S.L. Viehl's Blog, page 39

Snow Birds

Watching this rather breathtaking video confirms my secret suspicion that all snow boarders are a little crazy; in the good, wish-I-was way (with background music and sound effects, for those of you at work):

NORTHERN EXPOSURE from Nitro Snowboards on Vimeo.

Off to Finish

I'm taking off today to finish a project for a client. See you tomorrow.

Image credit: Me!

Resurrecting SL

Back in June I mentioned that I had a SF story idea set (sorta) in the StarDoc universe that I've let percolate in my head for the last couple of years. While I still have ten million excellent reasons to never revisit StarDoc in any way shape or form, I want to write this story. No, honestly, I just want to stop thinking about it, and the only way to do that is to get it on the page.

So now that I've finished Ghost Writer the next Just Write story will be:



I haven't written any science fiction since I finished Dream Called Time in October of 2009, so this should be interesting, if not outright entertaining.

Image Credit: Molodec

Flashy

The other day I spotted a new idea-ology product from Tim Holtz, a mini deck of flash cards:



I bought them because I love all things idea-ology, and I thought they might be useful as story prompts, too. The deck contains 72 1.5" X 2.5" cards with thematic words on both sides:



Each word could be a prompt on its own, but with 104 words to play with you can come up with an infinite number of combinations, too. Here are four I drew at random:



And here are the words that were on the back of those four:



I got them for $4.99, which makes them a very affordable mini deck of inspiration. I think they'd make an excellent stocking stuffer for a writer pal, too.

Year of the Ghost

It's been one year since I decided to start ghost writing full-time on my own. Over the last twelve months I've learned a lot about freelancing, how to find work, and the best ways to avoid some of the problems that come along with writing for hire. Since I still write for the very first client I acquired on my own, I think I've done a decent job of it. It helps that I've been very fortunate in landing jobs with clients who are excellent to work with, and who respect and value me as a freelancer.

Naturally there have been some downsides to leaving traditional publishing to strike out on my own. I had to rebuild my income from scratch, and freelancing does not pay as well, so at first it was definitely a financial struggle. Only a few of my pro writer friends have bothered to stay in touch with me, but I expected that (and I never had a lot of them to begin with anyway.) I should also take some of the blame for losing the connections, as I can't talk about my work anymore due to NDAs, and I've never been particularly social. PBW initially suffered about a 50% loss of traffic in my first months of ghosting, which actually did surprise me -- but I think a big chunk may have dropped off because I stopped doing giveaways. I decided to end a seventeen-year-old contract with my agent, which was terribly difficult for me, but she understood and was gracious about it.

There are so many positives, however, I hardly know where to start. I'm so happy. I wish I could describe how it feels. Finally, finally, I'm able to simply write for a living. I don't have to deal with how it's published. I don't have to promote it. I never have to objectify myself in any way, shape or form for it. I just write, all day long, and I turn it in, and I'm done. After seventeen years of dealing with all the non-writing responsibilities involved in traditional publishing, it's been like a year-long vacation. I decide who I want to work with, and since I only take on projects that interest me, I'm never bored. I think the biggest shocker was when I tallied up all that I've written since last November. I've produced more work in these past twelve months than I have during any other year since I embarked on this career.

The greatest gift of all has been the chance to see what I could do. Last year I was in a bad place, with serious doubts about my ability to forge ahead. I think it was the two eye surgeries combined with the Toriana series being dropped; I wrestled with serious depression for months. My cure for the blues has always been writing, and striking out on my own as a freelancer at least gave me some work to do. It's now become what I think will be my second writing career. If you'd asked me a year ago if I'd still be a professional writer now, I probably would have said no. That I am instead writing for hire every day, and I'm happier than I've ever been since turning pro, says it all.

Just Write Sunday Edition

Today I'm off to write something new and post it online before midnight. Everyone inclined to do the same is invited to join me.

My link: The conclusion to Ghost Writer (click on the title to go to the .pdf), with new material starting on page 156.

For more details on Just Write, click here to go to the original post.

Image credit: My kid. :)

NaNoNag #2

Before I get to my second National Novel Writing Month nag I want to celebrate a little quilting finish line I just crossed:



I've been working for a few weeks now on this tote, which will be a holiday gift for the mother of a family friend who admired my needlework. When I began this project all I really had to go on was the mom's favorite color (purple), fabrics, laces and ribbons I bought from FancyCrazys, RavioleeDreams, and AbbyandEllie on Etsy, and some vague ideas on what I wanted to do.



I gave myself permission to do whatever I liked without worrying about rules, traditions, or what I've seen others do with their crazy quilting. Some of my ideas came out well and added to the experience library in my head. Others didn't translate the way I envisioned them, but that also helped me learn. I don't think I'll ever master a perfectly even herringbone stitch, or make a seed-beaded cretan stitch look like anything but an ornate zipper, but I will keep practicing and trying new approaches.



Part of being a creative person is the opportunity to learn and grow by doing. I can (and have) talk about my needlework all day long, but I'm not really a quilter until I'm actually doing it. That's why I go from one project to the next. Each day I spend a couple of hours being a quilter. It's not everything I am, but it's a big part of who I want to be.



Now change the quilting to writing, and consider yourself nagged.

Mmmma Petite

What the world's smallest chef goes through to prepare a bowl of soup (with music and background noise effects, for those of you at work):

Le Petit Chef - Bouillabaisse from Skullmapping on Vimeo.

Story Haunts

Someday I'm going to write a story with this house as the setting. I've visited it about a hundred times and walked through nearly all of its rooms more than once. I've stood inside and sketched some of the remarkable features, and photographed every inch I was allowed to (the tour people frown on interior pics.) I once sat in the back garden and wrote a poem. Every time I visit Savannah I have to go see it, even if we just drive past the place.

The Owens-Thomas House may not be as pretty or popular as some of the other fabulous homes in the city, but it's haunted me since the first time I saw it. Why? I don't know. It's just one of those places where place + person = mystery connection.

While settings aren't my favorite story element, I always try to make mine interesting, and often invest them with some sort of personal connection. The twin staircases in the front of the Owens-Thomas House also lead up to the front entry of Walsh's Folly in Disenchanted & Company. Julian's house in Ghost Writer is based on one we rented some years back while looking for a home of our own. Even Lucan's nightclub in Dark Need from the Darkyn series once existed in real life; in my twenties I worked as a bartender in a place exactly like it.

Naturally your story settings don't have to be based on actual locations (would have been tough for me to do that with StarDoc), but it helps to have some knowledge of a real-world counterpart when you're working in a fictional location. This map I drew of the warehouse I used for a few scenes in Nightborn was not entirely invented; many of the interior features came from my memories of a warehouse belonging to a paper distributor that I once worked for about twenty years ago. That knowledge of the physical features helped me better choreograph the scene because I remembered what was inside, how the shelving and equipment looked, the sort of obstacles they'd create, etc.

As for the story I'm going to someday write about the Owens-Thomas House, I'm waiting for the right inspiration -- and in that setting can help, too. Since the house haunts me for reasons I don't know, it would work great as the setting for a paranormal story.

Gated Away

While out of town last week I had the chance to spend a day in Savannah, and because I'm not crazy I carried my camera with me wherever we went. I always notice new things about my favorite American city whenever I visit, and on this trip it was all about gated spaces:



Sometimes when you see a bunch of stuff like this one little thing captivates you.



Like this little guy.



Some gated places seem to whisper of secret lives, trysts, and other things that happen once the rest of the city goes to sleep. I have a huge story brewing now just from this one pic.



Others definitely say not for you -- keep out.



My favorite spots still remain open to the public; right there for you to walk up and sit by and admire. So while I enjoying peeking over a gate now and then, I'm much more in love with where I can roam freely.

The next time you travel, take your camera with you when you're walking and snap whatever fascinates you. You never know where you might find some story.