R.K. MacPherson's Blog, page 7

Angst, T-Shirts, and Needle Nose Pliers

As 2012 draws to a close, I find myself at a crossroads of sorts. Professionally, I’m still in limbo, which throws much of my personal life into chaos. While I do well in crisis situations, I don’t handle drawn out periods of turmoil with as much aplomb. I can’t help wondering where things go from here, and how far will I go alone…

In other, less navel-gazy news, I sent an email to the fine folks at Samurai Noodle. If you know me at all, you know of my love for ramen, and these folks make the...

The Next Big Thing

Erin M. Evans tagged me as part of the Next Big Thing movement. I like these, as it gives us an opportunity to talk about our work and mentionother writers. There’s plenty of room out there for all of our stories, and no reason not to help each other succeed. So, a mighty big thank you to Erin, and a hearty recommendation for you to buy her books, includingLesser Evils, the sequel to the fantasticBrimstone Angels.

Without further ado, here’s my questions and answers…

1. What is the working titl...

Not Writing to Write

So, it’s been 10 days since NaNoWriMo. I won’t lie to you (Well, that’s a lie, but not at this very moment. Or the next one.), but I haven’t missed it. NaNoWriMo’s exhausting. I don’t usually write in long stretches like that. Drains my brain!

For some writers (Apparently not J. Elizabeth Hill, but us mortals, to be sure), you need to recharge your imagination. In my experience, writer’s block is little more than a tired mind. Between day jobs, relationships (trouble I would gladly look for),...

Alone

Somewhere in Spokane, a man died.

He didn’t have a great childhood. He lost his mother as she tried to give birth to a brother. He was a Marine for eight years, a soldier for twelve. He fought through two tours in Vietnam. He beat and terrorized his children. He took his family around the world. He wanted to be a cop, but no review board would ever clear him for service. He loved Europeans, loathed Asians.

After the military, he ambled from crappy job to crappy job. He left his family, got marr...

Poop and Circumstance

“There comes a time when you look into the mirror and realize that what you see is all that you will ever be. Then you accept it, or you kill yourself. Or you stop looking into mirrors.” Londo Mollari, Babylon 5 -Chrysalis

Not having a good week, personally or professionally. In my experience, writers tend towards the melancholy (among other things) because we’re nucking futs. It’s part of what makes us good at our job—our ability to see beyond ourselves, to look at possibilities and imagine r...

Narration vs. Scene

Reblogged from Shanna Germain:

When I was a beginning writer, I could write the hell out of my character’s internal landscape, their mental state, if you will. I had a way with words, too. So most of my early stories were beautiful bits of internal monologue.

And that was exactly the type of feedback I’dreceivein my critique groups. “This is beautiful and I love the characters, but I have no idea where they are or what they’re doing.

Read more… 954 more words

Shanna's always got great thoughts...

NaNo NoMo

You’re probably wondering why I called you all here today. I don’t know why you think I have the answers. My brain’s mush, but after 28 days of flying by the seat of my pants, I finished NaNoWriMo.

50,000 words, at least twice that many tears. Mmm…tears.

I’ve taken the purple. It’s like taking the black, but less ice, warfare, and dateless nights. Actually, I’m pleased with how things turned out on The Praetorian Agenda, though I need to get an outline down on paper before I go back to it. It’s...

How to Publish a Print Book

I try to learn something from each book I write, each job I work at. I learned a great deal fromAntigone’s Fall, which served me well when I proposed theTERAtie-in ebooks. Working on those taught me even more, but I’ve never done a print book before. As someone living on a boat, paperback books aren’t my first choice because space is a premium, but I had a lot of people ask me about getting a print copy ofAntigone’s Fall. Well, that might not ever happen, but I decided to putStormcaller out i...

Navy detects Russian sub off U.S. East Coast

Reblogged from CNN Security Clearance:

By Mike Mount

The U.S. Navy detected and tracked a Russian nuclear-powered attack submarine less than 300 miles from the southern U.S. East Coast last month, according to U.S. defense officials.

While the submarine did not enter U.S. territorial waters or follow any U.S. Navy ships, its arrival came while a Navy carrier strike group was training off Florida, according to defense officials who could not speak publicly because of the sensitivity of the issue...

NaNoWriMo and Tribulations

We’re nearly halfway through November, which means we’re also halfway through NaNoWriMo. Between enforced wordcounts and my work getting Stormcaller out the door,I may not survive the month.

My sole goal for NaNoWriMo was to hit the 1667 word count each day. No skipping days. So far, I’ve hit that mark, which makes me happy. On the other hand, The Praetorian Agenda is still taking shape in my mind, so I’m not sure how much of the first 20,000 words will survive first contact with the enemy, er...