Category Archives: Writing

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.

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.

Real Magic

I have decided to start on a new book. Blood From a Stone seemed to be mechanical, with no life in it. I got to the second chapter of the book, and realized that it was boring. Even though I hit the plot points did everything I was supposed to do, that was the problem. I followed a formula.

I followed the outline, and, I guess, the outline was boring. There’s a book called Story Trumps Structure, and it goes against the idea of using an outline. Sure you have “beats” and “inciting events” and all of that, but if there’s no life, there’s no story.

That’s why I felt I needed to do something different. I was talking with my publisher and mentioned to him about a panel that I could do called “Real Magic for Writers.” It would be about using the magic (chaos magic or eclectic magical practices) that I used to help my writing along. I drew up a proposal and he and his business partner liked it.

So Real Magic for Writers is slated to come out in October (I think? Or September?). With this one, I have an outline, and I’m following it, but I’m putting life into it because it’s about something I’m passionate about and that I’ve done for about 30 years. It’s something I haven’t done, a non-fiction book about a sort of secret part of my life.

And City of Heroes is back!

Switching gears

While waiting for the slooooowwwww download of CoX, I’m writing a new book.

I’ve stopped writing Blood From a Stone. I kept getting stuck, following the outline I had created for myself. I found out that I was forcing things to happen.

So now I’m writing a book for writers called Real Magic for Writers. It draws on my experience as a Sorcerer and Magician, as well as a writer of ten books.

I’m trying to keep the book conversational and easy to understand. The main point of the book is you can do the spells, but you also need to do the work behind them in order for the spell to succeed.

The good thing about this book is that the outline is clear. There’s no real room for diversion, once I can get the outline perfectly done up. With fiction, there’s rabbit holes even with outlines. With non-fiction, it’s pretty easy to go through.

I just hope that the people who read this book won’t go nuts if everything goes wrong.

Tempt the school librarians

Yesterday I attended the first (possibly annual) Providence Book Festival. In terms of sales, I didn’t do too well, but in terms of networking and finding out information (and helping other authors) I did really well.

One nugget I learned was that librarians go to these things. It’s not a bad thing to try to cater to a school library. Because Grimaulkin is young adult, and that market is hot (not hot-hot like middle grade) I can get the book into the hands of high schoolers. I also offered myself up as a speaker to school librarians in case they ever wanted to put together a panel of authors.

Meanwhile, I am now doing the rewrite for Blood From a Stone. I did all the background work, figuring out what works and what doesn’t, what characters to keep, what scenes to redo and add in. I hope to have it done in the next two weeks and ready to send out to the editor by then. My self-imposed deadline is June 1.

May 1 is when Grimaulkin Tales comes out. We titled each of the stories like Canterbury Tales, which is kinda neat. I’ve sold one copy already, and I may have someone ready to get it in June.

My next appearance will be June 1, at the Woonsocket Meet & Greet in the Woonsocket library.