Thursday, October 29, 2009
A Secret History
"Let's face it, the SF Ghetto was constructed from the inside out and zealously maintained from within." At io9, an article on James Patrick Kelly and John Kessel's new anthology The Secret History of Science Fiction (Tachyon, 2009).
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Smart Things (Updated)
Heyo, I wanted to put up a couple of smart thing links before I go out the door to St. Louis. I think that when I get back I will finally be able to get back on the blogging band wagon and do some travel posts and some writing posts and the like. See you then...oh, right the smart things.
My friend Beth Hanggeli saying smart things about being a writer and showing off your work. Also, off the topic of writing, wise things about lasts.
And Michael Stackpole dissects Cory Doctorow's "experiment" in publishing, or, it's really not an experiment at all, just another clever promotional tool. Part II, on ebooks in general.
Update: Snurched from Alex Bledsoe, Agent Nathan Bransford lots of big (maybe*) scary news from the etailing side of publishing.
*Depends at least in part on whether you're already or expect to be a hardcover author.
My friend Beth Hanggeli saying smart things about being a writer and showing off your work. Also, off the topic of writing, wise things about lasts.
And Michael Stackpole dissects Cory Doctorow's "experiment" in publishing, or, it's really not an experiment at all, just another clever promotional tool. Part II, on ebooks in general.
Update: Snurched from Alex Bledsoe, Agent Nathan Bransford lots of big (maybe*) scary news from the etailing side of publishing.
*Depends at least in part on whether you're already or expect to be a hardcover author.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Scotland pics
As most of you know I'm just back from Scotland. In fact, pictures have been requested. I've currently got them up at Facebook. This post is by way of an experiment that should make them visible to anyone via these links.
Glasgow and Dalkeith.
Highlands and Skye.
Highlands and Eilean Donan Castle
Edinburgh big picture.
Edinburgh bits and pieces.
Falkirk Wheel and Linlithgow Palace.
Dr. Who Exhibit (Glasgow).
The flight home: aerial shots of Greenland
Glasgow and Dalkeith.
Highlands and Skye.
Highlands and Eilean Donan Castle
Edinburgh big picture.
Edinburgh bits and pieces.
Falkirk Wheel and Linlithgow Palace.
Dr. Who Exhibit (Glasgow).
The flight home: aerial shots of Greenland
Monday, October 26, 2009
Monday Morning, WIP
What are you all up to on this fine, gray day?
Me, I'm drinking a bit of coffee and getting ready to head out for a day of writing (revising, really,) with some fellow Wyrdsmiths. I have a few more days before the revisions for Tate's last Garnet book is due at the publisher and I'll likely need them. I've discovered that a lot of what was okay for a book in the middle of a series doesn't fly for the last one. So I've been kept busy tying off loose ends and such.
Then I really need to update my web pages with new cover arts and such as well as get back to work on RESURRECTION CODE, which I'm ridiculously over deadline for.
Me, I'm drinking a bit of coffee and getting ready to head out for a day of writing (revising, really,) with some fellow Wyrdsmiths. I have a few more days before the revisions for Tate's last Garnet book is due at the publisher and I'll likely need them. I've discovered that a lot of what was okay for a book in the middle of a series doesn't fly for the last one. So I've been kept busy tying off loose ends and such.
Then I really need to update my web pages with new cover arts and such as well as get back to work on RESURRECTION CODE, which I'm ridiculously over deadline for.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Scotland Jet Lag Belated Cat Blogging
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Fear and Writing
I finally got around to looking through some of the "Smart Things" Kelly posted yesterday, and wanted to riff a little on what Jim C. Hines has to say about "Writer Envy.".
As all the Wyrdsmiths will readily tell you, I'm very a very jealous/envious colleague. We've institutionalized dealing with our feelings of envy at Wyrdsmiths, as it were, by making it a rule that who ever sells (a short story or a novel) must buy everyone coffee at the next meeting. I think that helps if, for no other reason, it makes it okay for people to express a bit of the envy we all feel for one night, and then be done with it.
But I think one thing that Hines didn't talk about in his short post is how much fear has to do with the envy. Perhaps that may be because it isn't true for him. But I know that for me, when I hear about someone else's success I always wonder: "whose spot did s/he take?" "Am I going to get the axe because so-and-so got the deal?"
The hardest part is that those fears are not unfounded. I've been a professional writer since 1999, which I guess makes it a decade now, and, in that time, I've seen writers' careers soar and crash. There are colleagues of mine whose debut books I loved that are no longer writing, professionally or otherwise. I, myself, have been through remaindered books, career/name changes, and "sorry, but your series is dead" (that last one, now twice.) There is simply a lot of fear you face as a professional writer. There are no guarantees that what you have today will be there tomorrow. It's not like it was thirty or forty years ago, when once you became a "name," you were in for life. (Of course, that might all just be a myth we writers tell ourselves about the golden age, too. Because things were always better BEFORE.)
The point is, that every time a colleague gets a starred review in Publisher's Weekly, as Hines talks about, you do feel a stab. For me, the first is envy. The second is fear. Because I think about the trajectory of my own career and start to wonder... if I don't get a starred review, what will happen to me?
I've been thinking about this a lot because I was complaining about something or other about the writing business to the people who work at my favorite coffee shop and their response was, "Well, you shouldn't put up with that!" And I said, listen, you don't understand. There are three million people ready and willing to take my job. There's no functional writers' union to complain to -- though you can complain all you want, getting action is another matter. Writers are very much often at the mercy of the publishing house in ways that most other professionals aren't. Most of the time, we just have to shrug and say, "That's the way it is."
This adds tremendously to the fear and leads, IMHO, to the envy.
I feel like I should end this post with a solution of some kind, but I don't have one. Except to say that writing is a tough business. I think that knowing that before you go into it will help you. I know that having heard some of this before I got my first contract helped me weather the ups and downs. Because once you hear what all your colleagues have to put up with you're reminded you're not in this alone. There will be fallow periods. There will be contract disasters and career hiccups. But, god/dess willing, you will survive to fight another day.
Then someone can be jealous of *you*.
As all the Wyrdsmiths will readily tell you, I'm very a very jealous/envious colleague. We've institutionalized dealing with our feelings of envy at Wyrdsmiths, as it were, by making it a rule that who ever sells (a short story or a novel) must buy everyone coffee at the next meeting. I think that helps if, for no other reason, it makes it okay for people to express a bit of the envy we all feel for one night, and then be done with it.
But I think one thing that Hines didn't talk about in his short post is how much fear has to do with the envy. Perhaps that may be because it isn't true for him. But I know that for me, when I hear about someone else's success I always wonder: "whose spot did s/he take?" "Am I going to get the axe because so-and-so got the deal?"
The hardest part is that those fears are not unfounded. I've been a professional writer since 1999, which I guess makes it a decade now, and, in that time, I've seen writers' careers soar and crash. There are colleagues of mine whose debut books I loved that are no longer writing, professionally or otherwise. I, myself, have been through remaindered books, career/name changes, and "sorry, but your series is dead" (that last one, now twice.) There is simply a lot of fear you face as a professional writer. There are no guarantees that what you have today will be there tomorrow. It's not like it was thirty or forty years ago, when once you became a "name," you were in for life. (Of course, that might all just be a myth we writers tell ourselves about the golden age, too. Because things were always better BEFORE.)
The point is, that every time a colleague gets a starred review in Publisher's Weekly, as Hines talks about, you do feel a stab. For me, the first is envy. The second is fear. Because I think about the trajectory of my own career and start to wonder... if I don't get a starred review, what will happen to me?
I've been thinking about this a lot because I was complaining about something or other about the writing business to the people who work at my favorite coffee shop and their response was, "Well, you shouldn't put up with that!" And I said, listen, you don't understand. There are three million people ready and willing to take my job. There's no functional writers' union to complain to -- though you can complain all you want, getting action is another matter. Writers are very much often at the mercy of the publishing house in ways that most other professionals aren't. Most of the time, we just have to shrug and say, "That's the way it is."
This adds tremendously to the fear and leads, IMHO, to the envy.
I feel like I should end this post with a solution of some kind, but I don't have one. Except to say that writing is a tough business. I think that knowing that before you go into it will help you. I know that having heard some of this before I got my first contract helped me weather the ups and downs. Because once you hear what all your colleagues have to put up with you're reminded you're not in this alone. There will be fallow periods. There will be contract disasters and career hiccups. But, god/dess willing, you will survive to fight another day.
Then someone can be jealous of *you*.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Smart Things and General Updatery
I'm trying to get caught up on 2 weeks of being disconnected whilst in Scotland. I need to do some blogging on that and other things but that's going to have to wait until the book is back to my editor. Did I mention that I got my revision letter the day I got home. Fortunately, while it's not quite the "I'm going to send this straight on to the copyeditor" that I go on the last two, it's only something between 1-7 hours of work total. So yay on that. Anyway, back to catching up which means clearing out piles of accumulated smart things.
The ever entertaining and often wise Jim Hines on Writer Envy.
Jeff Hecht on the Google settlement, or my book belongs to me, not Google.
John Howell on why science fiction authors can't win with the literary world.
Because it's cool, a Tardis cake.
Agent Kristin Nelson writing a series of posts on understanding royalty statements. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
The ever entertaining and often wise Jim Hines on Writer Envy.
Jeff Hecht on the Google settlement, or my book belongs to me, not Google.
John Howell on why science fiction authors can't win with the literary world.
Because it's cool, a Tardis cake.
Agent Kristin Nelson writing a series of posts on understanding royalty statements. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Unspeakably Cool
Whatca' Reading?
I took a vacation to Valaprasio, Indiana to visit Mason's grandma and brough along a bunch of books because, even though I have revisions I should be working on, I really needed a bit of "input." I read Amy Thompson's THROUGH ALIENS EYES which I enjoyed tremendously, and I started Cherie Priest's FATHOM and sort of start-stopped Sharyn McCrumb's BIMBO'S OF THE DEATH SUN (it's become quite dated or it hasn't aged well, I think.)
Anyway, it got me wondering... what are YOU kids reading these days? Anything fun? Anything mind-blowing? Anything you want to recommend?
Anyway, it got me wondering... what are YOU kids reading these days? Anything fun? Anything mind-blowing? Anything you want to recommend?
Monday, October 19, 2009
Monday Afternoon WIP
I'm home with a sick kid and revisions for HONEYMOON OF THE DEAD (due at the end of the month.)
You?
You?
Friday, October 16, 2009
Friday Cat Blogging
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
And It's Off....
I hate to knock down Sean's lovely picture of our Minnesota weather, so I'll be brief. I just wanted to report that, as of ten o'clock last night, I electronically delivered Tate's young adult novel ALMOST TO DIE FOR. (Now I'm in the process of printing out a paper copy.) The only thing I have left to do to finish up my initial contractual obligations is to finish the proposal for ALMOST FINAL CURTAIN, the second book in the trilogy.
Yay.
Yay.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Monday WIP Open Thread
As a friend of mine posted on Facebook today...
"And suddenly, it was Monday."
That seems particularly apt today. It has been snowing in Saint Paul since before I got up, and it's still at it. This is unusual even for us. The temps are supposed to get back in the 40s tomorrow, but still...it helps make it a bit more Monday than usual.
I am also home with a sick child, which doesn't make things any less Monday, either.
Despite all that, though, I am still in good spirits work-wise. I figured out the storyline for the next book yesterday, and while my plans to make writing progress on the current WIP may be stymied by SnuffleBoy for the moment, there are still other things I can do. The first book in the series needs a better title (no, really, it NEEDS a better title); the current WIP could stand a bit of dash-to-the-end plot tightening; and there is always plenty to do in terms of brainstorming more on the next series book (storyline does not equal plot for me, in case you were wondering). Plus, I am awaiting a "get to know you" call from my editor, which means I need to stick around the house anyhow. Thus, while I may not be able to pound out the number of words I would otherwise like, there are still pocket-sized bits I can get done.
And that, I think, is something it can be easy to forget: that getting writing work done doesn't always have to involve words on paper. Nor does it require vast expanses of time. Don't get me wrong, we still need to get the story written -- that, above all else, is the main thing -- but there are tasks we can accomplish as writers when events conspire against us. Life, or even just Monday, may try to nail you with a big, wet snowball now and then, but the trick is to duck or dodge or even take it on the chin and keep going. Can't get more than ten minutes alone with a notepad and a pen? I bet there is something you can work on to make your story tighter, your plot cleaner, your characters deeper. Maybe a bit of dialog you can insert later? Something, anything, so you can look at yourself in the mirror at the end of the day and say, "I accomplished something as a writer today." That's a good feeling, ya know?
So, yeah, let it snow. I have an appointment with a mirror tonight, and I'm not going to let a couple inches of white stuff outside and a runny little nose inside keep me from looking myself in the eye before bed.
What about you? What are you going to get done as a writer today?
"And suddenly, it was Monday."
That seems particularly apt today. It has been snowing in Saint Paul since before I got up, and it's still at it. This is unusual even for us. The temps are supposed to get back in the 40s tomorrow, but still...it helps make it a bit more Monday than usual.
I am also home with a sick child, which doesn't make things any less Monday, either.
Despite all that, though, I am still in good spirits work-wise. I figured out the storyline for the next book yesterday, and while my plans to make writing progress on the current WIP may be stymied by SnuffleBoy for the moment, there are still other things I can do. The first book in the series needs a better title (no, really, it NEEDS a better title); the current WIP could stand a bit of dash-to-the-end plot tightening; and there is always plenty to do in terms of brainstorming more on the next series book (storyline does not equal plot for me, in case you were wondering). Plus, I am awaiting a "get to know you" call from my editor, which means I need to stick around the house anyhow. Thus, while I may not be able to pound out the number of words I would otherwise like, there are still pocket-sized bits I can get done.
And that, I think, is something it can be easy to forget: that getting writing work done doesn't always have to involve words on paper. Nor does it require vast expanses of time. Don't get me wrong, we still need to get the story written -- that, above all else, is the main thing -- but there are tasks we can accomplish as writers when events conspire against us. Life, or even just Monday, may try to nail you with a big, wet snowball now and then, but the trick is to duck or dodge or even take it on the chin and keep going. Can't get more than ten minutes alone with a notepad and a pen? I bet there is something you can work on to make your story tighter, your plot cleaner, your characters deeper. Maybe a bit of dialog you can insert later? Something, anything, so you can look at yourself in the mirror at the end of the day and say, "I accomplished something as a writer today." That's a good feeling, ya know?
So, yeah, let it snow. I have an appointment with a mirror tonight, and I'm not going to let a couple inches of white stuff outside and a runny little nose inside keep me from looking myself in the eye before bed.
What about you? What are you going to get done as a writer today?
Friday, October 09, 2009
Friday Cat Blogging
Thursday, October 08, 2009
New Cover -- Honeymoon of the Dead
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Done... Mostly!
I just wanted to post that I finished the first draft of my (or, rather, Tate's) young adult novel ALMOST TO DIE FOR, the first of the vampire princess of Saint Paul novels.
In fact, in about two minutes I'm leaving for Naomi's house to face the music (of critique.) Because done for me is so rarely DONE. It seems I'm forever editing and massaging and fixing and remixing -- both while I'm writing and "after."
Next, I need to write a proposal for book 2 in the series -- for the first time I'm contractually obligated to provide a synopsis for the follow-up on the same day the book is due. This may be, in part, because I sold books 2 and 3 on a paragraph pitch (which I'd never done before.)
Okay, off to the salt mines!
In fact, in about two minutes I'm leaving for Naomi's house to face the music (of critique.) Because done for me is so rarely DONE. It seems I'm forever editing and massaging and fixing and remixing -- both while I'm writing and "after."
Next, I need to write a proposal for book 2 in the series -- for the first time I'm contractually obligated to provide a synopsis for the follow-up on the same day the book is due. This may be, in part, because I sold books 2 and 3 on a paragraph pitch (which I'd never done before.)
Okay, off to the salt mines!
Monday, October 05, 2009
Monday Two-for-One: WIP and Smart Things
I got some good news last week: a NY publisher is interested in making an offer on my first novel and a follow-up. Yay!
But, after the shouting and the toasting and the scotch (I've been keeping a bottle of 25 year old single cask in reserve for this day), a couple of things occurred to me:
1. They want another book.
2. They likely want another book set in the universe of the one they are currently interested in.
3. My current WIP is nothing remotely like point #2.
I know, I know -- everyone should have these problems, right? And trust me, I am not kvetching. But I now find myself in the position of trying to come up with a storyline and proposal for Book #2 while also wanting to finish current WIP (Hawthorn Queen), which is about 2/3 done, before having to turn away from it again. (You may or may not recall that I take a 3+ month hiatus in the summer since I am home with the kids, although I suspect that "luxury" will vanish next year what with deadlines and all). So now I am trying to pound out Hawthorn Queen in hopes of finishing the rough draft before I have to turn my full attention to the nebulous Book #2. But of course, this could change any day depending on what my editor ends up wanting.
Story-wise, my brain is going in two directions, and it is not something I am used to yet. Plus, I. Am. A. Slow. Writer. So I have no idea where I will be in one book when the other comes knocking. It's a bit un-nerving.
But really, it's a pretty nice place to be, all things considered, so I shan't complain (well, any more than I already have, I suppose).
The other thing that is hovering over me this morning is the knowledge that I need to finally get around to setting up my web site and establishing a web presence in preparation for a book coming out sometime in the nebulous future. Fortunately, I have some time to do this; but just as fortunately, Alma Alexander has some very smart things to say over at SF Novelists about the challenges facing an author when it comes to promotion and web presences and the like. So, there's your smart thing for the day.
Now, what about you? What are you up to for the day or the week? Any smart things you want to share with the rest of us?
But, after the shouting and the toasting and the scotch (I've been keeping a bottle of 25 year old single cask in reserve for this day), a couple of things occurred to me:
1. They want another book.
2. They likely want another book set in the universe of the one they are currently interested in.
3. My current WIP is nothing remotely like point #2.
I know, I know -- everyone should have these problems, right? And trust me, I am not kvetching. But I now find myself in the position of trying to come up with a storyline and proposal for Book #2 while also wanting to finish current WIP (Hawthorn Queen), which is about 2/3 done, before having to turn away from it again. (You may or may not recall that I take a 3+ month hiatus in the summer since I am home with the kids, although I suspect that "luxury" will vanish next year what with deadlines and all). So now I am trying to pound out Hawthorn Queen in hopes of finishing the rough draft before I have to turn my full attention to the nebulous Book #2. But of course, this could change any day depending on what my editor ends up wanting.
Story-wise, my brain is going in two directions, and it is not something I am used to yet. Plus, I. Am. A. Slow. Writer. So I have no idea where I will be in one book when the other comes knocking. It's a bit un-nerving.
But really, it's a pretty nice place to be, all things considered, so I shan't complain (well, any more than I already have, I suppose).
The other thing that is hovering over me this morning is the knowledge that I need to finally get around to setting up my web site and establishing a web presence in preparation for a book coming out sometime in the nebulous future. Fortunately, I have some time to do this; but just as fortunately, Alma Alexander has some very smart things to say over at SF Novelists about the challenges facing an author when it comes to promotion and web presences and the like. So, there's your smart thing for the day.
Now, what about you? What are you up to for the day or the week? Any smart things you want to share with the rest of us?
Saturday, October 03, 2009
Smart Things
Amanda Palmer on asking for money for art.
Megan Crewe guest blogs for Agent Kristin Nelson, exploding the you must have connections to get published.
Lilith Saintcrow on the good and the bad of cliche.
Megan Crewe guest blogs for Agent Kristin Nelson, exploding the you must have connections to get published.
Lilith Saintcrow on the good and the bad of cliche.
Friday, October 02, 2009
Friday Cat Blogging
Thursday, October 01, 2009
WiFi: Friend or Foe?
After yesterday's writing extravaganza, I'm tempted to say FRIEND!
Here's the background: yesterday my son had an early release day from school, which meant that I had three less hours to write. I thought to myself, maybe I should TRY going to a coffee shop close to his school and see if I can just put my head down and write until time to pick him up. Normally, coffee shops distract me. I'm not like the rest of you. I don't listen to music while I write. I don't have easy Internet access at home (I dial-up, on purpose). I'm easily distracted by shiny, which includes people wandering by, snacks to eat, friends to chat with, and etc. So I thought going to the coffee shop was a 50/50 shot at getting a lot done.
I wrote 3,000 words. For me? That's HUGE.
Especially when you consider it I wrote it in half the time I usually have for writing. (Were all of them good words? Jury is still out, but I think the scene ideas are sound... if not the execution.)
Weirdly, I think my success had a lot to do with the fact that, instead of taking twenty minutes to check my e-mail, it took two. When I wanted a second or two of distraction, ie. reading some status updates on Facebook, I could do it in a millisecond and come back to my writing instantly.
This goes against my usual sense of such things. Normally, I tend to rid myself of as many distractions as possible. First thing I do when I get a new laptop is remove ALL the games.
Yet....
I'm trying my experiment again today. If it's a repeatable result I'll change my hypothesis. Maybe WiFi could be my friend.
Here's the background: yesterday my son had an early release day from school, which meant that I had three less hours to write. I thought to myself, maybe I should TRY going to a coffee shop close to his school and see if I can just put my head down and write until time to pick him up. Normally, coffee shops distract me. I'm not like the rest of you. I don't listen to music while I write. I don't have easy Internet access at home (I dial-up, on purpose). I'm easily distracted by shiny, which includes people wandering by, snacks to eat, friends to chat with, and etc. So I thought going to the coffee shop was a 50/50 shot at getting a lot done.
I wrote 3,000 words. For me? That's HUGE.
Especially when you consider it I wrote it in half the time I usually have for writing. (Were all of them good words? Jury is still out, but I think the scene ideas are sound... if not the execution.)
Weirdly, I think my success had a lot to do with the fact that, instead of taking twenty minutes to check my e-mail, it took two. When I wanted a second or two of distraction, ie. reading some status updates on Facebook, I could do it in a millisecond and come back to my writing instantly.
This goes against my usual sense of such things. Normally, I tend to rid myself of as many distractions as possible. First thing I do when I get a new laptop is remove ALL the games.
Yet....
I'm trying my experiment again today. If it's a repeatable result I'll change my hypothesis. Maybe WiFi could be my friend.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
































