Tate Hallaway's Blog, page 21
April 16, 2014
MangaKast, the Sixth
For those of you curious about my fannish side, you can feel free to listen in to the podcast that my son Mason and I record every Wednesday. Wednesday is the day that the scantilations (fan scan translations) for a lot of our manga appear, so we get up at stupid o'clock and turn on the mic. I can't say we're terribly articulate, given the time, but I still think we have a lot of fun.
We're up at: http://mangakast.wordpress.com/2014/04/16/podcast-the-sixth/ (remember the little "go" arrow is kind of hard to spot, but it's right there at the very top of the page.)
We're up at: http://mangakast.wordpress.com/2014/04/16/podcast-the-sixth/ (remember the little "go" arrow is kind of hard to spot, but it's right there at the very top of the page.)
April 15, 2014
New Installment of UnJust Cause Up!
I might have been writing up to the very last minute, but that just means this newest installment of UnJust Cause is HOT off the press!
You can read it here: UnJust Cause Part 4: Mochas and Motorcycles
In this installment, Alex discovers that demons have a weakness for mochas. Also, it seems that the sexy redhead werewolf biker, Mac, is stalking her!
You can read it here: UnJust Cause Part 4: Mochas and Motorcycles
In this installment, Alex discovers that demons have a weakness for mochas. Also, it seems that the sexy redhead werewolf biker, Mac, is stalking her!
April 14, 2014
Writing Process Blog Tour
Is today!
So, here goes.
Step one: Acknowledge the person & site that involved you in the blog: conradzero.com/2014-writing-process-blog-tour
Step two: Answer the 4 questions below about your writing process:
----
What am I working on?
Just before I remembered I was supposed to do this today, I was working on the next installment for Precinct 13's sequel, UnJust Cause.
How does my work differ from others of its genre?
My agent used to say that I was "weird, but compelling." I suspect that's a fairly accurate description of my writing. I tend towards quirky characters. For instance, in the scene I was just working on, my Muse suddenly decided that the demon Internal Affairs agent, Furfur, really, REALLY likes coffee and he's currently slobbering all over a mocha in a disturbingly semi-sexual way.
Why do I write what I do?
I tend to find Real Life (tm) kind of boring. I'd much prefer it if the world was populated by magic-sword wielding shinigami and/or dragon shifters. I can't actually imagine how tedious it would be to write an entire novel about a dysfunctional family. But, add a touch of magic, and I'm totally there.
How does your writing process work?
In the case of UnJust Cause I have a narrative outline that I developed as a proposal for this novel, which I refer to when I get stuck or can't remember what plot point I'm supposed to be hitting. Otherwise, I just start and see where things take me. I'm an odd combination of a pants-er and an outliner.
This novel is also different in that I've set myself a very simple goal of having at least 2,000 words ready to publish once a week. So, I'm trying to structure these so that each little individual section has a bit of a story arc... or at least ends on a kind of cliffhanger that will make readers want to tune into the next week's installment. That's a little different than my usual writing process, which shoots to do that kind of arc in an entire chapter.
Otherwise, I spend a lot of time writing a bit and then wishing the Internet would either be more or less entertaining than it is.
----
Step Three: Pick who is on next week (your own chosen three) – give a little bio and link to their website.
Whelp, the people I asked never got back to me, so I'm afraid I'm a dead-end in the blog roll.
So, here goes.
Step one: Acknowledge the person & site that involved you in the blog: conradzero.com/2014-writing-process-blog-tour
Step two: Answer the 4 questions below about your writing process:
----
What am I working on?
Just before I remembered I was supposed to do this today, I was working on the next installment for Precinct 13's sequel, UnJust Cause.
How does my work differ from others of its genre?
My agent used to say that I was "weird, but compelling." I suspect that's a fairly accurate description of my writing. I tend towards quirky characters. For instance, in the scene I was just working on, my Muse suddenly decided that the demon Internal Affairs agent, Furfur, really, REALLY likes coffee and he's currently slobbering all over a mocha in a disturbingly semi-sexual way.
Why do I write what I do?
I tend to find Real Life (tm) kind of boring. I'd much prefer it if the world was populated by magic-sword wielding shinigami and/or dragon shifters. I can't actually imagine how tedious it would be to write an entire novel about a dysfunctional family. But, add a touch of magic, and I'm totally there.
How does your writing process work?
In the case of UnJust Cause I have a narrative outline that I developed as a proposal for this novel, which I refer to when I get stuck or can't remember what plot point I'm supposed to be hitting. Otherwise, I just start and see where things take me. I'm an odd combination of a pants-er and an outliner.
This novel is also different in that I've set myself a very simple goal of having at least 2,000 words ready to publish once a week. So, I'm trying to structure these so that each little individual section has a bit of a story arc... or at least ends on a kind of cliffhanger that will make readers want to tune into the next week's installment. That's a little different than my usual writing process, which shoots to do that kind of arc in an entire chapter.
Otherwise, I spend a lot of time writing a bit and then wishing the Internet would either be more or less entertaining than it is.
----
Step Three: Pick who is on next week (your own chosen three) – give a little bio and link to their website.
Whelp, the people I asked never got back to me, so I'm afraid I'm a dead-end in the blog roll.
April 9, 2014
Five is Live
Mason and I recorded our fifth MangaKast, which, if you a) have interest in Bleach, Attack on Titan/SnK, or Toriko, or b) just want to hear what we sound like at 5:45 am (before my first real cup of coffee, too!) you should totally check it out.
MangaKast can be found here: http://mangakast.wordpress.com/2014/04/09/five-is-live/
This is another project I could consider a failed experiment, but, in this case, I really don't. Mason and I have limited expectations for it, for one. We probably have three faithful listeners (which is probably actually one, since I play the edited version for Mason when he gets home from school.) But, this is a totally different thing we're doing. It's entirely for ourselves and we know it. I get to bond with my son about something we both enjoy, and he gets to be a host of a podcast... how cool is that? (When you're ten? Pretty darn cool.)
Plus, at least one day a week, we're up and ready for school ON TIME. (Even mom appreciates that!)
MangaKast can be found here: http://mangakast.wordpress.com/2014/04/09/five-is-live/
This is another project I could consider a failed experiment, but, in this case, I really don't. Mason and I have limited expectations for it, for one. We probably have three faithful listeners (which is probably actually one, since I play the edited version for Mason when he gets home from school.) But, this is a totally different thing we're doing. It's entirely for ourselves and we know it. I get to bond with my son about something we both enjoy, and he gets to be a host of a podcast... how cool is that? (When you're ten? Pretty darn cool.)
Plus, at least one day a week, we're up and ready for school ON TIME. (Even mom appreciates that!)
April 8, 2014
Newest Installment is Up on WattPad
As I discussed yesterday, I'm keeping on with this project, and, thus, I bring you the third installment of UnJust Cause: http://www.wattpad.com/44898135-unjust-cause-part-3-the-body-and-the-suspects
I don't know if WattPad has a space for these kinds of summaries, but, if they did, that's what I'd write to describe this bit.
Thanks again to everyone who commented yesterday. It's surprisingly difficult, as I'm sure you all know, to pick your feet up and start again. Knowing there are people out there rooting for me makes all the difference. So, thank YOU.
A body is discovered at the base of the clock tower. But did they jump or were they... dropped? It's up to Alex to determine if there's something more sinister going on, and her investigation is hampered by the presence of the two Internal Affairs agents....
I don't know if WattPad has a space for these kinds of summaries, but, if they did, that's what I'd write to describe this bit.
Thanks again to everyone who commented yesterday. It's surprisingly difficult, as I'm sure you all know, to pick your feet up and start again. Knowing there are people out there rooting for me makes all the difference. So, thank YOU.
April 7, 2014
Coming Soon...
In the "Things Coming Soon" department, this a head's up that I've agreed to take part in a blog tour about the writing process. Next Monday I'll be posting my blog, but if you're curious about what's gone before, you can check out the guy who tagged me, Conrad Zero, here: http://www.conradzero.com/2014-writing-process-blog-tour/
Also, I'm spending today writing and polishing my next installment of the Precinct 13 sequel for WattPad. If you're confused about what I'm doing over there, the short of it is that I've really struggled with motivation to write ever since I was dropped by my publisher. The idea of posting this is a work-in-progress on WattPad is to keep the momentum going. I am really hoping to develop a following and a community there, so I can be encouraged to keep on keeping on.
I can't really say it's working so far. It's possible that I've been silent too long. My readers may have given up on me, which is totally fair. I really dropped out of the scene pretty hard.
I probably should have considered doing this sort of self-publishing thing immediately, but, the truth is I held out hope that one of my other projects would sell quickly. Obviously, that didn't happen, and when it didn't, I was very thrown for a loop. I still have projects that I'm hoping my agent will be able to sell, but I probably wasted a lot of valuable time scrambling around trying to fight a system that changed on me, seemingly overnight.
For instance, she and I were still trying to sell books on proposal, which, apparently, despite how many books you've had published, you really can't do any more. You need to have a finished project, ideally, but, if not that, then a lot of finished product to show off. I didn't have that, and so when there was interest, I had to scramble and write... which I'm not as good at. I did my very best, but I'm much better at having a chance to have a lot of revision and time to feel my way into a character and the plot. So, no surprise, those 'samples' fell flat for a lot of publishers....
...which, of course, only continued to depress me.
So, the whole idea behind publicly posting my work on WattPad was to up my confidence. But, alas, I've lost half my readers between my first post and my second. So... that kind of sucks. I'm not sure what to make of it. It wasn't like I had an overwhelming response for my first post, either.
However, I'm still trying to use the publication schedule I've set for myself as a motivator. At least if I write a 2,000+ word installment a week, that's forward progress. Considering that previously I was writing zero words a week, that's a very good thing. So, I'm not ready to write off this experience just yet. Not by a long shot.
For those who are wondering, yes, the end result should be a self-published e-book. Provided, of course, I stick with this.
Also, I'm spending today writing and polishing my next installment of the Precinct 13 sequel for WattPad. If you're confused about what I'm doing over there, the short of it is that I've really struggled with motivation to write ever since I was dropped by my publisher. The idea of posting this is a work-in-progress on WattPad is to keep the momentum going. I am really hoping to develop a following and a community there, so I can be encouraged to keep on keeping on.
I can't really say it's working so far. It's possible that I've been silent too long. My readers may have given up on me, which is totally fair. I really dropped out of the scene pretty hard.
I probably should have considered doing this sort of self-publishing thing immediately, but, the truth is I held out hope that one of my other projects would sell quickly. Obviously, that didn't happen, and when it didn't, I was very thrown for a loop. I still have projects that I'm hoping my agent will be able to sell, but I probably wasted a lot of valuable time scrambling around trying to fight a system that changed on me, seemingly overnight.
For instance, she and I were still trying to sell books on proposal, which, apparently, despite how many books you've had published, you really can't do any more. You need to have a finished project, ideally, but, if not that, then a lot of finished product to show off. I didn't have that, and so when there was interest, I had to scramble and write... which I'm not as good at. I did my very best, but I'm much better at having a chance to have a lot of revision and time to feel my way into a character and the plot. So, no surprise, those 'samples' fell flat for a lot of publishers....
...which, of course, only continued to depress me.
So, the whole idea behind publicly posting my work on WattPad was to up my confidence. But, alas, I've lost half my readers between my first post and my second. So... that kind of sucks. I'm not sure what to make of it. It wasn't like I had an overwhelming response for my first post, either.
However, I'm still trying to use the publication schedule I've set for myself as a motivator. At least if I write a 2,000+ word installment a week, that's forward progress. Considering that previously I was writing zero words a week, that's a very good thing. So, I'm not ready to write off this experience just yet. Not by a long shot.
For those who are wondering, yes, the end result should be a self-published e-book. Provided, of course, I stick with this.
April 2, 2014
Go Forth Fourth
Mason and I recorded our fourth MangaKast for your enjoyment. If you have any interest in the latest Bleach or Toriko chapters, tune in! We also discuss Blue Exorcist (aka Ao no Exorcist) and One Piece.
http://mangakast.wordpress.com/2014/04/02/go-forth-fourth/
http://mangakast.wordpress.com/2014/04/02/go-forth-fourth/
March 31, 2014
Newest Installment is Live!
Though I'd been planning on publishing a new installment of the Precinct 13 sequel every TUESDAY, tomorrow I have plans that are going to take me away from the computer, so I thought I should post today.
Here's the link:
Remember, it's free to read and I'd love comments and kudos to keep me going! Hope you enjoy it.
March 28, 2014
Video... Evidence
The reading from the other night is live and on-line.
It's long. I read the entire story of "God Box," as well as part of the WIP that I'm posting on WattPad. But, if you make it to very end, you'll be rewarded with my squee about Attack on Titan and Free! anime and my secret name on AO3.
It's long. I read the entire story of "God Box," as well as part of the WIP that I'm posting on WattPad. But, if you make it to very end, you'll be rewarded with my squee about Attack on Titan and Free! anime and my secret name on AO3.
March 27, 2014
Well.. THAT was a Surprising Success....
'll tell you no lies.
I was scared to death that last nights' reading at Dreamhaven was going to be a bust. Even, so I was determined to make the best of it. I brought along several copies of King David & the Spiders of Mars and planned to read "God Box," my science fictional Biblical horror retelling of the"golden hemorrhoids" story from Judges. I even took my laptop along in case there was more than me and Eric (the coordinator) and I had extra time to read from my WIPs. I got all dressed up. I wore tie. I left early (early enough to stop for coffee, even.)
Pre-show jitters (with cat):
And I kind of held my breath, expecting... crickets.
But... lo and behold, people came.
Lots of people came.
There was hardly an empty seat in the house and someone brought a very professional video camera (on a tripod and everything), so there may be a YouTube video of the reading at some point. I gave the guy my card, so when/if it goes up, I asked him to let me know. I'll be sure to link to it here (and anywhere else you're likely to go looking for me.) But, of course, he was one of the first people to arrive, when all the seats were still empty, and we joked that he should splice in the ComicCon crowd where everyone is shouting, "Loki, Loki" and try to make it sound like "Lyda, Lyda" and I even raised my hands and said, "SAY MY NAME!"
I doubt he'll really do that, but it was fun to imagine, especially since I was still terrified I'd be filmed reading to an empty room.
But, so the reading went REALLY well. As you know Bob, I'm a bit of an extrovert, so the more people, the higher my energy level.
Did I mention that I'd also stopped for coffee?
Yeah, it could be... "interesting," this film, but, honestly? I had a BLAST. I even read from Tate's WIP, the sequel to Precinct 13 (and mostly didn't blush or mumble over the especially dirty bits), and and let people know that they could read a bit more (and the updates as I post them) on WattPad.
So... yeah... a surprising success.
Plus afterwards there's a tradition at the Speculations readings of going out for pizza after, and I can't even remember the last time I has as much fun as I did last night. A bunch of us were still there as they were turning off lights around us and we even stood around in the cold wind continuing to talk until almost 11:00 pm. ON A SCHOOL NIGHT!
I have to thank everyone who showed, because I... I *really* thought this was going to suck so much. So if you were there last night and reading this: THANK YOU. Big time. And, if you missed, well, fingers crossed the video will go up soon, and you can see what I'm liked hopped up on crowd and caffeine.
I was scared to death that last nights' reading at Dreamhaven was going to be a bust. Even, so I was determined to make the best of it. I brought along several copies of King David & the Spiders of Mars and planned to read "God Box," my science fictional Biblical horror retelling of the"golden hemorrhoids" story from Judges. I even took my laptop along in case there was more than me and Eric (the coordinator) and I had extra time to read from my WIPs. I got all dressed up. I wore tie. I left early (early enough to stop for coffee, even.)
Pre-show jitters (with cat):
And I kind of held my breath, expecting... crickets.
But... lo and behold, people came.
Lots of people came.
There was hardly an empty seat in the house and someone brought a very professional video camera (on a tripod and everything), so there may be a YouTube video of the reading at some point. I gave the guy my card, so when/if it goes up, I asked him to let me know. I'll be sure to link to it here (and anywhere else you're likely to go looking for me.) But, of course, he was one of the first people to arrive, when all the seats were still empty, and we joked that he should splice in the ComicCon crowd where everyone is shouting, "Loki, Loki" and try to make it sound like "Lyda, Lyda" and I even raised my hands and said, "SAY MY NAME!"
I doubt he'll really do that, but it was fun to imagine, especially since I was still terrified I'd be filmed reading to an empty room.
But, so the reading went REALLY well. As you know Bob, I'm a bit of an extrovert, so the more people, the higher my energy level.
Did I mention that I'd also stopped for coffee?
Yeah, it could be... "interesting," this film, but, honestly? I had a BLAST. I even read from Tate's WIP, the sequel to Precinct 13 (and mostly didn't blush or mumble over the especially dirty bits), and and let people know that they could read a bit more (and the updates as I post them) on WattPad.
So... yeah... a surprising success.
Plus afterwards there's a tradition at the Speculations readings of going out for pizza after, and I can't even remember the last time I has as much fun as I did last night. A bunch of us were still there as they were turning off lights around us and we even stood around in the cold wind continuing to talk until almost 11:00 pm. ON A SCHOOL NIGHT!
I have to thank everyone who showed, because I... I *really* thought this was going to suck so much. So if you were there last night and reading this: THANK YOU. Big time. And, if you missed, well, fingers crossed the video will go up soon, and you can see what I'm liked hopped up on crowd and caffeine.
