C.M. Simpson's Blog, page 225

First Paragraphs: On a Ship Called Mythicus

On a Ship called Mythicus is the first short story in the fourth Simpson Anthology-An Anthology of Worlds. It was written to take every science fiction and fantasy cliche I could fit into a short story and take it as far as it would go. It starts like this:


“Stop drooling, Cristo!” growled Wolf.

 can be found in 


















An Anthology of Worlds was released mid-September 2012 and can be found on Amazon (in e-book and print) and Smashwords.

On ‘trying not to suck too much’ otherwise known as ‘Honing your Craft’

Writers have to practice their craft.This is more than just writing every day on one project, or even writing every day on lots of different projects:·         It’s going out of your way to hone your craft.·         It’s finding honest critiques, or feedback in from sources other than those inclined to be kind to you.·         It’s admitting you don’t know everything there is to know about your writing or your publishing or your art and actively seeking out opportunities to improve.So, when I read Chuck Wendig’s rules on becoming a successful writer I laughed and agreed and knew I wasn’t alone because what he said encompassed what I felt but hadn’t been able to give words to. And one of those things was the challenge to finish what I’d started (and that’s a lot) and to try not to suck too much – it’s advice available to everyone who reads his blog.Since he gave the advice, it seemed only fair that the penmonkey became part of the process, which he obligingly does by providing weekly flash fiction challenges. These can seem mundane or downright impossible, but they encourage writers to maybe move out of their comfort zones in subject matter, as well as making them write a complete piece within the constraints of 1,000 words, which takes both discipline and skill.Going to conventions, workshops, and writing groups is also beneficial. These public gatherings of writers expand our world, and bring us into contact with other writers and other points of view. We can gain emotional and psychological support from just knowing that there are others like us, and we can gain new perspectives that we might not have found on our own.Entering competitions is another way of building discipline. Word limits, deadlines, new topics, and unfamiliar forms that we wouldn’t usually try are all ways competitions or open calls can provide us with impetus to build our skills, and writers should always be looking to learn to improve technique or try a different approach. It’s the only way to add to the toolbox of skills they have to draw on in order to complete their tales.Feedback can strengthen our skills. It can build our confidence even as we learn of areas where we can improve. Regardless of where we find it, feedback is a valuable part of helping us not to suck too much and we need to seek it out. We can always choose what advice we take or leave, as long as we listen with an open mind.Anyone can be creative, but to be creative within a specific set of rules takes talent, discipline and skill. The flash fiction challenges are a way of developing all three, as well as expanding your repertoire. In addition, by reading how other authors have undertaken these challenges, we learn other ways we might have approached them … and we learn we are not alone.

Blogs that made stop: 4 October 2012

This morning I sat down and surfed through all the blogs I subscribe to that had over 20 entries. Here are the ones that made me stop:
The Passive Voice reporting literary agent John Ashlocke’s interview: http://www.thepassivevoice.com/09/2012/big-book-publishers-not-innovating-fast-enough/John Ashlocke’s interview: http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2012/09/literary-agent-jason-ashlock-big-book-publishers-not-innovating-fast-enough264.htmlThe Passive Voice reporting a Legal Geek’s blog article: http://www.thepassivevoice.com/09/2012/firefly-lessons-in-contract-law/Legal Geeks on contract law: http://thelegalgeeks.com/blog/2012/09/27/firefly-lessons-in-contract-law/The Passive Voice reporting Holly Lisle’s article on her attitude towards John Locke: http://www.thepassivevoice.com/09/2012/do-i-still-recommend-john-locke-no/Holly Lisle on why she’s changed her attitude towards John Locke: http://hollylisle.com/do-i-still-recommend-john-locke-no/The Passive Voice on the Publisher’s Weekly article on changes in the publishing industry: http://www.thepassivevoice.com/09/2012/more-change-coming/The Publisher’s Weekly article on changes in the publishing industry and how publishers can position themselves for those changes: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/trade-shows-events/article/54162-bisg-panelists-more-change-coming.htmlThe Passive Voice about KDP Select: http://www.thepassivevoice.com/10/2012/kdp-select-worth-the-exclusivity/Foner Books on the risks and rewards of KDP Select: http://www.fonerbooks.com/selfpublishing/?p=2137The Passive Voice reporting a Publishing Perspectives article on why Amazon may be forced to close in India: http://www.thepassivevoice.com/10/2012/new-laws-may-force-amazon-to-close-in-india/The Publishing Perspectives article on why Amazon may be forced to close in India: http://publishingperspectives.com/2012/09/new-laws-may-force-amazon-to-close-in-india/The Passive Voice reporting on an article on how many indie writers are thinking small by Kristine Kathryn Rusch: http://www.thepassivevoice.com/09/2012/watching-the-numbers/Kristine Kathryn Rusch on why indie writers need to think bigger: http://kriswrites.com/2012/09/26/the-business-rusch-watching-the-numbers/GalleyCat on another e-publishing success and e-book rankings: http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/99-cent-sale-sweeps_b57984GalleyCat talks about a new market for YA mystery writers: http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/poisoned-pen-press-seeks-submissions-for-new-ya-imprint_b58056The Ruby-Slippered Sisterhood’s Anne Marie Becker on setting writing goals: http://www.rubyslipperedsisterhood.com/tba-32/The Ruby-Slippered Sisterhood’s Liz Talley on how to use subtext and layers to give your story substance: http://www.rubyslipperedsisterhood.com/small-towns-with-winnie-griggs/The Ruby-Slippered Sisterhood’s Elizabeth Langston on writing tips from a young author: http://www.rubyslipperedsisterhood.com/writing-tips-from-a-young-author/And here’s something I got from a Facebook friend on indie publishing:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFlVTszwCW4&feature=youtu.be

Thought Processes and Research behind the response for Chuck Wendig’s terribleminds’ 28 September 2012 blog flash fiction challenge: The Epic Game of Aspects Redux

Thoughts on the Randomly Rolled Challenge ElementsOkay, so I nearly gave up when I rolled for this week’s challenge. I rolled 20 for ‘Sub-Genre’ which resulted in ‘fan fiction’. I have never written fan fiction in my life before, so my mind went a total blank and I didn’t think I could do it. I just about gave up then and there.As you can see I didn’t, just couldn’t help rolling that dice twice more and receiving a 16 and a 3 for my efforts. At first, I was going to use them for an alternative Sub-Genres response, but that felt too much like cheating so I just went with the results, in order for the next two categories: 16 = ‘Family Thrown Apart!’ as a Conflict/Problem and 3 = Sea Monster for the Element to Include.Work TimeI started writing my first draft and researching at 12:39, 1 October 2012, Australian Eastern Standard Time. I finished the first draft 13:42, 3 October 2012. I spent four hours on it on the 1st and three-and-a-half hours on the 3rd. I just couldn’t get near it on the 2nd. That time includes the half-hour walk I took on the third to think, the research, the pruning to get it back to 1,000 words, the actual writing and uploading it to my blog.Sub-Genre: Fan FictionHaving decided to stick by what I had first rolled for this challenge, I had to work out what I was a fan enough of to write fan fic for, what exactly what fan fic was, and how I was going to go about writing it… so I went to the Conflux 8 convention while I thought it out.My first thought was that I might write about Fildenstar, an awesome speculative fiction/songwriting sci-fi band, but it just didn’t gel right. It’s not that they’re not interesting enough to write about; I just didn’t want to infringe on their material or music or them. Note 1: I have trouble writing about real people and ‘other people’s stuff’ – a lot of trouble. That was a bit of a dilemma. I went back to the thinking board.It took me until late Sunday night to go back to remember I had started to write some short fiction for an adventure setting that grabbed me a long time ago—Broncosaurus Rex by Goodman Games. With the Conflict and Element set, this story was going to have to be something new, fresh out of my head, so to speak.My search for a better understanding of what was meant by fan-fiction led me to the following sites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_fictionhttp://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-fanfiction.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_universe_%28fan_fiction%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Fan_fictionhttp://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=fanfictionhttp://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_fanfictionhttp://www.loony-archivist.com/ptcarchive/faql.html: This last one contains lots of good writing advice for everyone. If you want more about being or becoming a writer than just about fan fic, this could be the link for you.
So with the sub-genre settled in my head, I figured I could write something that at least resembled fan fiction in that it was:
Set in someone else’s world; andUnendorsed by the original creator of that world.
Conflict/Problem: Family Torn ApartBecause I knew I had to include a sea monster, I knew my story would be set on or near a body of water. With the family being torn apart, I decided that some kind of boat wreck had to be involved, and that my protagonist would be looking for her family. Now, all I needed was a place to wreck the boat and some kind of sea.Fortunately, on the map I have for Broncosaurus Rex (found in the Cretasus Adventure Guide), I discovered an inland sea, with a particularly treacherous area near a river mouth and some bayous. And it has dinosaurs… did I mention how much I liked dinosaurs?Now, losing a family is not quite like having it torn apart, so I had to decide exactly what the tearing consisted of, and that gave me my main character’s dilemma.I started writing the opening scene before I even knew what my sea monster was, because that would make looking for a suitable creature easier, or so I hoped.Incidental Story Element 1: Paddle SteamerI hit my first uh-oh moment about a paragraph into writing. I wanted the main character to find the wreckage of a paddle steamer. I wrote that the wheel had pounded itself to bits and the boiler had blown up… and then I decided that I better work out where the boiler was so I could have a big hole in the right part of the boat. Up until then, all I knew about paddle steamers was that they had a big wheel on the side and boilers. Boy, was I in for a surprise.For one thing, paddle steamers came in a variety of shapes and sizes. Secondly, there were steamers with wheels at the rear or out of view. Thirdly, they were used all over the world, England, Australia, Europe and parts of the United States other than the Mississippi.Here is where my riverboat research led me:
http://www.heritagesteamers.co.uk/index.htmlhttp://www.americanqueensteamboatcompany.com/american_queen/http://www.polysail.com/Showboat.htmhttp://americanhistory.si.edu/onthewater/collection/TR_334847.htmlhttp://www.steamboatmuseum.org/thehowardsaga.htmlhttp://americanhistory.si.edu/onthewater/exhibition/4_4.htmlhttp://www.mvk.usace.army.mil/offices/pp/projects/JBJW/EASTPORT/EastportCh2.pdf
Including a steamboat made it easier to live with writing something ‘not entirely mine’ because I could always change it later to suit the steampunk universe I’m planning, and it helped me move towards the goal of developing certain elements in that universe, such as learning about the technology I wanted to use there.Element to Include: Sea MonsterFinally decided on a monster. It has some of its roots in real life and some of its roots in my head. Probably not a good combination, but these creatures make sense to me.My research led me to the following web sites:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/11/1130_051130_giant_scorpion_2.htmlhttp://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/11/071121-giant-scorpion.htmlhttp://www.cracked.com/article_18445_7-thankfully-extinct-giant-versions-modern-animals.htmlhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNLTdxuPaj4http://www.livescience.com/31-ancient-sea-spider-related-scorpion.htmlhttp://www.livescience.com/3940-giant-water-scorpion-walked-land.htmlhttp://www.crystalinks.com/fossilscorpion.htmlhttp://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/49214934/ns/technology_and_science-science/#.UGuczFFiplUhttp://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/news/animals-news/new-ancient-crocodiles-ngcvin/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcosuchushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Sereno

Marrietta and the Wreck of the Partying Plesiosaur – A response to Chuck Wendig’s terribleminds blog flash fiction challenge: The Epic Game of Aspects Redux

Well, this was one very difficult piece to write. I very nearly gave up on it, but I didn’t. It got to 1,300-and-a-bit words and I took a pruning saw to it, but it seems to have come out okay. This thousand-word limit teaches a lot about what can be trimmed and what can’t. Good lessons to apply when writing longer pieces, too.
This story is a result of the latest Chuck Wendig terribleminds blog flash fiction challenge: Epic Game of Aspects Redux. Sub-genre randomly rolled was 'fan fiction'; problem was 'family torn apart'; element to include ended up being 'sea monster'. So, like all fanfics, this piece is not endorsed, recognized or sanctioned by the creator of the game on which it's based. Because of my total discomfort about writing something not a hundred percent my own, the only trademarked name used is 'zuleps' and the rest can be tweaked so that it resides wholly in my own world.
This story is exactly 1,000 words long, and was written inside three days. You are looking at the first draft.
I will post the thoughts and theory on writing it tomorrow.
Marrietta and the Wreck of the Partying Plesiosaur
They found the Partying Plesiosaur aground on Longneck Island. The old river boat had been driven ashore at full speed, its giant paddle wheels shattered to matchsticks and broken planks, the boiler gone to bust not long after. A gaping hole a third from the bow revealed twisted metal, shattered pistons and darkness leading to the hold.Marrietta had expected bodies, at least a hundred, to be scattered on mud banks and strewn through reed beds bordering the island. She’d expected to at least find pieces of bodies, or footprints, or maybe animal tracks, torn top hats and ruined party gowns. There was nothing.She twitched her skirts, lifting them clear of clumps of saw-grass where compy’s might hide. Behind her, the men pulled the longboat further onto the mud. They waved at the cutter standing off shore and followed in Marrietta’s wake.Marrietta did not wear perfume and her hair hung loose, its wild curl reaching just past her shoulders. More than one of the men had wondered what it might be like to run his hands through that soft chestnut-colored mass… and more. Marrietta had a stunning figure.They did not dare. Marrietta’s hazel eyes spat fire, and her generous mouth hid a razor-sharp tongue. She frightened most and intimidated the rest. She’d given up on finding a suitable partner long ago. Now she let no-one past the part of her she reserved for public viewing.The men followed, careful to step where she stepped, some aiming their rifles outward over the swaying reeds and empty waves, others keeping a weather eye on the broken river boat with its spine cracked down the middle.Marrietta completed her circumnavigation and started working her way in to the Plesiosaur’sside. She had just put the toe of her boot on a solid-looking piece of deck, when she heard a loud scream, followed by splashing and more screaming.Shouts erupted behind her, but Marrietta lost no time in looking back. She stepped up onto the wooden planking and pulled herself inside. Something tugged at her skirts and she glanced around. Lars Meander had reached the Plesiosaur but tripped as he’d stepped onto the boards. He’d grabbed a handful of her skirts on the way down, and was now scrabbling forward, trying to pull his legs inside.A low moan escaped his mouth as they heard something large pulling itself across the sandbank. Lars kicked his way inside, stretching his hand toward Marrietta. She reached down just as movement blocked the light, touched his fingertips just as horse-sized jaws clamped across his not-fast-enough shins and jerked him backwards, gasped as he was ripped away. She was already backpedalling when she saw those jaws carry him away.Marrietta did not stay to see more. Crocs didn’t travel alone, and they wouldn’t leave until there was nothing more to eat. Listening to staccato bursts of gunfire crack across the water, she sought a cabin she could lock herself inside. She only hoped the cutter would bother waiting.The next deck sloped alarmingly under her feet, but Marrietta hurried along it, passing empty cabins until she found more stairs. With the sudden beat of the cutter’s engines in her ears, she hurried up them, walking against the slope of the deck until she reached open air. What she saw belied belief.The cutter was racing for the same mudflats on which the Partying Plesiosaur had been grounded. Smoke belched from it single stack, and the engines screamed. From where she stood, Marrietta saw a small war being waged across the cutter’s decks. The crew had picked up anything they could find and were facing off against a small horde of zuleps.The dino-men were stronger and faster. Armed with spears, they were making short work of bringing the sailors under control. Marrietta had never heard of any tribes dwelling this far north, let alone near the bayous.What, she wondered, were they doing in crocodile-infested water, attacking a human ship? Pulling an ancient pair of opry glasses from a pocket in her skirt, Marrietta leant on the rail, but she had no time to study the creatures because, with a sickening crunch, and the sound of tortured steel, the cutter reached the shore.Mud flew as the ship ploughed onto the island, and Marrietta suddenly realized her predicament. Whoever had been steering the cutter had sent it straight towards the Plesiosaur. On deck, man and zulep alike glanced up and ran for the railings. Marrietta ran, too, away from the railing, away from the charging cutter, away from the impending explosion.She spun down the stairwell, and headed for the stern as fast as she could go. A quick right took her down a corridor leading  to the far side of the ship, a quick left led her into a corridor where she could brace. The cutter hit before she found the floor, and Marrietta slammed into a cabin door. It opened and she tumbled to the far side of the room.A dull boom followed as the cutter’s boiler blew. The Plesiosaur shuddered, its framework groaning. From outside, she heard screams and shouts and Big Andres cursing the lizard-blasted hides of every zulep ever hatched. From inside, she heard footsteps followed by the faint slither of a tail.Tucking her glasses back into her pocket, Marrietta picked herself up. At least part of the mystery of her sister’s disappearance was solved. The footsteps came closer. Marrietta held her breath, her innards churning with apprehension. If the zuleps had taken the Plesiosaur, and then taken all aboard, she had to decide if  she would trail them or go with them.Marrietta was still trying to find somewhere to hide, when the zuleps appeared in the doorway.“Come,” it said, surprising her with Common.“Come,” it repeated when she hesitated.“Where?” Marrietta asked, rising to her feet and dusting her skirts.“You we trade to raptor,” the zuleps said, taking her by the wrist. “Like others.”

Blogs that made me stop – 26-30 September

So, I am still trying to catch up on the bloggery’s that I’ve subscribed to – and I’ve missed the last three days of reading so I’m really not succeeding; I’m also trying to keep caught up, so if you see a few familiar names here, it’s because they posted more.
Dean Wesley Smith on the new seasons of publishing: http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?p=7919; Kristine Kathryn Rusch on building a long-term writing career: http://kriswrites.com/2012/09/26/the-business-rusch-watching-the-numbers/; ·         JA Pitts about doing the hard work to achieve a dream: http://www.genreality.net/the-dangerous-dream; Jeff Bennington at The Writing Bomb writes about how badly you have to want something to succeed at it: http://thewritingbomb.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/how-to-be-successful-at-anything.html; Joanna Penn on her first year as a writer: http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2012/09/25/1-year-author-entrepreneur/; Chuck Wendig on how to reset your mind before writing your next book: http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2012/09/25/25-things-you-should-do-before-starting-your-next-novel/; The Passive Voice on the difference between science fiction and fantasy – and I finally get to see what Alan Dean Foster looks like… so cool!: http://www.thepassivevoice.com/09/2012/the-difference-between-science-fiction-and-fantasy/; The Writer’s Dojo (and I am sensing a theme here): Tasha Seegmiller on … you guessed it… working towards success: http://www.ninjaswrite.com/2012/09/are-you-your-own-villain.html; Joel Friedlander on book cover design for August 2012: http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2012/09/e-book-cover-design-awards-august-2012/; Writer Unboxed: on persistence in writing by Barbara O’Neal: http://writerunboxed.com/2012/09/26/day-after-day-after-day-showing-up-at-the-page-no-matter-what/;Writer Unboxed on how one writer keeps her writing dreams and hopes alive by Carleen Brice: http://writerunboxed.com/2012/09/25/rebuilding-my-optimism-muscle/;The Knight Agency’s Nephele Tempest on using texture to make your writing come alive: http://knightagency.net/2012/09/texture-using-details-to-make-your-world-unique/;Genreality: Charlene Teglia on what to do with those ‘good stuff’ moments writers have in writing: http://www.genreality.net/dont-save-the-good-stuffAdventure without end: Tony James Slater on a day in HIS life as a writer (half his luck!);WOW! Women on Writing: Darcy Pattison on 5 places to make money as a writer: http://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com/2012/09/5-places-to-get-rich-slow.html;WOW! Women on writing: MP on living like a writer: http://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com/2012/09/how-to-live-like-writer.html;WOW! Women on writing: LuAnn Schindler gives advice on building suspense in fiction: http://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com/2012/09/generating-suspense-in-fiction.html.

The Simpson Anthologies now available from DriveThruFiction

The first four Simpson Anthologies are now available as e-book PDFs from my publishing page at DriveThruFiction.com:

An Anthology of Dragons                                                               An Anthology of Battle



















An Anthology of Those Who Walk Among Us                              An Anthology of Worlds

Progress Report for Week 5 September 2012

Current ProjectsThis week I completed the following work on my current projects:·         RomanceNovel1A: Added 2,000 words, completed novel;·         DarkFantasyNovel1A: Added 6,000 words to the rewrite; and·         DarkFantasyNovel1B: Revised the first 3 chapters, a total of 7,000 words.Publishing and non-writing TasksThis week I completed the following tasks related to independently publishing my work: ·         Updated blog 8 times ; ·         Released the large-print version of An Anthology of Dragons on CreateSpace/Amazon. This week I completed the following tasks related to developing my art and writing skills: ·         The terribleminds flash fiction challenge (See Poem32—The Novice and the Damned , a piece of rhyming prose);·         Attended Conflux8 writers’ workshops with Nicole Murphy, Rik Lagarto and Alan Baxter;·         Attended Conflux8 Saturday program with panels led by Sue Isle, Ian McHugh, Alan Baxter, Penelope Cottier, Ross Hamilton, Talie Helene, Frankie Seymour, Tracey O'Hara, Jodi Cleghorn, Lily Mulholland, Keith Stevenson, Janeen Webb, and Keri Arthur.Backburner ProjectsThis week the following projects on the back-burner received a little love:·         RPGASetting6: one critter aspect of background research started and another critter aspect touched on.New ArrivalsThis week the following new ideas arrived: ·         ShortStory42: inspired by last week’s flash fiction challenge; ·         RomanceNovel1E: inspired by characters I revisited while revising RomanceNovel1A; PenName2 is going to be very busy; ·         Poem32: Rhyming prose about the death of a band; complete. ·         RPGAdventure7C: dinosaur-bone-collecting expedition... yup, even more dinosaurs; ·         RPGAdventure7D: dinosaurs underground. ·         Chapbook10C: more people with wings; Chapbooks10A-B are already written and just awaiting black-and-white internal art and covers. ·         Chapbook10D: and yet more people with wings; Chapbooks10A-B are already written and just awaiting black-and-white internal art and covers.And these were remembered and added to the projects list: ·         RomanceNovel6A: inspired by the 2012 Aviator Challenge; ·         RomanceNovel7A: crime and Christmas, a random arrival from earlier in the year; ·         RomanceNovel1D: inspired by characters I revisited while revising RomanceNovel1A; ·         RPGAdventure7A: dinosaurs; ·         RPGAdventure7B: more dinosaurs; ·         RPGSetting7: Dinosaurs, contemporary.

Goals for Year’s End, 2012

At the end of April 2012, when I started publishing my stories on-line, I only had a vague idea of what I was doing. I had done my research, reading as widely as I could for the preceding six months and discovering a number of blog authors whose advice and opinions I found invaluable as I made up my mind on what I wanted to do next.I decided to start with anthologies for three reasons:1.      I had a lot of short stories that I had written over the years and putting them into themed anthologies was an idea I’d been toying with for a while.2.      All the blogs I had read on the subject said an author with one book was very difficult to find, and by publishing the short stories and poems individually, I was able to have a number of titles to catch the eye. Also, by releasing each individual piece separately, I provided my readers with the option of buying a sample that was cheaper than the anthology, kept myself to a deadline, and built anticipation to an anthology’s release.3.      The anthologies were also smaller than novels which meant learning to format them was less daunting.And now I have four anthologies floating about in the wild, and a fifth on the way.By the end of June, I had started to work out what I wanted to achieve by the end of this year. The goal then, was to have five anthologies out. That goal looks like it’s well on track… fingers crossed. I had also worked out what else I wanted to attempt to achieve.By the middle of August, I had come up with the following, and started to work towards them. Here’s where they’re at:
1.      Release five anthologies:
a.       An Anthology of Dragons : done; available as an e-book on: Kindle, Smashwords and DriveThruFiction; and as a Kindle paperback.b.      An Anthology of Battle : done; available as an e-book on: Kindle, Smashwords and DriveThruFiction; and as a Kindle paperback.c.       An Anthology of Those who Walk Among Us : done; available as an e-book on: Kindle, Smashwords and DriveThruFiction; and as a Kindle paperback.d.      An Anthology of Worlds : done; available as an e-book on: Kindle, Smashwords and DriveThruFiction; and as a Kindle paperback.e.       An Anthology of Blades ; due December 2012; four short stories to go.
2.      Release five novels as C.M. Simpson:
a.       DarkFantasyNovel1A-C: 1A in progress of major rewrite; 1B-C to be revised; waiting on cover art prior to formatting.b.      DarkFantasyNovel2A: complete and awaiting cover art prior to formatting.c.       SciFanNovel1A: needs to be completed, awaiting rewrite and cover art.
3.      Release one novel as PenName2:
a.       RomanceNovel1A: complete, awaiting finalisation of cover and undergoing formatting and upload.
4.      Re-release 2 novellas, possibly under PenName3:
a.       Novella6A: complete, awaiting rewrite and new cover art;b.      Novella7A: complete, awaiting rewrite and new cover art;
5.      Re-release one novella under PenName1:
a.       Novella8A: complete, awaiting rewrite and cover art;.
6.      Release one new novella under PenName1.
a.       Still deciding; I have three that are three-quarters complete. All are in good shape.I look at that and think I must be crazy, but I rewrote DarkFantasyNovel2Aand added 25,000 words to complete it in just over a fortnight. DarkFantasyNovels1B-C are done bar the rewrites, and SciFanNovel1A is almost complete, 3 of the 4 novellas are complete, the fourth novella is about 10,000 words off. I think it will be a challenge, but I also think it’s doable barring any major life happenings. If one of those occurs, this list will have to be revised.I’m honing my art skills so I can make at least some of my own covers and work on my own line illustrations. That takes time as well, but not enough to make the original goals impossible. Next year’s goals will be a step down in pace—a big step down.For a start there will be only four anthologies. On the other hand, I have thirteen chapbooks I want to get out. They’re complete but they need the line drawings so that’s a completely new learning curve. I might have to look for artists for those. The chapbooks will come out under PenName4. After that, I’m still deciding on what the release rate for them will be. I have to keep remembering there is only one of me, and I still need my day job. We’ll just have to see how it goes.

Conflux 8 - PreCon Workshops

Today I got to attend a full day of workshops and learn more about the writing craft. Speakers included Nicole Murphy, Rik Lagarto and Alan Baxter and Ian McHugh, whose sessions I attended, and Gillian Polack, Jack Dann and Dawn Meredith whose sessions I couldn't make.

The day was not the spring day I could have hoped for, being grey and rainy, but at least I had no regrets for spending the day inside... although with these workshops, that would have been hard to do.

Session 1: Writing Backstory The day started with Nicole Murphy's workshop on Writing Backstory, which ran from 0900 to 1100. I have to admit, I didn't really know what to expect when I went into this workshop. I had half an idea that it would be about how to write backstory that I could then draw from for my stories, but it was so much more than that.

Backstory might include everything you know about your characters (major and minor), your world, and the history of it all, but everyone knows that writers don't include every little detail in the stories their readers see. Nicole gave tips on working out the backstory as you wrote, on how to pick out the bits of backstory that needed to be included in a story for a reader to make sense of it, and finally on the different techniques that a writer could use to incorporate backstory into the current tale.

It wasn't all chalk and talk. Actually, it was hardly chalk and talk. We were given time to try out the backstory mapping technique, and then an opportunity to try different ways of writing backstory into our prose. If we felt comfortable, we could then read out our pieces and Nicole was generous enough to give us feedback and point out what we had done well or not so well. It was a wonderful and well worth going to.

Two hours were just not enough.

Session 2: Intro to Writing Games At 11:00 I headed across the Gorman House quadrangle for Rik Lagarto's Intro to Writing Games. I didn't know what to expect from this one either, but I was kind of hoping for an overview to the whole writing for computer games industry thing and oh wow! This was the most in-depth overview I have ever had. No industry secrets, though, just an honest introduction to how the industry works, the terms, an explanation of different kinds of games, the two main 'writing roles', and story techniques and pitfalls from someone who has worked in the industry.

The workshop was pitched at a level suitable for those of us with no idea of how the world of words worked in the game industry, as well as for those who were undertaking courses designed to train them for that industry. It was well-structured and Rik was flexible enough to allow his focus to be guided by student interest, while still managing to stay on track.

In the two and a half hours assigned to him, Rik managed to convey an understanding of the way design teams worked, the current state of the industry in Australia, explain the role of (and difference between) a narrative designer  and a writer and explain how the different story elements and how they were delivered in a game.

This was not all chalk and talk, either. We had two activities where we were able to apply some of the principles we'd been taught and Rik very kindly gave us honest feedback on each one. I walked away with a better appreciation of the collaborative nature and balancing act that goes into making a game story 'work', as well as an idea of some of the techniques that help that happen.

Again, two and a half hours just weren't enough and time flew. I am looking forward to doing more of this kind of course in future, but in a more extended form.

Session 3: Fighting the Details At 14:00 (2 pm) the final workshop of the day started. This one was Alan Baxter's and Ian McHugh's Fighting the Details. How can I describe this course? Like the other two I had the privilege to participate in, it was well-structured, well-thought-out and a good balance between activity, feedback and good, practical theory.

In spite of the title, I didn't expect that real and actual fight scenes would form a strong focus for this workshop - it simply wasn't that clear in the descriptions I had seen. I knew I'd be learning about story detail, but didn't think much beyond applying this to scene or character, something similar to backstory, but very different, too. This workshop was so much more.

It started with a simple observation activity, and made us aware of the different senses we could use to describe the elements of any scene, and then had us looking at how we would use the same scene elements in different kinds of story. Both activities were useful in making us aware of detail and how it could not only affect story, but how the same elements could be used in different ways.

We learned about earning the reader's trust through detail why this was important, and how it could affect our readership... and then we learned about the fighting. This was an excellent workshop for anyone writing a fight scene. The principles and elements taught are applicable regardless if it's a major sword fight, fist fight, bar fight or domestic. It made us think about things that I, as someone who has no experience in any kind of fighting, would normally consider when writing these scenes and, coupled to the activities and practical demonstrations that went with the theory is bound to improve how I write them in future.

This was another densely packed workshop that I enjoyed greatly and learned a lot from. Like the rest, I would have loved for it to be longer, but real life intrudes.

Just the Beginning So, it is with a sense of gratitude that I want to thank the Conflux 8 organisers and the presenters of all the workshops.

I had a wonderful day, and it's something I'd recommend.

I can't wait to see what the rest of the con will bring.