Taking a break

With this holiday week, I'm going to take a hiatus from the blog to refocus some energy on revisions, queries, and the beginnings of a new story. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving break, however long it is for you, and we'll see each other again on the other side. 

I see that smile.

Eh?

Piano. In woods.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/11/23/massachusetts.piano/index.html

Fiction. Stranger than.

Annoying Innaccuracies

Survey of the day:

When watching a science fiction movie, which scientific innaccuracies or oversimplifications annoy you the most? Do any do so to the degree that it makes you stop watching? Or do you just remain in the audience and heckle the actors?

Right now, I'd say "computers being the magical genie of all knowledge" is my top pick. What's yours?

I see that smile. 

How not to pay a bill

A friend from work sent me this article about a man's attempt to pay an overdue bill, which had me laughing so hard that both our dog and cat hid under the couch until the thunderstorm passed.

Needless to say, don't try this with your own utility company. 

I see that smile.

Tobias Buckell in the hospital

Thoughts and prayers to Tobias Buckell, who notified folks yesterday that he had been hospitalized due to a heart condition (probably a family trait) that needs some specialists called in for. 

Seems to be in high spirits, since he's already asking for an Xbox beside his bed. 

Praying for a full and quick recovery. I'm sure he'll welcome all the support folks will give.

I see that smile.

How to write a novel in 1 month

I've been asked by a couple of folks if I'm taking part in November's NaNoWriMo. (National Novel Writing Month, for those new to the term.) This is where your goal is to write the first draft of a novel in thirty days. Seems like a rough chore, but the idea is to make you push past all the distractions, the excuses, the inner editor and whatever else slows your writing process down and do nothing else but write, write, write.

Here's an interview with Chris Baty, the founder of NaNoWriMo, who talks about how the whole thing got started, authors who have gotten published through the event, and tips for actually getting that novel done in such a limited timeline. 

Anyways, I haven't done it before, nor do I plan to in the near future. Not because I don't like it. In fact, I think it is a great motivation for folks and can be a lot of fun, especially for those who have had a hard time applying butt-to-chair principles and find their writing habits suffering because of it. Thing with me is that I usually am already wrapped up in a writing project whenever the month comes around. Either I'm in the middle of a draft, or I'm revising, worldbuilding, or whatever. I've never had a huge problem making myself sit down and purge the words, and so if I did take the time to get involved with NaNoWriMo it'd likely be distracting from another work-in-progress. If I ever have a hard time in the future with some form of writer's block, then I certainly wouldn't be adverse to taking part.

What about you all? Anyone try the month deadline before? Success stories? Would you do it again?

I see that smile.

An interview about reviewing

Now this is fun. I've been pretty active in this online reviewing site that I've mentioned a few times: Online Writting Workshop. Mostly in their sci-fi/fantasy genre section. I hit Master Reviewer status a bit back and have read a ton of great stories and gotten in contact with some wonderful writers in the process. 

In the November newsletter, they ran an interview with three participants about their methods and approaches to the whole review process, and I was asked to be involved. 

http://sff.onlinewritingworkshop.com/

If you check out the homepage, you can find the current newsletter link in the lefthand window. Let me just reiterate, as I have before about OWW, that this is a community well worth your time and subscription. The cost is nothing compared to the amazing work you will read, the friends you will make, and the feedback that will make your work all the better.

I see that smile.

Gone huntin'

No blog till next week. Up in the mountains with my dad, trying to get some meat for the winter. Can you say "elk jerky"? Bye now.

Questions to ask after getting rejected

We talked about "rejectomancy" in the previous post--that bad habit of trying to decode form rejection letters to figure out the secret messages agents are trying to beam into your head. Doesn't really work and is honestly more depressing than the initial letter itself. 

But there are good, productive ways to approach revisions after getting rejected. Here is a Top 10 list of questions you should ask yourself after you hit that point where you wonder why your query and manuscript aren't getting the response you feel they deserve.

Here's a couple:

3. Are you only approaching senior agents at your desired agencies? Expand your search to include agents whose lists may be more open and your response rate could go up.

4. Does your query have any big DON’Ts on it? (rambling letter; confusing concept; picture of you/your kids/your dog; no contact info; calling your work “the next Harry Potter”)

Also, oddly enough, agent Colleen Lindsay recently posted eight big reasons as to why she may have rejected your query. Funny how most of them have to do with reading (and following!) the submission guidelines, plus being somewhat professional and courteous in how the query is written. Whodathunk?

I see that smile. 

More on rejections- but not by me

Kelly McCullough weighs in on his opinion of rejections, so I thought I'd share his thoughts from the SFNovelists blogroll.

http://www.sfnovelists.com/2008/11/11/rejections-as-a-way-of-keeping-score/

Seems like McCullough has a similar approach. We both have spreadsheets to keep track of submissions and rejections, and both of our numbers are in the hundreds. I would take a moment to highly recommend keeping track of who you query and submit to this way, because not only does it help you not send in duplicate queries to the same agent or editor, but it also provides you with an ongoing and growing list of agencies that you can send your next project to, without having to do all that hunting and researching all over again.

McCullough does make one very good point. Avoid rejectomancy. This is the addictive and rather depressing habit of scrutinizing a form rejection letter in the hopes that the agent has somehow hidden a code that tells you exactly what to change or do better to ensure an acceptance next time. Ain't gonna happen. Agents use form letters because their business is so subjective that they'd need at least a hundred variations of it if they wanted to provide explanations for why they rejected each author's project. (And one of them would be: "Haven't had my coffee yet.")

If you go back to the snowball analogy, that'd be like getting smacked in the face with slush, then scooping it up and trying to study the dirt-to-snow ratio that composed the snowball to try and figure out why your opponent threw it your way. Not gonna be all that helpful, and will only distract you as further missiles sail your way.

So, go read the rest of his thoughts. Then keep on fighting.

I see that smile.

Coraline movie video

Here's a fun video of Neil Gaiman explaining some of the story about the upcoming Coraline movie, how he first envisioned the story, and how it moved from being a book to a huge, 3D stop-motion film. 



Loving all the glimpses of how crazy and eerie the movie looks to be. Something hopefully both children and adults can enjoy on their own levels, and together.


I see that smile.

Rejections are like snowballs

It hit me the other day (pun not intended) that getting rejected for a story is like being on the losing end of a snowball fight. Those first few hits really sting. The ice dribbles down your collar and you feel cold and disoriented. 

Get hit by enough of them though, and eventually the sting goes away. The skin numbs. You don't feel it as much. So you take a break, go inside, have some hot chocolate and revise and write some more, then come back outside and get hit again, fresh sting, fresh chill.

But hey...queries are like snowballs too. We get our own ammo to fling back, and hope that sometime, somehow, we might actually get a hit. Provoke a reaction. And we even have an advantage--because through our writing, our hooks and our stories, we can stick rocks in the middle of our snowballs and add a little more impact. 

Can you tell that I'm ready for it to snow here? C'mon...middle of November and we're just now getting chilly days. Oh well. Back to piling up some ammo.

I see that smile.

Free graphic novel of Ender's Game--this month only

One of science fiction's classic novels is now coming out in graphic novel form. Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game. And now, for a limited time, you can read the entire first issue for free through this link: 

http://marvel.com/digitalcomics/titles/Ender~apos~s_Game.2008.1?utm_source=tor&utm_medium=book&utm_content=Ender’s_Game_1&utm_campaign=Ender’s_Game_1

The art here is crisp and colorful and definitely brings Card's world alive. Makes me want to start collecting comics, with all the good books that are getting converted these days. Oh, and if you haven't read the book yet, here's the story summary as they put it:

The Story: There’s a war coming. The same aliens who almost destroyed Earth once are coming back to get the whole job done this time. But we aren’t going to just sit and die. The international military is taking our best and brightest to mold them into the finest 
military minds ever—and they’re taking them young. 8-year-old Ender Wiggin is the best they’ve ever found. Can he save the Earth? Can he survive Battle School and the game that they will force him to play? 

I see that smile.

Another great author lost to us

I know Michael Crichton's work was somewhat divisive as to who liked it and who didn't, but he still made his mark in numerous genres and leaves a big hole after succumbing to cancer at the age of 66. 

This was a surprise to me, and a sad one. I've noted before that it seems like the past couple years have been big on the deaths of some great authors. Now we have to add another name to the list. 

*sigh*

Medical sci-fi contest

Not that I think this contest is going to be anyone's big break to fame and fortune, but it might prove an interesting challenge. medGadget is running a genre writing contest--not just science fiction, but the niche of medical science fiction. 

Here's their description:

The competition is designed to present to the public talented writers, among our readers and beyond, who imagine the future of medicine through fictional stories. Whether it is a hitherto unknown ethical dilemma that will come up many years from now, or an imaginary technology, we can't wait to see this year's entries!

And the prize is unique as well. 

Epocrates (the contest sponsor) is generously donating to the winner the latest version of Epocrates Essentials Deluxe, a premium mobile suite of drugs, diseases and diagnostics that also features a medical dictionary, coding reference, clinical calculators and more, as well as the latest Palm® Tungsten™ E2 handheld.

I don't know how much use I would actually get out of such software, but the Tungsten is tempting in itself. Check out the site for rules, plus last year's winning submissions. The deadline is November 16th, so if you don't already have a story in mind, you might need to be a bit quick on your feet to get finished in time. Good luck!

I see that smile.

So...

Ya voted yet?

How to write a novel in two months

A pretty impressive endeavor. Jeff Vandermeer accomplished it with his latest novel, partly due to a bunch of schedule complications that enforced this timeline, but he decided to share some of his tips and tricks in getting a polished novel to the editor in just two months. I don't know about you, but it's usually at least a month of worldbuilding and development before I feel all that comfortable just to start, and then another three months to finish. Two months from beginning to end sounds a bit crazy, but let's see what he says.

One thing to note is that he doesn't just list off some writing tips, but reminds you that there are other people who are going to be involved in your effort, such as a significant other, plus potential folks you contact for research and questions. Make sure they are onboard for the next two months of madness. 

Once we get to the craft itself, here's one of his many good points (and I would argue some of these are just as applicable to any writing timeline, not just a short one):

(7) Don’t animate what doesn’t need to be animated. This might just apply to any novel, but it’s especially true when you’re under the gun deadline-wise. There’s a lodge in my novel and separate rooms for all of the guests, along with one common room. There’re maybe two scenes in the separate rooms and lots in the common room. So I spent my time detailing the common room and really didn’t describe the other parts of the lodge at all. There was really no point.

Read through the rest of his article to get some other great ideas to streamline your writing process. It does a great job of pointing out some essentials that could help keep you from panicking should you ever face this kind of deadline.

I see that smile.