Posts
Well, it's been two months. What's new? Glad I asked.
I got very little done in the last two months of 2011, with Christmas and New Year's and the preparation for those days and relatives over and, well, you name it and it got done. Except for the writing.
One thing that did get done is a review of my accomplishments for 2011. Were there any? Mmm, yeah, a few. Enough to be satisfied? Nnnnnope. So I went ahead and set some goals, reachable goals when both of my time clock jobs, an active family life, and snow shoveling (really? after two months with barely a hint of snow, it starts now?) are considered.
How'm I doing? Great. (Okay, not so good on the update post on Thursdays, but still...) I'm about 3 hours ahead now (okay, 2 after the missed post on Thursday), but I think I'll need that cushion toward the end of the quarter.
Details? The rough of the short project, abbreviated to OSV, is done. It's currently sitting until this Wednesday when I start the first revision. Looking forward to that. I like revisions. Hoist the black flag and start cutting.
I've blocked the first six scenes of the long project, MGC, on the way to blocking the first half of the work by February 19th. It's going very well. Got me a rhythm going. Always better with rhythm.
I have another blog called Knews Not News that I'm considering killing off to save some time. However, one of my few readers would like me to continue. So far, she's the only one who's responded to a call on the KNN blog itself. How about you? Think I should keep it going? Review a few of the old posts and let me know in the comments here or at KNN or via email. Before February 15th, please.
I'm also reformatting Turning Springs to take advantage of some improvements that Smashwords has made to their submission software. Should make for a much nicer presentation of the e-book. I'm also going to set up a paper copy through print-on-demand site WordClay. I'm expecting that will be done by the end of the quarter, if not sooner. I'm almost done with the e-book work.
So, not strides forward, but grown-up steps. I'm pleased so far.
Let me know what you think and thanks for reading! I'll be back Thursday with another post.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Monday, November 14, 2011
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!
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!
Monday, November 7, 2011
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!
Monday, October 31, 2011
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?
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?
Monday, October 24, 2011
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.
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.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
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.
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.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
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!
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!
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