C. L. Norman

Reading

This week I read Caitlin Kittredge’s Street Magic. I am an avid fan of her Nocturne series and have been wanting to try out this other series for a while and finally broke down and bought a copy.  I tried to be all responsible and read it only at night after I had finished the things I needed to get done but by the third night I was heading to bed earlier for more time with my book and the next morning I finished the book before getting anything else done. It was different but exciting. The central mystery of the story was engaging and well thought out. I really enjoyed it.

Tax Season

We finally filed our taxes this week and I learned a valuable lesson. We have always had H&R Block prepare out taxes and I have always been satisfied with their work. This year, my writing is in the shady area where I might be able to claim some deductions because of it and the tax preparers were not prepared to handle those questions. I learned that I can’t trust professionals to know everything about their fields. A good lesson to know. Hopefully I keep this information in mind when I meet with other professionals in the future.

Dr. Suess

Happy Birthday Dr. Suess. It is such a wonderful thing that children across America celebrate the birth and career of an author every year. I helped with this tradition by reading Green Eggs & Ham and The Foot Book during this week’s storytime. The children never seem to tire of the words of this wonderful writer. A personal thank you to him for One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. I was reading this book when I was 4 years old. Dr Seuss is the author that launched me into the world of books that I live in today.

Revising/Rewriting

Up to this morning I always thought there was something wrong with me that I never rewrote on as massive a scale as everyone else I have heard of. I touch up grammar and word choice, delete repetitive sentences, and in general only clean up my first draft. I don’t delete huge passages or shift around large blocks of text or any of those other drastic measures revision seems to involve. This morning I read an entry in Dean Westley Smith’s Killing the Sacred Cows of Publishing series and am now in the process of letting go of that feeling of wrongness, embracing my method, and working up the confidence to believe in my words despite them being the result of only one or two drafts.

Birthdays

My second child turned 13 this week. That brings the number of teens in the family up to two. I am bracing myself for the fallout of that event. Two teen daughters and only two parents. Things could get wild and crazy around here for a few years. I’ve been told my kids are easy and others are jealous, I have my fingers crossed that that trend continues.

How ’bout your week? Did it go well? Learn anything new?

        

Reading

This week Kim Harrison’s Black Magic Sanction was released. The last couple books in the Hollows series were slightly disatisfying for me. Not because of the writing but because I hoped certain things would happen that didn’t or vice versa. I enjoyed this book in all ways. The plot, the characters, the pacing; I stayed up late to finish it, flipping pages and holding my breath to see how Rachel would get out of her current predicament. I cried and laughed and had a blast. I fell in love again with the Hollows series.

Rivers of Ink

The local writing event to connect readers and writers is having its second go-round this October and our first planning meeting occurred this week. It is so fun and challenging to share ideas for this event everyone is so passionate about. There is a lot of anticipation that this event go even better than the last one. I personally am trying to build my writing cred between now and October (when the conference is) so that I am better prepared to sit in on a panel or two.

On TV

I’ve finally watched the episode of Heroes stored on my DVR and found that it was the Season 4 finale. It explained why my trusty DVR hadn’t recorded any more episodes since. I enjoyed seeing Hiro teleport a whole crowd of ’specials’ away from Samual, watching Tracy flow in and rescue Noah and Claire, but my most favorite part was watching Sylar save Emma and say “I am a hero.” Sylar is awesome to observe. The part I was most disappointed with is the lack of Suresh. I’ve always had a soft spot for that character and Season 4 is very Suresh-lite and the final episode lacks him altogether. I hope he comes back for Season 5.

I watched last week’s episode of Smallville as well. As I am also currently re-watching old episodes of Stargate SG-1, the episode was rather trippy. Trippy because the villain of the episode, Conspiracy, is played by JR Bourne who played Martouf in Stargate SG-1, a good guy. He did a good job playing the psycho Frankenstein’s monster type but I kept expected a plot twist that would turn him into a misunderstood good guy.

Writing

I’m working on some maps for a new story. If I can figure out how to scan it into the computer, maybe I will post one or two later this week. I have also been building some background and story elements for this story. I am excited for it. The idea behind it has been percolating in my mind for years and I am hoping to get the story down over the next few months.

RIP Boner

Actor Andrew Koenig AKA Richard “Boner” Stabone of Growing Pains passed away this week. His character was always good for a laugh and as Mike Seaver’s best friend, the couple made a fun team. It is like another piece of my childhood slipping away. My heart goes out to his family.

How was your week? Anything interesting happen?

        

Writing

After the workshops and panels at RadCon last weekend, I became determined to start treating my writing more as a business than as a sometimes hobby. To that end, I have submitted a couple short stories this week and caught up on my novel manuscript so that I may continue with that project.

Another aspect of that is getting myself organized so that I can track expenses and submissions and all the other details needed to be successful. To that end I am working again to get my household finances in order and find a system that works for me in tracking and budgeting them. I am notoriously bad with the details and while I do not have a lot of things to track for writing yet, my household accounts are a good place to start learning the skills to carry me onward.

In addition to the above I have also started reading through Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s Freelancer’s Survival Guide. I have only read through the second Money chapter at this point but I am learning a lot and learning that there is a lot I don’t know. Very enlightening and her advice isn’t just for writers.

On TV

I’ve been rewatching Stargate SG-1 this week. Every episode I try to identify which character is my favorite and I can’t make up my mind. Usually it is a toss up between O’Neill and Dr. Daniel Jackson but then Carter or Teal’c steal a scene and I am torn between four again. My favorite episode is still A Window of Opportunity. It is like Groundhog Day with science fiction elements. Fun.

Writing Group

This week my writing group met for the first time since we closed the group to all-comers. The meeting was all about hashing out rules for members and set up the structure of the group. I know it is necessary but I found myself wanting to get past all the back-and-forth discussion and get back to the writing. Soon enough.

Gaming

We started a new D&D game on Saturday night. I am DMing the old AD&D campaign, Night Below, and updating it for Pathfinder rules as we go. I don’t have any idea how well the conversion will go but we intend to have fun finding out. My 9 year old son is joining us for the first time and it is entertaining watching him play with the adults and the differences in how he approaches the puzzles in the game.

        

If you read my last post you know that I recently participated in a writer’s workshop and received a lot of encouragement about my writing. In a separate workshop it was mentioned that writer’s needed to have a big ego. I realize I do not have that yet and so the encouragement was hard to accept and made me nervous. Nervous that I would actually be discovered somewhere and everyone would then see all of my faults.

Encouragement is a good thing. When my family and friends root for me and tell me how much they enjoy my writing, I feel loved and my self-esteem is inflated just a little bit more. I appreciate and cherish all those words of encouragement.

Encouragement is something everyone needs. Even if I react in a strange manner to encouragement from professionals, I am grateful for it. Once I worked through the stage fright, the encouragement prodded me to submit my stories again and work on the unfinished NaNoWriMo novel. I am spending more time at the keyboard as a result and that isn’t a bad thing.

Next time you read a story and you come away from it excited or thoughtful or teary eyed, send the author a short email letting them know. You never know, maybe your encouragement will come at just the right time to lift them from a black place and get them writing again. Their next story might be even better for your encouragement.

        

Happy Valentine’s Day

Today is the day for remembering your loved ones, especially those you have romantic feelings for. As always my Valentine’s day is not filled with flowers and chocolates (that is a Mother’s day tradition) but with Magic cards and writing panels. Which leads me to my next topic.

Radcon

Every year since I was a sophomore in high school I attended the local sci-fi convention, RadCon, and this year is no different. I use to go for a mix of panels and gaming, in particular the Delver’s Bash. However for the last few years I go to attend every writing panel I can squeeze into so that I may glean every nugget of knowledge about the craft and business of writing I can.

This year I also participated in a Writing Workshop put together very nicely by Deby Fredericks. As a result of some attendance issues, I had the full attention of both Dean Wesley Smith and Darragh Metzger for the entire hour. And I’d like to thank them for the insights they gave me on my writing and on writing as a career. It is much appreciated and I hope to put your encouragement to good use.

Cavalcade of Authors

The first day of the con, or to be more precise the morning of the first day of con, an event was held for local middle school and high school students. This event had students in workshops with several authors including Patrick Carman, Ben Mikaelson, Suzanne Selfours, and more. My daughter was a participant and had a lot of fun. I helped out with Barnes & Noble, selling books and enjoyed observing the excitement in the kids at the opportunity to speak with and learn from their favorite authors. A very successful event in my opinion.

Reading

This week I reread Transformation by Carol Berg for the third or maybe fourth time. Transformation is the first book in a series of three. I adore the world building in this series of books. So many peoples and cultures are included, some are spotlighted and others fill in all the nooks and crannies around the edges. Even more I love the two main characters, Seyonne and Aleksander. They live and breathe and make mistakes. They have undesirable traits and heroic hearts. A lot is going on in this story but it is presented in such a way I don’t have to slow down my reading to keep track of it all. I highly recommend these books to fantasy or adventure lovers.

My week went well, how was yours?

        

Storyboarding and Writing Group

This week’s writing group revolved around storyboarding. One of our members taught a small lesson on it using the first act of Star Wars as an example. This is a technique I’ve heard of before and wanted to try but never actually followed through on. It seemed both easy and hard at the same time–and too much like outlining. Outlining being a technique I despise and just can’t seem to make work for me. After the mini-lesson I am all set to at least give it a try. 

Writing group is about to change its direction. We are changing the open attendance policy to a closed one. We will also be expecting more of the members and hopefully progressing forward as writers.

Reading

Speaking of storyboarding and writing group, I’ve been reading Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell in the Write Great Fiction series. I haven’t finished the book yet but seeing a breakdown on the three acts and what should go into each one is enlightening. It is also helping me understand why some author’s pacing works better than others. I look forward to finishing the book and beginning to use some of what I’m learning in my next story.

Storytime

I do the storytime for the young ones at the store on Tuesdays and for special occasions. This week I had my regular storytime and the Valentine’s Day storytime on Saturday. From my history on the stage I know that different days result in different energy in the children. My approach to storytime is to infuse it with a lot of pep and work the kids up a little bit and then give them a cookie and send them home with their mommies and daddies all sugared up and excited.

Saturday the kids were already so revved up that I was inclined to read them a bedtime story and quiet them down. Don’t get me wrong, I had fun and adore spending a bit of time with the little ones every week but for audience members to have trouble hearing me–me!–is a sign that maybe instead of the cookies and cocoa at the end, I should have given them a blankey and a pillow.

Did your week go as well as mine? Anything new happen you want to share?

        

Work

Many hours were made available to the employees at the store this last week and I took advantage of them. I took as many as they would allow and as such I kept very busy with that.

As a part of the above, I spent two shifts in the cafe for training. The first day of training on the register left me hopeful that I could get the hang of it all. The second day of training at the bar left me lost and confused. I viewed the machinery and bottles and mixing containers as the paraphenalia of the arcane. Clearly only wizards could understand the vocabulary and methodology behind the mixing of those caffinated beverages the masses crave.

And I am not a wizard. I am merely a mundane temporarily transported into the magical world of the cafe.

Writing

Grrr. Arrgh.

Those words sum it up. Time has been at a premium because of work and other draws on my time. However, I had time to write if I wanted to use it. Instead I spent that time staring at the screen, mentally paralyzed by the fear that what I would write would suck or be so great someone might notice my writing. I need to get over myself and just write those stories that swirl around in my mind and heart. Stop worrying about how bad or good they will be until after they are down and complete on my digital paper.

Open Mic Night

I participated in my first Open Mic Night this week. I read five minutes of one of my short stories aloud in front of several of the local authors. I was scared and excited and very glad I did it. I have never read my stuff to anyone before. I have read aloud to myself before but in front of others things sound differently. New, more awkward, less awkward. Hearing the feedback from audience members afterwords was a bonus. I will definitely be participating in the next Open Mic Night.

Books

I read Spellbent by Lucy A. Snyder this week. While I enjoyed most the story and the characters, I found myself distracted by what I perceived as flaws or oversights in the book.

Early on, Jessie loses an eye and an arm. I thought the details about adjusting to the lack of an arm were done well. However the eye was a cosmetic injury with no affect on the character. I had to wear an eye patch in high school for 2 days and I know that it take a while to adjust to the change in vision and Jessie didn’t have to adjust. I found this oversight distracting.

The other problem I had was with the pacing. The first two-thirds of the book had a nice steady climb in tension but the last third became a frantic race to the end. A race that I had trouble keeping up with.

Macmillian vs Amazon

I read two articles today about this contretemps over e-book pricing, here and here. I am still enough of an outsider I don’t have enough information to form more than a gut opinion on the whole deal. Most importantly though I find this to be a herald of things to come. Upheavals and changes in the publishing world. Something to keep an eye on.

I, myself, am not a consumer of ebooks. Yet. I have tried various devices and feel to distanced from the words and uncomfortable with the medium. However, I do know that many others do not have this problem and ebooks will only get more popular as time goes along. This development is bound to have repercussions and growing pains.

How was your week?

        

So often I read or hear the advice, “act like a professional.” Act like a professional even before you sell that first story, even before I have any contact with the professional publishing world. Everytime I wait for the advice to be elaborated. How exactly does a professional writer act? I haven’t yet heard what this means among professionals.

Here I offer up what I think acting professional means:

• Dress with Style: From my observations of sci-fi/fantasy authors at signings and conventions, style of dress isn’t a set pattern.  Office folks dress in suits and ties and dress suits. Writers don’t dress all in the same fashion. They do all seem to have their own style though. One person may wear leather vests and cowboy hats, another long flowing dresses with scarves. This style they have adopted seems to be for official ‘appearances.’ Unofficially they may dress very differently.
• Research & Share: I don’t mean researching for those details that make stories real. I mean researching on the craft of writing. Most every author I have talked to or heard speak reads widely and often. They read from many genres, fiction and non-fiction. And they share the insights and knowledge with others freely.
• Follow Through on Commitments: Deadlines are met. Or if they can’t be met, plenty of notice is given so that the person expecting results can plan for the delay. Appointments are attended. Emails are sent. Writing time is shown up for. This one sounds the easiest but as a dyed in the wool procrastinator, I know this isn’t anywhere near easy but it is also the behavior that most distinguishes the amateurs from the pro’s.
• Public Mood is Always Positive: Aches and pains and woes in their personal lives aren’t shared with others. Criticism is listened to with patience and tolerance, at least outwardly. Response to criticism is done politely, sometimes with a touch of humor. Blogs, emails, and conversations with the public aren’t places to rant and complain but to educate and inform.

These are four behaviors that I have observed in the writers I have encountered. I try very hard to live up to these guidelines and act like a pro. Maybe one day I will be in a position to know the secret pro handshake and learn why certain things have to be kept secret, how to respond to fan emails, and how to communicate with agents and publishers about my work.

What do you think? How does one “act like a pro” in the writer world?

        

Writing Group

Met with the group this last week. Attendance was minimal but good discussion dominated. We decided that the open attendance policy encouraged by the store is actually stagnating the group and have decided that we would close up the group, limit membership to 6 to 8. In this way we can set requirements and goals engineered towards those in attendance. The change will come in a month or so, after we have a chance to talk to the semi-regulars and see who wants to make the change. I am excited for the change and hope that the group will start working for me again.

Writing

While I was zone maintenancing (cleaning and organizing the sections) at work today, my mind was free to wander. I found myself thinking about why I am having so much trouble putting words down on digital paper. I have quit all my online games and reduced several other distracting activities to allow more time for writing and yet, I am barely putting 10 words down in a day. I have come to the conclusion that a good deal of my problem is fear of success. Or rather a strange form of stage fright.

I relish normal stage fright. That butterflies in the stomach, palms sweating feeling one gets just before they go onstage or take the podium. I look forward to that feeling the same way folks look forward to the rush they feel on the roller coaster. I have started to receive some encouraging feedback on some of my stories. No acceptances yet but it seems to be closer to happening. And that is making me nervous that I may actually have to start delivering quality work on a more regular basis. It is my dream to succeed at writing but I am not use to dreams coming true. Something to work on and overcome.

Books

This wasn’t a big reading week. I finished up the last Harper Connelly book, Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris. I adored it. I think the series ended very well though the fact of it ending was bittersweet. I thoroughly enjoyed Harper and her world and am sad that I won’t be able to visit her again. At least in a new adventure. I’ll definitely be rereading this series in a year or two, if not sooner.

On TV

I caught up with my TV shows this week. New episodes of Castle, Heroes, Leverage, and Bones kept me entertained for hours on end. I adore the characters and their antics. And as always am very excited for more.

Tomorrow night, Life Unexpected premiers. The actress, Shiri Appleby, portrayed Liz in the TV show Roswell. I loved her character and the show so much I am really looking forward to watching her in a new show. My only complaint is that it is on at the same time as two other shows I enjoy. Guess that is what the DVR is for.

D&D

We have a new player in our D&D group and I have a new character. Both of us are gnomes. I am a bard named Magpie and he is a gnome barbarian/rogue. We are having a lot of fun in this game. My character’s personality is still developing and she (and I) have no idea how to react to the flirting from the half-orc monk. We will have to see how it goes.

How was your week?

        

Last week, I died.

Ok so I didn’t die, my D&D character died. Xyresh, the 4th level Factotum/2nd level Wizard, has gone to the great beyond. A lucky strike with a hefty weapon ended her adventuring career forever. Alas, alas, alas the day.

Xyresh’s companions very respectfully gathered up her body and returned her to a temple for burial. She was carefully laid in her coffin and then prayers were said over her. Then, she was stripped of every single item of value and buried.

This isn’t atypical of D&D games but I have actually managed to play for nearly 20 years with very few deaths. Maybe this made the callousness of it all stick with me more. I don’t know. What I do know is that while they were selling Xyresh’s favorite piece of equipment, I had a very vivid picture of the bow being placed in her hand as an infant. That picture then flashed forward to the bow in her hand in her grave. In between these two pictures a story lives.

Don’t get me wrong, I have ideas and snippets of ideas all the time, non-stop, every day. Rarely though do the ideas resonate through me to the degree that I literally jumped up and grabbed my computer so I could start jotting down notes.

The story isn’t about her exactly and it isn’t set in some D&D-esque world but the story has got me working on writing again. Instead of procrastination. And all because my DM husband rolled a nat-20.

What inspires you?