Time Management June 30, 2008
Posted by fanaticalpupil in : Writing , add a commentSo, in addition to writing fiction, I am also trying to become a non-fiction author. I always think it’s boring and dry when people talk about writing non-fiction - so I’m only going to do it a bit. See, I guess when I think about non-fiction, I think History. And if not History, then I think Computer Programming. The latter makes more sense than the former, being as I do web development during the day. But for some reason, I always think World War II books first.
My non-fiction book, though, is not about Computer Programming nor Web Development. So what, then? I am writing a Fantasy Basketball Draft Guide. Due to the seasonal nature of such a thing, I am not going to attempt to have it published by anyone other than myself (and my co-author, of course).
This “As you know, Bob” back story is my way of telling rather than showing the difficulties of writing when it comes down to time management and deadlines. Because I’ve been focused on writing fiction for the most part since the NBA season ended, and only working a little bit on this draft guide. Then last week I realized that I had to write about 100 more player predictions still in about 30 days. That’s not too bad except that I have a vacation coming up where I’ll be without internet for 7 days, and driving and sightseeing (when I’m not working remotely) for another 10 days. That leaves 13 days, or 7.69 players per day. The end of July deadline is an artificial one (as the author, editor, and publisher, I get to set all the deadlines), but it is a necessary one for completing the first draft of this guide. So, I spent my free time this weekend immersing myself in a world of non-fiction. I don’t want it to sound like a bad thing, because I really enjoyed it; I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t. I approach writing about basketball players in the same way I write about fictional characters, that is: I look for clever turns of phrase and inventive similes to use at least once in every player profile. And I hope that at least some of that will help improve the skills I use in fiction writing.
Now, in addition to writing fiction and non-fiction, I also have a day job where they require strongly encourage overtime work as well as extra volunteer activities. So, unlike a lot of writers whose blogs I read who write during their half hour lunch, and get in extra time in the evenings, I work through my lunch so I have time to work on volunteer projects in the evenings and then hopefully have time to do some writing of both the fiction and non-fiction varieties.
So, the real point is: I am positing this as an excuse for the anemic word counts that I post here on a weekly basis, as well as the one which I’ll be posting on Wednesday, because it will probably be the weakest yet. And yes, I probably could have spent the 15 minutes I just spent writing this post on something else. But I doubt I could have cranked out the preceding 450+ words in that span of time if I were working on something that required more thought and less rambling and babbling. And yes, I could also probably count the words that I wrote for my non-fiction assignment. But for some reason, that seems like cheating. And I’m not a actual cheater - just a copycheater.
Free Battlestar Galactica eBook from Tor June 27, 2008
Posted by fanaticalpupil in : Books, Marketing , 1 comment so farYou can get the eBook version of Battlestar Galactica by Jeff Carver free! It’s only available if you sign up for the newsletter at Tor.com, but I think if you sign up now, you can still get the link to download it. Tor is giving away an eBook each week. I’m just pointing this one out because it’s a household name, and also because I just started watching the Battlestar Galactica series (from Netflix, of course).
Halo and Warhammer are not the same June 26, 2008
Posted by fanaticalpupil in : Writing , add a commentChris Roberson will be writing a new Warhammer 40K novel. While it doesn’t make me as jealous as someone writing the next Halo novel, it seems like a great fit for Roberson, whose online serial Three Unbroken (which is somehow not mentioned on his Wikipedia page) is a great, character-driven military scifi piece. I still have Here, There, & Everywhere on my bookshelf to read, so I probably won’t be picking up the Warhammer book, but I’m sure it’ll be great for people who are into that universe like I am in the Haloverse.
Word Count Wednesday - 6/25 June 25, 2008
Posted by fanaticalpupil in : Hear the Grass Grow, The Nine Mothers, Valkyrie Project, Writing , add a comment6/18: 187
6/19: 0
6/20: 229
6/21: 0
6/22: 0
6/23: 10
6/24: 290
Last week I mostly had positive comments about the writing… this week, while I got over 700 words, but each of those days when I actually did some writing (not counting the 23rd), the time was spent on a different project. So, despite getting over 100 words a day (hey, it’s something), really each project is only getting 34 words per day. Which means that to get any of them to 90,000 words, it will take me 7.25 years. And since I’m working on all 3 simultaneously, that puts the end date about 21 years away. I’m fairly certain this is my subconscious way of continuing my normal mode of operation; that being: start doing something, don’t finish (or only work hard enough to get somewhat decent at a skill), and move on.
Word Count Wednesday - 6/18 June 18, 2008
Posted by fanaticalpupil in : Writing , add a comment6/11: 67
6/12: 193
6/13: 112
6/14: 629
6/15: 0
6/16: 0
6/17: 249
Avg: 178
The 15th was Father’s Day, and even though I’m not a father, I was very busy - and the time when I might have normally done my writing was taken up by Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
Monday (the 16th) I was suffering a kind of malaise and just didn’t feel like doing anything after work.
Tuesday I managed 249 words in the morning, and the rest of the day was taken up with some strange dryness of the eyes (my wife thought I had pink eye). I had to close my eyes during every commercial break of Game 6 in order to be able to keep them open during the game.
I am definitely figuring out that I can get a lot more done if I write a quick 100 or so words in the morning. Usually I have more free time in the evening, but by the time I get to the writing, my brain is too tired to focus. Also, Saturdays seem to be good writing days, as they seem to be the day when I most commonly have nothing to do. (Isn’t that what the weekend is for?)
In which I am the color of jealous June 16, 2008
Posted by fanaticalpupil in : Writing , 1 comment so far
I’ve listened to Tobias Buckell give advice to aspiring writers many times on the Adventures in Scifi Publishing podcast. Turns out he is writing the next Halo book: The Cole Protocol.
If only I’d made the actual decision to be a writer when I started my first book back in high school, I’d have found my voice already, and could be published and writing in the worlds of Halo, Mass Effect, or Gears of War.
Page 123, Fifth Sentence
Posted by fanaticalpupil in : Writing , 1 comment so farMore fun from Roberson’s Interminable Ramble.
Grab the nearest book, or the book you are currently reading (if the one nearest to you is going to be lame), go to page 123, find the fifth sentence, and blog it. Then tag five people.
From Richard (K) Morgan’s Altered Carbon:
You don’t fuck with the corps and live to write songs about it.
Nice.
And now, to tag some people… archphoenix’s not so deep thoughts, Musings of a memory leak, and matasar.org.
[Writing] Advice from Paul Cornell June 14, 2008
Posted by fanaticalpupil in : Hear the Grass Grow, Writing , add a commentFrom an interview in SFX magainze. Here’s my favorite part (and not cause I’m a sucker for punishment, but rather because I need to absorb this particular bit of advice):
SFX: What one tip would you give to a new writer, inspired to put pen to paper for the first time?
Paul Cornell: “I’ve got one sentence that sums it up: ‘it is your job to seek out harsh criticism of your work and change it as a result’. That, frankly, is hideously painful. But boxers don’t get good by avoiding being hit. If an editor, or someone else, starts offering you criticism, listen, make notes, and change the work as a result. If you start arguing, saying, ‘No, you see, what I meant by that was…’ you’re not a writer yet. You’re trying to dodge instead of learning what the blows mean.
I know I have to get into the feedback loop somehow. Being as I’m 17,000 words into Hear the Grass Grow, you think I’d feel like it’s time to get some critique. And I am getting to that point. But right now, even though I have most of the major pieces of the story in place, there is still no ending, and not enough to really fill the gaps between many of the scenes. They kind of look like the new bricks around the garden in our backyard: a definite line, but one where the pieces could get knocked around pretty easily by the lawnmower. I want it to feel more like the line in the front where the bricks are a clear line of demarcation, sunken in like they’ve been there and belong there. When I get to that point, then I’ll be ready to have other people tell me which bricks are crooked. It’ll take more work to adjust them, of course, but at least I’ll know that those people won’t secrelty be thinking “he just kind of slapped this pile together, didn’t he?”
And I’m done with that metaphor now.
Friday Fun starring Google Reader June 13, 2008
Posted by fanaticalpupil in : Writing , add a commentFrom Roberson’s Interminable Ramble (via Christopher Bird):
Go to Google reader.
Hit the following keys: up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B and A.
(Heh.)
Word Count Wednesday 6/11 June 11, 2008
Posted by fanaticalpupil in : Valkyrie Project, Writing , add a comment6/4: 91
6/5: 0
6/6: 0
6/7: 257
6/8: 0
6/9: 0
6/10: 435
There are two things that worry me here: The first is that the bulk of those words (and there’s not that many of them) are on a new project that I just started a couple weeks ago. This follows my habit of starting a multitude of projects and not finishing them. The ability to actually finish a project is, of course, the main thing that separates people who get published from the people who have unfinished works sitting on their desktop forever.
The second thing worrying me is the lack of determination to write every day. As you can clearly see, I have not yet formed the necessary habit of writing every day. I’ve been posting to this blog nearly every day (though several of those posts came from drafts started a while ago), but that doesn’t count as “writing” because it’s not writing fiction. However, you can also see that the public shame (as it were) of posting my word counts led me to write 435 words which I might have just left for a later date if not for knowing that I had to post this. Yes, I know there’s approximately 2 people who read this blog, but even that is enough to push me to at least a weekly writing habit.