My Resolutions for 2012

Historically speaking, I haven't been big on goal-setting. I like to think it's because I put my mind toward something and get it done, much like the main theme of Back to the Future encourages us to do.

While George McFly's sage advice will always ring true, sometimes it's helpful to visualize goals within the context of a list. Prioritize is a good word for it. Effective time management, if you want to get all technical and stuffed-shirt about it.

I thought I would actually try something different this year and join millions (billions?) of others in making New Years Resolutions for 2012. I have a solid list of both vague and specific goals to meet at some point during the year, and what better way to hold myself accountable than invite you all to read them?

Here goes.

#1 - Drink less
This is more of a general goal as far as bad habits, but it will serve best first as a reminder to save money and calories. I'm fairly frugal and selective in my drinking as it is, however, I do drink often (not always a lot, but often). More of a health goal than anything else, to be honest.

#2 - Lose 10 pounds
Like a rude houseguest that won't leave, I have been carrying a little extra around with me for too long now. There are multiple reasons for this (see #1 and #3), but it's high time I made it a priority to get that little bit healthier. I can be thankful that it's only 10, and not the 55 that I needed to lose (and lost) in 2004. Definitely a vanity goal.

#3 - Exercise at least 2 times a week
Oh, exercise, you elusive beast. Frankly, it's boring, and even more boring to do alone. Working out is usually the first thing to fall off my priority list even when I don't have anything "important" to do instead. I figure a goal of 2x per week isn't exactly going to put me out, and who knows after a few months of easy I can bump it up. Might even "splurge" on a gym membership (that I'll actually use).

#4 - Publish Thomas Redpool Goes To Hell
This one is already in progress, I'm just making it more tangible by declaring it. If I don't finish anything else on this list, at least I will be able to say I did this one. It'll most likely spawn a few posts before game time, so stay tuned.

#5 - Query Scions of the Shade
Another in progress goal, and kind of a gimme for 2012. To be completely honest, I have submitted it to two separate publishers (Trapdoor included) but it deserves another round of edits before I really pour all of my effort behind it. The novel is great, and I want it to be greater. This is one I want to see on the shelves, and I'm willing to put in the time and effort to make that happen.

#6 - Finish writing Rise of the Carrion
More of a reminder than anything. If I don't finish the first draft of this prequel by the end of the year, it will be because something went horribly awry.

#7 - Vlog (start video blogging)
Now, this may not be the most noble of causes, or the most exciting of endeavors, but it's something I've been contemplating for a while now. Since I got the macbook, it has become a lot easier to do. It's something I think would be fun for me to do, fun for you to watch, and all around an exploratory venture (not to mention a tempering of my self-esteem). If you keep following this blog, you'll be informed when this takes place.

And that's it, my list of 7 things to start or finish in 2012. Do you have a list, or do you plan to make one? Post a link in the comments.

This is me saying goodbye to 2011.

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Shifting gears, prioritizing, and goal-setting

Sometimes we can't see the forest for the trees, to continue my adage escapade from this week (thanks for noticing, tmso).

I'm a person who focuses well. Multitasking is not one of my major talents, and this is especially true when it comes to writing. I work on something until I finish it, and I hate leaving things unfinished.

But not as much as I loathe feeling like they're not going anywhere. I put a lot of pressure on myself where this is concerned.

To be fair, I've written a lot so far on Rise of the Carrion. So much, in fact, that part of me fought this decision every step of the way. I focus so well that it's hard to think of much else while I'm embroiled in a WIP.

Unfortunately, I'm not nearly as embroiled as I need to be. Despite the progress I've made with it this year, I don't feel confident in how much (read: how little) I've been writing. It's not that I feel like a failure, nowhere near that serious. I just constantly feel that no matter how much I work on it, and no matter how many flimsy deadlines I set (and subsequently break), I am no closer to finishing the first draft.

It's my way to break up a routine when it stops working. So, based on past experience and some brash advice, I've decided to put Rise on hold while I actually accomplish a few things.


Thomas Redpool Goes To Hell only needs a little work, and a bit of design, to be read to self-publish. I want that thing out the door and into the world. I even picked a very probable image for the cover already (which I will not share until closer to release).

Scions of the Shade also only needs a little work, and a different perspective, to be ready to seriously query. I know, frightening when I use the dreaded Q-word, but a wise person recently reminded me that things don't change unless you change them. Could be that I get no response but, based on the lack of activity this year, that would leave me no worse off.

The greatest part of this is that I get to call in reinforcements. Writing is by nature a solo activity, whereas editing is not (or, at least, shouldn't be done completely alone). I'm no good at graphic design and even worse at artistry, so knowing people who can edit, design, and know how things should look. In all ways, this temporary change of direction is about taking some of the pressure off of me.

Of course, that also means I need to stop slacking off in things that I owe others. I have some reading to do, some criticisms to compose and send, and then a lot more reading to do. This time it'll be without feeling guilty that I should be writing.

The goal with this decision is to complete some short-term items, to actually finish them, so that they aren't nagging at the back of my mind. Taking some irons out of the fire, as it were. It's not an easy decision to put a manuscript on hold, but at this point it's the right one to make. I expect the first draft of Rise will be done some time in 2012, preferably before the end of the world, but at least I'll have some excitement to share in the meantime.

Both you and I have some great things to look forward to next year. Let's get to it.



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Me again (a little reflection on 2011)

This is not my dog. This is me.

I'm not the type of person who often looks at the past with an abundance of fondness or regret. I've also never been the type to get "homesick." To me that says I subconsciously try to forge forward and move on. I look to the present and to the very near future. It's not always easy. 2011 was not full of triumphs for me. Perhaps in the long run that'll make it easier to forget.

My first complaint is that I barely read anything this year. This might sound like a minor thing to you. It isn't. I've been rather upset with myself for the amount of time I wasted neither reading nor writing. What's worse is that I still find setting everything else aside to read a book difficult. I'm distracted by life. I can't focus on the words on the page for very long. The times when I find I can are shortly followed by the drooping of my eyelids and fitful sleep.

Since I haven't been reading it's also a safe assumption that I haven't done as much writing as I've wanted. To be fair I have worked on Rise of the Carrion a fair bit and am now over 2/3rds of the way into what I've outlined. The word count is appropriately large and getting larger (albeit sluggishly). I do not relish the thought of editing the beastly manuscript it will become.

That's not to say 2011 has been all "doom and gloom." Just the majority of it. On top of my usual motivation struggles I've had mounting professional and personal issues to deal with this year. A tumultuous life might make for great emotional fodder but I find it difficult to focus amidst the maelstrom.

The few-and-far-between bright spots this year are made all the brighter by the fact that the vast majority has been so dark. Maybe it's true that you can't have highs without lows. Maybe it's just that you can't win them all. In any case I prefer not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Right now I'm merely being carried along by the current of events. No decisions to make and no chances to take. Soon enough things will calm back down and settle into a new form of normalcy. I'm hoping to post at least one more time before the end of the year. At least it won't end on such a down note.



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Some personal bad news; another "chaotic" year

I'm a private person by nature, so you shouldn't feel bad that you're blissfully unaware of most of my struggles. 2011 has been a difficult year for me, overall, with job loss and unemployment marring the first half. The latter half has introduced something far more impeding and permanently life-altering. These are the reasons I've struggled so much this year in getting the first draft of my current WIP done, but that is the tip of the iceberg as far as hardship is concerned.

The matter I mentioned, vaguely, above is of a deeply personal nature, which is why I've disabled the comments on this post. Should you be interested, and feel that I'm inclined to respond, feel free to email/contact me directly. Otherwise, please just consider this a speed bump of a post in my generally topical course--as I won't be mentioning this again. Thank you.

The Border of Actuality (Plot, Elements of Fiction Writing, Ansen Dibell)

Thumbing through this again as I sit at my writing desk. Thought it might help some of you as much as it does me.


> Excerpt from chapter "What Is Plot?"

The Border of Actuality
Plot is the things characters do, feel, think, or say, that makes a difference to what comes afterward.
If you once thought about dying your hair pink but never acted on the thought, that tells something about your psychology, but it's not a potential story plot. If you really went ahead and did it, that not only tells about your psychology but creates repercussions, like a stone tossed in a pond. That might become the basis for a story like Fitzgerald's "Bernice Bobs Her Hair."
Thought or emotion crosses the line into plot when it becomes actions and causes reactions. Until then, attitudes, however interesting in themselves, are just potential, just cloudy possibilities. They're static. They're not going anywhere. Nothing comes of them.
No thought, in and of itself, is plot. No action, however dramatic, is plot if the story would have been about the same if it hadn't happened at all. Any action, however seemingly trivial, can be vital and memorable if it has significant consequences and changes the story's outcome.
Plotting is a way of looking at things. It's a way of deciding what's important and then showing it to be important through the way you construct and connect the major events of your story. It's the way you show things mattering. <

(bolded & italicized emphasis mine)

What does this tell us? Plot is simple--it is the things you decide matter that create consequences within your story. Jim punches Tom, Tom declares war on Jimland. Who is the prime mover? You are.

If you're not taking control of your plot, telling things to be in their proper place, making the decisions that need to be made, then you are adrift in the Sea of Creativity. You can have all the ideas in the world, but if you can't forge them into a plot, you'll never be able to make something useful out of them.

A plot, and a story, can be made of any idea--if the consequences can be identified. Consequences breed conflict, and conflict is at the heart of any decent plot.

What is a plot? When thought or emotion becomes actions and causes reactions.
How do we create plot? Deciding what's important and using it to construct and connect the major events in our story.

It doesn't need to be any more complicated than that. Go make some decisions.



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Going the Distance (the emotional distance, that is)

Writers need to know what emotions feel like if we're ever to describe them on the page. We need to know the heart-pounding of fear, and how it differs from the heart-pounding of excitement (or sexual anticipation). To show how angry, helpless, or devious our characters are, it is important for us to have been these things ourselves.

Sometimes that means seeking them out, but not often. No one wants to be angry, or helpless, or afraid, on purpose. So, short of creating some dangerous or depressing scenarios in our real lives, there are a few options we can take advantage of to feel out these integral concepts.

1) Pay attention. This one should be obvious.

In Sonje Jones' latest (brilliant) post, she reveals a few of her past decisions and how they led to bad relationships. What did this teach her as a writer? Of course, I can only guess, but it means she has experience getting in the head of a character who doesn't always do the safe or "right" thing, particularly when it comes to their own happiness. Her characters (and their relationships) will have more dimension as a result.

Paying attention goes hand-in-hand with "writing what you know." If you've lived your entire life fascinated by the way organized religion repels you, as I have, you can use those emotions in your writing. Characters feel rejection, sadness, and frustration just like real people do. Exactly the same way, in fact, because the source material is our own emotion.

2) Pick up a book. Another obvious one.

Not much is easier than stealing, especially from dead people. Read Hemingway. Read Austen. Read Song of Solomon, for all I care, but read. It's not that others have done it "better," it's that they've done it already. If you need to know what goes through the head of someone having an extramarital affair, or robbing a bank, or fighting a dragon, the quickest (and safest) path is going to be research.

Gather and learn from what you can, because it's only going to help you in the long run. In a lot of cases, it's even better to find authors/books you don't like (in the sense that they didn't "do it well" enough for you) so that you can do it differently. For a writer, reading is far more than a recreational activity.

3) Practice. Not so obvious, and potentially difficult for a lot of us.

Writing isn't gold as it comes from the pen or your fingertips. We write, then we edit to improve what we've written, but if all we ever write is one thing we're limiting the scope of what we might be able to use in the future. I don't write a lot of "love scenes" -- Scions of the Shade has one, and it's certainly not your run of the mill sex -- but I've dabbled in writing erotica as well as general fiction to explore how I phrase things and what I focus on in a scene. I'm never going to publish erotic fiction, but that doesn't mean I can't use it to practice.

Flex your muscles. Write off the beaten path a bit. Imagine writing characters of different races, sexes, sexual orientations, ages, and how those things might affect their story. Write something you may never show anyone, journal about your own feelings and how they've changed over time. If you know how to phrase what cut you, you'll be better prepared to write how something cuts your characters.


Then, once you have all that emotion bagged up and ready to unleash, use it. Pour it into your writing. Throw it on with a roller rather than a brush, and trim the fat when you edit. Insight into a character can carry a story the way few other things can, while a detached and cardboard character will ruin a story in no time. Give your story some feeling.




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