WFC2011: I will miss you.
In February of this year, my friend, Mike Plested, said “Jay, you should go to WFC this year.” I replied, “I can’t afford to go to WFC.” He said, “It’s in San Diego this year.” I said, “I can afford to go to WFC this year.”
Membership was purchased and I got more out of this weekend than I could have anticipated. This will not flow in chronological order, it’s just going to flow out of my brain as I think of it.
I knew going in there would be a fair number of established authors and a large number of new and up-and-coming authors. My expectation was to meet some fellow authors and perhaps bump into an established author or two. Boy was I wrong.
On the first day I met Terry Bisson. I knew his name, but had to look him up as to why. He had written the novelization of the Fifth Element. Terry was great to talk and Mike and I even went with him to breakfast with Lorna T. Suzuki on Saturday morning. I talked to Terry each morning and it was some great and insightful conversation for both of us. Lorna was also full of some great advice for self-publishing and was very excited about her movie deal.
On Thursday I had met the person now know as ‘the creeper’ and I didn’t like him much so avoided him for most of the con. I’m sad to see so many had their con affected by his presence. I had more interaction with him than I would have liked, but someone told me the first day. “You’ll meet seven people the first day and you’ll see them every day over the con.” That was quite a true statement.
On Thursday I also happened to be standing by the gazebo talking with a couple of people and L. E. Modesitt, who happened to be walking by, stopped and said “hello.” We had a great conversation with him and it was great to see him excited about his projects. So much so that he was nearly late to a panel he had to get to due to talking with us.
At the Aussie party I remember being able to get a beer. My first of the convention. It was to be my only that evening as there was a crush of people at that party. I stood near the wine table and Greg Bear got stuck in traffic. I introduced myself and tried desperately to not have a fan moment. As we stood there talking about how many people were at the con, David Clark, a long time friend of Greg’s stopped by and started talking with us. They shared many stories about conventions all through the years. Even L. E. Modesitt stopped and joined us for a few minutes. I’m so glad I didn’t drink much because I really enjoyed talking with them and they seemed interested in what I had to say.
So much so that the following day, Greg Bear and his wife, and David Clark and his wife came and sat with us during lunch from the con suite.
I will say now, by this point I was happy with my con experience. Just meeting Terry, L. E., David, and Greg made up for the price of admission. They made me feel welcome.
Then I ran into Robert J Sawyer. I must say that based on multiple interactions with him over the weekend, he really is the nicest guy in sci-fi publishing.
On day two I started wearing an LED name tag. This garnered a lot of attention. One author from a panel even stopped me afterwards to say, “I wasn’t distracted by your name tag, but that’s F*cking brilliant. Why didn’t I think of that?” Myself and Mike, both wearing our LED name tags, became known as the Bobbsey twins by some of the con goers. Whatever helped people to remember me. It was a great conversation starter. Even Robert Silverberg had to stop and read our name tags and it garnered a smile from him.
I was lucky enough to run into all of these authors multiple times and each time they were pleasant and fun to talk with. I, as I said, did my best to contain my fan excitement of running into these authors and the conversations rarely came to their works and instead I got an insight to their con experiences, shared stories of past events, and enjoyed their company.
Mike and I also had the pleasure of not only running into Mike Stackpole, but pulling him aside for an interview for Get Published. I was going to just sit and listen, but when you’re talking e-publushing with and e-vangelist it’s hard not to participate. We not only did the interview, but we sat for a good time after just talking about the con and the con experience and the future of self publishing.
Beyond meeting people who’s name I knew, I also got to run into authors who I was familiar with, but not with their work. So many that it would be impossible to name them all. Suffice to say it was great meeting each and every one of them.
I had a great time meeting the folks of Nightshade books. They had brewed some beer for their book launch party and I had the best pumpkin ale I’ve had in a LONG time. Meeting them and the crew from Eraserhead/Bizarro books was a blast. A fun crew!
I also attended the ‘Sleepover of the Gods’. N. K. Jemisin was a fun, energetic host. I’m lucky to have met her.
Now to the meat and potatoes of my con experience. I got to meet Anita and Brian Hades from Edge. Mike knew them from previous cons and I had a great time talking with them about the anthologies they had out, their e-book strategy, the ability of a smaller press to make changes that the big companies are currently unable to make. I spent a good deal of time meeting many of their authors, going to the readings, and enjoying the Edge party. Both Brian and Anita made me feel like part of the family and it was so wonderful to get to know them as well as a couple of their editors Jaym Gates and Erika Holt.
Beyond meeting Brian and Anita, I had a great time meeting their authors. With the exception of one, they were all very professional and great to meet and talk with. If the people mentioned earlier in this post are the old guard, the folks from Edge are the new guard and they have begun to establish their place in the publishing industry. I would name names here but I’m confident I’d forget someone, but do go over to Edge, pick up an anthology and you won’t be disappointed. The readings were so much fun. I’m glad to have met you all.
At this point I’m gushing. I’m nearing tears because it all went by so fast and I had such a great time. The people who ran the convention did a great job with getting things set up, feeding so many of us, and keeping the con running as smoothly as it could.
Although it was my intent to try and pitch my stories ideas to as many as possible, I decided at the last minute that I would instead enjoy my time at the con. I didn’t take pictures. I didn’t bother an author for his/her autograph (except for the bundle of authors at the Edge table) and I did my best to maintain a professional front. Inside I was giddy and doing cartwheels. I don’t think I had a geekgasm at any point and was even told by some that if I hadn’t told them this was my first con, they wouldn’t have known.
Now to some sage advice:
1) Don’t be ‘that guy’ and if you get called out on being ‘that guy’ know when to say when.
2) Get some rest when you can.
3) Don’t start out gushing when you meet an author. Just relax, and be yourself. Let the conversation flow and you’ll make them feel more comfortable and it’ll make your experience that much better.
4) Don’t lead out with “I’ve got this great story/book/idea/etc” when you run into an agent/publisher/author. Again, refer to #3. Relax. Be yourself. Enjoy yourself.
I think stopping myself from trying to pitch unsolicited material to publishers and agents was the best call I made because I felt no pressure to find someone and I didn’t have any awkward moments. I just plain had a good time. This is most definitely something I will be doing again in the future.
To everyone I met at WFC2011, you ROCK! If I didn’t find you in twitter, please come find me. I’m @jrmurdock. I’m J.R. Murdock on facebook, and obviously you found my website.
Until we meet again WFC. WOO WOO!
P.S. If I did not include you in this post, I am sorry. I met so many wonderful people it was hard to keep track. Next time I will need to write more down.
The Sesame Street Bus
Growing up, my dad loved to tell me what he called ‘Shaggy Dog” stories. I could never remember many jokes, but for some reason Shaggy Dog stories were easy for me to remember. We would sit by a campfire and my dad would tell my brother and I things like “Earwigs are called Earwigs because they get into you ears, burrow into your brain and lay eggs.” As funny as he thought this was, he always thought his Shaggy Dog stories were funnier. Some could go on for fifteen minutes or longer. I will attempt to type these from memory as they were told to me by my father (with some of my own embellishment) but mostly for your enjoyment. Feel free to share. I don’t know if any of these has an origin. If I do find one or if you know of the origin I will update the post with a link.
Enjoy! WOO WOO!
Little Billy gets ready for his first day at school. He heads into the kitchen where his mother is making him his favorite breakfast; pancakes and sausage. He eats with gusto as his mother packs his He-Man lunch box.
“Billy, are you ready for your first day of school? This is a really big day for you.”
“Oh yes, mommy. I’m very excited.”
Billy finishes his breakfast and his mother walks him out to the bus stop. When the bus approaches Billy’s mother leans in close and says, “Now, Billy. When I pick you up from school this afternoon, I want you to tell me everything that happens from the minute you get on the bus. Can you do that for me?”
“I sure can, mommy.”
Billy’s mom licks her fingers and slicks Billy’s hair back. She kisses him on the forehead and says, “I love, Billy. Have a wonderful day.”
“Thank you, mommy.”
The bus stops and Billy, wide-eyed and excited to keep track of everything, gets on and runs to the back of the bus. He waves to his mother as the bus heads down the road.
Later that day, Billy’s mother picks him up from school. She greets Billy with a big smile and kisses him as he gets into the car.
“How was your day?”
“Oh, mommy. It was the best day ever!”
“Well, I want you to tell me everything that happened from the minute you got on the bus.”
“Ok, mommy. Well, I got on the bus and I said ‘hi’ to the bus driver. There were pictures all over the bus of Bert and Ernie, Oscar the Grouch, Big Bird. Oh, mommy it was so cool. We all called it he Sesame Street Bus. I ran all the way to the back and I waved by to you as the bus took off down the road.
“We were going along and singing songs and the bus came screeching to a stop. Then these two fat girls named Patty got on the bus.”
“Now, now dear. We don’t call them fat. That’s not nice. We call them Obese.”
“Ok. I’m sorry. Well the two Obese girls named Patty got on the bus. They sat down in front of me and the bus took off down the road again. We started singing songs again and having a really great time. Then the bus came to a screeching stop and on for Retarded Ross.”
“Billy! That’s not nice at all. People like that are special. Not retarded.”
“I’m sorry, mommy.”
“Keep going.”
“Well, Special Ross got on and he sat in front of the two fat girls, er, I mean the two obese girls. Then we took off down the road again and sang songs and we were having a really great time. Mom, it was so cool. We come to another stop and on got the weirdest kid we picked up. It was Lester Leese. He sat in front of Special Ross. Mom, Lester was so gross.”
“Why’s that, Billy?”
“He sat down and he took off his shoes and socks and he started picking at these big fat juicy bunions on his feet. It was all oozy and gross, mommy. I couldn’t believe it.”
“Oh my. So what happened next?”
“Mommy, I looked down the aisle. All the kids were on the bus and there they were, all in a row. Two Obese Patties, Special Ross, Lester Leese picking bunions on the Sesame Street Bus.”
Learning to cut grass.
The next time you’re driving (or riding), I want you to take a look at the ditch along the side of the road. Look for a good patch that’s really overgrown and been left alone for quite some time.
Now get out your gas powered weed trimmer, roll up your sleeves and get ready to go to work. You know the basics about cutting grass. You start the weed trimmer and sweep back and forth. You feel compelled beyond any reason to cut that grass. As you cut the grass, the going is not easy to start. After you get going for about an hour you’re hot, you’re sweaty and you realize that you’ve got the wrong shoes on and you really didn’t set aside as much time as you would like to have to get the job done. So you come back to it the next day a little better prepared.
Unfortunately the next day you’re sore, but you have a little better idea what needs to be done. You continue with sweeping the weed trimmer back and forth. Several times you hit a piece of debris or a rock that you didn’t see because of the grass being so high. You squint and look ahead and realize that you have no idea how much ditch you have laid out before you. Again you’re still sore from the previous day but you’ve made some progress. You look behind you and realize that it’s not pretty, but at least you’ve made some progress. You decide to call it a day. Tomorrow you’ll remember the sunscreen.
The third day you set out and it’s not so bad. You’re getting used to the heavy lifting (who thought a weed trimmer could get so heavy) but a little way in you just run out of gas. You figure you’ll get out of the sun and give that sunburn a little time to heal. Cutting grass was supposed to be a simple task. Now you realize that some planning would have helped.
Day four and you look at your task with dread. You really didn’t think it was going to be so hard. Surely other people cutting grass don’t have this much trouble, why should you have trouble? You’re still running into debris and rocks, but some you can find and get out of the way before you hit them with your weed trimmer by taking a little extra time, but those that you do hit annoy you and make you frustrated. Still you continue on and realize that it’s looking a little better than what you did first. You think about going back and doing it over, but decided that at least what’s done looks much better than what isn’t done. Tomorrow you’ll keep going.
Day five and the sunburn has had some aloe on it and feels much better now. Your muscles are getting stronger and it’s not so difficult to swing the weed trimmer back and forth. You find a log in your way and with some effort you manage to move it out of your way and underneath you find a dirty ring. With a little bit of polish you manage to clean it off and realize that it’s a diamond ring. You stop and decided to not only show off your diamond ring, but all the work you’ve done so far. Your friends look at the diamond ring and the rest of your work and decide that it was far too much work for something so small. Your efforts could have been better spent doing anything else. You’re disappointed as you realize that it is a pretty small diamond on that ring, but decided that since you can now see where the ditch ends, you’ll go ahead and get there anyway even if your friends don’t seem to appreciate the effort. You realize they may be right and it’s really rough cut and doesn’t look as pretty as the ring you found, but you’re still proud of all the work it took to get you to that ring. You’ll try and finish it tomorrow.
Going into day six you feel well prepared to finish off the task at hand. As you start out you find a deep hole. Could be a rabbit hole, could be a fox hole, could even be a simple gopher hole. You put down your weed trimmer and start digging. With both hands you dig in hoping that perhaps you’ll find another diamond ring down there. If only you dig a little bit further you’re sure to find one. You pull up heaps and heaps of dirt and finally all your digging is rewarded with solid rock. A dead end. All the work you spent that day is lost and you’ve got nothing but a big pile of dirt to show for it. You figure it’s best not to tell anyone about your hole and just put all that dirt back. With a frown you realize that you didn’t get nearly as far along as you wanted. Tomorrow is another day though. You’ll finish tomorrow.
All gassed up, you put on your wide-brimmed hat and you dig in one more time. You sweep back and forth and back and forth and it almost feels like you’re just going through the motions. That is until you see that the end is nearly upon you. You speed up but not too much because the section you’re working on is looking pretty good and you don’t want to mess up now. Suddenly, almost without realizing it, that last blades of grass fall.
This is a proud moment and you feel like shouting to the world. It wasn’t easy, it took you far longer than you thought, you stumbled along the way, but you learned so much about cutting grass that you feel very confident. You spend the next few days slowly going over the rough patches and smoothing everything out. Now when your friends see it, they compliment you on the work you did. They knew you could do it. Even though they were critical at first you still feel good at having them compliment you about getting it done.
Congratulations on all the work you did. Now that you’ve done it once, you know what it takes to do it a second time. You’ll only get better with each time you decided to pick up that weed trimmer and start to hack away at the weeds in a ditch. You decided to meet with other people who also cut the weeds in ditches and not only get their opinion on the work you’ve done, but see what they did and what you can do to improve your own work. You may even run across a professional grass cutter who is willing to share his experiences of years of weed trimming with you. Treasure those moments and continue to improve on your weed cutting skills. It’s not easy, but all that hard work really is worth it.
If you made it this far, you’ll realize that I’m not talking about cutting grass at all. I’m talking about writing. No it isn’t as easy as it may seem and you may feel you can do a better job at telling a story than the next person and you very well may be right. But along the way, no matter who you are, you’ll find bumps, holes, and gems. The job isn’t to flatten every bump or fill every hole (or even avoid them all) and most certainly it isn’t to find every gem along the way. The job is to cut the grass… er… to tell the story. You do the best job you can and someone will come by and appreciate the effort you put into getting the job done.
Getting to the end isn’t a race. Writing isn’t about how fast you can run, but can you get to the end. Doing a little every day will get you one step closer to completing that manuscript. You’ll get better with every word you put down. I guarantee that when you get done and look back and all that cut grass, um, those words on the page, you will have a moment of feeling not just great, but outstanding! Writing can be laborious, but there’s nothing quite like finishing.
Until Next Week
WOO WOO!
Unorthodox Writing Tips?
Am I professional writer? No. Have I written before? Yes. Do I intend to tell you how to write? Not exactly.
See, I’m not a professional so I don’t want to fill your head with a lot of regurgitated knowledge that I’ve accumulated from a large number of books, biographies, and writing newsletters. I’ve been subscribed to many writing podcasts. I’ve read many writing blogs. They all seem to try and do the same thing. Teach you the ‘how’ of writing or the ‘how’ of getting published.
That’s not my goal here.
My goal is to assist you with the process of writing. To help you before, during, and after you write. To help you get into that writing mindset when writer’s block is hanging on your back like an unwanted hump and keeping you from doing what you truly want to do. I want to help you when you truly feel like you cannot possibly type another letter on you Work In Progress (WIP) because you have so many distractions, you have so much on your mind, there are so many other easier things you could be doing.
Have I always been successful? No. I won’t lie to you. I recently spent a long time fighting to get my writing mojo back on track. There are little things that I did to help and they’ve been helping me a lot. I’ve been writing on and off for nearly twenty five years. It’s the off part that has always bothered me and I intend to stop the off part by putting out this newsletter and keeping myself interested in the art of writing by sharing with you my trials and tribulations.
The advice won’t always be up front and laid out. What’s the fun of being told “do this, now do that, now do the other thing.” For you and me that’d be dull. I can guarantee that. So instead I might tell a story, write a metaphor, use simile, perhaps I’ll go completely askew and take you somewhere you hadn’t expected. My grammar may not always be correct, my punctuation may make you cringe, but I hope my message comes across.
Let me answer a couple of questions up front.
Q) Will I podcast this series?
A) Yes. At some point I will begin this as a podcast series.
Q) How long will these be?
A) Short. I intend to keep the length of the blog from 500-1500 words. That will keep the podcast under 10 minutes.
Q) Will there be interviews?
A) No. This is just my advice on how I keep myself interested, creative, and motivated.
Q) How often will this appear?
A) If all goes well a new one will drop every Wednesday.
Q) Will there be room for guest blog posts?
A) In the future that is a distinct possibility. Interested? Got an obscure method for writing? Contact me!
So now you know a little bit about me and what I plan on doing here. I hope you’ll stick around. Writing is fun and if you’re like me and fallen off the wagon from time to time, don’t feel alone. Writing is a rewarding challenge.
Until next week!
WOO WOO!
New things are in the works
So I’ve been quite busy with life. Now that things are settling down a little, here’s what I’m up to:
1) Working on a new blog/podcast series “JRMurdock’s Unorthodox Writing Advice”
2) JRMurdock’s Obscure Writing Prompts.
3) Completed Jack Kane Novel with Mike Plested
4) Getting V&A Shipping ready for eBook publication
5) Plotting the sequel to V&A Shipping
6) Writing, writing, and more writing!
7) Getting ready for WFC in San Diego (where I’ll get to meet Mike Plested! WOO WOO!)
So expect to see a lot more from me in the coming months. If you don’t see anything, feel free to give me a nudge.
I decided to work out today…
I decided to work out for Thirty minutes on the elliptical today. Here’s how it went.
00:00-02:00 – This isn’t so bad. I can do this for thirty minutes.
02:00-05:00 – Breathing a bit heavier than normal, but I can do this.
05:12 – My head itches. I think I have dandruff.
05:37 – My head REALLY itches. I think I have head lice!
06:17 – What’s this liquid in my hair? Is that sweat?
07:38 – Whoops, my knee skipped a beat there.
08:00-10:00 – If I blink enough I think I can keep the sweat out of my eyes.
10:15 – I don’t recall my shirt having a dark stain on it?
10:38 – Wait a minute, am I sweating there too?
11:45 – Alright, I’m a third of the way done. I know I can do this!
13:02 – Thirty minutes? What was I thinking?
14:30 – Half-way done. Yes, Half-way done. I’m pretty sure I can do this.
15:00 – Oh, now I’m half-way done.
15:15 – Time moves slower when I work out, have I discovered time travel?
16:25 – I’m not done yet? I must be moving close the speed of light. This is taking forever!
16:49 – I need to stop looking at the time. I swear it’s lying to me!
17:15 – Why does my back itch?
17:25 OW! Why’d I let go of the handle to scratch my back? That’ll leave a mark
18:22 – I’m a third of the way done. I’m glad I don’t do math at my work.
19:00 – I really should stop looking at the time.
19:11 – Whoops, knee slipped again.
20:21 – OW OW OW! Let the back itch! Let the back itch!
20:29 – Is it warm in here?
20:44 – I don’t remember that puddle on the floor.
21:23 – Toss glasses into chair. Sweat won’t let them stay on my face.
22:55 – My shirt seems to be an entirely darker shade now. That’s interesting.
23:16 – Well, my sleeves aren’t doing much to keep the sweat out of my eyes anymore.
24:24 – Shouldn’t I be done by now?
25:01 – I think I’m going to die when this is over. I should just stop now.
25:02 – NO! You’re only five minutes away from being done. That’s not that long!
25:03 – But I’m tired!
25:04 – No pain, no gain!
25:05 – What’s that supposed to mean anyway?
25:06 – Quit you’re whining and keep going!
25:07 – No, really. I swear time had all but stopped.
25:08 – Yeah, time stopped.
25:16 – Whoops. I should pay attention.
26:04 – OW! Why does my entire body itch?
27:00 – JANE! Stop this crazy thing!
28:00 – Wait, did time start back up again?
28:13 – I can’t feel my legs
29:00 – Only one minute left! I should do a sprint to finish up
29:01 – Stop laughing! It hurts when I laugh!
29:02 – Go Go Go!
29:03 – Did time stop again?
29:15 – Is this over? I mean really. I didn’t realize thirty minutes was so long.
29:30 – Quit looking at the time. Close your eyes.
29:31 – Whoops. Almost lost my balance.
29:33 – Yup, my legs are still there. Can’t feel them, but they’re there.
29:34 – THUD! Quit looking down!
29:35 – At least I can’t feel the itching in my scalp anymore.
29:36 – Really? This is still going? This is like a bad movie
29:40 – I got this. Twenty seconds. I got this!
29:45 – Will anyone know if I stop now? Anyone?
29:46 – So close! So close!
29:27 – Time is going backwards? WTF?
29:48 – Oh, I read that wrong. I should have left my glasses on.
29:50 – Maybe if I just kept working out, time would completely stop!
29:59 – I think one of my arms fell off.
30:00 – WHACK! OW!
30:00 – BEEP BEEP! What? I’m done?
30:05 – I can make it to the chair. I know I can. I know I can.
30:10 – I just need to sit for a few minutes and catch my breath.
30:15 – What’s that poking me in the… DOH! Glasses.
I think I’ll do that again tomorrow. For those keeping score: 30 Minutes, 3.18 miles.
Workout Playlist:
Slipknot – Before I Forget
Joan Jett – Bad Reputation
Slayer – Chemical Warfare
Megadeth – Hangar 18
Anthrax w/Public Enemy – Bring the Noise
Metal Church – Merciless Onslaught
Metallica – Overkill
Joe Satriani – Satch Boogie.
Review of two movies
Maybe I’m just getting old. Maybe my tastes have changed over the years. Who knows, but I watched a couple of movies recently and both got me to thinking. One got thinking “this is the most unoriginal movie I’ve ever seen, but it’s got some good effects”. The other got me to thinking “Whoa!” I mean, just “Whoa!” I felt the best way to review these two movies is to compare and contrast them.
Let me start by saying that I love movies. I’ve seen a large number of movies over the years. I recently looked at a list of the top 100 Sci Fi movies to see before you die. I’d seen over 90 of the movies on that list. I feel I’m a pretty good judge of what’s good, what’s bad, and what just plain sucks.
The first movie I watched was I Am Number Four. This movie is based on a novel from the James Frye book mill. I expected it to be somewhat predictable and follow along with some of the common tropes of a Sci Fi/Fantasy movie. I didn’t expect it to follow all the common tropes of a Sci Fi/Fantasy movie.
Like your normal Sci Fi/Fantasy, it had three acts. Act 1: Introduce the orphan farm boy (he doesn’t start as a farm boy, but becomes one soon enough) and his guardian and watch him get into trouble and also introduce the bad guy and a ‘secret weapon’. Act 2: Farm boy can’t stay out of trouble and falls in love with a local girl despite his guardian’s insistence and there is a run in with the locals and the bad guys. Act 3: Kill the guardian, reveal the secret weapon, orphan boy comes into his own and defeats the bad guy and wins the girl.
There’s only slight variation, but it hit every note on queue and left very little to the imagination and was filled with lots of special effects. It started out interesting for me, but I quickly lost interest about half way through as I mentally checked off all the key points as they were hit right on queue. In the end I was disappointed.
The second movie I saw I had heard nothing about. I had no idea what to expect and when you watch the movie it’s easy to overlook the fact that it truly is a Sci Fi movie. Never Let Me Go grabbed me with the opening scene where we get just a little bit of back story from Kathy H. in her adult life. From there we’re taken back to the beginning of her story and begin to realize what she’s had to go through to get to where she is now and why she must be there. It’s not a hopeless movie, but the powerlessness of the characters makes you empathize with their situation.
The characters are essentially copies of other people (this is similar to The Island which is another disappointing movie, but for different reasons). They live out their lives to become donors for ‘real’ people. They donate until they ‘complete’. It’s a truly hopeless existence as you or I might see it, but when that’s all you know, you must wonder how do they deal with their situation?
As I said, this movie really made me think and it’s not often a movie will do that to me. I think that’s why I appreciated it so much and even though there was no action in the movie whatsoever, it still kept me intently watching. I still think not only about the situation of the characters, but the callousness of their handlers who treat them as nothing more than pieces of meat needing to mature.
These two movies couldn’t possible be more different. I’ve always been one to enjoy a movie with a plot, with characters I can care about, and that will have me guessing. I’ve grown tired of movies that follow the formula. You can predict nearly every move, every joke, and every character flaw. When the only thing a movie has to offer is fancy special effects and shallow characters, I’ll pass. I don’t need to see them solving the puzzle in the nick of time every time.
What movies have you see recently that really made you think? Twisted your perspective of movie watching or just made you open your eyes and realize there’s more than just flash bang movies out there?
Note: I also just discovered Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Another good thinker of a movie.
Guest Blog Post – Oh, The Whining!
Today’s guest blog post comes from Jack Bible. Jake lives in Asheville, NC with his wife and two kids. He is the author of many published short stories and the creator of a new literary form: the Drabble Novel. DEAD MECH is his first novel and represents the introduction to the world of the Drabble Novel, a novel written 100 words at a time.
Learn more about Jake and his work at http://jakebible.com
Links to his Facebook fan page, Twitter and his forum can be found there, as well as his weekly drabble release, Friday Night Drabble Party, and his weekly free audio fiction podcast.
—
So, I have had couple of blog posts on my site lately taking some folks to task. The first is about the Us vs. Them mentality right now between indie publishers and traditional publishers. You can find that here. The other post was about those complaining about piracy of books. That one is here.
After re-reading these posts I realized that my issue wasn’t with the Us vs. Them argument or about piracy at all.
My problem was with the whining!
You see, I have two children, ages 8 ¾ and 12. And they whine. Why? Because they are at those ages where they’re being asked to help out with housework. They don’t whine any more than other children their age do. Hell, I know I was a bigger whiner when I was a kid! It’s just that crappy time in life to know how to clean toilets, vacuum the house, put dishes away, scoop the yard (we have dogs), etc. No big deal. They’re kids, whining is part of the process.
My children are both capable and intelligent and it is our jobs as parents to teach them some life skills. But, what about writers? Who teaches them about life skills? Unfortunately, no one does. At least not automatically. You have to read, take classes, find peer groups, and read. (Yes, I said read twice. It’s that important.)
Why am I even bringing this up? Because I can’t stand adults that whine! Get some guts, people! Suck it up and grow a pair or two! Ugh, you are not 12 years old! There is no room in the writing profession for whiners and complainers and victims. This is art, folks. It’s difficult, it’s painful and you are all alone! Get used to it!
Now, before everyone goes all crazy on me, let me explain I am not talking about the writers that like to write/blog about their process. That’s a whole other thing. If you are taking the time to write about the difficulties in your writing then that can only help others learn. Also, I am not talking about venting. That’s human and necessary.
No, what I’m talking about is the “entitlement” whining. The whining by writers that “my work is better than Author A, so I should be just as successful”. The whining that “Author B found an agent in two weeks, but their work is crap and my work is so much better so why can’t I find an agent?”. The whining that “I do everything Author C does and she sells 5 billion books and I only sold 2”.
You know, that crap.
So I am going to apply the same theme to this post that I did to my previous posts.
Listen carefully, this is important, writers.
IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU! IT’S ABOUT THE READER!
Did you get that? Were you listening?
If everything was fair or based on which story/novel/whatever was better then it would be cut and dry. Publishers would only publish perfect works and those works would always sell. But that isn’t how it happens. If an industry that has been in business for a hundreds of years and puts out thousands of books each year can’t figure it out, then why should you be able to?
Most of all, why must you whine about it?!?
Time to suck it up, writers. Understand that THE biggest factor in how successful you are as a writer is, wait for it…LUCK! Right time, right place, with the right story.
Ever heard the term “don’t push your luck”? It means if you try to force it you will lose.
And one life skill I know I’ve learned is this: whiners never win in the long run. They may get some sympathy in the short term, but eventually they piss everyone off and are left alone to wallow in their own self-pity and fail.
Don’t be a whiner, be a writer!
That’s what the readers want.
Guest Blog – They Will Judge Your Book By Its Cover
Today we have a guest blog post by Jennifer Hudock. She is an author, podcaster and freelance editor from Pennsylvania. Her first full-length, dark fantasy novel, The Goblin Market, is currently available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords for just $.99. For more information about Jennifer Hudock, including updates on upcoming fiction, visit her official website: The Inner Bean.
Enjoy!
* * *
They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but the truth is one of the first things to lure me in when I’m checking out a book. It doesn’t matter if I’m browsing the local bookstore, or clicking through Amazon and Smashwords for books to load onto my Kindle. If it’s got a sweet cover, chances are I’ll click the sample.
As an indie author, having control over my own cover art is amazing because who knows what’s inside a book better than the author? Up until this point, I’ve worked on all my own eBook covers, tinkering around in Photoshop with stock images from Dreamstime. I’ve had a few less-than-inspiring covers, but with The Goblin Market (Into the Green Book 1) I was really proud. Not only was I lucky enough to find imagery and colors that I felt represented what lingered within the pages, it’s gotten a few compliments from readers over the last two months as well.
I’m standing on the threshold of the dreaded sequel release. As I plot and plan the June release of Jack in the Green (Into the Green Book 2), the perfect cover eludes me. I know exactly what I want. I can see the cover whenever I close my eyes, and while I’ve found a few artists who could very well capture the imagery I see inside my head, coming to a decision isn’t easy.
So much rides on a book’s cover, whether we want to believe that, or not. It’s part of the first impression your book makes on the world, right up there with the description and sample potential readers will see every time they arrive on the pages your book is sold.
Your cover also becomes one of your top marketing tools, as you blog and share details about your book all over the web, at conventions and book signings, in the grocery store when you run into people who knew you back when…
That old cliché we’ve all heard a billion times: A picture’s worth a thousand words? When it comes to your book cover, that picture’s got to be worth more than just a thousand. It’s got to capture the very essence of every page inside the cover.
As we rush to keep up with the racing competition that’s become indie publishing, we can’t just grab the first thing that comes along and hope it’s good enough. We need to take our time and get it right the first time, because just as it goes with your novel description, you will never get a second chance to make a first impression.
Astel: Chosen, available today!
Today is March 10th, 2011. Today my father would have been 68. I do miss my dad. I had always wanted to put a book of mine in his hand so he could read it. I was never able to do that. But one thing my father taught me, anything worth having is never easy to get.
With the advent of Print on Demand publishing and the modern ebook publishing getting a book published on your own is easier than ever. That isn’t my goal. My goal is to put out a book people want to read. A book people want to read with their kids. A book they can share. Something that will help them escape from life for a short time. My goal is to gain readers that want to follow my characters on their journeys.
Today begins my first steps into self publishing. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little bit nervous. I’ve made some mistakes getting this book ready and I’m sure I’ll make more as times goes on, but I’m learning from those mistakes. When I release my next book I don’t intend to make those same mistakes and this process of getting my work out will be easier.
I want you to join me as I start this journey into the big, wide world of publishing with the release of Astel: Chosen. Currently is it available at SmashWords.com. It will be available soon on Amazon.com and BN.com (I will update this post to provide links once it is available there), and it will be available in print in the near future.
If you would like to get a copy this weekend, I want you to have it. Through this weekend if you email me, message me on facebook, or DM me in twitter, I will send you a coupon code to get the book for free. That’s right, I said free. If you like the book, all I ask is that you help spread the word about it. Post to your blog, leave me a review (I’ll post later where you can leave a review) or if you’re so inclined, come back and buy a copy. I can only write the books. To make it a success involves everyone. Help me make this book a success.
J.R. Murdock 