GenCon: The After Action Report

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How was GenCon? Not bad – little light on things for me, but I learned some new painting techniques I am eager to use on my minis.

I didn’t play any games this time because the mini painting courses were so expensive, and there was only one game I really wanted to play, but when I checked on it after it had been up for a few minutes, it was already sold out. Next year, I plan on a balance of games and panels.

I did do some shopping, and my pin collection continues to grow and not disappoint. I need something for the back of my vest, though. Some sort of patch or something. I have an idea of what I would like, but I don’t know if they make it.

I’ll also talk about the wet elephant in the room. Yes, there was a severe storm and a weak tornado in Indianapolis during GenCon. I wasn’t there. I was already back at my hotel room when it happened, but I got a good look at the rain as it came across, and boy was it rough. I don’t know how people managed it on the roads. Nothing looked horribly damaged beyond the reputation of the convention center. Some people got a much needed shower, so good on them.

Currently, I am suffering from Con Crud. Definitely earned from my shambles of a diet and being packed into aisles like I was on a Japanese commuter train. GenCon’s plan of not having wagons or childless strollers was a decent idea. It did make it a little easier to get around. The water situation could be a little better, and Starbucks could remain open a bit longer on Sundays during GenCon. I mean, who closes at 2 PM?

Am I going to go back next year? Maybe. What’s going to be the big decision is whether or not I can get hotel accommodations closer to the convention center. Where I stayed was fine, but the traffic was an ongoing concern, parking sorted itself out, but was expensive. Not as expensive as parking directly downtown. I would like to be able to just park in one spot and walk a block or two over. I’ve heard horror stories of the closer hotels cancelling reservations and raising the rates if you want to keep your room. I think I’ll go through a service like Expedia or hotels.com. I might have to pay a lot more than I did for the hotel I went to, but I am going to have the luxury of not worrying about a parking spot. I can stay out later.

Well, that’s it for now. I had a good vacation, but I am looking forward to getting back to work on Serve Me Now and outlining Daughter of the Mountain a little bit more. Until we meet again – ta-ta for now!

The Six Hundred and Seventieth Post: The One Where I Consider Going Real Old School…

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Did you know that Stehpen King writes some of his drafts long hand? I wonder if it’s the whole draft, or just certain sections. He says if he wants more thoughtful phrases, it’s long hand. I like writing with fountain pens – so why not write a whole book? I wonder if that would have an effect on my manuscript? I think I’ll experiment with my next one – the YA fantasy I talked about earlier. I mean – I do my outline in long hand. I’ll give it a shot. I’ve got my choice of pens and inks to use. Just means I’ll have to type it up when I am done, but that can also encompass any revisions I’ll need. The only real downside is that it’s going to take longer…then again, I’m not ablaze with speed, am I?

The outline for the YA novel is coming along, speaking of that and Serve Me Now is limping. I just need to get a good writing day in on Saturday. Next week is GenCon, so no post from me since I’ll be gone furthering my mini painting education. If I’m lucky, I’ll retain some of it! One panel (“Blending Bootcamp!”) is three hours long. I want to get better and more confident at painting minis for my gaming groups and for myself.

There’s not a whole lot happening here outside of writing and getting ready for the convention. Just me and my boring writer’s life. I’m a little interested in writing something longhand, I’ve gotten my vest for my button collection and I’ve gotten the hotel money. I wish I could say more, but that’s it. Sorry if this seemed a little short.

Have fun with your day! Ta-ta for now.

The Six Hundred and Sixty-Ninth Post: The One Where I Roll My Eyes and Give Up My Attacking the Windmill…

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I am going to write to market, and because the market wants horror and YA and fantasy (those are the most popular markets in no particular order…not that you could tell by my sales figures…), I’m trying to blend all three in the established fantasy setting I have which I cheekily call ‘The Tyroverse’. This is where The Quietest Heart takes place, as well as my often delayed sequel to it, the even more often delayed Unbroken and the never delayed because it’s going through yet another revision in my head before being put on paper again The Marvelous and Malefic Doomsday Medicine Show. This place has more dead stories in it than a body farm.

This story concerns itself with a family coming out of a city-state called Tarjen. Tarjen could be politely called a ‘hermit kingdom’ where information going out is tightly controlled. Think of it as a meritocracy-favored North Korea, but one where the people actually want to stay.

Except for the main character’s family, who voluntarily choose to leave the mountains because their eldest daughter would face conscription in the Tarjen Armed Forces. They leave, find a village to live in, meet a crazy teen boy and the daughter finds out that the peaceful village holds a dire secret. What fun! Madness, mayhem and frolicking abound in this book.

I am cheating a little bit and I am using the “Save the Cat” way of organizing this story. Usually, I depend on the Five Act Structure…but I have a sneaking suspicion that my story is being evaluated by the Cat method, and that could be the reason why it’s not getting any traction. So, I am going along in hopes of eventually getting along.

In the end – Save the Cat is the Monomyth that Joseph Campbell made famous in Hero with a Thousand Faces. Save the Cat was made for movies, but now it’s been co-opted into every story telling medium out there. I’m not complaining about it’s use. It is really useful for organizing a coherent story.

What I am going to complain about is that it’s now a checklist. Did you use this percentage of the story to establish? As such-and-such a page, this needs to happen. The “Sex at 60” rule – which is not going to make an appearance in the book – and a lot of other nitpicky things. Storytelling is a lot more than checklists, slots and percentages. It’s about evoking feelings, stirring memories and teaching through tales. I don’t think agents and editors really want to take a chance anymore. Which is a shame, because I am sure that there are a lot of good stories out there that are being passed over.

Well, that’s it for now – I need to work on the outline and see how I am going to cater this for YA horror…and I should probably read a YA horror novel just to see how much I can get away with when it comes to horror.

Ta-ta for now!

The Six Hundred and Sixty-Eighth Post: The One Where I Ball Up the Towel…

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Okay, I’m think I’m going to throw in the towel on The Show Must Go On sooner than later. I haven’t gotten a bite on anything yet. I don’t think that sending out more queries is going to solve this particular problem. Not taking self-publishing off the table or even doing the more daunting gender flip. I believe in the novel, and I believe in the story it tells – but apparently, I am the only one.

Serve Me Now continues along at its slow pace. I need to light a fire under me when I get home. I was originally looking to have this done by the end of this month. By word count, I’m halfway through. Story wise…well…we’re not at the gory scenes yet, but we’re getting there. I am really trying to focus more on the dawning horror of her situation. This is supposed to be cosmic horror without the tentacles.

I’m just bummed, but I know I must press on. The Show Must Go On might not be the barn burner that I was hoping for, but I’ve got other projects. Certainly, one of them will catch someone’s eye, right?

Well, that really all for now. I should get back to work. Have a good day and I’ll talk to y’all later.

The Six Hundred and Sixty-Seventh Post: The One Where I Consider Flipping the Gender Tables

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OK – I’m going to admit that the constant rejections are getting to me. I’m tempted to let the fourteen queries I have out be it, and just go on ahead and self-publish The Show Must Go On. I haven’t had any interest in it, yet. I think it’s a good story, but apparently, I am the only one that thinks that. I’m half-tempted to gender swap everyone and resubmit it to people. I wonder if I would get any more traction that way? Have Lin the aggrieved party rather than Chip? I’ll think about it.

Speaking of cracking sanity…Serve Me Now is starting to get to that spot for me. Sara, the main character, is starting to have her sanity fracture, but I don’t know if it’s going to be effective or not. This is a delicate thing. I don’t want her to be all scenery chewing, but I must show something. I’m sure I can pull it off. I’m just getting stuck because I don’t really have an outline. This is a bit of a rush job for me in a manner of speaking, not that I have a deadline. I gave that up. It’s going to get done when it gets done.

I ma also working on a couple of other ideas. I think the spaghetti approach is going to be my best tool. Throw everything out there and see what sticks. So far, I think Lucky Evan’s Life is the winner, but I want to write in other genres. I should get Agonizing Alibi Day out there, as well as Tribal. I should finish Tribal first and get that looked over. I don’t know if it’s going to be a good fit for an agent, even though the political aspect of it seems to be the hot thing right now.

Anyway, that’s all I got for now. I should get back to work while I still have some lunch left. Have a good day and I’ll see you in the next.

The Six Hundred and Sixty-Fifth Post: The One Where I Struggle On In the Face of Adversity!

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Well, I’ve been rejected by all six of the agents I have approached. Am I going to let this get me down? No! It’s a matter of six down and forty-four to go. After that, I might just self-publish it to get a couple of dollars. If I go that route, I hope to have Serve Me Now and Tribal finished by then. If not (I wouldn’t be surprised), then I am going to put Alien Voices through the paces. Why I’m not going to do it next is because I am still doing the line edit on it and that’s going to take a while. Especially if my computer keeps on resetting for updates. Thanks, Bill.

Speaking of Serve Me Now, it’s coming along slowly, like a lot of my works, but I’m getting to the weight gain and madness part. That’s the part I’ve been waiting to get to, but it’s also looking like the book is going to be getting to be longer than 90,000 words…like it’s gaining weight, too. Unlike my protagonist, I am going to put it on a diet to keep it down to the amount I need it to be. I’ve been told that anything above 100,000 words, especially in horror, is a harder sell to agents and publishers. I need to get every advantage I can get.

I’m also working on a new idea: The Unfortunate Exorcism of Tony “The Fish” D’Epescatore. I think I might have brought it up earlier, but I’m doing the background research on it. I’m learning a lot about the Mafia, the Catholic Church and exorcisms in general. That’s what I love about writing – I get to learn new stuff almost every day. Whether or not this is a good idea…that remains to be seen. I think it’s a good idea, but then again I am biased a little.

I’m also pleased to say that my writing group is getting back together! I’ve missed these people through the holidays and spring. I don’t know what to offer to them first. I might go on ahead and stsart bringing Serve Me Now and get that working. It’s going to delay it because we only meet twice a month, but having other people looking at it will make it a lot stronger.

I think that’s all for now. I should get back to actually writing the books. I hope y’all have a good day! Ta-ta for now.

The Six Hundred and Sixty-Fourth Post: The One Where I Draw a Line In The Sand

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I’ve gotten a couple more rejections, but I am also going to send out more queries on Saturday. How many more am I going to send out? I’m thinking I am going to assign a hard number to this one: fifty. If I can’t get past the first round fifty times, maybe this book should be self-published and released into the wild. So far, I’m four into it. More will come later, I’m sure.

Serve Me Now has hit a little bump in the road, so I am working on something else right now. Working on a project titled: The Unfortunate Exorcism of Tony “The Fish” DePescatore. I’m in the research stage and reading about possession. I think this one is going straight to self-publish. I’m writing this one because it’s a good idea and I need to do something when I am slumping on Serve Me Now.

I’m not really big into supernatural fiction (although one of my favorite Stephen King books is IT), but this idea I had really says something to me. I might be able to put in some humor into it, maybe make it into a dark comedy. I don’t want to get too much into it here as I am still fleshing out some things.

One would think that getting rejected would have done something negative to my writing, but it’s not. I’m getting feisty about it. I’m doubling down on things. I am not going to let this get me down. I am pressing on somehow.

There is not much else going on right now. I just need to get more queries out this Saturday, try to edit down Alien Voices and maybe get that looked at by agents. Also, do laundry and go to the gym. An action-packed Saturday for me. I love it!