July Updates for 2016

It’s been a few months since my last update on what’s going on with me and my writing. There’s plenty that’s going on, so here’s a little of what’s in the works:

The Beast Hunter Sequel

Regular fans will know I’ve been working hard to try to get Into the North published in 2016. I know what I want the story to look like when it’s done, I just need the time to put it all together. Unfortunately, June and July were terrible months for writing because of the many author appearances and events I took part in. Luckily, August is wide open, and I’m hoping to keep it that way. I’m definitely looking forward to spending some quality time with Keltin, Jaylocke, and some other familiar faces in the land of beasts.

New Artwork

Everyone knows that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but in my experience there are plenty of people who do just that. For example, Lost Under Two Moons saw a distinct rise in sales when I introduced the improved version of the cover image last year, and I’m hoping for the same sort of result with The Beast Hunter as I’ve begun working with a new artist who is very talented and a fan of Keltin Moore as well. We’re currently working together on updating the image for the first book in that series and will then begin work on Into the North for later this year.

New Websites

I’ve had issues with my author website and coaching website for a while. Both are buggy and cumbersome when it comes to updates, so I’m currently working on creating new versions of them. My hope had been to have them both completed in time for the PNWA conference this week, but I’ll have to be content with getting them up some time next month.

A New Writing Course in the Works

For years, I’ve had participants in my workshops and presentations ask how they could attend another class of mine. Up until now, the only options I could give them were to watch for my workshops at their local library or writing group, or else hire my services as a writing coach. However, I’ve never been satisfied with that, and I recently decided to do something that would give more people a greater opportunity to learn from my growing catalog of creative-writing workshops.

With that in mind, I’m currently working on creating a ten-part course which will feature my most popular workshops along with a combination of writing time, peer critiques, and instructor critiques. My hope is to have both an in-person version as well as an online variant. I’m still figuring out the details for these, so if you have any requests, suggestions, or questions, please feel free to leave a comment below or get in touch with me via social media.

Top Ten Easy Things to Check Off Your Daily To-do List

July is turning out to be an incredibly busy month for me, and I’m finding myself fantasizing about having a blank to-do list. With that in mind, here are ten very easy things we can all check off our daily to-do lists.

10. Get out of bed feet first.

9. Hold the correct end of the fork while eating.

8. Wear more than one article of clothing while driving.

7. Spell your name correctly on the first try.

6. Turn up the volume when a good song is playing.

5. Look at your phone at least once.

4. Say something funny (at least, YOU thought it was funny).

3. Open doors before going through them.

2. Have at least one idle thought an hour while awake.

1. Resolve to get something done tomorrow.

What is Clockwork Dragon?

Yesterday I got to participate in an online launch party for the sci-fi anthology Unnatural Dragons. This was the first collection of stories from Clockwork Dragon authors, and included contributions from Jeffrey Cook, Sechin Tower, Lee French, and myself. I’m also going to get to hang out with my fellow Clockwork Dragon folks tomorrow at Capital Indie Book Con at Evergreen State College. With these and many more shared events in the future, I thought it might be a good time to explain just what Clockwork Dragon actually is.

The short answer is that several local indie authors decided to partner together to help facilitate selling books at Cons, festivals, and other events. As such, we are a co-op, splitting table fees and other costs in exchange for shared display space. This allows us to attend far more events that we could by ourselves as well as having multiple people available to watch the vendor table. But Clockwork Dragon is much more than that.

The philosophy of the group is to use soft-sell techniques to pair the right reader with the right book, whether it’s our own or someone else’s. That means that when someone comes to our table, we don’t act like carnival barkers and aggressively start shoving our books in their face. We let people browse, and if they seem interested in actually shopping, we ask what kind of book they like to read. Based on their answer, we’ll make a recommendation of whatever book on the table would fit their needs the best. I’ve seen this in action, and it’s a lot of fun when everything connects together.

The best part about being in Clockwork Dragon is that it allows me to play to my strengths while relying on others to do what they’re best at. I consider myself very lucky to have partnered together with such terrific authors (including Nikki McCormack, our newest member) and I look forward to continuing to work together to spread the word about our stories.

My Experience at Westercon/GEAR Con 2016

I’ve done a variety of events in the last few years. Writing conferences, retreats, festivals, cons… each type of event seems to have its own way of doing things. I consider Westercon/GEAR Con to have been my first traditional-style con, with round-the-clock programming, at least six panels during each hour of the day, and cosplayers representing movies, games, and a variety of speculative fiction tropes.

Of course, I saw most of the Con from behind the Clockwork Dragon table in the vendor building. While this did occasionally become fairly boring, it did give me a great opportunity to see some terrific outfits and meet with dozens of interesting people. Topics of conversation with passing attendees included the various incarnations of Thor in the Marvel Universe, the accuracy of 19th century rifles, and the anatomy of various monsters. It was a wonderfully nerdy time.

The conversations were more focused but often just as interesting at the various panels that I sat on. With subjects ranging from steampunk media recommendations to maintaining suspension of disbelief, I had some great dialogues with my fellow panelists as well as the audience members. I will admit that the casual atmosphere took a little getting used to, as I'm used to a more structured, orderly set-up, but by the end of the Con I felt like I had at least started to get a handle on the informal culture.

While sales of my books were not the best I've seen at an event, they were respectable and helped make the trip a productive one. I was a little surprised that all of my titles sold almost equally as well, but that was likely the result of this being a multi-genre Con. It will be interesting to see how my various titles compare at the other three events I have coming up this month.

While Westercon was a good experience, there's a part of me that looks forward to next year when GEAR Con will be on its own once more. Thrilling as the big Cons are, there's something to be said for the more intimate setting of a smaller event. It's also easier to remember people's names.

The Benefits of Outlines

I am not an organized writer. I rarely have a detailed plan before I start a story, and what little pre-planning I do have is almost never written down. But even as an organic writer (I resent the term ‘pantser’) I can see the advantages of having a road map while navigating the creative process. With that in mind, here are some of the benefits of outlines for all types of writers.

They Reduce Start-Overs

How many times have you been working on a story and realized that you’re going in the completely wrong direction? How often have you been forced to go back a chapter (or worse, back to the beginning) and re-write what you spent so much time creating in the first place? Having an outline potentially prevents the busywork that comes from flying by the seat of your pants while writing.

They Help with Writer’s Block

This is probably my most frequent use of outlines. I’ll be stuck part-way through my first draft with a clear picture of where I want to end up but no idea how to get there. As I brood over my dilemma, I may get a flash of inspiration of the perfect way to make that connection. Fearful that I’ll forget, I quickly jot down a brief sequence of events to remember how to get myself out of the mess I’ve created. Even if my writing doesn’t go according to that plan, it’s usually enough to get me back into a creative groove.

They Make Backstory Easily Accessible

While a writer may benefit from composing a full, detailed description of the events leading up to a story’s beginning, it’s often more efficient and effective to have a succinct list of just the highlights. Not only does this give the writer more time to work on the manuscript itself, but a list of events is a much better reference guide than a short essay on a character’s life history would be when the writer is trying to remember specific details.

They’re Adaptable to the Artist

Nobody but you will ever see your outlines. They are solely for your benefit. While many authors may share their own refined method for clearly identifying key details in their work, nobody will know if you don’t do it exactly the way your favorite author does it. You can use whatever method or style that compliments the way your creative mind works.