Bryan Young's Blog, page 15

Disconnecting

As writers, we need to get into our heads and do lots of thinking and lots of soul searching. Living in a society where advertisers, our friends and families, and the entire Internet are competing for our attention, that kind of quiet thought might be hard to come by.



When I was in Paris, I had limited Internet access, no phone access, and nothing more on my agenda than to learn.




While I was there, I'd spend my mornings writing on a new novel. I got almost 20k words done while I was ther...

The Serpent's Head, Origins Game Fair, and SDCC

It's time again for an update.





First off, for those expecting The Serpent's Head this month, as it was scheduled, after getting back with meetings with the editor, it needs another rewrite. It's just not ready for publication and I'm not going to rush it. I'm going to get it right. It will be out before the end of the year, though, so you can still look forward to it. Doubly so, knowing that it's going to be even better than I could have imagined in the first place.




I have a rough mock-...

CONduit and Denver Comic-Con

Well, I'm back from three weeks in Paris. I got plenty of writing done and am completely creatively rejuvenated. And, like a fool, instead of parlaying that rejuvenation into more writing, I'm doing conventions for the next two weekends.



I'll try to keep up on the writing, sure, but I'd have a hard time passing up seeing those of you who care.



CONduit is a Science Fiction convention held each year in Salt Lake City. Here's their website. They're  one of the oldest cons in Uta...

Off to Paris

For as long as I've been a writer I've desired to see Europe. There's an old idea that women have a biological clock for having children, I think that's true of writer's and visiting Europe.



From the moment I read Hemingway's A Moveable Feast, Paris is something I knew I needed to see for myself and tomorrow I'm leaving on a plane to experience it for three weeks. I'll be largely disconnected to that time. I'm using the next three weeks to write a book and collect material for another, as we...

An Award

I was informed last week that I was to be the recipient of the Mayor’s Artists Award in the Literary Arts category, presented annually by the Mayor of Salt Lake City and the Utah Arts Festival.



Here's the pertinent portions of the press release:

Salt Lake City, UT: Since 1992 the Salt Lake City Mayor’s Office has recognized individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to the artistic landscape of the community. The Utah Arts Festival and the Salt Lake City M...

Writer's Rules Revisited #15

It's time again for a new installment of writer's rules. It's been a while, but I've been very busy. And I think this is pretty much the last bit of procrastination before I have to finish my next novel. I've got ideas for short stories and a new book waiting to come out, but I need to finish this last one before I can move on.



But all of that is just a distraction from why you're here.



For those new around these parts, a brief explanation is in order. A long time ago I posted a list of rul...

A General Update

I have been incredibly busy over the last month and many things have happened. To that end, I wanted to give you all an update and let you know I'm still alive and still writing.



To start with, I've been doing a lot of revising. I finished a revision of The Serpent's Head, top to bottom, and it's now with readers and an editor as we speak. This is my second overhaul of the book and I'm really excited to bring it to you guys.



I'm also working with an artist about a cover, and I'm very excite...

Is Amazon Getting into the Author Marketing Business?

I just received an email and a survey from Amazon's KDP program asking me a number of questions.



Every single question was geared toward determining what I have done to market my books. From writing on this blog to hiring the lovely Consetta Parker, they wanted to know everything.



What was the hardest thing about marketing? What was the most expensive? What was the easiest? What was I doing currently?



Then, they started asking questions about how much money I was spending on such efforts.
...

Writer's Rules Revisited #14

I've been catching up ever since I got back from SheVaCon, where I had a great time talking about writing. It made me realize very much that no matter how many answers I had to offer others for their writing, I would never be 100% sure of those answers in my own writing. I don't think any of us can be. We're all searching for that extra help or bit of guidance that will put our stories over the top, but we're too close to them and so we have to rely equally on our knowledge of the craft and t...

ShevaCon - Panel Schedule

I'm heading out tonight for SheVaCon, which starts tomorrow in Roanoke, Virginia. I'm excited to meet people, sell and sign some books, and hang out with two of my favorite pals, Janine Spendlove and Aaron Allston.



I wanted to leave my schedule with you in case you could make it. This is a great convention with lots of great seminars to be had.

Feb 8


E-publishing how does it work - Bryan Young, Anne B Walsh, Elaine Corvidae
1:00pm-1:50pm Harrison/Tyler Room  

Intro to graphic novel wri...