Joseph Devon's Blog, page 7

Thoughts on Critical Mass

I’ve noticed recently that I mention the phrase “Critical Mass” a lot when I discuss marketing. Actually, I mention it a lot and thousands of other people mention it a lot as well. The other day I was giving this phrase some thought and decided that a few words on its origin and what it means to me are in order.

So, critical mass is the amount of fissile material needed to create a self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction.

Duh.

But what does that mean exactly? Well, oddly, nuclear chain reactions...

Writing Isn’t Always About Writing

Yesterday I started a new scene in Book 3. It wasn’t a natural continuation of any scene before it, it was an abruptshift introducing a new character in a new setting who will, in a few more scenes, be engulfed by the main story line.

I managed to write this new character’s name down, then a sentence or two after that. Then I became completely and totally stuck. I knew nothing about this character. I knew nothing about her average day, or the color of her hair, or whether she likes to laugh or...

What’s in a Flashback

I am currently writing the story of Gregor. This tale contains nothing about when he was a human; it focuses on the hinted-at-story of how he tried to strike out on his own in the world of testers. This is touched on here and there in the first two books, something about how his work became such an integral part of the world that people such as Bram Stoker were able to make use of it.

But whatever could that mean?

And, it is also mentioned that Gregor’s work brought down the only official punis...

National Sundress Day

Winters in New York are difficult. We are a walking city and when you have avenues that are miles long, the wind can whip down them at horrible speeds. Overcoats and hats and gloves can feel like they’re made of lace when you turn a corner and hit a negative twenty degree windchill.

Going out is curtailed. People’s faces are hidden by scarves. There’s a blind, zombie-esque trudge underlying everyone’s movements. Colds and flues move into your apartment and make themselves at home. I know famil...

Haircuts and Taste

I went to get my haircut today. This is not a process I have ever enjoyed on any level. I have a weird,misshapen, alien head and if the hair on top of it is cut incorrectly I look like Shrek. I used to go to a Korean lady downtown who I stumbled onto years ago for my haircuts. I literally walked into the closest place to my old apartment and hoped for the best. She barely spoke English but the first time I went to her I emerged very un-Shrek-like, and so for years I continued going back.

This...

FGCU and Writing an Underdog Story

I love it when the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament hits every March. Mainly because I love filling out brackets. Generally speaking, I am quite awful at filling them out. I know nothing at all about college basketball and I tend to base my picks on a mixture of whether or not I like the mascot and how funny I think a team’s name is. But I make my choices, lock them in, and then get to watch my choices live and die as the games progress.

Last Friday night a school I had never heard of, Florida...

Reality Makes for Unrealistic Fiction

This past weekend was SaintPatrick’s’ Day. This is a day that isn’t really celebrated in Ireland, I’m told, but here in America it has becomesynonymouswith wearing green and drinking Guinness and corned beef and drinking. It’s like a celebration of Irish stereotypes, which is fun because I likeGuinnessand corned beef. Man I really like corned beef.

Anyway, in New York it is an absolutely massive drinking day for those who partake. I actually was out at nine in the morning for a breakfast and b...

Journaling as an Author

If youGooglejournaling, as I just did becauseauto-correctinsists it is not a word, you come up with tons of sites discussing how much journaling can help your inner peace.

How, exactly, it helps one’s inner peace is a little up in the air. I only skimmed the search results, but I’m not sure I found anything I’d deem too scientific. There’s also a lot of different definitions for what journaling even is. Is it a photograph of your day in words? Is it a page of rambling? Is it a structured rende...

Watching Empire Strikes Back with My Nieces

Over the weekend I trekked out to my sister’s place for a movie night. It was a big deal. For the first time ever, my two nieces were going to watch The Empire Strikes Back.

It’s difficult to convey exactly what this movie means to me. I might go so far as to say it’s impossible to get that across. Either it has the same niche in your life that it does in mine, or you’ll never get it.

I’m not saying that to be snooty. I’m saying that because for me, this movie came out at exactly the right time...

With Apologies to Chuck Wendig

Over at terribleminds.com, Chuck Wendig has published another guide to finishing your novel. The latest installment is titled: HOW TO KARATE YOUR NOVEL AND EDIT THAT MOTHERFUCKER HARD: A NO-FOOLIN’ FIX-THAT-SHIT EDITING PLAN TO FINISH THE GODDAMN JOB.

Capitals are original to the author. As you might be able to tell, Mister Wendig and I have slightly different writing styles. I’ve never read any of his work, there are a few of his titles on my to-read pile, but the point of this isn’t to discu...