2011 in Review

Seems like everyone's already finished their renditions on this topic. Oh, well. So I'm late to the party (as usual).

I've finally counted up all the fiction I wrote last year and reached my final number in "The Journey to 500K."

It's about 222,000.

Yeah, not quite there.

Does this mean I failed my goal?

No. Not at all. It just means I didn't succeed as much as I had planned. Those words are still a major accomplishment. Some people might even be baffled as to how it's even possible. (Here's a hint: few of them are publishable. For now.)

Regardless of I have or have not come as a writer in this past year, I'm still proud of what my efforts. I didn't finish much, but I made progress in a lot of ways. I started actively working on projects that I've been holding off "until I'm good enough" (seldom a good idea). I learned which of those have potential NOW and which ones simply need to simmer for a little while. I experimented in several different subgenres and practiced a few new forms/styles/perspectives in my writing. I even discovered a few things about how to work more efficiently. (Two things to keep in mind, Josh: 1. Do the writing early. 2. Research doesn't count as writing.)

And now, as I move into the new year, I've find myself farther along than I ever thought I could be, looking ahead at the end of 2010.

I'm writing short fiction. Regularly. And enjoying it. (And, dare I say, growing more skilled at the craft?)

I attended a major convention and spoke to professionals in this field as friends (or at least acquaintances).

I'm learning about the business of writing, publishing, and living the creative life.

I'm on the eve of releasing my first story to the public, launching an ongoing series of episodic fiction.

This is really exciting stuff for me, and I feel like I'm just getting started.

Until next time...
-Joshua Kehe

The Final Story of 2011

In literature, only trouble is interesting.

-Janet Burroway

Although much of my time during the first few days of this new year has been spent in preparation for the release of "Reserved for War" next week, I did finally have some time to sit down this evening and write out an ending for a story I started on New Year's Eve.

For that reason alone, really, I feel like I'm finally done with my writing for 2011.

So, I think it's time to do a bit of a look-back.

I won't be able to do a memorial for the whole year until I get back to my records on Thursday (yeah, I should keep those with me). But I at least wanted to look back on this "Short Story Spree" I started in December.

As predicted, it didn't accomplish nearly as much as I intended it to.

But it was definitely successful.

I wrote five short(er) stories, the beginnings of a sixth, and reworked a seventh over thirty three(ish) days.

I'd call that a success.

In all, it's about 34,304 words of new fiction, plus "Reserved for War," which clocks in at around 6800 words.

So 40,000 words of work in a month.

I'm happy with that.

What's more, there is (I think), a clear trend of improvement throughout all that work. While the first couple of stories were a bit fumbling, they turned out well-enough in the end, and the most recent few stories I've written (two in the past week!) I consider to be competent and engaging members of the form.

(As in, they're actually stories that conclude within their short framework. Wow.)

Really quick, now, let's just run through what I worked on, shall we?

Welcome Back

Okay. So much for the productive summer.

Between class, work, and various social obligations to family and friends, I have not been able to maintain my writing goals during these summer months.

That's okay. It was all important stuff. I'm closer to graduation, farther from debt, and I've reconnected with  those I've been absent from for the past semester (most of them, at least). Overall, it's a net-positive summer, even if it hasn't been productive for writing.

But now the summer is drawing to an end and it's time for me to buckle down to finish out the year strong.

This coming week I will be attending the World Science Fiction Convention (WorldCon) in Reno, Nevada. It's going to be first con, and I'm really excited. George R.R. Martin will be there, and Brandon Sanderson, and Lou Anders, and Writing Excuses, and Robin Hobb, and Kim Stanley Robinson, and Pat Rothfuss, and so many others. They're going to be presenting on topics of all kinds, from game design, to world-building, to film adaptation, and so on. Oh, and there're also plays, and films, and readings, and signings, and dances, and other shows and stuff.

Wow. I'm excited. Starts wednesday. Goes til Sunday. I return monday; I leave for school on tuesday. Busy couple of weeks here...

Once I return to school, I'll be starting in on three goals, both personal and professional.

On the personal front, I'm going to be reconnecting with the friends I haven't seen since last Fall; and a part of that will be through RPG campaigns. (Side note: I'm really looking forward to these campaigns this year. It's been far too long since I've run a campaign, and they're wonderful social events for me to practice my on-the-fly storytelling.)

On the professional side of things, I need to begin preparing for graduation. Everything should line up for me to finish school on time, and I'm hoping to have a job waiting for me when I'm done.

On both ends, I'm planning to rewrite and revise Runic in order to prepare it for submission to publishers in January. I'm estimating the final length of the book to be between 90k and 120k words. Which means I'll need to write at least 1300 words each day while I'm at school if I'm to get it done at all. If I want time to revise, I'll probably want to write between 2500 and 3000 each day. But we'll see if I have time after fulfilling all of my other daily goals.

I'm confident that I can get Runic ready for submission by January. I just need be consistent in my efforts...again.

Unfortunately, it doesn't look like this is going to give me enough to finish my year of words (for those of you who forgot, the goal was 500k words). I'm still going to try for it, but...well, my prospects don't look good. And I don't want to exhaust myself or depress myself by holding myself to a commitment that I can no longer keep. *sigh* It's disappointing, but a likely necessity.

One final note, I'm going to be offering frequent updates from my trip this week. Today and the next few days are going to be spent in the San Francisco area here, and then Wednesday through Sunday will be a flurry of fan excitement streaming forth from WorldCon. (Excitement!) Following that, I'll be back at school and back to work. And hopefully I'll be able to continue offering updates then as well.

Until then, thank you for your time.

I Have Returned

Short post today.

Just wanted to say that I'm back from my Europe trip. It was crazy, fantastic, and filled with really, really, really old stuff (which is always a major plus for me). I didn't do any writing during the trip, as each day was so full and exhausting that I really didn't have any opportunity. Also, it was a vacation for crying out loud. I decided I deserved a break.

Which isn't to say that it wasn't productive. My subconscious never seems to give up on me, so I ended up making several impressive breakthroughs and developments on a variety of projects, most notably Runic. Does this mean I might start working on revising it again soon? Probably, but I want to finish the rough draft for Godchild before I start thinking about another project (again).

Getting back to the actual trip, I wanted to mention really quickly that Lauren and I are going to be working on a joint series of blog posts chronicling the most interesting parts of our adventure. We're going to alternate posting between our two blogs (you can find her's here) so that you can get a more balanced mix of perspectives on the trip. And also because it'll be fun.

I'm not sure when that series will start, but it could be as soon as later this evening/afternoon (depending on your time zone). We'll see, but I'll keep you posted on it.

For now, it's time to get back to work and see what good the time off did for me.

A Few General Updates

Hello,

It's been awhile since I mentioned anything concrete on the work I've been doing. So I thought I'd take a moment to deliver some updates in that regard and also talk a bit about what's coming up on the blog.

Layout


First things first, I hope everyone has had a chance to notice and appreciate the new features over on the right-hand column. If you haven't, please look over there now. Don't worry, I'll wait.

...

Okay, do you see it now? Good.

I have a progress bar! I'm really excited about this, as it means that I can share my progress with you each day/week as I update the bar, instead of making you wait for one of my infrequent updates hidden amidst my ramblings. In the future, if all you want to know is how I am along in one of my projects (or just my work overall), you can just stop in and glance at the progress bar. As i mentioned above I will be updating this thing regularly. Hopefully every day as I finish my writing sessions, but sometimes I'm a little slow. At the very least, I will update the progress bar every Monday, just to make sure it's up-to-date.

In addition, I have a "Currently Geeking" section. This is just a short list of the various items that I have either been interested in lately or that have consumed my time lately. I'll be updating this one a bit less frequently than the progress bar, but I hope to keep it changing regularly in order to let you all know what I'm wasting my time on and what I think other people should be wasting their time on as well.

(Plus, it's probably a good bet that if something shows up on the "Currently Geeking" thread, I'll likely be talking about it in the near future either here or over on The Vanishing Blog. Fair warning.)

Now, on to the actual updates.

On Divided Attentions

My good friend and fellow blogger Matt raised an interesting question in one of my posts a while back.

Here's the question:

Matt said...

I was curious: do you divide your attention between different work or are you usually singularly focused on a single project on a given day?

 To which I responded (essentially): "I don't know."

It's a relevant question about work patterns that I haven't really thought about until now. What drives me to work on one project fanatically (as I did at the end of February, making it my most productive weekend in the history of my career)? And what drives me to split my attention among several projects (as I did at the beginning of February, which saw me writing a bunch of character sketches and short stories in addition to my work on "Godchild")?

Why I Like to Disagree With People

This post is a direct result of my reactions to this post by Matt over on The Vanshing Blog from about a week ago. It's not necessary to read the post in order to understand mine here, but it's a thoughtful piece and worth your time.

Now, to draw attention away from Matt's overall point and narrow in on what I want to talk about today, a quote:

I'm not a big fan of MovieBob. Although I find him occasionally interesting, he comes off as something of an elitist to me. Also, he is coming from worldview diametrically opposed to mine. He seems to have no problem insinuating that those who disagree with him are small-minded. Plus, at the end of this video he basically says he'd like to be a supervillain.

That's from Matt's article. It does not reflect the main purpose of the article in any way, shape, or form, but it brings up what I have discovered is a rather fundamental difference between him and me.

I like it when I disagree with someone.

Author Roundup

Lightweight day today. Just wanted to mention a few pieces of author news that's interested me lately.

Here's a George R.R. Martin interview over at the Bear Swarm podcast. There's a content warning on this one, but the discussion is interesting. This is less significant now that there's been an announcement about the Dance With Dragons release date, but still...

Here's an interview between Brandon Sanderson and Patrick Rothfuss up on Amazon.com. It's from early March, when Wise Man's Fear was coming out. They talk a lot about some of the nuances of the writer's life, which is always a topic I'm ready to talk about.

A couple weeks ago, London "weird fiction" author China Mieville came to my university and spoke about the renovation of weird fiction in recent years. I had the opportunity to attend. Naturally, I took it.

Now, I have a confession to make. I haven't actually read any of Mieville's books. I know that he's a highly creative and skilled author, and I'm going to read his stuff eventually. Thus far, however, I have not.

That being said, I still really enjoyed the talk.

First of all, this man is well-educated. I mean, really well-educated. He was throwing around high-brow literary terms with a nonchalance and deft skill that kept me swimming furiously just to keep abreast of the discussion for most of the hour. My first reaction to this was intimidation. I was, essentially, thinking "Wow. I'm nowhere near this learned. This guy really knows his stuff; how am I supposed to be a writer if I don't know my genre as well as he knows his?"

Well, then I discovered that he's a creative writing professor at a London university. I guess that explains that.

Follow-up thought to that was, "Well, okay. He's got years of experience. You'll get there."

Second, he's a friendly guy. You listen to him talk and you get a sense of a laid-back, inviting personality. That being said, he's definitely working the "punk edge" look. Bald head, multiple piercings, massive arms. You don't want to tangle with this guy in a dark alley.

Third, this guy is really into octopuses. I mean, really, really into octopuses. To hear Mieville speak, you'd think that octopuses are almost superior to human beings. In a one-and-a-half hour discussion, the group spent at least forty minutes talking about octopuses. Their biology. Their place in weird fiction. Their lack of place in traditional folklore. Their lack of metaphorical impact. Again, a lot of high-brow literary discussion that kept me just gasping for breath... about octopuses.

But hey, it was interesting.

One final note. I've broken 65,000 words on Godchild, making it my longest single work yet. Huge news.

Comparing Methods

Here's another interesting note to consider.

With "Godchild," I have an overarching plot in mind, with dozens of locations and characters and events all weaving in and out of each other. However, I don't actually know what's happening when. I have large revelations and theme shifts blocked out, but their placement is very fluid and will change to fit the confines of the story. In addition, my day-to-day writing is generally outlined fairly concretely. I have a good idea of what the characters are doing and where they are going for the foreseeable (which is usually about a week's worth of writing).

What I don't know, however, is that big, fat middle ground between overarching plan and daily grind. So it becomes an interesting mix of discovery-writing meets outline-drafting. There are moments when I discover that a certain character is going to disappear for a few days, or another one is going to stick around longer than I intended, and that's okay, because I'm leaving myself open to the characters' actions. But there are other times where I see a brilliant chance to lay down some foreshadowing or begin to sow the seeds of plotlines that will develop much, much later in the story. And I get to do so because I know (on a grand scale) where the story is going. So, for me, thought it's exhausting and requires continual maintenance and will likely require a very thorough rewrite before any thoughts of publication, the way I'm doing things for "Godchild" is an enjoyable and dynamic way to write the story.

Now, I tell you that to tell you this.

"A Tree in Times Square" is going to be handled in a completely different manner. It's going to be the first book that I try to map out, scene by scene, before sitting down to write it. Yes, this means that I haven't started writing it yet, even thought March is already burning through days. I want to give the story time to grow organically in my mind, even while I'm attempting to codify it with an outline. I've already seen benefits from this approach, as character origins and roles adapt and shift into new flavors, and plot details connect and respond to each other in my head and on the page. The entire climax that I had originally planned has changed itself at least three times since I started working on this outline (for the better, of course).

So that's another bit of trivia about "Tree" that has me excited to be working on it at last. We'll see, in the coming weeks, which method holds up and whether or not I'll want to adopt one or the other for future projects. (It might just be that -- gasp -- each project is different. We'll see.)

Until then,

-Craftsman

What I learned in the month of February

As you may have noticed, I disappeared during the second half of February.

Sorry about that.

What you may be wondering is "why?"

Well, I talked briefly about it here, but I wanted to take a brief moment to talk about it independent of any other matter. So if you don't want to read the self-absorbed ramblings of a discouraged loner, then I suggest you move on to the next post. (If you do want to read the self-absorbed ramblings of a discouraged loner... what the hell is wrong with you? Creeper.)

Moving right along.

You see, I came very, very close to giving up on writing. It's hard for me to understand why, sitting where I am now. It was hard for me to understand why while I was in the midst of the doubt, but all I know is that I seriously questioned the purpose behind the daily grind that I have chosen to put myself through.

It didn't help that I was/am isolated from the majority of my friends and family, my easy access to books, and a supportive community for gaming. All of the things that usually remind me of how great this art form is, and how much I can do with it, are absent. These are all elements of my life that enhance my perception of the written word, both as a craft and as a life style, and I have been forced to embrace writing in its rawest form without them around me.

In short, and absent poetical terms, my writing almost ate me. Not consumed, in that I became nothing but the writing -- though that may have been a related danger -- but like a spiny beast it cornered me in a subtle ambush and demanded to know if either of us were worth it.

The spiny beast made me think that my ideas are crap and don't deserve to see themselves written down, much less put into publication. In turn, I convinced the spiny beast that it isn't worth the daily sacrifices that I have to make to live with it. Like a squabbling couple immediately before a messy divorce, craft and craftsman both thought the world was better off without the other.

Fortunately, as far as I'm concerned, we're both too stubborn for our own good. Neither of us agreed to roll over and die, so we persevered. It took a long time and a lot of mental energy and disappointment. But the result of our hard work is apparent in what we have learned and overcome together in these last days of February.

To be a bit more clear:

-I have learned that if I don't get a start on my writing in the morning, the chances that I won't get any writing done at all increase exponentially.
-I have learned that if I do get a start on my writing in the morning, it's likely that I'll exceed my writing goals for the day.
-I have broken down what seems like dozens of mental barriers in the past three days. I never thought I would be able to write more than a thousand words per day before NaNo. Then I never thought I'd be able to write more than two thousand words per day before January. As a result of February: I'm aiming to write over four thousand words per day, just to see if I can keep it up.
-I am learning, slowly, to press on through my doubt, because the writing does get better and the story does come together eventually and the characters really aren't as flat and lifeless as you thought (even if they will look that way when you start your rewrite).
-I am learning, slowly, to forgive myself and get over my disappointment when I fail to be as productive as I think I "need" to be. Beating myself up about my writing only makes it harder to get started the next day, and it prevents me from enjoying time to myself (without the writing) and time with my friends and family.

Okay, that's all. Thank you for bearing with me through all of that. A rough month is behind us now. Let's hope that that's the worst of it for a while.

I promise to be a bit more upbeat in the future (or at least to avoid wallowing about myself.)
-Craftsman

Introducing: A Tree in Times Square

First of all, I want to mention that I've begun contributing over at The Vanishing Blog. You can find my introduction here.

Alright, moving on.

So you may have seen me mention a new project in passing on Twitter and here in comments. I'm going to take a moment now to formally introduce it to all of you.

"A Tree in Times Square"

What is it?
It's going to be a shorter book (aiming for 40k words) that I hope to write within the month of March. It's about a young boy living in New York city who discovers an affinity for plants. I'm not entirely sure as to the audience for this book, yet, but I imagine it'll end up on a YA or similar market eventually. (However, I am not a publisher, so I don't know these things for sure. Yet.)

Why am I writing it?
Once again, I'm beginning to feel the drag from writing epic tales like "Godchild." This is an effort to complete something, and to do so in a timely manner as well. In addition, it's a story that I've had on my mind for years, so I decided that now was the time to try telling it. That may work, it may not; we'll find out.

What about "Godchild?"
I'm still working on it, and will continue to do so throughout March. Yes, this means I'm going to have to work harder than I did in February, but hopefully it'll earn me a break by April. Again, we'll see.

That's about all I can think of for now. I hope to share more about this project (and "Godchid") as I work on it. It's going to be different than anything else I've worked on (I seem to say that a lot, but it's true).

Until then,
-Craftsman

Victory

I am pleased to announce that, as of this moment, I have written 50,114 words in the month of February. Thank you all for your encouraging words yesterday. I hope to continue my productivity both in my fiction and in my posting throughout the coming months.

-Craftsman.

The Journey:
Total for the Year: 73,550 words.
Goal for the Year: 500,000 words.

Today I Wrote 5,000 Words

Well, 5,595, actually. I could probably hit 6,000 today if I wanted to. But that would sacrifice a small portion of my sleep, which will prevent me from getting my work done tomorrow.

So, yeah. That's why I've been so absent lately.

As you may recall from my last post (about two weeks ago, now; I know, I know, I'm sorry), I was having a bit of a struggle with the whole perseverance thing. Well, that came to a sharp and frightening head sometime in the past week or so and demanded the entirety of my attention to overcome (along with, you know, school and living and such).

Thus, the blog took an unfortunate hit.

I am back now, however, with exciting news and a renewed vigor.

First bit of news, I'm going to reach my word count for this month. I don't want to celebrate too soon, as I actually need to do the writing tomorrow. But once I do, I'll have produced 50,000 words this month. I'll be right on track to continue this Journey to 500,000 words in a year.

That's kind of exciting. Especially since it's February, the shortest month of the year. If I can be this productive in February, imagine what I can do with July or August or so. (Heck, NaNo will be no problem, come November.)

I am trying very hard to keep myself from growing cocky and over-confident. I saw the damage that can do to me during the past weeks, and I don't want to go there again. I also saw the damage that can be done by doubting myself. If there's one I really want to take away from the past three days (during which I have produced 10,000 words), it's encouragement that I am capable of so much more than I expect out of myself. If I set my expectations high, and actually, honestly work to meet those goals, I can reach staggering accomplishments like today.

Sorry for the self-pep-talk. I'm going to have some more substantial content coming again soon. I know I made some fairly concrete and bold promises over the past couple of months, and I also know that I haven't fully met those promises. I can't say that I'm going to rise up and fulfill them all the time from here on out. But I do think that I'm going to do a better job of it for a while once again.

I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes.

Total so far for February: 46,062 words.
Goal for February: 50,000 words.

Total so far for 2011: 69,498 words.
Goal for 2011: 500,000 words.

On Perseverance

I don't want to come off as an ungrateful, whiny idiot or anything. It's just that the challenges of writing have been on my mind a lot lately, so it's what I'm going to write about (again) today.

Alright, here we go.

One thing, more than anything else about writing, I think is going to bother me throughout my life. It's something that I think a lot of people don't think about, or don't realize, or don't fully understand the significance of.

The work is never done.

That's it. If you choose to write -- to be a writer, rather -- you choose to work in a field where you never, ever stop. Sure, you might finish one project, but -- if you're a writer -- the next day you're starting right in on the next one. Sometimes you're working on two or three (or more) different projects of varying sizes and intensity at the same time.

If you are a writer -- as opposed to someone who writes -- then your work is never finished. And this can be really disheartening.

This can be especially grating when you really bring it down to the daily level. And I know it's the same thing we all (for the most part) face in one form or another, but again, I think it's something a lot of people forget about for writers.

Basically, my day consists of two priorities: the writing, and everything else. I really do have to categorize it that way. If not, then I get bogged down in all of the other activities and tasks that could or have to take up my time. So, right there, we have conflict. Writing, especially right now while I'm not being paid for it, is competing with everything else in my life that wants (or could want) my attention. Sure, the actual act of writing isn't necessarily difficult (compared with a lot of other things), but the sheer mental will and determination that is required to compartmentalize my day in order to give myself time to write, and then to actually sit down and do the writing, is enormous.

Put another way. Right now, I'm aiming for a high quantity of words for the year. This requires me to produce a high quantity of words each day, because I'm certainly  not going to sit down on December 31st and write 500,000 words. I just don't think that's humanly possible. Now, in addition to this large sum of words, I am also, of course, trying to produce quality work in some form or another. Whether it's a well-designed story or a few insightful blog posts or some neat character sketches, I'm always looking to improve my mastery of this craft overall. This requires quite a bit of attention and that attention is mentally draining.

So, every day, I am fighting an uphill battle against time, school, friends and family, leisure time, eating, sleeping, and my own reluctance to produce my designated word counts. I stay up late, I skip my personal reading time, I resist the urge to watch a movie, I don't go out to a party -- whatever it takes to meet the goal.

And then, once I've done it and I settle in all satisfied for the night, resting easy with confidence in my own ability, I go to sleep. And the next morning, I have to do it all over again. The same challenges and the same reluctance greets me the moment I get a chance to think about it. Which is usually right after I finally decide to roll out of bed.

(I'm sure many of you are wondering why I would even consider doing this for a living if I'm so reluctant all the time. Short answer is: I'm not reluctant all the time, and I truly love writing more than anything else... most days. Long answer... is long.)

It occurs to me, of course, that this isn't a conflict unique to writers. We all face it in one form or another. The most applicable example, to me (aside from writing), is faith. Many people adhere to regular Bible-reading schedules or a prayer plan or meditation or whatever as a means to strengthen their faith. We set daily goals (if we're smart about it) and try to meet them every day and we hope that, by doing this, we will grow stronger in our faith. A nebulous concept at best.

I don't know about you, but it's really hard for me to read the Bible most days. It's not that it's especially dense literature or that I don't have the time. It's just that stupid, universal human reluctance to do anything that's really good for us. Exercise is the same way, for example. And so is eating healthy. They're all things filled with good intentions -- and potentially good results -- that usually fall flat due to some excuse or another, but it's really just our resistance to improvement, our fear of success.

Steven Pressfield talks about this a lot in his book The War of Art. It's good. You should read it. He explains the whole "resistance to good things" and "fear of success" stuff (plus a lot more) better than I ever could. But maybe I'll try someday anyway.

(Note, see my 6 Feb 2011 post for a brief update on the ongoing agents debate.)

Lessons from Andrew Crofts

Today, in my "Writing for a Living" class, freelance writer and ghostwriter Andrew Crofts came as a guest speaker. He wrote one of our textbooks, The Freelance Writer's Handbook, and generally knows what he's talking about. Like much of the older generation of current professional writers (folks who were trying to get started in and around the 70s or so), Crofts had to find his own way of doing things -- sentiments shared by other creative writers that I've mentioned on this blog (Dean Wesley Smith, Kurt Busiek, Stephen King, etc.) I found Mr. Crofts to be a very knowledgeable person and I'm going to take this opportunity to share what I can of that knowledge.

Perhaps the most important thing I got out of Mr. Crofts lecture is an excellent description for both what a craftsman is and also what a craftsman does.

As you know, this blog is entitled "The Craftsman's Journey," and some of you may be wondering: Well, what's all that about? It's not just a whole lot of flowery language (although it does sound rather nice, in my opinion). It actually does mean something. Essentially, my goal is to chronicle my efforts to learn various crafts, with writing being the primary one among them.

And yes, writing is a craft. It can be learned, it needs to be practiced, and you have to market it. (I know, I know. I've been harping on this a lot lately. It's just where my attention has been at, that's all.)

Mr. Crofts summed this up quite well. He said that, as a writer, you can view yourself in one of two ways.
1. "I am an artist."
2. "I am a craftsman."
He then put these two mindsets into a practical light by using the carpenter as an example.

As a carpenter, if you are an artist, you'll likely go out and create a beautiful piece of furniture. Maybe you have an interest in old, English-style wardrobes. You know, like in Narnia. You'll spend several thousand dollars purchasing the high-quality mahogany and polishes and finishing solutions that are necessary materials. You'll of course need the tools, if you haven't gotten them already. You'll probably make a few mistakes the first time you cut a few pieces and so you'll have to do those over -- which will cost you more time and money. And, of course, you still have to live and eat, so there goes a few thousand more dollars.

BUT, after a few months of dedicated work, or maybe even a year or so depending on how large and ornate this wardrobe is, you'll find that you have a gorgeous piece of furniture. I mean, it's just ridiculous how magnificent this is.

Now, many of us (or at least myself) would be more than happy to have crafted such a beautiful piece of art that we would likely keep it in our home, proud of such an accomplishment. But if you're a carpenter, you need to sell it. You need to support yourself and recoup your losses and continue perfecting your craft in order to sell more and support yourself and... well, you get the idea.

So now you go out to sell it.

Except... between the costs of the materials and the food you ate and everything, you're going to need to charge quite a bit of money for this piece in order to break even. And, of course, you still need to eat so that will drive the price up even more.

Well, you certainly don't know anyone with the kind of money who would be willing to pay thousands and thousands of dollars for a wardrobe -- even if it is the nicest one you've ever seen, if you do say so yourself. And then there's the whole issue of space. Who do you know who has a house or a room large enough to put this blasted thing in? I mean, it's enormous!

That's the artist's approach. It's rather daunting, I know. But that's where the craftsman comes in.

See, the craftsman will go around the neighborhood (or whatever your equivalent wants to be) and start talking to people, saying "What can I make for you?", "What do you need me to make?", "What do you need from me?" They'll print up little pamphlets and business cards that say: "Andrew Crofts, Carpenter, Whatever you want me to make." Or something similar.

Sure, maybe the craftsman doesn't make any connections with the first round of business cards. Or even the second. But eventually, someone, somewhere, is going to want some handmade wooden furniture. And then, when they go looking around for a carpenter, they'll find your business card, with all of your contact information, and they'll get in touch with you and say "Hey, I want a chair."

So then you say "Great," and you make a chair. Sure, it's not quite what you were hoping to make, or be known for, or whatever. But it's work, and it's work in the field you're passionate about -- carpentry, wood-working. It might not be your favorite project ever, but you do it, because that's what people want and need.

After you finish the chair, you deliver it, and then you've got a happy client. That client talks to his or her friends about this wonderful new chair they've got (because you always make sure that you produce quality merchandise) and pretty soon other people are wanting high-quality woodwork from you, Mr. Marketing Craftsman Carpenter.

And how knows? Maybe you'll be reworking the cabinets in somebody's kitchen and you'll look over into the next room and there will be this nice big space that's just begging for a mahogany wardrobe to fill. And then you can tell your clients about your wardrobe -- maybe even offer to make another one in a smaller size if that's what they'd prefer -- and they might ask you to make one for them.

Of course, they might not. But that's the chance you take.

Now, how does this relate to writing? I would hope it makes sense, but I'll go ahead and provide some more direct advice from Mr. Crofts.

First, if you want to be a full-time writer, it seems to be vitally important that you possess an extreme dislike for having a real job. You need to really not want a job in order to have the tenacity to become a full-time writer. Otherwise, you'll likely just give up and leave all the writing jobs to other professionals, who have just a little bit more patience than you. This is what Brandon Sanderson did. He didn't want to have a day job, and so he worked constantly at a really high level of production all through college and for a number of years afterwards in order to get his writing up to a publishable level. And now look at him. (He's basically a superstar of Fantasy right now, if you don't already know.)

Next, it is very important for you to write as much as you can and to do interesting things. A writer is someone who introduces a world of readers to interesting experiences and/or ideas that the reader might not have encountered otherwise. It's hard to do that if you spend all of your days locked in a cupboard, hunched over a desk, staring into a flickering screen (much as I am doing right now.)

Now, taking those two factors from above, we apply them to the metaphor of the craftsman.

A few principles:

It's important to identify the difference between selling your work and marketing it.

If you're selling your work, you're basically producing something that you think is interesting or otherwise of value, and then trying to find someone to buy it. This can work, and it's generally the kind of thing you do with a career in fiction, but it's very difficult and requires multiple attempts and a really thick skin.

When you're marketing your work, you look around and try to find out what people need. Then you find a way that you can give it to them. Filling slots in magazines and newspapers, who need to produce the same quantity and quality of work each day, week, or month, is a great way to do this. Find the stories that no one else wants to write, or the places no one else wants to go, or the perspective/angle/idea that no one else has, and see if you can fill that role. After that, it's just a matter of contacting the editor and selling the article (oh, yeah, and you'll need to write it once they've approved the idea.)

Whether or not you're trying to sell a novel or market your services, it's important to shop yourself around constantly. Always have stuff in the mail (and always keep track of where that stuff is). You're not going to sell any writing by leaving it sitting there on your dining room table or (even worse) on your hard drive. If you have something to sell, it needs to be sitting on an editor's desk, preferably with the editor's eyes scanning the lines of text. If you have writing services to sell, then your name needs to be on that editor's desk, preferably with some writing samples and a list of recent publications attached.

That's another thing. Anything you can get in print is going to be money in the bank later on. Don't be too proud to take a writing job, of any kind. Even if it's just a small features piece in the local news paper and it isn't going to pay a dime, it's worth it. At least in the early days. You need to build up a portfolio of public, professional work that you can reference when you're querying editors. Whether you're trying to pitch an article idea to them or you're trying to sell them on your finished manuscript, editors like knowing that they're going to bet on someone with a track record. They want to know that they're working with a professional and have some reassurance (however small) that the writer can deliver what they're promising.

Wow, this post has gone on for quite a while. In case you haven't been able to tell, I've been spending a lot of time lately learning about the business side of writing. I'm still doing a lot of actual writing, of course, but that's really only half of the job here. I wouldn't be surprised if I found myself writing more articles on this subject in the future. For the time being, however, I'm not going to make any promises.

Myth-Busting with Dean Wesley Smith

So... this is going to more a self-serving post. I've recently read through all of Dean Wesley Smith's posts on "Killing the Sacred Cows of Publishing," and there are a few I want to keep track of as I begin to make intentional strides toward getting myself started in this business (and yes, it is a business).

Overall, I found Smith's articles on the publishing to be thought-provoking and informative. His ideas certainly challenged long-held beliefs of my own and they have encouraged me to learn a variety of new things and to never stop learning, regardless of the subject.

A few of his thoughts appear, currently, to be a bit over-the-top. However, I am certainly not going to challenge him on what has worked for his career thus far.

More to the point, there are over a dozen articles that I found especially helpful and applicable to my situation and set of assumptions about the writing/publishing business. These are deep-rooted concepts that have guided me in my attempts thus far and seeing them challenged is painful, enlightening, encouraging, and all manner of other emotions in between. Thus, for my benefit (with the hope that some of these things might interest any of you as well), I am compiling them here in an order that makes sense to me.

Here we go:

Making Money Writing Fiction


The Myth: Can't Make Money in Fiction
http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?p=607

The Myth: Only 300 Writers Make a Living
http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?p=1121

The Publisher's Perspective


The Myth: New York Works as a Quality Filter
http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?p=2251

The Myth: You Can Only Sell What's Hot
http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?p=1793

The Myth: Follow the Rules to Get Published
http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?p=956

The Act of Writing


The Myth: Writing is Hard
http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?p=576

A Note: Speed
http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?p=310

The Myth: Writers Don't Need to Practice
http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?p=931

The Myth: Rewriting
http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?p=329

A Note: Not Rewriting Does Not Mean Sloppy Writing
http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?p=1826

The Myth: Researching Fiction
http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?p=1053

The Career of Writing


The Myth: Rejections
http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?p=1088

The Myth: Self Promotion
http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?p=398

The Myth: Self-Publishing is a Bad Idea
http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?p=2013

The Dangers of Agents


The Myth: Agents Can Help With Careers
http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?p=816

The Myth: Agents Take Care of Your Money
http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?p=909

A Note: Agents and Contracts
http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?p=1213

A Note: Agent Agreements
http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?p=740

And Finally


The Myth: "You Have It Made When..."
http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?p=2525

I just want to say, once more, that I think the entire series is worth reading. These here are just the ones that stand out or really speak to me, personally, as a writer and a person. By all means, let my sample here interest you. But I hope that it encourages you to read the rest of the series if you have any interest at all in the writer's life, the business of publishing, or the potential livelihood of a loved one who may have chosen this profession. Mr. Smith here may not know everything, but he knows enough to paint a stark picture of what this career holds in store for those who seek it.

Until next time, then.

EDIT: 13 Feb 2011 -- I was poking around the "Writing Excuses" website earlier today, and I found an episode the guys did responding directly to Dean Wesley Smith's series of articles on agents. It's an excellent counterpoint to Smith's extremism. The comments, as well, are well-reasoned and insightful. Definitely worth a listen and a read if you're more interested in this ongoing debate about the worth of agents.
LINK: http://www.writingexcuses.com/2010/01/31/writing-excuses-4-4-agents-do-you-need-one/

Writing for a Living

Hm, no internet yesterday at the house here, otherwise this would've gone up then.

Really quick, before I get started for the day, my good friend and fellow writer Matt over at The Vanishing Blog posted a few nice words about my own.
Here's the link: http://thevanishingblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/rebirth.html

I'm done with my first week of classes now. There's going to be a lot of writing coming up this semester. I would say that I hope I can keep up with it. But judging by my performance during this past week, I don't think there's going to be a problem. (I've averaged 2,000 words/day for the past three days; this is exciting production for me.)

One of the classes I'm taking, however, looks to prove more fun and more informative than any of the others. It's  called "Writing for a Living." It's taught by a no-nonsense Canadian who has been working as a professional writer in one capacity or another for the past 21 years. (Realization time. I can actually say something like "21 years ago" and have an idea of what the world was like then. Wow...)

On the first day of class, he asked us if anyone would like to tell the class what we are working on. So, being the talkative American that I am (and attempting to break out of my fear of feedback) I volunteered to go first.

I think we spent about twenty minutes discussing the perceived benefits and drawbacks of my writing habits, career goals, and overall approach to this craft. It was challenging, enlightening, and invigorating to discuss my goals in such stark terms with other writers. As with any writing group (and this is going to be the challenge throughout the semester) there was a mix of useful insights, though-provoking suggestions, and ignorant assumptions. Some of these writers know what they're talking about; others haven't got a clue about the business, but have some inspired projects they're working on. If yesterday's sample is any indication of the kinds of discussions we'll be having, it's going to be a worthwhile semester.

On that note, here's a list of topics we're scheduled to discuss in-class:
-Freelance Writing, the big picture with guest lecturer Andrew Crofts (wrote our textbook).
-Music Journalism, with guest lecturer Laura Barton.
-Ghostwriting.
-Writing Fiction for a Living, with guest lecturer James Miller.
-What Agents Look For, with guest lecturer Elinor Cooper.
-Life-writing and Editing, with guest lecturer Bridget Hourican
-Travel Writing and Other Non-fiction Genres
-Writing for the Stage
-Writing for the Screen
-Copy-writing

Now, a few of these things are obviously topics I've delved into extensively in the past (fiction writing, agent queries, freelance writing, etc.) But most of these topics are going to be brand new as far as my experience is concerned. And even with the "older" topics, I'm convinced that you can always learn something new about something you already know. (Although, I seldom follow through on practicing this ideal.) So hopefully the class will bring me some new insight into these well-worn avenues of knowledge.

So, that's the class. On a related note, I've been following an interesting thread of knowledge on the internet about writing fiction as a full-time author. Obviously, this is a topic that I'm very much interested in. However, it wasn't until recently that I began to understand the actual possibility of doing so. Yes, it's still difficult -- and these sources have made that abundantly clear how much work goes into the career -- but it seems much more reachable now.

I was probably going to separate these two posts originally. Talking about the class yesterday, and saving these websites for today. But seeing as I wasn't able to get the post up yesterday, you all get a little bonus today. (Hooray!)

Alright, here they are:

"Killing the Sacred Cows of Publishing," by Dean Wesley Smith
http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?page_id=860
This is the website that got me started on this recent quest for knowledge. I was linked to Smith's website as part of an ongoing debate about the usefulness of agents in representing authors (a lengthy and bitter debate that I won't summarize today.) While I was at his site, I clicked around and found that he's very open about helping upcoming authors. He's very successful financially, and he has a lot of "alternative" views on the publishing industry and the creative life in general.
His best summation of these views comes in a series of articles (he terms them as "chapters" because they will eventually be compiled into a book [or perhaps already have]) about putting to rest the persistent rumors that new writers believe when they're trying to "break-in" to the business. I've found them to be insightful and his article on the "magic bakery" (I think it's title is: "No Money in Writing Fiction") is genius.
Alright, now a brief caveat: he is very much focused on the commercial aspect of writing fiction. I don't want to judge a person's motivations or beliefs, and I don't want to make any judgments about the quality of his work without having read any of it. However, he seems less interested in the art of the craft than a number of other successful writers (George R. R. Martin, Brandon Sanderson, Stephen King, etc.). Again, I don't want to judge a book by it's cover, but... well, there is something to be said about making a good first impression.
All that aside, I think he's ideas about the business side of writing are worth considering. And he certainly encourages you to think for yourself, which I appreciate.

"Breaking In Without Rules," by Kurt Busiek
http://www.busiek.com/site/2009/06/breaking_in_without_rules.php
This one is a bit less practical but no less useful. Kurt Busiek is a writer for DC and Marvel comics. He's had a difficult time at breaking in, but he's managed to do so. Several times.
That's the remarkable thing about Busiek's story, and it's the point he's trying to make. There's more than one way to bake a cake. As long as you keep trying and play to your strengths and all the other inspirational cliches, you have a chance.
Overall, Busiek is a bit less optimistic than Dean Wesley Smith about your chances at turning a creative life into a full-time career, but there are still nuggets of wisdom to glean from his story.

"Mugging the Muse: Writing Fiction for Love AND Money," by Holly Lisle
http://shop.hollylisle.com/index.php?crn=&rn=362&action=show_detail
I've mentioned this one before. It's not a website, but it's been instrumental at inspiring me to attempt making a living out of my writing, so I decided to include it.
Holly Lisle does a lot to help new authors. She runs a number of online workshops focused around various writing topics (character, world, language, etc.) and has written a number of books about writing, the first of which is "Mugging the Muse." It's old. It's probably outdated. And I haven't read it in years, so I don't even know how helpful it is. But for me, in my embryonic writer stage, it was perfect. I cannot emphasize this enough. If it weren't for Ms. Lisle, I don't know if I would still be a writer today.

http://johnshore.com/how-to-make-a-living-writing/
John Shore is an interesting character. I honestly don't know what to make of him as a person.
His writing advice in the above link, however, is consistent with the rest of what I've been reading. So this website is useful if only as confirmation of what I've been promoting above.

http://www.writingexcuses.com/
I'm sure I've mentioned the podcast filled with writing advice for all levels by Brandon Sanderson (epic fantasy master), Dan Wells (brilliant fantasy-horror debut), and Howard Tayler (long-lasting web cartoonist) before now. If I haven't, then I have surely committed some sort of sin or crime. This podcast is fantastic. It's funny, insightful, and applicable to all levels of writing at some point or another. True, Brandon tends to dominate when he's on the cast, and there are a few episodes or approaches to topics that are less useful or less funny than usual. But the guests are fantastic, the cast is skilled, and the production value is generally top-notch. (Plus, they're eligible for a Hugo this year.)

Wow, well there's five right there. Off the top of my head. I think I'll call it a day here. It's time to actually go do that writing I was talking about earlier.

Journey to 500K Update -- A Thought on Lost Memories

I'm well on my way to 500,000 words for the year. I haven't quite settled into a routine of writing a bit each day, but I've written during a clear majority of them and have exceeded my word count expectations almost every day that I sit down.

That being said, it's time to pick up the pace. I gave myself an easy January in order to ease into things and allow time for me to work on outlining and world development. That bit isn't quite done yet, but I can't allow it to impeded my progress.

40-50 thousand is the goal for February. It's over twice as much as I had planned for January. However, I exceeded my goal for January, so I am confident that I can do so again for February.

In addition, ideas are brimming over left and right from my head right now, so I shouldn't have a problem finding material to write throughout this month. The biggest trick will probably be preventing me from distracting myself with other writing projects.

That brings me to my real musings for today: amnesia.

See, I'm well past the first act (of seven) in the novel right now, but I'm having significant difficulty making it all click together. Oh, sure, I know what's supposed to happen next and all that. Events have seldom ever been my problem. Instead, as usual, I'm having a problem convincing the characters to be people and gel with the rest of the world and story.

More specifically, my problem is with the protagonist. At the beginning of the story, I introduce him to the reader as having no memory. Shortly after this, we meet some of his allies from the past and they begin to fill him in on a few of the important bits, but never so much that you really understand his past (and neither does he).

This makes it really difficult to give the man a personality; and even more difficult to convey that personality to the audience.

Naturally, I'm going to be revealing the truth about his past at various points throughout the book (the nature of truth and memory and responsibility are all important themes in the story). But I can already tell from my outlining that these revelations are going to be spaced out quite thinly, and we're going to be in a dry patch here for most of the second act.

This is an issue. I know that I haven't established this man as a character effectively yet, so the majority of his character development in acts two and three, and then the subsequent revelations planned for acts four and five, are going to be relatively meaningless because the reader doesn't care.

I need to fix this.

But then the question becomes when do I fix it? I could try to work in some of the revelations to be earlier in the outline, but I'm trying to convince the audience that he's a certain way before dropping paradigm shifts into the story. It's kind of the core focus of the book -- I don't know if it's going to work, but I want to at least try.

I could, instead, try letting him keep pieces of his memory from the start. That would give him a much more definite personality, and it would present a multi-layered mystery (what has happened in his past, as he sees it; then, later, what actually happened in the past, etc.). I like this idea a lot.

The only problem there, then, is that I've already passed up the opening of the book and have established him as being this confused amnesiac. I know a number of authors talk about "breaking" their story halfway through by changing character personalities and introducing concepts that had otherwise gone unmentioned. I like the idea, but I've never been very good at it. Especially when it comes to characters.

So, for now, I'm just going to push through to the end (or as far as I can get this year) and keep a record of all the things that aren't working and/or need to change. Then I'll go back and have a better idea of what I'm doing on the second draft. (Yeah, sounds like a tedious process, I know. Maybe I'll talk about multi-draft writers versus outline-based writers in a future post.)

Anyways, that's where I'm at right now. If you'll excuse me, I have to go save my protagonist from the mind of a crazy circus gnome.

Current Word Count for the Year: 23,214/500,000

On the Eve of a Beginning

First off, sorry that you haven't seen the book reviews yet. They're taking somewhat longer than I would have liked. (I may need to pare them down a bit.)

In other, slightly more relevant news, I am beginning school tomorrow. Finally.

We're starting things off with "Narrative, Character, and Voice," which are all topics I certainly need to work on.

I'm really looking forward to this semester. I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before or not. Kingston University offers a number of focused, creative writing classes that Truman simply doesn't. So I hope I'll be able to learn a lot about my chosen craft this semester. I think it'll help that Kingston -- and the British school system in general -- seems much more focused on practical skills and preparing you for the working world and etc. It seems to me that such an approach to education makes the whole experience a lot more applicable.

But we'll see. After all, I have yet to set foot in a classroom.

On Reading Non-Fiction

Today I started reading A Short History of the World, by J.M. Roberts.

History is one of those things that I have a growing and occasional fascination with. I'll read a history book on a whim and I'll find the entire subject even more enlightening than the last time I studied it. I'll make a new connection or realization about the whole big-picture connectedness of the thing, or notice some similarity with current events or other past events or even fictitious events. It's one of those subjects that exemplifies the concept of growing more rewarding the more you learn about it (and not in the cheap math way of not allowing you to do certain problems until you've learned other types of math.)

It's like the more I read history the more I'm filling in blank spaces on a map. It's the same for my writing: the more I work on a particular novel or world, the more I'm painting in the empty spaces of a canvas. The beauty of the universe unfolds before me as the different pieces fall into place to reveal one glorious image.

Beyond this, reading non-fiction of almost any kind forces my mind to work in subtly different ways than it does when reading fiction. It's like stretching a different group of muscles. You may not have noticed the tension before, but once you've changed positions you realize how sore and out-of-practice you were. The amazing thing, though, is that this subtle change in my mental exercise helps the other areas of my brain grow as well.

I'm sure any long-term writer would tell you that you can't just read fiction. Yes, reading fiction is important for a variety of reasons (stimulates the imagination, inspires you with technique, informs you as to the market, etc.) but that's not going to get you very far. Variety is important. Like a well-balanced meal. Adding some non-fiction to your reading diet brings a whole new wealth of inspiration and information that can be applied to writing. If only for examining the different ways that other styles of writing use words and create meaning, reading non-fiction (or, quite simply, changing your reading habits somewhat) intently can have huge unforseen benefits for your writing.

I should know. I can't count the number of breakthroughs I've had on stories that I thought had become stale by reading through a non-fiction book. Or the number of stories that I've had pop into my mind while reading some history.

Reading outside your comfort zone (like doing anything outside your comfort zone) allows your well-worn mental paths to rest, enabling them to develop ideas sub-consciously, leading to a greater level of inspiration than you could have designed.

At least in my experience. :)