The Screaming Guppy

Happy New Year!

2012-01-06T11:20:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone out there had a great holiday season!

While the holidays where pretty quiet for me, I did get a wonderful Christmas present. Erik and I are now engaged! Very very exciting news, and happy holidays to us!

Needless to say, suddenly I feel busy now that I'm planning an August wedding. Beyond that, the day job has picked back up now that the holidays are over, and it looks like I'll be travelling for an article in March, along with visiting my family and friends back east. I'm also applying for Clarion West and finishing up Ashfall so I can send it to my agent, both by the end of January.

Between writing and editing, I'll be trying on dresses and tasting fancy cupcakes! I'll let you guess which one I'm more excited about...

So last year went out with a ring (get it?) and this is year is off with a bang.

Now I just need to rewrite these last few chapters, and pick out invitations...and taste cupcakes. Lots of cupcakes.

Put time on your side.

2011-12-05T08:50:00.000-08:00

So since my last post I've been having quite a bump in productivity. One reason seems to be standing out more than others.

Tracking, plain and simple. I'm documenting exactly how long I spend with my butt in the chair actually working. Not on facebook, twitter or doing anything else on the internet. If I do that, time comes off my total.

My daily goal is still 3500 words, including new words and revised scenes. And I'm still keeping myself accountable to that goal. As a result, it's also very easy to stop when I reach that goal.

But when I exceeded the goal after only an hour and a half of work on a Sunday? When I had no other obligations and no day job that day? Suddenly it looked like I hadn't done shit, quite frankly. So I worked for another hour and ended the day at almost 8000 words added to the draft. And that felt damn good.

But a little part of me was thinking I should have started earlier in the day because only two and half hours. That's not that long... :)

I recommend tracking your writing time to everyone. When you're ready to throw in the "I've written enough today" towel, check out the actual time you've put in. Then ask yourself if that time (considering all your other commitments and the priority level you put on your writing) is in line with your goals.

When you do the math - in this case, add up the time - it can really improve your output. It's working for me! In five days, I've added 24k to my draft.

Math – it does serve a purpose for writers!

2011-12-01T10:50:00.000-08:00

I know we all cringe at the dreaded math. I know I do! My boyfriend is a programmer, so I’ve gone as far as asking him to do division for me in his head so I don’t have to bust out my Windows calculator.

But math can be really important to help you keep track of what you are and aren’t doing when it comes to your writing.

I have to confess, I’ve been a bad, bad writer this last month. Skyrim came out and the gamer in me won. I played a lot – much more than I really needed to. And I convinced myself that as long as I was opening my document every other day, I was doing enough on my new draft of Ashfall.

Um, no.

I knew I was getting dangerously behind. I say dangerously in reference to my personal goals, as I’m not on a contract like a lot of writers out there. I still have the luxury to play games (excessively) when I should be writing, and hurt nothing but personal goals in the progress.

So I divided my current WIP count by the number of days I’d been working on it, which put me far below the hard numbers (word count per day) that I know I’m capable of outputting. Then I did the math to plot out when I would get done if I continued working at such a lame pace. Not good. Not even close to what it should be if I want to get this new manuscript to my agent in January.

I wasn’t even hitting the NaNoWriMo pace. We're talking under 500 words a day. I know that 500 words means different things to different people, but for me this is LAME. So then I plotted out where I would be if I used the 1666 words a day goal post, which I’ve done in the past and know I can easily met (since I won’t be playing hours of Skyrim anymore). That put me at the end of January – but that’s not good enough, because then I won’t have time to go over the draft for grammar and typos and shining before hitting send.

A friend recently pointed me to this post, which I think has a lot of truth to it, especially when it comes to documenting your time spent writing.

It’s very easy to kid yourself that you’re making progress (how ever you define it) every day just because you sit at the computer and stare at the doc for an hour.

But progress is different for everyone, and writing has a different priority level for everyone. So also see this.

I let writing slip down on my priority list this month, which for me, is not okay considering I want to make a career out of this. No one to answer to but myself, but there you have it.

Now, my goal is to 3500 words per day so I’m done by the end of December. Considering these two links and my past writing trends, it can be done. (By the way, this daily count includes scenes I revise and keep from the previous draft).

Yesterday I added 4416 words to my draft. All inspired by a little bit of math and some honesty with myself and how I’ve been using my free time.

Good thing I had a coupon...

2011-11-04T10:45:00.000-07:00

So I went to B&N because I had a coupon. I wanted to pick up the next book in the Earth's Children series. They had copies in trade paperback and mass market.

In a moment of complete OCD, I bought the entire series to make sure my books match when I put them on my shelf.

In a related note, I know I'm like thirty years to late, but I really love this series. I'm almost done the first book, Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean Auel.

Noms.

In which I poke my head out of the cave

2011-10-26T11:40:00.001-07:00

Hello! Long time no post. That seems to be my new trend - about two posts a month or so.

It works for me, as getting a second novel to my agent is currently my priority. That, and I think the blogging community for writers is a very dynamic thing. When you first start out, you're flying blind, trying to find answers and learn from others experience. I was there when I started this blog in 2008. I had a dream, but I didn't really know shit. We all put ourselves out there, meet other writers - some of which become invaluable beta readers and friends - and sometimes, forget that we started the blog because we love writing.

Being part of the blog sphere has been great for me. I've entered contests, picked up beta readers who I'll never let get away, and felt welcome and part of something bigger in the vast interwebs.

I've seen posts where people complain that once writers get an agent, they stop talking about stuff regarding their experience in publishing. I think this is true, though not always, and I think the reason is two-fold.

One, there are certain things you shouldn't post when you reach the stage of submission and even of querying. You don't vent publicly about query or submission frustrations, and the world probably doesn't need to know every single step in your process. I was pretty forthcoming about my experience querying - after it was over and I found an agent. I'm still willing to share my experience if anyone felt inclined to ask. Email away if you are. As for submission? Well, things have gone from dreams to reality and business, and being in business (which writing for publication is) demands professionalism.

Don't get me wrong. I hem and haw and whine as bad as anyone, but I do it privately, as nearly all writers who blog do.

Second, is that writing has shifted from something that can be put off when I'm just not feeling like writing, or when I want to play video games, to something that needs to be a priority because there are now expectations on me. I might be out on submission, but that's not the end. I need to have my next project ready to go as soon as I can. For me, it's not only about having a backup plan if my first novel doesn't sell, but also about proving to myself that I am ready to make writing a career and that I am capable of outputting on aggressive deadlines (even if now they are merely self-imposed).

The short of it is that I think writers cycle in and out of this community as it fits their current needs. For me, I post less because I simply don't have the time or the draw to focus on blogging when I need to be focusing on writing (and you know me - those sneaky video game binges).

The great part about this community is that everyone seems to understand that. We come and go as we need to, posting more and posting less, and followers might come and go, but the environment, for the most part, remains the same.

A welcoming, supportive and fun place for a writer to be, no matter what part of the journey they're on.

So, now that all my long-winded thoughtfulness is out of the way, thanks for still following a slightly less active blog. I've got about 5k in the tank on my current revision on Ashfall, and I've got lots and lots to go.

Off it goes. Next!

2011-09-14T10:15:00.000-07:00

Ashfall has been handed off to betas for some thrashing. I have about a month where I need to force myself to think of something besides that manuscript, so when it comes back my way covered in ink, I can look at it fresh and hack it to pieces!

I spent yesterday feeling a little downtrodden, which had a lot to do with nerves, I think. The first reader jitters will always surface. I imagine even the most successful authors still experience a little apprehension the first time someone reads the story they've worked hard to create.

I've learned that it's good to take a break from time to time, to give yourself time to breath and clear the deck after you've been buried in a certain world and certain characters. But breaks are, by nature, supposed to be short, especially when it comes to something you want to make a career out of.

Last night when I was supposed to be sleeping, I started brainstorming for my next manuscript - code name "The Finding." I think I'll do some outlining and character work today.

Ashfall Revision 1

2011-09-07T13:35:00.001-07:00

So far, so good. I finished my paper edit today - yay! - and I'm pretty happy with what I have. All I have to do is finish putting the changes from paper into the word doc (ughhh I hate that part) and then I'm ready to shoot the draft off to my awesome betas.

Started at 451 total pages, 123,509 words
451/451 printed pages edited - woo!
123/451 pages of changes put in word doc
Current word count: 119,621

Fun line that makes no sense without context: "How long would it take for the war on the clouds to poison the water?"

Ashfall Draft 1 - done!

2011-08-30T10:52:00.001-07:00

Whew. Came out a little heavy at 123,507 - but that's okay. I always lose a good amount of words when I revise, simply because I write fast and sloppy when I draft. Lots of places to cut extra words - stuff like "nodded her head" that just comes out when drafting.

I'm doing a clean up run - hopefully it will take me about two weeks or so - then off to the betas to see how much work I have coming.

Finishing a draft though? This is a third story I've drafted in full, and the feeling never gets any less awesome when you type that last word.

Best description of the writing process I've ever heard

2011-08-17T08:41:00.000-07:00

This is so me. From Kate Elliot quoting Tad Williams during an interview with Tor:

The term I like best I stole from Tad Williams. It’s particularly appropriate to my situation because I now happen to live there:

The Hawaiian Islands Method.

In this method, the writer knows certain main events or points that will occur in the story. These are the islands that show above the water. But of course the seamounts themselves extend beneath the waves down to the sea floor far below. So you have to write “under water” — through topography you can’t see from above — to link up the parts you can see. That’s the best description of my process I know.

From now on, if anyone asks "panster or plotter" I'm just going to say neither. I'm an island chainer! Always have been, always will be.

WIP WIP WIP!

2011-07-28T10:48:00.000-07:00

I added one of those word county bar things to the blog as I trudge along on my Ashfall WIP. Moving along at a pretty good pace now, and I'm hoping to finish the draft by the end of August. And I know, I know. 120k is long, but one thing I've learned about my writing over the years is that I draft long, and cut lots of excess words when I revise. Of course, I ended up adding a ton back in when I did my other revisions so...we'll see!

Besides, this new book is sci-fi/fantasy, and the world is quite complex. Right now, the story is shaping up from a single POV, but as things get more complex and the backstory of a number of secondary characters come into sharper focus, I'm considering adding more POVs (which was my original goal).

Which would make things longer. Of course. Good thing I'm not afraid to chop, chop, chop!

75k and counting.

Inspiration comes from strange things...

2011-07-18T15:20:00.000-07:00

Like this, for example.

Books! (January 2011 - June 2011)

2011-06-28T11:06:00.000-07:00

So I've been seeing a lot of people give themselves reading goals for the year and I thought, since I'm reading like crazy lately, that could be fun! But I don't really have a goal in mind, but I do have quite the list of books I've read since the year started. So I'm just going to list all 42 of them here.

YA:
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Urban Fantasy:
Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire
Storm Front by Jim Butcher
Fool Moon by Jim Butcher
Grave Peril by Jim Butcher
Summer Night by Jim Butcher
Death Makes by Jim Butcher
Blood Rites by Jim Butcher
Dead Beat by Jim Butcher
Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher
White Knight by Jim Butcher
Small Favor by Jim Butcher
Turn Coat by Jim Butcher
Changes by Jim Butcher
Moon Called by Patricia Briggs
Blood Bound by Patricia Briggs
Iron Kisses by Patricia Briggs
Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs
Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs
River Marked by Patricia Briggs

Thriller:
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson
The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larson
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larson
The Running Man by Stephen King
Deadline by Mira Grant

Historical Fiction:
People of the River by W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O'Neil Gear
People of the Earth by W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O'Neil Gear
People of the Sea by W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O'Neil Gear
Fire the Sky by W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O'Neil Gear

Fantasy:
Tales from Watership Down by Richard Adams
Cold Magic by Kate Elliot
A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
Naamah's Blessing by Jacqueline Carey

Post-apoc:
Aftertime by Sophie Littlefield
The Long Walk by Stephen King

Science Fiction:
Titan by Ben Bova
Ark by Stephen Baxter
Treason by Orson Scott Card
Darkwar by Glen Cook
The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi

Romance:
The Billionaire's Bridal Bid by Emily McKay

I don't read much Urban Fantasy normally, but once I got hooked into the Dresden Files at book 4, I had to finish the series. Same with the Mercy Thompson series by Patrica Briggs (though I really didn't like River Marked). It also helps that, aside from the last few Dresden books, these are very short, quick reads. Some of them I read in one day. I also read Divergent in one day, as well as Tales from Watership Down.

You'll also notice a romance novel on my list, which is the only one I've ever read. I met the author at my BONI workshop, and figured I'd give one a whirl to support her and experience the genre first hand. I'm amazed at how fast she puts out these novels (which are about 50k with a hard word count cap) and how much of the subject matter is decided by the publisher. An interesting read, but it did confirm that I, as I supsected, am not a romance reader! :)

I also started and put down some books in this time frame, which inclue Solar by Ian McEwan, The Reapers are the Angels by Alden Bell, Autumn bu David Moody, The Road by Cormic McCarthy, Blood Red Road by Moria Young, Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson and The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi.

Gardens of the Moon simply got pushed aside for books I was more excited to read, like the release of Naamuh's Blessing, finishing A Game of Thrones (on HBO and reading the novel afterwards) and being excited to start A Clash of Kings. I might come back to that one. The Road, The Reapers are the Angels and Blood Red Road had a writing style that simply isn't my taste. Solar was a little to "boring real life", things were moving too slow in Autumn and The Quantum Thief was just too...weird (and jumped to a new character that I didn't find interesting right when I was starting to adjust to the weirdness).

Yesterday I started A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin, and expect to be reading that series until I finish it - including A Dance of Dragons, which releases in July. Those books I will not be reading in one day, that's for damn sure.

(edit: opps, forgot a book!)

The P Word

2011-06-23T14:23:00.000-07:00

Not too long ago I was having a conversation that I think many writers end up having with their loved ones. Mine was with my mother, around the time I was deep in the query process, full manuscripts out to agents, and (though I didn’t know it at the time) a few weeks away from an offer of representation. The gist of the conversation was: “How exactly does this process of getting a book published work?”

This is the good question, and one that doesn’t come from every person you have a casual conversation with about your dream of being a published author. This question comes from the people who are truly invested in your success, in most cases out of love. My parents have always been supportive of my dream (including when I decided to get my BA in something-that-will-never-get-you-a-real-job-aka-liberal-arts), and I was happy to share the excitement, the woes, and everything in between.

So I gave my mom the rundown of how querying works, including all the research involved, the dreaded query letter, and, of course, the waiting and the rejections. We also talked about what exactly an agent does and why (in my opinion) they’re a good thing to have. Once I had offers and needed to make my choice, I shared that process with her. Once I signed, I explained what comes next – including revisions and the submission process, which includes more waiting and more rejections!

During one of these conversations, my mom said she was really proud of me for being patient. At the time, I got warm fuzzies and said thanks.

But now I’m pretty sure being patient doesn’t have a damn thing to do with this process.

I’m the most IMpatient person I have EVER met in my ENTIRE life. This ranges from jittering in my seat when I have to sit still and be quiet too long, to buying everything I want the moment I see it which results in angry friends when they don’t know what the hell to buy me for my birthdays or Christmas. When a website takes too long to load, I flail around and whine about it, and even cuss it out – then return to my shiny, happy self as soon as the website/computer program/life does what I wanted it to do five seconds ago.

For example, I was at the bookstore yesterday, and instead of just ordering Clash of Kings since B&N was sold out, I bought the boxed set which includes a book I already had so I could have it NOW (even though I had two books I wanted to read before I’d start Clash of Kings anyway). And consider this: If Erik goes to the bathroom while we’re out at a restaurant, I make him leave his smartphone with me so I have something to do while I wait for him to come back.

And while I was on query, I stared at my inbox for hours, feeling like I was going to burst into flames if I didn’t get an email in the next two seconds. I was impatient the ENTIRE TIME. Statistics and logic didn’t sate me, nor did average response times or website guidelines or encouraging blog posts or success stories. It didn’t matter than this is my greatest dream – it only made me MORE impatient because I wanted my dream to happen YESTERDAY. And now that I have an agent, I'm STILL impatient!

So say thank you when someone compliments your patience, because it makes them proud of you and, quite frankly, makes you look all mature and shit. But behind closed doors where no one can see or hear? Stop those feet and whine like crazy if it helps you cope. It just means you're normal.

But the P word they’re really looking for is perseverance. And I don’t think any of us would be wherever we are – be it writing a first draft, revising, querying or on submission, or even waiting for our book’s release date – without it. I don't hold any high expectations that I'm going to magically become patient any time soon, but I certainly have no intentions of giving up.

Motivation.

2011-06-03T14:56:00.000-07:00

Watch this and put whatever you want to do in place of the word "bike."

Honestly though? I'm a little jealous he figured this all out at like five years old.

Spreading Some Happy

2011-06-02T16:21:00.000-07:00

After emailing back and forth with my buddy Marisol today, she shared this link she found with me. It gave me warm fuzzies!

I'm lucky to have Marisol and Beth as two of my most trusted writing and critque buddies, and this post about sums up my feelings on the topic. It's so awesome to have goto people, ones who are in the same boat as you (or in places you've been or are going), and who are there for anything from emergency reads and critques in a time crunch, to questions or sanity checks, and sometimes just for an ear.

You guys rock. Of course you know that, but I just wanted to remind you.

Do you have rocking writing buddies? Share that link with them and take a read. It's a really nice post.

To genre poopers

2011-05-31T10:17:00.000-07:00

I always find it interesting how defensive writers get over their genre. In some ways, it almost reminds me of religion. Everyone is so convinced that their beliefs (or genre) is the only good thing out there, that they fail to see merit in what anyone else (other writers and readers) believes.

I’m a faithful genre fiction reader and writer (and agnostic, if anyone was wondering), though I’m also well-read in classics thanks to an English BA and three semesters of graduate school (which will do nothing to prevent typos in my blog posts more often than I care to admit). The effects have lingered, and Dante’s Inferno and a monstrous tomb of Shakespeare’s collected works sit in prominent places on my bookshelf. Over the years, I’ve also read a bit of YA, lots of fantasy, science fiction, a bit of urban fantasy, some mainstream, literary fiction, picture books (man, I LOVE Harry the Dirty Dog!), a few historicals and the occasional nonfiction (most recently about cannibals).

What I don’t get is why everyone seems to think there is a universal right or wrong when it comes to their favorite genre and the genres they don’t like. Sorry, but try as you might, no one can prove that anything sucks. We might think it sucks, but if someone else loves it, who is right? Who wins?

No one wins when people fight. And if this was an inquisition (what sells best wins because that means the most people are reading it and liking it), literary fiction would be the witches burned at the stake simple because they lack numbers. Does it mean the witches were wrong in their beliefs? Not really, because they believed it, so it was right to them. They just didn’t have the masses (sales) to stand up to the bigger kid on the school yard. But despite all the witches that were crispyfied in Salem and elsewhere, the culture and beliefs still exists today, though in a minority, and is very fulfilling to those who follow that faith (just like those who read and write literary fiction).

Haters gonna hate, but hating something doesn’t make you right. A good example would be the fact that the very thought of Twlight makes me cringe, and I will never read it. Ever. But clearly if so many other people read and enjoy it, there has to be some merit to what Stephenie Meyer has done. Good on her. Will I gain anything by putting her genre choice (YA paranormal) down and claiming mine is better (adult sci-fi/fantasy)? Uh...no.

Anyway, this article pretty much kicks ass and kind of gets to where I'm trying to go. So next time you want to hate on something with zombies in it, don’t assume its trash without giving it a read first. (In the interest of full disclosure, my manuscript has zombies in it.)

From said article: “Fantasy fans often note that the divide between popular and literary fiction was established relatively recently by the modernists, who favored hyperrealism over plot and narrative. Throughout history, pillars of the literary canon, from Homer, Dante, Milton and Shakespeare up through Jules Verne, Mary Shelley and Bram Stoker, blended natural and supernatural elements. The pendulum may now be swinging back, with literature that can be both popular and literary, realistic and fantastical.”

The classics paved the way for genre fiction many moons ago and those stories are still considered classics today, so we genre writers might want to remember our roots. And literary writers? All I have to say to you is Dracula.

One happy Aunt

2011-05-02T14:35:00.000-07:00

My niece Isabell is now seven and reading chapter books. My heart flutters at all the possibilities. While I was home visiting, we went over to Barnes and Noble and I told her she could pick out any book she wanted and I’d buy it for her.

She picked one I’d never heard of at the same time I spotted a copy of Bunnicula. I pitched the vampire bunny with success, and told Isabell she could have them both. Then I started browsing as she went to pick out a picture book for her brother.

Julie of the Wolves. Indian in the Cupboard. The Witches. Island of the Blue Dolphins. Little House on the Prairie. Where the Red Fern Grows. The Hobbit (which my dad read to me). The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Mrs. Frisbee and the Rats of Nimh. And so, so many more - including ones like Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, which weren’t around when I was a kid.

I was pulling books of the shelves so fast, I had a pile I couldn’t carry in under two minutes. Then I had to wind back a bit, and try to think in terms of what a seven year old could actually read, and what books were just a smidge over her current reading level.

Then I remembered reading classics as a kid – small hardcover books of literary works abridged with pictures for young readers. When I found them, it started all over.

White Fang. Swiss Family Robison. King Author and the Knights of Camelot. Treasure Island. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

In the end, I couldn’t cull my stack smaller than eight books. In the car, I handed Isabell the Classic Starts version of Swiss Family Robison and she read the back cover. A few minutes later, she said, “This sounds so cool!”

We talked about how reading isn’t just for bedtime. She boasted about reading an entire chapter book, on her own, in just ten days. We talked about how many chapters she could read in a day. I asked her to call me every time she finished a new book.

We got home from the store, and she sat next to me on the couch, feet on my lap, and read four chapters of one of her new books.

Trench warfare in the workshop setting

2011-04-19T16:23:00.000-07:00

We humans feel a natural need to bond together in the face insurmountable odds, tragedy and suffering. Those who survive the battlefield together almost always come out the other side as friends, sometimes of the life long kind.

I can’t say I was exactly expecting that kind of experience at BONI this year. Yet, as I recounted the events of the week to Erik, he pointed something out: part of the reason I felt like I’d bonded more strongly to more people this year over last year was, quite frankly, our shared misery.

Now, don’t get me wrong. There was nothing wrong with the workshop. As always, Don, Lorin and Jason were great, the classes were wonderful, the crit groups were productive and the venue was cool. And with a very special exception, all of the attendees were awesome peeps. So why in the world would I bring up trench warfare in the same post as the workshop?

Because it only takes one person being bat-shit-epic-fail to inspire World War I sized feelings of “I’d like to feed you my foot through your ass” pretty much universally in a group of thirty adults, of which most prefer introversion and violence of the fictional kind.

I won’t bore you with the full list of horror stories I both heard about and experienced first hand from this person, but I would like to give a few basic tips on you can avoid being the person at a workshop dubbed “you know who.”

Don’t mock people when they're introducing themselves.

Don’t answer every question people ask the speaker during the presentation like you are the speaker.

Don’t talk nonstop. (And when I say nonstop, I mean “why hasn’t that person dropped dead from oxygen deprivation” nonstop. All day. For SEVEN DAYS.)

Don’t go around telling people that the instructor didn’t read anyone’s submission just because said instructor didn’t think your writing was perfect.

Don’t critique people in a crit group by saying “The instructor would tell you to do this” and proceed to stomp out of said group when people offer constructive criticism.

Don’t appoint yourself “workshop assistant” and start barking orders.

Did you answer “Well, duh” to any of the above bullet points? Congratulations. You have more tact than someone who claimed to be a 20-plus year publishing industry veteran and almost initiated a Thunderdome remake in sleepy Hood River, Oregon. Cheers!

To be applied to writing and life in general.

2011-04-06T19:48:00.001-07:00

I saw this post (tweeted by Donald Maass - @DonMaass) and felt a resounding hell fucking yeah.

This is not the way to live your life. Jealously is indeed human nature. We've all had times where we've seen someone else's success and think, damn, I wish I was the one with {insert great thing}.

But letting it become a downward spiral like this writer? Don't. And don't think the people around you, in this case other writers, don't see you for what you are. Things like that can get pretty obvious - even on the internet.

I once had a person I thought was a friend tell me "seeing you happy makes me miserable." To be honest, I'd suspected as much for years, but the very thought - daring to think I was worth being jealous of - made me feel like a jerk so I ignored the feeling. Deep down, though, you always know the truth.

I hope we can all have success as writers. More importantly, I hope we all figure out what it actually means to be happy with the choices we make and the successes we have as writers – and in life in general.

Truth

2011-03-31T10:08:00.001-07:00

Source

On Creative People

2011-03-30T15:59:00.001-07:00

So this is a fun article - and I've lost the place I linked through to get to it, gah! Anyway, it's all about the Creative Personality from a psycological perspective.

Favorite part?

"Another way of expressing this dialectic is the contrasting poles of wisdom and childishness. As Howard Gardner remarked in his study of the major creative geniuses of this century, a certain immaturity, both emotional and mental, can go hand in hand with deepest insights. Mozart comes immediately to mind."

So this is why I don't clean, still laugh when I burp even though I'm almost 31 years old, dance to the toaster oven's clicking noise (hot beat, yo!), randomly run in place and make loud noises after sitting still too long, and love video games, random junk for under $5, wacky socks and cute stuffed animals.

I'm a genius!

Hellooooo zombies?

2011-03-29T15:04:00.000-07:00

Apparently, my zombies aren't hungry. And how can I have zombie book 2 without more people getting eaten? Uhm... So how many pages can one have without zombies in a zombie book, anyway? Is there a guide somewhere out there? Something like, five pages, no problem. Ten, meh. Twenty, getting itchy. Thirty, thin ice. Forty or more...am I even still writing a zombie book? My guess is I need to do what I always do, which is just keep going and then revise the hell out of my first 100 pages. Because right now? Yeah, there isn't nearly enough noming of brains going down.

So much win!

2011-03-21T08:54:00.000-07:00

So Wasted Talent is always hilarious, but today...well, this is what I'm going to imagine my characters' battle cries to be from now on. Good or bad? You decide!

Onward!

2011-03-15T19:34:00.000-07:00

So looks like HOUND is finished! Very exciting stuff! After a few more small tweaks, I sent my final version to Joanna (my agent) today. And happy danced a bit. (Okay, a lot.)

Soon we'll go on submission and try to sell the manuscript. This will likely take months. How many? Impossible to guess, as every author has a different experience - just like when querying. From here on out, I won't be talking much about HOUND. I like being pretty open about my writing experiences and the process of chasing this crazy dream of publication, but some things don't belong on a public blog.

Feel free to cross fingers and toes for me, though!

What's next then? A sequel to HOUND is my plan right now. I'll be working on a first draft and taking that to BONI come April. After BONI (if not before) I'm going to try and get into a pretty strict writing routine.

Aside from that? Playing a hell of a lot of video games! I've about 2/3 done my second Dragon Age II playthrough (which I'll blog about soon) and I'm fighting the itch to load up Dragon Age Origins and play it a third time with all the downloadable content I never played. Then that makes me think of Mass Effect and how I really need to play Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2 and all downloadable content before the release of Mass Effect 3 - which is waaay too far away.

But if I don't give boyfriend more of my time on Rift, I have a feeling all my other games might mysteriously vanish...

I've mentioned this before, but if anyone is playing Rift, let me know. I'm on the Corthana shard, Defiant, character name Archon. Eirk and I have a small, casual guild and would be happy to invite more friends.

Last week

2011-03-09T11:57:00.000-08:00

So I was left alone for a few days since the boyfriend went to visit his family. Interesting times.

Thursday: Took boyfriend to airport EARLY IN THE MORNING, worked, tried to edit my BONI submission but ended up cleaning cat pee instead, showered, watched The Girl Who Played With Fire, snuggled kitty because I felt bad for screaming at her about the cat pee.

Friday: Worked, MOAR EDITING, played some Rift, googled some stuff about Rift, showered, watched Daybreakers, snuggled cats.

Saturday: Played some Rift, took cat to vet, went to lunch and saw the Adjustment Bureau with Maggie, MOAR EDITING, ate a chicken patty sandwich, decided not to shower because cats don't mind stinky people, watched The Ugly Truth, snuggled cats.

Sunday: Very excited to find unopened pop tarts on desk! Score!, played some Rift - which isn't so fun alone, downloaded a cheap game and ended up with nerd rage, ate a chicken patty sandwich, googled and for some reason ended up reading about True Blood, watched first episode of True Blood, ate a chicken patty sandwich, worked on synopsis, watched True Blood, watched more True Blood, synopsis, True Blood, synopsis, True Blood, True Blood, chicken patty, True Blood, TALKED TO BOYFRIEND ON THE PHONE AND SOUNDEDLIKEI'MTYPINGBECAUSEIWASSUPEREXCITEDTOTALKTOHIM
ANDBECAUSEI'VEHADNOHUMANCONTACTINLIKE36HOURS, True Blood, True Blood, no shower because meh boyfriend isn't home until tomorrow, snuggled cats.

Monday: CHICKEN PATTY FOR BREAKFAST, True Blood, finished synopsis, True Blood, showered since humans like other humans to be clean, picked up boyfriend YAY!, played Rift with boyfriend YAY!, put boyfriend to be early since he was super tired, MOAR TRUE BLOOD, debated staying up until midnight to pick up Dragon Age II early but decided to go to bed.

Tuesday: Boyfriend goes to work and drops me off in shopping center, 30 minutes to kill before Gamestop opens, shopped for breakfast and ended up with ice cream and chocolate covered coconut for breakfast and little sandwiches (no chicken) for lunch, ACQUIRE THE DRAGON AGE II, walked home, installed, crashed, tried again, couldn't find save files, computer crashed, obscenities, threats, NERD RAGE, call boyfriend, whined, MOAR RAGE, then YAY IT WORKED, played Dragon Age II, almost starved but remembered to eat at the last second, played Dragon Age II, greeted boyfriend, played Dragon Age II, ate dinner, played Dragon Age II, watched America's Funniest Home Videos, bed.

Wednesday - Work. :(

So I've learned that being left alone results in questionable eating habits, general lack of hygiene, lots of games and odd choices is TV and movies.

Somewhere in all that, I managed to finish my BONI submission and will be mailing it tonight. Hurrah!

Rift Update

2011-02-25T08:16:00.000-08:00

Talk about crazytown. Rift launched for headstart with 19 servers, most of which were full immediately. Once the serversw were full, then you had to wait in line behind 500-700 people for up to four hours to even log in at all!

Erik put me in line early, so by the time I got home from work I was in! I made my character...and then my computer overheated and crashed.

-.-

Erik got it up running after about half an hour, but by that time the line to get back on Greybriar was four hours.

But, much to my delight, they'd just put up two new PvE servers! We got into Corthana with no wait, so that's my new server. Also, character name is Archon on the Defiant side. I play a ranger and I love my ugly warthog pet. He's a killer tank. Sadly, my wolf can't hold hate for anything.

Erik and I played most of the night, but my favorite part was when a full on water invasion hit (basically, a rift between the planes of existence opened up, and the tidal armies came marching through in HORDES to try and kill the NPCs and claim the zone). Talk about chaos! It was so fun - even though a lot it involved me going: "I've got a mob, do you see it? Oh shit, my pet's dead. OH SHIT THEY'RE COMING FOR ME!!! *gurglygurglespurt*."

Good times, good times.

Closing in...

2011-02-24T09:50:00.001-08:00

...on two things: the completion of my revisions and the headstart of Rift.

As of now, HOUND is inching closer to done, done, DONE. I have about 100 pages left to re-read and two scenes to revise on the way. I also I have to adjust some travel times and make sure they're consistent throughout the text.

But tonight I'm going to be playing Rift. It's been far too long since I've had some excellent gaming. Looks like I'll be on Greybriar, PvE server, if anyone else is playing. I haven't decided on a character name just yet, though.

Kumari in an alternate universe, perhaps?

Ugh. The servers are going live as we speak...and here I am, stuck at work.

30% done, done.

2011-02-16T15:46:00.000-08:00

So when revising, there's done and done, done.

Done means I've gone through Joanna's notes, made my own tweaks, rewritten, unwritten, changed, picked, verified, etc - but I have all those changes still as redlines. So...I haven't finalized them yet. Committed to them.

Done, done means I bucked up and hit accept changes.

I'm happy to report I'm done, done 30% of the manuscript. Weee!

Very happy. Hopefully soon I'll be done, done with more of it, instead of just done. :)

I should add one more done to the done, done, so I can say it like I'm dun, dun, duuuuuun!

Okay, this post is clearly done. As in done, done...duuuuuuuun!

Step 1: Revise. Step 2: GAMES!

2011-02-09T10:04:00.000-08:00

As most of you know, aside from my fiction writing I also work full time for an internal communications magazine. Translation? Life is pretty busy now that revisions for HOUND have come back to me.

I’m writing the cover story for our May issue (yup, we’re always two months ahead at the magazine) which is pretty neat, but I also have an unpleasant thing happening at the office. I won’t bore you with the details, but it’s pretty crappy and stressful. Hopefully all that will clear up in the near future. Downside is things will likely get worse before they get better. At least my day job doesn’t exceed forty hours a week!

And when I’m not dealing with the thing that shall not be named, life is AWESOME. Working with Joanna is a dream, and I love all her suggestions for HOUND. Right now, I’m back on the revision horse and things are shaping up to be phenomenal. I have a good deal of work to do, but the best way to describe it is that I’m improving what I already have, and not really changing things – at least as far as the story and characters go. I’m not sure yet exactly how long this will take me, but I’m sure it won’t take too long!

Aside from HOUND, I’ve been doing a little work on HOUND’s sequel, which is what I’ll be taking to the Breakout Novel Intensive (BONI) in April. Right now, my first fifty pages are in the capable hands of a few beta readers until the end of February. Once I get that back, I’ll have to do a quick clean up and then ship it off by the first week of March. I’m really excited to go back to BONI. Writing retreats/intensives? LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them! If I can fit in one a year, I’ll be a happy writer.

Oh, and there’s of course Rift, The Sims Medieval and Dragon Age 2 to deal with. My guess is gaming will have to be under strict password protected autosave lockout timers for the next few months. Or maybe they only unlock after certain revision quotas are met?

All the more reason to get my ass moving on these revisions…I can reward myself with some EPIC nerd time when I’m done.

So I guess this pretty much means I’ll be scarce on the blog for the next few months. But I’m always here…lurking. I’ll update when I can!

How I stayed (kind of) sane while on query

2011-01-26T19:10:00.001-08:00

So how I was able to stay relatively sane while I was on query boils down to two things.

My amazing writer friends who encouraged me and advised me through the process, especially Beth and Lorin. Thank you!
querytracker.net

Querytracker is the bomb and there's just no two ways about it. Not only does it put a huge list of agents at your fingertips, but it also gives you links to interviews, client lists, average query response times and much more. Aside from that, it helps to you keep track of who you queried when and pretty much keeps you from falling into a giant black hole of disorganized hell.

I LOVE it, so I was thrilled to share my success story on their site to help encourage others to use querytracker.

And the $25 a year for the premium account? Affordable and totally worth it.

Cannibals!

2011-01-23T08:51:00.000-08:00

Okay, before you think I'm crazy based on the post title...

It starts with this:

Then this:

Which leads to this:

And this...

AND THIS!!!

And thissssssss:

It keeps going!

Bad post-it!

2011-01-22T19:07:00.000-08:00

So I was organizing my notes for HOUND and I found this post-it. This is my "what characters say which curse words" guide. Pretty funny, considering I did a pass on the manuscript specifically looking for swear word consistency.

I also find it pretty funny that my handwriting hasn't improved much since grade school!

BIG HUGE GIANT Announcement!

2011-01-20T13:10:00.000-08:00

Well, for an aspiring author this is about as big as news gets. Here goes:

I HAVE AN AGENT!

EEEEEEE!!!!!

I've officially signed with Joanna Volpe of Nancy Coffey Literary and Media Representation!!!!!!

I'm really excited for the chance to work with Joanna. We clicked when we had "the call" and she shares my vision for HOUND IN BLOOD AND BLACK to the letter - well, aside from her ideas for making it EVEN BETTER and, you know, my typos that still need eradicating.

Thank you, Joanna! I'm thrilled to be your client and I can't wait to see where things go from here!

And thanks to everyone out there that has been and continues to be a part of this crazy adventure.

Desk Dragons and Book Releases!

2011-01-11T13:59:00.000-08:00

He nips at fingers when I stop writing. He's my "work" desk dragon. I think I'll get another one for home.

On a much more exciting note, if you've been following my blog for any amount of time, you already know that Beth Revis' Across the Universe launched today. An awesome YA sci-fi, and you can read the first 111 pages here (today only) or read/listen to chapter one on the badass offical website.

What is the connection? I bought my desk dragon at the same time I picked up a copy of Across the Universe!

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-23T14:22:00.000-08:00

Have some awesome holidays! See you next year!

Sand peeps - WIP Ala'der

2010-12-15T16:23:00.000-08:00

Time to go back to my souless Sand people!

Kelder, the main character, is a very well behaved character. As in, I know her pretty much inside and out, which makes it very easy for me to jump back into this project. Looks like I'll be swapping with some writer friends this January to get some eyes on the first 50 pages.

My feelings right now? I feel like I start off with a strong first chapter, but I worry that the next few might read a little slow. I feel like I have good conflict internally and between characters - but is there enough external conflict. Do I have enough tension and conflict that the chapters work, without pressing plot issues? Or is "learning how to be a killer" enough plot?

I guess we'll see.

Opening line of Ala'der:

Good people do not go out in the night.

Cracking open the NaNo pot

2010-12-09T16:25:00.000-08:00

I went into my folders to take a peek at the mess I made in the month of November. I ended with 99k spread over three projects.

sequel to HOUND - 30k or so
Ashfall - about 60k
Ala'der - two scenes
The Finding - opening scene

So far, I haven't looked at Ashfall, mostly because I already know its a mess and I'm not sure if I want to deal with it! Hehe! Actually, I'm about 85% sure that I'm going to work on Ala'der instead of Ashfall when I finally get focused again - which will be soon I hope.

I'm pretty happy with what I wrote for HOUND's sequel, though, and it seems to want my attention. I'm trying to fend it off, but being on query for HOUND makes me think about HOUND, which makes me think about what I could do with world and characters next.

Darn imagination, running where it pleases. :)

On my mind

2010-12-06T12:24:00.000-08:00

I try not to complain on my blog – unless, of course, it’s about my characters misbehaving or a plot gone crazy. But I have to admit, some stuff on the blogosphere/Twitter has had me a bit miffed lately.

It basically boils down to one thing: people not thinking about other people, and even in some cases, how they used to be the same as those people they aren’t thinking about. For example, an author with a debut novel coming out in 2012 commenting on Twitter about Authoress’ Backer’s Dozen Contest to one of the bidding agents. And called the entries “junk.”

Really? I suppose once you have a book deal you forget all about where you were before then? That you were once an aspiring author, putting themselves out there for a chance to get an agent’s attention and get feedback from the community? I guess writing one book that hasn’t released yet makes you an expert on writing?

Or 2011 debut author that commented in their bio about how they don’t understand why aspiring authors struggle with getting published – after all, that author landed a deal really fast on the first try. Good for you – no, great for you and I truly mean that…but do you really need to rub it in the face of someone who wasn’t as lucky? Or someone who had to work a little harder to achieve their dream? Or someone who is still chasing the dream?

Or aspiring and published authors alike who slam fiction/novels/aspiring authors that differ from/don’t write in whatever genre you love best? Or bash blog posts and trends because they don’t match up with your tastes?

It’s one thing to not like a book, to give it a bad review, to think one genre is superior to another, and to prefer writing in that genre. Opinions are like assholes, right? Everyone one has one, and everyone has a right to share – especially on the internet where you can be anonymous and never face the people you’re insulting.

But you can have an opinion without being an asshole.

Just because you landed an agent, or a book deal with a big house or an indie house, or on the bestseller list…well, it doesn’t really give you the right to throw shit at the people who aren’t there yet. It doesn’t really mean that you know everything about publishing and everything about writing. Just because you prefer one genre doesn’t mean everything else sucks.

Remember, before you became “famous” you were one of people chasing the dream. And those dreams and journeys come in all shapes, sizes, time frames and genres. Think a little. Unless you have thousands of followers on Twitter or your blog, you probably know a little bit about most of the people spending the time to read what you post.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t care how popular a novel is. If I think the author is a dick, I’m not going to rush out and buy their novel. So at the very least, think of it as helping your sales. After all, if you’re doing this kind of stuff – like calling other people’s writing junk, publicly, where you have to know all those people are looking at the agent’s feed – my guess is you don’t care much about anyone but yourself.

But that’s just my opinion, isn’t it?

10k in a day, 2 days left of NaNoWriMo

2010-11-29T09:45:00.000-08:00

I put up over 10k words yesterday. Ugh. My netbook attached to my hip, and if I wasn't at my computer, I was on the couch hammering away. All. Day. Long.

I did get to watch something like six movies between Thursday and Sunday, and watch Erik get about 2/3 of the way through his birthday present.

Two days left in NaNoWriMo and I'm trying to stay in the running for a nice prize. Needless to say, putting up 10k took a ton of work - and it put me over 94k so far for the month of November.

That being said, things aren't really working out exactly like I planned. My goal was to get a full draft of Ashfall by the end of the month, but after I crossed the 60k mark, I decided to put it down. I was having trouble getting my main character ironed down - the kind of trouble that is going to end in rewriting instead of revising. I decided instead of writing words for the sake of words, words that I knew I was going to have to trash, it was time to switch gears.

I started working on a sequel to HOUND, which is up to about 29k. I'm loving it, though I'm not sure how far I'll run with this until I know if HOUND has a chance in the wide world of publishing.

I also cracked out the opening scene of an idea I call "The Finding" and wrote a new scene in my Ala'der novel, which puts me up to my current total.

I still need to make a choice, however, and soon. In April, I'm going to the Breakout Novel Intensive again, and that means I need to have 50 pages in tip top shiny shape come the end of February or so.

But for now I have two more days with my head back, my fingers typing, and my ass hurting from sitting so damn much.

Naughty Writer.

2010-11-22T09:42:00.000-08:00

So I've hit a wall with my NaNo project. Strangely enough, it's not the plot. I see the plot, I have it mapped out and I'm happy with it. My problem is my main character.

For some reason, I cannot get in her head. I write scenes, and she feels like a different person in every single one. She keeps bouncing back and forth - does she like killing? does she regret when she does? She wants to be free (that's the for sure part) but what does she think about the rest of the world? She hates the Sesti (masters in the Ashfall/Sesti relationship) in one chapter, all of them unconditionally - then she's waffling around like she understands, but just don't want to be a slave.

And no matter how hard I try, I just can't seem to pin her down. I'm pretty sure what this means is I need to spent a lot of time ironing out her character arch - time during NaNo that should be spent pumping out words, at least in theroy.

And of course, this could all be very compelling - if I was doing it ON PURPOSE. /facedesk

So, I cheated on my NaNoWriMo WIP last night. I wanted to keep putting up word counts (trying to stay in this contest for the BONI participants, which I'm fighting for with two others - really neck and neck! I could still win it /crossesfingers).

So...I wasn't just bad though, I was extra bad. I did the "big no-no" for unpublished authors.

I started working on a sequel to HOUND. That's the big no-no because if your book 1 never gets picked up, you're never going to sell book 2 - and that makes writing book 2 a waste of time.

But damn did it feel good to get inside the head of character that I know, inside and out.

So, we'll see what I work on today. I also know Kelder (from the Ala'der, my sand people book) very well, so I might go back to her.

Whatever I do, I need 50 damn good pages by the middle of Feb to make going to BONI in April again worth it.

51,142 in 16 days

2010-11-16T20:13:00.001-08:00

WHEW. I am pleased.

Man though...this draft is A HOT MESS.

Now, to see if I can keep up the pace through the end of the manuscript/story.

Almost there...

2010-11-16T08:17:00.000-08:00

46,253 words! ARGH! I was hoping to hit 50k yesterday (halfway mark to put me on track for 100k by the end of the month) but alas, I missed the mark. I completely sucked it up on Sunday (about 280 words...ewww) then got some interesting news yesterday that interrupted my progress.

Hopefully I can hit the mark today!

35k and ...edits?

2010-11-11T15:20:00.000-08:00

Broke 35,601 words yesterday for NaNoWriMo. Woo!

I also realized that switching gears from create to edit in the middle of a complete, unbridled mind dump SUCKS. No worries - I'm not breaking NaNo's golden rule. I'm working on some tweaks to my HOUND partial before I send more query letters.

To sum it up, last night I opened my HOUND document after finishing my NaNo words and it went something like this:

Me: "HunnrrrrrruuuugghgghgggrrrrhhhhhmRAHHHHHHH."

Boyfriend: "Oh. You must be editing."

Sad but true. I know I have to do it - my goal is to get this task done by Sunday night - but it hurrrtsssss usssss.

I know part of this is me pouting. I thought I was done with HOUND for now. I really, really wanted to be done with HOUND for now. So I keep reminding my pouty self that it's ONLY three scenes to revise. ONLY THREE. I spent April - August editing/revising/rewriting the ENTIRE MANUSCRIPT. I can so do this. I will do it.

Apparently, I will make awful noises while I do it, but hey, you work with what you got.

20k and counting!

2010-11-06T18:55:00.001-07:00

Day 6 of NaNoWriMo has come to a close for me and I'm at 20,880 words. Woo! According to the website, at this rate I'll finish Nov 15! Awesome...because if I can hold the pace after that, I might be able to knock out the whole draft by the end of Nov. I almost always shot for a 100k first draft.

Here are the things that are making this work for me:

I've accepted that I will have a shit ton of edits to do when this month is over. This helps me write without worrying about that perfect sentence or word choice right now.
I did a really comprehensive outline before I started. For the most part, I'm following it fairly well.
BUT when the scene or characters want to run a little off my intended track, I let it happen. I've come up with some cool ideas this way and it all really boils down to my first bullet - if it doesn't end up working, I can just cut it or rewrite in draft 2.
I'm a competitive person and having friends doing NaNoWriMo with me helps me stay motivated. I love seeing awesome word counts from my buddies! It's inspiring! And it makes me want to put up the highest numbers I can.

How's everyone else do this NaNoWriMo? :)

Back in the saddle

2010-11-02T16:30:00.000-07:00

I started off November with a writing bang yesterday! I wrote 5,086 words on my new project (called Ashfall for now) for my first day of NaNoWriMo 2010. It felt good to flex my brain to fingers to keyboard to word doc muscles, which have been enjoying a vacation from writing and revising for the last month or so. But it was time - the creative itch was getting pretty persistent.

Quite a few of my writer friends have caught the NaNo bug this year, so this should be a really fun month.

Are you doing NaNo? Friend me! "The Screaming Guppy" is my NaNo name. I bet you NEVER would have guessed, huh?

Hooray for writing and not revising - at least until the end of November.

Break

2010-09-24T11:29:00.000-07:00

I'm taking a writing and blogging break for the next month or so. If I do post, it will probably be about video games or something else unrelated to writing.

I'm considering doing NaNoWriMo this November, and even if I don't, my goal to dive into a new maunscript is November 1.

So...see you guys in November!

New WIP Codename: Ashfall

2010-09-13T11:36:00.000-07:00

I've decided what to work on next. Actually, I decided a bit ago, but I was having trouble locating...what was that thing called? Oh, yes. A plot. I think I finally found it! Hooray!

When I write, I tend to plot out important events - opening and ending at least - then plop down and start slogging through. Before that, I spend a good deal of time on worldbuilding. The Ashfall world is going to be a big complex one, hopefully a place where I'll be able to spend a lot of time. Right now, I see an arc that should make this a trilogy. Fun! (Keeping in mind, of course, to make #1 "stand alone.")

I'm enjoying this time spend pondering and creating. I think it might be my favorite part.

Here's a sketch of the only city in my world, a domed metropolis on a nightless, super heated planet, and the underground below it.

Free Range Brain

2010-09-03T09:09:00.000-07:00

Though I am still checking my inbox every second all the time fast heartbeat for each new email I get...I'm pretty relaxed.

Why? Because the shackles of revising and editing have been RELEASED!

Free Range Brain is CREATING again.

Omnomnomnomnomnom! Ideas and worldbuilding! Characters development! NEW CHARACTERS! Omnomnomnom!

That bunny is my hungry brain. That...uh...table cloth thing (?) is the oyster that is my ENTIRE WORLD.

What now?

2010-09-01T11:00:00.000-07:00

I have to admit, I'm going to enjoy a break from revising. I know I'll be tweaking and polishing HOUND as I go through the query process. I also know that late September will be filled with video games (FFXIV and Civ V yessssssssss).

But even before I finished HOUND and sent it out, my mind was already leaking into old and new ideas for other novels. Actually, that was part of the reason I knew I was ready to query. For the first time in two years (excluding Jan-March 2010, where I took a much needed break), HOUND wasn't filling all corners of my mind. Even during revisions, with the bulk of the manuscript/story complete, I still spent hours - every walk, shower and car ride - with Kumari and her world playing in my thoughts.

I walk to and from work (half mile each way) every day. I jam out on my Ipod and hammer out scenes. About a month ago, those scenes stopped being about HOUND and started revisting other ideas...because, well, I had figured out my novel. Kumari's story was complete.

Now I have to decide what project will come next. Soulless sand people? My space opera series? HOUND's sequel? A crazy domed city locked in a war between sciene and faith? A dystopian Earth ruled by knowledge stealing creatures?

My well overflows. I simply need to pick my next pen.

Yay!

No turning back now!

2010-08-31T09:04:00.000-07:00

I sent my first query letter for HOUND this morning.

Proof that dreams do come true: Across the Universe by Beth Revis

2010-08-26T10:02:00.001-07:00

Nothing like a chapter of awesome to start your day right.

Beth Revis, blogger friend and writing buddy, is living the dream. She worked hard for her success and reading her blog and being part of her journey in a even a small way has really made breaking into print seem more like possibility and less like a pipe dream.

Right now, the first chapter of her novel is up on her novel's official launch site. Go read. You'll understand right away why this novel is going to be a hit. Personally, I think Across the Universe is going to do for YA sci-fi what The Hunger Games did for YA dystopian fiction.

Go get 'em, Beth!

The end is near...as in, one scene away!

2010-08-17T08:44:00.000-07:00

I wrote/rewrote/revised 12 scenes over the last three days - 22,760 words.

I have one left - the ending (I even skipped ahead to write my eipilogue first...haha! Stage fright, perhaps?) I wanted to finish last night but I was pretty much burnt out by the time Erik got home from work and going a little stir crazy!

Apparently, when I need to get out of the house after a long day of writing, I want to shop for random shit. This included four mugs (same mug, different colors: purple, green, yellow, red), a neon green towel-rug to match my insane shower curtain covered in neon color sea creatures (I was sad said rug didn't come shaped like a fish. The search continues!), and a set purple hangers. Oh, and cat food.

I'm very excited. I have chapters 29-33 and the epilogue printed out for my first review. Chapater 34 will be one long scene and the last of the book. Right now, looks like I'll end up at about 147,000 words, and about 514 pages, double spaced. I've done trimming on pages 1-233, and got rid of about 20k words (this included cutting two scenes and combining two others). So, I confident at the very worst I'll be able to trim it back to around 130k just by tweaking and cutting extra words and not cutting more scenes. Ideally, I want to get under 120k. (Even if under means 119,999, dang it!)

My query goal date is Sept 20.

I am confident this will happen. And that when I finish this last scene, that I will have told the story I set out to tell two years ago.

Advice on word count

2010-08-04T08:41:00.001-07:00

In my recent struggle with my ever growing word count - which I think will top out at 160k for this draft before I start cutting back - I decided to email one of the editors I worked with at BONI. I thought her advice was interesting, and something that might help others trying to trim that final draft.

I'd advise you to not worry about it right this minute, to finish it all up and then let it sit for just a bit. Then go back in and first edit for larger story issues, asking yourself what, if anything, you can remove in terms of CONTENT. Are there scenes that don't quite further the action of the story or that play out at much the same emotional "temperature" as immediately preceding or following scenes? Be tough and ask, "WILL THE READER MISS THIS?" Not, of course, whether or not YOU'LL miss it because you clearly might but whether or not the reader's experience will be significantly diminished without that scene.

THEN, after you've done that larger scale edit, I'd go back through and do the "house cleaning" line edit, looking for redundancies, etc. I think you'll be surprised how much fat you can trim away without hurting the story. In fact, often doing so makes things sharper and more resonant.

With just a few minutes spent thinking about her advice, I came up with three places where I should be able to cut scenes. I hope they are many, many words. :)

What we can learn from crappy movies

2010-07-30T09:31:00.000-07:00

I watched Legion last night and it sucked. I think the only reason I sat through the entire thing was to deconstruct where they failed from a storyteller’s point of view.

What they did in the movie that we should avoid in our novels:

Don’t have too many characters – When you lock nine characters in a diner, I already know that hardly any of them are going to make it out alive. I also know that the only two that are going to live are the only two you spend time developing at the movie’s opening. And if you have to kill everyone off to finish their story, you might have a problem. Unless you’re writing splatterpunk.
Avoid cardboard characters, no character arcs and clichés – The snotty rich lady who stays snotty, the slutty daughter who realizes she’s a slutty brat, the hoodlum with a heart of gold and glock, the dad struggling with the loss of his wife and…never getting over it the entire movie, the pregnant girl who doesn’t want her baby but changes her mind when he is going to be the messiah, the guy with low IQ who’s helpless in love with the pregnant girl even though its not his baby that becomes the hero, the husband of the rich lady who acts like a prick and dies first, and the one armed cook who…uh…does something? Oh, and the angel who cast off Heaven to save mankind and the baby. Hm.
Make your rules and stick to your rules – If an angel can cut off his wings with a butter knife, the other angel cannot have bullet proof wings. Nuff’ said.
Be consistent in your world building and setting – If an angel looks all Old Testament and shit with a giant skull crushing mace of biblical proportions, it’s really hard for me to believe that it also has a motor that changes the mace into a giant drill.
If you think you’re really cool, have someone verify that you are really cool because you might be very, very wrong – Ice cream truck driving down the road playing the ice cream man song with an possessed ice cream man who gets mowed down by machine guns in his yellow ice cream man suit and paper hat? No. Not cool. Possessed person standing in the crowd with a birthday hat on, that you focus on for three minutes to add “tension?” Not cool.

Though the movie sucked, I did get glaring examples of what NOT to do as I write. As my writer friend Gary said, it’s sometimes nice to just absorb a little art from time to time. Or watch a trashy movie, I guess.

Oh and yesterday I wrote one new scene. Not my best day’s work, but progress!

Ha!

2010-07-27T10:21:00.000-07:00

I knew it wasn't just me!

On not being an asshole at a Writers Conference

2010-07-25T18:06:00.000-07:00

We all have heard about how pitching to agents in bathrooms, running around your chair in circles during your two minute pitch to an agent, or showing up in sweatpants are sure fire ways to make a complete ass out of yourself to agents and editors at a Writers Conference.

But I think people get so excited about agents and editors, that they forget that going to a Writers Conference, particularly a local one, is a great way to network with other writers in your area. So I’m going to give you two tips, free of charge, on how to avoid being considered a complete dickhead by your peers!

1. If a fellow writer asks you about your novel, the correct thing to do when you're done answering the question is ASK THEM ABOUT THEIR NOVEL IN RETURN.

In critique groups, beta reading, manuscript swaps, networking, and just about every other writing organization that you get involved in (in which you are not PAYING someone for their services) the name of the game is reciprocity. If you can’t even ask me what my novel is about after I listened to you ramble on about your own for fifteen minutes, I’m pretty damn sure you’ll be a shitty critique buddy. I’m not going to hand someone my business card when they’ve proven they’re only interested in furthering their own work and not being an interactive part of a writing community. Besides that, you’re just RUDE if you don’t do this, even if you aren’t interested in anything else but a brief chat at the local conference. Every writer that comes to a conference is there because they are excited about their own project and want to share it with the world. So share the love and share the courtesy, and avoid burning bridges before you’ve put down the first brick.

2. If you walk up to two or more writers introduce yourself to EVERYONE present even if you only are interested in networking with one of them for a particular reason.

My friend Maggie was a finalist in the literary contest for the PNWA conference. As a result, she got to wear a ribbon on her name badge that said Finalist, which was awesome. And I got to hang out with a finalist, so awesome for me, too! Well, when writer Joe Smoe, who was also a finalist, walked up to rub shoulders with Maggie based on her awesome status, not only did he interrupt our conversation, but he completely ignored me. Lesson here? The first thing Maggie did when he left was turn around to me, her friend, and comment on the fact that Joe Smoe was a complete dickhead for not even acknowledging I was alive. Take a moment and think people. If you snub the friend of the person you want to network with, do you really think they’re going to give you a ring to hang out when you’ve just proven that you lack the most basic level of manners? No. You’re going to get mocked when you walk away for being a pompous prick.

See how easy that is? All you have to do is remember those brilliant lessons you learned in kindergarten.

Revisions! Come on now. Did you really expect something else? ;)

2010-07-16T12:04:00.000-07:00

I think I'm due for another revision update for my manuscript, HOUND IN BLOOD AND BLACK.

Last update I had hit the half way point, chapter 17 out of what I'm guessing will end at 33 chapters.

Right now, I have various chapters spread out over my "revision folder system."

It looks like this:

0 - Rough Draft
This is where I cut a chapter out of my complete document (from before this draft started) and give it its own word doc. Then, I turn on track changes and GO ALL MACHETE ON ITS ASS.

1 - Major Revisions Done, Needs Minor Edits
After I finish machete-ing (verb, ftw), I accept the changes and print it out. I edit once on paper, then put the changes in. When that's done, it goes to the next folder...

2 - To be read by text reader
...and the chapter sits here until I listen to it via a text reader called NaturalReader. I pause and correct typos/mistakes/weird wording/anything else I notice as I go. And when that is done...

3 - Read by text reader - DONE!
IT GOES IN THE DONE BUCKET. YESSSS! And then I shut the folder, and refuse to look at it again. If I think of anything to change or add, I make notes for myself on paper when I go back for my house cleaning draft. I call this done, because unless something goes insanely wrong, I feel confident this is going to be my last major draft. I know I'll need one final pass for tweaking, but if its in here, I'm pretty much finished with it.

Right now I have six chapters spread over folders 0-2. Chapters 18, 19 & 20 are waiting for a text read. Chapters 21 & 22 are waiting for me to input my paper changes, then they will be moved on. I have chapter 23 started, which includes writing a new scene that I'm about halfway done.

So. We has progress.

I've also spent a good deal of time working with my writing group on pitching, which I will be doing in a week (insert sound of panic here). Good news is I've gotten my story down to a manageable length. Bad news? I SCARED!

Thumbdrive implosion and dropboxing

2010-07-13T11:47:00.001-07:00

Oh yes. Thumb drive went belly up earlier this week, and as bad as it sounds...it actually turned out okay.

I ended up loosing only one scene of revisions - about three pages - and only about an hour of work. Also, it wasn't one of those gut wrenchingly difficult writing sessions.

Despite my relief that I'd transferred three full chapters worth of work only two days prior from said devil drive, it was a wake up call. I'd been getting a little lax in my backing up. Instead of transferring files to all my back ups every day, I was only doing it every other or even every three days. I also hadn't done my extra, extra back-ups in quite awhile.

Here's all the places I'd need to remember to update my work on HOUND:

thumb drive (which is now dead and a defiler of tender trust)
desktop pc (main writing computer)
netbook
external hard drive system
Erik's (my boyfriend) computer
gmail

Lots of places to update, right? Pain in the ass, right? Easy to get lazy, right?

Well, worry no more. And if you have a huge amount of locations like me, consider checking out dropbox. This is a file syncing system that keeps a copy on any computer you have, provided you download the software, and keeps an online copy. The dropbox is located in "My Documents" and acts just like your normal windows file system. Every time you save changes, the dropbox syncs up across all locations (as long as you're connected to the internet).

And, since Erik also uses dropbox, I shared my folder with him. Now I have a copy on his hard drive and his web storage that auto syncs. Now every time I make a change, my files are saved in/on:

online storage
Erik's online storage
Erik's PC hard drive
PC hard drive
Netbook hard drive

And I never have to move files via thumb drive or email them to myself. And even if the dropbox website crashed, the files are still saved on my computer, not just stored in the interwebs ether. I encourage everyone to check it out.

It's free for 2GB and you can "rent" more space for a fee.

New blog template

2010-07-08T11:53:00.000-07:00

Meh, felt like mixing it up and checking out blogger's new stuff. I'd imagine many other writers will choose a layout just like this but...

It's cooler than my old layout at least! :D

That pesky voice thing

2010-07-06T08:34:00.001-07:00

Trying to figure out what exactly "voice" means when it comes to your writing?

Read Beth's post on what was missing from The Last Airbender for an excellent example.

Hills, valleys and the occasional snowball

2010-06-25T09:36:00.000-07:00

I’m curious about something. I know all writers work differently, but I’ve found that I have a very odd habit in my writing – at least it seems odd and little counterintuitive to me.

Whenever I accomplish something in my writing, I seem to have a temporary deflation of motivation afterwards. You’d think this would work the other way around, and progress would snowball like crazy. Shouldn’t finishing that great scene or overcoming a milestone – say, for an example, hitting the middle mark in your revisions – inspire you to plow ahead and keep making great scenes and get to the end of said revisions?

Not me. I’ve been cranking along for about two months, hit the middle…and my motivation collapsed for a few days. I’ve been playing facebook games for the last three days for HOURS and haven’t done a lick of revising.

What the butt? It’s so strange, because this happens to me on a smaller scale day by day. I finish a scene and I’m really happy with it, and then I just stop working and can’t find the push to keep going. Luckily, in most cases, I’m able to pick up the next day.

I think I’m over my little slump, so I guess I shouldn’t be complaining since it only lasted a few days. Just seems ass-backwards is all!

Does anyone else experience this? Or does finishing a scene or hitting a goal propel you on to your next scene or goal with renewed vigor?

Could be the fact that I’m going to be pitching to agents for the first time in less than a month, and I’m really worried about my capability to write a synopsis, a query or a pitch…but that’s a whole different can o’ worms, now isn’t it?

Another Hound Update

2010-06-21T10:48:00.001-07:00

Woohooies! I've hit the middle mark. Yay!

In two months I've gotten through:
Pages: 279
Words: 80,717
Chapters: 17

Downhill from here?

Hmm...debatable. While it feels good to be "half" done, I'll be doing much more rewriting vs. revising in what I have left, so it might actually take longer than the front half.

But hey, as long as I'm moving forward, I'm happy!

Also, I have part 1 sent off to four beta readers. Figured I should get a gauge on how the revisions are coming. Here's hoping the news is good.

Oh, and my synopsis still sucks. Har-hardy-har-har!

And for those who've been paying attention, I have now surpassed the total word count of the last draft. <.<

Must not freak out. Deep breathing. No freaking. Smiling writer smiles, and knows she will be doing another draft of trimming in the near future.

Hound update

2010-06-09T09:43:00.000-07:00

My new draft is coming along nicely.

Progress so far:

55,846 words
191 pages
12 chapters

Possible bad news? I'm not even half way done yet, and I'm already 2/3 of the way through my word count from the last draft.

I guess I'll just have to wait and see! :}

More Nathan Bransford!

2010-06-08T10:18:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my mad ninja skills of browser refreshing, I was the first post for Nathan Branford's page critique today! YAY!~

He'll be posting his feedback later today in a new post.

I'm super excited! :D

So close! Honorable Mention in Nathan Bransford's contest!

2010-06-04T12:19:00.000-07:00

Drats! So close!

I made honorable mention over at Nathan Bransford's ROCK PAPER TIGER Chase/Action Writing Contest Extravaganza. Five honorable mentions and five finalists were selected out of somewhere around 521 entries (total comments on the contest post).

My entry isn't up for voting since I was only honorable mention, but stop over to Nathan's blog and support the contest by voting for which of the five finalist you like best.

This is a hell of a confidence booster for me because I submitted a scene written after BONI, using some of the new techniques I learned at the workshop. This bodes extremely well for my revisions, me thinks!

Here's my 500 word submission:

A gangly man struggled against the flow of traffic, upstream against bricks, waving a pair of shoes in the air. Kumari couldn’t help but notice they were in decent shape. Soles still attached for the most part – a flapping heel, wagging slack-jawed but holding on – complete with shoe laces and not enough holes to let pebbles in. Kumari wiggled her toes against the worn insides of her own boots.

All he wanted, the man claimed, was to gamble for water. What did a dead man need shoes for, he wailed. Kumari subconsciously checked her canteen, confirming it hadn’t been lifted.

She knew what would come next. Someone was going to try and take those shoes. He was right; a dead man had no use for shoes. Kumari cursed under her breath as the crowd began to shift, the flow of the tide leaning backwards instead of away, despite the whips and threats from the arena guards.

Idiot had done himself in. She shook her head. A person could live three days without water – a few hours more if they were lucky. She knew. She’d done it plenty of times. Sure, dehydration hurt, sometimes drove a man inches shy of crazy, but he looked lucid enough that he was likely only a day, maybe thirty-six hours, without a drink.

Kumari threw an elbow at the mammoth man fixated on the unfolding drama and in her way, and caught his jaw. He grunted, rocking back, then slapped past her, heading the wrong way – the wrong way for those damn shoes. She gritted her teeth, using her smaller size to duck under arms and shimmy between spaces the bulkier men surrounding her would have found impossible to fit through. The stairs were just a few paces off.

The first gunshot fired, followed by the kind of scream made by a dying man. Her pulse sped, panic prickling up and down her skin as the crowd responded.

People snapped, crashing against two sides of ugly motivation. Get the shoes, or get the hell out before things got worse. Heat thickened, thousands of people breaking into sweats of greed or fear.

Three more shots broke out, enough to rail in her wandering mind. By Kumari’s guess, they came from three different guns: two pistols and one shotgun. What little order held at the sound of one shot – an ordinary and expected occurrence – shattered at the change from singularity to sure fire shitstorm. She padded her holster and fumbled between her belt, her shirt and own slick skin. Her hand was shaking – she’d face the undead any day, but an unruly mob inspired a rightly placed fear. Too many, too risky. Too out of control. Eyes on the exit, Kumari folded her fingers around the gun grip.

The cold metal reminded her that control was hers to take. Escape was about fifteen bodies away.

She’d get out one way or another.

Collecting dust

2010-05-10T13:47:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's quiet around here!

Since BONI I've been pretty focused on revisions, between moments of burn out and work. I've been making some pretty good progress, but in all that I honestly haven't had much of an urge to blog about it.

Will that be for the best? I guess time will tell. Regardless, I figured I'd give a quick update.

So far, I've revised the first 78 pages - around 22k words. I've added two scenes and quite a lot of text, while also rearranging the order of a few things. I'm up to five chapters - one extra from where I was at the original word count in the last draft. This is good. I was short on total word count.

One of the biggest changes in this draft is adding the POV of the antag, which is working out really well. At the same time, super creepy.

I've also axed my last 68 pages. Plan is to completely rewrite them. Most of the events are pretty much the same, just with tweaks and a few character shuffling around. I've rewritten two scenes of that ending stretch so far and I'm pretty happy with them.

I've given myself a target goal of three months to complete this draft. Three weeks in the bucket, so I'm close to target. Maybe a little behind, but I'm not worried yet!

Three days of vacation planned next week to really dive back in. After this weekend, which I pretty much took off writing in favor of sunshine (the first really nice weekend in Seattle this spring). I'm so glad the sun is back. I missed you so much sun!

Hope everyone is doing well with their writing and/or other hobbies and lives. :)

How cool am I?

2010-04-27T09:24:00.000-07:00

So last night, in my sleep, I won a gold medal in Olyimpic Ice Skating pairs with Evan Lysacek. I also did a quad, because I'm a complete bad ass.

Oh yeah.

Electronic post-its!? What will they think of next!

2010-04-26T14:11:00.000-07:00

I have Windows 7 on my home PC, and discovered this fun little program while revising this weekend.

Post-its!

I used them while I was figuring out how to re-jigger some scenes. A fun tool - and you can toggle them on and off! Then, just take a screen shot to save them. It was pretty fun. And helpful!

If anyone is wondering, that's a picture of Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon.

Attacked by spam

2010-04-23T08:35:00.000-07:00

Apparently, some jerk is hell bent on commenting on every post of mine with a buttload of spam. I've turned on approve comments for now.

Don't click any of the links posting in Asian characters in comments. I have no idea what they are. I'm deleting them, but it's going to take a little while to get through them all.

Wow.

2010-04-19T09:43:00.000-07:00

When I went to the Fire in Fiction two day workshop last year, I was truly blown away by the style and techniques that Don Maass teaches. But I wasn't ready to face HOUND and everything I needed to do to improve it. I really just needed a break - that extended rest period writers need sometimes so they can come back with fresh eyes and clear head.

Last week, I went to the Breakout Novel Intensive. Blown away doesn't really seem to cover it.

Incredible? Getting closer. Absolutely AMAZING? Perhaps.

All I know is that the way he teaches gets to you. You feel it when you're looking at your story. You understand what this could mean for your novel.

And it's fucking inspiring.

If you ever have the chance to do the BONI or Fire in Fiction - or anything else Don Maass teaches - DO IT. It is, by far, the most advanced lessons and tool set I've found for writing. This is coming from someone who has a BA in Creative Writing, did three semesters of Masters level courses, has done a number of workshops and classes besides that, is a professional writer for my day job, and has worked with a paid editor. It is also the best way to spend your money - the best investment - when it comes to writing.

If you're ready for it - if you understand the basics and have a good grasp of the general principles of writing - this cannot be missed.

At the very least, pick up his books. The Fire in Fiction and Writing the Breakout Novel. It doesn't hold a candle to his interactive teaching and workshops, but it's something.

I was struggling with what my novel was missing. How to get what I was trying to do and the story I was trying to tell completely on the page, on a deeper level instead of just on the surface. How to bring out everything I thought I was writing, but just wasn't quite making it into the text.

I have a good novel. Now, thanks to Maass and the people he works with, I understand what I need to do to make it a GREAT novel.

Now, I just have to do it. And I can't wait - so I need to finish this post here and get started. :)

BONI

2010-04-13T09:15:00.000-07:00

It begins.

:)

/squee!!!

Zombie flowchart - hah!

2010-03-23T09:21:00.000-07:00

Totally copying Carrie Harris, but this is just too fun not to post!

Have you heard Beth's news yet!?

2010-03-17T15:49:00.000-07:00

Awesomely awesome chick that she is, Beth Revis is holding a celebration contest over on her blog. For real? We should be holding a party for her! Beth recently landed a three book publishing deal with Razorbill!

Best part about this contest? You don't have to be a writer to get cool stuff. Beth is doing two giveaways - one for readers and one for writers!

Stop by, join the fun, and share your well wishes.

(Bwhaha! I know someone who's going to be a famous author!)

Congrats again Beth! I can't wait to see you in print!

New toy! A very useful toy.

2010-02-25T14:10:00.000-08:00

I has whiteboard.

Woo fun! This was my thinking dump after class last night. Don't worry too much...I, uh, think I can read it.

Note my many colored markers.

Also note that I only used black.

Opps...

Oh snap.

2010-02-18T15:41:00.000-08:00

What Fall 2010 and beyond will look like in my house:

Erik: What are we doing tonight, honey?

Me: Same thing we do every night, dear. Take over the world, bishes.

Movie Narrative Charts.

2010-02-10T14:50:00.000-08:00

Saw this on xkcd today (click the link to view the orginal source or the image to view it full size), and had the urge to make one of these for my own novel!

Life plays on

2010-02-09T16:13:00.001-08:00

Beat Mass Effect 2 and loved it! I got everyone out alive, too. Almost done playthrough #2, and also started a new game of Mass Effect 1. I can has Mass Effect 3? PLEASE.

Word count is up to 32,224 on Ala'der, not counting at least 10-12k words in various out of order scenes and exercises from class. Have a critique group online with some writer buddies which is going well and preventing too much slacking off. I'm working backwards in a sense, and adding some new chapters between 2 and 3. Looks like 2-3 chapters, and so far, I like the results.

Preparing to send off my entry for Hound for the PNWA literary contest - I even picked out my required three pieces of different colored paper today. In case you're dying to know, they're purple, orange and red. Why? Because that's what was available for looting in the local supply closet at work. To give the postal service a full week, I need to drop it in the mail tomorrow. I did a rewrite/reorganize of the beginning, then decided (via my own ponderings and the feedback of some writer pals) to revert to my original opening. Also, my synopsis is cliche ridden and made of supersuck, but I don't think anything shy of immaculate conception is going to remedy that in the next 24 hours. But to quote the classy Zombieland (oddly appropriate), time for me to Nut Up or Shut Up. So this goes in the mail, do or die, tomorrow.

On the PNWA note, all signed up for the conference in July, which includes two ten minute agent pitches. Plenty of time to overcome horror and apprehension. I'm also signed up to volunteer, which should be fun.

The PFC class is going well. Pam even brought us roses and a candle for our discussion about sex scenes and sexual tension. That was an interesting class!

I'm still alive, still writing, still reading blogs. Posting has been a little low, but I figure things will pick up eventually. I guess I just haven't had much to say!

Oh, and Survivor Heroes vs. Villains starts Thursday. Just making sure you all remembered, that's all. 'Cause it's very important.

Shepard, part duex.

2010-02-01T14:04:00.000-08:00

Finished my Archon Shepard renegade (mostly) Mass Effect 2 play through last night. Woooo doggies. That was gooooooooood.

Quelled the collector threat and managed to get my entire team out alive. Huzzah. Did everything possible, including current downloadable, all planets probed (including Uranus (and that is not a joke)), scanned and side quests completed, all loyalty quests successful and a Thane romance thrown in the mix.

/flex

Though I hardly feel any better, because just like part II in a movie or novel trilogy, it ended on a huge ciff hanger... I thought this would be my Mass Effect fix. That I could relax and not be dying to know what's going to happen to the universe. But no, Bioware, nooooooo. I'm more excited than ever for the final instalment of the series! Man, the wait is going to be a long one.

In order to prepare properly for ME3, and try and get over my need to in the Mass Effect world, I'm about halfway through my second play through on Paragon Colt Shepard, who has eyes only for Kaiden and a slightly more...pleasant outlook on things.

You get to make a lot of interesting choices in this game (and choices you made in Mass Effect 1). Choices that I'm dying to know how they'll effect (har har) #3. I'm going to do a few major differences in my play through with Colt.

This game really is awesome. The reviews aren't lying. Even things I thought I'd miss (like tons of loot) don't really matter is the scope of how fun this game is. The story is exciting, the tension is great, and the characters - even ones I expected to dislike - were amazing. On the downside, planet scanning does get old on the second play through (though you do get a nice starting stash based on achievements when you start a new game after beating it once - this does help some, but its not enough to get all upgrades), but it's not a deal breaker by any means.

And thank the maker that the MAKO is dead. I hated that thing.

In short, Mass Effect 2 is a super fun game - but if you're going to become one with the Shepard, why not play the first one? The small details - all the little things you did in ME1 - make the world feel alive. Like this world is YOUR world.

I am starting to get a stiff neck and a sore pinkie finger from spending so much time playing...

This here universe needs some saving.

2010-01-24T21:00:00.000-08:00

And I'm just the geek for the job.

Mass Effect 2 lands Tuesday (or Monday night at midnight). I have three days off work for a gaming binge to rival all binges.

Case of Soda - check.
Meals that can be prepared and eaten in under 5 minutes - check.
Snacks, lots of snacks - check.
Gift card to Gamestop - check.
Pre-ordered Collector's Edition - check.
Two fully charged wireless xBox controllers - check.
50 inch TV with surround sound system - check.
Archon Shepard, Renegade Vanguard level 55 - ready for import

All I have to say is this:

BRING. IT. ON.

On a side note, writing will resume when I've successfully saved the universe (at least twice).

omgomgomgomg I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!!!!

SO CUTE.

2010-01-19T09:55:00.001-08:00

Breakout Novel Intensive Update

2010-01-12T09:32:00.000-08:00

I got my pre-workshop assignments for BONI (Breakout Novel Intensive) yesterday!

/claps hands

There's quite the list of things to do.

1. Print out (in separate documents) and mail in: First fifty pages of the MS; first fifteen pages (depending on scene/chapter break) ; Four copies of the first five pages ; six copies of a 1-2 page synopsis.

2. Read "Writing the Breakout Novel" by Don Maass

3. Go through the manuscript and write one sentence about every scene, each on a separate note card.

4. Write a brief description of your strengths and weaknesses as a writer and your goals for the workshop.

I better get to work! The intensive is in April. I can't wait!

It's on like Donkey Kong.

2010-01-08T16:22:00.001-08:00

Survivor Heroes vs Villains starts Feb 11! WOOOOOOOO!

Adding Maass' microtension to PFC

2010-01-08T09:32:00.000-08:00

The second semester of my Popular Fiction Class with Pam Binder started up this week, and I found it pretty cool that she was using a Maass' technique from The Fire in Fiction workshop for one of our exercises.

The discussion was an overview about the middle of the novel, and how even when nothing exciting is happening in terms of action, you still need to have tension on the page. Pam had use pull out a page from out novel and try adding tension to every line.

So you tell me. Did I add tension?

Kelder has been sent to kill her sister, Telleo. Grist is her former mentor, and has offered to kill Telleo for Kelder.

Orignal:

“I think I understand.”

Kelder shook her head. “Do you? What pain did you have in your Sun life? You speak only of love lost and your happy family. At least when you left them behind you knew they would be safe.”

Grist shifted behind her, his hand stilling on the top of her head. “My pain was leaving them behind. A Sun life is not an easy one, you know this. Without me, their provider, my family may have starved and died. I left my wife alone, with a newborn child. And I’ll never know.”

“Better the unknown, than sent to kill them,” Kelder muttered into the furs. “Sand be praised.”

“Yes.” Grist paused. “But you think killing Telleo is protecting her?”

“And letting someone else kill her isn’t?” Kelder sat up, shrugging him away. She turned to give him a hard stare, too tired to hide the pain and tears in her eyes. “If I…if I can just…”

Grist sighed. “The canary wouldn’t have called all this if your sister isn’t truly a soul looker. She is beyond your help.”

“I know that. At least I can see that her death is merciful.”

Grist’s brow creased. “Is your opinion so low of me? You think I would torture your sister if I took your task? That I do this for some pleasure?”

Many Ala’der took great pleasure in maiming and giving soul lookers slow and agonizing deaths for their defilement of the Sand. But not Grist, she did know that. “I didn’t mean--”

Revision with more tension:

“I think I understand.”

Kelder shook her head and sneered. “Do you? What pain did you have in your Sun life? All you talk about was your happy family. At least you know they are safe.”

Grist shifted behind her, his hand stilling on the top of her head, though his fist clenched slightly, his nails tugging at her hair. “My pain was leaving them behind. A Sun life is not an easy one, you know this. I was their provider. For all I know, my family starved and died without me. I left my wife alone with our newborn child. I’ll never know the truth.”

“Better the unknown, than sent to kill them,” Kelder muttered into the furs. “Sand be praised.”

“Yes.” Grist paused, his hand relaxing. “But do you really think killing Telleo yourself is protecting her?”

“And letting someone else kill her isn’t?” Kelder crawled to her feet. Grist tried to stop her, but she shrugged him away. She turned and gave him a hard stare, too tired to hide the pain and tears in her eyes. “If I…if I can just…”

Grist sighed, holding a hand out to her. “The canary wouldn’t have called all this if your sister isn’t truly a soul looker. She is beyond your help.”

“I know.” Kelder swallowed, staring at his extended hand, scarred and calloused from years spent killing. “At least I can see that her death is merciful.”

Grist’s brow creased, his fingers falling out of reach. “You think I would torture your sister if I took your task? That I offer this for some perverse pleasure?”

Many Ala’der took great glee in maiming soul lookers and delivering slow and agonizing deaths in return for their defilement of the Sand. But not Grist, she did know that. She’d seen him kill, many times. It was always swift and mechanical – a necessary evil to him, not a game. “I didn’t mean--”

Do you think the second scene has more tension than the first?

Why, hello there.

2010-01-04T14:50:00.000-08:00

I'm back! Hope everyone had a great holiday season. Happy New Year!

Now that vacation and all that jazz has come and gone, time to get down to business.

PFC class is back on for semester two starting Wednesday, and I need to put together a rough draft of my synopsis for Ala'der by then. I have one done, came in just over four pages single spaced. We'll see if I can turn that number into three double spaced pages in two days. Hah!

What’s the point? (PFC: Last class of the fall semester)

2009-12-17T11:18:00.001-08:00

Apparently, at least at this hump in the road, I don’t have one.

I’m talking about my WIP Ala’der, of course.

In class last night we talked about how to avoid writer’s block, tips on remaining positive about your writing, and the purpose of synopsis. The last on the list was what we applied in our writing exercise.

Pam gave us a list of generic points in a novel – such as call to adventure, crossing the threshold, and reward – and asked us to write one sentence after each point. The idea was to give us a very general idea of what our plan is for our novel. In short, an outlining exercise focusing the important parts of what would ultimately end up in your synopsis when you have a shiny new agent and they’re pitching your masterpiece to a publisher.

Afterwards, we broke into groups to read our rough outline to our classmates and get some feedback. The instructions were to read the sentences you wrote for the exercise (unless you’re that guy – see my previous posts on PFC – in which you just proceed to babble about your novel for a half hour when the entire time allotted for discussion is intended to be shared by six people. /shakes fist).

Lucky for me, I escaped my diabolical non-rule following classmate for my 15 minute chat with Pam. I really had nothing in mind to ask her, so I just started babbling a little bit. It was fun to just chat about, and the conversation leaned to the importance of establishing the rules and laws of my fantasy universe. Very cool to just say the concept out loud and have someone ask me questions about it. A fun fifteen minutes which showed me a few holes that I need to fill in my world building.

I returned to my group to find that only half the people had gone. Since I missed critiquing, I was pretty content to just miss my chance to read. By the time everyone else was done, all but two of the people in my crit group had to leave. Can you guess who was one of the two that stayed behind?

…

You guys are so smart!

Though I do have to confess that That Guy isn’t so bad at giving intelligent feedback. Now if only That Guy could follow the rules and remember that all this cool stuff about writing also applies to them.

In short, the one sentence per topic outline didn’t really work for me as far as getting my point across. I found myself longing for a real synopsis! Wow. Crazy. I WANTED to write an actual synopsis.

The apocalypse. It must be close…

I was asked a lot of questions by my two classmates, most of which I could explain, but tried not to, but did anyway in a bizarre how-can-I-say-this-the-fastest-so-I’m-not-annoying-because-class-was-over-ten-minutes-ago kind of way.

Despite the confusion, I got some pretty interesting feedback that made me rethink some parts of my intended ending. And when asked to give the ending statement that’s all about the entire theme of novel (aka what’s the point) I learned that I don’t really have any f'ing idea. At least not in a way I can articulate in the English language…yet.

Good news is I have plenty of time to figure this out. And here's hoping the answer doesn't come to me in Chinese or something.

Celebrate...and win free stuff!

2009-12-16T08:32:00.000-08:00

Beth Revis, who recently GOT AN AGENT, is holding a contest to celebrate! The more followers she gets, the more prizes she'll be giving away, so go over and join the fun!

Awesome news from a fellow blogger and writer!

2009-12-14T18:05:00.001-08:00

Fellow blogger and writer Beth Revis HAS AN AGENT!

Go over to her blog and spread the love!

I had the privilege of reading her YA Science Fiction manuscript Long Way Home when it was out on submission and I loved it!

I can't wait to get a signed, published copy with her special pen! Bwhaha!

PFC: Week 8 - no post

2009-12-10T09:11:00.000-08:00

Sorry guys. I was home sick last night and missed out on my class, so I don't have any notes to share this week.

Also, last week will be my last class for the fall session. I'm all signed up for winter session, which starts Jan 6.

I've gotten a decent amount of comments and questions on my PFC posts, so I assume there are people interested in seeing these posts continue?

Examining Kumari (my protagonist) with The Fire in Fiction

2009-12-08T15:53:00.000-08:00

Warning: Giant Post Attack

I’ve been working through my The Fire in Fiction revisions – mostly adding microtension on every page and focusing on secondary emotions.

Part of all the secondary emotions is getting to the root of who Kumari is and the things I haven’t explored deeply enough, both in my head and on the page. (Some of this post will be spoilerish, so if that bothers anyone stop here!)

During the Fire in Fiction workshop, this was one of the first things we covered: decide what type of protag you have and determine the following:

Find your average joe’s strength
Find your hero’s humanity
Find your antihero’s promise of redemption

Then, make sure a hint at the evolution of your protag shows up in the first five pages.

I view Kumari as an antihero. Which means over the course of the story, she needs to encounter redemption of some kind. And that I need to ensure that she’s likeable despite her “darker” nature.

So what makes Kumari an “antihero” instead of a normal hero or an average joe?

She’s a skilled wrangler – an undead poacher. While there are many who try their hand at this profession, only a handful are successful. Out of the people that doesn’t die trying, most are just okay. A few are exceptional. At the start of the book, Kumari is okay and getting better. Thus, this profession moves her outside the “average” category. She faces the undead, she leaves the safety of cities to hunt them. Average people hide behind the barricades.

She has a chip on her shoulder and has a very dark way of thinking. Her personal motto is that “everyone should be able to choose how they die” – a two fold line of thinking. First, turning into an undead is the unthinkable fate and it would be better to die if you’re bitten instead of becoming a monster. (This is how her brother died, something she feels both angry and guilty about). Second is the idea of controlling your own life/fate/destiny. She hates the world and doesn’t think it’s worth saving. A good enough life is living without starving and dying without becoming an undead.

She doesn’t believe in the law system that’s in place (police officers of sorts called “gunners”). She believes they’re all corrupt – which is true in some cases. She rebels against their authority any chance she can find. Her father was a gunner who died because his colleagues ran away and left him behind during an attack. Her father held the line to save as many people as possible. As a result, Kumari hates all gunners unconditionally, never giving any of them a chance to show her what good can come from order in a chaotic world.

In all honesty, she’s a bit of a bitch, and trusts only a small group of people that are close to her. And anyone outside her group is nothing and, as far as she cares, already dead. For example, the only time Kumari helps defend a city is when the risk of a breach is so great that she and her company are in danger.

Overall: she hates the world, is disgusted that humanity has come to this, and doesn’t believe that the world is worth saving.

Next, what will be Kumari’s redemption? What does she need to change? What is really going on under this hard exterior?

Kumari cares, even though she tries not to: Her father was compassionate, and always tried to make the world a better place. He did this through defending the city and often helping people down on their luck by taking them in and helping them get on their feet. Her brother was also compassionate, but in a different way. Her brother made himself one of the greatest wranglers in the history of their city, and shared his extra winnings with the poor. Her brother’s fame also allowed him to help ensure fair treatment in the markets and price on trade. Though jaded by the loss of both her father and brother, Kumari can’t escape what’s in her blood. Despite having such a crappy outlook on life, she compulsively helps people, even though her mindset should tell her to walk away and leave them to die. In addition, she would do anything to keep her few friends safe and is the provider of her group.

Example: Vled, her trainee, was a slave she freed when he master was beating him to death in the street. Kumari killed Vled’s master on impulse, and then took in the boy because she’d left him with nothing and no where to go.

Example: Kumari is robbed in the middle of the city, but instead of killing the robber, she only shots him in the leg. She takes her water back (a very pricy thing in this world) and leaves the boy alone. Bastion (one of her group members) comments that if the robber had begged her for water, she’d have spared him some.

Example: Kumari strikes a risky gamble for Heaven, the child slave and prostitute of her hated rival Inimi. Despite the fact that taking Heaven away from Inimi would hurt him, Kumari is drawn in by the disgust for seeing a child treated in such a foul way - even though Kumari denies it later when Heaven wants to know why she bothered to save her. Overall, Inimi did play a bigger role in this decision.

Aberhiem, a character that comes in the second part of the novel, is someone Kumari is forced to trust because she needs help and is out of options. Just when she starts to warm up to him, she finds out he is a gunner. When the dust settles, she accepts him for who he is, showing some growth as a result.

When Heaven is kidnapped, Kumari risks everything to save her. Heaven accuses her of only coming to save her because she wants revenge on Inimi. When Kumari confronts Inimi, he calls her out – proving that the real reason Kumari came back was to save Heaven. Thus, the emphasis of the original interaction – Kumari saves Heaven because of Inimi and her own personal stake – are now reversed.

Overall: In the end, Kumari gives up her freedom – handing over her fate and control of her own life – to try and help find a vaccine for the undead infection. By the end of the novel, she’s given up on all of her own priorities in favor of helping the world she’d forsaken.

Now, how can I show this glimmer of change in the first five pages?

Originally, my first five pages start with a hunting scene to go with the action out of the gate concept. You get a bit of insight from Kumari, mostly about she’s awesome at kicking zombie butt – unlike in the past when it used to be tough. On about page six or seven, she and Bastion are on the way back into town and they have a chat about how Kumari has pushed too hard and will have to use extra rations of water. The glimmer of redemption comes when Kumari argues that she’s no different from anyone else, even if she’s the wrangler, and shouldn’t get extra water. So, it's close to where it should be, but is it too little too late?

I was trying to decide how I could do better, and a critique buddy made a great suggestion. The scene with the robber (mentioned above) happens in chapter 2. In reality, there’s not reason why that interaction can’t happen before they leave to go zombie hunting. Then, I still have the action hook in the first chapter AND I get deeper insight to Kumari’s antihero nature and future evolution within the Maass recommended first five pages.

And there you have it! Applying The Fire and Fiction to Kumari – what kind of character my main character is and how I can show hints of her evolution in the first five pages of my manuscript.

PFC: Week 7

2009-11-30T14:23:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the late notes. Holiday weekend and such.

This class was all about Plot.

We worked around a circular diagram. So, if you want, draw a circle on a piece of paper. At about where the 9 would be on a clock, draw two lines. Label the one closest to 12 "Cage" and the other one (below it) "Home."

You character's journey starts in the Cage - something is confining them, holding them back, keeping them from going on their quest/personal mission/road to fulfillment. This is where your plot beings.

From this point, we move around the circle clockwise. At about 12 o'clock, draw a line and label it "Quest." Now, you can have many markers like this along the path, which are the events moving your plot along to the central conflict. Which means at about 6 o'clock, you need to draw a line and label it "Dragon." This represents the climax/boss fight/revelation of the story. Now, you can have small dragons (smaller conflicts and fights/struggles) along the way, but there should be one event/scene that is the biggest and most important of them all.

From there your plot goes the rest of the way around to Home - essentially, back to where you started, but your character is no longer confined to the cage that was around them when the novel started.

Another thing to remember within your plot is what Pam called the "call the adventure," which is exactly what it sounds like. The moment that the plot gets moving. It can be a phone call or a kidnapping. Your protag gets fired or your hero gets the news that their kingdom is under attack. Something to kick start the action and get your plot off the ground.

This concept (the circle pattern) is based on The Hero's Journey by Joesph Campbell. I found a website that has a diagram - different than Pam's, but the same general idea. It has a few more steps built it, but interesting take a look at.

As you might imagine, our exercise was to write a scene in which your protag (or another character) receives the call to adventure.

Fun stuff. Since I had already wrote Kelder's call to adventure in chapter 1, I opted to work on Telleo's call to adventure. A very fun exercise, and for homework we need to expand it into three pages.

Extra Credit: How to know when you're being "that guy" and should stop.

You preface your question by saying "Because I have a Masters in this."
You debate each answer the teacher gives by saying "But I learned this another way in my Masters classes."
90% of your classmates are openly laughing and mocking you.
The teacher actually says "I don't care what you do" after five minutes of giving you detailed responses, and THEN YOU STILL KEEP ARGUING.

Be kind to your classmates. Don't be that guy.

Fire in Fiction: Post revamps

2009-11-25T14:12:00.000-08:00

I'm working on a new approach to my Fire in Fiction post series. Since my notes are basically summing up what you can learn better by reading The Fire in Fiction book, I've decided to instead show how I'm revising my manuscript based on what I learned at the workshop.

Here's a few places you can pick up The Fire in Fiction:

I'll have a post up about evaluating my protagonist, Kumari, next week.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Fire In Fiction: The Maass Workshop Intro

2009-11-12T14:04:00.000-08:00

I'm going to make an attempt to convey some of the greatness that is Donald Maass and his teachings on my blog. While I can't possibly live up to the experience of taking one of his workshops or even reading his books, I'm going to post some of my revision notes based on th workshop in an effort to help out people who can't afford to take classes like this.

That being said, if you can afford it, you're cheating yourself by not going. Interested? Visit Free Expressions for information about when Don Maass might be in your area. My experience and recommendation comes from taking the Fire in Fiction class. I was so impressed that I've already signed up for the Breakout Novel Intensive in Oregon next April. Also, you can order his books on writing from Amazon.com - Writing the Breakout Novel and Fire in Fiction. These are must haves for a writer's shelf. I own them both, I've read the Career Novelist (which is really more for published authors, but you can download the pdf for free from his website I believe).

I also want to say that there are two ways to look at these posts. First off, this class really felt like something for people with completed first drafts (at the very least) and more for people deep in revising and trying to add the shine that will catch an agent. Of all the classes, agent blogs, seminars, etc I've ever taken on the web and in person, Don's workshop really felt more advanced to me. This is about taking your fiction to the next level, even beyond just landing an agent. He talks about these techniques as something that makes the difference between publishing one book that does okay, and having a career as a successful novelist.

That being said, the second way to look out these notes could be as a tool box of techniques, and something you can elect to be aware of as you're writing something new. But consider how many people get stuck in the limbo of trying to make draft one perfect, and never finish? Remember that its okay to write your story, have it be a sucky first draft, and then use teachings from various agents, books, blogs and workshops to go back and refine your writing. Trying to do everything at once might not be impossible, but is an alarmingly high bar to set.

Based on my personal experience and where I was at in the this whole process - I'd finished my revisions on HOUND and was planning to start querying, but decided to wait until after this workshop - I really think these are things to apply when you start revising. At least at first. Once we're all cranking novels out for contracts every few months, we'll all learn to do this stuff in two or three drafts instead of ten. And I really am glad I waited to query. I think HOUND would have been marketable and I might have found an agent, but I feel that after this workshop my eyes have been opened and that if I can apply these concepts and techniques to my novel, my chances of success will be significantly higher. At least, one can hope right? But this kind of thinking comes from spending two days with a wonderfully impressive and extremely inspirational instructor.

My thoughts aren't going to give you the amazing experience I had, but I hope they might give you some ideas for your own revisions and inspire you to take one of his workshops if the opportunity presents itself.

So now I've written this huge post, so I'll leave you with this. Here's the basic overview Don gave us at the start of the first day. And don't forget to pick up the full Fire in Fiction book.

Fire in Fiction with Donald Maass

How are we going to get through to the reader and bring them back for next novel? What techniques can make the next book as great and as impassioned as your first? We need to get in and get the tools to make every story great.

Here are the things you need and areas we will talk about:

Appeal of protagonist
Microtension
Finding tools to find our unique voice for ourselves and our story – this can vary between books
How to push your story to interesting and dramatic places – and make it believable
What is the purpose of our story?
How do we hang on to this during the whole long process? How do you find the power and passion buried in the story in draft 10?

"These are the techniques I hope to teach you." - Donald Maass

MOAR WORDS

2009-11-11T10:14:00.000-08:00

For those of you following the guppy chronicles, you've probably noticed my endless whining about how I've been cutting so many words and was concerned my novel would be too short when all was said and done.

Well, I wrote a new scene for HOUND. Three pages single spaced, 1,716 words.

/happywigglydance

Good things, good things are happening. Bwha. BWHAHA. /rubs hands together.

PFC: Week 6

2009-11-10T11:53:00.000-08:00

Fooled you all! Bet you thought my next post would be about the Maass weekend, hmm? Sorry, not yet. Still digesting and thinking and things.

But, I never put my post about up about my last PFC class, so here we go:

First we discussed the types of stories that are out there:

Monster in the House – scary thing in confined space. Add people to the mix = primal, something everyone can relate to: Jaws, Alien, Panic Room
Golden Fleece – quest myth. Star Wars, Wizard of Oz, Back to the Future, heist movies
Out of the Bottle – cinderlla – want something to save them; scrooge – need to change evil ways, teaches a lesson
Dude with a problem – ordinary person in extraordinary circumstances: Die Hard, Titanic, Shindler’s List
Rites of passage – tales of pain and torment from an outside force, 28 Days, When a man loves a woman – serious movies with serious issues
Buddy Love – actually a love story in disguise – Dumb and Dumber, also any Romance books and movie. Relationship, love is the focus, be it lovers or friends.
Why done it? – who is not as interesting as the why. Law & Order, China Town, the Insider
The fool triumphant – fool is actually wise – Forest Gump, Dave, The Jerk, silent clowns
Institutionalized – common cause, united few for the many, sacrifice the goals of the few for the benefit of the many – MASH, American Beauty, Godfather
Superhero – extraordinary person in an ordinary world – Dracula, Gladiator, Beautiful Mind, Superman, Batman, Xmen

For the first exercise we had to pick ONE of these and explain why we selected the option. By restricting yourself to one of these options instead of trying to fit everything about it into as many categories as possible, you can help find the greater motivation behind the story - the most important thing.

Next, we talked about dialogue. Here's what Pam had to say:

Must progress the story forward
Not unnecessary chit chat – might happen in real life, but has no place in fiction
If it’s a conflict scene, the dialog must carry the weight
No repetition
Works as hook
Use tags/action to show character as they do stuff = define character traits, etc.
Never use said if possible – replace with action or don’t have it at all – NOT about replacing with special words and adverbs
Watch dialect – use sparingly
Distinct voices
Each person should have different tones, quality, levels of sophistication and degrees of formality, rhythm and speed
Easy method: contractions with or without
Remember order is important. Example method: FAD: feeling/thought comes first > followed by the action/rection > then the dialogue

Exercise 2: Write an action scene between two characters. Make the dialogue distinctive. No he said/she said.

Exercise 3: POV and emotion exercise

Pick your POV character
Pick an emotion
What color is that emotion?
Taste of the emotion?
Smell?
Covey this feeling as best you can from this POV – in dialogue

For closing words Pam gave us this to think about:
It is recommended to have three story lines in your novel. Think about how they braid together. They start in different places, but they intersect. Sometimes they are independent, other times events happen that might require all three to come together.

I assume we'll be working on this more when we go back to class next week. As always, homework is to take one of the exercises and expand it into three pages.

Inspired, amazed and a little scared.

2009-11-07T20:11:00.000-08:00

The Fire in Fiction workshop was, hands down, the most amazing thing I've ever done regarding writing and my goal of turning my passion for my stories into a career.

Trying to present my feeling and thoughts on this blog in a coherent manner is going to take some work and some time. It will probably end up being a multiple part series. So be patient with me!

For now, I'll say this:

I'll be doing another draft of HOUND with fresh direction and specific purpose, inspiration and eyes that are open to many, many amazing possibilities.

And if this workshop is in your area and you can, go. You will not regret it.

Big weekend!

2009-11-05T14:54:00.000-08:00

The Fire in Fiction workshop with Donald Maass is this weekend! Squeee!

My PFC update will be late. Tonight I have to print out my entire manuscript (HOUND), but before I can do that I need pick at it some more. And then a little more. And some more after that. And try and get my query letter in decent shape to take with me - just in case. And overcome my fear of how terrible I think my synopsis is and print it out too, so I at least have it with me. Just in case.

Aside from having a bit of nerves (what if Mr. Maass says: You need to do a complete rewrite because this writing sucks!) I'm actually very, very excited! I'm sure I'm going to learn a ton, right from the one of the horse's well known mouths.

I don't have class next week, so I'll fill you in on PFC from this week and my experiences at the Maass workshop this weekend.

Have a great weekend everyone!

NaNo...

2009-11-02T14:18:00.000-08:00

...ReVisMo?

I've decided not to do NaNoWriMo this year, being that I'm finishing edits on HOUND and hope to start querying after my workshop this weekend (unless Donald Maass tells me I need to rewrite my entire book, in which case we will have lots of cheese to go with an huge amount of whining.) I'm also working on my new WIP for the PFC class, but I don't really want to rush it. I'm enjoying a more relaxed pace that comes with the class, and still putting out a fair amount of writing - up to 18k-ish so far.

So, good luck to everyone doing NaNo this year! My advice?

Have fun!
Write extra words on the days you're on a roll. Don't stop just because you hit the magic number. You'll thank yourself when you have a crappy day and don't get any writing done.
Let yourself have a crappy day if you need it. One day of no writing doesn't mean you've failed. Don't get discouraged, and don't feel like you have to give up your whole life for this.
Get one of the neat spreadsheets from the NaNo site - it helps! It's awesome to see the little graph fill up with your progress.
Find the time and after November is over, remember how EASY it is to write 1,666 words a day. You can always make time for that.
Play around on the forums. I hooked up with my first critique group for HOUND from the forums.
Forgive yourself typos, plot holes and other unpleasantness. After all, this is a first draft and we all know first drafts aren't perfect. (I've now reached a full year since I started HOUND, and I'm still putting some final tweaks on it.)
That me say that again: this is a first draft. It is NOT okay to query December 1st. Please see every agent blog under the sun for proof.

For those of us not doing NaNo, the Intern is posting a series called NaNoReVisMo and offering up some great advice for those pesky revisions. For those of you doing NaNo, bookmark it for some December reading. :)

PFC: Week 5

2009-10-29T15:30:00.000-07:00

I’m trying a different approach to this week’s blog post. I took notes on my netbook and figured I would share them here with anyone who’s interested. Of course, I’ve added little bits here and there for guppy flavor.

Lecture Part 1: Five key scenes in a novel

First meeting – first time your reader meets the characters (not just MC, all of the secondary characters as well) – think of it like introducing someone to a family member for the first time – what things do you notice, how are the dynamics different between knowing a character and meeting them the first time?
Fight/conflict scenes – must come to a head, revealing, does not have to be resolved, hurt or hinder, open new plot points – have to have at least one, can have many. Should have one in the first 1/3 of the book – shows how the MC will evolve in latter sections.
Mini exercise: List some conflict scenes in your book
Mini exercise: How does your character react to these types of scenes?
Sensual scene – the senses, not sexual – a scene that is so full of taste smell sound touch that the person reading is in the story 100% - make the character go through all this as well – the feel of your book, will tell you where the book is if it was taken out of context – what is the pivotal thing that happens in this scene?
Tender moment – where the reader gets to see the MC doing something through someone else’s eyes and doesn’t know they’re being watched. MC interacting with someone else and a third person is observing. Ah ha moment – something secret, unexpected, etc – reveals there is more to MC than we think – In first person the character does it but doesn’t think anything of it, but the reader sees the out of character moment.
Resolution – the end! If a series, at least one major plot has to be resolved.

Most of this made sense to me, though I was having a little trouble on the Sensual Scene concept. Personally, I don’t see why every scene can’t touch on all the senses. As the discussion went on, I gathered that Pam was suggesting there should be at least one scene where the senses are consuming, but something major happens at the same time. Pam gave an example from a book she has published – her MC has time travelled without knowing it, and as a writer Pam used the senses to be the turning point in which her MC realized the shift had happened (at the same time establishing a great deal about the “feel” of her world). While I get the gist, I still think most scenes can (and often times need to) have this quality. But everything in moderation, balance and not overwritten, of course.

Exercise 1: Write a conflict scene

Lecture Part II: The importance of setting/atmosphere/description is as important as your characters

Main points:

How do characters and atmosphere interact/relate? What is the importance of a setting? Why did you pick it? It should be significant and a different story in a different setting.
As a writer you should horde information: take little tidbits from everything – i.e. TV shows on attraction, body language – how human beings interact in the real world.
What’s the reason for something in the scene – can’t just be because it’s “cool” – i.e. how does weather affect the people in the scene?

After this discussion, we read a few first paragraphs from published novels and guess what genre/setting they took place in.

Exercise 2: Choose a place where most of the book takes place and/or location that will be the final scene/battle and write a scene in that setting. Try and touch on all the senses – a “sensual” type of scene.

We did more critiquing, and people who hadn’t read last week stepped up to the plate.

Oh, and If anyone was wondering, I brought in a leather pouch as my item that speaks to me about my book. Since Kelder’s power comes from the Sand, she always carries a pouch of Sand on her belt.

Fun Quote of the Class: Pam is explaining why new authors need to have closure – an ending scene – and that thier first book needs to stand alone even if you would like to write it as a series.

Classmate says: “But my book isn’t a series. It’s a two book series. That’s okay, right?”

What I love most about Pam is the fact that when someone says something like this, she simply repeats the answer she already gave to the same damn question. It cracks me up every time.

Lesson of the day: Listen when your teacher is speaking. Don’t just hear the words and take notes. LISTEN TO THE WORDS THAT ARE COMING OUT OF HER MOUTH.

PFC: Week 4

2009-10-27T14:51:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the late post. I was in Colorado at the Stanley Hotel. Redrum anyone?

Week 4 of my fiction class focused on conflict - both internal and external. Pam discussed how a scene is much like tiramisu, as in it has many, many ingredients, but if you remove just one it'll taste like crap. So conflict, you see, is one of the many necessary things that make a scene tasty. And now I'm hungry.

We only did one exercise this week, but it was broken down into a few parts. First was the set up, then came the scene writing.

Exercise:

Write down the name of your main character on the top of the page. Next, list 10 things your character would never do. When you complete the list, pick 2-3 items that are the most extreme. Now write a scene where your main character DOES one of the things you said they would never do.

This type of conflict building comes from Donald Maass, who Pam quoted a number of times during the lecture.

I enjoyed the exercise. Since this scene needed to take place in the first 1/3 of our novels, I used the time to rewrite and combine the text with a scene I had written previously in my short story version of Ala'der. I liked the scene overall, and the exercise opened my eyes to some tension building I'll have to do before I reach this point in the novel.

I volunteered to read first again. I waited, again, but no one seemed to want to toss themselves out there first. Part of me wonders if this makes me look cocky, but it's really not about that. I'm not shy about sharing my writing, I never have been. And I have experience being critiqued, from both good and bad critiquers. So I don't mind being the ice breaker for the people who need a few minutes to overcome their nerves. :)

I got some good feedback and was happy to find that most of the questions that came up were things that would be easily clarified in the context of the novel. For example, one of my classmates assumed Kelder was male, just by the sound of the name. It is clear Kelder is female on page one of the novel. Also, questions were asked about the relationship of the two sisters and the significance of the father (who is mentioned once in the scene I read). Both of these things are visited in great detail before reaching this scene. There was some mention of POV confusion, which I think will be clarified, again, in context. Regardless, I'm going to give it some extra attention when I revise, just to be sure.

Homework:

1. Expanded the exercise into three pages
2. Bring something into class that speaks to you about your novel

Next week we're going to talk more about conflict, and the people who didn't read in this class are going to have their turn next time.

PFC: Week 3

2009-10-16T11:45:00.000-07:00

Week three was what I'll call "back to basics class."

For class #2, we handed in our first three page assignment to Pam. As a result, Pam started her class with the "this is how you format your pages" lecture.

Things like:

Put your name on your paper
Use paragraph break
Use the tab button at the start of a new paragraph
Here's how to properly format dialogue

Many, many people had questions on this, which I can honestly say surprised me. But I then remembered that I have an undergraduate degree in English, with a focus in creative writing (and learned this stuff in 101) and most people don't.

Then we moved on to point of view (POV). The discussion started as a focus on why it’s important to remain in a single character's head for an entire scene, why the omniscient narrator is often frowned upon by agents, and the difference between first and third person POV. I was fine with the lecture topic. I felt it was valid for everyone including myself, as it never hurts to be reminded of the basics from time to time.

She spent some time discussing things that are cliché - like having your character look in a mirror to establish what they look like in every itty bitty detail - and how real people don't walk around thinking "my I have lovely locks of shimmer golden hair and my eyes are as blue as deepest ocean." The concept she aimed to push home was that no description should be focused on unless it has validity. And that you have to always remember what set of eyes you're looking through, as your characters mind will influence how they describe things to the reader. Overall, a very interesting discussion.

Which proceeded to then turn into two hours of annoying. Again, many people asked valid questions. Some people were confused about certain things, which is fine. My problem was that the discussion degraded into people asking the same EXACT questions over and over - like they weren't listening to the person before them who asked the same question and got the exact same answer.

Then we moved into "but I'm going to do this rule breaking in my book and its okay because of XYZ, right?" and "Are you just saying this because it's actually true because agents might prefer this but it’s not always the case, right?" And we even had one person trying to talk LOUDER THAN Pam so she could make the point of why it was important that the first book she's ever attempted to write was the exception to the rule and therefore, it was okay for her to break the rules.

Ugh. Once again I'm reminded why I will never be a teacher. I am simply not patient enough. Pam, on the other hand, is amazing and patient as a Saint, but firm at the same time. Kudos to her.

Because of the time this took, our exercises were limited. We filled out a questionnaire about our story and characters for the first exercise. For the second, we talked a bit about the role of the mentor character in a novel and the relationship they have to the hero. And that they almost always give some kind of a gift to the hero, be it advice, a physical object or support in a difficult situation.

So our second exercise was to take that idea, and write a scene between our hero and mentor in which the mentor gives a gift to the hero. This scene, Pam suggested, should take place in chapters 1 or 2, no later than 3.

Since I'm well into chapter 4 of Ala'der, I decided to go through and find out if I had already put a scene in that fit the bill. I had! It was in chapter 2. Perfect! So I spent my time tweaking the scene, and I have to hand in that scene expanded into three pages for next week. No problem.

Next week we're going to do some full blown critique groups. Should be interesting.