Be a writer

I just did a round of book signings for my new book, Time Gangsters. It seems like at least once every signing, someone comes up to me and says, "I'd like to be a writer." I now answer them by saying, "Then be a writer." I'm not trying to be a smart alec, but I really do think it is that simple. There are a lot of people who want to be writers but they seem to be waiting for something.

Some say they'll write when they're not so busy. Well, my answer to that is get an iPad or smartphone and a bluetooth keyboard and write a few words whenever you get a chance. I experimented with this last year when I was on the UVU campus a couple of days a week. I had little 10 to 15 minute gaps between my saxophone students, so I'd get out my iPad and start typing. In a month I was 5000 words into a novel. If I'd continued that, I could have had a whole novel in three semesters. My experiment ended, though, when I got so excited about the story that I started working on it during my 3-hour writing blocks on the other days of the week.

Also, when I wrote my first book, The Dragon War Relic, I was working two jobs and having to squeeze in writing here and there wherever I could. I had to sacrifice some things, like TV watching and computer games. This doesn't just go for writing, but music and many other things: if you want to become an expert at something, you have to give up things that distract you from it.

Here's another one I hear, "But I don't know enough about writing." Sheesh, if I waited until I actually knew what I was doing I still wouldn't have written a single book. As it is, I'm currently working on my tenth book in six years. I still don't know what I'm doing but I'm learning. Every book I write I learn something new. Now, some of those books will not ever see daylight because they are so bad, but I still learned a lot from them and the next book became better because of it.

This leads me to the next thing. Some people want to wait until they have their ideas and thoughts all perfectly figured out. Maybe they can do that, but for me, I have to see my stuff in print before I can figure out what to do with it. The analogy I use is that it is like making a clay pot on a spinning wheel. You first have to get the lump of clay on the wheel before you can begin to shape it the way you want. For writers, that means just write the stinkin' first draft, warts and all. Then worry about perfecting it through editing.

I can't think of other excuses that people have, but I'm sure there are plenty more. Let me know if you think of any and we can air them out. Mainly, though, if you want to be a writer, take action. Do a little bit every day toward that goal, even if it is only 5 minutes here and there.

Thoughts on LTUE

Last weekend was "Life, the Universe, and Everything" symposium hosted at UVU. This was the 30th year of the symposium but the first time it has been held away from BYU. There were a few growing pains, but overall it went well and was enjoyable. One nice thing about it being at UVU is that it was closer to my house, only a couple of miles away, and I have a faculty parking permit. The best thing about it, though, is the quality of writers that are there to speak on the panels: Brandon Sanderson, Brandon Mull, David Farland/Wolverton, Tracy Hickman, Larry Correia, Dan Wells, and James Dashner, just to name a few.

Oh, and of course, I was there, too.Which was quite humbling. I ended up leaving this LTUE feeling a little discouraged. Not because of the quality of the event, but I just came away with the feeling that I really don't know what the heck I'm doing. The panel I was on about writing suspense was great and I even had a few worthwhile sound bites, but Jeff Savage, Clint Johnson, James Dashner, and Kathleen Dalton-Woodbury all said things so profoundly that I wished I could have been in the audience taking notes. It made me wonder why I was even trying to write.

Now this isn't the first time I've been discouraged. It's par for the course when you're a writer. For me, though, it ends up being a positive thing. Sure, I feel like throwing in the towel for a few hours, but usually I wake up the next morning and think, "Well, I'm not where I need to be so I better get busy." I'm taking those areas that I feel inadequate at and making efforts to strengthen them. I guess this is the musician in me that does this. That's what learning music is, finding our weak areas and then practicing them like crazy until they become strengths. Heck, life it like that for that matter.

So, fear not, I'm not giving up. I'm just knuckling down and trying to make myself better. Oh, and happy Valentine's Day.

Rethinking

I just finished a read through of my second draft of Slave of the Sphere. This is a different kind of project for me that I still think has a lot of potential. The problem is, it is going to take a huge amount of work to fix it. "Sphere" is a lot bigger project than any of my others. It is a darker, more epic kind of project that is nothing like the light-hearted adventures I've done thus far. Character relationships are much more complex and the world more detailed.

So, after finishing reading the draft and comments from my writing group, I'm torn between abandoning the six months work I've already put into it or if I should just knuckle down and fix it. I discovered that I so much more enjoy writing the light, middle-grade stuff and it is hard for me to want to go back into this dark world.

But at the same time, I've always wanted to write epic fantasy. And this idea is completely different than anything else I've ever seen. I hate to give up on it. That said, I've learned a lot about being a writer from this. By doing a project over my head, I've had to stretch myself as a writer. Even if this story never reaches the light of day, it should hopefully help me with my other, lighter stuff.

For now, my plan is to do a new outline for it, with comprehensive character analysis. I'll then let it sit for a while as I go back to working on Memoir of a Teenage Sidekick. I'll let my subconscious continue to work on it while I stick with the more comedic works that I love. Maybe I'll get another draft done this year to help me improve my writing even further. For now, though, I've decided to put this more complex project on a longer developmental path.

The Return of Share the Love

Okay, so this blog post is part of a contest. Blog about it and I'm entered in it. Well, I'm actually excited about this one because last year, I was one of the winners. What is it, you ask? If I blog and tweet and all that stuff about the Storymakers conference coming up in May, I could be one of three winners to sit at a table with some of the conference VIPs. Last year, I sat between James Dashner and Larry Brooks and got to chew the cud with them for an hour.

I suppose I should backtrack and explain what Storymakers is. Its a fantastic organization that I'm a part of. It consists of LDS authors as a sort of guild/support group. Every spring, though, they have an awesome conference for writers here in Utah. I haven't been to a lot of conferences, but I have to say, if you're a writer, this is the best one I've ever been to. There are lots of fantastic classes taught by great teachers. For instance, this year Kevin J. Anderson will be one of the guests. So, if you live in Utah or can get here by plane, train, boat, or stage coach and you write books, you should check it out. You can register and find out more about it here: http://ldstorymakers.com/conferences/registration/

For those who want to get in on the 'Share the Love' contest, here's the link to that: http://ldstorymakerauthors.blogspot.com/2012/01/show-your-love-for-ldstorymakers.html

Oh, you're probably wanting some advice with this posting. Here it is: if it's below freezing, don't go outside with wet hair.

To Do

I still haven't figured out what exactly to blog about. I want to make sure I bring up topics that are unique and might be useful to someone, though. Maybe that's why I don't blog very much.

Anyway, I reached a milestone in my life this week that may be of some use to others. It's an old concept but new to me. You see, I've always been able to keep a list in my head of the things I need to do and been able to get them done. Lately, though, I've been finding more and more things are being forgotten or 'spaced-out'. Is it that my memory is getting worse? I don't know, maybe. But I think a lot of it is that there are just more things to do. Between family, church, a music career, and a writing career, it's harder for me to keep all the little things I need to do straight.

So, here's my epiphany: a to-do list. Now, you're probably saying, "Well, duh." But hey, this is a big revelation for me. So this week, I've been making lists on my iPad and deleting things when I finish them. And you know what? It's working. I'm actually remembering all the little things I need to do (like blog).

Before, I'd sometimes be sitting at my computer and thinking, "Now, what was that thing I needed to do?" I would think and think until, when I couldn't remember it, I'd play Spider Solitaire. Then, as I got up from the computer, my memory would return but by then it was too late.

So, my advice is, keep a to-do list. It works.

This message brought to you by Procrastinators Anonymous whenever we get around to it.

Time Gangsters is on Blog Tour!

Starting today, there is a blog tour for Time Gangsters, my new book that is slated to come out February 14th. Here is the schedule for the next few days:
1/8/2012    http://www.bradenbell.com/index.html  
1/10/2012    http://ldsretailers.blogspot.com/ 
1/10/2012    http://shirleybahlmann.blogspot.com/  
1/11/2012    http://dianasamazingbookadventures.blogspot.com  
1/12/2012    http://www.bendingthespine.blogspot.com/  
1/13/2012    http://jlloydmorgan.blogspot.com/  
1/13/2012    http://www.NicolesYABookHaven.com  
1/14/2012    http://familyreads.blogspot.com  


Be sure to check out their reviews once they post them. Braden Bell's is already up, so definitely visit his site.

This is the beginning of an exciting time for me. Of course, there's also a lot of trepidation. Will the reviewers like it? Will readers like it? Or will it just get used as a door stop and paper weight? I know I liked the book and enjoyed writing it, but it's a whole new thing to wait to see what others think. I'll post more about the tour later.

Where things are

I'm not one much for New Year's resolutions. I think if we really want to make a change in our lives, we need to just commit to it and do it no matter what time of year it is. That said, I have set a goal for 2012 to submit four books for publication. Now, it doesn't mean they will be accepted, but hopefully at least one of them will.

Sounds like a lot, doesn't it? Well, I've been busy this last year. One thing I've learned as a writer is that it takes a while for a book to go from concept to print. About one year or so to write and edit and another year once it is accepted by the publisher. So, while Time Gangsters went through the works of getting published, I didn't wait. I wrote three books in 2011 and those are three of the ones I plan to submit.

In January, I plan to put out a spin off story set in the same universe as Dragon War Relic. It has different main characters, though, and takes place in Alaska. Of course, it won't be complete without a few cameos from Doug, Gar, and the three Elves (Kerk, Sprock, and Bob).

Then in May, I'll be meeting with at least one agent to pitch the other two stories I've written this year. One is a kind of dystopian/fantasy/steampunk story called (for now) Slave of the Sphere. This story has been a struggle because it is not comedy. It is catering to my life-long desire to write epic fantasy. I foresee this book becoming a trilogy at least (I hope). It is about a world where they have figured out how to capture the magic of magicians (called Arcanians) and have turned them into slaves to use their power to create energy for their cities and machines.

The other book I'll pitch is one I just finished draft 1 last month. It has he working title of Memoir of a Teenage Sidekick. It is a first person story from the perspective of Seal Boy, the side kick to a superhero named Walrus. But Walrus is captured by a league of super villains and Seal Boy must find a way, without powers, to rescue him.

And then for my fourth book, I want to dust off my 2010 manuscript of Scepter of the Ancients, which is the sequel to Dragon War Relic. I'm hoping by then that I'll start to have enough of a following that it will warrant the publication of the sequel.

So, that's my plan. Why am I telling you this? Because I've found when goals are shared, they have more power. This will help me work at it a little harder to make sure it happens. It means I'll have a busy year, though. Of course, on top of that, I need to try and come up with a couple more first drafts to stories so that I'll have something to submit in 2013. A writer's work is never done.