Writing is chaos, which isn't a ladder

But is actually a line that looks like a toddler attempted to draw a squiggly storm cloud. We have to follow the Muse, and if the Muse whips out an unfinished manuscript in the middle of another unfinished manuscript, well . . .

You gotta do what you gotta do. And in my case, I'm doing what I can to finish Comedy of Rain, but I also have to obey the Muse and get back to other things, like No Signal or the Queen of Seasons quintet, which haven't been touched in a dog's age. Since I don't have much else to report on, I'm going to scale back on my blog posts to one per month until I can get back up to speed with regular semimonthly updates.

See you, space cowboy!

A writer's work is never done

And that's certainly true whenever we're trying to hammer away at an ending that's been eluding us.

I'm sure you all remember my many promises to have Comedy of Rain done long ago, but what with writer's block and my recent illness this past Spring, progress got pushed further and further back. On the plus side, at least I was able to sew up some plot holes and brainstorm how to get some of my original ideas back into the ending.

See, I had to go back and restructure things from about chapter 30 on, which included merging two POV chapters into one and giving Hipólito command of that particular plot point. This pulled the plot forward, and, while I had to cut a scene I really wanted to keep, I think this greatly improves pacing and buildup for the big reveal.

But more importantly: I'm writing again, and that means progress is being made on this draft. If the inspiration holds and the Muse stays, then I look to have this wrapped up before the end of July.

Fingers crossed.

No deadlines

Aside from the ones I make, that is.

One of the best things about being a self-publishing author is that I can pick and choose my release dates, blog dates, etc. based upon my own schedule. Being sick these past two months made me realize that more so now than before.

There's always a catch, though. For me, a fair bit of my platform is automated. In this day and age, technology makes it easy for me to prep my posts in advance, and then I just set them up to post either weekly or monthly (depending on the material) while I work on my writing.

The problem, though, is that being knocked down by allergies, a stomach flu, and general illness for two months straight meant I didn't have the focus to sit down and script new posts so that there wouldn't be any interruptions. I've been grabbing things one at a time, getting them posted last minute (or, in the case of this past week on Facebook, posting it after the fact and just backdating it).

Even this blog post is behind from what I would normally post (noon), but at least I'm getting it out the same day, right?

All things considered, I'm getting back in the grove post-illness, so posts are getting scheduled now, and the manuscripts—gods, the manuscripts—are being worked on again. In fact, I've been on a binge this past week, and I've made it through twelve chapters of Comedy of Rain in my efforts to cut NaNoWriMo word vomit, as well as fill in the gaps for ideas that weren't as fleshed out as they should have been.

Here's hoping that I can keep up this progress through this long weekend.

Catch you all again soon!

Stay tuned for a word from our author . . .

Apologies everyone, but this spring has been killer for allergies and stomach bugs, and I'm behind on so much (blog posts included). No major updates to report, so I'm going to finish mending and getting back into the groove of editing Comedy of Rain. Chat soon!

Road to recovery

April was a bad month for me. I went from a sinus infection to fluid buildup on my ears to a horrible stomach virus. Needless to say, my writing has been suffering because of it.

When I last left off, I was deep into the edits of Comedy of Rain, compiling notes for major changes, altering snippets here and there, cleaning up verbosity, and—most importantly—seeding Kadiza's proper motivation where it was lacking. It's starting to feel more like Kadiza's story, as it should, and I'm so happy for that. Franklin, I think, still undergoes the most change, but that's only because he's finally reaching a place where he's comfortable with both Kadiza and Hipólito. We'll see how that goes, of course, as things move on.

Just as soon as I get through this draft and get the ending wrapped up (yay for Gambit Pileups!), I'll get back to finalizing Tragedy of Ice for eventual publishing. Seriously looking forward to that, since it'll be my debut novel.

Anyway, I'm getting back to the grind, so I will keep you folks updated accordingly.

Ciao!

Five writers sit down to Google Hangouts . . .

Now that Cabover Cabaret has been published, the new year is finally ahead of me. And that means getting back to the beast that is Comedy of Rain!

"Though the road's been rocky it sure feels good to me." ~ Bob Marley

When I last updated you, the little heathen had been evading my every attempt to complete its ending. Having had my mental break from it to handle Cabover Cabaret, I came to realize that part of my problem with Comedy of Rain was that I couldn't focus on its ending while stressing about all the NaNoWriMo word vomit I'd padded the opening chapters with. I'd rehashed the plot of Tragedy of Ice so much that Comedy of Rain wasn't standing on its own.

First order of business when picking it back up was to return to the beginning. Working with the presumption that folks reading Comedy of Rain will have read or reread Tragedy of Ice before starting it, I began stripping out any details for equipment, places, history, etc. that had already been thoroughly covered in the first book. For everything I pulled out, though, I took pains to flesh out concepts and plot points that are new and relevant to Comedy of Rain's plot line. Since I have the majority of book two written, I drew in issues that Kadiza and the others would be facing, and began laying a more solid foundation for them.

"Stop making excuses. [. . .] You’re old enough to make the decision to start over and rewrite your script. Nothing will change for you until you do.” 

~ John Carlton, The Entrepreneur's Guide To Getting Your Shit Together

And then there was the other matter to attend to, the one of greatest importance. With everything I had already written, I knew Franklin and Hipólito's personal goals for Comedy of Rain, but I didn't have anything hardline for Kadiza. Which, to be blunt, was total horseshit considering she's the main character. I sat down with some writer friends, and I made bullet points for events and Kadiza's reaction (or lack thereof) to them, and eventually there was that "EUREKA!" moment where we figured out what her personal goal for Comedy of Rain was supposed to be.

Once that was settled, I began tackling Comedy of Rain in full force, shaping Kadiza's attitude and POV chapters around her personal goal, and I gotta say it's made quite the difference. Then to top it all off, I was doing an art party with two other artist/writer friends, and they gave me an epiphany for my ending.

Needless to say, I'm gung-ho toward the ending and chock-full of renewed enthusiasm for this book. If you've been following me on Twitter, then you know I've already made my way up through chapter 5. I'm striving to hit the full ending by the last week of March, so if you want to follow me, tweet exchange, and chit-chat about writings-in-progress, I'd love to hear from you!

The unveiling

It's finally done!

For those of you who've been seeing it on my Twitter feed, you know that this is the finished cover for Cabover Cabaret, my next short story due to be released tentatively 10 February 2016.

In this serial, we return to Arthurfield, WV, my crossroads for the preternatural. Here we have Reggy, a weretiger who's survived more than enough centuries to make him cynical, and yet he has found ways to remain jovial enough. His newest partner, Thomas, just started working for Discreet movers, a company that specializes in the needs of the preternatural community. Together, they'll be in for one hell of an evening in terms of weird and unusual events.

This one has definitely been a labour of love, with many a rewrite, many a cry, and many a "How the crap do I make this thing shorter—it's already 16,000 words!" Well, that last one didn't turn out the way I wanted, but that's okay. The pacing, according to my beta readers, is great enough that they didn't notice the length. I'd call that a win.

As to its release, Cabover Cabaret will be the fourth Appalachian Dream Tale, and will be available through multiple vendors, such as Amazon Kindle, Smashwords, Kobo, Nook, iBooks, etc. As the author, I ask that—if you can—please make your purchase through Smashwords, as they offer the best return for authors as far as royalties are concerned. I know it may not seem like much, but that kind of incentive helps self-publishing authors like myself stay committed to their craft, maintain their resources, and renew their websites. So thank you in advance, and I hope to have the pre-orders up soon for you folks!

Party on, Wayne! :)

The shade of it all

This has been a long writing holiday. A long one. I'm fairly certain that if I were in education, I'd have been on sabbatical. Regardless, I've been doing my best to keep up with everything, and while I may have been quieter on the social media front, I have been chugging right along with all my writerly obligations.

Like Cabover Cabaret! It's tentatively scheduled for February 2017, much like the last three Appalachian Dream Tales, so I've been working on finalizing the manuscript, as well as getting the cover art ready. While I had hoped to premiere the full artwork for this blog post, I unfortunately still have some extras left to colour and shade, so expect it instead for the next blog post to come in January.

In other news, the manuscript has also been a priority for me, and while I really want to get back to my larger projects, like Tragedy of Ice and Comedy of Rain, I just have to shelve them until after I get Cabover Cabaret set up for release.

Anyway, I must be getting back to the art side of this self-publishing industry right now, so stay tuned for further updates!

Author Spotlight: Heather Hayden

In continuing with my spotlight of fellow authors, this month I'm interviewing Heather Hayden.

Heather writes Sci-Fi and Fantasy for the Young Adult age group. She loves action, and has a penchant for the unexpected. In recent months, she's been working on Of Beauty Within, which is a novelized, gender-swapped retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Her debut novel, Augment, was independently published, and mixes elements of both science and science fiction, while exploring themes of friendship and what it means to be human.

Let's open with something simple. When did you decide to become a writer?

Heather: I’ve been dabbling in writing for as long as I can remember. I finished my first novel in 2007, thanks to the challenge of National Novel Writing Month, and after that, I just kept writing. I did NaNoWriMo every year, JanNoWriMo for as long as the forums existed, and other writing challenges. I’ve won prizes in local contests for flash fiction and poetry, as well. I think I always planned on writing as a hobby, but after a few years at college, trying this, that, and the other thing, I realized that writing was really what I wanted to do. That’s when I decided to pursue it as a career.

I see. Are you currently writing full-time or part-time?

Heather: A bit of both, really. My current job is online and part-time, so I try to write whenever I’m not working. Eventually I’d like writing to be my full-time job.

That's a wonderful aspiration. Do you have a favourite motivational phrase to keep yourself on track?

Heather: I have several phrases I love, but I think in terms of motivation, CJ Cherryh takes the cake. She said: “It is perfectly okay to write garbage - as long as you edit brilliantly.” This strikes a deep chord in me, because as a pantser, my first drafts are often in need of help . . . which they get during the editing process.

I know you've published one novel already. What made you choose to pursue independent publishing?

Heather: I wanted more control, so publishing independently made the most sense. Plus, with hard work and a bit of elbow grease, it’s a lot faster to self-publish books than to seek representation. I plan on releasing two-to-four books a year, and having the control over prices, book covers, etc., is important to me.

Very insightful. Okay, last thing: it’s November! Are you participating again in National Novel Writing Month this year, and, if so, what's been your experience with it?

Heather: Yes! NaNoWriMo is actually what first got me writing novels. I started participating in 2007 after reading a magazine article about the challenge and finished with a 60,000 word novel about a mute girl and cats who lived in shadows. After that, I kept writing and didn’t look back. I’ve been participating every year since then. Some years were more difficult than others—during high school, I had a lot more free time (yay for homeschooling!), while during college I had to make time for my writing among everything else. Thankfully, my college had a trimester system and the first trimester ended mid-November—often my novel would get written during the last two weeks!

***

Though a part-time editor by day, Heather Hayden's not-so-secret identity is that of a writer—at night she pours heart and soul into science fiction and fantasy novels. In March 2015 she published her first novella, Augment, a YA science fiction story filled with excitement, danger, and the strength of friendship. She immediately began work on its sequel, Upgrade, which continues the adventures of Viki, a girl who loves to run, and her friend Halle, an AI. You can learn more about Heather and her stories through her blog and her Twitter, both of which consist of equal amounts of writerly things and random stuff she’s interested in.

NaNoWriMo in absentia

You'll have noticed I've not mentioned hide nor hair of NaNoWriMo 2016. That's because I chose not to participate this year. I have so many projects that need to be completed (especially Cabover Cabaret, which needs to be ready for its TBA February 2017 release date), that I decided this November would be about housekeeping.

In a way, I suppose you could say that I am participating in NaNo since I'm working on all projects, large and small, that need completed, but I'm doing so without the goal of 50,000 words of new material. I'm two chapters and an epilogue away from finishing Comedy of Rain. I'm working on the cover art for Cabover Cabaret, as well as final edits. I'm so excited to debut that cover art, too, as I'm having a lot of fun with it.

Back to Comedy of Rain, though. The writing may still be slow going, but it's progressing. Especially now that I've found the song for Franklin's chapter.

I'm looking forward to having a completed manuscript "on my desk", hopefully by the end of November. Fingers crossed!

The wonders of good music

Remember the last time I checked in, I was still fighting with the final chapters of Comedy of Rain? Well, not anymore!

One of my coworkers at my new day job is as much a classic metal fan as I am, and he pointed me in the direction of Last In Line, which is comprised of most of the original members of Dio. And just like so many times before, when I find the right song, I can write the chapter.

In this case, it was "Starmaker" by Last in Line. It got me through chapter 44, which I've been stuck on for months. Hipólito finally cooperated, and I got the plot twist and everything written down. So far the next chapter is on track, so I'm looking to keep that pace going.

Next up on my list, of course, is to start the cover art for my next short story, due to be released in early February. This'll be the next story in the Appalachian Dream Tales, and will close out the first wave of introductions to my main characters. I'm in the process of getting it polished and ready, and I hope it'll be a load of fun for anyone who's familiar with Waiting for Godot. Absurdist comedy, anyone?

Anyway, that's all for now. Back to work, and I'll see you all soon for my next update!

Author Spotlight: Tabitha Chirrick

Welcome to the next installment of my author spotlight. This month, I'm interviewing Tabitha Chirrick, who is a self-published Sci-Fi writer, who recently published her first novel, Overshadowed.

Tabitha, what drew you to write science fiction?

Tabitha: There are two kinds of science fiction: philosophical “this-could-be-the-future” sci-fi, and pulpy “there-are-booms-and-lasers” sci-fi. I’m the shmuck who writes about booms and lasers.

I like Clarke, I like Herbert, I can tolerate me some Asimov, but I’ve always been drawn to what I wish was commonly called science fantasy, by which I mean fantastical stories in future or hi-tech settings rather than places with trees and tiny villages. Think Star Wars or Fortune’s Pawn or Ender’s Game. I find the marriage between the fantastical and the science fascinating, and have always been drawn to stories that fall into this genre. It’s a joy to write in, and feels truly limitless.

Fascinating; "Sci-Fa" should definitely get more attention as a separate genre! What did you think was the hardest thing about writing Overshadowed?

Tabitha: That’s a tough one. I ran into all sorts of challenges: cutting major characters and rewriting over the gaps, balancing multiple point of views, keeping the dark side likeable, and the ending, of course. Had to carefully consider the number of explosions.

But I think, even everything else considered, the hardest part was the beginning. I rewrote the intro almost twenty times – full rewrites, not tweaks or basic edits. I got a lot of feedback over the entire writing process, and every beginning I wrote seemed to have a major pacing flaw. Starting too soon, starting too late, starting too slow, starting too fast, and on and on and on the problems went.

Luckily, I had a lot of patient critique partners, and ended up with a beginning better than all prior versions. Looking back, there are still things I would change (aren’t there always?), but I’m happy with how it turned out. Beginnings are tough. They have to accomplish so much!

How often do you write, and do you have a special time during the day to write?

Tabitha: My writing schedule is all over the place. Whole chapters written in between rounds of Halo, 3AM insomnia notes, paragraphs of plot while I’m waiting for dinner to finish, and, occasionally, a very normal couple thousand words in a writing-only afternoon. I’m trying to make the latter my typical day. I mean, I get the work done, but maybe not in that stereotypical "sitting in a big chair sipping tea while the words pour out for hours" kind of way. I wish that was my process. Tea is good, and I like big chairs.

What is your favorite motivational phrase?

Tabitha: “Just do it.” – Nike . . . or is it Shia Labeouf now? Eh, either way.

LOL! Okay, last question. What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

Tabitha: . . . Just do it.

Okay, but really, I’d tell them to read broadly, practice deliberately, converse with their writing peers, and, yes, actually do the writing part. Talking about writing isn’t writing. Tweeting about writing isn’t writing. Sharing writer jokes on tumblr isn’t writing. Writing is writing. Do all that other stuff too – those things are fun – but make sure you actually write. Growth happens in the act.

***

Tabitha Chirrick is a writer of all things speculative, geeky, and/or badass. Overshadowed - a YA Sci-fi - is her most recent release, though you may have also seen her work in Pigeonholes, Unbroken Journal, or even the International Conference on Interactive Digital Storytelling. She has a BA in Creative Writing from the University of California Santa Cruz, lives in Silicon Valley, and aside from reading and writing, her favorite pastimes include cooking, gaming, stargazing, and tempting deadlines via the power of procrastination! You can follow her on her website or Twitter.

Author Spotlight: Jim Moran

Welcome to the second installment of my author spotlight series. This month, I'm interviewing Jim Moran, a Sci-Fi writer who's currently working on an epic space opera.

When did you decide to become a writer?

Jim: Heh. I don’t think I’ve really “decided” that. Or, maybe I’ve always been a writer. I don’t know. I write a lot, but not professionally as of yet. Have I decided to pursue a professional career as an author? Maybe that’s the better question, but if it is, then I don’t have a good answer for it yet.

Life is a grand adventure, right? I’m still just making things up as I go, for the most part. Ask me again in a year.

What do you think is the hardest thing about writing?

Jim: For me, it’s everything not directly related to the writing.

I think I’ve found a workable approach to writing. I don’t have much of a problem coming up with ideas, building a workable framework around those ideas, writing, revising . . . all that stuff, I’m fairly comfortable with my efforts and abilities.

But once I have a finished product, ask me what I’m going to do with it, and holy smokes I have no idea. A couple of years ago, this wasn’t even a thing that had anything to do with me. Now people are asking me stuff like “Are you going to get an agent?” and “What do you think about self-publishing” and “What do you think about the Hugo Awards?” and “What’s your query look like?” and I have no idea.

Okay, I have a few ideas. But “a few ideas” is about as far as I’ve gotten. My whole writing endeavor started on a whim, and things have basically been stumbling along towards progress ever since.

I feel like I’ve just baked a birthday cake for a three-year old’s birthday party, in a calm and peaceful kitchen, and I’m quietly pleased (and a little surprised) by the results. Meanwhile, there’s this muffled background murmur that has been present the whole time, but it’s in the distance. It doesn’t affect me right now. Right now, it’s just me and this cake I made.

But the cake isn’t for me, it’s for everybody. So I open the kitchen door and AAAAAAAAAH! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! Now I’m being mobbed by a bunch of wildlings. Some of them want the cake, others think the cake looks gross and immediately want me to bake a different cake, and both groups are shouting. Some of them just want different icing on the cake, as if that’s a reasonable request. Some are grabbing for the cake without asking. One of them punched one of the other ones, and they’re both crying. Somebody isn’t wearing pants. Somebody else is trying to hang on my leg with every step I take. Everybody’s running around and screaming and carrying on and it’s chaos. Chaos.

Part of me wants to just hurl the cake into the room and retreat to the kitchen, where it’s quiet and sane. Part of me wants the kids to eat the cake, because I think it’s a pretty good cake, damn it, I worked hard on it, and I want those that might enjoy it to at least try a slice. Part of me wants to stop belaboring this metaphor and move on to the next question.

But yeah. The writing, I don’t have a problem with it. Everything else, on the other hand . . .

Did you come across any specific challenges in writing Focus?  What would you do differently the next time?

Jim: I would spend more time, earlier, thinking about how I wanted my characters to progress. When I first started knocking words together, most of my major characters had a bit of personality but no growth. Some of that growth I backfilled, some of it I shoehorned in later, but I didn’t really get a good handle on where I wanted these characters to be until I was about two-thirds of the way through. Then I had to go back and rewrite a bunch of stuff. It was a decent amount of work that could have been avoided had I been thinking about it from the start.

Also, I wish I’d created my little wiki program sooner. It’s been a big help for remembering little details.

With respect to your writing career thus far, would you have done anything differently?

Jim: It’s not really a “career” thing for me, at least not at this time. And I really have no significant regrets as to where I am now. But if I were to change something, it would be to get started earlier. Like, at least a decade earlier.

My writing wouldn’t have started out nearly as well (relative to where it is now, anyway) but I’d understand the industry a lot more and I’d be more comfortable and experienced dealing with a lot of the extracurriculars.  Who knows where I’d be today?  Still a programmer, probably, because my day job is a fulfilling endeavor that I enjoy. But, writing-wise, I’d certainly be better prepared for whatever the next step should be.

So . . . yeah. Get started early.

Final question: which famous person, living or dead would you like to meet and why?

Jim: Any number of folks, really. Right off the top of my head, the first name I can think of is Theodore Roosevelt.  I would buy that man a drink. He’s gotta have all kinds of interesting stories to tell.

***

Jim is a random guy on the Internet who accidentally fell into this whole "writing" thing. He is terribly inexperienced in virtually every aspect of the writing endeavor, and is currently just making things up as he goes. What fun! He has a blog.

99 problems and a goal ain't one

The first step of anything is admitting you have a problem.

Or a goal.

I have both.

I've got approximately 4 chapters left to write for Comedy of Rain, but I can't seem to write them. I can bullet point them just fine, but when it comes to expressing things in actual sentences, I draw a blank. 

And I know what the cause of said problem is: this chapter I've been stuck on is Hipólito's POV, and he's very angry. So angry, in fact, that getting him to articulate words is nigh impossible. So I'm trying an alternate method. I've taken my bullet point, and I'm adding subpoints, with the hope that I can compile enough to make sentences to make paragraphs, and soldier on enough to make it through the draft and finally close it out.

Because then once it's closed out, I'll have the entire picture in front of me, and I can edit. And edit means I have more free rein to fix the characters' POVs where needed.

Like water, like glue

Some stories flow like water. Tragedy of Ice was like that for me. I sat down a year ago, back in February 2015, and hammered out the whole manuscript in under a month.

Some stories are like glue, though. Comedy of Rain is like this right now for me. I started it during NaNoWriMo 2015, and the writing has oozed along, getting stuck along the way, building up obstacles, and meandering in ways I don't want it to go.

I wish I knew why some stories are more like the latter, as I think it would help me get through the massive difficulties I've faced with getting this one down on paper. I don't know what it is about Comedy of Rain. I have bullet points—bullet points!—detailing everything to do with the final chapters, and I just can't seem to sit down to write anything past 200 words at a time at this point.

It's sluggish, but more importantly: frustrating. I know exactly what I want to write. I write when I am in front of the screen, but I can't do more than those painstaking 200 words at a time.

But ultimately: I am writing. So unless a block happens altogether, I'm still making progress, and that's what matters.

Author Spotlight: Louise Ross

In the last few years of being on a critiquing website, I've had the pleasure of meeting many a great and aspiring authors. I don't know why I never thought of it before, but I'd love to start shining a light on some of those marvelous folks in our writing community. Beginning today, I'm going to start with Louise Ross.

Louise is a writer of speculative fiction, and is currently working on Distilled, which is a Fantasy novel about a cocky alchemist who must learn to trust before he is captured by mercenaries and delivered to his murderous brother. She's been writing for three years, and is working towards filling her bookshelf with her own published novels.

To start off our interview today: which writers inspire you?

Louise: I have always been fascinated by Speculative Fiction. As a child, I discovered Diana Wayne Jones and read every book I could find. From there, my father introduced me to his collection of Sci-Fi. Most of it was classic Sci-Fi like Asimov, Herbert, and Bradbury. Recently, my focus has been Magical Realism and Urban Fantasy. I keep watch on authors like Patricia Briggs, Jim Butcher, and Ilona Andrews.

Interesting! Now I'm always curious: for your own reading, do you prefer eBooks, or traditional paper/hardback books?

Louise: I prefer audiobooks first and paper books second. As a child, my father would read my sisters and me bedtime stories when he didn’t sing us to sleep. I guess I still enjoy being read to.

Have you used, or would you ever use, a PR agency?

Louise: This is an interesting question. I have never honestly considered self-publication. I love writing, but my life outside writing is so crowded that I do not think I could manage the business aspect of self-publication. If I ultimately decide to self-publish instead of traditionally publish, I would need to rely on others to help me. That would probably include a PR agency.

What’s your views on using social media for marketing, and which of them have worked best for you?

Louise: Social media can be an effective marketing tool, but I don’t feel like viewing social media as a marketing tool works. By that I mean, when I find interesting authors and follow them, I am interested in tidbits that are not marketing specific. I am interested in progress reports and blog interviews. When I follow a writer who only posts marketing notices or who posts too often, I unfollow them. I assume others are the same. To me, social media is to be social first and market second.

Alright, last question. Is being a writer a gift or a curse?

Louise: Writing is a gift. The curse is the desire to be published and famous without the immediate success. I never needed to be an overnight sensation. Therefore, writing is still a gift.

Thanks, Louise. It's been great hosting you. :)

             ***

Louise Ross dreams then writes it all down. When governments are destroyed, wars destroy the land, and tech takes over, her stories explore the struggles of the common man to overcome. 

To learn more about Louise and her works, you can follow her on her website, Google+, and Twitter.

An eight letter word for . . .

I often see these great debates explode over what part of self-publishing is more difficult. I don't think it's something to be generalized, but instead is individual to each person. Writing might be more painstaking for one while marketing is laborious for someone else. Much like one person excelling in Math while another does English, there're going to be things about the self-publishing platform that everyone will have trouble with.

For me, marketing slogans are my weak point. Language has to be handpicked for the message it's going to convey, and with only a limited word count to work with, it gets frustrating.

So like everything else, I take it a piece at a time. Sometimes I'll read over what I wrote, cover my screen, then type a second copy from memory. The "from memory" usually results in some phrase changes—rarely for the worst, frequently for the best. Do it enough times, and I get the best possible marketing spiel I can manage.

The problem is: starting.

I can have all my materials in front of me—the story itself, the story summary, the blurb, the Twitter pitch, the cover art, the marketing pictures—and draw a complete and utter blank. The only way I can seem to push past this is to get my "Eureka!" moment, 'cause once I have that first phrase (no matter where it falls in the marketing spiel), I can shape the rest around it.

"But how do you get the Eureka moment?" you wonder.

For me, it's seeing all my materials, then stepping away and doing something else. I switch objectives, do something hands on (any crafters out there? Knitters? Crocheters? Painters? Laundry folders?), and let my mind clear. The right words will compose themselves for me when I hit the border of "No longer at the forefront of my mind".

Now with that being said, I'm off to sort laundry and hunt me down a few Pokémon to clear my head so I can work out this new marketing slogan!

Nothing to be done

Always remember that the brain needs a break, especially when you've been working nonstop for over a year, writing on various projects. So since Camp NaNoWriMo starts on Friday, I'll be using it to work on art for the first half, then writing for the second. Hopefully the break will do me some good, and I can plow through the next short story on my agenda, then get back to Tragedy of Ice and Comedy of Rain.

Turning a page

Today's a day for me. It is, in fact, my last day at my current job, and like closing one book and opening another, I'm about to settle in for a huge shift. I expect different job duties, different routines, different management styles. But I also expect the same character: me.

I'll grow, I'll change, I'll adapt, but I'll also retain the qualities that make me "me", while taking on new ones that will further define and mature me. As any well-rounded character should.

Real life and fiction coincide so very, very often. Just as I am the main character shifting between jobs, Kadiza is the main character shifting between books.

Tragedy of Ice started with Kadiza in her comfort zone, ripped her out of it, and threw her into a new place by the end of the book. Comedy of Rain sees her begin in her new comfort zone, and I noticed that she's brought that experience and growth from the first book and applied it to her responses in a "been there, done that" sort of way.

At least, that's how it starts out.

I have to keep throwing Kadiza curve balls so she has new things to learn, and more difficult obstacles to face than the dissenters from the first novel. Right now, it takes her much longer to start tripping up, and while originally I thought that that was poor characterization, my transition between jobs gave me new insight: Kadiza's got experience now, and it's going to take something really drastic to pull her out of her comfort zone. She's "Keeping Cool and Carrying On", so to speak, until that one thing hits her mid-book that takes her for a loop, that one thing that makes her have to stop and recollect.

And what makes me exceedingly happy about this now is that she has to turn to others because she's so far out of her depth that she can't handle it on her own. It makes her stronger as a character, because she realizes the value in asking for help. And that's completely—no, perfectly okay.

So like Kadiza, I'm going to "Keep Calm and Carry On" tomorrow at the new job until something hits me, and when it does, I'll know it's okay to ask for help. Because Kadiza said so, and I always listen to the voices in my head. 

On outlines and plantsing

I tell you what: Comedy of Rain has been a bear to wrestle with, and I'm not talking about Hipólito.

Before Tragedy of Ice was anything more than one book, I'd had only stray ideas about what the characters' lives were going to be like after the fact. Nothing truly solid to make another story with, but thoughts of "Oh, that's how ___ is going to happen" or "Oh, now that'll be interesting if they ____ when ____". And then my favourite muse finished reading Tragedy of Ice and said, "You know what? Their story's not done. You need another book."

And another book became three more books. The Europan Theatre is what I've coined as the series name (finally!), and it's slated to be a tetralogy. Now that could change as I go along, but I can't speak to that until I reach that point in the road.

But the muse spoke, and I listened, so back in . . . we'll say October, I scripted an outline for Comedy of Rain so I could have my ducks in a row for NaNoWriMo 2015. Following the same format as Tragedy of Ice, I scripted one prologue, 34 chapters, and an epilogue, with the only difference this time being that Hipólito had POV chapters. And that was fine. Mostly. Sorta. Kinda.

Not really.

The prologue went according to plan, but being NaNoWriMo, I recapped Tragedy of Ice so much that it inflated to probably 5,000 words past its necessary word count. Then chapter 1 introduced a character who wasn't supposed to show up until chapter 5, and that was okay. I could work with that. Chapter 2 had that character show up again, and I'm thinking, "Oh, crap, he's gonna have a bigger role, isn't he?"

Naturally, this was the point where all planners start to reconsider their outline, but being NaNoWriMo, I had to soldier on. So by chapter 5, a whole new subplot arose, and that was that. I had to wing it all the way through NaNo, using my outline as a general target while adapting to where the plot rivers took me. And, boy oh boy, were there some interesting rapids that got thrown in my way.

Flash forward to the end of NaNo, and I thought I only had less than ten chapters left to write. I was wrong. I brought Comedy of Rain back out to work on for April's Camp NaNoWriMo, and all those rapids that'd come up before only got more treacherous as I went. Suffice to say, I busted my outline and—while I did get the occasional bit from my originally scripted chapters—I ended up having to fly by the seat of my pants.

Which was not a fun experience.

Kadiza, Franklin, and Hipólito were facing new obstacles, and I was drawing blanks on how to get them to solve them. I did the best I could, and while I reached my goal for Camp NaNo, I was left with a still yet unfinished manuscript. Now I'm all the way through May, and I've been taking my time, slogging on through the difficult parts, and avoiding writer's block (gasp!) by reminding myself that all the things I don't like about Comedy of Rain right now can all be fixed during the revisions. I won't allow myself to go back and begin revisions yet, especially since I still haven't finished the story.

What I am doing is allowing myself to make notes and revisit my outline. Sort of like creating "stage direction", I've got my new outline that's accounting for all the changes made to date, plus what's left to write tentatively annotated on the outline. The ending hasn't really changed, but the next several chapters could end up going directions I never expected. And if that happens, yes, I'll have to redo my outline, but at least at that point I'll know the fate of certain characters, as well as what I need to do when I go back to actually revise and start weaving in the new threads properly. Or "tightening the shoelaces", as I like to call it. Everything's essentially there now, so it just needs better allusions and foreshadowing so that the setup rings true with the reveals. And, as always, the iceberg knowledge of what's been going on in the background so that I can pull from that info and write the best story I can.