Delilah S. Dawson's Blog, page 6

Winter is coming: Let's talk self-care for writers...

Want me to critique 4000 words of your book? I WILL.

My next writing class at LitReactor starts next Tuesday!

Here's the description:

You make the rules, draw the maps, control the characters, and decide exactly what color the sky will be. There are as many ways to build worlds as there are worlds to build. Which is to say: infinite. That will either scare the pants off you or set your mouth watering and your fingers twitching.

Put on your god-pants and get ready to write.

In this class, you'll learn different ways to approach worldbuilding, and how to insure that the world and characters you've created are so real, rich, and strong that they'll suck the reader in from the first page and keep them hungry for more. After all, there's a reason people go to the trouble to learn Klingon or Elvish.

If you have a dream, a hook, a character, a name, a map, the seed of a story idea, Delilah can help you build the world around it.

Whether you start with a character and build a world around them or start with an entire universe to focus in on your story, there are certain things you're going to need. Pretend you're a god building your first Adam.

Here's what's included:

* 4 meaty lectures incorporating worldbuilding, character creation, draft development, and first chapters.

* I will personally critique up to 4000 words of your book. 

* Your fellow students will critique your work, and you'll get to show your chops critiquing their work. And believe me, you learn a TON by identifying the strengths and challenges in the work of other writers.

* I'll show you the first chapter of the very first book I ever wrote, plus the original first chapter of Wicked as They Come... both with blunt critique about what I did wrong.

* I'll be available to you in class discussion and through private message to answer any questions you have about the class, writing, and getting your book ready to query literary agents.

* If you're doing NaNo, I can help massage what you have so far toward publication and offer guidance on how to continue with maximum impact.

The class is entirely online, so you can participate from anywhere in the world. Here's the link.

If you want to level up, come level up with me!

The 10 Main Things That Helped Me Get Published

p.s. Notice anything? The word TALENT isn't here. It's all about time on task and attitude. Just some food for thought.

If you're not finding new music, you're dying inside.

I still remember the first popular song that made me feel alive. Fiercely, aggressively alive. And hungry. It was Lithium by Nirvana. Up until that moment, I'd meandered around the radio stations, bopping along to whatever my parents listened to. I knew what I hated, I knew what I could tolerate, I knew all the words to Prince songs, but nothing lit me up inside like Lithium. I turned the radio up loud and jumped on my bed, and then I began to latch, one by one, onto new songs and devour their albums. Friday in Love led me to The Cure. A boy I liked led me to ska. I cried to the Indigo Girls. Music became the soundtrack of my life, tracking my highs and lows. 

And then, some time after college, I lost my ties to new music. The radio stations only played pop, I had jobs and responsibilities, I didn't have time or money for shows. I wore sensible blouses and pumps. Aside from picking up the new Weezer CD every year, I just lost touch. Looking back, it's hard to trace my feelings because they weren't tied to music. When I got pregnant with my first child, someone gave me The Postal Service CD, and then Californication by RHCP came out, and I listened to them so much that my baby learned to kick in time with Anthony Kiedis, but I wasn't actively seeking new music. A vital part of my emotional life just... dried up. I fell asleep.

As I got back into writing, I used music to help my creative process. For each book, I create a playlist of what the book *feels* like. Not songs that are on the topic of the book, but songs that taste like the book when I sing them with the windows down, barreling down country roads. When I hear that playlist, I'm back in that world, living with those characters. If I get blocked, I go for a drive or take a bath with that music, and it sets me back on track. I write to it, I edit to it, I cogitate to it. And that means that I need new music for every book, because once a song has been used, it's attached to that book forever.

This craving for new music has reignited the passion I felt the first time I heard Lithium. There is no triumph like falling in love with an album and seeing the band perform it live, shouting the lyrics at the top of your lungs. Since I became a writer in 2009, we've seen The Civil Wars, Manchester Orchestra, the Airborne Toxic Event, Mona, Gangstagrass. When I hear these songs, I'm not a worried, aging mom struggling to keep her shit together. I'm 18 again, filled with energy and longing and excitement, my body a live wire. The world feels full, the possibilities seem endless, and I feel refreshed and ready to tackle anything. Science corroborates it-- new music is as rewarding to the brain as sex or money. And it's good for the aging brain. And if it fuels your writing, all the better.

But how do you find new music, especially since you're not 19 and surrounded by college shows and blaring boomboxes? At first, I used Pandora, but it was frustrating. Their algorithms didn't predict my book or tastes, and I could only veto so many songs before I was forced to listen to something I hated. Then I found Spotify, where I pay $9.99 so that I can have all my playlists on my iPod for traveling. I find one song on Spotify that really exemplifies the books--often a song I already know. I pull up that band. And then I click the Related Artists tab. Boom! Dozens of artists doing similar work. I go down the line, checking out the top 5 tracks of each band, which are shown by how many times users have listened, and I add the ones I like to the playlist.

It only takes 20 seconds or less for me to know if a song is going to appeal. If I *really* like a song, I'll just let it play and forget I'm judging it. Sometimes I'll add entire albums. When a band/album stops working for me, I go right back to the original Related Artists tab using the back button. I keep going until I've got a few hours of songs. I'm not horribly picky or trying to write a musical soundtrack to match the highs and lows of the plot-- I just want songs that are atmospheric and fit the book as a whole. When I'm sick of the process, I consider it done, click Play, and start writing.

By the time I've finished a book, I've listened to the playlist hundreds of times.  It becomes a world I inhabit, and that classical conditioning means I can immediately fall into the book and start writing. And then, if I can, I try to find the bands that really clicked and see them live. It's like living inside your book for an hour, being with a great and ferocious animal, feeling its heartbeat thump madly against your chest.

So if you're still listening to your college CDs, I double dog dare you to go out and find something new. Stretch your brain, hack your writing, give yourself a reason to look forward to folding laundry. When I think back to the years that I forgot about the joy of new music, I want to go slap myself and holler, "WAKE UP. STAY WOKE. YOU'RE SLEEPWALKING."

The sleeper has awakened, and she likes modern bluegrass. Who knew?

(p.s. You can hear all my book playlists here. Spotify is free to use. The $9.99 is so that I can store playlists on my iPod and iPad to listen while traveling.)

Everything you wanted to know about vultures but were afraid to ask.

It's launch week, and that means Nettie Lonesome and WAKE OF VULTURES are out in the world. You can buy a copy in e-book, hardcover, or audiobook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Books-A-Million, or even Wal-Mart or Target. You can pick one up at your local indie bookstore. You can buy a signed copy from FoxTale Book Shoppe in Woodstock, GA. And if you email your mailing address to me at whimsydark (at) gmail (dot) com, I'll send you a signed bookplate and swag.

But why should you read it? Maybe these reviews will convince you.

Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Kirkus (starred review)

Library Journal (starred review)

RT Book Reviews (4.5 stars, a Top Pick)

Barnes & Noble SciFi and Fantasy Review (Hint: They loved it!)

Author Kevin Hearne said some very lovely things about it.

 

I've also had the good fortune to yap a lot this week, so here are some guest posts:

The Big Idea at John Scalzi's Whatever (on my Eric Cartman WHATEVA moment)

My Favorite Bit at Mary Robinette Kowal's blog (about being punched in the face)

An interview at LitReactor, where I teach online writing classes

Talking about When Serious Books Come from Silly Places at the B&N SFF Blog

I hope you'll pick up a copy, and if you do, I hope you dig it!

 

Now, back to writing book 2, HORDE OF CROWS...

#WakeofVultures quotes, as chosen by YOU!

Since Wake of Vultures released on Tuesday, I've had an offer going on Twitter: You tweet me a page number between 1 and 335, I'll tweet you a line from the book, chosen just for you. Here are the results. If you like what you see, I hope you'll pick up a copy as hardcover, e-book, or audiobook, wherever books are sold online or at your local indie. And if you tweet me a number, I'll still tweet you a line. Not page 13 or 333, though. Those two are pretty much pecked clean.

Announcing Star Wars: The Perfect Weapon (Subtitle: OMG PINCH ME I AM DREAMING)

My story, THE PERFECT WEAPON, will be out on November 24, and you can pre-order it here. All I'm allowed to say is that it's about Bazine, a character first seen in this Vanity Fair photo. 

If you haven't yet noticed, I'm a huge Star Wars geek, and this is a dream come true.

I hope y'all dig the story! And please send all spare Ewoks to my P.O. Box for proper snuggling.

WICKED EVER AFTER is out now!

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away-- by which I mean 2010 and about 60 miles from here-- my agent asked me what I was working on next. "A book about steampunk vampires and the hero is this guy I saw in a dream named Criminy Stain who talks like Spike on Buffy and looks like Jonathan Rhys Meyers with a ponytail," I said. Thank goodness she waited to read the book before shooting down that pitch. That book became WICKED AS THEY COME, my first traditionally published book. Today, the series ends with WICKED EVER AFTER.

WICKED EVER AFTER is a love song to you, the reader.

It's not a great intro to the series, and it's not a book that's going to get a good review from someone who picks it up without having read anything else in the world. No, it's my attempt to end our time together in Sang with one last adventure, a few more *ahem* physical interludes, and an epilogue that answers all the questions you've been asking. What happened to Lydia? What was in the Lizard Boy's egg? Did Casper really become the King of Freesia? It's all in there, tied up with a bow. Of course, there is one character who ends up being not at all what you thought. You might hate me for that. But a book needs conflict, doesn't it?

In case you missed one of the many books, e-novellas, and short stories in the Blud series, here's a reading list:

1. WICKED AS THEY COME (paperback and e-book) - Now only $1.99 for e-book!

2. The Mysterious Madam Morpho (e-book) - $0.99

3. The Peculiar Pets of Miss Pleasance (e-book) - $1.99

4. WICKED AS SHE WANTS (paperback (out of print but available used) and e-book)

5. The Damsel and the Daggerman (e-book) - $1.99 

6. WICKED AFTER MIDNIGHT (paperbook and e-book)

7. WICKED EVER AFTER ( e-book) - $3.99

They should all be available at Amazon, B&N, or any online retailer. Your local indie bookstore should be able to order any of the paperbacks except for Wicked as She Wants, sadly.

These short stories can be read at any time in the series:

1. The Three Lives of Lydia (paperback, e-book, and audio, in the Carniepunk anthology)

2. Love Song of the Lizard Boy (read for free in Fireside Fiction magazine)

3. Not my Circus, Not my Monkeys (e-book and audiobook, in the Three Slices anthology with Kevin Hearne and Chuck Wendig. Note: The narrator was chosen to sound just like Criminy, and LORDY LOO DOES HE DELIVER.)

4. Uncharming (coming soon in the Unbound anthology from Grim Oak Press)

You guys, it's the end of an era.

I'd just like to thank you all so much for joining me on this journey. The enthusiasm for Criminy Stain and the entire Blud series has been heartwarming and an inspiration to me. Although I'm sad to end my first series, I loved every minute in Sang, and I hope you did, too.

Bludbunnies, WICKED EVER AFTER is dedicated to you. I hope you'll stick with me for the next adventure!

d.

Adopt A HIT!

Do you have room in your heart for an adorable, plucky orphan?

Today in my local used bookstore, I heard a sad sort of whimpering. When I looked down, I saw it. This sweet preemie copy of HIT. Worn and forgotten among among the flashy hardcovers, rarely seen after the cover change to SEXY BLOODY CREDIT CARD, this original-cover ARC is very limited edition, in excellent condition, and desperately in need of someone to love it. Good with cats, is scared of dogs who like chewing, is definitely not for children.

If you think you could give it a great home, just leave a comment below. It can be a limerick, a haiku, a sob story-- anything. Originality counts. I'll pick one lucky winner and send this bouncing baby to you with swag, a signature, and an official adoption card.

For more info on HIT, buy links for the pedigreed hardcover, or to read the first chapter for free, go here: www.hitbookseries.com

Or here, if you're sassy: www.noonereadsthefineprint.com

HIT can't wait to meet you.

Winner will be chosen and announced here and on Twitter and my Facebook author page on 10/9.

HUGE VULTURE GIVEAWAY! BOOKS AND JEWELRY!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

WAKE OF VULTURES is out October 27! So far, it's got some amazing blurbs from leading SFF writers, starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, and Library Journal, and is appearing on the Barnes & Noble Bookseller Picks for October 2015!

If you're in Atlanta on Saturday, October 24 at 1pm, please join me, Cherie Priest, and V. E. Schwab for the WAKE OF VULTURES launch party at FoxTale Book Shoppe in Woodstock, GA! Cake, booze, and books! (All my favorite things...)