A Taste of My Own Medicine

As a writing coach and frequent presenter at writers’ conferences and workshops, I sometimes feel like I should never have any major problems with my own writing. This is ridiculous, of course. All writers deal with problems in their writing, and I’ve always been a writer first and a teacher second. Besides, if I never experienced a major issue with my writing, that would only mean that I was either ignoring it or missing it completely.

This has all been on my mind since a few weeks ago when I posted an article announcing the upcoming release of my first short story anthology along with an update on the sequels for The Beast Hunter and Lost Under Two Moons. While I was happy to announce that the anthology and the follow-up to The Beast Hunter were both going well, I was less enthusiastic about commenting on the condition of the Lost Under Two Moons sequel.

Let me say up front that I have definitely been working on this piece for a while now. I started the sequel to Lost Under Two Moons back in 2012, and had been steadily adding hours and words to the project ever since. In fact, I’d recently passed the 55,000 word mark, and while the manuscript was still a little short for a full length novel, I was planning on finishing up the climax in the next month or so and then beginning the revision process. That was the plan.

What’s actually happened is that I’ve steadily gotten fewer and fewer words done on this project each week for the last six months. While I do often experience fluctuating output on various projects depending on what I have ideas for, the Lost Under Two Moons sequel was consistently the poorest performing project. It eventually got to the point that I hated working on this project and yet couldn’t figure out what was wrong with it. All I knew was that I never had any ideas, and that working on it was never as much fun as writing on any of my other projects. In short, I had come to resent this story, and no amount of either time away from it or forcing myself to work on it was helping.

In the end, I had to take some of my own advice. A month or two ago I had posted an article for writers about how to tell when it was time to completely start a project over. I remembered writing the article, but I couldn’t remember what my advice had been. I’ll admit that I felt a little silly going to my blog to read one of my own articles to get help, but I’m glad that I did.

In the article, I’d mentioned that an author should start a project over when the premise for the story was broken. With that in mind, I took a long, hard look at my problem-project, and realized that my premise was in fact very broken. Everything from the set-up to the climax was wrong. I’d just been working on it for so long that I couldn’t see that I was riding a train going nowhere.

Since making this discovery, I’ve really taken a step back from the project and asked myself what would need to happen to repair my relationship with this failing story. In the end, I’ve decided that I need to start the project over with a new premise and plot. While no writer looks forward to starting a project over again, there is a bright side here. I’ve got 55,000 words of material that I can cut, shape, and steal from to create my new story.

Even more importantly, I’m excited to work on this project again, something that I haven’t felt in over a year. It’s still a little embarrassing to admit that I made the mistake of working on the wrong story for so long, and I know that fans of Lost Under Two Moons will be disappointed to hear that the sequel won’t be coming out as soon as we were all hoping. All I can say is that the version of the story that I had been working on would not have been up to either my standards or those of my fans, and I think we all would have been disappointed if I had published it. I hope that my fans will support me as I continue to work and strive to write the best stories that I am able to, and that my students will appreciate that every writer has permission to make mistakes and get better.

Top Ten Things Not to Say at a Steampunk Convention

With the Brass Screw Confederacy behind me and GEAR Con in Portland coming up next month, it seemed appropriate to do a steampunk themed top ten list this week. Leave a comment if you can think of any more!

10. Does it bother you that most people have no idea what you’re talking about?

9. Dirigibles sure are stupid.

8. Technically, your outfit is still historically inaccurate.

7. You realize of course that almost everything here would not work in real life.

6. So steampunk is basically sci-fi for people who don’t understand science, right?

5. Why would you wear goggles above the brim of a top hat?

4. I didn’t know Nerf guns were in the Victorian Era.

3. I loved Wild Wild West, except for all those weird gadgets.

2. Is it true that you’re all just goths wearing brown?

1. Is Twilight steampunk?

Anthology Announcement and Sequel Update

Hello friends and fans! I’ve decided to publish a collection of some of the short stories that I’ve been accumulating over the years. These stories will be a combination of shorter pieces that were once available to read on www.lindsayschopfer.com and longer pieces that I submitted at one time or another to various small presses and genre contests. While I hate giving myself a deadline, I’m guessing that the anthology should be available sometime this coming fall.

So why did I decide to publish an anthology of short stories? For one thing, I stopped submitting these types of stories to small presses years ago, and I really have no interest in continuing to feed the submission mill. Genre magazines have all but been replaced by online e-zines, and the poor payment and lack of real exposure just didn’t justify the amount of time and effort it was taking to find these publishers, research them, submit pieces, and then track those submissions.

Despite that, I still really wanted these stories to be read and enjoyed. I found myself talking about them all the time with my fans. After talking with some author friends of mine, I realized that an anthology would be the best way to expose my readers to a more varied selection of my work. While nearly all of the stories in this collection will be some type of fantasy, nearly each story will be a different sub-genre, including strange tales, parody, and magic realism. As a side benefit, this anthology will also ensure that I have a 2015 release, since it’s not looking like any other project will be ready before the end of the year.

Which brings me to the subject of sequels. I realize that many of my readers are wondering when I’m planning on releasing sequels to Lost Under Two Moons and The Beast Hunter. The good news is that I have been working steadily on both of these projects, and will continue to work on them even as I prepare the anthology. I anticipate that one (or perhaps both) of these sequels will be published sometime in 2016. The Beast Hunter sequel is going particularly well, and I think that fans of the first book will find a lot to love in the follow up.

I realize that all of my fans have already been very patient in waiting for these sequels, and I hope that they feel that the wait will be worth it. In the meantime, I’ll be announcing more about the anthology as we get closer to the release date. Follow this blog and my social media profiles to stay updated!

A Writer Needs Wisdom More than Confidence

I’m a member of a number of online writing communities where writers from various genres and backgrounds gather to share successes, talk shop, and sometimes commiserate together on some of the difficulties within our chosen profession. Recently, I saw a post that was a perfect illustration of the last of these subjects. A developing writer told us that she had realized that not only was her first novel not as good as she thought it was, but she now felt trapped in a series that she didn’t have the skill to write. She felt like the bottom had fallen out of her confidence as a writer, and was seriously considering giving it all up.

This writer’s situation was not unique. Over the years, I’ve heard from many of my peers who have also experienced a “crisis of faith” about the quality of their work and whether they should continue writing or not. Of course, my first instinct as a friend is to give encouragement, and that’s certainly what happened to the writer who had recently posted about her series. Within hours of her original post, she’d had more than a dozen replies of sympathy and encouragement from other writers. I hope that she got the emotional boost that she needed to return to her craft, but her situation also got me thinking.

As an independent author, I meet a lot of other self-published writers. Some of them are exceptionally talented, while others are hard at work on improving their craft. But unfortunately, there are also those who have a distorted self-image about their skills and their work. These are the authors that think their work is better than it really is, and will publish their stories long before they’re ready to be seen by the public. These writers don’t have a problem with confidence, they have a problem with overconfidence. They’ve worked so hard to convince themselves that they really do have talent, that they have completely silenced their inner critics and convinced themselves that their stories are much better than they really are.

Does this description seem particularly harsh? Of course it does. Writers have a reputation for possessing thin skins, and industry professionals rarely risk making any statement other than “you are special” at workshops and conferences. But the truth is, if the writing isn’t good, then someone will eventually let the writer know. If it isn’t friends and family, then it’s the editor/agent/beta readers. And if it isn’t them, then it’s the readers, who either don’t buy the book or give it one-star reviews. Even if the book becomes successful, public opinion will eventually wear down the hype and show the flawed product for what it really is.

Unfortunately, just as the problem is difficult to address, the solution is not easy. An author must do more than simply educate themselves on the craft of writing. I’ve known longtime conference goers and workshop attendees that have been writing for years and yet still don’t apply the principles that they have learned. Does this mean they should quit? Of course not. While blind confidence in a writer is a mistake, a wise author knows how to be both confident and objective about their writing.

The key to developing objectivity is to seek out informed, non-invested critiques and feedback. This can be harder than it sounds. While most writers know that their family and close friends will likely be too nice to be useful, the truth is that a lot of writing groups are equally biased, and not always in the author’s favor. In fact, there are some writers that seem to get a perverse pleasure out of tearing down their peers and finding fault where there is none. Neither of these extremes will help the author gain objectivity towards their own work.

As an alternative, an author should consider choosing readers and other writers that are fans of the author’s genre. This ensures both a working knowledge of what the story should sound like, as well as a passion for making the story better. It also helps to find readers that are both honest and comfortable with expressing their views. In addition to higher quality writing groups (which are certainly out there) book clubs are also a great place to find beta readers. I’ve also had success by putting some space between my readers and myself, giving them the security to speak their minds without hurting my feelings. This can include getting a third party to moderate the beta read, critique forms with specific questions for the reader to answer, and even giving the option to give feedback anonymously.

Of course, another option is to seek out the services of a professional editor or writing coach. In this case, it’s best to choose a writing professional that is both familiar with the work’s genre and who is willing to have an open dialogue about the piece, rather than simply correcting what they perceive as being wrong with it. This kind of instruction is invaluable to an author who wants to really improve their craft, rather than fixate on problems in a single manuscript.

Whatever source an author uses to receive feedback, the most important part of the process is determining what the author will do with the feedback that he’s received. The wise author will identify his weaknesses for one of two reasons: one, to focus on and improve that aspect of his writing; or two, to reduce that element’s frequency in his writing, such as focusing on the action or dialogue rather than description, or writing in a genre that emphasizes flights of fancy more than heavily researched period pieces.

Above all, remember that all authors should continue to grow and develop in their craft, and that no author is either too gifted or too challenged to become better.

A Grand Time at The Brass Screw Confederacy 2015

Last weekend I had the opportunity to attend and present at a steampunk festival in beautiful Port Townsend, Washington. Not only was this my first exclusively steampunk event, it was also my first time presenting for an audience that was primarily made up of fans rather than writers. It was a fun change of gears (no pun intended) and I really enjoyed connecting with some devote steampunkers!

After spending most of Friday familiarizing myself with the town and getting settled in, I started off the event on Saturday morning with a new presentation I’d prepared specifically for the festival called An Introduction to Steampunk. In it, I shared a little of the historical and literary roots of the genre, mixing information on the Victorian Era with the works of authors like Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, and finished up with a brief look at the philosophy and appeal of steampunk. It was especially great to have some audience members who were totally new to the genre, and I was happy to give them a basic vocabulary for the rest of the festival.

After my lecture, I went to the Bazaar of the Bizarre, a wonderfully eclectic offering of jewelry, costumes, elixirs, books, board games, and undefinable knick-knacks, all lovingly crafted by friendly artisans and local merchants. I also took some time to enjoy the elaborate costumes and sidewalk entertainers that added both visual and musical flavor to the entire event.

Soon, it was time for me to participate in a panel of steampunk authors, and I enjoyed meeting and talking shop with a few of my peers. After this, my family and I went in search of a local restaurant, and found a wonderfully nostalgic soda fountain for burgers and fries. While the Brass Screw offered a variety of concerts and stage shows that I’m sure were terrific, I decided to spend the evening relaxing with my family and preparing for the festival’s third and final day.

Sunday was a busy day for me. First, I attended a panel discussing research methods for writers of both fiction and nonfiction. After that, I gave my own presentation called Steampunk for the Casual Fan, where I used an engaging slide show of artwork and book/movie/game recommendations to demonstrate that you don’t need to wear a top hat to enjoy steampunk. My last presentation was a reading from The Beast Hunter, after which I listened to another author read a Sherlock-Holmsian short story of a clockwork detective and his faithful mechanic.

This event was a lot of fun for me. I got to dress up, sold some books, and had a lot of laughs with many newfound friends and fans. I look forward to attending more genre-specific events in the future, and certainly plan on the Brass Screw being one of them.