Michael Langlois's Blog, page 13

2011:Lessons Learned

2011 was grand.  I didn't plan it that way, and I certainly didn't expect it to take the turns that it did, but looking back I have to say that overall it was pretty friggin' sweet.  I had a few successes, some of them in spite of myself, and that was cool.  But most importantly, I learned some things that I badly needed to learn.  Here's what 2011 taught me:

Do It Now

I wish I could do that, but I just don't have time.  2011 was the year I learned to quit using that phrase.  The truth is, 99% of us really do have the time to do cool things, what we don't have is the ability to make it a priority.  In my case it was writing novels, but it could have been anything.  Learn an instrument, be an activist, do more with the family, whatever.  When I said I didn't have time, what I really meant was that I would rather spend the time I did have playing games, hanging out on the internet, or watching movies.

During 2011, I had a 60 hour a week job and a family.  I also managed to put out two novels.  Not because I'm just that awesome, but because I made writing a priority over entertaining myself.  And you know what?  I still ended up having time for that, too.  Not as much, certainly, but I didn't have to give it up entirely.  Every long term effort has to be sustainable, and I found that doing what was important first made it possible in the long term.  I could never have become a work-every-minute-forever kind of guy for more than a few months before I threw in the towel, but it turned out that I didn't have to.  All it took was the commitment to take care of business first.  The next time you're about to sit down in front of the TV, remember that you can do something that matters to you instead.  The TV will still be there when you're done.

There's No Shame in Asking for Help

Everything I've ever done that was worth a damn, I did with the help of other people.  My wife and friends mostly, but also professionals that were willing to share their expertise, both paid and unpaid.  The real lesson wasn't really that I needed help, it was learning to accept it.  Criticism at its best is really just pointing out where you screwed up and how.

Don't be defensive.  Don't make excuses about why it has to be that way or start on some long rambling story about how it got there, just suck it up, admit that you were wrong, and fix it.  Don't get me wrong, not every criticism is valid, but by and large if someone makes the effort to point it out to you, especially if that someone is an expert, you should really make an effort to stand on your ego and listen.

Helping Others is Helping Yourself

This is something that I knew before 2011, but it really came into focus this last year.  When you help someone else, you end up getting at least as much out of it as the other person.  Also, just because you happen to know more about a particular thing right now, that doesn't mean that whoever you're helping doesn't know more than you about a half-dozen other things.  You're not handing down wisdom from some plateau to the clueless throng below you, you're loaning a cup of sugar to a neighbor who may well be a better baker than you.  I can't tell you how many times I've shared something with another person, only to turn right around and get help from them on something else.  Also, don't keep score.  Give what you can, when you can.  Don't worry about getting as much as you give.  Trust me, you're getting plenty by being there for someone else when they need it.

Be Grateful

This one is easy.  I had way more success in 2011 than I had any right to expect.  Part of it was hard work, part was because I had help from amazing people, and a large part was just good old fashioned luck.  I have no illusions about taking all the credit, believe me.

For everyone who helped me along the way in 2011, including all of those who took a chance on an unknown author with their hard earned money, thanks.  You have my gratitude.

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Happy New Years! All books Free This Weekend!

It was a fantastic 2011, so to ring in the new year, I'm giving away both of my books for free!  This is only going to last for the weekend, at which point I'll go back to being a greedy bastard, so get 'em now.

This is for the electronic editions only:

Bad Radio can be found here, and Walker can be found here.

Thanks for a great year and be safe this weekend!

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Dog Scarf

I promised that I would post this:

Really? A Scarf? You realize that this isn't food, right?

This is Cher at her grandmother's house, wearing her new pink scarf.

Which is inedible, and therefore a terrible Christmas present.

 

 

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Home at Last

As is our tradition, we spent the Christmas holidays in Louisiana with the parents and extended families.  Being there was big fun as always, but I always dread the drive there and back.  It's basically eight hours of monotonous highway driving in a straight line, which is mind-numbingly boring.  However, this year we came back via a slightly different route, one that had us cutting across the edge of the Mississippi border, and letting us see Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas all in one drive.

It wasn't any faster, but we did get to see some really beautiful scenery.  There's something about long asphalt roads cutting through vast stands of pine trees that reminds me how much I love the places where I grew up.  The towns are small and every gas station has a tiny food counter full of amazing things like boudain balls and meat pies.

I complain about the drive every year, but only now am I starting to realize how much seeing this part of the country means to me.

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Everyone Loves Presents

Everyone loves presents? THEN I ARE PRESENTS!

Seriously, though.  I are totally a presents.

 

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Happy Holidays: Walker is Free Today!

Click Me!

Like a lot of you, I'll be traveling for the holidays.  And part of my routine when preparing to take a trip is to make sure to pack enough books to last me through the trip.  Naturally, because I'm cheap, my solution was always to steal borrow books from my friends right before I left.

This year, in honor of my annual book scrounging tradition, I thought I'd try being the one giving out books instead.

Thanks very much for all your support this last year, it's meant a lot to me.

Happy holidays!

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Game Day: Sea of Blood

I spent the day playing Descent, specifically another session of our Sea of Blood campaign.

First there was the epic sea battle:

Monsters make terrible sea captains, fyi

 

And then the landing on fabulous MONSTER ISLAND!

Island? Check. Monsters? Oh, yeah.

I love Monster Island, but I have to tell you, the place has really gone to hell since those adventurers moved in.  All in all, we had huge fun, even if the heroes did manage to kill most of the Overlord's precious monsters and steal all of his hard won treasure.

I'm gonna be pretty sad when this campaign is over.  All I'll have to remember it by are these pictures.

And bunch of hero skulls on my mantel.

 

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Gamer Gifts 2011: Super Dungeon Explore

Similar to my beloved Descent, SDE is all about a noble dungeon owner trying to spread love and peace via monster hugs, and being attacked by treasure-thieving home invaders that call themselves heroes.  Luckily, monsters love tasty heroes, so it all works out.

Here's the BGG summary:

Super Dungeon Explore (SDE) is a dungeon crawler, inspired by old japanese console-RPG's. The miniatures are done in a cute / chibi / super-deformed style, that means the head is roughly the same size as the rest of the body.

One to five players take the role of classic fantasy heroes like the human paladin, a dwarf fighter or an elf ranger. One player is the "Dark Consul" who controls the monsters of the dungeon.

Every hero/monster has a character card which informs you about the stats for movement, attack, armor, willpower, dexterity, action points and hearts (= life points). Additional information may include special abilities / actions / attacks and potions.

The game is played on modular dungeon boards. In a round of play the game passes back and forth between single heroes and the monsters, but the exact order may change from round to round. The characters use the stats from their character card, special dice (with hearts, potions and stars) are only used for combat and checks. If the heroes wound the opponent they may draw loot cards to improve their stats. There is also the possibility to open treasure chests to find even more powerful things. The monsters have no possibility to "level up" but the Dark Consul has an unlimited number of them.

To win the game the Dark Consul must defeat all heroes in his dungeon. The heroes must defeat all monsters and destroy all spawning points (= entry points for new monsters) to be victorious.

One caveat, the miniatures are super detailed and high quality, but require assembly.  That's not really my strong suit, but luckily for me, I happen to have a friend who can be bribed to assemble and paint these bad boys for me.  [THANKS, JASON!]  It doesn't hurt that he's a genius at this stuff, and can do it in a fraction of the time and with way better results than a mere mortal.  That said, even if you don't have access to a miniature-painting demigod, you can glue and assemble the pieces without too much trouble.

Here's a review from Tom Vasel at The Dice Tower (Hint: he loves it!)

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Working in the Word Mines – Discipline

Being privileged to work hard for long hours at something you think is worth doing is the best kind of play.  - Robert Heinlein

If writing were an old school martial arts movie, the secret technique handed down by the grizzled old master just before the big fight would be called Buttocks Grip Chair.  That's because the single hardest part about being a writer is the actual work of sitting down and wrestling the keyboard for hours on end.  It's the best part, too, don't get me wrong, but the discipline required to get it done day after day is hard to come by.  Like a muscle, your willpower will get stronger the more you use it, but in the meantime, here are some things you can do to keep your head down and fingers moving.

Don't Wait for Inspiration

If you want to get serious about writing, you can't wait to be in the mood or hold off until that moment when inspiration strikes.  The mood is whatever you feel when it's time to write, and the inspiration is 'my story isn't finished yet'.  You can write without the perfect conditions, and you'll be surprised how similar your output is.  Just start working.

Defend Your Time

It's hard to put the effort into starting a writing session if you know that you're going to be interrupted anyway.  It takes a good twenty minutes for me to get into the flow, and each interruption starts that timer over again.  It's a lot easier to start writing at a time when you know you can be productive.

Have a Quota

So you started.  Good job.  And then you wrote for a few minutes until you got stuck, and figured you'd pick it up tomorrow because, hey, you did your session for today.  That's not good enough.  Give yourself a quota and stick to it.  I use 2000 words, but pick anything that seems like a good day to you.  If you get stuck, feel free to walk around and talk to yourself, just be aware that you have to come back and finish before the session is over.

Have a Deadline

Even better than a quota is a deadline.  Make one up if you have to, and tell people about it.  You're a lot more likely to put the work in if you know how much time you have left.

Reward Yourself

I like hot mugs of something tasty to drink.  So, now I have a cup of coffee or hot chocolate whenever I sit down to write.  Any small pleasure will do, but I find that making it part of starting a session works better for me than having a reward afterwards.  Try it a few times and you'll find that it makes getting started a lot easier.

And finally…

Care About the Work

It sounds silly.  I mean of course you care, right?  But admitting that you care about what you do, openly and without reservation, can be difficult.  It makes you vulnerable to criticism and exposes the limits of your competence.  You can no longer say that a piece is just something you're fooling around with, or that it's something you just dashed off.  You have to make the commitment that everything you put your name on is the best you can do, and openly admit it.

This is the single most important factor in getting in front of the keyboard day after day.  If this piece, this novel, this short story, really matters, then it won't be about finding the time to sit down and put your hands on it, it'll be about finding the time to take care of the other things in your life.

Besides the obvious benefit of spending more time writing, the payoff for investing yourself in your work, regardless of whether you write, build furniture, or make sushi, is that you will experience a deep and abiding satisfaction that can be found in few other ways.

Writing is hard work.  My response to that?  Big deal.  So is everything else worth doing.

So do it already.

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Yes, Yes It Is

Oh internets, who knew you could come up with something better than bacon taped to a cat?

Scalzi + Penny Arcade FTW:

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