Change Is Good. Right?

 

Solstice sunrise. We've left the dark behind. While news programs overflow with top 10 of 2014 lists, I'm counting something else entirely. The minute and a half (on average) per day of sunlight we're gaining at this latitude. At the equinox, that gain will increase, but for now, watching the light grow in tiny increments plays well with some of the changes I made to writing this year.

 

Marcella's list of how 2014 changed writing:

1. Changed genres - I'd been writing science fiction. In 2014, I wrote and sold two urban fantasies. This entailed going from leaner, more action oriented scifi to a denser, and, I hope, richer narrative voice. The UF meant more internal conflict. Not that external was lacking. It just leant itself to a little more angst. Then, near the end of this year, I changed genres yet again. It's possible that there's a secret joke amongst my crit partners and me - that we're going to rename me. 'Genre Assassin'. Has a terrible ring to it, doesn't it? Other authors assure me that it just feels like I'm single-handedly killing genres, but that I'm going to have to stand in line for that 'Genre Assassin' title because any number of writers got there long before me. I'm not sure I'm comforted. However. If there's a genre you'd like to see murdered in cold blood, hit me up. I'm payable in small, unmarked bills. Or tea. Nah. Not going to name the new genre yet. Don't want it dying of fright before I have a chance to maybe get a story sold.

2. Wrote faster - While on deadline, I wrote 2k per day on a very steady basis. However, my daily average for the year drops like a rock once I delivered Nightmare Ink and Bound by Ink. Trusting that the story would take care of itself, writing 2k per day for 5 days a week turned out to be remarkably sustainable. However. It does require prep work. Which leads to:

3. Classes - Mary Buckham teaches a plotting workshop over two intense days. I'd taken this class once before, but there's so much. There's a clear gap between seeing the material once and mastering the material. I had hoped I'd achieve mastery. What I achieved was a trilogy plotted over those two days. Mastery? Noooo. Maybe that only comes after I finish the final book in the trilogy?

 

I leave you with bright wishes for the holidays, however and whichever you celebrate. In my case, watching the light rise against the dark is the celebration. It's also the secret sauce in any creative endeavor: every tiny gain counts. When you can make tracks, do it. Write all the words. Pour the brain cells out on to the page. But when that's not possible, it's not the number of words that count. It's the consistency. Just like a tiny minute and a half per day gain adds up to summer days that are sixteen hours long in Seattle, a consistent, tiny effort at words every day will add up to a luxuriously long story. It's the basis for a practice like Jeffe's that allows a writer to begin playing challenge games with daily word counts. It gets you in shape for word count marathons. Not easy. But oh so rewarding.

How 2014 Changed Me as a Writer

This year has been a really amazing, fascinating and oddly frustrating for my writing career.  It's been a year of growth, learning, and most of all, patience.
Of course, 2014 has been amazing for me: I SOLD TWO BOOKS, and my debut novel is coming out in less than six weeks.  So, yes, I leveled up, I unlocked achievements, however you want to call it: this is the year it happened.    And with that, being able to say to myself, "I am a professional novelist now", I took my writing game to the next level as well.  In addition to doing the required edits to Thorn of Dentonhill and A Murder of Mages, (and copy edits and checking proofs for Thorn), I've written, cleaned up and submitted the sequel to Thorn, as well as writing and cleaning the first third of Murder's sequel.  I also outlined some new ideas, cleaned up and finalized Way of the Shield, which is still waiting in the wings with Holver Alley Crew, and got back on track with Banshee, the Space Opera novel that got put on the backburner when the Thorn/Mages deal came through.
It's been fascinating, of course, because this year I've been learning more about being on the business end of being a writer.  It's been great working with the various people at DAW (namely Sheila, Josh and Katie, though I'm sure there are more people who did great work for me who I never directly interacted with), as well as the additional support from people at Penguin and Book Country.  I made contacts through SFWA, leading me to writing for WordWhores.  I did more conventions, and learned how to soft-pitch Thorn without ramming it down people's throats.*
And the frustration comes from learning the necessity of the pace of the industry.  I mean, I learned that the sale was going to happen a year ago, and the book doesn't come out for, well, another six weeks.  So I've had to learn to pace myself.  I've had to learn to not get too overanxious, and to be as zen as possible about the fact that Thorn is not out yet.  Especially at those conventions, where I would have to tell people about a cool book that they were not able to buy yet.  But now here we are, at the tail end of the Year of Patience.  If all goes well, at this point next year Thorn and Murder will be amongst the well-regarded books of the year, and Thorn II will be on several lists for hotly anticipated fantasy novels for 2016. 
Until then, I keep breathing, keep writing, and hope for the best. 
---
*- Especially since I was apparently pitching WAY too soft at ArmadilloCon.  I ran into people at FenCon who I had SPOKEN TO at ArmadilloCon, who hadn't yet learned I had books coming out.   Of course, one of those people did say, "Hey, man, I had a lot of bourbon at ArmadilloCon."

How 2014 Changed Me

Today is the Winter Solstice in the northern hemisphere - a day that feels sacred to me, deep in my bones. In many ways, this day feels like the end of the year to me, far more so than December 31 ever has. From here the year turns around. The photo above wasn't from today, but I did take it on the winter solstice a few years ago. The brilliant light in it encapsulates exactly how I feel about the implicit promise of solstice.

This week, appropriate to winding up the old year and looking ahead to the new, we're evaluating three ways our writing has changed or evolved over the last year.

Regular visitors to the Bordello know that I keep pretty detailed metrics on my writing. That helps me get an objective measure on evaluations like this. (Can't shake that scientific training!) So, a few of those measures from the last year, as of this Solstice Day.

Words written in 2014: 558,396
Highest wordcount month: August, with 68,050
Lowest wordcount month: September with 22,402
Monthly average overall: 46,533
Highest week: 2nd week of August with 20,922
Lowest week: 4th week of July with 1,105
Weekly average: 9,144
Daily average:  1,573
Works published: 5 (10 release dates, counting the six episodes of Master of the Opera)
Longest work written to date: The Talon of the Hawk, 132,377 words

So, three ways that my writing changed?

I wrote more, faster

I took to heart my own advice to treat increasing wordcount the same way I approach physical training - by gradually increasing the volume and intensity of what I did. At times I worked with a 3,000 words/day goal. Part of this was knowing I'd need recovery time and factoring that in. It's no coincidence that my lowest wordcount month followed the highest. Overall, I increased my average daily wordcount by 200 words/day from 2013. That might not sound like a lot, but cumulatively it is. And is a gradual increase that shows an overall improvement in my writing endurance and condition.

I wrote longer

When I first began writing novels, switching over from the short essays I had been writing to creating longer works was a huge challenge for me. It took a lot for me to learn how to contain a longer story in my head and work on it incrementally. I am naturally a concise writer. My editors always ask me to add, never to cut. Edits always involve embellishing, explaining, delving. This year saw me write my two longest works ever. The other was Rogue's Paradise at just over 102,000 -  it's probably significant that both it and The Talon of the Hawk wound up trilogies. They're good-longer, too, judging by reader reactions. Not fatty, but strong stories that needed to be that long.

I got better

Maybe all writers feel this way, but I live in fear that the next book will suck. With each book, I'm getting better attention - better critical acclaim, amazing awards and singular notice - all of which is wonderful but also makes me fear that I won't be able to sustain it. Especially as I write more, faster and longer (see above). I'm knocking on wood as I write this, but so far, I'm continuing to improve as a writer. The two books I have coming out in 2015 so far - Under His Touch on January 19 and The Talon of the Hawk on May 26 - are, according to my editors and early feedback/reviews, the best I've written so far. I think I'm, like that Olympic athlete, hitting my stride.

I can't wait to see what 2015 holds!

Solstice blessings on you all - may the next year be full of wonder, beauty and joys, both great and small.

Engaging Things I Read In 2014

First, confession time: I don't read anywhere near as much as I should.  Part of that is because I tend to be a slow reader, unless I really get to sit away from All The Things and get into the book.  Also, I'll also admit, I'm a tough fish to hook.  I'll often read a couple of chapters of something, and while there's nothing wrong or bad about it, it doesn't really pull me in.  So there are a lot of unfinished books on my shelves where it really is, "Hey, it's not you, it's me."
I did read several books, though, and here are the five that stuck with me:
Lock In: I've been a big fan of Scalzi's work, and Lock-In is probably his best yet.  He takes a single science-fictional concept, and works crafts an engaging story with that concept as its engine.  While relatively light and propulsive, it still made me stop and think about one's sense of identity as tied to one's own body.  But I'll be surprised if this one isn't on awards short lists this year.
READY PLAYER ONE: Yeah, yeah, I'm late to the party, only having read this one this year.  This book... lived in a strange space where I was annoyed much of the time I was reading it, but at the same time, I found it impossible to put down.  I mean, the book moved, but it was also little more than name checking nostalgia, of which I was about 85% on board with-- that nostalgia was mine as well. And maybe that was part of my problem-- to me, the riddles were pretty easy, so the idea that all the hunters would just be stuck for YEARS without figuring it out was unbelievable.  But it didn't quite feel like a story.  That said, I understand why it got a lot of notice.
The Art of Asking: This is Amanda Palmer's memoir, and I found it fascinating.  I mean, I haven't had half the life experiences that she's had, but I did spend my time toiling in the theatrical arts, which involved learning similar hard lessons on scrounging and community and trust.  So I got this book and where she was coming from.
The World Until Yesterday: Another book by Jared Diamond (of Guns, Germs and Steel), where he talks about traditional societies and their commonalities and differences, as well as the commonalities and differences with our own WEIRD societies. (WEIRD: Western, Educated, Industrial, Regulated and Democratic)  Good worldbuilding sourcework.
On the Map: An interesting work on the history of maps and mapping, which is just the sort of thing a worldbuilding map geek like myself can get into.

I realize this list is pretty useless if you're looking for "best SF/F work on 2014" or something like that.  Sorry.  I'm not the guy who makes those lists, unfortunately.  I'm the guy who reads those lists to figure out what to read next.  As well as the "anticipated books of 2015" lists.  Of course, I already know of two that I've been anticipating for some time now.

Linda's Top 5 Reads of 2014

5.)

Writing 21st Century Fiction: High Impact Techniques for Exceptional Storytelling  by Donald Maass

He's my agent.

He's awesome

It's always good to re-examine your craft with new thoughts on the how and why you do what you do.



4.)

Insurgency & Terrorism: Inside Modern Revolutionary Warfare Paperback 

by Bard E. O'Neill

An older book but interesting to be sure as far as research material goes.

About the author:

BARD O'NEILL is professor of international affairs at the National War College, Washington, D.C., where he is also director of Middle East studies and director of studies of insurgency and revolution. His other publication credits include The Energy Crisis and U.S. Foreign Policy and Armed Struggle in Palestine. He and his family live in Springfield, Virginia.


3.)

George Washington's Secret Six: The Spy Ring That Saved the American Revolution  
by Brian Kilmeade

Research for me but definitely an interesting read.

Some reviews:

“Anyone who believes that foreign espionage is pointless should read this book. More importantly, anyone who thinks the founding generation is irrelevant to modern America must read this book.”
—The Daily Caller

“A fascinating read, highlighting some of our nation’s unknown heroes—heroes who never sought credit or recognition. Brian Kilmeade places them in their proper historical context—as brave patriots who defended the American Revolution.”
—General Stanley McChrystal (U.S. Army, retired)

“Freedom is not free, never has been, and never will be. Kilmeade and Yaeger have done a wonderful job in reminding us all of the cost. Great read.”
—General Tommy Franks (U.S. Army, retired)

2.)

The Blasted Lands by James A. Moore

You all know this guy. He is awesome.

I love me some fantasy fiction and this series does not disappoint. It moves, its characters are interesting and keep me guessing.






1.) **not available until January 12, but I got to read an advance copy...

The Mussorgsky Riddle  by Darin Kennedy

Psychic Mira Tejedor possesses unique talents that enable her to find anything and anyone, but now she must find a comatose boy wandering lost inside the labyrinth of his own mind. Thirteen-year-old Anthony Faircloth hasn’t spoken a word in almost a month and with each passing day, his near catatonic state worsens. No doctor, test, or scan can tell Anthony’s distraught mother what has happened to her already troubled son. In desperation, she turns to Mira for answers, hoping her unique abilities might succeed where science has failed.

At their first encounter, Mira is pulled into Anthony’s mind and finds the child’s psyche shattered into the various movements of Modest Mussorgsky’s classical music suite, Pictures at an Exhibition. As she navigates this magical dreamscape drawn from Anthony’s twin loves of Russian composers and classical mythology, Mira must contend with gnomes, troubadours, and witches in her search for the truth behind Anthony’s mysterious malady.

The real world, however, holds its own dangers. The onset of Anthony’s condition coincides with the disappearance of his older brother’s girlfriend, a missing persons case that threatens to tear the city apart. Mira discovers that in order to save Anthony, she will have to catch a murderer who will stop at nothing to keep the secrets contained in Anthony’s unique mind from ever seeing the light.

Five I'm Still Thinking about - Jeffe's picks for interesting reads of the year

Our first real snow hit last night and this morning's sunrise showed in spectacular glory, a promise of the solstice and the turn of the year, it seemed.

The topic at the Bordello this week is the Five Most Engaging/Interesting Books Read in 2014. I like how this one is phrased - not necessarily our favorite books, but the ones that stood out. It can be an important distinction, especially for writers, because we tend to be friends with other writers and, outside of that, personally know many of the authors of the books we read. Reading a book can be infused - positively or negatively - with how we feel about that person. Picking a favorite of the year can be even worse, because which of your wonderful friends do you pick? It's often easier for me to pick a book written by someone I don't know, than to choose from among my friends' books.

That said, I tend to read a lot of my friends' books, sometimes via crit or as a beta reader, or just so I can have nice things to say. In 2014 (so far!) I've read 119 books. Yes, I've been keeping track, because I had a goal of reading at least two books a week, to try to get back into reading again. For someone who used to read about a book a day, that's not much. But I also caught up on a lot of "meaning to" reads.

One of those was Thea Harrison's Elder Races series. I've been hearing about these books for several years, but had never read. I confess it was partly because they're labeled as Paranormal Romance. I should totally know better, how these hairs are split, but PNR has sadly come to mean questionable worldbuilding to me. Not so with these books! Some are stronger than others, but the series is a fantastic take on our modern world, but with the addition of living monsters like gryphons, harpies and dragons. Much like Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series as it used to be, with better romance and way less crazy. In particular I found Serpent's Kiss and Kinked to be engaging stories that have stuck with me.

I also read and write a fair amount of erotic romance. My friend Anne Calhoun came out with Afternoon Delight this year. She's one of those authors I stalked and made be my friend after I read her work. Her books stay with me long after I finish them and this was no different. The recovery from grief, the heroine who runs a food truck, the afternoons of lazy sex...this book lingers in my mind like the memory of a perfect meal in a beautiful place with my favorite person.

I caught up on the last of my Neil Gaiman backlog this year, and read his 2013 release, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, and I finally sat down with the box set of his graphic novel series The Sandman: Book of Dreams, which I received for my birthday a year ago.(I SAID I'm behind on my reading, okay??) Both carry Gaiman's trademark dreamy darkness. I thought I was going to say that I didn't enjoy Ocean, which I finished just last night - but by the end he had me as usual.

On the SFWA forums, I met MCA Hogarth, who is self-publishing most of her work these days as, like me, she doesn't write books that neatly slot into genres. I read her Even the Wingless and that book has continued to haunt me. Her voice is also dark and dreamy, the world she created dense and provocative. I love a well-constructed alien society that stays true to its own mores and doesn't bow to the standards of the one we live in. This book is a far cry from a romance and yet got to my heart anyway.

Finally, my go-to when I'm asked to pick my favorite book of the year, I've been saying Magic Breaks, by Ilona Andrews. This is the seventh novel in the Kate Daniels urban fantasy series.
I've been keeping up with that series since book 2 and I think it's one of the best out there. It's not easy to keep a series like that, especially with an ongoing and developing romance, vital and fresh.
This seventh book lives up to its magical number with a searing story and developments that catapult the overall arc into a whole new realm. Amazing accomplishment.