An Update

Toiling along, fighting the good fight. 

I've decided to re-release Turning Springs between now and the end of the year.  The technology has gotten better and allows for bookmarked chapter headings.  It will allow for a few marketing changes as well.  Start over.  Almost clean slate.  I'm planning on releasing it in tandem with a hard copy (print on demand) through WordClay.  (Buy one, get the other free, maybe?  Haven't decided.) I'll need some time to stir up the marketing plan, but I hope to have all that done in the 1st quarter of 2012.

The short project is going well.  I'm writing the second to last chapter on Wednesday.  I'll probably serialize it a chapter at a time in this blog, but I'll offer it as a full download for a price on Smashwords.  That's the plan, anyway.  I don't have a timeline, but it should be through revisions and test readings in 2012 as well.

The long project is going especially well.  I've got my crazy-as-an-outhouse-rat antagonist, so now I'm set.  It'll take a while, but I'm hoping things ease up so I can finish it mid-2012.

Busy, busy, busy.  Thanks for reading!

Steampunk Link

Grabbing my goggles and the keys to the airship and away we go!  Check out the Steampunk and Victorian art display at the Muzeo in Anaheim, CA!

Re: "Can Steampunk Look Toward the Future?"

Information about a new documentary about the steampunk "subculture" (or "not") and a New York Comic Con panel discussion at this Tor Publishing blog page.

My answer?  It will have to look toward the future, just like all the rest of genre fiction, and non-genre fiction, too, for that matter.  Relevance requires that the elements of all fiction, including genre fiction, speak to the current consumers of those works and their lives, needs and desires at the current time.  That doesn't change no matter whether you're talking about Tolkien-esque fiction, the latest Terminator movie, or The Brady Bunch (see my Knews Not News post on why that works).  You have to reach your customers with the things that matter to them or they won't buy what you're selling.  But is that really about the future?

Sure it is, especially for adherents of the steampunk movement.  These are folks who take great interest in modding current technology to a visual standard that doesn't exist in most current design elements of consumer goods.  See, if product designers tap into that DIY/make-it-yours-alone element and allow for ready modification of their products, that's the Holy Grail of design:  the personally designed and adapted tool that practically guarantees satisfaction.  You don't have to dig goggles and airships to want that, do you?

Relating this to a work of fiction involves the same design considerations.  A book has to end at some point in order to be printed (electronically or physically), so the content is fixed.  The design, however, really doesn't have to be.  Offering the consumer a choice of differing elements that they can mix and match (fonts? cover art? page colors?) to "create" something more pleasing is an interesting possibility.  But how does the author/designer know what their consumers want?

Sounds like a job for social networking.  Ask your market.  Offer samples.  Pick your favorite, and release it, but be sure give your customers what they want.  That always makes for an interesting future, don't you think?

The Update for October 24, 2011

Okay, so far it's been an autumn of tremendous personal upheaval.  And back again.  And more upheaval.  On a personal level, I'll be glad to see the back end of this year heading away from us all.

Professionally, I've been in a sort of stasis for the past seven weeks (!).  I've done a little work on all four projects, but nothing you'd really call advancement and nothing too earth-shaking. 

That changes this week.  I'm planning to work a double shift on writing today, just as a way of getting back into the swing of things.  Maybe a double on Wednesday, too, but I won't know that for sure until tonight.  Today's work starts with a post to Knews Not News, the location for which you can find in the sidebar to the left of this post.

I have a couple of steampunk links to add, but I'll do those either after the KNN post today or later in the week.  Pretty nifty stuff.

It's very calming, the unspent day rolling out before me like rails leading home over grassy plains.  I think this is what I like most of all about writing:  heading in a direction I've planned and knowing that I'll get where I want to be.

I'll get going now.  Thanks for stopping in.

The Update for August 24, 2011

After a tumultuous ten days (whoo, boy, was it!), I'm back to report some real progress on a number of fronts.

I rediscovered in the Long Project work that beginnings are not always hard.  I expected problems visualizing the scene, as I really hadn't "seen" it in my head (scenes of my work tend to go though my head like movie trailers; it's how I roll, especially early in the process). The notes I had taken were enough to manage and I blocked the first scene of the work at surprising speed and dexterity, complete with OS and OHS moments.  Now I see it all right, including lighting and costumes and I can hardly get it out of my head.  I'll be filling in some of the supporting notework next time (useful in the rest of the work, so I don't have to watch for detail slip-ups in editing) and it's on to the next scene.  I'm especially pleased about this as it's a sort-of rescue of a work that has been manifesting itself in fits and starts since November of 2009.  I knew the project was important (both to myself and the Turning Springs world) and kept hacking away at it until it became what I wanted it to be.  Don't give up; change it until it becomes what you wanted.  Here endeth the lesson.

The Short Project progresses apace, and I'll be working now in the last part of scene five.  I can see the end of the tunnel there.  I'm having a lot of fun with this project.  Though I don't write in dialect for foreign English speakers, I try to portray the words and rhythm of the language that a foreign speaker might use.  Throwing in bits of the native language helps, too, which is why I took some time to research Swedish while writing.  When dealing with familiar accents, that works, but if I was to make up a nationality, I'm not sure how I'd proceed.  Probably the same way.  Solutions do present themselves to the things that require doing, it seems.  Hmm.  Guess the lesson wasn't quite over.  Eth.

I'll close this update with the Marketing that I've been doing for Turning Springs.  I've enlisted help from my wife for ad placement (thankyouthankyouthankyou), which will help a lot.  Primarily, I've been working on a re-release/re-edit of the book to be issued at the beginning of September.  How close to the beginning is anyone's guess, but that's what I'm shooting for.  I don't plan any sweeping changes, just a few word choices, closing a hole or two, and adding a bookmarked table of contents (a feature not available at Smashwords dot com for the first release).  I'll then use that version to issue a print copy (!) through WordClay.  That will take me a bit of time, so, in the meantime, I've got a few ideas for a coupon-for-review program.  Do a review, get a discount on the next book.  Don't know how I'll work that, but I'll make it work somehow.

In the process of re-editing Turning Springs, I have to re-read it, of course, something I haven't done since I finished it over a year ago.  It's been a surprisingly positive experience, a reminder that the reason why I'm selling this is because it's a good story with captivating characters and exciting situations.  Not just worth buying but worth the work to sell it.  Don't forget to re-read your finished work every so often; it restores your faith in your abilities during periods of flagging sales and indifferent response.

Okay, now I'm done.  Eth.

The Update

The system seems to be working very well.  And I'm making tangible progress.

Long project hit an important milestone.  I've finished all the notes.  Next session starts blocking and filling reference docs.  This is going to be fun!

I finished another scene in the short project (finished 4 of 8), but I'm really feeling the absence of some of the reference docs I didn't fill out ("it's a short project, I can muddle through without them").  Muddle is right.  I'm having to update them as I go, which is a PITN.  Slows me down a little, but still plugging away.

Still working on marketing, too, press release nightmares notwithstanding.  Got some help, though, so I'm wading through that.  Just waiting until I have enough time to get the cards done.  I'll post the design to my Public Access site once those are finished.

Gotta mosey.  This other stuff isn't going to do itself.  Thanks for watching!

Not Springpunk, but I Still Want the Kamaro

Steampunk car mods.  Lots of geeky numminess here.  Thanks, Wifey!

http://walyou.com/steampunk-antique-cars/

How's the New Process Working Out?

Thanks for asking.  I LOVE it.  It is, as you might remember, working on a single project each day I have time to write, instead of working on a specific thing on a specific day.  I was trying to get too much done at once and not getting enough done of anything.  What I was missing was the sense of accomplishment.  I didn't have enough time to accomplish anything.  I'm happy with this; I'm getting more done and I feel like I'm getting more done, which may be more important.  I know it takes two weeks to make a habit, but I'm liking this a lot.  Specifics?

The long project has a little tweaking left on the notes before it's ready for blocking, but by little, I mean little.  The basic structure is there, I'm just tweaking a few details.  I'm anticipating that should be done by the end of the month if not sooner.  Best of all:  I figured out the OS moment and it's a goody.  Can't wait to write it!

I finished section 3 and just started section 4 in the short project.  The planning is holding up pretty well and, when I finish section 4, I'll be half-done.  The length is looking pretty good, too, but I tend to not look seriously at that until revisions.  I want it to go faster (of course), but I'm happy with what I've done so far (before revisions).

Marketing is proving more of a challenge.  I need to do a little more research on what press releases sound like (and end like) before I can pronounce that done.  I have a lot of ideas, so many that I could do this full time.  Wednesday will be my next session and I'm going to price out find-it cards (where to find the book for those who ask me directly) at a couple of box stores and a local print shop.  I also have some ideas for ancillary advertising/promotional artwork for T-shirts and the like.  I'm sure those will end up in the Public Access file, or at least the sketches will.  I plan on selling these things eventually, so I'm not giving away the golden goose.  And then there's the paper copy to be set up in WordClay and all the other stuff I've got planned, including coupons and specific campaigns aimed at maybe schools?  We'll see.

So now I'm off to work on a KNN blog post.  What's it going to say?  What, you can't go here and find out for yourself?  :)

Thanks and TTFN!

Where I am thus far

I get points for persistence, right?  Checking in every six weeks or so (!) is good, right?  Better than not at all, rather.  This summer has been rough on my writing time, but I'm looking forward to a calm week.  Yes, I wrote that aloud and have surely damned myself to complication.  Just like the last...six weeks?  Well, I lived through that, so no harm in optimism.  At least it's too hot and dry to mow.

Little progress on any of the four parts of my projects, except for little dribs and drabs here and there. 

The long project is still sticky with the details, but it hasn't left my consciousness completely.  I keep having thunderbolt revelations about one or the other of the characters, so it's still building in the musty recesses of my brain.  It's just big and without a lot of attention, things are going to happen this way.  Remember, the ideal for me right now is to spend just one and a half hours on each project per week.  Tough to get a lot done that way, but I'm happy with something.  With my schedule, I pretty much have to be.

The short project is just the same way, although the dribs and drabs are producing more wandering from the plan than I like.  My last writing session involved scrapping much of what I'd done the session before and getting back on the plan.  Perhaps for the actual writing of a project, I need to set aside a full day's 1.5 hours rather than split it up, in order to maintain focus. 

And since I tend to focus on the writing before marketing Turning Springs or posting to the blogs (ahem), nothing whatsoever has been done on those, except some half-hearted work on a press release.  I'm not really comfortable with projects, so I tend to push those to the bottom of the pile.  Both of those items could benefit from a big chunk of time once a week rather than a couple of small chunks twice a week. 

Seeing a pattern here?  I am.  All of my projects could potentially be better served by working on them once per week for the full hour and a half allotted.  It's not like I'd lose track of what I did last, since I do keep a journal of what I do in each session.  And here I am at the start of a new week.  No better time to start to make things better than today.

Since I've nominated today as Blog Post Day, I'd better get cracking on Knews Not News, too.  Thanks for listening as I dissect my work habits to uncover the obvious.

The writer is in. Blog posts and long project today. Stay tuned!

Dropping In

May (and the first few days of June) kind of got away from me with the writing, but I'm working my way back into it.  Good thing I keep careful track of what I was doing when last I wrote.  That makes it easier to drop out and drop back in, though no better.  I'm hoping to do a lot more than just 1.5 hours today. 

Long Project:  Not moving fast enough.  I seem to be more concerned with getting all the notes I have in than I am concerned with using the ones that matter.  Time to do a little "focus pocus" and (as I'm fond of saying about the automobile drivers locally) find a lane and get in it.  Time to get this moving.  It's been a year.

Short Project:  Again, not moving fast enough, but at least it's all blocked.  This week should provide a fair amount of time to work on it.

Marketing Turning Springs:  I have a number of new initiatives in the works which I'm particularly excited about.  One is business cards that list how to find the book.  I try to mention the book in passing and I end up scrambling for paper to write down the information. 

I did get an intriguing offer from someone I know locally about Turning Springs.  It has the potential to be very exciting.  More info as it is available.

That's all for now!

Cutting grass while not raining. Writing later?

I've uploaded a copy of cover for Turning Springs as a .pdf file to my Public Access file. Check it out at http://ping.fm/ZC9uz

Nxt big idea: zombie movie frm POV of zombie. Woohoo!

Test post frm phone & Ping

Can't find my book on Amazon?

You can download it directly from Smashwords dot com by downloading the .MOBI copy. The CEO of Smashwords said it works.

The new links list and the first entry

Check it out!  I've set up a new Public Access file in Google Docs!  Just follow the link in the sidebar!

E-book info and the start of a new week

Frm ComputerEdge Online:  Building E-books 

My wife found this post to a computer information website about e-books, how they can be generated, different formats, and different programs to use for editing the material.  Though it's geared to the creation of an e-book, there's a lot of useful info in here for everyone.  The thing I like about this post is that many of the solutions given here are free. 

Ignored in this article are the websites that do all the formatting for you (such as Smashwords dot com which I used for Turning Springs) and require nothing more than a format-free copy of your manuscript and a cover image.  The really pleasant thing about sites like this is that content is not restricted unless it is particularly egregious or objectionable.  Images tend to be a little trickier to manage, but it's to the site's benefit to make it as easy as possible so more people will use it.

I'll be investigating some of these solutions this week as jobs, part-time jobs and rapidly growing grass permit.  I forgot to mention expected sunny weather, which will lead me to consider depleted Vitamin D levels from the winter and will require me to soak up sunshine at a leisurely rate.  For my health, you know.  Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. 

See you Thursday!

How It's Going

Marketing:  I've mostly been working on consolidating the various profiles I have out there, including Facebook, Twitter, Smashwords, and the blogs.  I've also finished a couple of other projects which must remain secret.  In total, I feel like I'm making progress.  Heck, even this is making progress in terms of marketing my work, but I must do it more often.

Short Project:  I finished the blocking and have moved on to the writing.  About halfway through scene 1.  I love this part, though it tends to go slowly, mostly because I'm revising while I do it.  I've set up a revision notes page, just a place where I can give myself general notes (IE move the new teeth thing up to the first few lines so it's the grabber) and I don't get caught up in revising while I'm writing.  Also, my tone sounds a little wooden and formal.  Even though I'm writing for the Wild West, it can't be stuffy.  One thing at a time; multi-tasking for me means many projects done, none well enough.

Long Project:  Still hashing out the basics of the plot.  It's a long project, but the logjam is starting to break and the flow of the scenes is coming easier.  I'm starting to feel like what I'm putting down now is the groundwork for stuff later and that's GREAT.  It means I'm leading the audience.  I just have to keep thinking that way.  I'm also finding the antagonist needs an assistant weasel, someone to prime her bad behavior pump.  He'll show up; I just don't see him yet.

Blog Posts:  I don't do enough of these.  And I'm also going to include springpunk/clockpunk references I find in a Google alert.  Nothing says all this has to be about me.  I'm also going to be looking at a few new tools as time goes on.

A good couple of weeks.  This is the busy part of the season for me, so I'm hoping I can sustain a good work schedule in the midst of all the rest of it.

Passing Landmarks

More than one, in fact.  It has been a year since Turning Springs was released.  While sales haven't been spectacular, trends I see in the media are very encouraging.  Fantasy and simplicity are in; the less explaining you have to do, the better, especially when selling entertainment to busy people.  Haven't seen anything about a reboot of Wild Wild West, but I suppose that isn't far off, since it appears that everything else is being rebooted.  A few more marketing things to try with Turning Springs, perhaps registration of that and other works on different platforms might be the key.  And yes, I'm planning a print-on-demand copy of Turning Springs.  Get seen, then get known. 

The long project I've been working on is taking longer than expected, as are they all.  I only get about six hours a week to work on any of this stuff and most weeks I don't even get that.  I'm upbeat, though; all steps are steps forward and that's always the right direction.  I'm still slogging through a pile of notes and that's taking a lot of time.  I'll get it done.

The short project passed a landmark today:  I finished roughing out the plot and the chronology.  Fill out the settings and the characters and I hope to have well in hand by Memorial Day.  It will not be a free distribution as stated before. 

And, I updated the blog.  That's good news, too.  Stay tuned!

HOW'D I DO THIS WEEK? (March 24)

Long Project

The spreadsheet is really helping to flesh things out, including character and structure. Odd for such short little summaries, but every little bit helps. It's especially helpful for moving things around in the order of events and from chapter to chapter. Very handy with something as large and complex as this. It also shows me where I need to fill things in as I go, which makes the development really organic and natural. Next Steps? Keep on with the spreadsheet!

Short Project

The first thing I did was kill chapter eight, which didn't make sense. Then I moved chapter nine into its place and I'm pretty happy with the change. I blocked out chapter seven, and chapter eight looks like how the ending should look. I'll have to cut some stuff out of it (stuff that would have been GREAT), but that'll make it a lot tighter. Next Steps? Finish, that's right, finish the blocking. Woo-hoo!

Did I ever mention that this will be a freebie? Details later.

Marketing

I set up something pretty cool for Turning Springs. It's not finished yet, however. No peeking. Next Steps? Finish the cool thing, and work on my email signature. I'm also going to continue on reading the Smashwords dot com Marketing Guide (download here) for more tips. I've already changed my Twitter and Facebook profiles so they look like they belong to a grownup.

Summary

I'm not getting as much done as I'd like, but I've been pretty busy. This weekend looks even busier than usual, but hopefully Sunday will be clear by time it rolls around.

Thanks, and keep reading!

HOW'D I DO? WK ENDING MAR 10, 2011

Although I didn't get a full week done on any projects, I did get something done on everything.

Long Project

With so many notes to organize and use, I was getting a little flummoxed. So I set up a spreadsheet to place the notes by character/group. Spacing between cells gives me the order in which each item will appear, while coloring some cells allows for combining groups that interact with each other. It's making a lot of things clear in a big hurry. There isn't much space to write in each cell, which actually helps. NEXT STEPS: Continue populating the spreadsheet and get through the beginning section.

Short Project

This is going really well. Scene 6 of nine is blocked and it's pivotal, by which I mean that the character turns in a different direction on the scene. I have a blank for each scene that records the critical info for each one, like characters that appear, the time, the setting, who gets what they want, who doesn't, among other things.... It's a really nice way of keeping the info at hand and judging the ebb and flow of the work in general, something that's really important for me at this stage of the process. NEXT STEPS: I'd sooo like to finish the blocking next week. I doubt it will happen, but I'm sure going to try.

Marketing

I've renewed a bunch of ads this week, but not much else got done. I also changed much of the ad text to reflect a tighter, more content-based message. I'm hoping that works a little better. The other version started to sound like a brochure. NEXT STEPS: add/edit more ads and download and begin to read the Smashwords Marketing Guide. I need a few pointers.

Summary

Not a great week, but okay. Hoping for a better week next week. TTFN!

How'd I do? The week of Feb 27th, 2011

The only project I worked on was the short project. The good news there, however, is that I'm over halfway through blocking the scenes. So I should have the blocking for the whole project done by the end of March, but probably sooner. Then flesh out the characters, map out the settings, rough it, revise it, and open it for distribution.

Piece of cake. Made out of a lot of work. With tweaking frosting. Sheesh!

Where I Stand Today

Here's a quick update of where I stand with all my projects. As always, any advice or comments are greatly appreciated and will be duplicated here.

Blog Posts

I got a little side-tracked in my post about Conflict, which was intended to be a help-to article about writing. That's not what this blog is about. The title of the blog says it all, and that's what I'm going to write here. I'm going to promote my projects, trumpet landmarks, and reject failures. That makes this a regular feature.

Marketing Turning Springs

My ads aren't doing as well as I'd like them to. I'm going to try different regions of the country next. A lot of the ads are up for renewal soon and I'm going to spread them around a little.

I'm going to take some time to review the Smashwords treatise on marketing your work (I just remembered that).

I'm going to design some cheap business cards that I can leave around on bulletin boards locally and/or pass out that advertise the book.

A t-shirt design would be good marketing, too. Not just for the title of the book, but for some of the elements in it. How's this for an ad slogan for Berlengame's Constructed Servants Company: "When people just won't do..."

I'm also considering paper copies through a service called WordClay. It's intriguing, but I need to do a little more research.

The Long Project (MrsGM)

I've finished compiling 40+ pages of notes and they lead all over the place. All this stuff is nice, but I have a story to tell and not all of this material will fit. There is a rough progressive line to the information, however, and that helps. I've also categorized the notes as to where they might appear in the work (beginning, middle or end). The next step is to go back to the basics and determine what the essential elements of the story are. Then I keep the notes that apply and junkpile the ones that don't. Story arcing should be finished in March.

The Short Project (OSV)

I'm into blocking the scenes now and it's going very smoothly. I'm about half-finished with that and hope to have it done in March also. A meticulous plan makes for easy steps and easy advancement through and beyond those steps. There are a few holes, but nothing I can't fill on the fly.

The Summary

Although it all looks like future projects, it is an improvement over last month. I will be cutting down my writing time to about six hours per week (necessary because of the two other jobs and other demands on my time), I still think I can get many of these steps done by the anniversary of the release date of my book, April 1st. So, TTFN!

Online business card

Just signed up for an online business card. I'll add it to the profile info here, but here's the info: http://johnchristianhager.businesscard2.com

Conflict -- What You Expected

The Good Fight

You've seen it all over the place. You've had it drummed into your skull by teachers and mentors and writing magazines and bloggers. Conflict is the cornerstone of creative writing. And it is. If there's no conflict, there'a no point to reading further. Your characters are standing around agreeing with each other. Peaceful, but nobody really lives that way. Everyone's life is a struggle in some form or another. People want to read about people under adversity who are unwilling to fail against circumstances that insist upon their failure. They want to take in some of that strength for themselves.


The Writer Giveth...

As a writer, you give your own set of characters conflicts central to the story. Where do you start building their conflicts? With the elements of their world which your characters expect. The same elements, actually, which you must change, or deny to them, in order to create the conflicts which define them.


Define and Dandy

The fights we fight and why we fight them and against what odds all define who we are. Someone who is willing to argue with a five-year-old over finding a penny on the sidewalk is defined by that action. Also defined is someone who refuses to let a child take up smoking. In both cases, the character believes strongly in something. The critical factor for any conflict, in life or literature, is that a sequence of key events before the current conflict has led the character to believe what they believe about the world. Those key events in your character's backstory could be anything from religious training to childhood friendships to adult mentors to the bully that beat them up in third grade. Our expectations of our world are rooted in our experiences, either actual or those taught to us by others. When those expectations are not met, conflict arises as we try to reconcile what we think we know about the world with what is happening at that moment.

Your Roots Are Showing

So it should be with your characters. The clearer you can make the roots of their conflicts, the more essential and understandable and real that conflict becomes. And when their conflict becomes real, your characters do, too.

Try this: look through a newspaper's police calls section. As you read the entries, think of what your character would say or do in those situations. Then ask yourself why. And expect an answer. Or else.

John Christian Hager is the author of the Turning Springs series of e-books and stories, which can be found by searching the words Turning Springs at Smashwords dot com. John is an award-winning writer and playwright who lives in northern Illinois in the USA.

Woo-hoo!

Just found a notification in my email that I sold another copy of my ebook, Turning Springs. Great news after a long day! If you don't have yours yet, you can reach it at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/12087

I'll be posting again in just a few minutes. I finished a writing piece on the importance of expectations when creating conflicts. Don't go away!