Author Archives: L. Jacob

Memoir

I bit the bullet and sent my memoir, Torn Asunder, to my publisher to have him take a look at it. Right now he’s in the throes of publishing Corporate Catharsis, an anthology that I wrote a story for entitled “Hextron, Inc.” so I’m not expecting a response to it within the next couple of months. Catharsis comes out November 1, and that’s also the start of National Novel Writing Month, when the publishing company shuts down so we can all concentrate on writing.

I don’t think I’m going to work on it this year, especially with my time constraints. I know for certain I won’t be able to make the minimum daily requirements. But the other thing is I don’t have a freaking clue what to write.

Ova has turned into a real shitshow. The problem is I’ve written the story once, I liked it, but it got taken out with The Purge of my house I did in March. I don’t want to sit here and retell a story I’ve already told myself. That’s not how I write. I’m a pure discovery writer. I plot the beginning and the end, and how we get to the end is totally left up to the Muse. I’m just along for the ride.

Ova might be interesting to others, but I can’t seem to get myself into it. So instead of excuses, I’m just going to dump it and consider it lost.

While cleaning out my filing cabinet, I found my old floppy disks (the 3 1/2″, not 5 1/4″ ones) with Hunter’s Realm on them. I do have Hunter’s Realm on my TB drive, and I liked how that one came out. I loved Luther so much – he was a real Mary Sue, though. I should read through it and see if it’s viable. As a YA story, I think it is, because I wrote it when I was in college.

NaNoWriMo requires a new story, though, so that’s where I’m stuck. I have so much going on…what story could I do? And what time do I have to do it?

I’m beta-reading a story for someone, and while I’m reading it, I’m thinking, “I can do better than this with my eyes closed.” I’m catching small things that are really good, and glaring errors. An example stuck in my head is using the word “junkyard” in a fantasy world with elves and dwarves. It brings to mind rusting cars. Maybe “scattered about like a pile of junk.” Or, my favorite word of the year, detritus.

Should I yank out my old D&D books?

Last taste of relaxation

This is the last week I have before I return to work on Friday. I’m excited but not. I’m excited to start this new journey, but I’m afraid of overextending myself.

This is good for six months, and then after this I have to reassess. Hopefully I won’t get sick again in the meantime.

I haven’t written, to tell you the truth, and I know, that’s bad. I’m actually beta-reading a novel for someone, and it’s over a hundred thousand words. At the same time I’m reading Second Company by Michael Hesse, which is how I really wanted War Mage to be but didn’t have the knowledge to do. To tell you the truth, he did a better job.

Dialysis gives me four hours to read, so I’ll have plenty of books on my Kindle.

Real Magic for Writers is selling steadily, probably because it’s cheap right now. We don’t know if it’s this blog, the podcast, or just Amazon bumping me up that’s doing the sales. It’s magic!

Butt in gear

I have lots of things to obsess about. The dialysis (which has given me four hours of reading time three times a week), the next book which already has a writer’s block on the first chapter, and what’s going to happen for the rest of my life.

As soon as I move the computer upstairs to my third office (I live in a 10-room house) I will be doing a podcast.

I’m having trouble with the new novel, tentatively titled Ova. I want to introduce the main character, but I can’t seem to catch her voice. I don’t hear her very clearly–though I know what she ends up doing, at the beginning here I can’t seem to get her down right. I need to ask myself some questions and do a little “interview” of her to get where she’s coming from. I’ve plopped her down on the page and have no backstory, only what happens in the future.

I tried to write her home life, but it was boring. Eat, watch TV, go to sleep. Wake up. Do chores. Go to work.

It’s really hard for me to describe something or someone without making it seem like a description. I have to use active words, have characters do something other than stand there while we take a picture. Describe and action at the same time.

A side track

I know this is a blog about writing, but I need to take a moment to let you know something.

I’m starting dialysis Monday.

I’m waffling between “This is a death sentence” and “I’m going to fight like the dickens and live a long life with this.” 15 hours a week at a dialysis center, and working 40 hours a week won’t leave me much time for fun and games.

However, on the bright side, I’ll have time to write. Somewhere I have a Bluetooth keyboard and I can hopefully type using my iPad. I’m working on the next novel, the sci-fi one I explained in the previous blog. I’m doing it in Word this time around, not Scrivener.

I’ll have time to read, to listen to audiobooks and podcasts, and do fill-it-ins (they’re like crossword puzzles but you’re given the word and have to fit it in puzzle). If I had a laptop I would probably game, but I don’t have one.

I also have time to pester people, do my calls and emails. Go ahead, tell me my on hold time is an hour. I’ll wait.

Back in the saddle?

I was in the hospital for two weeks due to a mental health issue, and realized while I was there that I missed writing.

I was into the game, and work, and other things known as Life, that I didn’t want to write. I didn’t have time or the energy.

So when I got out of the hospital, I let my publisher know that I was going to write something. But I wanted to write a different genre, something that I hadn’t done before.

While cleaning cat puke off a notebook, I realized that this notebook had my notes from a hard science fiction novel I had written in my 20’s. It was very similar to Dune in that it had to do with an alien race finding a mythical person to lead them. However, it took place on Earth.

I hadn’t written hard sci-fi since then and wondered “Why not?” My plan is to write the first chapter, present it to the publisher with a very rough outline of the rest of the book, and see what he thinks.

Thinking is writing, too

Just because you’re not putting anything on the page, it doesn’t mean that you’re not writing if you’re thinking about your work in progress.

I’m looking for inspiration to write something. City of Heroes’ characters are deep in that lore, so pulling Maximillian out will make things weird. A few people I talked to mentioned a children’s book, something upbeat and fluffy. All week I’ve been trying to think of “fluffy” and it always turns into something dark.

It’s a whole different mindset to think of something positive, when all you can think of is the negative. But I’m still thinking, trying to twist the negative into the positive.

I guess i need to watch more Star Trek.

I apologize

It’s been two or three weeks since I’ve updated this blog. I sincerely apologize because my head has been in City of Heroes nearly constantly.

It’s good to see it back, to play the old missions. Arachnos, Warriors, Council, Sky Raiders, the maps, the missions and contacts – it brought back old memories. Fighting in caves, warehouses, offices…different than Champions Online. I found out some ways to get different perks.

This is OCD in full-bloom. I need to ease up.

  1. I plan on stepping away from the game, attempting to just get on during the weekends.
  2. I need to write again. Something upbeat and fluffy, as something different. It’ll probably never see the light of day, though.
  3. I can grab a couple of characters and write stories about them from CoX. Personally I like Maximillian (Leader of “The Maximum Ride Gang”)–he’s a villain.
  4. I have other characters that I can work on. My writing depends on characters, not settings or plots.

This week, Maxwell Thomas has a book coming out, the omnibus of Brothers of the Zodiac. It’s eBook only, so available on Amazon, Smashwords, Nook, etc.

Finished

I finally finished Real Magic for Writers. I just need to take a few pictures so that we can have them in the book for illustrations. I just finished sending back the first editorial pass.

The publisher liked the book and is happy with how it turned out. It will be published under Water Dragon Publishing, probably in September, or maybe August if we get everything straight before then.

Meanwhile, I’m coming up with characters in City of Heroes. There’s Maximillian, in charge of a gang called “Maximum Carnage” (Mastermind/Kinetics).

A spider who was able to get his armor off and get out of the network of Arachnos. (No Quarter – spider soldier).

Grimaulkin, of course. (Dark/Fire “sentinel” aka “striker”)

I have 18 characters. Most are level 20 and below, and I have them divided into role-playing, sometimes role-playing, and concept characters.

Come join me on the “homecoming” servers (Yes, I found that amusing). I’m @Grimaulkin

Distractions!

You know you’re addicted when you get up at 5:30 in the morning to do what it is you’re addicted to.

Not writing. Gaming.

I’ll admit, City of Heroes’ reboot is my addiction; and it’s taking time away from writing. However, I am still writing on weekends, doing about a thousand words a weekend. That’s pretty sad, considering I used to write five thousand words on a weekend, no problem.

I have a book due, and I’m working on it with about four thousand words left to do (four chapters). I’ll buckle down next weekend, when I have a four-day weekend and no place to go.

Except Paragon City.

Qualifications

This past week, I’ve had the issue with my right eye bleeding and because of that, I’m having a hard time reading things. I look down, then up – and it looks like a lion’s tail is moving around in my vision.

Mostly I’ve been wondering if I’m qualified to give advice about writing. Real Magic for Writers is not just about magic, but about how you can improve your writing. In order for the magic to work, you need to be able to do the improvements.

I’m drawing on my 30-plus years of experience, both in magic and with writing. Is that enough to prove that I know what I’m talking about? I’m published, but I don’t have a ton of reviews; I have people that I read cards for, but I don’t have constant clients. Do I really know what I’m doing?

How do I prove it? Do you want to see my diploma from college, saying I have an English degree? Do you want me to read your cards for you? I can’t guarantee that Real Magic will work for you, but if you do the work, your writing can only be improved.