Happy New Year

A year can go by so quickly, yet so much has happened in this last one. How do we manage to cram so much into every moment? So many stories to tell from the last year. So many ready to live in the next. I thank God for the chance to see what will happen and the chance to live another day.

And here, to end the year, is a silly link to a site where you can create your own motivational posters, and inspire yourself to go do great things when you don't necessarily want to get out of bed in the morning. Here's mine:


See you all next year.

I see that smile.

The art of writing

Okay, trick post title. I'm not talking about the writing craft or art itself, but more the cover art and illustrations that arise from the novels and stories out there. It takes a lot of talent to stir up the words in the head and give it some graphical legs. It's a great way to have a story come to life, aside from seeing it made into a movie.

For starters, look at the rest of my website to find a few illustrations that came along with my short story, The Soul Shop (Leading Edge magazine, October 2006). These were done up by Josh Edelglass, who has his great talent displayed at Worldview Cartoons.

Also, art can also be inspiring. Seeing a painting or an ethereal landscape seems to draw my mind out beyond the usual borders, and makes it twist in knots where the perspectives don't always line up. Here are a few links I've found of science fiction and fantasy artists who I've enjoyed browsing through their galleries, and I hope you will too. You'll also probably see some familiar book covers in these galleries, depending on what you read.

The art of M.W. Kaluta

The art of Jon Foster

The art of Michael Whelan

The art of Jacek Yerka

I see that smile.

Go Vote! and then visit these other links

The Annual SF Site Reader's Choice is now in session. Send in your emails for the best ten books released in the past year (in some way related to speculative fiction) and see the results come February-Marchish.

http://sfsite.com/columns/neil238.htm

After you've done that, check out some incredibly cool links (some of which may have nothing to do with writing...but some just might).

The Writer's Cave: Ever wonder where other writers get their work done? Here are a few pages with pictures of various authors' offices, dens, and wherever else they get to business (including Jim Butcher and Laurell K. Hamilton).

Infiltration: An incredibly cool little zine that "offers a mix of the practice and theory of urban exploration in areas not designed for public usage." In other words, how to get in and out of places you aren't supposed to be in, like abandoned hospitals, subway networks, sewer systems, etc. Yes, a lot of the sites are in Toronto, but this "creeping" practice seems to go on all over the world, including NYC. Should it worry me to find this so...attractive?

Lastly, more books! Book reviews, to be precise. FantasyBookSpot.com provides constantly updated opinions and editorials on recent speculative fiction publications, so check it out if you are looking for something good to read, or know what to avoid spending money on.

That's it for now. Return tomorrow for more words on your screen. I know you can't get enough.

I see that smile.

Strategies to make yourself write

How do you do it? How do you get your butt in that chair and make your fingers do their devilish tango? Does your chair have a seatbelt to keep you strapped in? Do you have personal servants who fan you as you write the novel that will shape the nation? Do you have an actual strategy to trip yourself into actually spilling a few words onto the page?

Mine's aren't official (think patented) but they work well enough. It's simply a matter of having one of several Ations. What is an Ation you ask? So glad you asked.

Desperation. Perspiration. Inspiration. Motivation.

Those are a few. I'm sure I could think of a few more. I suppose motivation is the most general of them. It might even be what the other three are. If I know why I'm working on a particular story (fun? editing? first draft?) then I get a clearer picture of what I need to do with it next. If I'm desperate enough to write, I will. It's honestly like an addiction attack where I get anxious and shaky until I have me a nice sit down and do the tippy-tappy with the keyboard. Some days, however, it requires brute force. I workout. I practice Shaolin kung fu. Have been for...oh, almost five years. Nice thing about it is that my mind tends to keep going long after my body squeals for mercy. So I workout until I'm exhausted and the only thing I can do then is slump in my chair and let the brain drain into ink. Inspiration is, of course, self-explanatory. That supernova burst behind the eyes that sets your veins on fire and the only way you can extend the muse-ical high is to sit down and ride it out on a wave of words and story.

Those are a few primal ways I find myself at the craft, some of the deeper channels. Now, if we're talking specific ways I focus myself on a story, well, here are a few methods of madness:

- I unplug. Internet disconnected. Cell phone off. Music playing. Door shut. Drink in hand. Sometimes diet coke, sometimes water, sometimes juice. Depends on my mood. By the time I finish shutting off, tuning out, and blocking away all the noise, I tend to find myself pretty focused and ready to go.
- I go on a writing excursion. I take myself somewhere beyond my apartment...could be a bookstore, a park in nice weather, a cafe. This becomes writing time, and I most often manage to squeeze out something during it because I'm otherwise afraid of wasting the time and disappointing my inner schedule manager (who is a crotchety ol' bugger, I'll tell you that).
- I promise myself a treat (I do this rarely). Anything from jellybeans to an hour of computer gaming to Chinese takeout to a new book. Whatever perks me up and sparkles my muse's eye.

Those are a few personal strategies that tend to work for me. Maybe they'll work for you, maybe they won't. We're all different. Want some more creative ones? Check out this link: 50 strategies for making yourself work


I see that smile.

World Wide Words- meanings and origins

The holiday vacation period is still in full swing. I'm expecting bare-bones office staffs and plenty of people still roasting their vacation days over a bonfire like so many burnt marshmallows. So let's start the back-to-blogging pace a bit slow. Nothing too heavy. Fat-free eggnog and maybe a few candy canes with the red stripes already licked off.

Here's a fun site:

World Wide Words

Ever wondered where a certain word or twist of phrase came from? As the website puts it, Word Wide Words is an exploration of "international English from a British viewpoint." It's got the rundown and origins of words that you never would've given a second thought. Why do we care about this kind of thing? Because we're writers! Our craft depends on words as much as a carpenter needs the nails to build a tree fort for the kids. Trust me, superglue doesn't work.

Why is this site so fun? Well, did you know that "hokey-pokey" originally meant an inferior type of ice cream? Throw that tidbit out next time you turn yourselves around. And that's what it's all about.


I see that smile.

Holiday travels

Made it back to see the family and girlfriend, though I literally walked off one flight and ran to the other minutes before the doors closed. Got in safe...of course the Denver airport is incredibly crowded, and there were several hundred people around the baggage carousel, so my luggage is waiting to be recovered sometime today, hopefully. But I'm here, and that's what matters. I hope you've made it where you want to be. Regular posts will resume Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on how tired I am from traveling back to NYC.

And just so you know, that picture yesterday came from Green Man Press.


I see that smile.

Holismaerychristydays to you

What could put it better than this?

As we go into the holidays, I hope everyone makes it home to see family and friends. Don't forget to take a book on the plane ride/train ride/road trip. A good book makes it go by so quickly. Or, for the writerly inclined among us, that laptop or notepad to jot down those scenes and inspirations bound to come our way. I'm flying out to Denver this evening and may get the chance to throw another post or two up over the weekend. If not, I'll be back at it next Tuesday-ish.

I see that smile.

Ending Book Promotion 101 for now

Here is a last pair of links focused on ways to promote your book, your authorship, and getting people out there to sit up and go, "Hey...might be something worth reading here."

Starting with:
Book Promotion 101- Now, this is a paid site if you want their full consulting services and workshops. But browse through the links and general info for a rather large list of behaviors, advice, and general common-sense-that-isn't-always-common-sense type tips for everything from book signings to public speeches.

Your Professional Blog- A brief post (and the one before it) discussing the decision to start a blog and how you can keep focused on what that blog is supposed to be, rather than forcing your readers to wade through posts about your dogs all-night flatulence and why you love mint ice cream so much.

And on the magazine front- good news! Leading Edge magazine, whose website was a bit bogged down and out of date, is revamping. Their new look will go live in January, and in the meantime you can order their newest issue (October 2006- #52) which has "The Soul Shop" in it, a story by yours truly about life, love, the meaning of the universe and cuddly kittens....

....Okay, it's actually about a marketing/price war with the Devil, but the meaning of the universe could be hidden in there. You'll have to read it to find out!


I see that smile.

More on book publicity

For nothing other than Oh-lookee! appeal, here is the link for a few pictures of the upcoming Stardust movie. I can't wait.

On to your regularly schedule blogging. We're on a publicity kick here, folks. At least, I am. For some reason, I love researching this kind of thing. So here's Bookseller Chick's thoughts on Book Pub 101- how to get the word out about your book. And, seeing as she is actually one of those people who might help people find your book once it's on the shelf, pay attention. She knows of what she speaketh.

http://booksellerchick.blogspot.com/2006/01/book-sense-101-publicity-in-end-you.html

Among her tips are ways to make friends with the employees at the bookstores, such as, well...being friendly. A smile goes a long way, even when it's been a rough day and no one has shown up for the signing. You're a human being and so are they. Learn a little customer service and the ability (if you have to) fake being nice when you really just want to carpe jugular.

Ooh...she even gives a potentially illegal suggestion on how to spread the word of your book by piggybacking other authors. So, for anyone who likes the shady dealings, give 'er a reading. The best place to learn the facts about the business are from those who make this business their life.

Why this focus on publicity? The simple fact is that writing the book is only half the work. That is the craft side. This business side of publishing requires a whole other set of skills...knowing how to spread the word, networking, being willing to push your name and face out into the open and chase people down with a bullhorn, shouting your title all the while. If no one knows about your book, what makes you think they're going to buy it? And the personal touch is what I believe makes the biggest difference of all. People will remember you, whether you are nice or a grump. That perception will affect how they view your writing too and whether they recommend you to their family and friends (word of mouth! crucial!) and look for your next book when it comes out. For me, I'm enjoying this whole process of working on the website and building this blog. I've met some great folks already, other writers, fans of the genre, you name it. Even little steps will add up to a goodly distance if you give it time.


I see that smile.

Book publicity checklist

While sifting through the archives of several blogs that I now frequent, I came across a number of postings that deliberated the many ways an author can go about promoting their upcoming book. Some of these posts tell horror stories about book signings where the author showed up to find that, not only had no preparations been made for the actual event, but that the bookstore itself had no copies of the book to sell! Seems almost every author has this kind of story to tell, whether it's a fiasco at a convention, conference, or otherwise.

But those teensy awkward moments aside, such signings, conference attendances and the like are part of the process of getting the word out there...specifically this word: BUY!

Or, if you want to get a little more specific and grant me two more words: Buy my book! (some people would include "friggin" in there, but obviously I only had a three word allowance)
So I'm going to put the occasional post up to reference these articles so that we might share the wisdom of those that have gone before and left little piles of rocks and snapped tree branches to show us the way. The trail can get rocky, foggy, and wolves can nip at our heels...but that's all part of the joy of writing, right?

First up, a personal favorite who will soon be added to my webpage author list, David Louis Edelman, author of Infoquake (buy itttt...it will eat your brains, but still...buy itttt). Here are his posts.

How I Promoted My Book
How I Promoted My Book, Part 2

This guy is very comprehensive. He breaks his efforts into three categories:
- Promotional efforts that he believes made a difference.
- Promotional efforts that might have made a difference, but who can tell?
- Promotional efforts that made no discernable difference.

The top item that he recommends is, of course, building a website and blog well in advance of a book actually coming out. Woohoo, I'm on my way. You'll also notice that he talks about trying to get his publishers to put ads into his book. I mentioned both my and his response to this potential future fad of marketing in this previous post. Lots of meaty material and ideas in these articles, so dig in. Read away even if you don't have a book coming out anytime soon. It's never too early to plant these ideas and let them set roots.


I see that smile.

Tis the season to take a break?

Working in the publishing industry myself (albeit for not yet six months now) I have come to see at least a few seasonal patterns. There are certain times during the year that people just aren't going to be around the office that much, or, even if they are, they're going to be so stressed out and crammed for time that they won't have much of a chance or desire to deal with queries and other such submissions. This is commented on by BookEnds, LLC, A literary agency in their holiday slump post. Their recommendations cover this Christmas period and also extends to the upcoming January. They say:

"And a little tip for those querying agents. Stop. December might not be all that slow when it comes to sales, but agents are looking to wind down the year and might not be as eager as you would like them to be to read new submissions. If I were you I’d wait until February 1. Let everyone else inundate them in January, when they are too busy opening the mail to actually read it, and you can hit them in February when they finally feel caught up and might be able to actually sit and read the letters as they open them."

What to do during the holidays, if not query and submit and file rejection letters? It doesn't mean you should stop writing, most certainly not. But maybe this can be a great time to pull out an older story and give it a good ol' revision, complete with hacksaws and varnish.


I see that smile.

Your writing and your job

What do you do when you aren't writing? How do you pay the bills? Is your job something you do just to support your writing habit or is writing what you do to escape from the daily spin?

I'm extremely grateful for the job I have. I work in publishing, doing anything from copywriting, proofreading, working with freelancers and a whole range of things. I love the perspective the job gives me and will enjoy seeing where it takes me. Plus when you work in publishing you tend to get a lot of free books, which, for a bibliophile like myself, is like...

....give me a minute...I'm trying to think of some example that doesn't involve the term "Candyland."

Anyways, here's a fun post I found on author Alison Kent's blog about how she actually found that she couldn't write at home...that she needed a job to get her away from the distractions sitting around the house.

Writing with a Day Job

On a tangent to this line of thought, some people claim that working a job that requires a lot of close contact with the written word is dangerous to one's desire to actually get published. It can burn out your desire to write, or induce writer's block because, supposedly, we only have so many words (spoken and written) that we tend to produce in a day. So if someone, like me, spends the day at work writing copy and such, then when I get home and set myself to a story, I won't have as much mental energy.

(Other people wonder why I haven't wrangled my "inside" contacts to get published. More on that in a later post, methinks.)

Personally, I find being a literary environment only inspires me further, plus it gives me all sorts of hands-on examples of good/mediocre/bad/superstar authors and writing styles, so even when I'm proofreading and the like, I can ask myself, "Why does this read so well?" or "How can I make sure I don't write this badly?"

What about you all? What do you away from the keyboard (notepad, etch-a-sketch, whatever)? Of course, the dream is to make these mega-million bestsellers and to be able to do nothing but write fulltime. But I almost wonder if I wouldn't still need something to anchor me to the outside world.


I see that smile.

A story...of attempted credit card fraud

Here's just a fun little side story for the day. I woke up this morning to a phone call from a Capital One credit card rep. Now, I know how much everyone loves hearing from credit card companies and banks, especially since most of the time they are calling to offer your wonderful whizzy-bang deals and all that. So you can guess my excitement at hearing who was on the other end.

Here's where it gets fun though. Apparently this was the fraud-detection side of the company. Seems that several odd charges were put to my card yesterday to the tune of several thousand dollars, including 700$ at Macy's, and a couple hundred at Skechers. I'm sitting here listening to them rattling off a list of charges while staring at the card I'm holding in my hand. Fortunately, to avoid being many bucks into bust, all I have to do is sign an affidavit claiming I made no such charges. I mean, I did get a piece of pizza for lunch...but that was 3$! Methinks someone did a little bit o' Christmas shopping at my expense. I do wonder what would've happened if they had put several hundred dollars down at Barnes and Noble. That might not have looked all that unusual.

Anyways, I am very happy that they caught this and didn't actually process the payments. I don't quite know how it works for every credit card company, but some I know require you to actually call them and specifically activate the fraud-watch over your account to keep an eye out for aberrant purchases. I started this up when I went to Italy last February, and I guess it has just been running in the background ever since. So if you haven't done that for your account, take a little lesson from the guy whose 3$ slice of pizza turned into 700$ at Macy's.


I see that smile.

The cycle of reading and writing

Here's my theory. Actually, it's less a theory and more an observation from my own habits. Reading and writing are cyclical, and they orbit around what is going in one's life at the time. Maybe this is obvious to most people and I'm just now beginning to realize it. However, you see it in the ways that you return to a book you read years ago, and suddenly that book opens to you in a whole new way. You interpret it with your present emotions, the conflicts that are going on at work or in your relationships. Maybe your lens of perception has been cracked or cleaned lately, and you see something in the story that you never noticed...or you see some aspect of the characters that never meant anything to you before. You relate now, and the story becomes all the more powerful.

Writing is the same. Not only do we grow in skill the more we write, we simply grow--at least, that is the hope. Writing forces us to grow, because it forces us to dig into ourselves and see how deep past the surface our thoughts and emotions go, because that's where the inspiration and passion comes from that infuses our writing. Sure, that kind of thing also comes from outside, from other's lives and world events. But in writing, all those things get funneled through us, and so are influenced by who we are. What if we look at ourselves and realize we are stuck in a rut? What if are going through emotional turmoil? What if everything is going splendidly and the world is our bivalve mollusk? Then our writing is going to reflect that. A book, a story...these things are a strange combination of mirrors and cameras. We writers see ourselves in them, in whatever shadowy reflection we know, but it also captures us and shows our face to the world so they see us in them as well. For a brief time, as they are reading our words, our face is interposed over theirs and they live and see through our lens of perception, however dark or bright it may be.

And so we move on, and writing inspires us to live and read so we can see through other eyes, and we then see so much we feel that undeniable impulse to let the words flow out so others can see what we have seen...and then it's their turn to live.

I hope this makes sense. Again, maybe it's something entirely obvious to you, one of those common sense things that few people actually think through. Why think through something that's common sense? Because common sense seems to be so rare these days.

Anyways, to end, here are some links listing some books of note. The first is the Science Fiction Book Club's list of the top 50 science fiction and fantasy books (of all time, of course). The second is the New York Time's list of top 10 books of 2006...no particular genre. Have at it.

http://www.sfbc.com/doc/content/sitelets/FSE_Sitelet_Theme_2.jhtml?SID=nmsfctop50

http://www.nytimes.com/ref/books/review/20061210tenbestbooks.html?8bu&emc=bu


I see that smile.

Assorted Publishing Facts

From Dan Simmons' forums, here are some interesting facts regarding the ongoing state of the publishing industry:

Approximately 25,000 manuscripts are rejected for every book that gets published.

In the United States, only about 500 authors are able to earn a living just by writing fiction.

The rest of the published novelists find that their book income keeps them below the poverty level, forcing them to work another job.

The typical advance for a first novel is less than $10,000.

More than half of the books published bring in no money beyond the advance.

Over 50% of novelists hold a graduate degree, but no advanced degree or certification can guarantee a manuscript sale.

Here's the original post:
A collection of publishing facts

Check out the link for the actual articles and blogs that surrendered such information as listed above. Is it sobering? Knew it already? Don't really care? Let me know what you think.

I see that smile.

The Dresden Files- Coming to the SciFi Channel

If you like wizards and magic, but maybe aren't such a huge fan of medieval fantasies, or other "old world" type settings, you ought to check out Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files series, featuring Harry Dresden, Chicago's only wizard-for-hire, who delves into the nitty-gritty underworld (of both real life and faerie realms) to solve crimes and save the day. There are (how many? I ask my inner self- nine? You sure? Okay) nine books so far in the series, and each one gets better and better. Start with Storm Front if you want to start in on the ground floor and work your way up from there. Awesome stories. You won't regret it. Great writing, strong humor and intense action (with all sorts of pretty twisty-topsy-turvy-ooh-look-shiny plots thrown in).

And hopefully none of us will regret the book series being turned into a television series on the SciFi Channel. Yes, we all know that turning a book or series of books into a film version can often screw up the characters, the world, the artistic vision and all that. However, after checking out the trailer for the series, which starts up early 2007, I am very excited to see it. I'm not one to watch a lot of television myself, considering that it takes away from writing time, but this just might be a show I'll have to schedule in each week. Check it out.

The Dresden Files series preview


I see that smile.

The check is in the mail

And the mail is in my hands. Shimmer magazine's contract and payment for "Even Songbirds are Kept in Cages" arrived today. That was a lot faster than I anticipated, not that I'm complaining. I guess I've just gotten used to the long response times one tends to get when working within the publishing business. Even with places starting to take email queries and the like...it's not as if technology provides us any more free time or makes less work...it just makes the process faster and more efficient (not necessarily the same thing) so we have more time in the day to do more stuff.

If you ever wonder what it is that takes up so much of an agent or editor's time (thus requiring weeks, if not months between submissions and responses) then just check out some of the blog links I have on this page that are run by agents. Quite a few out there, but browse through some of the archives and sooner or later most will have a few blog runs that list what they do throughout the day. After reading a bit, you'll get a good sense of how hectic their lives are, and admire them for it (if not be gripped by the sudden urge to offer them foot rubs and fresh baked cookies). Anyone on the receiving end of queries and story submissions, whether an agent, magazine/book editor, etc. is flooded every day with material they must sift through. Most of these people have assistants whose entire job it is to filter out the "meh" material from the "not-so-meh." Do you have a hard time keeping up with all your email contacts? Imagine getting hundreds of emails a week, if not daily, and needing to respond to every single one of them...even if it's just a "No."

These people likely fund the entire coffee industry. I don't understand how they get the time to blog, but I think it has something to do with cloning or time travel. Anyways, applaud them, one and all, offer them backrubs and fresh cookies, and don't get too antsy while camping out at the mailbox for weeks, waiting for a form letter reply. That way you can be pleasantly surprised when something does a whip-snap return time.


I see that smile.

Sobering inspiration

I want to encourage other people's writing. I really do. This is why I put up a lot of these links, advice sights, etc. I share your desire to see the writing craft improved upon. For those of you who read this blog and don't write...well, maybe you read, and so I'm trying to help any books that I or others put into circulation to be the best they possibly can be.

It is with this in mind that I present a critical piece of advice by way of the following article:

Persevere

The odds against your and my getting published can look staggering at times. The slush piles are thick. Publishers and editors tell us that publishing is a business, but at the same time we know that if we pursue writing for the sake of money, it's pointless and we'd just get burnt out. You must love it. It must be your craft, something you are devoted to in the spare minutes of the day. Does it actually require this dedication, you wonder? You betcha. I know, I don't even have a book on the market. Who am I to give this kind of advice? Since day one, I've tried to take a realistic approach to what I hope to be a writing career. I know it'll take a while to build up. I know the hourly wage is lousy. After almost five years of working on my writing, I have yet to rack up more than a hundred bucks in payment. If you count the money I've doled out for books, conferences, etc., I'm pretty far in the hole. But if someone could prove to me today that I will never get published ever in my life, would I stop? No. I don't say that out of any bravado or high-falutin' artistic dogma. It's just the truth. I love it too much. In some strange way, I see this life a bit clearer through ink-smeared glasses.

I do my best to persevere, despite the odds. My hope and prayer is the odds will get slimmer each day, and I will eventually beat them. If you are writing for fame and fortune, set down the pen and walk away. Please. Otherwise, let's take the next step, and then the next, until we see what's around that corner up ahead. This should be fun.


I see that smile.

Should books be commercials?

David Louis Edelman discusses a lot of the marketing techniques he used to spread word of his novel, Infoquake, which is turning into quite a critically acclaimed hit. In one of his blogs, he mentions that he tried to convince his publisher to sell advertisements in the novel itself. This topic was also talked about by this article in the LA Times.

I guess the main pros would be more money and exposure for the writer, branding and name recognition, etc.

Personally, I wouldn't want it in my work because I can easily imagine myself reading a book and coming across the ad and being turned off by it entirely. Therefore I don't want to subject my future readers to the same thing. Now, I realize these aren't ads that would appear halfway through a paragraph of the plot twists or ending. Label me a purist if you must, but my thinking is that if we've gone so far as to create a whole level of technology designed to skip commercials on T.V. or block pop-up ads online, that people aren't exactly going to enjoy having their reading experience invaded as well.

Would you want ads in your novel, whether one you've written or one you're reading? What if it got you a larger print run or made you more recognizable in the market? What if the advertising money meant your advance was bigger, or you got royalties faster?


I see that smile.

The Chronicles of George

Quick post today. I never realized anything could send me into fits of giggles anymore. And it's probably sad that what sparked such uncontrollable mirth is a collection of badly written error messages and technical jargon. Am I a nerd or what?

The link below tells the tale of a man who oversaw a technical support call center. "George" is one of the people who worked at the helpdesk, and when he couldn't solve a technical problem, would write up a ticket detailing the problem and pass it on to the next level. The hilarity ensues when one realizes how incredibly awful this guy's grasp of the English language is. I know, it doesn't sound too funny...but just read a few and you'll start chuckling. (Either that, or you can email me and confirm how much I have been corrupted by geek humor)

The Chronicles of George

I also would love to hear if anyone has stories about working with others who maintain this level of incompetence. There's something morbidly fascinating and funny about it.


I see that smile.

Contest submissions and editing advice

Aside from actually sign a book contract, there are plenty of other ways of getting your writing out and about. If you write short stories, obviously one way is to submit to magazines, which is another side of the industry altogether and deserves quite a few blogging posts to cover thoroughly. Short stories can build up a few "Yes, I am actually a writer" credentials you can then put on your writing resume (in a manner of speaking). I've gotten a couple pieces picked up this way, and it is nice to have something to show and experiment with different forms of prose.

Another way of getting noticed is by entering writing contests. My Bards manuscript took first in the fantasy/science fiction category at the 2006 Pike's Peak Writers conference contest. That certainly hasn't hurt its chances any. But contests, like anything, have their pros and cons.

Pros:
Placing or winning contests can directly connect you to agents and editors who will hopefully be interested in your work.
Credentials for your writing resume.
The ability to call yourself an award-winning author.
Some contests will give you feedback on what you entered, though this can be an extra service.
There is always some contest going on somewhere, and submitting to a contest doesn't keep you submitting the work to other markets.

Cons:
Depending on how big the contest is, the chance of winning can be slimmer than actually getting the piece published in the first place through normal channels.
Some contests have entry fees. Be careful with these and make sure the fees are not disproportionate to the actual rewards. (Think scams! Check out my blog and website links for sites and advice on how to spot scams!)
Winning a contest certainly doesn't guarantee getting published, or even getting an agent. The agent who I talked to at the conference and sent my materials too passed on it (though she gave some great feedback).

So, if you are considering entering contests, check out the following link for more thoughts on preparing your work and deciding what contests might work best for you. And lastly, research! Compare contests so you get an idea what is worth pursuing and what isn't. Doing a little research on any place you are submitting any piece of writing (whether it's too a contest, a literary agency, a magazine, a publisher, whatever) will help. Trust me.

Before You Enter that Fiction Contest

Last thoughts: I've heard tell from people who actually judge contests (editors, agents, etc.) who say that a lot of submissions that win contests aren't actually publishable. They're just the cream of the crap that got submitted. So, if you put just as much effort into a contest submission as the manuscript you have been shopping around, then you might have a better chance of rising above the crowd and deserving that first place prize.


I see that smile.

Fight scenes and sore legs

I've been a martial arts practitioner for about five years now, though I did have to take a break when I came out to New York this summer. I just now found a branch of the school back in Denver that is also established out here, and so went to a class last night to hopefully start back up. Waking up today involvd having my legs scream at me..."What did you do to us!" Ah, well. I'm glad to get back into this, as it's a great way to dust myself off from sitting at a desk. For anyone interested, I study Shaolin Kung-fu with this school: www.shao-lin.com

And the branch I went to here in NYC can be found at this site:

http://www.newyorkshaolin.com/home.html

Turns out I'm one of two black belts (not including the instructor, and the school here has only been around a year now), though there are several brown belts getting ready to test up. It's a great style, as it has so much variety to it, is very applicable if you ever got in a true fight situation, and is a system you can advance in at whatever pace you feel comfortable with. Anyways, I thought I might segue from this topic into a few comments about writing fight scenes, as I've sometimes drawn from my practice to add some realism and detail to literary brawls (and no, I'm not talking about what happens at happy hour after writing conferences).

First, use shorter sentences and break the prose up into bite-sized pieces to give the illusion of a lot of action happening fast. For instance:

"He grabbed. Missed. A fist caught him in the gut. Stumbling, he whacked his head against the wall."

Also, know when to summarize. Say you're writing a sword-fighting scene. Too much detail of the sword angles, exactly where the person is attacking, and how shiny they are will bore a reader. Sometimes a simple sum-up will do. For instance:

"Equally matched, they traded blocks and blows while trying to force the other toward the cliff edge."

Yes, you could draw that kind of scene out into a couple of pages. There are people who put that kind of detail into their stories, especially in fantasies where you have uber-cool, sword master type characters. But again, too much of that turns into bland filler. The real question is what approach is going to be best for the pace of the story? If a good paragraph of agonizing detail will ratchet up the tension, go for it. However, if you start into the, "He punched him hard. He punched him back really, really hard," territory, Warning, Warning!


I see that smile.

Two artistic masterminds

Did you see the movie Mirrormask when it came out in theaters? If not, I highly recommend grabbing a DVD copy, and possibly a copy of the soundtrack as well. It is a gorgeous piece of art masquerading as a film, with a whimsical, yet slightly twisted story. Just how I like it. Written by Neil Gaiman with the art done up by Dave McKean.

Now, McKean has produced 33 original Mirromask drawings, pulling from characters and scenes from the movie and its intriguing style. Seen here:

Mirrormask Art

Both of these gentlemen are quite the cult icons for the art and storytelling. If you have yet to delve into their world, then you are in for a treat. Any story by Gaiman is worth the read, and McKean's artistic flair seems eerily fitting for any and all of their partnerships throughout the years. Start checking their material out on the web and you might be amazed by what you find.

To start you off, recommended reading by Neil Gaiman is listed below:

Stardust (being made into a movie!)

American Gods

Anansi Boys

Neverwhere

and of course, his Sandman series of graphic novels.


I see that smile.

Some great articles on Speculative Fiction

As a reminder to those who need reminding (see how that works?) Speculative Fiction is that overarching genre label that draws Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Supernatural fiction, etc. under its very broad wings. Below these distinctions, one finds romantic fantasies, hard versus soft science fiction, urban/modern fantasy…and the list goes on forever more. Usually the easiest way to tell whether you are reading science fiction or fantasy (aside from spaceships versus dragons showing up in the plot, which doesn't actually guarantee one or the other, nowadays) is whether some form of magic is central to the story, or some form of technology. You get magic- that's fantasy. You get technology- that's science fiction. You get both...that's another subgenre altogether. Anyways, that is a very distilled argument for the forms, and you will find people who draw more genre lines than a charcoal sketch of a spider web.

All this yammering on my part is to showcase the following link, which is a wonderful gathering of articles and essays discussing the various elements of writing speculative fiction, world-building, the use of technology or magical realism, a basic guide to horror, and so on.

http://www.writing-world.com/sf/

Don't know some of those terms? Haven't built a world yet? Then this is a great starting point, plus a good reminder link to come back to every now and then, just so the ideas and wisdom found here stays fresh in the brain. I hope you find it as useful and advice-filled as I did.


I see that smile.

On editing your own work

There are two extremes here to revising a story. Either you think your work is genius and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it whatsoever, or you think it's crap, and there is no redeeming value in anything you have ever written...ever. So let's back up a step before you either relegate your latest story to the marble pedestal of awe or the dung heap of craphood. What's the purpose of revising a now rough-drafted story?

I'm working on one right now, a story I haven't touched in almost two years and decided to see if it is salvageable. Yeesh. I hope it's a sign that I've improved since I wrote it, because this is going to take a lot of work. Lots and lots. Aside from getting a story into publishable shape, revising also helps one to sharpen your editorial focus, learning to see the common flaws and reshape the text with the skills one has hopefully picked up since your last effort. This is admittedly hard for any writer, since we write with our noses so close to the page. We go cross-eyed reading our own stuff over and over. This is why it is critical to get outside, objective feedback (which is another discussion for another blog). But the next best thing is giving yourself some time and distance between finishing the draft and coming back with the intent to edit. It could be a couple days, a week, or a couple months before you decide you are finally detached enough to rev up the editorial chainsaw and hack off all the dead weight dragging your story down.

Here are some of the questions I ask myself when coming to this point:
1. Is this sentence/paragraph/chapter/scene necessary? Does it drive the story onward, or could it be cut without making any difference to the plot flow?
2. How much have I written in the passive tense, and how best can I edit out the passive verbs (like "was," "had been," etc.)
3. Are there any characters that can be combined, or cut entirely to tighten the story?
4. Are there any subplots (or even sections of the overall plot) that can be cut to benefit the story?
5. Are there any sections that become too slow-paced or boring?

That's a few of a long list I review when I cast a critical eye over a rough draft. My next step is this: I dedicate that by the time I have finished editing the manuscript, its word count will have dropped by at least 15%. Several times I have walloped off 25%. Once this is done, I usually have a much better sense of the story's weaknesses and strengths, its slow points, and the sections I need to beef up. I can now make better plot connections, deepen character motivation, and hopefully put some muscle on the bare bones.

There is a common quote that "All writing is rewriting." This is true. That first draft is just to get the story onto the paper so you actually have something to grab hold of and rewrite. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go fire up the chainsaw and lop off a few unnecessary scenes.


I see that smile.

Understanding book advances

I blogged a little earlier about the motivations that spur people on to write, and that there are more and more writers every day, gushing books into the market in and overwhelming rate. One of those potential motivations was writing for money. Making the big bucks with six figure advances and world-wide tours, television interviews and

Does this sort of thing happen? Sure, sometimes. Should you count on it to kick-start your writing career, especially if you are like me and still working to get that first book into the public eye? No.

My writing-for-money bubble burst a long time ago, I'd like to think, and if any other writers are out there thinking that writing is their key to wealth and hot tub bubble baths in the back of limousines, check the following articles and prepare to swallow a little taste of reality. It's not as bitter as it sounds. It's just something to make you question if writing is still what you want to pursue the rest of your life. (I can still say yes)

First Novel Advances

More on First Novel Advances

What to never write

Quiet day. Here are a few quick links that help us avoid clichés and overused jargon.

The Book of clichés list phrases to say in times of trouble. Just repeat until you believe them. The sad thing is, how often do you find yourself saying these quotes?

Banned for life is a blog that updates with words and phrases that our culture has sucked the life out of, and therefore should never be spoken again (or at least until they've been given some time to recuperate). These phrases and words are especially gleaned from today's news reports. Think "weapons of mass destruction" and so on. Plus it has a great set of links for other sites that list clichés. The easiest way to avoid sticking them in your stories is to recognize when you've written one.

As Banned for life quotes: "Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print." --George Orwell

Wisdom any writer should take to heart.


I see that smile.

Authorgeddon

Here's an article I dug up that, while put out last year, still marks a supposed trend in the publishing industry. Apparently, by the year 2052, the number of Americans who write books will outnumber those who read them.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/20051520/6/prwebxml246822.php

This makes me wonder what the motivation is behind all those books. What's my motivation, anyways? I want to use the gifts I've been given to the best of my ability. That's one reason. Another is simply the fact that I love writing. It's what I get up to do every day and there are few things as fulfilling than seeing a story get better with each revision. I long ago accepted that I wasn't doing this for the money. No writer should have that reason as the focus, because it will only end up disappointing in the end. I'll put up some links later on first-time advances that writers tend to get on book deals, plus advice on why six-figure advances on that first book may not be the best thing for your career.

So, are people writing this glut of books for money? Some are, sure. Are others pursuing that calling of, "Wow, I've always wanted to write a book. Let's see if I can"? Maybe so. Everyone has their reasons. What are yours?

And yes, for any conspiracy theorists out there, we writers are going to take over the world. The entire economy is going to revolve around our book advances, and the stock market is going to fluctuate along with the New York Times bestseller list. So start digging your bomb bunkers and bookshelves now, because we're coming for you!

I see that smile.

Dan Simmons on Writing Well

Dan Simmons, aside from being an amazing writer of science fiction (among other genres), is also of the school of mind that writing is a craft that can be taught. That is, writing well. There are those who say writing is an innate talent. You either have it or you don't, and if you don't, well...maybe you'll get published by luck and your success will be a fluke of the publishing industry.

However, Simmons has spent many years working to prove this perspective wrong, both by working to further his own writing skill, as well as teaching others how to write well.

http://www.dansimmons.com/writing_welll/archive/2006_01.htm

Having had the chance to read several of his amazing science fiction epics, Olympos and Ilium, as well as getting the chance to hear him speak at the Pike's Peak Writers conference earlier this year, I can attest that he is an incredible writer and knows well what he teaches. Check out his website and the forums, which are always full of interesting conversations and arguments over the state of modern writing and literature. Plenty of material to sift through, lots of great advice that is thought-provoking, controversial, and inspirational.

My brief opinion on this topic is that yes, one can be taught to write well. It is a craft, and while some do start out with a certain gift, most people have to learn what tools to use, how and when to use them, and so on. Some are going to be better than others, just in the same way that some folks are born able to play masterpieces on the piano, some learn to play masterpieces after decades of practice, and some (like myself) put a piano out of tune just by being in the same room with it. It takes all types.


I see that smile.