Creative Practice Inspiration Part 3
Creative Practice Inspiration Part 2
Creative Practice Inspiration Part 1
General Update
Man, it’s been a while. I always tell myself ‘this time I’ll keep blogging’, and then three months pass by. Obviously, I’m not much of a blogger. I hope to do better, but if I’m going to write, I’m more likely to write books and stories than blog posts.
Alas.
Anyway, I wanted to send out some quick updates on where I am with various projects.
First, Book 2. The editor is almost through her first review, and she thinks it’s very enjoyable. So that’s a huge relief. There’s still a lot of work and notes to go through, but probably no huge re-writes.
Second, also for Book 2, the cover artist is aiming to get the cover art done by October 1st. This is just the front cover, not the whole outside (that can’t be done until I have a word count). But it does mean that in a few weeks I should be able to display the artwork in all its glory.
Three, I’ve already started writing Book 3, in an effort to get ahead of the curve. The story is in excess of 12,000 words so far. Don’t have a final word count in mind, and I’m trying not to come up with one. Let the story write and see where it ends up.
There are a lot of other things I want to talk about right now, but they all deserve their own posts, or they’re not ready for discussion yet.
Until then, keep reading and keep writing.
Cheers!
-Michael
The Coffee Shop Betwixt Life and Death
The following is a monologue I wrote for a fun event earlier this month.
**
Hello, kind traveler, and welcome to the last coffee shop you will visit. Here, at the Coffee Shop Betwixt Life and Death, we invite you to sit back, take a moment, and decide if you wish to return through the front door, or take the elevator to your final destination.
Now, do not be hasty. This is an important decision. Chose your drink wisely, for the flavors are not just for the tongue, but the soul as well.
Wish to remember young loves and lost romance? A rose tea latte will bring back the stirrings of the heart.
Have a desire to speak with your long-departed mother? A café au lait will bring her back to you.
Perhaps you wish to feel a pang of excitement? Then, I might suggest a hip matcha latte. Just trust me, it’s exciting.
If you have a philosophical mind, some smoky herbal teas will bring back your memories of wisdom, assuming you have any.
Take as long as you’d like, but be warned. Here, at the Coffee Shop Betwixt Life and Death, you are a patron because you have a choice. Time is fleeting. Stay too long, and that door behind you might just lock itself.
So, my dear, what memory do you wish to pursue? Love or Anger? Happy or Sad? What emotion, what vision do you wish?
I’m sorry, you had a question?
Oh, you misunderstand. You drink to decide if you will go back or forth, not if the elevator will take you up or down.
If that is your worry, then I suggest a cup of black coffee. It will not give you wondrous visions, but it will sober you up, so to speak. It may tell you that you have chances yet to save your destination, or reveal that you are too far gone to one extreme or another.
No, black coffee is not fancy nor flavorful, but it is sometimes what you need to make the important choices.
What’s that, you ask?
Well, if you add cream and sugar, it wouldn’t be black coffee, now would it?
Here at the Coffee Shop Betwixt Life and Death, these things matter!
Creative Practice Background
Manticon 2018
My time at Manticon 2018 was a great success. So much so, that I have a hard time coming up with the best part about it. I keep remembering this conversation or that exchange. And I don’t want to bore you with a minute by minute account of the weekend, so instead, a quick list.
10 Great Things from Manticon 2018 (in no particular order)
Timothy Zahn
I got to sit next to Timothy Zahn, an award winning novelist whose tableau of books on his table was impressive. I spoke with him a couple of times, took a picture with him, even got him to sign some books for me. Then, as icing on the cake, he bought a copy of my book. I was flying pretty high after that.
Czech Writer Jan Kotouc
Another writer I sat next to, Jan is a Czech science fiction writer. It was interesting to hear about his stories. And he’s running an Indiegogo campaign to translate his stories into English. I’m looking forward to seeing it in print, and reading science fiction from a new point of view.
The Other Writers
There were other writers there I got to interact with. One group writes a post-Civil War steam punk graphic novel. Another author writes a lot of stories and goes to conventions all over the state. He gave me some good advice on some things I could do in the future. Always nice to interact with other authors.
T-Shirts
One of my favorite T-shits is a writing themed shirt. I’ve gotten more compliments on it than any other I’ve ever had. So, for the convention, I bought a few others. I figured it makes sense to have a theme. They were a big hit. People who came by the table Friday came back Saturday and Sunday to see my shirts. So, that’s a win.
Digital Picture Frame
I’ve been looking for something to grab attention, but big static displays always worried me. As soon as Book 2 comes out, they lose some of their value. So I got a digital picture frame and loaded it with some wallpapers, things to try to grab attention. It did get some attention, though I might want to work on some of the wallpapers. At least, changing them out isn’t a problem.
The Source
A local comic and game store had some tables there. I talked with the general manager, who gave me some info on how to get my book into his store. I’ll have to give that a shot sometime.
Fans of the Story from Last Year
People who bought my book last year came up and asked about Book 2. It was nice to get that sort of feedback.
Fans of the Story from Two Days Ago
Two people bought my book on Friday. By Sunday, both came to tell me they were almost done and that they looked forward to Book 2. I was smiling after that.
Patch Maker
There was a booth there from the Threadmancer, an embroiderer who makes patches, some to designs, some custom. Why am I including this one? Because she is willing to start making patches for me from the Renaissance Army series. I think it’d be cool to have a collection of nice looking patches, much better than what I can do with Bitmaps.
Costumes
Manticon is an official Honor Harrington fan convention, and as such, brings a lot of fans who are part of their organization. The Royal Manticorian Navy has uniforms, medals, and rank structures that simulate their fictional counterpart, and they take pride in a lot of their uniforms. It’s fun to see all of them together.
Definitely a fun time. Now, on to Books and Beer!
Creative Practice: Inspiration
No idea if this is going to be more than a once in a while thing, but we’ll see.
Creative Cal has shown up in pictures before, usually with his giant quill. He represents the creative aspect of writing, the imagination and the inspiration.
Logical Lou (with the mustache) represents the logical aspects of writing. The planning, the determination, the grind.
The Senator will see you now
Short I’ve been helping a friend play-test his new card game, Seize the Imperium. It s a fun, empire building card game set in the far future. I found myself inspired after the last session of testing, and wrote out a few fan-fics, one about an influential senator. The game’s creator liked that one so much, he posted it on his blog! You can read it here.
I’ve been gaming for most of my life, and I really enjoy these sort of extra-short stories that are often included in rule books. Mechanics of a game are important, sure, but these little things set the flavor and tone of the world.
Anyway, just wanted to get this out there. Book 2 is with some Alpha readers, and the initial feedback is pretty good. I’m also making good strides with a fantasy novel, and writing every day. Manticon is coming up, and that’ll be fun.
Until next time, keep on writing!
-Michael
500 words a day
As a resolution for New Years, I challenged myself to record at least 500 words day in writing. I could have gone for more, but I wanted a nice, comfortable goal, since there are days when I have little time to actually write, and there are days where I don’t feel like writing. So, I set the goal at 500 words.
It turns out its usually a bit easier than I worried. I’m at a coffee shop most morning a little after 6 AM, starting my day off hitting the goal. Some days, I exceed a thousand words, and sometimes even two thousand.
There are off days, of course. There have been days where I’ve just pushed myself to get 500 words total, writing obvious crap, saying ‘a rough draft is just words on the page’ and I’ll fix it when I revise. But I’ve made the 500 words every day.
A benefit during revisions
It’s come in handy. As Book 2 of the Renaissance Army series has gone through revisions and out to some Alpha readers, writing 500 words a day on other projects has kept my creative juices flowing while I’ve been dealing with the mechanical and stylistic issues that revisions include. And it’s advanced a few projects from ‘neat idea’ to ‘words are on the page’. I’ve got a lot of stories to tell, and it’s good that I’m getting to them, even if they are of secondary or tertiary importance.
So, even as I get stuck on some matter in the revision, I at least make some headway on another project. So I feel I’ve gotten something done every day.
Some Math
Out of curiosity, I took a look at the words I’ve recorded in yWriter. Now, there are things I’ve written that aren’t recorded in yWriter, but I didn’t want to spend hours finding every single word I’d typed and adding it, so this is just a rough, quick calculation.
Since New Years, I have written 98,909 words in eight different projects. The vast majority went to Book 2 (58,000+), and with a fantasy book taking second place (29,000+). Book 3 was begun, with just shy of 3,500 words. Which means, over 106 days (as of writing), I’ve averaged 933.1 words a day. Well above my goal.
Try it!
If you’re a writer, try it out! Setting a simple, low goal and sticking to it is the way to accomplish a lot of goals, and with writing it helps to bull rush your way through the writers block and doubts and just get words on the page. Because once they’re on there, they mean something.