyone what the agony of victory and the positive thrill of defeat is going on.
With that being said, let us get rid of said cliches and get on down to the nitty gritty of what's what with what.
shush, i am on a ron-a-roll here, so sit back and enjoy.
Line 21
Line 21 has been out for about five and a half months now, and I'm very proud with the way things have been unfolding with it. While it has been a series of ups (out as an e-book and as print) and downs (having to shut down a book signing early due to complaints, and striking out at a few fairs because of the content), I am very proud of what I've accomplished for myself. No matter what else may happen in my writing career, I will always look back on this moment with an overwhelming sense of pride.
So if you haven't had the chance to check out a truly unique piece of quirky fiction that is a smidgen of romance, a smidgen of mystery, a large slice of paranormal fantasy, a healthy slathering of reconciling personal values with the real world and a positively overflowing wading pool of exploring the salacious side of life in all of its glorious excesses, here is a five page preview of what Line 21 is all about.
A Shadow Warrior's Redemption
Not much going on with this at the moment. I have three queries out and I'm doing a careful search and destroy for other publishers to query. I haven't forgotten about writing a few posts about it (much like I did with Line 21) but things have been a bit chaotic for the past few months in the real world and I simply haven't found the time to do the topic justice. As soon as I can find the time, I will write some very intriguing posts about it.
Time To Go
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about getting back into the swing of things with my writing. A few days later, I gave serious thought to what a particular commenter had said about always moving forward. I was already have second thoughts about merging my very decent chapbook into the slush novel of the same name, but this particular comment basically pushed me into the direction that I really needed to go in, but not with the item that I've been experiencing a major conundrum with ever since I started writing the damn thing.
My personal slush novel.
You know, the one that was inspired by a particular disgusting scene from an Australian crime movie in a genre that I have a love/hate relationship. Where I had taken pen to paper and wrote a particularly scathing blog post about back in 2011. The one that if it ever got published, people would look at me in a not-very-good-way.
Yes, that novel.
Last weekend (4/5-6), I took out that novel and spend the better part of the weekend getting in touch with my inner demons and the plot line. I did a little editing, took a few more notes, clarified a few others and thought, "WTF am I getting myself into?"
I eventually answered the question on Sunday while having lunch with the wife: I started writing down new character names in a memo pad. In front of my wife. You should know that in the almost 7 years that I've been writing, I have never, ever, ever written down anything related to a story in front of my wife. Ever.
I'm sure you're curious as to what I wrote, so I'll tell you, and afterwards, you can let your imagination run completely wild as to what kind of novel I'm actually writing.
Two of my lead characters were called Toi and Davy, which if you think about, aren't really fitting for a novel of this kind. So I changed them to Tomas and Dean.
Have fun. Nice shot man.
Sunday, March 31, 2013
I Is Losted
For three solid years (2010 thru 2012) I didn't let anyone or anything stop me from achieving my goal of being a published somebody. I developed serious tunnel vision as I motored my way through from a seed of an idea that was planted in my head on Super Bowl Sunday to a first draft, second draft, editing, re-editing, third draft, re-re-editing, contract, cover, trailer, first galley, second galley and finally e-publication, with print publication taking place this year.
With that success still fresh, I decided to tweak a novella so that I could continue my journey of becoming a published somebody. That particular item occupied my time for another two months or so, as I re-edited and re-wrote the novella until it was a high glossy finish, and began the laborious process of querying and submitting.
While that was going on, I decided to work on my slush novel, so that I would have something in the on deck circle once I had succeeded in landing my novella with a publisher.
However, a problem quickly raised its very ugly head and has threatened to permanently derail this new project.
No passion.
Try as I might, I am seriously lacking the passion to actually write this thing. Whether its because I have the daunting task of completely re-writing 12 chapters and merging a chapbook into a viable product, or the fact that I plan on using my Dragon software to write this entire thing from beginning to end, I honestly can't say.
With my previous book, the passion and drive was there. I mean, I wrote that thing on my computer at home, on paper in my backyard, on paper at the park, you name the location, I cranked out at least a few paragraphs.
With this project, the passion and drive is definitely not there. It's more like, "Gotta sit my ass down and make a go of this. Oh wait, I should write a brief outline/synopsis so I know what the F this thing is all about, then I should do a little research for new character names, maybe come up with a new direction/twist...." and so on and so on. Anything to avoid to do actual writing.
To be honest with everyone, this issue is actually part of larger problem, which is the lack of original writing. I have not written an original word since April 2010. As of this post, that's coming up on 4 years.
4 years.
Four years of no writing putting me into a sour mood is bad enough, but when I'm reading the various blogs and Facebook pages of fellow writers and I see all of these updates by everyone of the fantastic progress that everyone is making with their writing, not only does my sour mood turn ugly, but now I'm become just a tad unglued.
I actually have nothing against my fellow writers for doing what they're doing and I'm all for them, but comparing their progress with my lack of progress (among other things) puts me into the type of frame of mind that makes it a daily struggle not to act like a total Richard.
So, how does one deal with the reality of when one's passion/drive for writing rides off into the sunset for a seriously extended vacation?
With that success still fresh, I decided to tweak a novella so that I could continue my journey of becoming a published somebody. That particular item occupied my time for another two months or so, as I re-edited and re-wrote the novella until it was a high glossy finish, and began the laborious process of querying and submitting.
While that was going on, I decided to work on my slush novel, so that I would have something in the on deck circle once I had succeeded in landing my novella with a publisher.
However, a problem quickly raised its very ugly head and has threatened to permanently derail this new project.
No passion.
Try as I might, I am seriously lacking the passion to actually write this thing. Whether its because I have the daunting task of completely re-writing 12 chapters and merging a chapbook into a viable product, or the fact that I plan on using my Dragon software to write this entire thing from beginning to end, I honestly can't say.
With my previous book, the passion and drive was there. I mean, I wrote that thing on my computer at home, on paper in my backyard, on paper at the park, you name the location, I cranked out at least a few paragraphs.
With this project, the passion and drive is definitely not there. It's more like, "Gotta sit my ass down and make a go of this. Oh wait, I should write a brief outline/synopsis so I know what the F this thing is all about, then I should do a little research for new character names, maybe come up with a new direction/twist...." and so on and so on. Anything to avoid to do actual writing.
To be honest with everyone, this issue is actually part of larger problem, which is the lack of original writing. I have not written an original word since April 2010. As of this post, that's coming up on 4 years.
4 years.
Four years of no writing putting me into a sour mood is bad enough, but when I'm reading the various blogs and Facebook pages of fellow writers and I see all of these updates by everyone of the fantastic progress that everyone is making with their writing, not only does my sour mood turn ugly, but now I'm become just a tad unglued.
I actually have nothing against my fellow writers for doing what they're doing and I'm all for them, but comparing their progress with my lack of progress (among other things) puts me into the type of frame of mind that makes it a daily struggle not to act like a total Richard.
So, how does one deal with the reality of when one's passion/drive for writing rides off into the sunset for a seriously extended vacation?
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Dabbling Here
I often find myself, from time to time, dabbling in genres that I either don't read much of (crime fiction) or very seldom (horror). And when I do dabble in those genres, it's more for personal curiosity than for actual publication.
Take horror for example.
I don't read much in the way of horror these days (sorry Charles), nor do I write it for publication. However, I am fascinated enough by a certain aspect, namely cannibalism, that I do enjoy writing little ditties/flash fiction about.
I'm not sure why the fascination with cannibalism had decided to take up residence inside my head. I don't think I did anything to ecourage it, beyond reading the usual stories some twenty to thirty years ago about it. I did have a small obsession with true crime back then (still do to a certain degree), so maybe that had something to do with it. Certainly didn't watch horror moves then or now either (unless you count Zombieland).
But nevertheless, the fascination with cannibalism has made me write weird pieces of flash that have popped up on the blog from time to time. I've also written two very strange short stories for my now closed short story blog, one of which I may try to submit to e-zines again, once I decide to fix a few continuity issues that a writer friend had thoughtfully pointed out to me.
In any event, weird pieces of flash cannibalism will continue to pop up on the blog from time to time, which usually springs from my fertile imagination whenever I'm having shitty day at work.
Up next, another genre that I dabble in from time to time..
Take horror for example.
I don't read much in the way of horror these days (sorry Charles), nor do I write it for publication. However, I am fascinated enough by a certain aspect, namely cannibalism, that I do enjoy writing little ditties/flash fiction about.
I'm not sure why the fascination with cannibalism had decided to take up residence inside my head. I don't think I did anything to ecourage it, beyond reading the usual stories some twenty to thirty years ago about it. I did have a small obsession with true crime back then (still do to a certain degree), so maybe that had something to do with it. Certainly didn't watch horror moves then or now either (unless you count Zombieland).
But nevertheless, the fascination with cannibalism has made me write weird pieces of flash that have popped up on the blog from time to time. I've also written two very strange short stories for my now closed short story blog, one of which I may try to submit to e-zines again, once I decide to fix a few continuity issues that a writer friend had thoughtfully pointed out to me.
In any event, weird pieces of flash cannibalism will continue to pop up on the blog from time to time, which usually springs from my fertile imagination whenever I'm having shitty day at work.
Up next, another genre that I dabble in from time to time..
Friday, March 22, 2013
A Writing Vacation We Did Take, But Did We Actually Write?
Last week, I decided to take a two and a half day vacation from work so that I might be able to do some writing, 'cause to put it bluntly, I have not done any original writing (i.e non-editing or rewriting) since 2010. Yes, I know it sounds hard to believe, but there was a plan of attack behind the drought, in that I would always have something on deck while I was attempting do something with a previously completed manuscript.
In other words, while I was busy trying to get Line 21 published, I had a completed novella on deck, so that when I finally was able to get Line 21 published, I would have something to start the process all over again. So as you can see, I'm kind of anal/linear when it comes to my writing.
Anyways, now that I'm going through the submission/querying process with my novella, I once again need a completed manuscript in the on-deck circle.
Thus, the basic idea behind the writing vacation.
But as you undoubtedly have come to know in your life, the best laid plans are often just that.
So after a 3 1/2 year hiatus, I took out that slush novel (A Lascivious Limbo) and sat down this past Monday at the library to familiarize myself with the various plots and rationales behind the novel. For two hours, I read all 115 pages from beginning to end, trying like hell to remember what I was writing about. Sadly, when I had finished reading, I came to the realization that there was simply no way on Father Nature's green earth I was going to be able to finish this particular slush novel, if ever.
Did I go back to square one? Well, I did spend the next few hours feeling sorry for myself and lamenting over the fact that I didn't get any writing done, so yeah, you might say I went back to square one. After I had gotten the pity party out of my system, I got to thinking on what I should work on next. And truth be told, it quickly became a no-brainer on what I should work on next.
The novel version of my self-pubbed chapbook, Betrayed!
Long story short, back in 2009, I spent several months waffling on whether I should publish a chapbook version of my novella, or give up the self-publishing ghost and concentrate on writing a full length novel. In the end, I did both. I self-pubbed my chapbook and wrote about 10 chapters of the novel, which I ended at the beginning of the chapbook.
Five years later, I now have a project to work on. On one side of the equation, I have 10 completed chapters of a novel. On the other side, I have a chapbook/novella of the exact same thing. So if you can believe it, I got a chance to create something completely new out of two different versions of the same story.
I'm actually looking forward to doing this, because this will give me the opportunity to apply what I've learned in the past five years of writing. Plus, it will give me something to write about on the blog, since having a published outline to a novel is definitely something worth exploring.
First things first, I need to come up with a new title for the novel. The original title was "A Betrayal of Vows" and I'm not too thrilled about keeping it, since I plan on doing a semi-major gutting of the novel and the while the overall plot will remain the same, I want to incorporate a few other things into the mix.
So my question to you is this: what should the title of this new novel be? If you need a refresher, you can click on the link up above which will give you a brief synopsis of the chapbook.
In other words, while I was busy trying to get Line 21 published, I had a completed novella on deck, so that when I finally was able to get Line 21 published, I would have something to start the process all over again. So as you can see, I'm kind of anal/linear when it comes to my writing.
Anyways, now that I'm going through the submission/querying process with my novella, I once again need a completed manuscript in the on-deck circle.
Thus, the basic idea behind the writing vacation.
But as you undoubtedly have come to know in your life, the best laid plans are often just that.
So after a 3 1/2 year hiatus, I took out that slush novel (A Lascivious Limbo) and sat down this past Monday at the library to familiarize myself with the various plots and rationales behind the novel. For two hours, I read all 115 pages from beginning to end, trying like hell to remember what I was writing about. Sadly, when I had finished reading, I came to the realization that there was simply no way on Father Nature's green earth I was going to be able to finish this particular slush novel, if ever.
Did I go back to square one? Well, I did spend the next few hours feeling sorry for myself and lamenting over the fact that I didn't get any writing done, so yeah, you might say I went back to square one. After I had gotten the pity party out of my system, I got to thinking on what I should work on next. And truth be told, it quickly became a no-brainer on what I should work on next.
The novel version of my self-pubbed chapbook, Betrayed!
Long story short, back in 2009, I spent several months waffling on whether I should publish a chapbook version of my novella, or give up the self-publishing ghost and concentrate on writing a full length novel. In the end, I did both. I self-pubbed my chapbook and wrote about 10 chapters of the novel, which I ended at the beginning of the chapbook.
Five years later, I now have a project to work on. On one side of the equation, I have 10 completed chapters of a novel. On the other side, I have a chapbook/novella of the exact same thing. So if you can believe it, I got a chance to create something completely new out of two different versions of the same story.
I'm actually looking forward to doing this, because this will give me the opportunity to apply what I've learned in the past five years of writing. Plus, it will give me something to write about on the blog, since having a published outline to a novel is definitely something worth exploring.
First things first, I need to come up with a new title for the novel. The original title was "A Betrayal of Vows" and I'm not too thrilled about keeping it, since I plan on doing a semi-major gutting of the novel and the while the overall plot will remain the same, I want to incorporate a few other things into the mix.
So my question to you is this: what should the title of this new novel be? If you need a refresher, you can click on the link up above which will give you a brief synopsis of the chapbook.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Fulfilling My New Year's Resolution 2013
About three and a half years ago, I wrote a novella based on this short piece of flash fiction, which was originally based on doing what I do best in my spare time: people watching.
The original plot of that piece of flash fiction was something that was pretty basic and somewhat overused: obsessive love. Nothing more, and certainly nothing less, and as you can see by the comments left at that post, everyone agreed that it was a pretty decent piece of prose, also nothing more and certainly nothing less.
By late December, I had managed to write a roughly thirty page novella, details of which can be found here, broken link and all. And up until recently, the hardest part in writing this novella, was trying to come up with a decent title for it, which after six tries, became "A Shadow Warrior's Redemption".
For the next couple of years, I would periodically tweak it before sending it off to the only part of my writing life in which I have a sparkling .000 batting average: writing contests. Eventually, I got fed up with having a .000 batting average with that story (really, all of my stories that were submitted to writing contests), and after doing one last edit to keep myself occupied while the glacial wheels for publishing my book creakily completed its one and only rotation, I stuck it in my world famous (to me) slush pile of semi-ignorance.
Fast forward to late 2012.
While I was posting a short series on what slush novel I should work on next, an unexpected offer happened to pop up in my other online home (Facebook). So being the flexible writer that I am, I quickly switched gears and pulled out my novella. After giving it some thought, I decided to try something a little different. I had been writing my personal slush crime novel in the first person/present tense for the past several months, and after working through a few kinks, I decided to try the same approach with an already completed story.
So I proceeded to spend the next month re-editing/re-writing my entire novella in the first person/present tense p.o.v. Being pretty stoked about what I had accomplished gave me enough motivation to write out a super short synopsis (678 words) in the first person and the query letter, with a 79 word synopsis, all in the span of about a week and a half.
With everything all set and ready to go, I contacted my friend to ask if her offer was still valid. Sadly, things went bump with her (she was very unhappy with her current publisher), and thus, the offer was no longer valid.
Expressing sympathy for my friend's predicament (about two months later, another friend went through something much worse with the same publisher), I nevertheless decided to soldier on and within a week, I started querying the novella. I immediately sent out one query to a publisher that was looking for novellas, and while I was deciding who to query next (one will definitely be sent to my current publisher, as they're now reopened to some types of submissions, and one will not be sent to that anonymous publisher I had previously mentioned), I also decided to revisit the idea of doing what I did with Line 21 back in 2011 when I had begun querying that novel: create a page to chart the journey to publication of A Shadow Warrior's Redemption.
Thus, I present to you the reading public, the static page for my latest project, A Shadow Warrior's Redemption. Just like with Line 21, you'll be able to follow the journey of ASWR to publication. I don't believe I'll be able to duplicate the success I had querying Line 21 (struck gold on the 13th query), but I do believe that I will strike gold sometime this year with this novella.
And thus, fulfill for the 3rd consecutive year, my New Year's resolution of getting at least one story published.
2011: Short story entitled "Red Stripe"
2012: Commercial debut novel entitled "Line 21"
2013: Will it be ASWR?
The original plot of that piece of flash fiction was something that was pretty basic and somewhat overused: obsessive love. Nothing more, and certainly nothing less, and as you can see by the comments left at that post, everyone agreed that it was a pretty decent piece of prose, also nothing more and certainly nothing less.
By late December, I had managed to write a roughly thirty page novella, details of which can be found here, broken link and all. And up until recently, the hardest part in writing this novella, was trying to come up with a decent title for it, which after six tries, became "A Shadow Warrior's Redemption".
For the next couple of years, I would periodically tweak it before sending it off to the only part of my writing life in which I have a sparkling .000 batting average: writing contests. Eventually, I got fed up with having a .000 batting average with that story (really, all of my stories that were submitted to writing contests), and after doing one last edit to keep myself occupied while the glacial wheels for publishing my book creakily completed its one and only rotation, I stuck it in my world famous (to me) slush pile of semi-ignorance.
Fast forward to late 2012.
While I was posting a short series on what slush novel I should work on next, an unexpected offer happened to pop up in my other online home (Facebook). So being the flexible writer that I am, I quickly switched gears and pulled out my novella. After giving it some thought, I decided to try something a little different. I had been writing my personal slush crime novel in the first person/present tense for the past several months, and after working through a few kinks, I decided to try the same approach with an already completed story.
So I proceeded to spend the next month re-editing/re-writing my entire novella in the first person/present tense p.o.v. Being pretty stoked about what I had accomplished gave me enough motivation to write out a super short synopsis (678 words) in the first person and the query letter, with a 79 word synopsis, all in the span of about a week and a half.
With everything all set and ready to go, I contacted my friend to ask if her offer was still valid. Sadly, things went bump with her (she was very unhappy with her current publisher), and thus, the offer was no longer valid.
Expressing sympathy for my friend's predicament (about two months later, another friend went through something much worse with the same publisher), I nevertheless decided to soldier on and within a week, I started querying the novella. I immediately sent out one query to a publisher that was looking for novellas, and while I was deciding who to query next (one will definitely be sent to my current publisher, as they're now reopened to some types of submissions, and one will not be sent to that anonymous publisher I had previously mentioned), I also decided to revisit the idea of doing what I did with Line 21 back in 2011 when I had begun querying that novel: create a page to chart the journey to publication of A Shadow Warrior's Redemption.
Thus, I present to you the reading public, the static page for my latest project, A Shadow Warrior's Redemption. Just like with Line 21, you'll be able to follow the journey of ASWR to publication. I don't believe I'll be able to duplicate the success I had querying Line 21 (struck gold on the 13th query), but I do believe that I will strike gold sometime this year with this novella.
And thus, fulfill for the 3rd consecutive year, my New Year's resolution of getting at least one story published.
2011: Short story entitled "Red Stripe"
2012: Commercial debut novel entitled "Line 21"
2013: Will it be ASWR?
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Why You Cliche Me?
Cliches.
We all speak them, be they partial or full. And, if you're a writer of stories (not songs, different animal), one of the many important things that get shoved into your head is "never use cliches". To the old way school of thinking, using cliches signifies laziness and lack of effort (unless you're a songwriter).
While for the most part that may be true, what some of those old school thinkers don't really appreciate, is that in the hands of a good writer, a cliche can be another weapon in their vast arsenal of creative goodies.
Why? Because a good writer will realize that a judicious use of a cliche template can make a story flow just as smooth as if it weren't there to begin with.
I came to this epiphany (for lack of a better term) while I was proofing my PDF for print release. One of the small reason why I got to where I am right now, is that I didn't have an over reliance on cliches. While my story does have some cliches, I did make a concentrated effort to make them pertinent to the scene in question.
I think that is the key in using cliches: making them pertinent and/or relevant to the secene question. Too often, people will throw a cliche in because it sounds nice and not because it makes sense. I mean, what good is throwing in a cliche if it don't make sense?
I'm finding that this is one of the small things that makes me grow as a writer, in that I'm weaning myself from an over reliance of cliched words and phrases. Sure I'll still use them, but I do want to make sure that when I do use it, it's relevant to the scene.
How about you? If you're a writer, do you make a concentrated effort to make the cliches that you might use relevant and more importantly, fresh for the scene? If you're a reader, doesn't matter if its a book, magazine or newspaper, do you appreciate the use of cliches, or do you find the usage a bit of a distraction?
We all speak them, be they partial or full. And, if you're a writer of stories (not songs, different animal), one of the many important things that get shoved into your head is "never use cliches". To the old way school of thinking, using cliches signifies laziness and lack of effort (unless you're a songwriter).
While for the most part that may be true, what some of those old school thinkers don't really appreciate, is that in the hands of a good writer, a cliche can be another weapon in their vast arsenal of creative goodies.
Why? Because a good writer will realize that a judicious use of a cliche template can make a story flow just as smooth as if it weren't there to begin with.
I came to this epiphany (for lack of a better term) while I was proofing my PDF for print release. One of the small reason why I got to where I am right now, is that I didn't have an over reliance on cliches. While my story does have some cliches, I did make a concentrated effort to make them pertinent to the scene in question.
I think that is the key in using cliches: making them pertinent and/or relevant to the secene question. Too often, people will throw a cliche in because it sounds nice and not because it makes sense. I mean, what good is throwing in a cliche if it don't make sense?
I'm finding that this is one of the small things that makes me grow as a writer, in that I'm weaning myself from an over reliance of cliched words and phrases. Sure I'll still use them, but I do want to make sure that when I do use it, it's relevant to the scene.
How about you? If you're a writer, do you make a concentrated effort to make the cliches that you might use relevant and more importantly, fresh for the scene? If you're a reader, doesn't matter if its a book, magazine or newspaper, do you appreciate the use of cliches, or do you find the usage a bit of a distraction?
Monday, February 4, 2013
Three Weeks To The Day And I'm So Ready For This
On February 28, 2012, I announced that I finally accomplished this seriously major goal that I had set for myself.
On February 5, 2013, I will be having my very first book signing for Line 21, as I will be appearing as a vendor at my job. Even though I'll have a semi-captive audience, as the building isn't really open to the general public beyond the ground floor, this will be the first time that I'll be presenting myself to my co-workers as a writer, and not as a flaky co-worker. More importantly though, this vending gig will allow me to properly pimp my book without getting into trouble or violating the rules.
I'm pretty sure I got almost everything that I need for the book signing, but let me double check my list.
4} Displays pimping the e-book? Absolutely!
5} Extension cords for the mini-DVD player? Yup!
6} DVD to show the potential book buyers what the book is all about?
7} But most importantly, do I have this bad boy in print to sell?
Damn straight that I do.
I have everything that I need in order to (hopefully) pull off this five hour book signing. I've also did as much word of mouth that I could get away with doing to let people know that I got this book signing happening.
I also like to point out that I did the one thing that probably all writers do when they publish their very first book and get their hands on a print copy: I drooled and spent a nearly a whole minute completely speechless as I opened the big ass 25lb box and took out a pristine copy to hold, study, read and basically savor.
Whether I wind up selling out of my initial purchase of 25 books or if I sell just one is beside the point (almost). The fact that I'm putting myself out in public to pimp something of my own that I really and truly believe in is seriously major step in the right direction for me.
I would like to close out this post by once again thanking everyone who have stuck by me through thick and thin, not only on this blog, but behind the scenes in the real world. I really couldn't have done this without your support or your encouragement. Without it, I don't think I would be doing what I'm doing now.
And I promise not only to post a link at my book blog where you can purchase an autographed copy after the book signing, but I promise to give you an update on Wednesday to let you know how everything went.
On February 5, 2013, I will be having my very first book signing for Line 21, as I will be appearing as a vendor at my job. Even though I'll have a semi-captive audience, as the building isn't really open to the general public beyond the ground floor, this will be the first time that I'll be presenting myself to my co-workers as a writer, and not as a flaky co-worker. More importantly though, this vending gig will allow me to properly pimp my book without getting into trouble or violating the rules.
I'm pretty sure I got almost everything that I need for the book signing, but let me double check my list.
1} New business cards?
2} Business cards of the book cover?
3} Bookmarks?
4} Displays pimping the e-book? Absolutely!
5} Extension cords for the mini-DVD player? Yup!
6} DVD to show the potential book buyers what the book is all about?
7} But most importantly, do I have this bad boy in print to sell?
Damn straight that I do.
I have everything that I need in order to (hopefully) pull off this five hour book signing. I've also did as much word of mouth that I could get away with doing to let people know that I got this book signing happening.
I also like to point out that I did the one thing that probably all writers do when they publish their very first book and get their hands on a print copy: I drooled and spent a nearly a whole minute completely speechless as I opened the big ass 25lb box and took out a pristine copy to hold, study, read and basically savor.
Whether I wind up selling out of my initial purchase of 25 books or if I sell just one is beside the point (almost). The fact that I'm putting myself out in public to pimp something of my own that I really and truly believe in is seriously major step in the right direction for me.
I would like to close out this post by once again thanking everyone who have stuck by me through thick and thin, not only on this blog, but behind the scenes in the real world. I really couldn't have done this without your support or your encouragement. Without it, I don't think I would be doing what I'm doing now.
And I promise not only to post a link at my book blog where you can purchase an autographed copy after the book signing, but I promise to give you an update on Wednesday to let you know how everything went.
Friday, February 1, 2013
Blue?
And now we finish our mini series about nudity and women in fiction by exploring the sixty-nine shades of diversity called censorship...umm....personal taste.
Tongue is not planted firmly in cheek. And if you really want me to go there, I will. Just not on this blog.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
No, not that kind of blue, although I haven't been that in a few years, but the kind of blue that people would say as a clean substitute for smut, and I'm not talking about the organic kind that is a bane to most wheat farmers.
I thought I would talk about how one can get banned without even knowing about it.
The other day I was on Facebook, trolling thru other people's conversation threads and checking out my notifications, when I came across one from someone who happened to invite me to an event that he created, in which one could share their book trailers.
I clicked on the notification and found myself reading a comment put forth by the creator of the event that contained the following guidelines.
1} No nudity, except classical art.
2} If it contains even a slight hint, a warning/disclaimer must be posted.
3} He reserves the right to remove any book trailer that he deems offensive.
As you can imagine, this did not go over very well with a few people, including myself, since it would virtually eliminate everyone in the erotica genre. It certainly eliminated me, because the only nudity contained in my book trailer is my book cover.
As for posting a warning or disclaimer, I think not. If I thought something of mine was obscene for Facebook, chances are excellent that you wouldn't see it on Facebook. I have a tendency to treat people as adults (the horror!) and thus responsible for their actions. If someone doesn't like something because they think its obscene, then they don't have to watch it.
By the flip of the coin, I don't like it when someone tries to censor me because they don't approve of what I have to say. Censorship and uneven enforcement of the rules were some of the reasons why I left the chat rooms and moved over to the blogs. And by saying that you reserve the right to yank my video if you're offended by it, kind of sounds like political correctness.
In any event, while I didn't go nuclear over this particular issue (and I really couldn't because I was invited to this event), I did voice my opinion about this little hitch in the giddyup, mostly because of the censorship/sanitizing of the event.
I did mention the fact, rather emphatically, that it is very hard for someone who writes quirky erotica to find a marketing opportunity for their work. A good chunk of the time people are a little leery in allowing a person to pimp their erotica.
In the end, I politely declined the invite and gave the reason why as being the rule about nudity that was instituted.
So how about you? Have you experienced something similar to what I went through? If you've created an event such as this, would you have the same rule in place?
Tongue is not planted firmly in cheek. And if you really want me to go there, I will. Just not on this blog.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
No, not that kind of blue, although I haven't been that in a few years, but the kind of blue that people would say as a clean substitute for smut, and I'm not talking about the organic kind that is a bane to most wheat farmers.
I thought I would talk about how one can get banned without even knowing about it.
The other day I was on Facebook, trolling thru other people's conversation threads and checking out my notifications, when I came across one from someone who happened to invite me to an event that he created, in which one could share their book trailers.
I clicked on the notification and found myself reading a comment put forth by the creator of the event that contained the following guidelines.
1} No nudity, except classical art.
2} If it contains even a slight hint, a warning/disclaimer must be posted.
3} He reserves the right to remove any book trailer that he deems offensive.
As you can imagine, this did not go over very well with a few people, including myself, since it would virtually eliminate everyone in the erotica genre. It certainly eliminated me, because the only nudity contained in my book trailer is my book cover.
As for posting a warning or disclaimer, I think not. If I thought something of mine was obscene for Facebook, chances are excellent that you wouldn't see it on Facebook. I have a tendency to treat people as adults (the horror!) and thus responsible for their actions. If someone doesn't like something because they think its obscene, then they don't have to watch it.
By the flip of the coin, I don't like it when someone tries to censor me because they don't approve of what I have to say. Censorship and uneven enforcement of the rules were some of the reasons why I left the chat rooms and moved over to the blogs. And by saying that you reserve the right to yank my video if you're offended by it, kind of sounds like political correctness.
In any event, while I didn't go nuclear over this particular issue (and I really couldn't because I was invited to this event), I did voice my opinion about this little hitch in the giddyup, mostly because of the censorship/sanitizing of the event.
I did mention the fact, rather emphatically, that it is very hard for someone who writes quirky erotica to find a marketing opportunity for their work. A good chunk of the time people are a little leery in allowing a person to pimp their erotica.
In the end, I politely declined the invite and gave the reason why as being the rule about nudity that was instituted.
So how about you? Have you experienced something similar to what I went through? If you've created an event such as this, would you have the same rule in place?
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Now Objectify!
I thought I would finish off this weird week by doing a two part series on nudity and women in fiction, and yes, you can fully immerse your mind in the gutter because I really want to hear your opinion about nudity and women in fiction. So sit back, relax, have a few beers, turn on those Dallas Cowboys on your t.v. Lock your doors and close your minds. It's time, for the two minute warning....whoops, wrong tangent.
~~~~~~~~~~~
The other day I was participating in a conversation about smaller government (a very big thing within a sub-circle of my Facebook friends), when a particular person we'll call Andrea decided, as some liberals are want to do when they find themselves on the losing end of a well thought out multi-pronged argument to change the topic by dumping on my book cover and saying I should be ashamed about objectifying women.
My reply, in its entirety, was this:
I finished the comment by doing a brief pimp of my book.
Suffice to say, Andrea didn't really have a response to my comment and instead switched to another topic of discussion.
However, the question itself did get me to think about what I write and how I write it.
While it's true for the most part that my stories are dripping with sex, or rather, have lead characters who simply ooze estrogen, it's also equally true that I make a genuine effort in creating my character as strong as they can be. Again, I know it sounds cliche, but I do enjoy making my characters use sex as a weapon of control.
Line 21 does have an underlying theme of control, in that Jeannie discovers (belatedly) that she can basically control her slice of the world simply by using what she has.
In my short story Red Stripe punk rock singer Krystal also uses her body, as well as her voice, as a weapon to control, inspired and incite the crowd with tragic consequences.
The point I'm trying to make, is that in adult fiction (as well as other mediums) sex sells, and thus requires a writer to use a certain amount of that particular weapon to enhance and/or round out a story. Doesn't necessarily mean that we objectify a woman (or man for that matter), only that we are using the gift that we have to the best of our abilities. No more and no less.
So my question to you is simply this: What is your opinion about turning a woman (or a man) into an object of desire and/or fantasy for the purpose of a story?
~~~~~~~~~~~
The other day I was participating in a conversation about smaller government (a very big thing within a sub-circle of my Facebook friends), when a particular person we'll call Andrea decided, as some liberals are want to do when they find themselves on the losing end of a well thought out multi-pronged argument to change the topic by dumping on my book cover and saying I should be ashamed about objectifying women.
 |
| Now In Print |
Sure, let's talk about how I objectify women. My avatar picture is my commercial debut called "Line 21". It's the story about a woman who's in debt to her uncle the loan shark, and the only way that she can come up with the $2000 in five day is to become an adult movie actress.
Now, if you have an issue with a woman using her body to earn money to pay bills, pay tuition for college, or simply to live a better life, that's your prerogative. But I can point you in the direction of dozens of women who do just that with what they do, be it with making movies, dancing as a stripper (Gold's Club anyone?), be in rap videos, what have you, in order to better themselves.
So please, tell me how writing a story about a woman who has an ethical quandary in using her body that way is objectifying her?
Andrea, do yourself a favor and go to a bookstore or surf Amazon and you'll find quite a few books written by women who have done exactly that, and not only have made a career out of doing it, but built a solid money making company out of it as well.
I finished the comment by doing a brief pimp of my book.
Suffice to say, Andrea didn't really have a response to my comment and instead switched to another topic of discussion.
However, the question itself did get me to think about what I write and how I write it.
While it's true for the most part that my stories are dripping with sex, or rather, have lead characters who simply ooze estrogen, it's also equally true that I make a genuine effort in creating my character as strong as they can be. Again, I know it sounds cliche, but I do enjoy making my characters use sex as a weapon of control.
Line 21 does have an underlying theme of control, in that Jeannie discovers (belatedly) that she can basically control her slice of the world simply by using what she has.
In my short story Red Stripe punk rock singer Krystal also uses her body, as well as her voice, as a weapon to control, inspired and incite the crowd with tragic consequences.
The point I'm trying to make, is that in adult fiction (as well as other mediums) sex sells, and thus requires a writer to use a certain amount of that particular weapon to enhance and/or round out a story. Doesn't necessarily mean that we objectify a woman (or man for that matter), only that we are using the gift that we have to the best of our abilities. No more and no less.
So my question to you is simply this: What is your opinion about turning a woman (or a man) into an object of desire and/or fantasy for the purpose of a story?
Monday, January 21, 2013
How Do You Feel?
First up, let us celebrate the fact that today is post number 950. Can you believe it? I've written 950 posts for this nifty little blog. This calls for a very brief video blast from Connecticut's Hockey past.
Now, on with our post.
If you happen to be reading this not in your reader or in your e-mail, but live on the blog itself (that means you've clicked through) and you noticed that my follower count has grown, there is a very good reason for that.
Now it just so happens that the title of today's post is pulled from a new thingy that Facebook had introduced for it's users. Instead of seeing a blank box, users now see cutesy phrases like the one that you see up above.
So to answer the question, "How do I feel?" I feel purty good, and I'll tell you why I feel purty good.
About a week ago, I was invited to a general purpose event from a new writer friend. Now normally, I usually decline these events because I'm never around when they actually go off. But this time, I decided to participate.
Best thing that I ever did, because by the end of the week, I gained almost 20 new writer friends and after posting links to my blogs, gained 7 new followers to this blog. I can safely say that it was without a doubt, the best thing that I've ever done. Beyond gaining new writer friends in genres that I'm starting to explore, the networking experience has been invaluable.
For example, I managed to score an ARC from an indie writer and I'm in the process of reading & reviewing it for her.
But more importantly than that, all of this friending and networking got me motivated to write a query letter for my novella A Shadow Warrior's Redemption. For those of you who are on Facebook, you can check out the query letter in its entirety at my facebook page, which is called simply enough "Query Letter".
The absolutely funniest thing about writing this query letter is that, unlike the one I wrote for Line 21 that took me about two and a half weeks, this one I hammered the first draft out in 10 minutes. I wrote the brief synopsis in a post last week and used that in the letter. This past Saturday (1/19), I sat down to write a hook, a summation and a new synopsis for it. The 2nd draft took me about 15 minutes. I would now like to share the meat of that 2nd draft with you and I would like your opinion on it. I will tell you I got some nifty comments on it so far on Facebook, including a request from a fellow writer to read the story because her curiosity was piqued after reading it.
The meat of the letter (hook, synopsis and summation) goes like this:
So even though I'm still of the opinion that Facebook is not the be all to end all when it comes to social media, it does help you as writer to get your book, your voice, and more importantly, yourself, for all the world to see and experience.
How about you? Has Facebook been able to help you in the things that you do?
Now, on with our post.
If you happen to be reading this not in your reader or in your e-mail, but live on the blog itself (that means you've clicked through) and you noticed that my follower count has grown, there is a very good reason for that.
Now it just so happens that the title of today's post is pulled from a new thingy that Facebook had introduced for it's users. Instead of seeing a blank box, users now see cutesy phrases like the one that you see up above.
So to answer the question, "How do I feel?" I feel purty good, and I'll tell you why I feel purty good.
About a week ago, I was invited to a general purpose event from a new writer friend. Now normally, I usually decline these events because I'm never around when they actually go off. But this time, I decided to participate.
Best thing that I ever did, because by the end of the week, I gained almost 20 new writer friends and after posting links to my blogs, gained 7 new followers to this blog. I can safely say that it was without a doubt, the best thing that I've ever done. Beyond gaining new writer friends in genres that I'm starting to explore, the networking experience has been invaluable.
For example, I managed to score an ARC from an indie writer and I'm in the process of reading & reviewing it for her.
But more importantly than that, all of this friending and networking got me motivated to write a query letter for my novella A Shadow Warrior's Redemption. For those of you who are on Facebook, you can check out the query letter in its entirety at my facebook page, which is called simply enough "Query Letter".
The absolutely funniest thing about writing this query letter is that, unlike the one I wrote for Line 21 that took me about two and a half weeks, this one I hammered the first draft out in 10 minutes. I wrote the brief synopsis in a post last week and used that in the letter. This past Saturday (1/19), I sat down to write a hook, a summation and a new synopsis for it. The 2nd draft took me about 15 minutes. I would now like to share the meat of that 2nd draft with you and I would like your opinion on it. I will tell you I got some nifty comments on it so far on Facebook, including a request from a fellow writer to read the story because her curiosity was piqued after reading it.
The meat of the letter (hook, synopsis and summation) goes like this:
The hotter the humiliation, the more sickening the payback.All that I have left to do before submitting, is to clean/tidy the synopsis and do one last round of editing.
Ashanti, a demonic spirit that escaped from Purgatory centuries ago, is blackmailed by Kevin to turn Keisha, the girl of his obsession, into the hottest slut of any male or female's desire, so that he can ride to her rescue and make her beholden to him. A distress call sent out by Ashanti's eldest child prompts two archangels, Michael and Raphael, to appear in the flesh and help Ashanti not only obliterate Kevin but to become Keisha's personal savior.
A Shadow Warrior's Redemption tells the story of how a supreme demon bitch from the bowels of Hell, when pressed, can briefly become a genuinely compassionate being.
So even though I'm still of the opinion that Facebook is not the be all to end all when it comes to social media, it does help you as writer to get your book, your voice, and more importantly, yourself, for all the world to see and experience.
How about you? Has Facebook been able to help you in the things that you do?
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Don't Tell Them That!
Contest update: To Debra and David, I have not forgotten about you. My book hasn't dropped to print yet (although my publisher are doing their very best to clear out the backlog, for which I am extremely grateful) and as soon as it does, I will ship it out to you.
I would to share with a few pearls of wisdom that I have learned the hard way while I have been on this curious writing journey.
This is especially pertinent if you write the kind of fiction that I write (here, here and here). This is the fastest way of a) making someone feel wickedly uncomfortable, and b) killing a friendship.
Think about it for a minute. If you write fiction that is flavored to varying degrees with sex, do you really want to tell a particular individual that they inspired you to write a steamy story?
While they may be flattered at first for all about ten seconds, that feeling will change faster than a politician with no courage of their convictions once they get hold of your story and read it. If it contains anything like I write (women of color are the main characters, either overtly or implied), I can almost guarantee that you will have the equivalent of a .45 pointed at an area between the legs while you try to explain their assumption would be incorrect.
So to cure this potential problem, if those friends (my circle of friends are predominately female) of yours ask about your inspiration, lie like a dog. You'll be thankful that you did, and more importantly, you'll still be in one piece AND your friends will still be your friends.
If you have a spouse or friend who knows about your writing and is generally supportive of your writing endeavors, and they happen to inquire on whether or not they're written into a particular story that you're working on, don't come down with a case of the honestys and tell them no. That is the worst possible thing that you can say, because it will create conflict and a argument where there was none before.
Again, think about it for a minute. If they know about the story that you're working on, and you've talked about it in excruciating detail for months on end, don't let them assume anything other than they might be part of the story. If you keep them in the dark, they'll be happy and you'll be happy (and still friends/married).
For the record, I have told one person that they were written into a story of mine, and that was because they won a contest. For details, check out part one and part two of that particular contest.
I would to share with a few pearls of wisdom that I have learned the hard way while I have been on this curious writing journey.
Don't tell certain people that they're the source of inspiration for a given story.
This is especially pertinent if you write the kind of fiction that I write (here, here and here). This is the fastest way of a) making someone feel wickedly uncomfortable, and b) killing a friendship.
Think about it for a minute. If you write fiction that is flavored to varying degrees with sex, do you really want to tell a particular individual that they inspired you to write a steamy story?
While they may be flattered at first for all about ten seconds, that feeling will change faster than a politician with no courage of their convictions once they get hold of your story and read it. If it contains anything like I write (women of color are the main characters, either overtly or implied), I can almost guarantee that you will have the equivalent of a .45 pointed at an area between the legs while you try to explain their assumption would be incorrect.
So to cure this potential problem, if those friends (my circle of friends are predominately female) of yours ask about your inspiration, lie like a dog. You'll be thankful that you did, and more importantly, you'll still be in one piece AND your friends will still be your friends.
Don't tell certain people that you didn't write them into a particular story.
If you have a spouse or friend who knows about your writing and is generally supportive of your writing endeavors, and they happen to inquire on whether or not they're written into a particular story that you're working on, don't come down with a case of the honestys and tell them no. That is the worst possible thing that you can say, because it will create conflict and a argument where there was none before.
Again, think about it for a minute. If they know about the story that you're working on, and you've talked about it in excruciating detail for months on end, don't let them assume anything other than they might be part of the story. If you keep them in the dark, they'll be happy and you'll be happy (and still friends/married).
For the record, I have told one person that they were written into a story of mine, and that was because they won a contest. For details, check out part one and part two of that particular contest.
Don't tell people what you really write.
This may sound overly paranoid, but if people know you as relatively well balanced individual with a strange sense of humor and you have developed/cultivated that particular reputation for years/decades, for God's sake, don't tell people what you write, if what you write is polar opposite of who you are.
Case in point: my friends and co-workers have a tough time reconciling the person they know with what I write for fiction. Think I'm kidding? I've had conversations that start and end like this:
Me: "I do a little writing on the side."
They: "Really? What do you write?"
Me: "Adult fantasy/erotica."
They: "Ummm...that's interesting."
So if a casual acquaintance/co-worker happens to ask you what you write, and you damn well know that if you give a honest answer you'll be hoisted by your own petard, do what I do: create a new genre called "quirky fiction" and tell them exactly that. That way, your reputation remains relatively intact and people won't look at you sideways.
So my friends, those are my pearls of wisdom when it comes to explaining the writing side of my life to friends, family and co-workers. When it comes to strangers that I carry on casual conversations, then I disregard the first two and throw caution to the wind with the third.
How 'bout you? Any lessons learned or gleaned from your years of writing that you simply do not do anymore in the company of people that you know?
Friday, January 11, 2013
A Seriously Lean Synopsis
Over the course of the past four months, I would periodically allude to a novella that was to be the story I wanted to meet my New Year's resolution with, and I thought not only would I refresh your collective memory about it, but solicit your opinion about the synopsis that I had recently written for it.
The novella came about in a most unusual way, in that it wasn't inspired by an idea or an incident, or even a person (well, maybe), but by a blog post. Specifically, this blog post, which I wrote during a burst of creative whimsy.
Anyways, about a month or so after I had written that blog post, I was still in a creative mood, so while I was looking for something to write, I remembered that particular blog post. After re-reading it and thinking about it for several minutes, inspiration struck and within a few weeks I had a novella written.
Now, imagine if that preceding paragraph was true, it would showcase me to be a super fantastic writer. The truth of the matter was a bit more mundane.
While I did get inspiration from that blog post to write about an obsessive love, it quickly morphed into something completely different, in that it became as story about revenge. And since I was starting to dabble in using religion in my writing, some time was spent both at the library and on Wikipedia, researching the following: demons, spirits, archangels, Hell & Purgatory, and Dante (see this post for a slightly more thorough explanation). About five months later, I had a good 1st draft of a novella.
For the next year or so, I had it proofed by a reader, changed the title five times, edited four times, and completely re-wrote it from past tense to present tense.
The re-write came about due to a conversation I had on Facebook late in 2012 with a fellow writer, who offered to help me with my next submission. Jumping at the offer, I whipped out my novella, did a round of edits, that complete re-write, and another round of edits.
I also finally planted ass in chair to write a synopsis for it. And in keeping with the theme of present tense in the novella, I wrote the synopsis in first person p.o.v. This is where you, my favorite readers come in. I posted the first draft at my other blog and I would like you to take a stroll over, give it a read, and offer your opinion on it.
Because reading a synopsis can be a bit confusing without a modicum of a background story (i.e. query), here is a very brief plot synopsis to work with.
The novella came about in a most unusual way, in that it wasn't inspired by an idea or an incident, or even a person (well, maybe), but by a blog post. Specifically, this blog post, which I wrote during a burst of creative whimsy.
Anyways, about a month or so after I had written that blog post, I was still in a creative mood, so while I was looking for something to write, I remembered that particular blog post. After re-reading it and thinking about it for several minutes, inspiration struck and within a few weeks I had a novella written.
Now, imagine if that preceding paragraph was true, it would showcase me to be a super fantastic writer. The truth of the matter was a bit more mundane.
While I did get inspiration from that blog post to write about an obsessive love, it quickly morphed into something completely different, in that it became as story about revenge. And since I was starting to dabble in using religion in my writing, some time was spent both at the library and on Wikipedia, researching the following: demons, spirits, archangels, Hell & Purgatory, and Dante (see this post for a slightly more thorough explanation). About five months later, I had a good 1st draft of a novella.
For the next year or so, I had it proofed by a reader, changed the title five times, edited four times, and completely re-wrote it from past tense to present tense.
The re-write came about due to a conversation I had on Facebook late in 2012 with a fellow writer, who offered to help me with my next submission. Jumping at the offer, I whipped out my novella, did a round of edits, that complete re-write, and another round of edits.
I also finally planted ass in chair to write a synopsis for it. And in keeping with the theme of present tense in the novella, I wrote the synopsis in first person p.o.v. This is where you, my favorite readers come in. I posted the first draft at my other blog and I would like you to take a stroll over, give it a read, and offer your opinion on it.
Because reading a synopsis can be a bit confusing without a modicum of a background story (i.e. query), here is a very brief plot synopsis to work with.
Ashanti, a demonic spirit that escaped from Purgatory centuries ago, is blackmailed by Kevin to become Keisha, the girl of his dreams and thus by proxy completely ruin her reputation so that he could be her knight in shining armour. A distress call is eventually sent out by her eldest child, to which archangels Michael and Raphael answer the call. They in turn help Ashanti get her revenge on Kevin. Ashanti, before taking her leave and going back to what she was prior to meeting Kevin, makes things right with Keisha by giving her the opportunity to relive her life again.On second thought, if you could, please let me know what your opinion is on that paragraph, because it sounds like a good synopsis to use in a query letter.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
What Was 2012 The Writing?
The goal of 2012 was to simply repeat the goal of 2011, which was to get at least one story published. Didn't really matter if it was a short story or a novel, so long as I was able to get something published.
Thus, 2012 started with a continuation of that particular goal that was reached in June 2011. I was still doing the querying/submitting game when the calender turned the page to January 2012 and although I had gotten nary a nibble with my queries, I still kept at it.
By early January that perseverance paid off in the form of a very informative semi-rejection letter, details of which can be found here. After soliciting a few opinions from people that I respected, I dove back in and took a scalpel to my story.
In early February, I achieved my goal of getting one story published when I was offered a contract for my adult fantasy novel:
A slew of other things were accomplished with this book, which includes:
1} Book cover in April.
2} Fantastic editing job in July.
3} Fantastic book trailer in the late summer.
4} And finally, the release in October of the e-book version.
But lest you think I was resting on my laurels, I wasn't.
While I was busy waiting for the glacier sprocket that is publishing to complete its required rotations, I decided to turn my attention back to one of my recent incompletes that I had started in late 2011 to keep myself occupied. I sat down at my computer, opened it up and basically forced myself to write it out to the end, which I did about one week later. I wrote a very ending and stuck the completed novella into my slush pile of ignorance.
A few months after I had finished that, I decided to act on a story idea that was bouncing around in my head and for the next four months I worked on this personal pet project of mine. I say "personal" because from the moment I wrote the opening sentence "It was time to go", there was no way this novella would see the light of day. It was in a genre that I have some reservations about and I wrote this more as a stress release than anything else.
The only reason why I put that little project to the side was that I was eager to work on something that I would have a realistic chance of getting published. So around the early fall, I went through my slush pile of ignorance and found two partials that I deemed worthy of my attention.
I blew off the dust bunnies and flipped through the pages of each to refamiliarize myself. However, once I did, I was faced with the thorny problem on how to decide on which one I should do. So I wrote a series of posts with the end result of being that you the reader would actually get to decide on which novel I should work on next.
But as you well know, sometimes the best laid plans can go kablooie, which is what happened here. Why kablooie? Because while I was deciding on what partial to work on, I was also doing a little networking on Facebook as well. One medium sized conversation later, and I switched priorities, from deciding which of two partials to work on to polishing up a novella so that I could dive head first into the shallow end of the query pool.
On the short story front, nothing much of note happened beyond having some writer's vanity project go belly up when I submitted one little piece of quirky horror project in January that got accepted, having that same piece of quirky horror rejected outright by another and at yet a 3rd, have the editor thoroughly enjoy the piece but felt it was too macabre (cannibalism) for his zine.
I did have someone take a look at it and they offered some solid advice on it, which when things calm down again, I will act upon.
So the end result of my writing endeavors for 2012 were:
1} 2 acceptances.
2} 4 rejections (1 belly-up, 1 thoroughly like but no, and 2 outright).
3} 1 published.
3} And lest we forget the contractual obligation that I will touch upon a future post, 19 book reviews.
And we have one more item on the agenda: This past Sunday's post/contest.
After writing down all the names of the commenters and assiging them a number, I proceeded to take a scientific survey by asking all the people visiting my house yesterday and asking them to choose a number from 1 to 6.
The winner of a free copy of my commercial debut novel is David Cranmer! David, I'll be shooting you an e-mail later today for the mailing particulars. Congrabulations to all who commented, and please keep in mind that the print version of my book will be dropping sometime this month should you want to purchase it. If you can't wait that long, please check out Solstice or Amazon for the e-book version.
Thus, 2012 started with a continuation of that particular goal that was reached in June 2011. I was still doing the querying/submitting game when the calender turned the page to January 2012 and although I had gotten nary a nibble with my queries, I still kept at it.
By early January that perseverance paid off in the form of a very informative semi-rejection letter, details of which can be found here. After soliciting a few opinions from people that I respected, I dove back in and took a scalpel to my story.
In early February, I achieved my goal of getting one story published when I was offered a contract for my adult fantasy novel:
 |
| Line 21 |
1} Book cover in April.
2} Fantastic editing job in July.
3} Fantastic book trailer in the late summer.
4} And finally, the release in October of the e-book version.
But lest you think I was resting on my laurels, I wasn't.
While I was busy waiting for the glacier sprocket that is publishing to complete its required rotations, I decided to turn my attention back to one of my recent incompletes that I had started in late 2011 to keep myself occupied. I sat down at my computer, opened it up and basically forced myself to write it out to the end, which I did about one week later. I wrote a very ending and stuck the completed novella into my slush pile of ignorance.
A few months after I had finished that, I decided to act on a story idea that was bouncing around in my head and for the next four months I worked on this personal pet project of mine. I say "personal" because from the moment I wrote the opening sentence "It was time to go", there was no way this novella would see the light of day. It was in a genre that I have some reservations about and I wrote this more as a stress release than anything else.
The only reason why I put that little project to the side was that I was eager to work on something that I would have a realistic chance of getting published. So around the early fall, I went through my slush pile of ignorance and found two partials that I deemed worthy of my attention.
I blew off the dust bunnies and flipped through the pages of each to refamiliarize myself. However, once I did, I was faced with the thorny problem on how to decide on which one I should do. So I wrote a series of posts with the end result of being that you the reader would actually get to decide on which novel I should work on next.
But as you well know, sometimes the best laid plans can go kablooie, which is what happened here. Why kablooie? Because while I was deciding on what partial to work on, I was also doing a little networking on Facebook as well. One medium sized conversation later, and I switched priorities, from deciding which of two partials to work on to polishing up a novella so that I could dive head first into the shallow end of the query pool.
On the short story front, nothing much of note happened beyond having some writer's vanity project go belly up when I submitted one little piece of quirky horror project in January that got accepted, having that same piece of quirky horror rejected outright by another and at yet a 3rd, have the editor thoroughly enjoy the piece but felt it was too macabre (cannibalism) for his zine.
I did have someone take a look at it and they offered some solid advice on it, which when things calm down again, I will act upon.
So the end result of my writing endeavors for 2012 were:
1} 2 acceptances.
2} 4 rejections (1 belly-up, 1 thoroughly like but no, and 2 outright).
3} 1 published.
3} And lest we forget the contractual obligation that I will touch upon a future post, 19 book reviews.
And we have one more item on the agenda: This past Sunday's post/contest.
After writing down all the names of the commenters and assiging them a number, I proceeded to take a scientific survey by asking all the people visiting my house yesterday and asking them to choose a number from 1 to 6.
The winner of a free copy of my commercial debut novel is David Cranmer! David, I'll be shooting you an e-mail later today for the mailing particulars. Congrabulations to all who commented, and please keep in mind that the print version of my book will be dropping sometime this month should you want to purchase it. If you can't wait that long, please check out Solstice or Amazon for the e-book version.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
And The Winner Is....
Bit of a throw away post today, as I'm trying to decide on who to pick as a winner for a contest that I had held a few weeks ago on Gluttondan's blog.
I had 11 entries and I narrowed it down to three numbers:
I had 11 entries and I narrowed it down to three numbers:
7
9
10
So what I would like from you, my very favorite readers, is to pick one of those three numbers. I have this posted on Facebook as well, and the one with the most votes over the weekend, will be the judge the winner.
Monday, December 24, 2012
I Have To Talk About...Me?
Next month, I will be taking a giant leap into the deep end of the publicity pool and let me tell you, I am scared speechless over the prospect of executing this giant leap.
Contrary to popular opinion and cyber world theatrics, I do have a major phobia in talking about/tooting my horn about myself and/or about my writing (one of the primary reasons that I do not mix well at social gatherings).
I meant, it's one thing to sit behind a computer and pound away on a keyboard and produce all kind of nifty verbiage, and it's another to sit behind the computer and play keyboard commando in regards to tooting your own horn (yes, anyone can do that). To do it in front of a group of people who are strangers however, can nerve wracking, and to do it in front of people that you know, can make you go screaming into the night.
For those of you who do not enjoy the daily/hourly wonder that is me on Facebook (and you should, you know), I announced on Facebook that after much consideration and the small jumping of a few hurdles, I managed to score a spot in our vendor program at work, so that I can properly pimp my book.
And being the slightly anal retentive person that I am, I have two, count 'em, two attack plans in place.
Plan #1: I have two nifty displays made up, each one touting the e-book version for Nook & Kindle; I will have two business card displays featuring my new & improved business cards (which will be ordered after January for tax purposes) and a smaller version of the book cover; a display of bookmarks (also ordered on January 1 for the same reason); a DVD of my book trailer for people to watch; and most importantly, I will have books to sell.
Books to sell will be a key factor because it will help me easily fulfill a small requirement for participating in the vendor program: 10% donation of all sales to charity.
But just in case I don't have any books, which is real possibility because my book is supposed to drop in print sometime in early-to-mid January, plan #2 will still have all the above to play with, plus my charming personality.
However, it's using my charming personality that has me concerned.
Why? Well, like it or not, in the almost 7 years that I have been entrenched at my current employer, most people have already developed an opinion about me. Now if you add in the fact that I'll be talking about a book that under normal circumstances I would probably get in trouble talking about, then you can probably understand why I'm felling the way that I am.
However, the one saving grace about this particular signing/pimping, is that the building is really isn't open to the general public, so I'll pretty much have a captive audience to practice with.
And the practice will definitely come in handy because next year one of the events I plan on participating in is our town's annual summer extravaganza.
To finish up this post, let me ask you this question: Were you incredibly nervous the first time you had to do something like this? Do you find its easier to do the more times that you do do it?
Contrary to popular opinion and cyber world theatrics, I do have a major phobia in talking about/tooting my horn about myself and/or about my writing (one of the primary reasons that I do not mix well at social gatherings).
I meant, it's one thing to sit behind a computer and pound away on a keyboard and produce all kind of nifty verbiage, and it's another to sit behind the computer and play keyboard commando in regards to tooting your own horn (yes, anyone can do that). To do it in front of a group of people who are strangers however, can nerve wracking, and to do it in front of people that you know, can make you go screaming into the night.
For those of you who do not enjoy the daily/hourly wonder that is me on Facebook (and you should, you know), I announced on Facebook that after much consideration and the small jumping of a few hurdles, I managed to score a spot in our vendor program at work, so that I can properly pimp my book.
And being the slightly anal retentive person that I am, I have two, count 'em, two attack plans in place.
Plan #1: I have two nifty displays made up, each one touting the e-book version for Nook & Kindle; I will have two business card displays featuring my new & improved business cards (which will be ordered after January for tax purposes) and a smaller version of the book cover; a display of bookmarks (also ordered on January 1 for the same reason); a DVD of my book trailer for people to watch; and most importantly, I will have books to sell.
Books to sell will be a key factor because it will help me easily fulfill a small requirement for participating in the vendor program: 10% donation of all sales to charity.
But just in case I don't have any books, which is real possibility because my book is supposed to drop in print sometime in early-to-mid January, plan #2 will still have all the above to play with, plus my charming personality.
However, it's using my charming personality that has me concerned.
Why? Well, like it or not, in the almost 7 years that I have been entrenched at my current employer, most people have already developed an opinion about me. Now if you add in the fact that I'll be talking about a book that under normal circumstances I would probably get in trouble talking about, then you can probably understand why I'm felling the way that I am.
However, the one saving grace about this particular signing/pimping, is that the building is really isn't open to the general public, so I'll pretty much have a captive audience to practice with.
And the practice will definitely come in handy because next year one of the events I plan on participating in is our town's annual summer extravaganza.
To finish up this post, let me ask you this question: Were you incredibly nervous the first time you had to do something like this? Do you find its easier to do the more times that you do do it?
Thursday, December 13, 2012
G. B.'s Disjointed Blog Tour of 2012, Take Siete
A very good late morning to everyone today.
Once again, I was able to smooth talk my way onto another blog today. Gluttondan (aka Workingdan) was gracious enough to remind of a bet that I had recently won on Thanksgiving when the Patriots crushed the Colts. The winner, being me, got to bloviate on the loser's, being Gluttondan, blog. Specifically, I get to bloviate about my book, which will be dropping in print later this month
So today I am over at Gluttondan's wonderfully skewered little blog called, appropriately enough, Shameful Promotions. Please keep in mind that since Gluttondan's blog is pretty much in the same vein as Riot Kitty's blog, only a tad raunchier, viewer discretion is strongly advised.
Also, be forewarned that although I did supply the post, Gluttondan decided to put his own unique spin on my blog post.
Enjoy and I will see you all over there later today.
Once again, I was able to smooth talk my way onto another blog today. Gluttondan (aka Workingdan) was gracious enough to remind of a bet that I had recently won on Thanksgiving when the Patriots crushed the Colts. The winner, being me, got to bloviate on the loser's, being Gluttondan, blog. Specifically, I get to bloviate about my book, which will be dropping in print later this month
So today I am over at Gluttondan's wonderfully skewered little blog called, appropriately enough, Shameful Promotions. Please keep in mind that since Gluttondan's blog is pretty much in the same vein as Riot Kitty's blog, only a tad raunchier, viewer discretion is strongly advised.
Also, be forewarned that although I did supply the post, Gluttondan decided to put his own unique spin on my blog post.
Enjoy and I will see you all over there later today.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Have I Got The Time?
Hell no, I don't have the time. What do you take me for, some kind octopus?
Since November 27th, I've often felt like I was an octopus, in that all kinds of issues/problems/tangents have been rearing their ugly head all at the same time. Be it work related or family related, it has demanded my attention to the point where I had to tell my muse to take five to the power of ten (that's 9,765,625 minutes or about 18 1/2 years) while I deal with whatever calamity is going on.
However, we are not going to vent on that today. Today's post will be an update on the various writing related thingys that are going in my world right now (hence, all the writing related tags that you see at the bottom of this post).
No original writing to speak of has oozed from pen since mid-October, which is directly due to my novel, Line 21, being unleashed to the general public.
That isn't to say that I haven't been doing any non-blog related writing. On the contrary and as I mentioned in a post from a few weeks ago, I have been attempting to write a synopsis for my novella "A Shadow Warrior's Redemption". However, when I finally sat down to do it, I discovered much to my annoyance that when I flipped open the novella (I have a hard copy), I still had a mixture of past and present tense, as opposed to being all present tense.
Thus, we started editing the novella, yet again. However, that came to halt this past week as I got an e-mail from my publisher stating that my book was ready to be sent to the printers and would I be kind enough to proof my PDF one last time making sure to look for errors and not to change prose and oh does the cover meet with your approval and oh do you want a pic on the back cover and oh is there anything else you might want to add to the back cover?
So to the side did my novella get flung to, and after blowing off the dust bunnies, we opened our PDF, to once again do a line-by-line edit. I say "once again" because yours truly neglected to save his notes from the last time he did this, which was in mid-October prior to the release of the book.
So we proceeded to spend the past three days line by line, excuse me, I should say, paragraph by paragraph skimming of my novel looking for small grammar/cosmetic errors that would deter from the enjoyment of the book.
Note: skimming through your book is a perfectly acceptable method of editing when you have almost every scene and plot swerve memorized to the point where if someone mentions a chapter, you can say with confidence what exactly is going on in that chapter.
When all was said and done, I was able to answer his questions with confidence by saying:
1} Found 6 grammar/cosmetic errors.
2} No pic, 'cause sometimes mystery about identity is a good thing.
3} The cover is fine as it has generated some strong comments, both positive and negative.
4} Some book review snippets would be nice.
And as an added bonus, gained a new book to read and review that the editor had written earlier (erotic thriller set in WWI).
Swiftly changing gears, we now move on to book reading/reviewing.
I did finish KC Sprayberry's wonderful YA novel Softy Say Goodbye over the Thanksgiving holiday. I left a very nice review (under my pen name) and I highly recommend it. Also this past week, I finished a nice romance novel by Christine Stovell entitled Move Over Darling, and I also thought it was pretty good. Strangely enough, the copy I have is in paperback and according to Amazon, isn't due to be published until March '13, and because of that, I wasn't able to leave a review on it.
And before you ask, "G.B., why didn't you leave it under the Kindle version?", the reason I didn't was that I'm a bit fussy when it comes to reviews. If I read an e-book, the review goes to the e-book. If I read a paperback/hardcover, the review goes to that. So in this case, I'll have to wait until March '13 to leave a lengthier review than the one I left on Facebook.
Beyond finishing those two, I have not yet found the time to start any of the now six books that I have loaded on my Nook. I do have Carl Brush's Second Vendetta as next to be read, but when that will be is anyone's guess.
So that about sums up what is going on writing-wise in my world. I'm looking to get back to editing my novella, but I have about three incomplete blog post ideas to work on and I have a tentative stop for G.B.'s Disjointed Blog Tour of 2012 in the works for this month to work on as well. And I have to work all of this in while dealing with the day-to-day bullshit that is putting a serious cramp in everything else that I want/need to do.
Yay me.
Since November 27th, I've often felt like I was an octopus, in that all kinds of issues/problems/tangents have been rearing their ugly head all at the same time. Be it work related or family related, it has demanded my attention to the point where I had to tell my muse to take five to the power of ten (that's 9,765,625 minutes or about 18 1/2 years) while I deal with whatever calamity is going on.
However, we are not going to vent on that today. Today's post will be an update on the various writing related thingys that are going in my world right now (hence, all the writing related tags that you see at the bottom of this post).
No original writing to speak of has oozed from pen since mid-October, which is directly due to my novel, Line 21, being unleashed to the general public.
That isn't to say that I haven't been doing any non-blog related writing. On the contrary and as I mentioned in a post from a few weeks ago, I have been attempting to write a synopsis for my novella "A Shadow Warrior's Redemption". However, when I finally sat down to do it, I discovered much to my annoyance that when I flipped open the novella (I have a hard copy), I still had a mixture of past and present tense, as opposed to being all present tense.
Thus, we started editing the novella, yet again. However, that came to halt this past week as I got an e-mail from my publisher stating that my book was ready to be sent to the printers and would I be kind enough to proof my PDF one last time making sure to look for errors and not to change prose and oh does the cover meet with your approval and oh do you want a pic on the back cover and oh is there anything else you might want to add to the back cover?
So to the side did my novella get flung to, and after blowing off the dust bunnies, we opened our PDF, to once again do a line-by-line edit. I say "once again" because yours truly neglected to save his notes from the last time he did this, which was in mid-October prior to the release of the book.
So we proceeded to spend the past three days line by line, excuse me, I should say, paragraph by paragraph skimming of my novel looking for small grammar/cosmetic errors that would deter from the enjoyment of the book.
Note: skimming through your book is a perfectly acceptable method of editing when you have almost every scene and plot swerve memorized to the point where if someone mentions a chapter, you can say with confidence what exactly is going on in that chapter.
When all was said and done, I was able to answer his questions with confidence by saying:
1} Found 6 grammar/cosmetic errors.
2} No pic, 'cause sometimes mystery about identity is a good thing.
3} The cover is fine as it has generated some strong comments, both positive and negative.
4} Some book review snippets would be nice.
And as an added bonus, gained a new book to read and review that the editor had written earlier (erotic thriller set in WWI).
Swiftly changing gears, we now move on to book reading/reviewing.
I did finish KC Sprayberry's wonderful YA novel Softy Say Goodbye over the Thanksgiving holiday. I left a very nice review (under my pen name) and I highly recommend it. Also this past week, I finished a nice romance novel by Christine Stovell entitled Move Over Darling, and I also thought it was pretty good. Strangely enough, the copy I have is in paperback and according to Amazon, isn't due to be published until March '13, and because of that, I wasn't able to leave a review on it.
And before you ask, "G.B., why didn't you leave it under the Kindle version?", the reason I didn't was that I'm a bit fussy when it comes to reviews. If I read an e-book, the review goes to the e-book. If I read a paperback/hardcover, the review goes to that. So in this case, I'll have to wait until March '13 to leave a lengthier review than the one I left on Facebook.
Beyond finishing those two, I have not yet found the time to start any of the now six books that I have loaded on my Nook. I do have Carl Brush's Second Vendetta as next to be read, but when that will be is anyone's guess.
So that about sums up what is going on writing-wise in my world. I'm looking to get back to editing my novella, but I have about three incomplete blog post ideas to work on and I have a tentative stop for G.B.'s Disjointed Blog Tour of 2012 in the works for this month to work on as well. And I have to work all of this in while dealing with the day-to-day bullshit that is putting a serious cramp in everything else that I want/need to do.
Yay me.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
I's Just Sitting Here...
....trying to figure out how to write a synopsis for an 18,900 word story.
I mean, I had serious problems in writing a synopsis for my novel, but how in the world do you write a synopsis for a novella?
Oh, hello there! Is I, Yello Bear, and I've dropped by to help verbalize what my good buddy G.B. is thinking about today. And I bet you're wondering how my syntax has suddenly become like everyone else's, right? Simple really. I is drunker than Otis Campbell. When I am sober, I talk like the 3rd grade graduate I truly am. But when I've been sucking down the contents of a quality thirty pack for the better part of the day, then I can match verbiage with the best of them. Go figure.
Anyways, my good buddy G.B. is somewhat befuddled today. He recently finished editing (for the 4th time) his longish short story entitled A Shadow Warrior's Redemption, you know, tweaked it, tightened it, polished it, gave it a hotness that would make people sit up and say, "Damn! That some good writing!" and generally have it make sense from beginning to end.
And now, he's having a problem in writing a synopsis for the story. After all, a synopsis is a severely condensed version of your novel, which should cover all the high points, the low point, the conflicts, the resolutions, and the ending, all in under 1,500 words (about 4 pages). But the confusion he's experiencing is trying to condense down a novella into a synopsis of about a page, page and a half tops.
Even more problematic: what p.o.v. and what voice should he write in? 3rd? 1st? Snarky? Angry? Annoyed? Somewhere in between? What can he do to make it stand out?
So many questions and so little time, especially since he would like to enter the novella into a few writing contests for the upcoming year, which is in addition to the submission that he would like to make through normal channels as well.
So G.B. is sitting here in front of his computer, trying to make sense of it all, and coming to the realization that as a writer, he has no sense.
As well as no hook and no synopsis.
In any event, please stay tuned, as another stop is just around the corner for G.B.'s Disjointed Blog Tour of 2012, and from what I understand, it just might be a little bit better than G.B.'s visit to Razored Zen.
I mean, I had serious problems in writing a synopsis for my novel, but how in the world do you write a synopsis for a novella?
Oh, hello there! Is I, Yello Bear, and I've dropped by to help verbalize what my good buddy G.B. is thinking about today. And I bet you're wondering how my syntax has suddenly become like everyone else's, right? Simple really. I is drunker than Otis Campbell. When I am sober, I talk like the 3rd grade graduate I truly am. But when I've been sucking down the contents of a quality thirty pack for the better part of the day, then I can match verbiage with the best of them. Go figure.
Anyways, my good buddy G.B. is somewhat befuddled today. He recently finished editing (for the 4th time) his longish short story entitled A Shadow Warrior's Redemption, you know, tweaked it, tightened it, polished it, gave it a hotness that would make people sit up and say, "Damn! That some good writing!" and generally have it make sense from beginning to end.
And now, he's having a problem in writing a synopsis for the story. After all, a synopsis is a severely condensed version of your novel, which should cover all the high points, the low point, the conflicts, the resolutions, and the ending, all in under 1,500 words (about 4 pages). But the confusion he's experiencing is trying to condense down a novella into a synopsis of about a page, page and a half tops.
Even more problematic: what p.o.v. and what voice should he write in? 3rd? 1st? Snarky? Angry? Annoyed? Somewhere in between? What can he do to make it stand out?
So many questions and so little time, especially since he would like to enter the novella into a few writing contests for the upcoming year, which is in addition to the submission that he would like to make through normal channels as well.
So G.B. is sitting here in front of his computer, trying to make sense of it all, and coming to the realization that as a writer, he has no sense.
As well as no hook and no synopsis.
In any event, please stay tuned, as another stop is just around the corner for G.B.'s Disjointed Blog Tour of 2012, and from what I understand, it just might be a little bit better than G.B.'s visit to Razored Zen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)