Author Archives: CrissyMoss

Unknown's avatar

About CrissyMoss

I've been writing as long as I can remember.

Would you read this?

Posted on by
4

The description for “Osiren’s Tears”. Would this make you want to read?

“The trolls are a noble, proud race, made from the very earth. In death they return to the earth, their blood and body becoming the precious metals and gemstones from which the mountains are made.

The menaids, lovers of beautiful things, found the stones and metals. They built their city, Iklestal,and laced it with magnificent works of art. Golden statues. Silver filigree. Gemstones and precious metals, all stripped from the last resting place of the trolls.

But how can Grom, the greatest among the trolls, live in peace knowing his ancestors are nothing but pretty baubles adorning the menaids? How did Osiren, his god, expect him to react when he found the lone menaid wearing his mothers eyes as earrings?”

Sunshine and Roses

Posted on by
Reply

Now that “Osiren’s Tears” is at the editors I realized that “Small Bites 1” is also ready to go up. SO! I will have two new books out by the end of the month.

I also have two fellow writers helping me iron out some kinks before I put out my next couple books. And my boyfriend who has been helping me when he can, mostly with encouragement, sometimes with editing and advice.

I went through everything I have ready, or near ready, and I actually have 15 books that I should have out by June! (Including the two already out.)

After such a slow start, and months between books, the fact that I will soon have 15 of them is amazing.

Couple things that helped me get this far:
1. Getting organized.
I literally had hundreds of story ideas, so many it was overwhelming. So I started by pairing it down to “What is a solid, complete, story idea”, then “what is almost finished” and was able to narrow it down to just a couple dozen stories. Much of easier to deal with.

So however your creative side isthe finding expression, narrow it down to what is most important now, finish those, then come back for more.

2. Track Yourself
I loved NaNoWriMo. Watching the little graphs go up as I wrote each day. Having a goal. Competing against friends to see who could finish first.

It took me a month in June of trial and error to finally find a system that worked best for me, but now I have it. It tracks all the important things. Words written, chapters finished, blog posts… everything at a glance with a running tally for each month. And because of it my word count is going up every day.

3. Annoying Friends
I have the guys over at SPP and STP, especially Garrett, that keep writing and publishing thousands of words every month. And I keep thinking… I’m going to catch up to you dang it! And by golly I am going to catch up eventually!

It’s the whole idea behind the competition part of NaNoWriMo. Comparing yourself to other people isn’t always a good thing… but for this I’m making an exception.

4. Don’t be Satisfied with the Status Quo
I want to do better. I want to write more, write better, edit more, and have TONS of books out there. That drive to push myself… in the end it’s really what keeps me at this.

So… GO CREATE SOMETHING! No more excuses.

FINISHED!

Posted on by
Reply

I just sent “Osiren’s Tears” off to the editor! I finished the final chapter at 8pm tonight. I am so excited! But I’m not taking a break now. I have six more books for this series alone, not to mention short stories, and a few paranormal romances and science fiction stories that I have planned.

Update

Posted on by
Reply

A week ago I wrote about Garrett, Zack and Cristal calling me out to be the first to send a voicemail into their show. So… here it is: (the voicemail)

You should definitely watch the whole show. It was very interesting, and had a lot less spoilers then last weeks show.

“Happy little accidents” is from Bob Ross, a man who use to paint on PBS from who I learned a lot of my landscape painting skills, and mainly just to get out and enjoy the act of making art. (Bob Ross Remix)

I was never actually able to paint along with Bob Ross, but I did learn that sometimes the simplest things were enough to make art beautiful. It only takes a little bit of paint to get the point across.

Another concept cover for Osiren's Tears

Another concept cover for Osiren’s Tears

On that note, I have been really toying with the new cover of Osiren’s Tears, and I haven’t really liked anything yet. I am trying to convey a lot of information with it (fantasy, series, war, etc) and I decided to try something a little simpler.

I am not sure this is the final version, but I like this one a lot more then other versions.

The book was suppose to be at the editors right now, however… I got sick. She was nice enough to postpone it for a week while I catch up on my edits. I still have four chapters that I need to finish up before I can send it to her. A chapter a night and I should be able to have an actual publication in just a couple more weeks.

I really hate postponing yet again, but I honestly couldn’t move or stay awake while I was sick. So I am just going to have to put my nose to the grindstone again and get this thing finished.

I think you know you’re starting to get serious about something when your excuses start annoying you, even if they are valid excuses.

Around the Web

Quote

Posted on by
Reply

I’m sick today, so I’m only posting a small post while my brain is active enough to handle it. I’ve actually been sleeping on and off all day today.

Alright, the big news, right off the top:
Amazon buys Goodreads! Here is an article from Daily News and another from Amazon Press Release. What does it mean? Will they integrate reviews? Will they muck up social networks and ruin things like facebook? Time will tell.

Second, Bioshock Infinite is out, and I love this review done by Adam Sessler. Basically… video games are pushing the boundaries of story telling. I can’t wait to play this game and be a full part of the story.

Felicia Day did a great AMA on Reddit this week, and talks a bit about the future of Geek and Sundry, and her creative drive in general.

The Writers Knowledge Base offers a searchable index of articles about writing, creating, and what have you. I haven’t had much time to search around in it, but so far it looks interesting.

The Nerdist interviews Macklemore. They talk about the weirdness of fame, writers block, creativity, and doing what you love.

The Future of Storytelling, interviews with people at Comic Con.

On the home front, I’ve been putting together a playlist on YouTube of video’s about Overcoming Fear, from the likes of Charlie is so Cool Like, Hank Green, and Vi Hart. There are some wonderful videos and I hope they inspire you, too.

Being called out

Posted on by
Reply

I’ve been trying to surround myself with people who believe in me, and who push me to do… better… to do things I am not comfortable with.

Alright, lets be a bit honest. I think I have a touch of social anxiety disorder. No, I haven’t been diagnosed, and I don’t think I have the full onset disorder. I just know that sometimes I have to retreat from everything, and everyone, and hide in a little space where I slowly breath and cry, and try so hard to forget there is anything outside my little head. Try to find a place that is safe, and secure. One where the world isn’t closing in on me.

I do this as a self preservation technique. I actually started it when I was in my teens, and during my marriage it got worse. Since my divorce it doesn’t happen very often, but when it does happen the moments can be almost more overwhelming. I think because it use to be a constant stress that I was holding my walls up against  and now that the stress is gone I have let most of the walls down, so when a sudden stress happens it gets closer to me. Closer to my core, and my identity. It hurts much more and I have a bit of a freak out. But I also recover a lot quicker then I use to.

So that brings me to today, and The Story Telling Podcast. Sigh, and YAY at the same time.

Okay, I really like Garrett, and I consider him a friend. An internet friend, to be sure, but a friend. He’s read one of my stories, given me a nice review, and said “KEEP WRITING” often. That means a lot to me. Oh, and he’s actually laughed at my jokes, which doesn’t happen much.

So today… Garrett asks for people to call in and leave voicemail, and he CALLS ME OUT! Okay, so I watch every episode. I tweet them during the show. I comment, etc. etc. I suppose I deserved it, but…

No one knows this. I’ve been trying to get the nerve up to do some audio recording. I’d like to record one of my own stories, or just a little mini podcast on my blog here. But every time I pull up the recorder I look down at the glowing red button… and… freeze… It scares the hell out of me.

I am so afraid of sounding like an idiot. With type I can change the words, rewrite, edit, and adjust things for a while, and then release it to the world. With audio it starts with the fact that I absolutely hate my voice, and ends with the fact that I can’t think of words when I am speaking. They just suddenly fly away into the surrounding air, unwilling to land upon my tongue. I have no idea why I don’t have that problem while typing, but with speaking… it’s a HUGE problem.

But, on this journey that is my life I am trying to improve myself. I am trying to do things that make me uncomfortable and doing more. Doing things to get where I want to go.

So yes, Garrett, I will send you a comment or question. I will be your “bathtub girl”, lol. I will be scared, but I’ll do it anyway… Because I can.

Accomplishments!

Posted on by
Reply

image

Here is the story list I have been working off of. It is incredibly helpful to check off each story as it gets finished, or nears completion.

Pink – Almost done (I’m just filling in and refining.)
Green – Done! Just needs an edit.
Orange – Published.

This is my “Short List” which only has stories listed that have some good development, and synopsis, or chapters already written. Most of the novels have between 10 and 30k words already there in order to be on this list. I have another list that I won’t be looking at for a while that has everything else. The short list keeps me from getting overwhelmed.

But, regardless, watching the green spread across the page as I complete more stories… that sense of accomplishment is awesome! I can’t wait to add a few more green spots, and even orange as I release more of them.

Around the Web

Posted on by
2

The biggest news this last week or two has been about the Random House imprints, and their contracts.

John Scalzi had a lot to say about the matter, and about the subsequent changes put into the imprint contracts.

My thought on the matter is that if the publisher doesn’t give you a better deal than self publishing, then it isn’t in your best interest to do it, especially if you have to give them all of your rights to the piece of writing. After all, your the writer. You’re the one who should be making money off your work before anyone else.

And here is and article in defense of the royalty only contract, but take note. Royalty only does not mean giving up all rights, paying for things like printing, editing and storage out of your royalties, or losing control of your IP.

Please check Writers Beware for more information on sketchy issues with agents and publishers.

In other news:

Google Reader is shutting down. Here is a list of alternatives. So far, I like Feedly.

March 30 is INTERNATIONAL TABLETOP DAY! 

Body language cheat sheet for writers.

What if we put DRM on a chair? Well, I know what happens when we put DRM on SimCity.

Jim Butcher is putting out a steam punk series.

 

There’s been a lot more then this during the last week or so, but I think this is enogh for the day.

Stats

Posted on by
Reply

year graph
Half way through March, and I thought I would share my progress.

Now that I am tracking my daily word count I am having a lot fewer days with zero word count. I have had a few days, this month, of less than 200 words, but a lot more of them have been over 500, and I see it growing.

Last night I sat down to write and kept checking my word count after ten minutes or so watching the numbers go up hundreds, not just tens and twenties. I was thrilled! The words are tripping off my fingers with ease now. It isn’t a struggle to sit down and write. It’s more of a demand.

I bought a new game. Tropico 4. Instead of playing it I dangled it as a reward to get myself to write. Now that I’m in the habit of this it is completely natural for me to deny myself something until I write.

I do not yet have a set word count that I need to reach each day, or else. That is my next goal. At the moment I have a monthly goal of 9000 words for March. That’s about 300 words a day. I am just about half way there, so I think I need to increase my expectations.

What I’m learning is that just putting that expectation that I will write, no matter what, each day has been the most effective way of getting the words down on paper. And the more I exerciser the muscle that is my brain, my fingers on the keyboard, my imagination, and my story telling skills… the easier it all comes.

I’d been fretting and lamenting my writers block for all these years. And I am going to give myself a small… I guess it’s an excuse, but I really did have a reason to fall into the trap of writers block. I did not, however, have a reason to STAY in that trap, especially for as long as I did.

I think I’m going to talk about the trap of writers block, and the exercising of the brain like a muscle next blog post. It’s been on my mind a lot lately.