Cate Morgan's Blog, page 11

Author’s Log: Ripples Vs. Waves (& #ROW80)

I’m happy–nay, THRILLED–to report the Cold of 2014 has officially been eradicated. I’ve found there are few colds that can stand long against the onslaught of an Irish hot toddy, and this was no exception. The Five-Alarm chili has been consumed (The Tech Monkey started to actually taste it a few days ago, so Score!), and things are more or less back to normal. Thank goodness, because cotton wool where the Gray Matters should be plays merry havoc with both my Divine Muse and my Infernal Editor–meaning very little gets done, and what does get done does so with very little coherency. Much like that last run-on sentence. :-)

Hopefully, this means I’m good for another couple of years. *crosses fingers*

Anyhoo, my first ninety days on KDP Select with THE LADY TENNANT is nearly up, and I’m debating whether I should take it down from Select to distribute widely. On one hand: distributed widely across multiple platforms. On the other hand: the advent of KDP Unlimited. I released LADY TENNANT prior to KU. Which will get me most visibility, and thus more potential reviews? With enough reviews I can then go begging for book ad space. Also, more review=more visibility. I’m still at the point where I have plenty of room to experiment without having to worry about sales.

After listening to Rachel Aaron (aka Rachel Bach) on the Self-Publishing Roundtable last night, and hearing her numbers and how well KU is working for her, I’m tempted to follow suit. Exclusivity sucks–we all know this. On the other hand, Amazon has done eye-popping things to make exclusivity more attractive to indie authors. For one, I’d get paid for borrows, and my ranking would go up. Plus, borrows may decide to buy the book if they like it, or my next book. Or put my name on their Must Have list, and/or join my newsletter so they’re notified of when I have a new book out.

Will I get more visibility on KU, or by distributing across platforms? If I decide to stick with KDP Select, how do I compensate my readers who don’t have/want a KDP platform? Rachel Aaron/Bach responds to reader emails with free copies of her books. If I’m going to make mistakes, NOW is the time to make them–when I’ll make ripples instead of tidal waves.

On this note, I also picked up David Gaughran’s new edition of Let’s Get Digital this week. As the Grand Master Poobah of all things Self-Publishing, I’m interested to see his take on the current industry, and what and isn’t working.

In other news, the plot bunny that smacked me between the eyes a couple of weeks ago has been growing like Tweety Bird after taking a Jekyll/Hyde potion. In other words, like a big, drooly monster. I had this slated to start production in the first quarter of next year, but I’m not sure it can remain contained for that long. I opened a new Scrivener project for it to get all my notes in, and started a Save The Cat plotting worksheet. The world is pretty much building itself without any help from me, and the characters are coming to life even in my dreams. This must be what it’s like to be struck by lightning. Or something.

So I’ve been eyeing November as my next non-drafting month to potential relieve the building pressure of this project that SO DESPERATELY wants to be written. We’ll see if I make it that far, since the opening scene downloaded itself directly into my brain, in its entirety. *dazed*

Oh, hey–look! Goals!

 

DRAFTING: FALLEN ANGEL (Waking Muse #3)–On Track

I hit the 25% mark this week, so YAY! I made my 9K-10K weekly word count goal this week without too much trouble, despite being hindered by The Cold. Two more times, and I’ll have a rough draft complete. I always dread the Act II Slog, so hopefully with my plotting worksheet in hand I’ll be able to navigate my way through to Midpoint without too much trouble. That quarter of a manuscript is usually my trouble spot. Like, La Brea Tar Pits trouble.

2. IN REVISION: Keepers of the Flame #4–Getting There

I didn’t get quite as much accomplished on this one this week as I would have liked, but that should pick up again this week. I’m hoping to get at least 2/3 of the way through by the end of the week. This one begins really well, but I feel like I lost control of it somewhere in the second third, so I anticipate a lot of hacking and slashing. But I love how completely badass Tess is–my whiskey-drinking, cigar-smoking, sword-wielding heroine can rock the cowboy hat like no one else I’ve ever met. She drives like a banshee out of Hell, and is something of an adrenaline junkie. I refer to her as my Big Damn Hero, since she’s a Texas-bred combination of Zoe and Jayne from Firefly. In case you couldn’t tell, I kind of have a crush on her. I hope my readers will, too, because she’s kind of awesome.

COMPLETE/RELEASE: HEARTH & HOME (Waking Muse #2)–Quest Completed!

HEARTH & HOME is now officially uploaded–YAY!! I even started a H&H Pinterest board so I can save post recipes to it. September 26 can’t come fast enough. :-D

Your turn–how are you guys doing in the final stretch?

Author’s Log: We Has A Cold Edition (& #ROW80)

This week the Writer Monkey household came down with colds. For the record, I’ve haven’t had one in, oh, about two years. I don’t get sick very often, but when I do, I do it GOOD. Like, soul-destroying good.

Example: The Tech Monkey came home from school with a stomach flu. Normally, I would have a day of mild discomfort, but that’s all. THIS time, however, it blossomed into full-blown IBS. I now have to manage it with supplements and dietary restrictions.

Do you know how hard it was to give up my daily cuppa hot coffee? I LOVE COFFEE. Now, no more hot coffee for me. *sobs*

The week after Labor Day the Tech Monkey came home from work with Horrible Scratchy Throat. As per Monkey House Rule Number 7, I made my 3-meat, 5-bean chili (one bean for each alarm). Two days later, despite sleeping on the couch (I managed to avoid his last cold by doing this), I came down with Horrible Scratchy Throat.

Great.

If I get sick, I take it personally. Because I do whatever is necessary not to get sick. When I am sick, I do whatever is necessary to make sure no one else does. Someone in my office gets sick, I turn into the Germ Raider, double-fisting Lysol and Chlorox until my entire cubicle area is doused. Then I bulk up on Vitamin C health packs.

Thankfully, this cold never made it into my chest (the Tech Monkey is still horking up some epic nasty), and only got into minor congestion territory that I treated with copious amounts of my family hot toddy recipe (Mentholmint Schnapps AND whiskey in boiling hot water from the kettle–necessary to released the Irish goodness–and then add lemon wedge and honey).

This made getting through Keepers #3 editorial revisions with less pain that I anticipated. I submitted the edits back to Editor Awesome on Wednesday. Next comes line edits from Editor Eagle-Eye, probably in another few months.

On to the goals!

1. DRAFTING: FALLEN ANGEL–Waking Muse #3

I started drafting my rough draft this week. After an initial rough start, I seemed to have found my stride, and am now merrily making with the typeity-typeity. The Save The Cat outline/pacing spreadsheet I used is really coming in handy. I have a feeling it will also help me with revisions when the time comes. I’ve inched my way to my Inciting Incident (10% mark), and am now making strides to First Plot Point (25%). I’m still angling toward 10K words a week.

2. IN REVISION: Keepers of the Flame #4

I plan to start on this on Monday the 15th, using the master Save The Cat spreadsheet to making sure I’m hitting things when and where they need to be hit. I also want to make sure I’m hitting my romance arc plot points at the appropriate juncture.

3. COMPLETE/RELEASE: HEARTH & HOME–Waking Muse #2

I’ve FINALLY completed the final scene rewrite I desperately needed to do. And not a moment too soon–I’ve started getting nasty grams from KDP about uploading my final draft for my pre-order. Yeesh. One final polish, to make sure everything’s in place, add the FALLEN ANGEL excerpt to the back matter, and I’m ready to go. Like, today. HUZZAH!

And also, WHEW.

Your turn–how’re your pre-autumn goals going? Are the kiddies back in school yet, or are you counting the days?

 

Author’s Log: In Which Plot Happens (& #ROW80)

“I love deadlines. I like the ‘whooshing’ noise they make as they fly by.” ~Douglas Adams

Hoo-da-lally, folks. Talk about deadlines. They’re all whooshing about my head like a flock of blue birds over the head of a cartoon character just after they’ve been flattened by an anvil. Occasionally they dive bomb me. Deadlines, not anvils.

Anyway.

Here’s what landed in my lap this week, aside from Ninja Katz:

I refined my plotting for FALLEN ANGEL (Waking Muse #3). Over on www.jamigold.com I came across not only Blake Snyder’s Save The Cat Story Planning Worksheet, but Jami quite cleverly came up with a similar Planning Worksheet geared toward romance story lines. Both worksheets automatically calculate word and page counts for each story beat and plot point. It’s in Excel, and I’m a geek, so I squee’d all over myself and proceeded to re-outline my entire story in a matter of days by using a combination of both worksheets.
I’m nearly finished with revisions on HEARTH & HOME (Waking Muse #2). Because I’ve got this book on Pre-Order on Amazon, I’ve got to have the final draft in by September 16. I’ve got one scene to rewrite and a final chapter to polish, and then I’m good to go.
I received 1st Round Edits back from Editor Awesome on BRIGHID’S FLAME (Keepers of the Flame #3). Apparently I’m still having some minor POV issues, and an overusage of wandering body parts–hands shooting out to pummel someone, etc. Editor Awesome does love how “completely badass” Tara is in every scene, and she enjoyed how sweet the love story is. Edits are due September 12, so that’s what I’m focussing on this weekend.

Odds And Ends

I got smacked between the eyes with a plot bunny this week (Killer Rabbits?! RUNAWAY!!) It was so sudden and persistent the main characters and a great deal of world building got directly downloaded into my brain from on high, which was swiftly followed by the entire first scene.

I don’t want to wait to write this story (based on my current schedule, it’ll be years before I would get to it), so I may have to draft this during my next official drafting break as a side project. I haven’t decided whether this project will be self-published or if I’ve going to send it Editor Awesome’s way for Samhain.

Also this month, I want to update all my book links on my self-pubbed list to include my newsletter for Speculative Ink.

> DRAFTING: FALLEN ANGEL

I’m shooting for 9-10k words per week again on this one (when I’m fast-drafting I can usually get in a little over 3K per writing session). That should get me through one act per week, at 3-4 writing sessions per week.

> IN REVISION: Keepers #4

Once BRIGHID’S FLAME edits are back to Editor Awesome, I’ll do a read-through on Keepers #4, make line edits and corrections as I go, and make document notes in Scrivener on the major stuff I need to do. Once I have a To-Do list, I’ll make the revision, give ‘er a final polish, and send it off to BETA readers for their assessment in October.

> COMPLETE/RELEASE: HEARTH & HOME

This book is scheduled for release on September 26, but because I’ve got it on the Amazon Pre-Order program, I’ve got to have the final draft uploaded before then. Once I complete revisions, I’ll add an excerpt from FALLEN ANGEL to the manuscript, cross my fingers, and upload the final.

I’m not quite sure how this KDP Select experiment of mine is working, as it’s still early days. In March of next year I’ll see how the numbers look, to see if KDP Select is worth the exclusivity time. If you want to read any of the Waking Muse books in any other format, let me know through my Contact Cate link and and I’ll get you review copies.

So what have you guys got going on for September? Are the kiddies back in school? Looking forward to fall?

 

Perfect Is The Enemy Of Done (#IWSG)

So…exactly just how “good” is “good enough”?

Talk about a loaded question. That’s a double-barrelled shotgun, if I ever saw one.

It’s difficult to know, isn’t it? When you’re as close to your work as writers tend to be, it’s difficult to gain a proper perspective. I mean, if your art and craft is building tables, it’s pretty easy to tell when a table is done, and whether or not it wobbles on one leg.

The “good enough” debate with the Infernal, Internal Editor usually happens when a first draft is complete. So much potential there. Also, so much terror.

This is why it’s so important we have BETA readers, and editors (of the non-Infernal variety), and writing groups to help us gain the needed perspective. But there comes a point when the revisions and rewrites must end, and we must put our stories into the world.

Instant panic attack, for some of us. Even when instinct tells us we did as good a job as we could possibly do, we have that little voice that tells us “Just one more pass. What could it hurt?”

Well, I’m here to tell you that Perfect does not been Done. Rather, Perfect is the ENEMY of Done.

I say this because 1) stories are an artform as well as craft, it’s all subjective. What’s perfect to you (or your Infernal Editor), won’t be perfect for everyone; and, 2) you could go on revising forever, searching for Perfect, and end up revising the life right out of your story. After awhile your story loses its vibrancy along with your unique voice, and becomes sterile.

Who wants sterile in their art? A sterile painting, after all, is a blank canvas.

There comes a time when you just have to let your story out into the Big Bad World, and move on to the next one. And then the next, and then the next.

So do the very best job you possibly can. Tell your Infernal Editor to shut the hell up. Release your story into the world, and keep writing. That’s how we get the job done.

COVER ART REVEAL: Hearth & Home AND Brighid’s Flame!

Surprise! It’s double trouble today, because I’ve got not one but TWO covers to reveal!

Find out more about HEARTH & HOME

Find out more about BRIGHID’S FLAME

I’m super thrilled to be able to bring both titles to you within the next SIX months (whew, that’s a lot of work, especially with the third Waking Muse title currently in production for release in December)!

And, of course, I’m always happy for the chance to give away review copies and exclusive content like they’re going out of style, which is why I’ve recently started two, shiny newsletters. Now you can get all the cool stuff directly to your inbox!

Check out Speculative Ink for genre titles like BRIGHID’S FLAME, or Heart Linked for straight romance titles like HEARTH & HOME.

In other news, THE LADY TENNANT (Waking Muse #1) can be purloined for 99c as a Kindle Countdown deal from Sept 1 thru Sept 8 in honor of HEARTH & HOME’s release on Sept 26.

Author’s Log: Flight of the Bumblebee Edition (& #ROW80)

 

Crazy Sauce, people. Crazy. Sauce. With an extra side of the cray-cray, lemme tell you.

It’s hard to believe that today is the last day of August, and therefore the last day of my drafting break. Luckily, this weekend is a three day weekend for me, which means that tomorrow (Monday) I GET THE HOUSE TO MYSELF. *gasp*

Yes, it will be a day of grown-up Underoos, monster feet slippers, and Lucky Charms.

Well, maybe not. (But I would totally buy grown-up Underoos.)

Clearly I do not get the house to myself often enough, if this is how I would squander the opportunity.

Actually, it’s a good thing this is a three-day weekend, because I have a LOT of revisions to get through before I hit the ground running for September. I have some fairly instense rewrites to get through on HEARTH & HOME (Waking Muse #2) because, once again, I’m falling short on the Feels. Not a good thing with romance. And the Hammer totally called me out on glossing over the romance, which is why j’adore her. Her instincts are always dead on.

Also, some of her comments make me LMAO. More than once the Tech Monkey has found me curled in the fetal position, crying with laughter. And it’s my own fault, because I triggered it.

Me: *helpless laughter*

TM: …I thought you were working?

Me: *still laughing* Soup babble! Inportune explosions! HA!!

TM: Ohhhh-kay. *backs away slowly*

Morale: Everyone needs an editor. Everyone. Even Stephen King (if you read 11/22/63, you know what I’m talking about).

Not sure you need an editor? Read the above, and then hire The Hammer at The Forge. You won’t be sorry.

And now, we return you to our regularly scheduled programming.

September 1 is going to be the Day of Days for me. Here’s what I’ve got to accomplish this weekend to make sure the Things That Must Happen actually, yanno, HAPPENS.

THE LADY TENNANT (Waking Muse #1): Update front and back matter and upload to Amazon in anticipation for the Kindle Countdown I have scheduled for Sept 1-8.
HEARTH & HOME (Waking Muse #2): Finish rewrites and upload to Amazon for the Pre-Order I have scheduled for Sept 1.
FALLEN ANGEL Waking Muse #3): Attempt to schedule Pre-Order for December 2014.

As soon as I have the first chapter drafted for FALLEN ANGEL, I can then add it to the back matter of HEARTH & HOME in time for its release on Sept. 26.

Also on Sept 1, I’ve scheduled my Double-Trouble Cover Reveal for HEARTH & HOME and BRIGHID’S FLAME. YAY!!

So that’s just this weekend alone. Stompy Monster Feet Slippers indeed. Here’s what my September looks like, Production-wise:

FALLEN ANGEL (Waking Muse #3): DRAFTING. I’ve been looking forward to writing this one for a long time, but after the feedback I got from The Hammer for the first two books, I’m going to have to give some serious development thought to the romantic conflict and arc. And then go for the throat.
BRIGHID’S FLAME (Keepers of the Flame #3): POST-PRODUCTION. As mentioned above, Cover Art will be revealed tomorrow (and it. Is. GORGEOUS!) Editor Awesome tells me she’s going to start edits this week, so that means I’ll have at least one editorial pass this month.
BRIGHID’S LOST (Keepers of the Flame #4): IN REVISION. I can’t believe I’m on the fourth book to this series (I’m planning on nine or ten, depending on how things develop.) I’m planning on submitting the manuscript to Editor Awesome in November for consideration at Samhain.

Lots to do, lots to do. And this with a book launch on the, er, books.

It’s a three day weekend. I’ve got a full cuppa tea, half a manuscript of revisions, it’s dark, and I’m wearing sunglasses.

Hit it.

 

 

 

Author’s Log: August Wrap-Up (& #ROW80)

As a kid growing up in Southern California, and then later as an adult shoveling my way through the snow of the northern Midwest, summer was always my favorite season.

As I got older, however, autumn has more or less supplanted summer in my affections, not the least of which because summers in Florida are more or less one big swamp of general unbearableness. The heat is affecting me more the older I get, so now I actually look forward to summer ending and fall beginning. Then, of course, there’s the clear blue skies and palm trees on Christmas morning to look forward to.

This last week we celebrated our birthday, precious, wherein I was gifted with comic books (Angel Season 6 and Jericho Seasons 3 and 4) and a magificent Tech Monkey (fomerly the Chef Monkey) birthday feast of lobster tail and shrimp scampi, steamed mussels in sherry and cream sauce (an Irish favorite), cheeseboard and pate. I’m still staring part of a cheesecake in the face, and it’s staring back.

I will not be defeated by cheesecake.

At the day job I started the day off with a fire drill–I start a little later than everyone else, so everyone was already gathered in the parking lot when I pull in. Many birthday jokes were made, because nothing harbrings an interesting day like starting a working birthday with a fire drill. I also got permanently pulled from our department’s phone queue due to another reorganization that aligned me into more of a research/accounting role for our special billing platform (geek speak for “I spend my life in reports and spreadsheets making the pretty numbers dance”). This means that for the first time in fifteen years, I am not answering phones.

As you can imagine, this makes me VERY, VERY HAPPY.

I’m now more or less autonomous, and this also makes me happy. *bliss*

So we’ve got one least week in August, and I begin drafting again on Sept 1 (Waking Muse #3). I’ll also be revising Keepers #4, and releasing Waking Muse #2 on Sept 26. At some point, I’m sure, I’ll have to go through edits on Keepers #3.

That being said, here’s what August clean up is going to look like:

1. HEARTH & HOME (Waking Muse #2): POST PRODUCTION

Amazon just started allowing indies to offer Pre-Orders, so I’m getting as much as possible lined up so I can take advantage. I’m hoping to open a pre-order on HEARTH on Sept 1 and schedule one for Waking Muse #3 for the end of December.

Cover Art is now complete, will be revealed next Sunday. I need to finish up front and back matter, and I’ve got my edits back from The Hammer I need to work through. The latter will be my main focus this week, and luckily next weekend is a three-day weekend for me.

2. FALLEN ANGEL (Waking Muse #3): PRE-PRODUCTION

This week, during my lunch hours, I’m going to lay down some story beats based on the plot structure I built. If I Spin Down The Page in plot sections three or four times, I should be able to empty the entire thing down onto the page and therefore out of my brain so I can piece it all together and have a map to draft with. My drafting brain should be good and rested by now, so if I can keep up my previous word counts in September, I should have a viable rough draft without too much trouble. I anticipate being able to release this one the day after Christmas.

3. THE MINSTREL’S DAUGHTER–ACT II: IN REVISION

I’ve only got a couple of chapters left, but I want to give it one more pass before putting it back in the marination bin. Act IIs are notoriously sloggy, so I need to make sure I cut out all the unneccessary fat and keep the momentum going. I also need to keep an eye out for places I can make scenes do double or even triple duty, and makes sure I have balance between my plot threads.

Okay, guys–your turn. How do you plan to close out the hottest month of the year?

 

Author’s Log: Dog Days Of Summer (& #ROW80)

For those of you who don’t know what “dogs days of summer” means, you probably haven’t lived in the South. Hoo-da-LALLY, y’all. I know this is Florida and all, but we’re generally a bit more temperate on the central gulf side–I don’t even want to know what Miami’s like right now.

Back when the Tech Monkey and I used to spend Halloween in New Orleans, the weather was comparable to the Midwest at the high point of summer, but with more humidity. One of the lovely gentlemen who ran the B&B we stayed at (the bottom level of their Garden District house, essentially (if it’s still over on Thalia Avenue after Katrina, I highly recommend staying there if you get the chance, as you’ll get the B&B portion of the house to yourself), once likened New Orleans in August to being like inside of a dog’s mouth: hot, humid, and downright stinking.

I’ve never forgotten that. In fact I regret not having the opportunity to use it when I wrote BRIGHID’S MARK. Naturally, I’ll have to write another story in New Orleans, or a character from there, just so I can use it.

So I took an entire week off of anything writing-related. Not having any new drafting scheduled this month, I’m enjoying the much-needed break. I’ve been bingeing on books and Netflix, mainly–i.e., refilling the well. I got the Tech Monkey to start watching White Collar with me during our TV nites on Tuesdays and Thursdays, in preparation for drafting Waking Muse #3 in September.

Also, lots of violin and piano practice, and getting my office in order so I can move back into it at some point with my brand new desk of Massive, Epic, Authorness ™. Somehow, the Tech Monkey and I have managed build domestic life in the past fourteen years that resembles that of a couple of college roommates. So my epic quest this month is to Purge, Baby, Purge!

1. Pre-Production: FALLEN ANGEL (Waking Muse #3)–This is pretty much plotted at this point, and my characters are pretty well set. I’ve got my artist, Cassidy, my con man Nick, and my antagonist as Cassidy’s uncle Sol, her mother’s brother who wants to pull her back into the family of travellers Cassidy’s mom escaped with the help of her dad, who was Nick’s mentor. I’m taking an ambitious plot involving more than one con, so I’ll need to pace myself carefully.

2. In Revision: THE MINSTREL’S DAUGHTER–I generally work in chapter groups of three, because of how my pacing–the building and execution of my plot points–works, and because three chapters is about all I can manage in a single session. I may have to graph my plot threads–I have three–just to make sure everything’s woven properly. And also because, well, geek.

3. Post-Production: HEARTH & HOME (Waking Muse #2)–My manuscript is still in the hot, pink-wielding hands of The Hammer. I’ve finished the cover copy, and I’m working on proofs for my cover art. I still need to work on front and back matter, and to add the Heart recipes. I’m still on point to release at the end of September.  Word has it Amazon has announced pre-order capabilities for indie authors, so YAY. Depending on how final polishing goes, I may have to utilize this.

How about you guys? How are you surviving the Dog Days of Summer?

 

 

 

 

Author’s Log: August Goals (& #ROW80)

JULY GOAL ROUNDUP:

Finish Drafting SEARCHER: Act II—Quest Completed! I’m a little more than 60K in, and ramping up for the final push. Just 30K more to go, which I’ll start in October. I ended up giving myself an extra, much-needed week on this one, which worked out since I had my local Comic Con last weekend, and no official drafting happening for the month of August.
Revise HEARTH & HOME (Waking Muse #2)—Quest Completed! I got draft #3 off to The Pink Hammer for a vigorous bout of editing and critiques, paid her very reasonable bill, and I should have everything back from her by August 22. As always, I’m looking forward to getting her notes back, as she’s unbelievably thorough and gives me plenty to do to improve upon the story. This is also gives me a solid month to work on rewrites prior to release at the end of September.
Develop TARA (Origins #3)—Quest Completed! I won’t be drafting this one for quite a while, since BRIGHID’S FLAME (Keepers of the Flame #3) won’t be out until March 2015, and I release the corresponding companion story a month prior (since they’re origin stories). But it’s nice to have initial Pre-Production in the bag, because I can refine my outline and story beats as I go through edits on Keepers #3 for Editor Awesome at Samhain.

All in all, I’m EXTREMELY happy with the way my new drafting schedule is going. I’m knocking out more words than ever, but am feeling rested and refreshed every time I sit down to work. And I’m sure the Tech Monkey appreciates not having to deal with my GO AWAY face every day, which makes for a much happier Tech Monkey, let me tell you. :-D

AUGUST GOALS:

Post-Production on HEARTH & HOME: Now that Waking Muse #2 is in the very capable, pink-wielding hands of my indie editor (don’t let the pink fool you—she’s one tough cookie!), I need to start the Post-Production wheels turning on this project. This means I need to get together cover art, jacket copy, and all those things that package a book into a Book, up to and including adding the receipes from Ian’s fictional restaurant to the back matter.
Pre-Production on FALLEN ANGEL (Waking Muse #3): Character profiles and back stories, plotty goodness—everything needs to be ready to rock and roll before September, when I begin drafting. I captured a surprising Plot Bunny the other day that I think will make the story doubly exciting, so I’m looking forward to digging in. It opened a window into my heroine’s back story, while also revealing the antagonist, so it looks like I’m well on my way. I’ve always wanted to write a con artist/art theft story! :-)
Revise THE MINSTREL’S DAUGHTER—Act II: The second Act on this one was a little rough going for me drafting-wise, especially once I’d reached Midpoint—it was an uphill struggle to Plot Point 2. That means this section of the manuscript will, most likely, entail a lot of work since I figured things out later rather than sooner. Now’s my chance to tear it apart with a pair of mental seam rippers and stitch it up again, nice and trim.

And that’s about it for the updates. I’ve got a nice three-week break off from drafting, so there’s no reason I can’t get everything done that I want to this month. I might tinker a bit with a side project here and there, in case I get itchy drafting fingers, but there’s no solid deadline hanging over my head. It makes for a nice change, and I should be good and refreshed come September.

Here’s to hoping everyone has a good, productive August!

PSA: We Are Better Than Than This (#IWSG)

So it’s another installment of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group, and I was totally going to write about something else. But, well, my local Comic Con was this weekend, and I’m feeling just a bit stabby.

Don’t get me wrong. It was a great Con. And other than a couple of minor incidents, everyone was kind, and polite, and enthusiastic about getting their Geek on with whole droves of other Geeks, at which point our energy reserves (and wallets) were slowly drained over the course of the weekend. YAY, CON!

It’s about one of those incidents that I want to write about today, because I’m noticed a disturbing trend of late–a trend, I’m sorry to say, that has bled over into author culture. It’s got to do with preconcieved notions standing in as fact, and this whole, strange reversal that’s going on.

As we’re all well aware, not so long ago, it wasn’t considered good to be a nerd or a geek. Now it’s mainstream, and awesome, and cool. And now, well…I’m not sure what’s happening. But I can’t say that it’s good, either.

Back in The Day, geeks and nerds were known for accepting everyone, regardless of well, anything. It didn’t matter what color, sex, or creed you were–if you were a fan of comics, gaming, the Sci-Fi/Fantasy culture, then you were eagerly pulled into the inner circle and invited to squee! to your heart’s content. Newbies were ALWAYS welcome. Now, with the influx of Mainstream being introduced to All Things Geek and enjoying the energy or synergy, or whatever it is, some of my fellow Geeks–I hate to say it, but they’re not being so kind.

In fact, they’re kind of being snobs.

During the Con, as the Tech Monkey and I were in costume–he as a mighty Sith, I in full Steampunk regalia. Mainly because it’s the only thing I can fit into these days. (Yes Wii-Fit–I miss you, too.) As we trolled a weapons booth, someone complimented me on my costume and asked me where I got a few of the accessories. We Squeed a bit about Steampunk, and she went on to ask me my opinion about one of her own, handmade accessories, and if I would consider it Steampunk. I gave her a resounding “yes”. It was clear she was feeling a little let down.

Apparently, someone at a booth felt it necessary to “school” her on what was Steampunk, and what was not. It was her first costume–basic and homemade, and a bit of a work in progress (as many of our costumes are), and it was her first Con. In short, her costume was just fine, in my book.

I don’t know if this Booth “Expert” realized they were being unkind, if they cared, or if they thought they were truly being helpful, or were just trying to sell her something. I just know it has to stop.

We are Geeks. WE ARE BETTER THAN THIS.

Steampunk is fiction. Who are you to tell a fresh-faced and enthusiastic newbiw what it is or isn’t? Fiction is what we want it to be. Had she been wearing a light saber and called it Steampunk, I would have been right there with her. How dare you try to curb her imagination into what YOU think Steampunk is, or isn’t.

It’s fiction. THERE ARE NO RULES.

*pant pant*

Now. Unfortunately, I’ve also seen a similar trend in author culture. The good news is, I’m not about to jump into the “Us And Them” fray of traditional publishing and self-publishing, because I do both. Not so long ago, we were having the same arguement as to whether eBooks were real books or not, and whether eBook publishers were just glorified vanity publishers (Hint: my publisher is primarily an eBook publisher, and was considered one of the black-hearted rebels of the time. Now they’re considered traditional publishers.)

But the snarling back and forth across the Big Black Line is getting a little ridiculous. Some authors, on both sides of the divide, are not being so kind to another. Sometimes I feel like we’re a pack of ravening hounds, waiting to be released at another to get the other team off our lawns. I mean, really.

A lot of the vitriol seems to come from pre-coneived notions of what’s a book, who’s really an author, and spouting things they think they know, because it was on the internet.

We’re authors. Whatever happened to critical reading and thinking? In my experience, readers don’t tend to care who published a book (if they notice at all)–they just want a damned good story, and, as consumers, more bang for their buck. Let THEM decide what they’re willing to pay, and for what. Value is in the eye of the beholder. And publishers don’t sell to readers, anyway–they sell to distributors.

The question is, why aren’t we supporting each other, whatever publishing route we decide to take? Why do we sneer at another if we decide to go the self-publishing road, or look down on those who decide to persue, or stay with, their traditional publisher?

We’re authors. There are (now) very few rules, if any. We’re still watching to find out what’s going to happen, and it’s a very exciting time for all of us. Say it with me now:

WE ARE BETTER THAN THIS.

Also, be kind to one another, and don’t judge. A writer’s journey is a very personal thing, and if you think you know what a “real” writer is, stop that. Because you have no idea what someone else’s journey entails.

Thank you. That is all.