If you have writer's block, the best cure I have found is a shower.
Not because you smell of despair.
I think that shampoo companies have inserted a creativity juice that comes when you massage your head. Spend the whole shower thinking about your book. Think about what you want to happen next. Think about what your characters would do in the shower. Do they sing? Do they wash from the head down, or the feet up? Would they prefer a bath? Or don't they bathe? Is there mold in their shower, or is it pristine?
Sometimes thinking about things like that leads to other inspiration, or simply working over a few different possibilities for certain scenes helps give you juice to dry off and write. Or you could skip drying off, if you need.
The best thing about shower-plotting is that there are no distractions. No one coming to interrupt you, no phone calls, no internet beckoning. Now if you'll excuse me, my wet hair is in a towel, and I still have a few hundred more words to write.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Dreams
One of my good friends is a theater major, and we talked for awhile about doing a video promotion for Corruption. I've been thinking about that quite a bit lately, about what I would want to showcase the book.
Of course, the first thing that comes to anyone's mind would be something like a Hollywood movie preview. Quick bits of information, flashes of characters, funny lines, explosions, and then the title and release date. Good for an hour to two-hour experience, crunched into thirty seconds. But I couldn't do something like that for Corruption. There is too much depth for a few shots of the action scenes, a shot of the sex scenes, a few quirky lines and a hyped-up version of the plot. It would do it a severe injustice. Most of the time I feel the summary I typed up for queries to be an injustice.
So movie preview is out. What to put in its place? Especially since we'd be on a budget of very little, and the resources of almost nonexistent. Just a camera on me talking about the book is certainly not what I want. For one thing, I don't like being on camera, or having photos taken of me, unless I'm in costume. Weird, isn't it? But showcasing costumes that we've spent hours making is not really photos of me--it's of the work. Who's going to be looking at me in this when there are so many details of the outfits to take in? And anyway, I'm sure it wouldn't be interesting to watch me in a chair toot my own horn.
What I've been thinking of is letting Israel speak. The book is shown a lot through his perspective, so why not let him speak? Making the Corruption uniform wouldn't be too difficult, and I could get one of my male friends to take him on for a time. Let him talk about the world he lives in, and the changes about to come. It would certainly be more powerful than anything I could say myself.
There is one problem with that, too. Letting someone else become my character, even for thirty seconds, is a little nerve-wracking. It's the same worry that I get when someone else reads my book for the first time. Will they understand how I want him to be? What I'm trying to get across? What if they think he's selfish, or stereotypical, or anything that I didn't mean for him to be? What if the actor portrays that and I don't know how to tell him to fix it?
More than that, what if the actor gets it right? What if it's perfect, and the video comes out wonderful, and then no one watches it? Certainly not the end of the world--I haven't gotten a lot of sales off of Corruption, but I don't have a lot of advertising outlets, either. That's alright, I know this book wasn't going to let me quit my two jobs and let me live off the sales. But I do hate for all of our work to go unnoticed, the same as any artist, I expect.
All of this is really in the very early stages, and a part of me wonders why I'm even contemplating it. I have so many other things I should be working on. I'm trying to buy a second car so my roommate and I can get to our four jobs easier. I'm writing for NaNoWriMo this month. I'm editing All the Good Gods Are Dead. We have crafting and costuming projects to work on.
The long and short answer is that dreams are important, especially for writers, and really for all artists. Even when you can't focus on your art because of life, because of money, because of time, you never stop dreaming. In the shower, you think about what comes next in your book, on your drawing, in your play. When you lay in bed about to fall asleep, you dream of what your characters may dream, of what steps you will take in that next dance, of what colors to add to your painting. Big or small, you dream constantly. It's our prerogative as artists to dream.
Be glad of that. Not everyone is able to do so freely. Don't pity them for it--let them dream through your art, instead.
Of course, the first thing that comes to anyone's mind would be something like a Hollywood movie preview. Quick bits of information, flashes of characters, funny lines, explosions, and then the title and release date. Good for an hour to two-hour experience, crunched into thirty seconds. But I couldn't do something like that for Corruption. There is too much depth for a few shots of the action scenes, a shot of the sex scenes, a few quirky lines and a hyped-up version of the plot. It would do it a severe injustice. Most of the time I feel the summary I typed up for queries to be an injustice.
So movie preview is out. What to put in its place? Especially since we'd be on a budget of very little, and the resources of almost nonexistent. Just a camera on me talking about the book is certainly not what I want. For one thing, I don't like being on camera, or having photos taken of me, unless I'm in costume. Weird, isn't it? But showcasing costumes that we've spent hours making is not really photos of me--it's of the work. Who's going to be looking at me in this when there are so many details of the outfits to take in? And anyway, I'm sure it wouldn't be interesting to watch me in a chair toot my own horn.
What I've been thinking of is letting Israel speak. The book is shown a lot through his perspective, so why not let him speak? Making the Corruption uniform wouldn't be too difficult, and I could get one of my male friends to take him on for a time. Let him talk about the world he lives in, and the changes about to come. It would certainly be more powerful than anything I could say myself.
There is one problem with that, too. Letting someone else become my character, even for thirty seconds, is a little nerve-wracking. It's the same worry that I get when someone else reads my book for the first time. Will they understand how I want him to be? What I'm trying to get across? What if they think he's selfish, or stereotypical, or anything that I didn't mean for him to be? What if the actor portrays that and I don't know how to tell him to fix it?
More than that, what if the actor gets it right? What if it's perfect, and the video comes out wonderful, and then no one watches it? Certainly not the end of the world--I haven't gotten a lot of sales off of Corruption, but I don't have a lot of advertising outlets, either. That's alright, I know this book wasn't going to let me quit my two jobs and let me live off the sales. But I do hate for all of our work to go unnoticed, the same as any artist, I expect.
All of this is really in the very early stages, and a part of me wonders why I'm even contemplating it. I have so many other things I should be working on. I'm trying to buy a second car so my roommate and I can get to our four jobs easier. I'm writing for NaNoWriMo this month. I'm editing All the Good Gods Are Dead. We have crafting and costuming projects to work on.
The long and short answer is that dreams are important, especially for writers, and really for all artists. Even when you can't focus on your art because of life, because of money, because of time, you never stop dreaming. In the shower, you think about what comes next in your book, on your drawing, in your play. When you lay in bed about to fall asleep, you dream of what your characters may dream, of what steps you will take in that next dance, of what colors to add to your painting. Big or small, you dream constantly. It's our prerogative as artists to dream.
Be glad of that. Not everyone is able to do so freely. Don't pity them for it--let them dream through your art, instead.
Friday, November 18, 2011
A few changes
So, I've been thinking about this poor neglected thing. I had visions of followers and book promotions fueling my initiative to write here, which of course was rather silly. You can't go from known to unknown just through a blog.
That doesn't mean I'm going to abandon it, but there are some changes in order. Not such a bad thing!
I've been on twitter a lot lately for National Novel Writing Month, using the word sprints to help get me through writing. I've started to enjoy and use twitter more than I thought I would. I've gotten a few more followers, and had a bit of fun. So, why am I not doing that here?
Instead of just being about the book and promotion, it's time to use this to talk about the novelist (gasp, shock, and amazement) and writing in a world that's not reading as much as it used to.
Aside from writing another novel for NaNoWriMo, I've been editing another novel, called All the Good Gods Are Dead. (I think the title needs work. I love it, but it's so long.) That one I plan to publish as a webnovel, kind like a webcomic but with mostly words and a few pictures splashed at the top. It's one of those stories I feel needs a few visual cues, but I don't want it to be overwhelmed with pictures, because the descriptions and inner dialogue is too important. So, I'm going to be trying something new. More on that later. Right now, the pages are full of red ink (I'll snap a picture of that at some point), and scribbles on the back of the pages. I will say that editing is kind of enjoyable, more than I thought when I first started editing like I did for Corruption.
All the Good Gods is another NaNo novel, and as such the writing is usually a little rough. But the story is so solid, and there are a few lines that when I read, I stopped and read them again because I just loved the word play.
That's what writing really is to me, playing with words. Changing words, changing the way sentences should be to convey a certain message. I like challenging the way readers think, giving them images they've never thought of before, much less see daily. This urge to play with words and make people think unfortunately seems to lead me to plots that are less than mainstream. I think that is part of my problem. I'm not into what's popular in the world of reading. I like complexities and putting my characters into situations that make people uncomfortable. I could never write a book like Twilight, and if I do, I want one of you readers to come find me and whack me with the Lord of the Rings, one of the versions where it's consolidated into one massive tome. I don't like writing romance for the sake of romance. It's not engaging to me, and I've never understood the appeal. I don't mind romance within a novel, especially if it develops over the course of the entire book. But when I see a cover of a book with a man whose muscles glisten in the sun and a woman pressed against his side, leg raised and hair flying back in the wind, I gag.
I actually worry sometimes that I make my main characters too appealing. I try to keep them real, but like your children, they become perfect to me in their imperfections. When you adore them, even when they look like some sort of child's nightmare, I fear they sometimes come across as being too perfect. Not that anyone sane would look at Fetish and go "Oh, he's so handsome! I want to take him home and show him to my daughter, she could use an attractive fellow like that." That, by the way, is the MC from All the Good Gods. His nickname (using the term loosely) is butterfly. Interested yet?
And then there's Axsis, who had the misfortune of being transformed into some sort of monster, and hates himself. He's also gone rather crazy. His is another novel that's finished, but needs a lot of edits. I would never send my future daughters to prom with him. But he's one of my favorite characters, maybe because he's quite literally gone insane from captivity, and the entire story is told from his perspective. It's interesting thinking about my life when I wrote Axsis' A Spider's Tale. It's a very dark book, and a friend of mine described reading it as "walking through barbed wire, but in a good way." I consider it a high compliment. I don't think reading a book should be easy, and I'm not talking about language. If I don't finish a book with at least a "Huh. Interesting." then I don't think it was worth the read.
Of course, I know a lot of other people don't think the same way. They want light "summer reading," whatever that means. I want to be challenged. I hope you, dear readers, want to be challenged, too. So here goes, the start of the rebirth of the blog. Thoughts from an overworked writer. I don't know how consistent updates will be, because at the moment I am working two part-time jobs and writing to make ends meet. My roommate is also working two jobs, one part-time and one full-time, and selling her crafts and costumes on the side in our desperate attempt to pay for a second car (one car and four jobs is hell), and an apartment. Welcome to the modern era.
Until next time, dear readers.
That doesn't mean I'm going to abandon it, but there are some changes in order. Not such a bad thing!
I've been on twitter a lot lately for National Novel Writing Month, using the word sprints to help get me through writing. I've started to enjoy and use twitter more than I thought I would. I've gotten a few more followers, and had a bit of fun. So, why am I not doing that here?
Instead of just being about the book and promotion, it's time to use this to talk about the novelist (gasp, shock, and amazement) and writing in a world that's not reading as much as it used to.
Aside from writing another novel for NaNoWriMo, I've been editing another novel, called All the Good Gods Are Dead. (I think the title needs work. I love it, but it's so long.) That one I plan to publish as a webnovel, kind like a webcomic but with mostly words and a few pictures splashed at the top. It's one of those stories I feel needs a few visual cues, but I don't want it to be overwhelmed with pictures, because the descriptions and inner dialogue is too important. So, I'm going to be trying something new. More on that later. Right now, the pages are full of red ink (I'll snap a picture of that at some point), and scribbles on the back of the pages. I will say that editing is kind of enjoyable, more than I thought when I first started editing like I did for Corruption.
All the Good Gods is another NaNo novel, and as such the writing is usually a little rough. But the story is so solid, and there are a few lines that when I read, I stopped and read them again because I just loved the word play.
That's what writing really is to me, playing with words. Changing words, changing the way sentences should be to convey a certain message. I like challenging the way readers think, giving them images they've never thought of before, much less see daily. This urge to play with words and make people think unfortunately seems to lead me to plots that are less than mainstream. I think that is part of my problem. I'm not into what's popular in the world of reading. I like complexities and putting my characters into situations that make people uncomfortable. I could never write a book like Twilight, and if I do, I want one of you readers to come find me and whack me with the Lord of the Rings, one of the versions where it's consolidated into one massive tome. I don't like writing romance for the sake of romance. It's not engaging to me, and I've never understood the appeal. I don't mind romance within a novel, especially if it develops over the course of the entire book. But when I see a cover of a book with a man whose muscles glisten in the sun and a woman pressed against his side, leg raised and hair flying back in the wind, I gag.
I actually worry sometimes that I make my main characters too appealing. I try to keep them real, but like your children, they become perfect to me in their imperfections. When you adore them, even when they look like some sort of child's nightmare, I fear they sometimes come across as being too perfect. Not that anyone sane would look at Fetish and go "Oh, he's so handsome! I want to take him home and show him to my daughter, she could use an attractive fellow like that." That, by the way, is the MC from All the Good Gods. His nickname (using the term loosely) is butterfly. Interested yet?
And then there's Axsis, who had the misfortune of being transformed into some sort of monster, and hates himself. He's also gone rather crazy. His is another novel that's finished, but needs a lot of edits. I would never send my future daughters to prom with him. But he's one of my favorite characters, maybe because he's quite literally gone insane from captivity, and the entire story is told from his perspective. It's interesting thinking about my life when I wrote Axsis' A Spider's Tale. It's a very dark book, and a friend of mine described reading it as "walking through barbed wire, but in a good way." I consider it a high compliment. I don't think reading a book should be easy, and I'm not talking about language. If I don't finish a book with at least a "Huh. Interesting." then I don't think it was worth the read.
Of course, I know a lot of other people don't think the same way. They want light "summer reading," whatever that means. I want to be challenged. I hope you, dear readers, want to be challenged, too. So here goes, the start of the rebirth of the blog. Thoughts from an overworked writer. I don't know how consistent updates will be, because at the moment I am working two part-time jobs and writing to make ends meet. My roommate is also working two jobs, one part-time and one full-time, and selling her crafts and costumes on the side in our desperate attempt to pay for a second car (one car and four jobs is hell), and an apartment. Welcome to the modern era.
Until next time, dear readers.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Delay
Whoops, I realized I updated the facebook fanpage, but not this blog. For one week only (Wednesday 31st-Wednesday 7th), Corruption is 10% off through Lulu.com. Don't let the next hurricane leave you in the dark!
Also, I've created a Tumblr for Corruption. I hope to have some exclusive doodles and factoids there, plus anything I happen to find on Tumblr that's related. Am I wearing thin my promotional opportunities yet?
In other news, I have a new part-time job, which I'm hoping will reduce the stress in my life and leave more room for writing. I need it!
Also, I've created a Tumblr for Corruption. I hope to have some exclusive doodles and factoids there, plus anything I happen to find on Tumblr that's related. Am I wearing thin my promotional opportunities yet?
In other news, I have a new part-time job, which I'm hoping will reduce the stress in my life and leave more room for writing. I need it!
Monday, August 29, 2011
Hurricanes and Character Visuals
I hope all of you on the East coast have survived Irene with minimal damage. We lost power for a little over 12 hours, but the house and property sustained no more damage than a few downed branches. Many in my area are still without power, including my part-time job. It could have been much worse, and I am incredibly thankful that everyone I know made it through safely. I am thankful, too, for neighbors with power that let us store out freezer food for awhile, and lent ice to keep our perishables edible.
On an entirely different note, I meant to post the rest of this earlier, but of course the power outages made it difficult. I wonder sometimes if people had trouble picturing Makya, because he is such a strange character. He was one of the characters I made long before Corruption, so I did a few drawings of him. Human anatomy is not my strong point, but sometimes ideas require more than just words, and need to come down on paper in different ways.
So here is the crazy silver-haired priest:
You know what I think I love most about Makya? His lack of eyebrows. I'm not entirely sure why, but I've always found it both amusing and fitting.
At some point soon I would like to sketch out the Corruption uniform, as at some point in the future I would like to make it. One day when the book becomes popular (haha), I would love to parade around a convention and have the uniform recognized. Poor Israel could use a hug, anyway.
As soon as the power outages in Maryland have all been taken care of, I have a special treat for readers in mind. Hope everyone is doing well in Irene's wake!
On an entirely different note, I meant to post the rest of this earlier, but of course the power outages made it difficult. I wonder sometimes if people had trouble picturing Makya, because he is such a strange character. He was one of the characters I made long before Corruption, so I did a few drawings of him. Human anatomy is not my strong point, but sometimes ideas require more than just words, and need to come down on paper in different ways.
So here is the crazy silver-haired priest:
You know what I think I love most about Makya? His lack of eyebrows. I'm not entirely sure why, but I've always found it both amusing and fitting.
At some point soon I would like to sketch out the Corruption uniform, as at some point in the future I would like to make it. One day when the book becomes popular (haha), I would love to parade around a convention and have the uniform recognized. Poor Israel could use a hug, anyway.
As soon as the power outages in Maryland have all been taken care of, I have a special treat for readers in mind. Hope everyone is doing well in Irene's wake!
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Small victories
Today marked the first person to "like" Corruption's facebook fanpage that I did not personally know. That may seem a silly thing for some, but it's encouraging that somehow Corruption is reaching past the simple bounds of my life.
Haven't seen the fan page yet? Check it out! There's not much yet, but as most other things in my life, it is a giant work in progress.
Speaking of progress, I haven't gotten much written lately. Life has been complicated, and in my spare time I've been less than inspired, and taken to being a bum. (Read, playing Medieval Sims and watching Hoarders on Netflix.) I've been kind of disheartened about my writing future lately, mostly thanks to the wonders of the internet. It's easy to find the success stories of other authors, even after thirty rejections or more.
Well, Corruption had over thirty rejections, and finally I gave up and went to self-publishing out of frustration, and the want to get my book out for the public. It's not even the lack of funds from the book that's discouraging, but rather the lack of readers. I want Corruption to be available for everyone. I want to see it on a bookstore shelf, but the marketing required is often past the funds I have available.
So, what I can ask of you is simple. If you enjoy Corruption, share it! I have to imagine that is how my unknown fan found me. Someone shared it, who shared it, who shared it, and eventually it ended up with him enjoying it enough to become a fan.
Or, I'm being sappy and he's a spam bot. But, hey, it's Friday, I'm at home with a drink, my family, and my dogs. I'm feeling optimistic.
Until next time, dear readers.
Haven't seen the fan page yet? Check it out! There's not much yet, but as most other things in my life, it is a giant work in progress.
Speaking of progress, I haven't gotten much written lately. Life has been complicated, and in my spare time I've been less than inspired, and taken to being a bum. (Read, playing Medieval Sims and watching Hoarders on Netflix.) I've been kind of disheartened about my writing future lately, mostly thanks to the wonders of the internet. It's easy to find the success stories of other authors, even after thirty rejections or more.
Well, Corruption had over thirty rejections, and finally I gave up and went to self-publishing out of frustration, and the want to get my book out for the public. It's not even the lack of funds from the book that's discouraging, but rather the lack of readers. I want Corruption to be available for everyone. I want to see it on a bookstore shelf, but the marketing required is often past the funds I have available.
So, what I can ask of you is simple. If you enjoy Corruption, share it! I have to imagine that is how my unknown fan found me. Someone shared it, who shared it, who shared it, and eventually it ended up with him enjoying it enough to become a fan.
Or, I'm being sappy and he's a spam bot. But, hey, it's Friday, I'm at home with a drink, my family, and my dogs. I'm feeling optimistic.
Until next time, dear readers.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Inspiration
There are times I love having other friends that are also writers. Without them, I don't think that I could finish anything.
I was having the dreaded writer's block on my other in-progress novel, Vendave. It wasn't even so much writer's block as lack of ambition, but either way, I was getting nothing done. A friend of mine, listening to my rants, told me to write her into the book. I warned her I was in the middle of a castle siege and she would die, but I decided to give her an epic death.
It may have been a silly thing, but it got me going again, and aside from just adding meat to the novel, kept the pace going. Having a support network is important, and I think it's something a lot of new writers don't realize they need.
To be honest, I didn't realize how much I needed it until college, when there was a NaNoWriMo group near enough to the school that during November I met a whole new group of writers, and it was there I really learned that what I did was not total crap. I didn't realize I needed that validation until I was told that I did write well. I had interesting ideas, a vibrant imagination, and I could get it down on paper. More, that some people would want to read it.
Speaking of reading, I was at work last night and was told something that broke my heart. A friend of mine said to me: "I would buy your book, but to be honest I hate reading. In high school I would google what the book was about instead of reading the assignment." I know that is far more prevalent than most of us writers would like to admit, but it blows my mind. I have read plenty of books I didn't like, but for someone not to enjoy reading at all? I can remember when I was younger spending most of my summer with a stack of books to go through, to read and re-read.
At this point, this is probably preaching to the choir, but let me say one more thing about the importance of reading: The true value not be in literacy, but in feeding creativity. Reading a book allows you to immerse yourself in the universe, more so than a movie. It allows you to question yourself. "What would I do in that situation? What would have happened if X event took place instead of Y?" It encourages critical thinking, which leads to better problem solving in the future. If only we could come up with a solution to those crazy people who do not like reading. Fiction or non-fiction, I shudder at the death of the written word.
So let me, dear reader, leave you with an excerpt from Vendave, to keep you thinking:
The acrobat shook his head, but didn’t answer right away, instead he called to a child that was running towards the Sother Inn eagerly. “Hey, kid. Where is everyone tonight?”
Skidding to a halt, the boy blinked up at them with wide blue eyes. “Don’t you know? There’s a white gypsy in the tavern, and he knows the future! Isn’t he with you?”
With a frown, Jinx glanced at his companion, then shook his head. “No…come on, Kamin, let’s go see what they’re conjuring up over there.”
The Sother Inn was packed to a rare capacity, those that weren’t standing in a rough line towards a table in the center of the room all perched on tables, chairs, or the bar for the spectacle. The tavern was surprisingly dim, most of the candles sputtered out, left unattended, except for the one at the cloaked man’s left elbow. Squeezing his way through the crowd, Kamin frowned when he finally got a look at the white face of the ‘mystic,’ a nagging memory at the back of his head.
“I know him,” he murmured to his companion, tugging lightly on the strings of Jinx’s mask.
“From where?”
“A few months ago.” Kamin shook his head. “He was a freed slave, of sorts. He left with another traveler, but it looks like he’s alone, now.”
“What’s his name?”
“I have no idea.” The jester touched the arm of one of the spectators, leaning close so as not to ruin the moment with a shout. “Excuse me, sir. Who is that?”
The stranger looked down at him from where he was crouching on a table. “Don’t you know him, gypsy? He’s a fortune teller. The cobbler’s son was the first to see him, and he predicted that he would come down with a great illness. Not ten minutes later he starts convulsing on the floor.” He shook his head in amazement. “He’s a dundas, the real thing. Blind, and he’ll look right at you.”
“What do you think of that?” Kamin asked, the feather on his hat quivering like the antennae on a startled beetle, leaning over to speak to only his friend again.
“I think,” the acrobat replied, his voice low, “that he’s a top con artist. He’s not blind, though.”
“I’ve seen him before, I know he can see,” he agreed, “it’s probably what they believe, because of his eyes.”
Jinx snorted, folding his arms over his chest. “Should we be painting our faces white, instead? Now I know who’s taken all the business and the coin. Kamin? Where are you going?”
The jester didn’t answer. Instead, he stepped forward as the latest stunned peasant rose from the chair. Bells jingling, Kamin slid in front of the albino. If T’ke recognized him, he didn’t show it. Instead, his pale eyes stared unfocused over the gypsy’s left shoulder, the colors lost on him. He was good, Kamin noted, impressed and faintly disgusted at the same time.
“And what is it you come to seek?” By then, the albino’s voice had gone from haunting to merely bored, holding out one hand for the necessary coin. A gypsy, hmm? A pair of them, no less, by the somewhat puzzled expression of the colorful man waiting in the crowds, his eyes narrowed at T’ke. Well, he supposed he couldn’t blame them--they all needed to eat, but he had Medvetis to provide for, too, and a reputation to build. All in time.
“I’m afraid my pockets are empty, friend.” Kamin said, patting his thighs, no jingle of coins coming, only the soft tinkle of bells as he crossed his ankles beneath the table.
“A wandering gypsy? That isn’t a surprise.” T’ke watched the crowd lean in and murmur again, pressing in closer to the new spectacle. “You were to perform tonight, were you not? You and your companion, wearing green and gold?” He let his eyes track, focused on nothing, as if reading the black blindness. Really, he was growing tired, and it seemed a perfect way to end the charade, and retire for the night. His Lord should be returning shortly, anyway.
“Yes. But it seems the crowds have rather been drawn indoors, instead.”
T’ke smiled, reaching back to pull up his hood again. He pinched out the flame of the candle between his fingers, then slipped the pouches into his robe and pulled on his gloves. “They will be drawn out again.” He assured, rising to his feet, his coin purse happily refilled. He stepped through the peasantry to take a seat at the bar instead, a bronze piece laid down in return for a steaming mug.
Whispering to each other, the local merchants and farmers slowly filed out again, only a few staying to tempt goblets of mead, beer, and wine, most of them returning to the darkening streets. Kamin, too, rose to his feet again, and came once more to his companion’s side. He grinned, elbowing the acrobat lightly in the ribs.
“It would be a shame to disappoint. If we don’t perform, we won’t fulfill his last prediction.”
Jinx snorted, and shoved him back, before draping an arm around his shoulders. “The fraud.”
I was having the dreaded writer's block on my other in-progress novel, Vendave. It wasn't even so much writer's block as lack of ambition, but either way, I was getting nothing done. A friend of mine, listening to my rants, told me to write her into the book. I warned her I was in the middle of a castle siege and she would die, but I decided to give her an epic death.
It may have been a silly thing, but it got me going again, and aside from just adding meat to the novel, kept the pace going. Having a support network is important, and I think it's something a lot of new writers don't realize they need.
To be honest, I didn't realize how much I needed it until college, when there was a NaNoWriMo group near enough to the school that during November I met a whole new group of writers, and it was there I really learned that what I did was not total crap. I didn't realize I needed that validation until I was told that I did write well. I had interesting ideas, a vibrant imagination, and I could get it down on paper. More, that some people would want to read it.
Speaking of reading, I was at work last night and was told something that broke my heart. A friend of mine said to me: "I would buy your book, but to be honest I hate reading. In high school I would google what the book was about instead of reading the assignment." I know that is far more prevalent than most of us writers would like to admit, but it blows my mind. I have read plenty of books I didn't like, but for someone not to enjoy reading at all? I can remember when I was younger spending most of my summer with a stack of books to go through, to read and re-read.
At this point, this is probably preaching to the choir, but let me say one more thing about the importance of reading: The true value not be in literacy, but in feeding creativity. Reading a book allows you to immerse yourself in the universe, more so than a movie. It allows you to question yourself. "What would I do in that situation? What would have happened if X event took place instead of Y?" It encourages critical thinking, which leads to better problem solving in the future. If only we could come up with a solution to those crazy people who do not like reading. Fiction or non-fiction, I shudder at the death of the written word.
So let me, dear reader, leave you with an excerpt from Vendave, to keep you thinking:
The acrobat shook his head, but didn’t answer right away, instead he called to a child that was running towards the Sother Inn eagerly. “Hey, kid. Where is everyone tonight?”
Skidding to a halt, the boy blinked up at them with wide blue eyes. “Don’t you know? There’s a white gypsy in the tavern, and he knows the future! Isn’t he with you?”
With a frown, Jinx glanced at his companion, then shook his head. “No…come on, Kamin, let’s go see what they’re conjuring up over there.”
The Sother Inn was packed to a rare capacity, those that weren’t standing in a rough line towards a table in the center of the room all perched on tables, chairs, or the bar for the spectacle. The tavern was surprisingly dim, most of the candles sputtered out, left unattended, except for the one at the cloaked man’s left elbow. Squeezing his way through the crowd, Kamin frowned when he finally got a look at the white face of the ‘mystic,’ a nagging memory at the back of his head.
“I know him,” he murmured to his companion, tugging lightly on the strings of Jinx’s mask.
“From where?”
“A few months ago.” Kamin shook his head. “He was a freed slave, of sorts. He left with another traveler, but it looks like he’s alone, now.”
“What’s his name?”
“I have no idea.” The jester touched the arm of one of the spectators, leaning close so as not to ruin the moment with a shout. “Excuse me, sir. Who is that?”
The stranger looked down at him from where he was crouching on a table. “Don’t you know him, gypsy? He’s a fortune teller. The cobbler’s son was the first to see him, and he predicted that he would come down with a great illness. Not ten minutes later he starts convulsing on the floor.” He shook his head in amazement. “He’s a dundas, the real thing. Blind, and he’ll look right at you.”
“What do you think of that?” Kamin asked, the feather on his hat quivering like the antennae on a startled beetle, leaning over to speak to only his friend again.
“I think,” the acrobat replied, his voice low, “that he’s a top con artist. He’s not blind, though.”
“I’ve seen him before, I know he can see,” he agreed, “it’s probably what they believe, because of his eyes.”
Jinx snorted, folding his arms over his chest. “Should we be painting our faces white, instead? Now I know who’s taken all the business and the coin. Kamin? Where are you going?”
The jester didn’t answer. Instead, he stepped forward as the latest stunned peasant rose from the chair. Bells jingling, Kamin slid in front of the albino. If T’ke recognized him, he didn’t show it. Instead, his pale eyes stared unfocused over the gypsy’s left shoulder, the colors lost on him. He was good, Kamin noted, impressed and faintly disgusted at the same time.
“And what is it you come to seek?” By then, the albino’s voice had gone from haunting to merely bored, holding out one hand for the necessary coin. A gypsy, hmm? A pair of them, no less, by the somewhat puzzled expression of the colorful man waiting in the crowds, his eyes narrowed at T’ke. Well, he supposed he couldn’t blame them--they all needed to eat, but he had Medvetis to provide for, too, and a reputation to build. All in time.
“I’m afraid my pockets are empty, friend.” Kamin said, patting his thighs, no jingle of coins coming, only the soft tinkle of bells as he crossed his ankles beneath the table.
“A wandering gypsy? That isn’t a surprise.” T’ke watched the crowd lean in and murmur again, pressing in closer to the new spectacle. “You were to perform tonight, were you not? You and your companion, wearing green and gold?” He let his eyes track, focused on nothing, as if reading the black blindness. Really, he was growing tired, and it seemed a perfect way to end the charade, and retire for the night. His Lord should be returning shortly, anyway.
“Yes. But it seems the crowds have rather been drawn indoors, instead.”
T’ke smiled, reaching back to pull up his hood again. He pinched out the flame of the candle between his fingers, then slipped the pouches into his robe and pulled on his gloves. “They will be drawn out again.” He assured, rising to his feet, his coin purse happily refilled. He stepped through the peasantry to take a seat at the bar instead, a bronze piece laid down in return for a steaming mug.
Whispering to each other, the local merchants and farmers slowly filed out again, only a few staying to tempt goblets of mead, beer, and wine, most of them returning to the darkening streets. Kamin, too, rose to his feet again, and came once more to his companion’s side. He grinned, elbowing the acrobat lightly in the ribs.
“It would be a shame to disappoint. If we don’t perform, we won’t fulfill his last prediction.”
Jinx snorted, and shoved him back, before draping an arm around his shoulders. “The fraud.”
Monday, August 1, 2011
Don't Quit Your Day Job
What does an author do on the weekends?
Run around in silly costumes.
Yes, that is from Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. From left to right: Me, my roommate Susan, and our friend Steve. We made the costumes completely (mostly Susan made it), aside from her pauldron, which we commissioned from an awesome friend.
Not much in Corruption news, other than I'm still eagerly waiting to hear what people think about it. Also, my computer died, and I am now on a new one, and oh how my bank account aches. Ah well. Hopefully things will turn around and it will recover soon.
In other writing news, now that we are done making costumes, I'll have more time to write on Vendave, which is my novel nothing at all like Corruption, and absolutely massive. One day I will finish it. One day in the far, far future, it seems.
Run around in silly costumes.
Yes, that is from Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. From left to right: Me, my roommate Susan, and our friend Steve. We made the costumes completely (mostly Susan made it), aside from her pauldron, which we commissioned from an awesome friend.
Not much in Corruption news, other than I'm still eagerly waiting to hear what people think about it. Also, my computer died, and I am now on a new one, and oh how my bank account aches. Ah well. Hopefully things will turn around and it will recover soon.
In other writing news, now that we are done making costumes, I'll have more time to write on Vendave, which is my novel nothing at all like Corruption, and absolutely massive. One day I will finish it. One day in the far, far future, it seems.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Double Digits
So, between smashwords and lulu, I have officially sold ten books. Am I a real author yet?
It's pretty amazing how much differently people have reacted to the news of me having an ebook compared to me holding up the printed copy. And it is exciting--there is something about the smell of the pages of a book that cannot be replaced by any ereader. But at the same time, it feels like people don't think you've published a book until you can physically hold it in front of you. It's interesting, especially since through sites like lulu you can literally publish anything and get it printed for yourself. But nothing beat seeing the pride on my mother's face when we opened my box of proofs and she could see her daughter's name on the spine of that book.
So, who has finished it? What do you think?
It's pretty amazing how much differently people have reacted to the news of me having an ebook compared to me holding up the printed copy. And it is exciting--there is something about the smell of the pages of a book that cannot be replaced by any ereader. But at the same time, it feels like people don't think you've published a book until you can physically hold it in front of you. It's interesting, especially since through sites like lulu you can literally publish anything and get it printed for yourself. But nothing beat seeing the pride on my mother's face when we opened my box of proofs and she could see her daughter's name on the spine of that book.
So, who has finished it? What do you think?
Thursday, July 21, 2011
So, I got my proof copies of Corruption, and they look good! So, Corruption is now available here via lulu.
The royalties off of print compared to digital download for what the reader pays are crap, but I had a few people interested in getting print copies, so I went with it. It doesn't hurt to have it up, at least.
And now I can carry a copy around grinning like an idiot. I wonder if most writers tote their first book around in a happy daze like I want to do. If it wasn't so uncomfortable as a teddy bear, I think I would go to bed with it.
For now, though, I'll just have to show it off to everyone I can. Eventually I'll stop smiling, probably when my cheeks go on strike.
The royalties off of print compared to digital download for what the reader pays are crap, but I had a few people interested in getting print copies, so I went with it. It doesn't hurt to have it up, at least.
And now I can carry a copy around grinning like an idiot. I wonder if most writers tote their first book around in a happy daze like I want to do. If it wasn't so uncomfortable as a teddy bear, I think I would go to bed with it.
For now, though, I'll just have to show it off to everyone I can. Eventually I'll stop smiling, probably when my cheeks go on strike.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Paperback
Happy fifth day, my dear readers!
5. The hand in the cover art of Corruption is mine. I did the makeup and popped open my jug of fake blood left over from a haunted house done a few years ago. The cross I bought at my retail job, and I thought it worked rather well. The background to this blog is one of the rejected pictures taken for the cover art. I took about 50 pictures with slight variations, then cleaned it up and added the text when I finally made the decision.
I have had a few requests for Corruption in paperback, so I'm checking out Lulu.com later tonight to see about getting it available for print on demand. I'll post here when that's finalized, as well as price points.
A rather short entry today, because my roommate and I have a lot of work to catch up on. After July, I should finally have more time for writing, and maybe by the end of the year finish my massive novel in the works for publication sometime next year. Hopefully!
5. The hand in the cover art of Corruption is mine. I did the makeup and popped open my jug of fake blood left over from a haunted house done a few years ago. The cross I bought at my retail job, and I thought it worked rather well. The background to this blog is one of the rejected pictures taken for the cover art. I took about 50 pictures with slight variations, then cleaned it up and added the text when I finally made the decision.
I have had a few requests for Corruption in paperback, so I'm checking out Lulu.com later tonight to see about getting it available for print on demand. I'll post here when that's finalized, as well as price points.
A rather short entry today, because my roommate and I have a lot of work to catch up on. After July, I should finally have more time for writing, and maybe by the end of the year finish my massive novel in the works for publication sometime next year. Hopefully!
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Apologies, and Hope
First of all, I apologize for missing my promised blog post yesterday, but I was away from 3am Saturday morning until 1am Sunday morning, and my phone died. So, you get a double dose. Here are the third and fourth things you didn't know about Corruption:
3. Corruption was written while listening to mainly three songs. All of them are from the Prince of Egypt.
Deliver Us
The Plagues
Playing with the Big Boys Now
For some reason the songs just worked with the rhythm of the book, even when I was working with different characters. My ipod was probably so sick of them by the end of it. At one point I sat for about three hours in Starbucks and wrote with them on repeat. I'm hoping it did some to help a consistent mood and tempo through the book, something that I occasionally have trouble with. And, you know, they're fun.
4. Corruption started with a simple "what if?" question. What if religion was banned? November was approaching, and I knew I wanted to write something for NaNoWriMo, I just wasn't sure what. So, I made a list of what if questions, picked that one, and went from there. The prologue I had spent much of October 31st imagining in my head, so that when midnight rolled around, I sat with my group of writer friends and finished the prologue before bed. Everything else just kind of came on its own from there.
Now, onto the reason why I was gone all day. I had the good fortune of being able to visit much of my "second family." I am a third generation breeder and exhibitor of rough collies, and there was a breeder's seminar about four hours from the house that my grandfather, my mother, and I attended, along with about 100 others. Aside from having a wonderful time, I got to speak with a friend of mine who has been helping me with Corruption. She is hoping to get into the publishing field as well, though as an agent or editor. Due to life circumstances for both of us, she didn't get a chance to finish editing Corruption before I wanted it available, so whenever she finishes I'll be releasing a second edition with her edits.
More importantly though, we just had a chance to talk. She told me how far she had gotten so far, now much she liked it. How she was already talking it up to people, not out of any feelings of obligation, but because she liked it. Aside from unrealistic expectations, all authors have a primal fear that what they wrote is horrible, that as soon as it's released, it will tank. So to be validated that the writing itself is good, and the plotline is, too, is incredibly rewarding.
Even more rewarding is when she asked me about the importance of certain names and symbols to see if her guesses were right, and how elated she looked when I agreed with her. That is what I really want, is to people to read, pause, and think. I can't wait to have more discussions with my readers about these things, and each time Smashwords sends me an e-mail notifying me of a purchase, my day gets a bit better.
This is what I wanted. It's what I've wanted to do with my life since I was in middle school, even if I wasn't certain of that yet. Though I may not be able to make a living off of it, that's okay. I have the opportunity to share my art and my passion, and that is so very, very rewarding.
3. Corruption was written while listening to mainly three songs. All of them are from the Prince of Egypt.
Deliver Us
The Plagues
Playing with the Big Boys Now
For some reason the songs just worked with the rhythm of the book, even when I was working with different characters. My ipod was probably so sick of them by the end of it. At one point I sat for about three hours in Starbucks and wrote with them on repeat. I'm hoping it did some to help a consistent mood and tempo through the book, something that I occasionally have trouble with. And, you know, they're fun.
4. Corruption started with a simple "what if?" question. What if religion was banned? November was approaching, and I knew I wanted to write something for NaNoWriMo, I just wasn't sure what. So, I made a list of what if questions, picked that one, and went from there. The prologue I had spent much of October 31st imagining in my head, so that when midnight rolled around, I sat with my group of writer friends and finished the prologue before bed. Everything else just kind of came on its own from there.
Now, onto the reason why I was gone all day. I had the good fortune of being able to visit much of my "second family." I am a third generation breeder and exhibitor of rough collies, and there was a breeder's seminar about four hours from the house that my grandfather, my mother, and I attended, along with about 100 others. Aside from having a wonderful time, I got to speak with a friend of mine who has been helping me with Corruption. She is hoping to get into the publishing field as well, though as an agent or editor. Due to life circumstances for both of us, she didn't get a chance to finish editing Corruption before I wanted it available, so whenever she finishes I'll be releasing a second edition with her edits.
More importantly though, we just had a chance to talk. She told me how far she had gotten so far, now much she liked it. How she was already talking it up to people, not out of any feelings of obligation, but because she liked it. Aside from unrealistic expectations, all authors have a primal fear that what they wrote is horrible, that as soon as it's released, it will tank. So to be validated that the writing itself is good, and the plotline is, too, is incredibly rewarding.
Even more rewarding is when she asked me about the importance of certain names and symbols to see if her guesses were right, and how elated she looked when I agreed with her. That is what I really want, is to people to read, pause, and think. I can't wait to have more discussions with my readers about these things, and each time Smashwords sends me an e-mail notifying me of a purchase, my day gets a bit better.
This is what I wanted. It's what I've wanted to do with my life since I was in middle school, even if I wasn't certain of that yet. Though I may not be able to make a living off of it, that's okay. I have the opportunity to share my art and my passion, and that is so very, very rewarding.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Expectations
For starters, here's number 2 as promised:
2. Although it only took one month to write, Corruption took far longer to edit. It initially went through two rounds of editing, for continuity and errors, and then later went through a third round shortly before publishing. On top of that, my roommate became my first beta reader. Another dear friend of mine who aspires to be an editor is going through another round of edits for a second edition release.
Corruption released yesterday. Filled with panic and trepidation, I spread the word via various internet resources, and then waited on bated breath. I think all authors at heart have unrealistic expectations about their works. Even if you're not sure if your work is any good, you still somehow expect it to be a breakout success, no matter how the odds are stacked against you. You want it so badly to work out well, that you put yourself in a funk when it doesn't, or at least doesn't immediately live up to your unrealistic expectations. We all know better, but we do it anyway.
I remember answering a question once about what you would most like your book to end up. As a bestseller, as a 'classic' studied in school classrooms, or a few other options that escape my memory. I remember taking AP English courses in high school and all the books we had to read (or pretended to read). Even if the books themselves weren't very good, at least from our views, I remember loving the discussions about them. For all of my 'serious' works, I have always tried to write with depth, so that one day in the far future students could sit in a circle and discuss my book. What did this symbol mean? What was the author trying to tell us with this reference? What affected the main character's choices, and do you agree with them?
So, really, in the long run it's impossible to see if Corruption will meet that expectation. How am I supposed to know what my book will do long after I'm gone? For now, I hope that those of you that choose to read it will find it satisfying, interesting, and pass it on to a friend to check it out as well. I hope you can sit and mull it over a cup of coffee. I hope you can ask yourself: "What would I do when faced with corruption? Could this really happen? How would that kind of world really work?"
I also hope that somewhere along the line, someone will write bad fanfiction about it. I would read it, and give them feedback, no matter how atrocious. Because I could think of no better compliment than someone writing about a story they loved, even if they butcher it. If someone writes good fanfiction about Corruption, I would love it even more. But my expectations are not THAT unrealistic.
Until tomorrow, my dear readers. I leave you with this one last hope from an anxious author.
If you do not buy Corruption, if you can only afford the free preview, I understand. I've been that stringent with my finances before. But if you find it interesting, if you wish to support me, tell a friend. Share it on facebook. Tweet about it. Hell, even try out the new Google+ that some of you may be using now. Help me spread the word that it is out there for people to enjoy. And please, tell me if you enjoy it. I would love to hear from you.
2. Although it only took one month to write, Corruption took far longer to edit. It initially went through two rounds of editing, for continuity and errors, and then later went through a third round shortly before publishing. On top of that, my roommate became my first beta reader. Another dear friend of mine who aspires to be an editor is going through another round of edits for a second edition release.
Corruption released yesterday. Filled with panic and trepidation, I spread the word via various internet resources, and then waited on bated breath. I think all authors at heart have unrealistic expectations about their works. Even if you're not sure if your work is any good, you still somehow expect it to be a breakout success, no matter how the odds are stacked against you. You want it so badly to work out well, that you put yourself in a funk when it doesn't, or at least doesn't immediately live up to your unrealistic expectations. We all know better, but we do it anyway.
I remember answering a question once about what you would most like your book to end up. As a bestseller, as a 'classic' studied in school classrooms, or a few other options that escape my memory. I remember taking AP English courses in high school and all the books we had to read (or pretended to read). Even if the books themselves weren't very good, at least from our views, I remember loving the discussions about them. For all of my 'serious' works, I have always tried to write with depth, so that one day in the far future students could sit in a circle and discuss my book. What did this symbol mean? What was the author trying to tell us with this reference? What affected the main character's choices, and do you agree with them?
So, really, in the long run it's impossible to see if Corruption will meet that expectation. How am I supposed to know what my book will do long after I'm gone? For now, I hope that those of you that choose to read it will find it satisfying, interesting, and pass it on to a friend to check it out as well. I hope you can sit and mull it over a cup of coffee. I hope you can ask yourself: "What would I do when faced with corruption? Could this really happen? How would that kind of world really work?"
I also hope that somewhere along the line, someone will write bad fanfiction about it. I would read it, and give them feedback, no matter how atrocious. Because I could think of no better compliment than someone writing about a story they loved, even if they butcher it. If someone writes good fanfiction about Corruption, I would love it even more. But my expectations are not THAT unrealistic.
Until tomorrow, my dear readers. I leave you with this one last hope from an anxious author.
If you do not buy Corruption, if you can only afford the free preview, I understand. I've been that stringent with my finances before. But if you find it interesting, if you wish to support me, tell a friend. Share it on facebook. Tweet about it. Hell, even try out the new Google+ that some of you may be using now. Help me spread the word that it is out there for people to enjoy. And please, tell me if you enjoy it. I would love to hear from you.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Now Available
Corruption is now available for purchase! The first 20% of the book is free to view via smashwords, and after that it's only $4.99. Check it out here
In celebration of finally being out there to publish, today and the next four days I present to you five things you didn't know about Corruption.
1. Corruption was written entirely during the month of November, during National Novel Writing Month. To learn more about the event, you can visit the website here I have participated multiple years in NaNo, and even if the novels weren't good afterwards (they all were not), it is good practice to write daily.
In celebration of finally being out there to publish, today and the next four days I present to you five things you didn't know about Corruption.
1. Corruption was written entirely during the month of November, during National Novel Writing Month. To learn more about the event, you can visit the website here I have participated multiple years in NaNo, and even if the novels weren't good afterwards (they all were not), it is good practice to write daily.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Prologue and such
The hardest part of this blog is like the hardest part of a novel: The Beginning. That wasn't the case with Corruption, one of the few I've been writing that seemed to flow naturally. I had thought about it for weeks beforehand, envisioned it like a movie. Where I wanted each character to be, what the house looked like, what the weather would be. The first line eased into place like the first thread in a large tapestry.
"Oliver Pax loved Christmas."
Simple, easy. But something like this? This blog was more of an impulse, a test, and as I sit staring at the keyboard like a stranger that refuses to move from the middle of the sidewalk, I feel like I'm fumbling through it.
That is the advantage to novels in comparison to blogs--editing. That is where Corruption stands at the moment. Corruption is in its final edits, and should be available by July for purchase. $4.99 digital download to your computer, or to your e-reader.
Until then, let me offer you this--the quote that is the real start of Corruption.
"Religion is the sign of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of a spiritless situation. It is the opium of the people. The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for real happiness." -Karl Marx
More updates soon, hopefully with the link to the novel itself!
"Oliver Pax loved Christmas."
Simple, easy. But something like this? This blog was more of an impulse, a test, and as I sit staring at the keyboard like a stranger that refuses to move from the middle of the sidewalk, I feel like I'm fumbling through it.
That is the advantage to novels in comparison to blogs--editing. That is where Corruption stands at the moment. Corruption is in its final edits, and should be available by July for purchase. $4.99 digital download to your computer, or to your e-reader.
Until then, let me offer you this--the quote that is the real start of Corruption.
"Religion is the sign of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of a spiritless situation. It is the opium of the people. The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for real happiness." -Karl Marx
More updates soon, hopefully with the link to the novel itself!
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