Yep, it's been a year already.  This will be my second World Fantasy Con. The first one, in Columbus, OH was kind of tough.  I can fake extroversion for short periods of time but it's tough.  I had lots of plans for meeting editors and agents which almost completely fell apart.


Here's why. There's no way to tell who anyone is there.  There are very few authors that I knew by sight and editors or agents? Forget about it.  Yes, everyone is wearing badges around their necks* but unless you know the names, that doesn't tell you much.  


There are also very clear 'tiers' at World Fantasy, I didn't know what to expect but it was pretty clear once I was there.  The best sellers are in their own tier and are surrounded by orbiting fans or lower-tier writers, who are also fans.  Next down but well above me are the established writers tier.    Below that, is my tier, the unpublished writers here to network.  (there are also the agent and editor tiers) The thing is, people tend to mingle only with the tier they're in.  They don't mingle down (it was rare to see a best-seller or an established writer actually hanging out with fans or lower tier writers).  


I get part of it.  World Fantasy and World Con are an excuse for a lot of these writers to catch up with old friends and colleagues. Writers tend to be an insular bunch and we don't get out much.  So, naturally, they're going to want to spend time with people they already know.  


Anyway, my point isn't to talk about the cliques of WFC.  It's more that I didn't know what to expect and the expectations I did have were probably too high.  I didn't serious expect to sell Angel Odyssey or land an agent but I did hope.  This year, I'm just going to enjoy myself.  I'm going to listen to author readings and go to parties.  I'm going to introduce myself and be entertaining and charming.  I'm not going to meet anyone specific or with any goal in mind. I'm not going to pitch anything.


I will know a few people there this year. I can't reccomend highly enough going to one of these big cons with a friend.  Things get pretty lonely. That said, I'm not going to cling to the folks I do know.  I AM going to do my level best to be friendly and relaxed.  Which means, I may start drinking again.


Here's to you, San Diego!


*It funny to see strangers meet, look at each other's chest and then smile politely

Well, I finished the first draft of The Mageborn Mechanic.  That makes three novels that I've managed to finish.


Ok, quick analysis time:


It came in at right at 50k words, about half of my worst-case scenario.  That leaves me plenty of room to put some flesh on the bones and, since my last two novel revisions added pagecount, that's a good thing.  50k felt about right for a thriller as well. Not a ton of dead weight in it.


The First Person Present tense I chose for TMM seemed to work pretty well. I submitted the first chapter, unedited, to my critique group and everyone seemed positive, some very much wanting to read the next chapters. So, chapter 1, did its job. 


I got it done before World Fantasy Convention. Not a LOT before, but before.


Doing an outline helped.  I wrote a paragraph description for each chapter before I wrote a word.  It gave me structure and helped me plan plot points and escalation before I committed words to paper. It also focused the length of the novel and gave each chapter an objective for me to attain.  I'll probably do the same with any other thrillers I write.


Character voice is strong, strong enough to overcome some unappealing aspects to the character.


I need to add more details to the magic. I need to add more humor to Simon's POV, he's a bit grim so far.


The Epilogue being written from someone else's POV didn't work. Cutting it is probably the right decision. However, not having it leaves out a final twist or two, which is too bad.  I think the novel works without it and that's the real test.


Ok, now to let it sit.  I'm NOT going to repeat my mistakes with Angel Oddyssey and edit this to death.  For now until December, I'm not going to even look at at. Instead, I'll be writing the best damn short stories I can, to get ready for my Clarion West application.


Now, off to World Fantasy this Wednesday.

Well, it's coming.  And so am I.  I, apparently, am incapable of reading a schedule, though. So I have my flight set for Wednesday morning and the convention doesn't start until Thursday.  Grr.


So, I changed my hotel dates.  One less day of work, one more day of vacation, hopefully it won't break the bank.


I'm really looking forward to this convention. My first big con was last year's World Fantasy. I had high expectations and I...didn't meet them.  That's on me.  Also the expectations, that's on me, too.


This year, I'm just going to meet people and enjoy myself. I'm not going with the intention of selling anything or of trying to pitch anything. (But, yes, I will be polishing the heck out my pitches for my three novel.  No, I won't be bringing them up unless specifically asked).


I should be less nervous this time. I do know a few people who'll be there this year. That helps.  But I'm not going to hover around them or use them like a crutch.  Much to everyone's relief, no doubt.  No, I plan to hit a few panels but mostly just listen to author's readings and sit in the bar and chat.  Or hang out in the parties and chat.  Yep...chatting.  My strong suit.  Bleh.  I'd better think about something else.


One thing that IS on my mind is my Clarion West application. It's due at the end of December...way earlier than I'd like.  I have one or two scenes left to write for the first draft of The Mageborn Mechanic and then I'm going full-blown gonzo into short story writing mode.  I plan to stay there until my Clarion West portfolio is as good as I can get it.


Anyway, it should be a great convention, in (hopefully) sunny San Diego.  I haven't been there since I was twelve, so this will a good vacation as well....after the convention is done.  If it's like last year, I'll be exhausted.

Nike may be a heartless multi-national corporation but they did hire themselves some good Ad men.  'Just Do It' is a darn good slogan for just about anything in life.  It's particularly fitting for writers.  Or at least writers like me.


What kind of writer am I?  I'm a procrastinator who, if he doesn't write every day, will find some distraction to keep me from putting words on page.  I'm someone who chokes on endings, slowing way, way down on my page count the closer I get to the last chapter.  I'm someone who has started a host of novels and short stories and have only recently started finishing them and sending them out.


you may be, like me, second-guessing yourself about the ending.  Write it anyway.  It may be (probably is) imperfect.  Don't worry about that.  Just finish it.


You may be like me, dreading the editing process. And you may think, somewhere inside your monkey mind, that as long as you don't finish the book, you won't have to edit it.  Recognize that, ignore it. Just finish it.


You may be, like me, dreading the long and psychically painful process of submission and rejection.  You have to do it.  Don't worry about it, not now, not when the time comes to mail it.  Right now, you have a story to tell. Tell it.  Just finish it.


You may be, like me, questioning your skill as a writer.  Thinking you don't have what it takes to make it out of the slush pile. You may think that this story is the worst thing you've ever written.  Don't worry about the quality of your work. Writers are terrible at judging themselves.  Just finish it.


The last 10% of the novel is the hardest part. We're fighting ourselves, not anything else.  You can win.  And you can prove it to yourself by just finishing it.


Write the last page.  Put the last period in.  Write 'The End'. Then go out, breathe, see your family and friends.  Let that story sit.  It can wait a month or so. You've finished it.  It may never get easier but once you finish one story, KNOW that you can finish the next ones.


Good luck.

My writing advice today is going to make complete sense to some readers.  And to others, it's going to sound like rank madness.  That's ok. Every writer needs to find their own way, what works for them.

For me, as I mentioned yesterday, my subconscious is much smarter than I am.  Where did it come from? My imagination, of course, but also every book I've ever read, every movie I've ever seen, every song I've ever heard...it's all inside my head, somewhere.  We don't have conscious recall of everything (99.999% of us don't) but it is there.  So I've been absorbing story structure, the hero's journey, the monomyth, legends, parables, fables: in short, stories, all my life.  I'll bet you have, too.

All good writers, read.  They read in the genre's they love and that they want to write.  But if they're smart, they'll also read History, Biography, Poetry and fiction outside their favorite genre.

Piggybacking onto Friday's brief post, I want to talk a little bit about theme.  Or, more to the point, what is your story about?  Not the plot, not who does what, who lives and who dies but what is left when you scrape away plot and character.  Nothing?  Is your story just a bunch of stuff that happens?


Or is there more there? Something you did or did not intend to be there.



Our minds are constantly working when we're writing. I often say my subconscious is smarter than I am.  I've talked to a lot of writers who will look at their work long after they'd finished it and said 'how'd that get in there'?  Also there's the almost comical way people will put their own interpretations on a work.  You see this a lot in college.  


Sometimes our readers can spot things that we can't, because we're too close to the work.  And sometimes they're just filtering everything through their own world view.  Which can make them embrace your stories for reasons unrelated to what you intend and it can make them reject it for the same reason.


But lets assume you decide to do this consciously.  Theme gets talked about in a number of books on writing but that really boils down to 'what is your story about'?  Even a straightforward man vs nature story of survival can be about more than just making it back to civilization.  It can be 'about' discovering your limits aren't what you think they are. Or that survival at any cost means paying more than you intended.  More complex plots may touch on the importance of faith in a carnal world.  Or the madness of blind belief in...pick your poison: God, Leaders, Business, the American Dream.

I've been reading some old Georgette Heyer lately.  Both for study and for learning.  Some of her mysteries and romances 'cheat'* but the ones that don't are fascinating. She's been rightly praised for her research and period detail (down to authentic slang of the time and language that, thou stilted to our ears is indeed how people talked at that time) but what I want to talk about are characters.


In one historical novel/romance, Simon the Coldheart, she creates an absolutely ruthless, self-motivated protagonist. And I can't stop turning the pages, wondering what he's going to do next and wanting to see how he accomplishes his goals.


That sparked a thought in me. When I look back at my favorite heroes**, they've all had that quality in common.  They had a goal and they worked at it and never even think about quitting.  I guess I find that to be an admirable quality, because I like it even in villains. 


They're all active.  They shape the story because of what they want, even if that's just survival in the short-term, they have a longer-term goal.  It can be revenge, justice or to save the world.  If there's a problem, they solve it but they try to be far-sighted enough to plan around most problems.  

They aren't passive, thing happen to them, yes and they react to them. But as soon as they deal with that unexpected twist or boulder in their path, they go back to their goal.

That works.  On a character level and on a story level.  So if you're in the story planning (or fixing) stage, see if you can create a character that drives your plot, not one who reacts to it.




*meaning the final reveal or final turn require a character to act out of character to get the 'happy ending' both genres require.


** Conan, Druss, Parker, Mack Bolan/the Punisher, Rand al'Thor, Miles Vorkosigan, Paul Atriedes I could go on...

I don't talk about work much since this is my writing blog. But occasionally they overlap.  


I work at Amazon on the Kindle Fire.  We recently announced not only the awesome e-reader I'm testing but also a $79 Kindle.  $79 bucks. That's only $20 more than a first run video game like Deus Ex: Human Revolutions. It is easily in range for all kinds of Birthday and Christmas gifts.


That price point has also spurred Barnes and Noble. They just emailed me that they're now selling a $89 Nook.


What does all this mean? It means e-books are going to explode this year.  And it reinforces my decision to self-publish my first few books.  I'm emailing an editor in Canada today for a price quote on a copy edit of Smooth Running. Last night I sent off the first half of my commission to the artist I'm having design my cover art.  (Once I get it, I'll post it up on the Smooth Running tab above).


Seriously, this is the golden moment for aspiring authors and established ones alike.  Get your stuff up on Amazon and Kindle (and Kobo, I suppose).  People are and will continue to be hungry for good quality content.

Life has its own ways to distract us writers.  Money worries, relationship problems, job stress.  It goes on and on and we have to master those distractions in our world or our life or they are going to interfere with our creativity.

The answer, I think, is to write. For Sci-fi/Fantasy writers or 'genre' writers in general, we have a built-in advantage.  We're creating our own worlds to, at least in my case, escape from the world we live in. Write every day.  It's good for your sanity and it's good for your writing

Work is still kicking my hinder.  Kindle Fire launch is coming up so I don't have time for decent blogging. My apologies.  When things get sane here at Amazon, I'll have more time for blogging.


That said, I'm very excited about heading to World Fantasy in just over two weeks.


Woo!