Ah, the heady, glorious days of 2016, when I was submitting stories everywhere (well, a LOT of stories at least) and gathering rejections like ripe fruit.
2017 saw my focus shift, by matter of necessity, to longer pieces that were pushed out (and rejected) less frequently. I was always more comfortable in long form anyway (I struggle to say in 100 words what can be said in 1,000), but I do miss writing buckets of shorter works. Partially because I miss writing (I mean, I still write, but I average about 2-4k words a week, and in 2016 I would do that in a morning), but also because it's nice to exercise different muscles sometimes.
This particular short story is basically fanfic for a particular game I play, hosted by a podcast that is by no means a "legit" writing contest, but I had fun with it. I'm planning to do another in July (the contest ends August 1st, and multiple submissions are allowed, but I don't want to inundate them with stories and would rather craft a couple really good ones rather than crank out a dozen).
In the parallel, I'm also submitting a model I'm painting for their painting contest, not because I have the faintest hope of winning (I don't), but because I'm really looking forward to the feedback I'll get to improve my craft. The painting contest is done by a couple professional painters that work with the podcast, and they've said they'll give feedback on the entries. So that'll be nice. I took my "before" pictures today, and hopefully in a week or two I can be mostly finished an then work on some final details.
So a busy week. Long weekend this week too, which is awful nice... but for now, back to Novel 4!
Argh, 10 Days!
Phew, time really flies sometimes.
Nothing really new and exciting to announce. Still waiting on the agent with my 2nd novel, still waiting on my beta readers with my 3rd novel, still writing the first draft of my 4th novel.
All moving along in its daily pace.
I was thinking about branching out a little on novel number 5. Maybe a little bit of quasi-mysticism in the sci-fi. Nothing too crazy, but a little touch of magic, or techno-magic, in with the lasers and spaceships and stuff.
I mean, it works for Star Wars, right? Space wizards are awesome!
Anyway, just idle thoughts.
In other news, my jaw hurts a bit so I probably have to go see a dentist (wooo...), but otherwise stuff has been busy, exhausting, but basically okay. Globally, things are going to hell, but hopefully this is a blimp in our slow climb towards compassion, and nothing more.
We shall see, I suppose.
The Need for Good Sci-Fi
I love good sci-fi. I mean, I really, really love it. In my bones, in my blood, if I believed in souls I'd say in my soul. And there are lots of reasons... cool spaceships, the love of exploration, of finding something new, of going past the horizon, of beating impossible odds, and because lasers swords and explosions are really cool.
But at the core of all that is an important, simple, message: resist.
Sci-fi is all about standing up to impossible odds. The Empire versus the Rebellion (or the newer Order versus the Resistance). The small plucky kingdom versus the massive corporate superpower. The single smuggler versus the planetary governor. The kids versus the government.
It's all about resisting the way things are in favour of the way things can (or should) be.
In the words of the amazing Neil Gaiman, "Fairy tales are more than true; not because they tell us dragons exist, but because they tell us dragons can be beaten."
Right now, with American (and Ontario) politics the way it is... we need to remember that no matter how big or stupid the empire, that it can be defeated.
A Relaxing Weekend
I am pleased to report I had an enjoyable and relaxing weekend.
I spent some time sorting through a handful of old comics to see if any are worth anything (short answer: maybe!), but otherwise just painted and played all day.
Tomorrow I go back to work for the day, and then Tuesday I resume writing on my day off (after yoga practice in the morning).
Ooh, and I may buy an airbrush to help me paint stuff better/faster. I am really looking forward to that!
But overall, it was a good day. And that's nice, because there are far too few of those many days.
I've had a handful of my beta readers confirm they are working on Novel 3, but it's far too soon to expect feedback for another week or two. Still, even when resting, there is progress.
Hope everyone is doing amazing!
That Wasn't So Bad, Was It?
And done! Opening chapters rewritten, and the novel is off to a few of my beta readers for feedback and comments.
Phew!
So now we wait. We wait for the agent I really hope likes my work to get back to me (about another month to wait), we wait for the beta readers...
Actually, probably not much waiting in a vacuum. Instead, I continue writing Novel 4 (another Tintian!) while I wait. I'm about a third of the way through that one, so with some luck I can get it finished up before the end of the summer (at which point I will have, hopefully, saved up enough to pay for the editing on that one!).
No rest for the weary, my friends. But at least this one is done for now.
Opening Chapters: A Brief Rant.
As I evolve as a writer, I continue to learn more and more about my "style".
Style is a dangerous thing, for the record. I don't believe that everything a writer considers style should be thought of as such... for example, while I enjoy adjectives, that's not to say my writing isn't better when I take them out.
But that's aside. The reason I bring this up is because my "style" focuses pretty heavily on action scenes. I'm good at writing battles of almost any scale, I'm a deft hand with chase scenes or duels... but what I'm not good at is opening chapters.
My usual trick so far has been to write the entire book, and then delete the first 3 chapters, since it usually takes me about that long to flesh out the universe, but nobody really cares about that stuff. Once I've started, the pace of a story tends to be pretty solid (period of action/tension, release, repeat), but those opening chapters... rough.
I bring this up because I have to rewrite the first chapter(s) for Novel 3. The rest of the book is great, and the conclusion is solid (to be honest, I like *most* of the mid-field as well, although there are some slower parts I'm not super happy with), but I haven't figured out exactly how to hit the ground running with this one.
And, perhaps more critically, when I cut my first three chapters, I removed a critical plot point that's only referenced again 30 chapters later... which is a double failure (every critical plot point, in my opinion, needs to be mentioned at least TWICE before it's used).
Anyway, that's my goal today. Write the first couple chapters in an engaging, exciting way, and work in those critical mentions that I flubbed last edit.
Wish me luck!
Just Letting Everyone Know...
... I finished editing Novel 3.
Now I "just" have to rewrite the first two or three chapters and send it out to beta readers... but that hopefully won't take too long!
Book done by the end of May, maybe!
Ah, Long Weekends. A Writer's Best Friend...
Well, that and maple whiskey. But mostly long weekends.
Why, I hear you ask? Mostly because it (finally!) gives me time to get into the weeds. To really sit down and crunch through all the editing for hours on end, which, let's be honest, is what I need.
So today and tomorrow I'm finishing up the last 50 pages of Novel 3, and then rewriting the opening chapters (again). It'll be nice to be finished.
Amusing side-note: I went to check if I have a response from the agent I sent Novel 2 off to, because she asked for 12 weeks and it's been about 12 weeks, right?
5 weeks. It FEELS like 12 weeks, but not even half yet. Waiting is such torture.
But! But. This means she's still considering it, and I'm taking that as a VERY good sign. So! Onwards and upwards and all that.
Hope everyone is enjoying their long weekends, if you're lucky enough to have one!
Wow. A Whole Week of Sick...
I mean, I'm mostly recovered by now. Mostly.
I honestly didn't expect it to put me on my butt for as long as it did, but here we are. I missed a day of work and several days of editing (too tired when I got home to do anything but sleep), but I'm back on my feet and more or less ready to go.
Which is good! Because time waits for no human. And I have many things, but time isn't one of them.
In other news: finished reading the first book in the "Collapsing Empire" series by John Scalzi. That man... gods I love his work. It wasn't perfect, but it was really good. Great fodder for my own work, and good encouragement that maybe I can be as successful as he is someday.
That'd be nice. Anyway! Back to the grindstone!
Being Sick Sucks
A rampant flu decided now would be a good time to put me on my ass.
Whee?
I've recovered pretty much (although it is 2:15am and I can't sleep... so... not a complete recovery just yet), but I still lament the 2 days I basically lost to sleep for the sake of healing.
Ah, mortality. You bitch.
Only 2 Months Left to Wait... Probably...
As we leap into May (and what a glorious start to the month... I don't know about where you are, but HERE in Southern Ontario the weather is absolutely perfect), I am reminded that I submitted my novel to an agent on April 5th, and she requested 3 months exclusive rights to think about it.
Only 2 months to go!
I'm going to put up a holder image on the front page of the site... just to show that something may be coming very soon (wouldn't that be amazing!). And because it's been a long while since I had a full novel available other than ye olde Tintian!
So May is off to a solid start... but I also have a sore throat, so no getting sick, self! No time for that nonsense!
Gosh Darn It!
Seriously, why is it always so hard to keep a sane schedule!?
Sorry for the mild disappearing act, folks. I've been pumping the time and energy I should be using for this here blog-update-thingy on editing. Pros: I'm 200 pages into the 300 pages of editing for Novel 3. Cons: I need to rewrite the first three chapters (AGAIN) and I think a fair chunk of Chapter 20 is gonna need some love.
That's okay! That's okay. All part of the process, really.
Anyway, that's about it from my end. I hope people out there are enjoying the new Avengers (Infinity Wars, I think?)... I probably won't see it until I comes out on the little screen, but I do hope to catch the new Star Wars (Solo) when it comes out. Not opening night or anything like that... I'm not a huge fan of crowds, and I don't really need to be the "first" when seeing stuff... but I do love my laser-swords-and-space-wizards.
A Few Days of Writing
I'm off visiting family in New York state for the weekend (until Tuesday), which gives me some time to get some work done (yay!).
Edits for Novel 3 have started, which is good. Everything is set, music is primed, and after lunch finishes I'm going to get my head down and get the work done. That's always the key, after all... butt in chair, fingers on keyboard. I have so many stories I want to tell, so much I want to actually get done, but I need to focus on finishing stories, rather than getting a hundred half-finished.
So, a few months to finish editing Novel 3 and then it goes off to the beta readers and I can get back to writing new stuff (although Novel 4 has already been started, of course).
Anyway! Nice to have the time to write. And, of course, I'll keep everyone posted if I actually get word back about Novel 2.
Birthday Week!
So I was born about 39 years ago as of... Wednesday. As a scientist, I know that this is mostly irrelevant... age is just a number and all that. Thirty-nine successful circumnavigations of the sun, and that's it, really.
Still, I hate my birthday, but I try to use it as an excuse for some analysis. For example, the last novel I published was in 2016... which is far, far too long ago. It's been an insanely busy, tiring, exhausting few years since then, but I sincerely doubt that will change.
Thankfully, if you were here last week, you know that I submitted Novel 2 to an agent last week, who said they would get back to me in 3 months or so. If they don't love it, then I submit to other agents and publishers (en masse this time), and then if that fails to find it a home, I self-publish it around October or November.
So at least I can say I'll have a book out this year. And that's something.
And then with a bit of hard work (forget luck, I have lots of that but almost all of it is bad) I might get another novel out this year, or very early next year at the latest. The "trick" is to submit it as soon as Novel 2 is done its rotation... and thankfully I'm on the cusp of that.
Novel 4 needs a more work, but again, there is time for that still.
Anyway, yeah, birthdays suck, but at least 2018 is shaping up better (professionally) than 2017 did. So that's a start.
Good News, Everybody!
Just a quick note to say that I submitted my 2nd novel to a Canadian sci-fi agent, and she immediately requested the full manuscript!
Yay!
Now I have to wait about 3 months for her to have a chance to get to it, but I'm content to wait (I can finish up novel 3 in that time!), but I'm still extremely excited about this news! Gosh, I hope she likes it...
Anyway! Exciting! Hope everyone else is having a great week!
Holi-what? What-iday?
What-what?
Still one of my favourite bits from "Futurama". Anyway, I digress.
We have a "day off" here in Ontario for religious reasons, which means I get to spend the day writing! Huzzah!
Not much else to say. Today I'm writing submission letters to a few agents that gave me direct and useful feedback last time I submitted to them, and then sending out letters to agents in the field (doing some homework to ensure everything is targeted correctly), and then working on the next novel for a few months to give the agents a first crack at it.
After that, I submit directly to publishers, give them a few months, and then after all that, self-publish the book if it doesn't find any other home... which is a whole lot more work at that point. But I'll burn that bridge when I get to it.
Anyhoo! Back to work! Hope everyone is having a great weekend!
Thank you, Beta Readers!
You know, writing is often marketed as a solitary kinda thing. And, in many ways, it is.
A good writer spends a lot of time in their own head, I suspect. Daydreaming, writing, rewriting, redaydreaming (shut up it's a word now)... a lot of this requires time to spend "Braining" your way through your story.
But then comes the rest of the world. Editors to help trim and tighten your stories. Beta readers to give feedback and suggestions. Publishers and agents to work with the story to get it to your audience, and then the audience itself to read and (hopefully) enjoy it.
All of this to say that I'm extremely grateful for the people who read my novel and have given me their feedback so far. This is going to allow me to finish this novel (finally) and send it off to a few agents, and hopefully get something started towards becoming a full-time author.
That's the plan. And I've thanked my editors many times (they do a pretty thankless job, all things considered), but now I have to thank my beta readers.
So, thanks folks!
Anyway, gotta get this novel finished and sent out. Only a week left in the month!
Hard to Keep a Good Writer Down
Not much to report, this week (and yes, I will be returning to my weekly schedule of posting anon). Sent off my 3rd novel to my editor last week, working on novel 4 while that's being edited, and will be submitting Novel 2 to publishers and agents before the end of the month.
It's been a very busy few weeks, no surprise, with "real work" (that is, work that pays the bills!) absorbing the lion's share of my time.
Managed to watch "Black Panther" and "Thor Ragnarok" in the last few weeks, both fantastic movies that I enjoyed a lot (I'd say Black Panther is better, but they're both quite good), but other than that... not a whole lot. Work, writing, sleep, repeat ad infinitum.
Still worried about Patreon. I mean, my supporters there have been amazing, but I'm not *doing* anything to support *them*, and that's unfair. I think I'll feel better once a few more of my novels are up so that they can see how important their support has been (I hope!), but until then it feels... bleak.
Anyway. Lots to do, more writing for today (Novel 4, the one I'm writing now, is another Tintian, which feels nice!), and then... tomorrow. And tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, creeps in its petty pace to the last syllable of recorded time.
... and we're back! Again!
Hey guys! Sorry for disappearing periodically... been very busy trying to finish up Novel 3 while simultaneously getting feedback for Novel 2 so I can submit it.
Novel 3 goes out to the editor next weekend (5 more days of work, just some editing polish, and then it goes), and I'm planning to submit Novel 2 starting around the same time. It's going to be exhausting, since it always is, but it's part of the process.
And I do feel like I'm getting better! Slowly, but surely. And so now it's just grinding out the stories, continuing to make art, continuing to work towards the goal that matters.
And, of course, keeping up with all the surrounding paperwork and staying in contact with readers.
Anyway! Sorry for the delay, more info coming very soon! Hope stuff is amazing with everyone!
Falling Into Habits and Out of Others!
Man, I have to get back into writing on this here blog more often.
I mean, I used to do it weekly, and that was fine. More than weekly would really be better, but since I struggle with even that, perhaps a bit unrealistic.
Novel 2 is starting to come back from my volunteer readers (a huge thank you to Bari, who got his responses in first, and with a lot of thoughtful, clever comments!), which means I am still on track to submit that by the end of the month. The "trick" is going to be finishing up Novel 3 by then as well, so that I can send it off to my editor to take a whack at it so that it can go out after rejections to Number 2 start to roll in. Maybe by the fall? That seems reasonable. But it has to be EARLY fall, because nobody wants to receive submissions during the winter holidays.
Anyway! Progress, of a sort.
As for today, I'm baking bread, and doing some painting, and maybe a little writing. Need about 15,000 words on Novel 3, and only a few short weeks to both write and then finish the first editorial pass myself... never enough time, my friends. Never enough time.