Bill Bodden's Blog, page 25
March 12, 2014
March 5, 2014
My Problem With Kickstarter
Kickstarter, Indiegogo, GoFundMe, and other crowd-funding sites are serving a tremendously useful purpose by providing a funding venue for creator-owned properties that might not see publication otherwise. A great many niche products were produced using these vectors, and some have even discovered that they were perhaps less "niche" that they thought. Kickstarter is the best known of these funding clearinghouses, but by far not the only one.
The idea of a patronage model for artistic endeavors is nothing new -- not by a long shot -- and while these are, for the most part, highly worthwhile creations, I find a few things with the whole process that I don't care for.
It's been pointed out by people who are smarter than I am that Kickstarter and the other crowd-funding venues are not stores. You are not buying something, you are investing in something. As with any investment, there are significant risks. Chief among these is that your money will disappear and you'll never again hear from the people behind the funding campaign. That has happened, and more than once.
There is also the strong possibility that the people managing the Kickstarter campaign won't know what they're doing. More than just a few funding campaigns had to fold because they overcomitted their resources. By resources, I don't just mean their own time and skills; I also refer stretch goals. Stretch goals are additional perks awarded to some or all of the paid backers if certain funding levels are achieved. This is often where many campaigns run into trouble; they keep adding in perks to offer that will cost them money, time, and resources to produce. Usually, this means that they end up losing money on the Kickstarter because they promised more than they could deliver. The whole point of a crowd-funding campaign is to raise money to produce a thing or an event; when too much of the money is diverted to produce these ancillary objects, often the main project suffers for it.
Make no mistake: Managing a crowd-funding campaign is a full-time job. Even without the tons of email asking questions about this or that, 'can I substitute something for something else as my stretch goal perk', etc., there is a relatively constant flow of updates, promotional plugs and pleas for support that must happen to build -- and to maintain -- the project's momentum and visibility. These take time to formulate and launch. It's all a great deal more work than most of us see from the outside.
In many cases, I've not even bothered to follow up on the perks I should have received as a backer. It may have been pure laziness on my part, or it may have been that I was more interested in seeing the work out there and supporting my friends than in getting something for my money. There are also some projects I support precisely because I want the rewards; Reaper Minatures' massive inaugural Kickstarter campaign comes to mind. They collected $3.4 million dollars on that campaign, and had well over 17,000 backers. I backed that at a fairly high level, and to their credit Reaper came through with the goods and in a timely fashion. The whole point of their Kickstarter was to provide them with financing to retool their operation so they could produce plastic miniatures as well as the metal ones for which they are well known. They were able, through their massive funding success to do just that.
I was surprised then when Reaper launched a second Kickstarter this past year with a similar goal; it turns out that making new molds for every miniature in their product line isn't any easier or cheaper even when you have the right equipment to cast the miniatures. Being a complete goober for miniatures, of course I took a look, but I found too few miniatures in the offer that appealed to me to want to spend $100 to get the "good" package. I declined to support them this time, not because they aren't good people, but because affording it then would be a stretch, and the payoff simply wasn't strong enough to tempt me. As testament to their fan base they did perfectly well without my $100, and good for them, I say.
I guess my biggest problem with crowd-funding efforts has been its phenomenal success.
The gaming industry has been one of the early adopters of these sorts of programs, followed closely by small press publishing. Having many friends in both fields I have been inundated with requests from my friends to back their projects. At first it was easy, but eventually there were far too many for me on my no-name writer's earnings to possibly afford. That has, surprisingly, cost me a few friendships. I still try to promote my friends' campaigns whenever possible through boosting their signal using Twitter, Facebook, G+ and other social media venues, but these days I have to be extremely selective regarding which ones I will personally kick in money for. It is sometimes difficult to turn people away, but it's easier than living on the street. I've even been asked a few times to write a project for a stretch goal if funding meets the requirement, and I can't do every one of those, either, much as I'd like to.
Getting back to the most recent Reaper Kickstatrer, one thing that dawned on me was that they had learned some hard lessons after the first time. By the time I saw the newest Reaper Kickstarter only three days after it launched, the first several waves of product had already sold out. By shipping the product in waves they wouldn't have to warehouse tons of minature A while they were casting up tons of miniature B; they could cast what they needed to fill each wave and not have to rent extra storage to do so. If I were to back them at that point, I would not get my miniatures for 15 months. At my income level that's a long time to loan someone the use of my $100.
Now I'm betting that the folks at Reaper nearly killed themselves trying to get all those Kickstarter packages out the door in a timely fashion the first time, and I fully understand the need to change how they did things to maintain their health and sanity. Something about the way the second Kickstarter was set up left a sour taste in my mouth, though; combine that with an offering that (to me) wasn't as strong, and I had far less enthusiasm to support them. This is not to pick on Reaper in any way; they did what was needed to adjust. My problem is absolutely not their problem in this case, nor should it be.
Crowd funding is a fantastic concept, one that has helped numerous artists and manufacturers find not only their voices but their audiences as well. Several friends have evaluated their own support, and found about a 50% rate of actually getting the products they backed, which is a better rate of return that an awful lot of investments, and certainly better odds than you'll get in Las Vegas. I endorse the premise of crownfunding wholeheartedly, but with this simple caveat; treat it like gambling. Never put in more than you can afford to lose.
The idea of a patronage model for artistic endeavors is nothing new -- not by a long shot -- and while these are, for the most part, highly worthwhile creations, I find a few things with the whole process that I don't care for.
It's been pointed out by people who are smarter than I am that Kickstarter and the other crowd-funding venues are not stores. You are not buying something, you are investing in something. As with any investment, there are significant risks. Chief among these is that your money will disappear and you'll never again hear from the people behind the funding campaign. That has happened, and more than once.
There is also the strong possibility that the people managing the Kickstarter campaign won't know what they're doing. More than just a few funding campaigns had to fold because they overcomitted their resources. By resources, I don't just mean their own time and skills; I also refer stretch goals. Stretch goals are additional perks awarded to some or all of the paid backers if certain funding levels are achieved. This is often where many campaigns run into trouble; they keep adding in perks to offer that will cost them money, time, and resources to produce. Usually, this means that they end up losing money on the Kickstarter because they promised more than they could deliver. The whole point of a crowd-funding campaign is to raise money to produce a thing or an event; when too much of the money is diverted to produce these ancillary objects, often the main project suffers for it.
Make no mistake: Managing a crowd-funding campaign is a full-time job. Even without the tons of email asking questions about this or that, 'can I substitute something for something else as my stretch goal perk', etc., there is a relatively constant flow of updates, promotional plugs and pleas for support that must happen to build -- and to maintain -- the project's momentum and visibility. These take time to formulate and launch. It's all a great deal more work than most of us see from the outside.
In many cases, I've not even bothered to follow up on the perks I should have received as a backer. It may have been pure laziness on my part, or it may have been that I was more interested in seeing the work out there and supporting my friends than in getting something for my money. There are also some projects I support precisely because I want the rewards; Reaper Minatures' massive inaugural Kickstarter campaign comes to mind. They collected $3.4 million dollars on that campaign, and had well over 17,000 backers. I backed that at a fairly high level, and to their credit Reaper came through with the goods and in a timely fashion. The whole point of their Kickstarter was to provide them with financing to retool their operation so they could produce plastic miniatures as well as the metal ones for which they are well known. They were able, through their massive funding success to do just that.
I was surprised then when Reaper launched a second Kickstarter this past year with a similar goal; it turns out that making new molds for every miniature in their product line isn't any easier or cheaper even when you have the right equipment to cast the miniatures. Being a complete goober for miniatures, of course I took a look, but I found too few miniatures in the offer that appealed to me to want to spend $100 to get the "good" package. I declined to support them this time, not because they aren't good people, but because affording it then would be a stretch, and the payoff simply wasn't strong enough to tempt me. As testament to their fan base they did perfectly well without my $100, and good for them, I say.
I guess my biggest problem with crowd-funding efforts has been its phenomenal success.
The gaming industry has been one of the early adopters of these sorts of programs, followed closely by small press publishing. Having many friends in both fields I have been inundated with requests from my friends to back their projects. At first it was easy, but eventually there were far too many for me on my no-name writer's earnings to possibly afford. That has, surprisingly, cost me a few friendships. I still try to promote my friends' campaigns whenever possible through boosting their signal using Twitter, Facebook, G+ and other social media venues, but these days I have to be extremely selective regarding which ones I will personally kick in money for. It is sometimes difficult to turn people away, but it's easier than living on the street. I've even been asked a few times to write a project for a stretch goal if funding meets the requirement, and I can't do every one of those, either, much as I'd like to.
Getting back to the most recent Reaper Kickstatrer, one thing that dawned on me was that they had learned some hard lessons after the first time. By the time I saw the newest Reaper Kickstarter only three days after it launched, the first several waves of product had already sold out. By shipping the product in waves they wouldn't have to warehouse tons of minature A while they were casting up tons of miniature B; they could cast what they needed to fill each wave and not have to rent extra storage to do so. If I were to back them at that point, I would not get my miniatures for 15 months. At my income level that's a long time to loan someone the use of my $100.
Now I'm betting that the folks at Reaper nearly killed themselves trying to get all those Kickstarter packages out the door in a timely fashion the first time, and I fully understand the need to change how they did things to maintain their health and sanity. Something about the way the second Kickstarter was set up left a sour taste in my mouth, though; combine that with an offering that (to me) wasn't as strong, and I had far less enthusiasm to support them. This is not to pick on Reaper in any way; they did what was needed to adjust. My problem is absolutely not their problem in this case, nor should it be.
Crowd funding is a fantastic concept, one that has helped numerous artists and manufacturers find not only their voices but their audiences as well. Several friends have evaluated their own support, and found about a 50% rate of actually getting the products they backed, which is a better rate of return that an awful lot of investments, and certainly better odds than you'll get in Las Vegas. I endorse the premise of crownfunding wholeheartedly, but with this simple caveat; treat it like gambling. Never put in more than you can afford to lose.
February 26, 2014
Freelance Income: To Spend Or Not To Spend?
Many people seem to think that, once they start earning a paycheck as a freelancer, they can quit their day job and live The Life. That's partly true, but only partly. An old cliche' saying tells us not to count our chickens before they've hatched. What that means is that in publishing like with eggs, things can go wrong before the chicken -- or the publishing project -- hatches. In short, don't commit your earnings until the check is deposited in your bank account AND it clears.
Because of the way most writing contracts are structured -- in the tabletop gaming industry, at least -- freelancers are usually paid 30 days after publication. Using myself as an example, I wrote a considerable amount of text for some support material for a tabletop RPG during the summer. That project was for a support book for a product line. The core book for the line has not hit store shelves yet due to a glitch in finding a partner who can get the product out into the various sales channels. That means the book I worked on has not yet been published. Since the book that's already printed and paid for (and for which I was paid, by the way) can't be sold yet, there's no money coming in from it to pay the print bill on the new book, so the new book waits until cash flow improves. According to the original publication schedule as I understand it, that new book should have been published in January of this year, meaning I would have been paid for it by now, in late February -- or in the next week. There is at least one other book in the queue ahead of the new book, meaning maybe I'll see that big investment in time and word count get published this summer.
If you've been paying attention to the gaming business, you already know that things rarely are published to a precise schedule. Smaller companies live and die by cash flow, and if anything happens to disrupt or delay that flow -- a retail or wholesale customer or a printer going out of business; a catastrophic injury or illness to one of their key freelancers on a project; the freelancer dropping off the face of the earth, refusing to respond to contact attempts and not turing in their work on time, if at all, for example -- the product suddenly is delayed. In the case of the customer going out of business, this rarely happens with a clean slate; the customer doubtless owes the company money, meaning that cash flow takes a hit. That money isn't coming back.
Even during receivership, people owed money by a bankrupt firm get pennies on the dollar, if they get anything at all. Sure, that loss can be written off on taxes at the end of the year, but that doesn't help cash flow NOW, when salaries and print bills are due. Also, writing off something is not a dollar-for-dollar exchange. A fraction of what was owed -- usually less than half -- can be claimed in this way. When we're talking about thousands of dollars owed, getting only half of it or less is tough to swallow.
That's just one example of how a freelancer might not get paid in a timely fashion. There are plenty of other examples, not the least of which is malfeasance on the part of the publisher, which, while fairly rare, does happen. To avoid companies like this, ask around; many freelancers will be willing to talk about companies they've worked with, off the record.
So let's say you've done everything right: turned in your work as specified in the contract -- on time and meeting word count. Let's say that work is approved and accepted for publication, and any changes required have been dealt with satisfactorily. What next? If you're a freelancer, you wait. And wait. If you have bills to pay and you depend on that money to pay them, then welcome to the world of being professional writer.
Most contracts I've seen in the business specify payment is due to a freelancer 30 days after publication. If the project gets cancelled, if the company doing the publishing goes out of business, or if the project gets revised before publication and the stuff you wrote gets edited out, you as a freelancer, get nothing. There are clauses that stipulate a "kill fee", meaning that if the project is cancelled or rejected for reasons having nothing to do with the quality of the writer's work, the writer receives a small percentage (often 10% or less) or a flat fee as compensation. Kill fees are very rare in the tabletop gaming field.
So let's assume you get paid, on time and in full. Since you are a freelancer, no money for taxes, Social Security payments, and so forth was deducted from that check. You as the freelancer (also known as a contractor) still OWE that money to the government. In fact, you also owe the publisher's share of your Social Security deduction.
(In case you didn't know, both the employer and the employee pay into the Social Security fund -- in roughly equal amounts -- a small percentage of the employee's wages. This money is held in trust towards that person's retirement. If the employer doesn't pay in their share -- which is perfectly legal for them to do under the circumstances -- you are responsible for that money being paid in. If you were paid $100 for some writing, you would get to keep roughly $80 or so after all is said and done. So you already can't spend that entire $100 paycheck. Remember too that taxes as they exist now are on a sliding scale; the more you earn in a year, the larger percentage you have to pay in in taxes.)
This is why so many people advise aspiring writers DON'T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB! It seems to be snide and rude advice, but it's terribly true: freelance writers, unless they are INCREDIBLY lucky and very good at what they do, will not make anything like a living wage from their writing. The saying is crude, but the maxim "shit flows downhill" is appropriate, and freelancers are at the very bottom of that hill. As a freelancer you will be the last to be paid, and the first to be stiffed if anything goes wrong.
It's not pure bitterness on my part in writing this: it's a fact of life as a freelancer, and depending too much on that income can lead to desperate financial straights. Being a freelance writer can be delightfully rewarding, but pie-in-the-sky attitudes of being able to retire after only a few years as a writer are foolishly naiive. If you must quit your job to write, at the very least hang onto a part-time job: it will provide regular, steady income, the time commitment will be smaller allowing more time for writing, and if you get lucky and strike it rich as an author, you can quit easily and without regret.
Because of the way most writing contracts are structured -- in the tabletop gaming industry, at least -- freelancers are usually paid 30 days after publication. Using myself as an example, I wrote a considerable amount of text for some support material for a tabletop RPG during the summer. That project was for a support book for a product line. The core book for the line has not hit store shelves yet due to a glitch in finding a partner who can get the product out into the various sales channels. That means the book I worked on has not yet been published. Since the book that's already printed and paid for (and for which I was paid, by the way) can't be sold yet, there's no money coming in from it to pay the print bill on the new book, so the new book waits until cash flow improves. According to the original publication schedule as I understand it, that new book should have been published in January of this year, meaning I would have been paid for it by now, in late February -- or in the next week. There is at least one other book in the queue ahead of the new book, meaning maybe I'll see that big investment in time and word count get published this summer.
If you've been paying attention to the gaming business, you already know that things rarely are published to a precise schedule. Smaller companies live and die by cash flow, and if anything happens to disrupt or delay that flow -- a retail or wholesale customer or a printer going out of business; a catastrophic injury or illness to one of their key freelancers on a project; the freelancer dropping off the face of the earth, refusing to respond to contact attempts and not turing in their work on time, if at all, for example -- the product suddenly is delayed. In the case of the customer going out of business, this rarely happens with a clean slate; the customer doubtless owes the company money, meaning that cash flow takes a hit. That money isn't coming back.
Even during receivership, people owed money by a bankrupt firm get pennies on the dollar, if they get anything at all. Sure, that loss can be written off on taxes at the end of the year, but that doesn't help cash flow NOW, when salaries and print bills are due. Also, writing off something is not a dollar-for-dollar exchange. A fraction of what was owed -- usually less than half -- can be claimed in this way. When we're talking about thousands of dollars owed, getting only half of it or less is tough to swallow.
That's just one example of how a freelancer might not get paid in a timely fashion. There are plenty of other examples, not the least of which is malfeasance on the part of the publisher, which, while fairly rare, does happen. To avoid companies like this, ask around; many freelancers will be willing to talk about companies they've worked with, off the record.
So let's say you've done everything right: turned in your work as specified in the contract -- on time and meeting word count. Let's say that work is approved and accepted for publication, and any changes required have been dealt with satisfactorily. What next? If you're a freelancer, you wait. And wait. If you have bills to pay and you depend on that money to pay them, then welcome to the world of being professional writer.
Most contracts I've seen in the business specify payment is due to a freelancer 30 days after publication. If the project gets cancelled, if the company doing the publishing goes out of business, or if the project gets revised before publication and the stuff you wrote gets edited out, you as a freelancer, get nothing. There are clauses that stipulate a "kill fee", meaning that if the project is cancelled or rejected for reasons having nothing to do with the quality of the writer's work, the writer receives a small percentage (often 10% or less) or a flat fee as compensation. Kill fees are very rare in the tabletop gaming field.
So let's assume you get paid, on time and in full. Since you are a freelancer, no money for taxes, Social Security payments, and so forth was deducted from that check. You as the freelancer (also known as a contractor) still OWE that money to the government. In fact, you also owe the publisher's share of your Social Security deduction.
(In case you didn't know, both the employer and the employee pay into the Social Security fund -- in roughly equal amounts -- a small percentage of the employee's wages. This money is held in trust towards that person's retirement. If the employer doesn't pay in their share -- which is perfectly legal for them to do under the circumstances -- you are responsible for that money being paid in. If you were paid $100 for some writing, you would get to keep roughly $80 or so after all is said and done. So you already can't spend that entire $100 paycheck. Remember too that taxes as they exist now are on a sliding scale; the more you earn in a year, the larger percentage you have to pay in in taxes.)
This is why so many people advise aspiring writers DON'T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB! It seems to be snide and rude advice, but it's terribly true: freelance writers, unless they are INCREDIBLY lucky and very good at what they do, will not make anything like a living wage from their writing. The saying is crude, but the maxim "shit flows downhill" is appropriate, and freelancers are at the very bottom of that hill. As a freelancer you will be the last to be paid, and the first to be stiffed if anything goes wrong.
It's not pure bitterness on my part in writing this: it's a fact of life as a freelancer, and depending too much on that income can lead to desperate financial straights. Being a freelance writer can be delightfully rewarding, but pie-in-the-sky attitudes of being able to retire after only a few years as a writer are foolishly naiive. If you must quit your job to write, at the very least hang onto a part-time job: it will provide regular, steady income, the time commitment will be smaller allowing more time for writing, and if you get lucky and strike it rich as an author, you can quit easily and without regret.
February 24, 2014
Quick Note
I'm the guest blogger today over at the journal of Sarah Hans. Sarah was my editor for Sidekicks!; she is a fantastic person and great to work with.
The post is all about networking, a practice that is essential for writers, whether novice or veteran:
here's the link: http://sarahhans.com/2014/02/24/guest...
The post is all about networking, a practice that is essential for writers, whether novice or veteran:
here's the link: http://sarahhans.com/2014/02/24/guest...
February 19, 2014
My Favorite Tabletop RPGs
I've worked in the games industry now since 1984. Most of that time was spent working retail, some in distribution, some working for a manufacturer, but all of that time was spent gaming, and trying out new stuff. I enjoy roleplaying as much now as I did in my teens, even though most of the people I grew up with view RPGs as "kid's stuff", or something one is expected to grow out of.
Which basically I think is bullshit. Just like dressing up in costumes now and again, RPG gaming is a healthy outlet and a fun pastime. So to give those of you who might be looking for a new game some ideas, I present to you my list of favorite RPGs, in no particular order. If you want to learn a bit more about the games -- or order a PDF copy -- click on the picture of the game.
Victoriana
I'm pretty into Steampunk these days, and gaming-wise nothing scratches that itch as nicely as this game. Victoriana uses a dice pool system: When trying to accomplish a Task, you roll a number of dice equal to your rating in a skill or ability, plus a number of dice equal to your character's rating in the related physical or mental ability. Sometimes, if the challenge is tougher, you receive black dice as a penalty. You roll the black dice at the same time, but any successes on those count against you. The setting reminds me of Shadowrun; the world has magic, and elves, dwarves, humans and beast-men mix with humans. It's fun, and the setting is a change from most games.
Shadowrun
Take the dystopian, sci-fi future typified by Cyberpunk, add magic, fantasy humanoid races, and a group of characters skirting the law to complete jobs and get paid and you have Shadowrun in a nutshell. Another dice pool game, Shadowrun uses only six-sided dice, and does so to good effect. You have a number of dice equal to your skill, plus more equal to your mental or physical ability,. plus maybe more or less depending on how easy or difficult the taks may be. The setting for this world is fantastic, and like so many RPGs, is the main reason -- far more so than because of a specific system -- why people play any particular game.
Bushido
Finding people willing to play this game with me was never easy; for some reason, most white Midwesterners don't get into mythical Japan the way I do. This game uses the basic d20 concept made famous-ish by D&D, only a it's a bit skewed here. Instead of trying to roll high, you want low, the lower the better. Makes it easier to parse that as your skill improves (i.e. the number goes up) you have larger range of numbers that indicate success.
This game incorporates a great deal of historical information about feudal Japan, as well as a lot of mythology and folklore, and if I had to pick only one, Bushido is probably my favorite RPG of all time.
Vampire: The Requiem
After being sneered at for years by numerous Vampire players, I was finally convinced to give the game a try, and was pleasantly surprised. Like any RPG, how much fun the game is depends on the quality of the folks you game with. Vampire examines concepts such as humanity, redemption, and the slippery slope of evil in a framework of the politics and mind games that only beings with greatly extended lifespans have the patience for -- and the time to watch those events unfold. I may be pilloried by the True Believers for admitting that I like the new incarnation -- Vampire the Requiem -- better than the original Vampire the Masquerade, (especially since I'm doing some writing for Vampire the Masquerade right now) but my preference may have something to do with being exposed to the new one first.
Call of Cthulhu
The grandpappy of all horror-themed RPGs, Call of Cthulhu will always occupy a squamous, rugose place in my heart. Players confront cosmic threats to humanity, and battle them as best they can. Challenges are resolved by rolling percentile dice (generating a score from 1 to 100) and then compare that to their skill level to see if they succeed in that task. This is another game to play for the setting, pulp-era 1920s and 1930s, borrowing heavily from the writings of H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, and many, many others. Character mortality is high as character witness things "Man Was Not Meant To Know and go insane, or get eaten by rather nasty creatures from beyond space and time. Tons of films have been made from the stories of these writers, and they can easily inspire one to play this game.
Mutants & Masterminds
If you're a fan of comic-book superheros, M&M is your game. Using a simple d20 roll + your skill value to determine success, the system is surprisingly flexible and elegant. Simple to understand and easy to get into, M&M does for capes and cowls what D&D does for swords and sorcery. I also really like the injury system: not based on hit points, it's instead based on levels of injury or fatigue. After all, nobody ever really dies in comic books, right?
Full disclosure: I used to work for Green Ronin Publishing, the folks who publish Mutants & Masterminds. That doesn't make the game any less awesome.
So that's a few of my favorites; it's quite a mix of stuff, but I find that I'm not all that interested in playing the same setting using the same system for ever and ever. I like having some variety in life, and games are no exception.
Oh, and you may have noticed I left D&D off this list. While the progenitor of all tabletop roll playing games was a fine entry drug, I find that, for the most part, D&D games devolve into a standard routine: kicking in doors, killing things, and taking their stuff. Lather, rinse, repeat. I got bored with that a long time ago, and while I've played newer iterations of Dungeons & Dragons since then, I find I can't stick with it for longer than a few sessions before I start looking for other options.
Which basically I think is bullshit. Just like dressing up in costumes now and again, RPG gaming is a healthy outlet and a fun pastime. So to give those of you who might be looking for a new game some ideas, I present to you my list of favorite RPGs, in no particular order. If you want to learn a bit more about the games -- or order a PDF copy -- click on the picture of the game.
Victoriana
I'm pretty into Steampunk these days, and gaming-wise nothing scratches that itch as nicely as this game. Victoriana uses a dice pool system: When trying to accomplish a Task, you roll a number of dice equal to your rating in a skill or ability, plus a number of dice equal to your character's rating in the related physical or mental ability. Sometimes, if the challenge is tougher, you receive black dice as a penalty. You roll the black dice at the same time, but any successes on those count against you. The setting reminds me of Shadowrun; the world has magic, and elves, dwarves, humans and beast-men mix with humans. It's fun, and the setting is a change from most games.
Shadowrun
Take the dystopian, sci-fi future typified by Cyberpunk, add magic, fantasy humanoid races, and a group of characters skirting the law to complete jobs and get paid and you have Shadowrun in a nutshell. Another dice pool game, Shadowrun uses only six-sided dice, and does so to good effect. You have a number of dice equal to your skill, plus more equal to your mental or physical ability,. plus maybe more or less depending on how easy or difficult the taks may be. The setting for this world is fantastic, and like so many RPGs, is the main reason -- far more so than because of a specific system -- why people play any particular game.
Bushido
Finding people willing to play this game with me was never easy; for some reason, most white Midwesterners don't get into mythical Japan the way I do. This game uses the basic d20 concept made famous-ish by D&D, only a it's a bit skewed here. Instead of trying to roll high, you want low, the lower the better. Makes it easier to parse that as your skill improves (i.e. the number goes up) you have larger range of numbers that indicate success.
This game incorporates a great deal of historical information about feudal Japan, as well as a lot of mythology and folklore, and if I had to pick only one, Bushido is probably my favorite RPG of all time.
Vampire: The Requiem
After being sneered at for years by numerous Vampire players, I was finally convinced to give the game a try, and was pleasantly surprised. Like any RPG, how much fun the game is depends on the quality of the folks you game with. Vampire examines concepts such as humanity, redemption, and the slippery slope of evil in a framework of the politics and mind games that only beings with greatly extended lifespans have the patience for -- and the time to watch those events unfold. I may be pilloried by the True Believers for admitting that I like the new incarnation -- Vampire the Requiem -- better than the original Vampire the Masquerade, (especially since I'm doing some writing for Vampire the Masquerade right now) but my preference may have something to do with being exposed to the new one first.
Call of Cthulhu
The grandpappy of all horror-themed RPGs, Call of Cthulhu will always occupy a squamous, rugose place in my heart. Players confront cosmic threats to humanity, and battle them as best they can. Challenges are resolved by rolling percentile dice (generating a score from 1 to 100) and then compare that to their skill level to see if they succeed in that task. This is another game to play for the setting, pulp-era 1920s and 1930s, borrowing heavily from the writings of H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, and many, many others. Character mortality is high as character witness things "Man Was Not Meant To Know and go insane, or get eaten by rather nasty creatures from beyond space and time. Tons of films have been made from the stories of these writers, and they can easily inspire one to play this game.
Mutants & Masterminds
If you're a fan of comic-book superheros, M&M is your game. Using a simple d20 roll + your skill value to determine success, the system is surprisingly flexible and elegant. Simple to understand and easy to get into, M&M does for capes and cowls what D&D does for swords and sorcery. I also really like the injury system: not based on hit points, it's instead based on levels of injury or fatigue. After all, nobody ever really dies in comic books, right?
Full disclosure: I used to work for Green Ronin Publishing, the folks who publish Mutants & Masterminds. That doesn't make the game any less awesome.
So that's a few of my favorites; it's quite a mix of stuff, but I find that I'm not all that interested in playing the same setting using the same system for ever and ever. I like having some variety in life, and games are no exception.
Oh, and you may have noticed I left D&D off this list. While the progenitor of all tabletop roll playing games was a fine entry drug, I find that, for the most part, D&D games devolve into a standard routine: kicking in doors, killing things, and taking their stuff. Lather, rinse, repeat. I got bored with that a long time ago, and while I've played newer iterations of Dungeons & Dragons since then, I find I can't stick with it for longer than a few sessions before I start looking for other options.
February 12, 2014
Stiffed
The reality of being a freelance writer is that sometimes you won't get paid for your work, even if someone else profits by it. That happened to me once and I consider myself very lucky that it's only been once so far.
A decade ago, I was writing for some gaming magazines that were published in the area. I had been writing for these magazines for a couple of years by then, and even though the publications changed hands part way through, and changed editors a couple of times, I kept getting checks. Until I didn't. I had inquired about payment after two or three months with no checks having arrived, and was told they were taking care of things and payment would go out soon.
One day they stopped publishing, and announced they were through. I was out some money for several months' worth of articles I'd written, which they had subsequently published. In truth, I had a good day job at that time, and the total sum of couple hundred bucks I was out was (fortunately) no big deal. I was more sad about the loss of the magazines than the loss of the money, but I forgot about it and moved on.
A year or two later, the gentleman who had been my final editor at said magazines got hired to work in my department. I was the head of that department so he reported directly to me. There's a lesson here: As a writer, do your best to not piss anybody off needlessly; you may depend on them later for a reference, help with a project, or even a job. But I digress.
Anyway, this editor had always been decent to me, so I wasn't about to be a jerk to him when he didn't deserve it. We'd been working together for several months when one day, out of the blue, he announced to me privately that had a confession to make: he apologized for stringing me along. The magazine publishers had known they were going under for months ahead of time, but they specifically ordered him not to tell me.
This is a clear example of people being douchebags. Had they been honest about the situation, I probably WOULD HAVE continued to write for them, as I had thought they were good people. Now I know better, and I will never voluntarily work with any of those gentlemen again. Had this person never told me, I would have gone on thinking they were decent folks. In retrospect, I'm glad I found out the truth of the situation. At this point I would settle for a sincere apology, but I'm not holding my breath that such thing will ever happen. I'm also sure I wasn't the only one left holding the bag in that situation, and probably am owed less than most.
I was reminded of this thanks to a blog post by writer Kevin Hamilton . Being a freelancer has a lot of positives, but it can be a drag sometimes as well - just like any other job. Kevin sums it up nicely, and I wish him luck getting more writing work.
Please remember: If you like someone's writing, help support them by buying their books. If you want to REALLY help them, post reviews of their stuff that you like on Amazon.com, Goodreads, Library Thing, or anywhere else where people go to search for books to read. It's a BIG help!
A decade ago, I was writing for some gaming magazines that were published in the area. I had been writing for these magazines for a couple of years by then, and even though the publications changed hands part way through, and changed editors a couple of times, I kept getting checks. Until I didn't. I had inquired about payment after two or three months with no checks having arrived, and was told they were taking care of things and payment would go out soon.
One day they stopped publishing, and announced they were through. I was out some money for several months' worth of articles I'd written, which they had subsequently published. In truth, I had a good day job at that time, and the total sum of couple hundred bucks I was out was (fortunately) no big deal. I was more sad about the loss of the magazines than the loss of the money, but I forgot about it and moved on.
A year or two later, the gentleman who had been my final editor at said magazines got hired to work in my department. I was the head of that department so he reported directly to me. There's a lesson here: As a writer, do your best to not piss anybody off needlessly; you may depend on them later for a reference, help with a project, or even a job. But I digress.
Anyway, this editor had always been decent to me, so I wasn't about to be a jerk to him when he didn't deserve it. We'd been working together for several months when one day, out of the blue, he announced to me privately that had a confession to make: he apologized for stringing me along. The magazine publishers had known they were going under for months ahead of time, but they specifically ordered him not to tell me.
This is a clear example of people being douchebags. Had they been honest about the situation, I probably WOULD HAVE continued to write for them, as I had thought they were good people. Now I know better, and I will never voluntarily work with any of those gentlemen again. Had this person never told me, I would have gone on thinking they were decent folks. In retrospect, I'm glad I found out the truth of the situation. At this point I would settle for a sincere apology, but I'm not holding my breath that such thing will ever happen. I'm also sure I wasn't the only one left holding the bag in that situation, and probably am owed less than most.
I was reminded of this thanks to a blog post by writer Kevin Hamilton . Being a freelancer has a lot of positives, but it can be a drag sometimes as well - just like any other job. Kevin sums it up nicely, and I wish him luck getting more writing work.
Please remember: If you like someone's writing, help support them by buying their books. If you want to REALLY help them, post reviews of their stuff that you like on Amazon.com, Goodreads, Library Thing, or anywhere else where people go to search for books to read. It's a BIG help!
February 5, 2014
What's Wrong With Marvel's Agents Of Shield?
There's been a lot of talk on social media over the last few weeks about the ABC Network's television series,
"Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D."
. Some comments about the show have been negative, some positive, but mostly, people are still talking about it, which is a good sign.
Many of the comments state opinions that the show started off too slowly, and that people are giving up on it. Fair point; it did take a while to really get going, but the script writing has been pretty solid in my humble opinion. Mostly, what I'm getting from people is that they expected to see lots of superheroes involved in this show; I get it, but I have to admit that frankly, this isn't a realistic expectation.
When you add superheroes into the mix, the budget skyrockets. You have to generate tons of special effects; when you're talking feature films with budgets in the hundreds of millions of dollars for two hours worth of movie, yeah, sure, go crazy with that CGI stuff. On the other hand, when your budget is, let say for example, one million dollars an episode -- which has to cover everything from cast and crew salaries, to wardrobe, to set design and building (and location scouting/ procurement), and even paying for lunch for everybody, there just isn't a lot left for dazzling special effects. It totally makes sense. If you've ever read the original Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. comic books from back in the mid-1960s, you already know that the supers only showed up once in a while; it was about espionage and fighting the bad guys.
Personally, I agree that the show started off a bit slowly. I like that it's a primarily an espionage/thriller series and has links to comic book superheroes, and the recent inclusion of Marvel character Deathlok (Sorry! No more spoilers, I promise!) has -- or should have -- amped up interest considerably. Having stuck with the show since it premiered last fall, I feel invested in the characters, and want to see what happens next.
Guest appearances by the non-superpowered heroes -- like Black Widow, Hawkeye, or even Nick Fury -- would be awesome, but I suspect that getting the stars who portrayed these characters in the films would be a budget-buster right off the bat. I would definitely settle for other, low-powered heroes like Nighthawk, Luke Cage, Iron Fist; some of the small-time villains like Shocker, Constrictor, or Baron Zemo, would add a little oomph to the show.
We've been DVR-ing Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. so far, but this week we watched the show live, and I can see it developing into an actual EVENT in our household, where we actually plan to watch it while it's being broadcast instead of waiting for later. That impatience on our part tells me one thing, and it's the only thing I need to know about this show: they're doing it right, and it's working. It's a good show, even if it can't showcase superheroes every week. I hope you'll consider giving the show a chance; it's worth your time.
Many of the comments state opinions that the show started off too slowly, and that people are giving up on it. Fair point; it did take a while to really get going, but the script writing has been pretty solid in my humble opinion. Mostly, what I'm getting from people is that they expected to see lots of superheroes involved in this show; I get it, but I have to admit that frankly, this isn't a realistic expectation.
When you add superheroes into the mix, the budget skyrockets. You have to generate tons of special effects; when you're talking feature films with budgets in the hundreds of millions of dollars for two hours worth of movie, yeah, sure, go crazy with that CGI stuff. On the other hand, when your budget is, let say for example, one million dollars an episode -- which has to cover everything from cast and crew salaries, to wardrobe, to set design and building (and location scouting/ procurement), and even paying for lunch for everybody, there just isn't a lot left for dazzling special effects. It totally makes sense. If you've ever read the original Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. comic books from back in the mid-1960s, you already know that the supers only showed up once in a while; it was about espionage and fighting the bad guys.
Personally, I agree that the show started off a bit slowly. I like that it's a primarily an espionage/thriller series and has links to comic book superheroes, and the recent inclusion of Marvel character Deathlok (Sorry! No more spoilers, I promise!) has -- or should have -- amped up interest considerably. Having stuck with the show since it premiered last fall, I feel invested in the characters, and want to see what happens next.
Guest appearances by the non-superpowered heroes -- like Black Widow, Hawkeye, or even Nick Fury -- would be awesome, but I suspect that getting the stars who portrayed these characters in the films would be a budget-buster right off the bat. I would definitely settle for other, low-powered heroes like Nighthawk, Luke Cage, Iron Fist; some of the small-time villains like Shocker, Constrictor, or Baron Zemo, would add a little oomph to the show.
We've been DVR-ing Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. so far, but this week we watched the show live, and I can see it developing into an actual EVENT in our household, where we actually plan to watch it while it's being broadcast instead of waiting for later. That impatience on our part tells me one thing, and it's the only thing I need to know about this show: they're doing it right, and it's working. It's a good show, even if it can't showcase superheroes every week. I hope you'll consider giving the show a chance; it's worth your time.
January 30, 2014
Ten Novels That Influenced My Writing
No writer is an island. Further, no writer exists in a vacuum. We -- all of us human beings -- are constantly inspired by people, places and things around us. For writers, those things often sneak into our writing in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. This list comprises only a few of the many books that have inspired me, first to be a writer, and second, to be a better writer. Some of these books (okay, most of them) I re-read every now and again, and in most of them, I find something I missed before.
Last Call, Tim Powers
Last Call is all about cards, Las Vegas, symbolism, magic, and too much more to cover in any depth. The way the author draws in threads of real history, skillfully blending them with his own events made up out of whole cloth and using the entire tapestry to tell his stories, is magical to me.
The Shining, Stephen King
He's not considered a "master" of fiction for no reason; having just finished his On Writing, I admire the wisdom in his approach to the craft. The Shining is a clear case where the book is VASTLY superior to the film (particularly the 1980 version directed by Stanley Kubrick), so if you've only seen the film, you are REALLY missing out.
Sunglasses After Dark, Nancy A. Collins
Nancy A. Collins' stories of Sonja Blue, vampire and vampire hunter, are full of mystery, intrigue, supernatural beings, and sex. These vampires don't sparkle, but they have schemes that put Machiavelli to shame, and Sonja's interactions with other supernatural creatures may be among the highlights of these books.
Drachenfels, Jack Yeovil
Set in the universe of Games Workshop's Warhammer world, Drachenfels utilizes the "play within a play" trope very nicely, and features a cast of characters probably in the hundreds. It weaves a rich web of detail, telling the story of a young man's quest to prove himself, the crew he recruits to help him, and the ancient, barely human enchanter who is the target of his quest. This book dates from the time when Games Workshop was still willing to take chances on interesting projects. Jack Yeovil is a nom de plume for author Kim Newman.
The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkein
I first read The Hobbit as a young boy, and fell in love with the story's naive charm. While it is perhaps not a literary masterpiece, it is a well-told tale, with characters that I find entrancing and a setting full of wonder and delight.
Them Bones, Howard Waldrop
Them Bones is in essence, a time travel story, about soldiers from a fucked-up future earth going back in time to find a way to fix things. One soldier gets separated by the time stream, ending up in an earth that may not have existed exactly as portrayed, but his adventures with the people he finds are engrossing, horrific, and full of wonder. Waldrop is one of my favorite authors, and I advise anyone reading him to leave your preconceptions at the threshold, sit back, and enjoy the ride.
A Hunger Like Fire, Greg Stolze
Set in the universe of White Wolf Publishing's World of Darkness, This novel is about Chicago to a small degree, and the vampires who run to town to a much larger degree. Stolze has talent and skill sufficient that, even though these are monstrous beings capable of terrible, ferocious savagery, they are still highly sympathetic characters, and intriguing ones at that.
American Gods, Neil Gaiman
When I first heard the premise for this book, I was thrilled. I was still very nearly as thrilled reading it for the sixth time as I was for the first. Gaiman's imaginative powers are formidable, and he brings them all to bear in this novel of former deities trying to get by in the modern-day United States.
Bridge of Birds, Barry Hughart
I fell in love with these stories of "an Ancient China that never was" on the recommendation of a friend, and not only didn't regret it, I engaged in operations to acquire the other two books in the series, even though they were out of print at that time. Reprinted more than once by niche publishers, it won major awards (World Fantasy and Mythopeoic Fantasy Awards) and was followed up by two sequels, but sadly Hughart seems to have given up on writing.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, J.K. Rowling
YA fiction that tells stories of kids who (generally) use good judgement, deal with the ramifications of their actions, and work to help others and stand up for what's right in spite of very personal consequences. Oh, and there's some magic involved from time to time. This is the second book in the series, and since (if I recall correctly) it features the main character's step-family a little less, I like it more.
Dead Until Dark, Charlaine Harris
Despite the hue and cry over the conclusion to this series by those who over-romanitcize vampires, I found the ending to this series fitting and quite satisfying. Harris takes us for a ride with a young woman whose gift of telepathy is more of a curse, until she meets her first vampire, whose thoughts don't transmit to her at all. The mysteries in each book are well thought-out, and the stories are peppered with a bit of sex and a great deal of intrigue. This first book introduces several of the main characters and most of the primary themes for the series.
***
Stephen King has a useful piece of advice for writers: Write a lot; read a lot. There is no better way for any of us to support the writers whose work we enjoy than by buying their books. Whether you buy through Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, or your favorite independent bookstore, please buy books, and more importantly, READ them!
And if you have a moment, write a brief review for Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble.com to tell others what you thought of the books you've read -- what you liked or didn't like, and why. It doesn't have to be great literature in itself -- just an honest opinion. Spreading the word like that can help sell a few more copies, and hey: every little bit helps.
But wait, I hear some of you yelling -- that's ELEVEN books!
Yep; consider it a bonus.
Last Call, Tim Powers
Last Call is all about cards, Las Vegas, symbolism, magic, and too much more to cover in any depth. The way the author draws in threads of real history, skillfully blending them with his own events made up out of whole cloth and using the entire tapestry to tell his stories, is magical to me.
The Shining, Stephen King
He's not considered a "master" of fiction for no reason; having just finished his On Writing, I admire the wisdom in his approach to the craft. The Shining is a clear case where the book is VASTLY superior to the film (particularly the 1980 version directed by Stanley Kubrick), so if you've only seen the film, you are REALLY missing out.
Sunglasses After Dark, Nancy A. Collins
Nancy A. Collins' stories of Sonja Blue, vampire and vampire hunter, are full of mystery, intrigue, supernatural beings, and sex. These vampires don't sparkle, but they have schemes that put Machiavelli to shame, and Sonja's interactions with other supernatural creatures may be among the highlights of these books.
Drachenfels, Jack Yeovil
Set in the universe of Games Workshop's Warhammer world, Drachenfels utilizes the "play within a play" trope very nicely, and features a cast of characters probably in the hundreds. It weaves a rich web of detail, telling the story of a young man's quest to prove himself, the crew he recruits to help him, and the ancient, barely human enchanter who is the target of his quest. This book dates from the time when Games Workshop was still willing to take chances on interesting projects. Jack Yeovil is a nom de plume for author Kim Newman.
The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkein
I first read The Hobbit as a young boy, and fell in love with the story's naive charm. While it is perhaps not a literary masterpiece, it is a well-told tale, with characters that I find entrancing and a setting full of wonder and delight.
Them Bones, Howard Waldrop
Them Bones is in essence, a time travel story, about soldiers from a fucked-up future earth going back in time to find a way to fix things. One soldier gets separated by the time stream, ending up in an earth that may not have existed exactly as portrayed, but his adventures with the people he finds are engrossing, horrific, and full of wonder. Waldrop is one of my favorite authors, and I advise anyone reading him to leave your preconceptions at the threshold, sit back, and enjoy the ride.
A Hunger Like Fire, Greg Stolze
Set in the universe of White Wolf Publishing's World of Darkness, This novel is about Chicago to a small degree, and the vampires who run to town to a much larger degree. Stolze has talent and skill sufficient that, even though these are monstrous beings capable of terrible, ferocious savagery, they are still highly sympathetic characters, and intriguing ones at that.
American Gods, Neil Gaiman
When I first heard the premise for this book, I was thrilled. I was still very nearly as thrilled reading it for the sixth time as I was for the first. Gaiman's imaginative powers are formidable, and he brings them all to bear in this novel of former deities trying to get by in the modern-day United States.
Bridge of Birds, Barry Hughart
I fell in love with these stories of "an Ancient China that never was" on the recommendation of a friend, and not only didn't regret it, I engaged in operations to acquire the other two books in the series, even though they were out of print at that time. Reprinted more than once by niche publishers, it won major awards (World Fantasy and Mythopeoic Fantasy Awards) and was followed up by two sequels, but sadly Hughart seems to have given up on writing.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, J.K. Rowling
YA fiction that tells stories of kids who (generally) use good judgement, deal with the ramifications of their actions, and work to help others and stand up for what's right in spite of very personal consequences. Oh, and there's some magic involved from time to time. This is the second book in the series, and since (if I recall correctly) it features the main character's step-family a little less, I like it more.
Dead Until Dark, Charlaine Harris
Despite the hue and cry over the conclusion to this series by those who over-romanitcize vampires, I found the ending to this series fitting and quite satisfying. Harris takes us for a ride with a young woman whose gift of telepathy is more of a curse, until she meets her first vampire, whose thoughts don't transmit to her at all. The mysteries in each book are well thought-out, and the stories are peppered with a bit of sex and a great deal of intrigue. This first book introduces several of the main characters and most of the primary themes for the series.
***
Stephen King has a useful piece of advice for writers: Write a lot; read a lot. There is no better way for any of us to support the writers whose work we enjoy than by buying their books. Whether you buy through Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, or your favorite independent bookstore, please buy books, and more importantly, READ them!
And if you have a moment, write a brief review for Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble.com to tell others what you thought of the books you've read -- what you liked or didn't like, and why. It doesn't have to be great literature in itself -- just an honest opinion. Spreading the word like that can help sell a few more copies, and hey: every little bit helps.
But wait, I hear some of you yelling -- that's ELEVEN books!
Yep; consider it a bonus.
January 24, 2014
MY Guest bloggage
Alana Joli Abbott graciously offered to host a guest post by myself over at her blog. In it, I talk about the Cthulhu Mythos, mythology in general, and what I'm working on now. Here's the link:
http://alanajoli.livejournal.com/1815...
Next week I'll be back posting my own self to my blog. Stay tuned!
http://alanajoli.livejournal.com/1815...
Next week I'll be back posting my own self to my blog. Stay tuned!
January 22, 2014
Guest blogger: LaShawn Wanak
I first met LaShawn at Odyssey Con in Madison, Wisconsin a few years ago, and am continually amazed at her fearlessness and the strength of her convictions. We both submitted stories to
Dark Faith: Invocations
; mine didn't make the cut, but hers did, and I encourage you to read it.
***
Novel Evolution IGNITE (or how to endure Revision Hell)
I have a confession to make. I always tear up at Digimon.
You know the parts where Digimon is in danger--Digimon, Pokemon, Beyblade, whatever, I have a 9 year old, don't judge me--and it looks like the poor thing is beaten to a pulp and it's going to die--wait, no, sorry--pass out. Just when things look bleak, the kid/trainer/pseudo cock-fight master yells, "Come on! You can do it! Keep trying! You can't give up now!" And blazing golden light flare up around the Digimon/beyblade/pokemon and they become STRONGER and they BEAT THE BAD GUYS and SAVE THE DAY and even TAKE OVER THE WORLD.
It's all sappy and sweet and manipulative tripe, yet, dang it, I always get weepy eyed over it.
Because sometimes they don't win. Sometimes the Beyblade breaks or the battle is lost. When that happens, the kids don't give up. They take their broken Beyblade/Digimon/Pokemon, fix them up, then they do more training. Some day, they're going to win that ultimate battle. Someday they'll get that shiny trophy. Someday they evolve that pokedigimonblayde into something beautiful and powerful; who knows, maybe it'll even be capable of destroying the world. But it can't happen without the constant training.
I've been working professionally on my first novel for over nine years now. I say professionally because, in reality, I started writing this novel in college, but I didn't get serious about it until nine years ago. I then threw out what I originally had and started over from scratch. I finished the novel in 2010, workshopped it at Viable Paradise in 2011, and now I'm working on the second draft. I sent it out to my reader list, they said it was better, but there's still some problems to fix, which means I have to do yet another draft.
This is what they call Revision Hell. I want this book to be done. I want it all over with. I want to quit.
Thing is, there's this part inside of me that refuses to quit. There's a tiny little pokemon/digimon/Beyblade trainer inside of me that says, "Don't give up, LaShawn! You can do it! Tackle those issues! Write those extra scenes out! Cut those characters! Make that plot point clearer! Come on! You can't give up now!" Occasionally, though, that little trainer gets drowned out by low self-esteem monsters. "You can't do it," they cry. "How long have you've been working on this? Quit wasting your time. What was that line about polishing turds? Give up. You can't win."
This is why it's so important to have beta readers. People you can trust to say, "This is crap." or "This is crap, but if you do this, this and this, it won't be crap anymore." Or, "Don't give up. You're almost there. I really like this. Keep writing!"
For the longest time, I wouldn't show my work to anyone, thinking I could trust myself to figure out problems on my own. They say that writing is supposed to be a lonely business, but I've found that not to be the case. You need another pair of eyes. You need people you can trust who can give you the advice you need to make your story better. And you need people to help cheer you on. To give you the motivation you need to get yourself back out there, on the field, to keep going, even when you want to quit.
Without that outside influence, I would have given up long ago.
So let this post be your personal cheerleader. If you're in revision hell, don't give up. Keep working on your book. Each editing pass will make it more fit, more ready. There are plenty of ways to find readers. Join a critique group, or attend a workshop Viable Paradise is now open for submissions, just to throw out a suggestion) And keep revising. Even when you don't want to. Even when you want to quit. Finish that book.
And one day, when you release that book into the world, and it digivolves into a ravenous, New York Times slaying best-seller that rips out people's hearts and brings about the Amazon Apocalypse, just be sure to thank me on your credit page.
***
LaShawn M. Wanak is a graduate of Viable Paradise. Her short fiction can be found at Daily Science Fiction, EscapePod and Ideomancer as well as in the anthologies What Fates Impose and Dark Faith: Invocations . Her newest story, “21 Steps to Enlightenment (Minus One)” will be published at Strange Horizons on February 3, 2014. Visit her at her blog, The Café in the Woods .
***
Novel Evolution IGNITE (or how to endure Revision Hell)
I have a confession to make. I always tear up at Digimon.
You know the parts where Digimon is in danger--Digimon, Pokemon, Beyblade, whatever, I have a 9 year old, don't judge me--and it looks like the poor thing is beaten to a pulp and it's going to die--wait, no, sorry--pass out. Just when things look bleak, the kid/trainer/pseudo cock-fight master yells, "Come on! You can do it! Keep trying! You can't give up now!" And blazing golden light flare up around the Digimon/beyblade/pokemon and they become STRONGER and they BEAT THE BAD GUYS and SAVE THE DAY and even TAKE OVER THE WORLD.
It's all sappy and sweet and manipulative tripe, yet, dang it, I always get weepy eyed over it.
Because sometimes they don't win. Sometimes the Beyblade breaks or the battle is lost. When that happens, the kids don't give up. They take their broken Beyblade/Digimon/Pokemon, fix them up, then they do more training. Some day, they're going to win that ultimate battle. Someday they'll get that shiny trophy. Someday they evolve that pokedigimonblayde into something beautiful and powerful; who knows, maybe it'll even be capable of destroying the world. But it can't happen without the constant training.
I've been working professionally on my first novel for over nine years now. I say professionally because, in reality, I started writing this novel in college, but I didn't get serious about it until nine years ago. I then threw out what I originally had and started over from scratch. I finished the novel in 2010, workshopped it at Viable Paradise in 2011, and now I'm working on the second draft. I sent it out to my reader list, they said it was better, but there's still some problems to fix, which means I have to do yet another draft.
This is what they call Revision Hell. I want this book to be done. I want it all over with. I want to quit.
Thing is, there's this part inside of me that refuses to quit. There's a tiny little pokemon/digimon/Beyblade trainer inside of me that says, "Don't give up, LaShawn! You can do it! Tackle those issues! Write those extra scenes out! Cut those characters! Make that plot point clearer! Come on! You can't give up now!" Occasionally, though, that little trainer gets drowned out by low self-esteem monsters. "You can't do it," they cry. "How long have you've been working on this? Quit wasting your time. What was that line about polishing turds? Give up. You can't win."
This is why it's so important to have beta readers. People you can trust to say, "This is crap." or "This is crap, but if you do this, this and this, it won't be crap anymore." Or, "Don't give up. You're almost there. I really like this. Keep writing!"
For the longest time, I wouldn't show my work to anyone, thinking I could trust myself to figure out problems on my own. They say that writing is supposed to be a lonely business, but I've found that not to be the case. You need another pair of eyes. You need people you can trust who can give you the advice you need to make your story better. And you need people to help cheer you on. To give you the motivation you need to get yourself back out there, on the field, to keep going, even when you want to quit.
Without that outside influence, I would have given up long ago.
So let this post be your personal cheerleader. If you're in revision hell, don't give up. Keep working on your book. Each editing pass will make it more fit, more ready. There are plenty of ways to find readers. Join a critique group, or attend a workshop Viable Paradise is now open for submissions, just to throw out a suggestion) And keep revising. Even when you don't want to. Even when you want to quit. Finish that book.
And one day, when you release that book into the world, and it digivolves into a ravenous, New York Times slaying best-seller that rips out people's hearts and brings about the Amazon Apocalypse, just be sure to thank me on your credit page.
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LaShawn M. Wanak is a graduate of Viable Paradise. Her short fiction can be found at Daily Science Fiction, EscapePod and Ideomancer as well as in the anthologies What Fates Impose and Dark Faith: Invocations . Her newest story, “21 Steps to Enlightenment (Minus One)” will be published at Strange Horizons on February 3, 2014. Visit her at her blog, The Café in the Woods .
