Friday, September 28, 2012
Through The Outhouse Window Video Blog - Episode #2
This is episode #2 of my video blog, where I talk about marketing and writers.
Happenings In The Outhouse 28-Sept-2012 / Agent or self-publish?
I have been a writing banshee. Even with falling ill on Monday, I still managed to . . . drum roll please . . . finish chapters 48-51 of Beholder's Eye!
Thank you, thank you very much!
Okay, I am definitely on the home stretch in this thriller, and have even starting perusing the 2013 Guide To Literary Agents, which was just published--I got the Kindle version, thanks to an Amazon gift card I recieved for my birthday, and it's awesome!
That being said, I have decided to take the "look for an agent" route with this book. I've been debating for a long time on whether to do the agent-thing or the self-publishing thing. After gathering lots of information, I've decided to take this route.
At first.
However, that being said, if no agents decide to pick up on it, I'll self-publish it on the Kindle.
Two final notes: first, I noted a while back that I was starting to put together a podcast series. I have not abandoned this. I still very much want to do one. I'm just focusing on finishing Beholder's Eye first. Then, I'll start with putting the podcast together. I've got the intro and ending completed, along with a little "commercial" for my ebook. The only other "problem" I had was answered by Mur Lafferty (host of the highly-successful writing podcast called I Should Be Writing). I was very honored she took the time to answer my e-mail.
The second note is NaNoWriMo. I will be participating in NaNoWriMo, but it won't be in November when the rest of the universe will be doing it. I may well finish the thriller before, but there's so much going on that month I will be putting it off until either December or January--haven't quite decided when yet.
Now, it's on to chapters 52-54. Wish me luck!
Anyone else want to join me for NaNoWriMo in December or January?
Thank you, thank you very much!
Okay, I am definitely on the home stretch in this thriller, and have even starting perusing the 2013 Guide To Literary Agents, which was just published--I got the Kindle version, thanks to an Amazon gift card I recieved for my birthday, and it's awesome!
That being said, I have decided to take the "look for an agent" route with this book. I've been debating for a long time on whether to do the agent-thing or the self-publishing thing. After gathering lots of information, I've decided to take this route.
At first.
However, that being said, if no agents decide to pick up on it, I'll self-publish it on the Kindle.
Two final notes: first, I noted a while back that I was starting to put together a podcast series. I have not abandoned this. I still very much want to do one. I'm just focusing on finishing Beholder's Eye first. Then, I'll start with putting the podcast together. I've got the intro and ending completed, along with a little "commercial" for my ebook. The only other "problem" I had was answered by Mur Lafferty (host of the highly-successful writing podcast called I Should Be Writing). I was very honored she took the time to answer my e-mail.
The second note is NaNoWriMo. I will be participating in NaNoWriMo, but it won't be in November when the rest of the universe will be doing it. I may well finish the thriller before, but there's so much going on that month I will be putting it off until either December or January--haven't quite decided when yet.
Now, it's on to chapters 52-54. Wish me luck!
Anyone else want to join me for NaNoWriMo in December or January?
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
How descriptions depend largely on your character's POV
I am currently reading Lee Child's A Wanted Man, and once again I am struck by the highly detailed level of descriptions found in this book--as well as the few other Jack Reacher novels I have read. Then again, given what we know about the character Jack Reacher, being a former MP investigator, he would notice a lot of details because that's what he was trained to do.
Another book which shows a contrast in the level of descriptions is Jeffrey Deaver's The Bone Collector. In the book, police officer Amelia Sachs has to assist a quadriplegic ex-forensic criminologist named Lincoln Rhyme in collecting evidence at a crime scene. Amelia doesn't know what she's doing at first, and has to learn evidence collecting the hard way by Lincoln telling her through her headset. The level of detail is also heavy.
Then again, it should be, given who the characters are.
If your main character is a former CIA agent, they'll probably know how many cars are out front of a cafe and exactly how many people are inside. A guy, who is a male chauvinist, may always notice the shapely women in the room above anyone else. If you have someone who is gay, they may notice certain things about a person of the same sex.
Let this run through your mind as you write your book, and hone this as you work on your edits. You may not at first know what your character is like, but as you go through, you may discover what makes him/her tick, and can refine descriptions based on those discoveries.
Another book which shows a contrast in the level of descriptions is Jeffrey Deaver's The Bone Collector. In the book, police officer Amelia Sachs has to assist a quadriplegic ex-forensic criminologist named Lincoln Rhyme in collecting evidence at a crime scene. Amelia doesn't know what she's doing at first, and has to learn evidence collecting the hard way by Lincoln telling her through her headset. The level of detail is also heavy.
Then again, it should be, given who the characters are.
If your main character is a former CIA agent, they'll probably know how many cars are out front of a cafe and exactly how many people are inside. A guy, who is a male chauvinist, may always notice the shapely women in the room above anyone else. If you have someone who is gay, they may notice certain things about a person of the same sex.
Let this run through your mind as you write your book, and hone this as you work on your edits. You may not at first know what your character is like, but as you go through, you may discover what makes him/her tick, and can refine descriptions based on those discoveries.
Monday, September 24, 2012
My Strengths
What are you good at? Where does your greatest strength lie? Knowing this may better help you find where you should invest your time.
Think on this for a moment: your child comes home with a report card. On it are one A, three B's, two C's, and a D. What do you focus on? If you're like any normal parent, you'll say the D. But what subject was the A in? Let's say it was Science and he got a D in music, the last thing you want to push them into is a career in music. Or, let's say the D was in science. I don't think your kid will be going to MIT or being a doctor.
And that's okay. Each and every one of us has certain strengths. Authors Tom Rath and Barry Conchie put together a book called Strengths Based Leadership, which is about finding your strength and using it to maximize your skills. Through their research, they have an online tool called Strengthsfinder which is a series of questions one answers to find out what those strengths are, and have categorized them into 34 separate themes. I took this test last year, and discovered I have the following strengths:
1) Futuristic
2) Ideation
3) Focus
4) Strategic
5) Achiever
Author, blogger, and former CEO of Thomas Nelson Michael Hyatt recently had a podcast featuring this very same subject. I encourage everyone to also check it out--oddly enough, Michael and I share a few similar strengths.
Over the next few weeks, I'll be sharing in-depth how these individual strengths work for me in order to maximize my skills in the best way. Some of the results didn't surprise me, like futuristic and ideation, as I usually am full of ideas and always looking towards the future.
Have you taken the Strengthsfinder test? What results have you seen since taking it?
Think on this for a moment: your child comes home with a report card. On it are one A, three B's, two C's, and a D. What do you focus on? If you're like any normal parent, you'll say the D. But what subject was the A in? Let's say it was Science and he got a D in music, the last thing you want to push them into is a career in music. Or, let's say the D was in science. I don't think your kid will be going to MIT or being a doctor.
And that's okay. Each and every one of us has certain strengths. Authors Tom Rath and Barry Conchie put together a book called Strengths Based Leadership, which is about finding your strength and using it to maximize your skills. Through their research, they have an online tool called Strengthsfinder which is a series of questions one answers to find out what those strengths are, and have categorized them into 34 separate themes. I took this test last year, and discovered I have the following strengths:
1) Futuristic
2) Ideation
3) Focus
4) Strategic
5) Achiever
Author, blogger, and former CEO of Thomas Nelson Michael Hyatt recently had a podcast featuring this very same subject. I encourage everyone to also check it out--oddly enough, Michael and I share a few similar strengths.
Over the next few weeks, I'll be sharing in-depth how these individual strengths work for me in order to maximize my skills in the best way. Some of the results didn't surprise me, like futuristic and ideation, as I usually am full of ideas and always looking towards the future.
Have you taken the Strengthsfinder test? What results have you seen since taking it?
Friday, September 21, 2012
Through The Outhouse Window Video Blog - Episode #1
Premiere episode of the "Through The Outhouse Window" Video Blog - Enjoy!
Happenings In The Outhouse 21-Sept-2012 / No NaNoWriMo for me
Having finished chapters 43-47 over the past weekend, I am not well on my way into chapters 48-51 of Beholder's Eye.
The story is coming down to the wire. I have only fifteen chapters left. But go back and count how many chapters I've tackled since the beginning of the summer. It still may take me until November at least to complete this thriller novel.
Speaking of November, that is the month for NaNoWriMo. Looking at the novel now, I probably won't participate in NaNoWriMo in the month of November. Instead, I'm shooting for either December or January.
I know, I know, NaNoWriMo is supposed to take place in November. You're right. But because I'm focusing so much on Beholder's Eye, I don't want to stop it for a month-long hiatus and then waste a week or more building up steam to finish it.
Instead, I'm changing it for me.
And if anyone wants to join me, they're more than willing to do so.
The story is coming down to the wire. I have only fifteen chapters left. But go back and count how many chapters I've tackled since the beginning of the summer. It still may take me until November at least to complete this thriller novel.
Speaking of November, that is the month for NaNoWriMo. Looking at the novel now, I probably won't participate in NaNoWriMo in the month of November. Instead, I'm shooting for either December or January.
I know, I know, NaNoWriMo is supposed to take place in November. You're right. But because I'm focusing so much on Beholder's Eye, I don't want to stop it for a month-long hiatus and then waste a week or more building up steam to finish it.
Instead, I'm changing it for me.
And if anyone wants to join me, they're more than willing to do so.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
I am an Introvert. Gotta problem with that?
I am currently reading Susan Cain's book Quiet: The Power of Introverts In a World That Can't Stop Talking.
I first discovered Susan from her fabulous TED talk:
Her book is packed with information on what makes introverts tick--as well as how one even defines introverts and how even in the realm of introverts there are vast differences. First, in watching this, and then in reading her book, I knew I had some misconceptions on what introverts mean.
Now, I'm not going to say I'm an expert in this field, but I do have some first-hand knowledge from the battlefield. I thought introverts just mean shy and extroverts just mean outgoing. Wrong. It's a lot more complex than that.
With that being said, I will gradually explore the notion of being an introvert. Because I am one. This very subject was also mentioned in a past podcast episode by Mur Lafferty's I Should Be Writing where she herself confessed to being an introvert.
It's not all bad.
Being an introvert and also having a creative nature can have its advantages. But that is for another day.
I first discovered Susan from her fabulous TED talk:
Her book is packed with information on what makes introverts tick--as well as how one even defines introverts and how even in the realm of introverts there are vast differences. First, in watching this, and then in reading her book, I knew I had some misconceptions on what introverts mean.
Now, I'm not going to say I'm an expert in this field, but I do have some first-hand knowledge from the battlefield. I thought introverts just mean shy and extroverts just mean outgoing. Wrong. It's a lot more complex than that.
With that being said, I will gradually explore the notion of being an introvert. Because I am one. This very subject was also mentioned in a past podcast episode by Mur Lafferty's I Should Be Writing where she herself confessed to being an introvert.
It's not all bad.
Being an introvert and also having a creative nature can have its advantages. But that is for another day.
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