Joseph Devon's Blog, page 2

Broken Computers and Building an Arena and Exploding Buses

So my computer has become borked…again. It’s nothing major but the old girl has been slowing down on me and a good part of earlier this week was spent trying to figure out why unexpected crashes were occurring. Sadly I think I may have to put my current processor out to pasture. Or into the pasture? I’m not entirely sure what type of interaction with a pasture is the good one in that metaphor.

Plus, I’ve been spending a lot of time getting an astoundingly small amount of work done on another p...

Writing Like a Baseball Pitcher

Baseball season is underway and the other night I found myself thinking about pitching and how similar it is to writing.

I don’t have a huge store of knowledge about pitching, but I’ve heard enough announcers discuss enough guys on the mound to have some idea of what it’s all about. And the things that make up a good pitcher, as I see them now, are vastly different from what I thought was needed when I was younger.

When I was younger I assumed that the faster you could throw the ball the better...

Some Short Stories

So my brain is currently melting from a fever. Last night I was convinced that I was in charge of key political talks with China that were centered on me explaining how cool it was to be around when Pulp Fiction first came out.

On the one hand, yes it was pretty cool. wasn’t a household name yet and was a has-been, so to go see that movie on opening weekend was an experience I will always treasure.

On the other hand, I doubt that diplomatic talks with China would be taking pl...

Writing Tip: A Bird’s Eye View

The manuscript I’m currently writing is a bit of a mess. I have a lot of story and not a very clear notion of how it all fits together.

This also means that I have a lot ofscenes.I’m not entirely sure how they fit together either. And I am not referring to some overall sense of the book at large. I’m talking about a very nuts-and-bolts sense of how the various plot points intersect.

I’m constantly asking myself questions that I can’t remember the answers to.

Has Frank met Lucy yet?

Did Lloyd tell...

Human Echoes Podcast Appearance

A few months ago, (a year ago?) I was interviewed by the Human Echoes Podcast. Since then the relationship between the HEP and Joseph Devon Industries has flourished and they opted to have me back on again for a second interview. The core of our discussion centers around Persistent Illusions, though we cover all the usual topics like Kate Upton and Hitler.

You can go have a listen here.I highly recommend it. Keep in mind that if you haven’t read Probability Angelsyet, there are spoilers. Thoug...

Untitled Writing Challenge in the Theme of Thunderdome

Book three is still coming along. I can tell I’m making progress because I have so much more first-draft content that I don’t know what to do with than ever. That’s always a good sign. However, it’s still a while from being done and I’ve had the itch recently to put out more fresh fiction for your entertainment.

With that in mind a new project is being kicked off over at The Human Echoes page.

I’ve always been a fan of shows like Top Chef, competitions where contestants have to slog through wei...

Thoughts On Building a Publishing Machine

I’ve been spending a lot of time at various forums for self-publishers recently. They are a wellspring of good advice and the success that a lot of these authors have achieved is both impressive and inspiring.

They almost make it seem easy.

One post over at the Kindle Boards discusses the process of using a mailing list to build sales.The author of the post gives away the secret recipe to her marketing: 1. Write a book. 2. Send a blast to your mailing list announcing the new release. 3. Encoura...

I Sound A Bit Hipster Here

I don’t have very much to say this week. I’m in a top-brain sort of mood. That’s what I call it when my brain refuses to function on a creative level and instead adopts a distant thoughtfulness about everything. As if I exist only to process the parts of the world I happen to encounter and then file it away somewhere.

It’s like my thoughts are only coming from the crown of my head. Not the front, like when I’m problem solving. And not the back of my brain, that chunk of my head at the base of...

Zombies, Genre, and Marketing

The Walking Dead returned to TV this past Sunday and I have found myself with zombies on the brain yet again.

Actually, it’s not zombies I’ve been thinking about, it’s how a zombie is defined and what genres you can fit them into.

A few months ago I brought in some outside help to do a little marketing for me, and these people have been throwing ads up on Facebook using images such as this one:

The outside marketing help didn’t really bother to look at my writing, they just heard the word zombie...

Writing Poorly on Purpose

Most writers I know spend a lot of time worrying about the quality of their work. Will it resonate with readers? Does it get across the proper emotions? Is it as good as other writing I’ve read?

However, a possible new character in my current urban fantasy serieshas reminded me of a writing exercise that takes the complete opposite stance and allows writers to relax about their craft and breathe a little.

See, I’m toying with the idea of having a character who is both a prolific writer and a te...