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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Three flash fiction stories. “Beware the Werewolf”, “Chimera” and “Griffins Flight”
I just finished “Chimera”, the third story in Small Bites.
Now it’s off to be edited so that I can put the first of the books up.
There will be four of them, each for .99 cents, each with three really short stories. Then I will do the full “Small Bites” with all twelves stories as one $3.99 offering, and raise the singles to $2.99.
In other news, “Osiren’s Tears” is well on it’s way to completion. I am in the process of finding an editor. It is almost 30,000 words long and definitely needs an edit before I put it out.
This will be my first full length book out. It will be at $3.99 I think. But once I have it up I will also start offering some KDP select free books, so look for that soon as well.
This is a really common question of new writers. They want feedback from other writers, but they are afraid some other writer will steal their idea.
The truth is there is a chance someone can take your idea, or use that name for their book, or have a similar protagonist. All of these can happen.
But it isn’t as important as some seem to think.
The truth is:
1. Someone already did it.
Think about the plot pieces that make up your story. Lost soul? Broken heart? Artifact? Magic stone?
Now think of all the movies, TV shows, music pieces, paintings, games, books, comics, and other media out there with the same theme, plot, story, or character type in it. A lot of them, right?
Very little comes out that is completely new and original. Many of the best movies are re-imaginings of past ideas, or franchises. Even “Avatar”, a block buster, was criticized for being a rip off of “Dances with Wolves”. “Titanic” drew from the sinking of a real ship, and the old “boy meets girl of a different class, can’t have girl cause someone else is in the way” story line. They just tweaked the stories, gave them beautiful backdrops, and let them go.
2. Writers already have their own ideas.
I have 7 novels, and 12 short stories planned for this year. That doesn’t include the others that are waiting for next year. I don’t need yet another idea to stack on top of all the others. And I bet most, if not all authors that bother with publishing, have a drawer full of ideas just like me. Why, then, do they need your idea?
3. Your stuff isn’t worth stealing… yet.
Okay, there is a chance that your prose are amazing, awesome, inspiring, and will bring readers to tears, encouraging them to shoot you to the top of the charts. But more then likely you need to hone your craft. Find all the glitches. Clean up the prose, spelling and grammar. And then, MAYBE, after all of that is done, then you might be ready for the big time.
If you are one of those rare people who have uber-amazing stories that are worth stealing, then why aren’t you publishing right now?
Lets be honest. It takes time to learn to write well, and not only technically speaking, but also to write stories worth reading. Worth stealing? That is a whole new level of greatness.
4. Art is Stealing
Romeo and Juliet has been remade, rewritten, and re-conceptualized, so many hundreds of times that each of us knows the story without ever actually reading the original work. Most of the adaptations don’t even bother to say “this is a rip off of Romeo and Juliet” anymore. We just know.
Why is this a good thing? Because it means you can do the same thing. Remake red riding hood, or some Greek myths. Re-imagine Aesop’s fables, or a 100 year old opera. Go to museums and make up stories to go with pictures you see. Write to music, art, etc. Etc.
For more on this go read Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative
5. Ideas are a dime a dozen.
Here, have some:
Seven ideas. All of which have been featured in several movies/books/poems/songs/etc.
Ideas are a dime a dozen, and you can’t copyright ideas. In fact you can go watch a movie, write down the key points, and create your own story out of it.
Basic story: Guy finds out he’s actually meant to save the world. Doesn’t believe it, but when he finally does amazing/horrible things start happening. This is the plot to “The Matrix”, “LOTR”, and “WoT” books, as well as several other franchises.
Now redefine a few things. Who is “the guy”? How will he save, or destroy the world? Why doesn’t he believe? What makes him believe? What can he do once he believes? Now you have a story all your own.
What does this all mean?
Stop worrying about your stuff getting stolen and go on with your life. Get on with making art.
Here is a real world example. Fashion designers can not copyright their designs because clothing is a utilitarian item. Here is a great article on how lack of copyright has actually made fashion design better.
And here is EA… SimCity, a great game. Suffering under 2800 one star reviews because they are so paranoid about copyright that they are killing their own game.
Here is what matters:
Make good art.
Make a lot of it.
Make it available.
Give it a fair priced.
Engage your readers.
If they like you, and your writing, then they will want to give you money so that you will keep making more stuff.
If you are so afraid someone will steal your stuff, then you’re not going to meet the fans who will love your work, either.
I’ve made a huge leap forward. I am in the habit of writing again, and I honestly feel uncomfortable, and distracted if I haven’t written for a day. I skipped two days of writing last week because family life got in the way and I went to bed kind of upset with myself. Ended up writing even more the next project day and still felt like it wasn’t enough. I still wanted to write, and wanted my body and my schedule let me.
So, on the plus side, I have my neurosis back… the inability to put down a pen, and an insatiable desire to tell a story. In my case a computer and phone. I am now almost always thinking of things I can write. “Osiren’s Tears” is coming along nicely, and the next project, “Star Crossed” is a really interesting SF/romance that I am actually looking forward to writing (and refusing to let myself till ‘Osiren’ is done.)
So what’s the set back?
Since I have decided to make a concerted effort to publish, and be an author, not just a writer, I am having to deal with some other issues of my insecurities.
Writing itself, putting words on the page, was always easy for me. Words came, stories flowed, and I loved it. The reason I stopped writing all those years ago had absolutely nothing to do with the words. The words, and the stories, were still there. It had far more to do with acceptance.
I had several articles, short stories, and poems published in some magazines and e-zines a few years ago, but I never got paid for any of them even though the contract said I would. It was incredibly frustrating, and all the nice words from their fans, and even an award, wasn’t enough to make up for the fact that they never bothered to pay me. Wasn’t I worth the few dollars they promised me for all my hard work?
Couple this with my personal life…
I have found talking about some of the things from my past to be cathartic. Sometimes I’ll hear from others who lived through similar things. Sometimes I’ll just get some kind words. Other times it just feels good to get it off my chest.
So… I was told often, and repeatedly, for years, that I would never amount to anything. That no one would ever love me. That everyone who even talked to me just wanted to use me. They didn’t care about me, didn’t care what I did, what I said, or what I thought. And I was often put in situations that reinforced those ideas.
So now when I look at that brand new shiny microphone I just bought and say to myself “I could just say hello to people”… Some quiet part of my soul screams from the shadows “No! Don’t humiliate yourself like that!”
That voice wins far too often for my comfort.
Here is the gist…
I’m scared.
I’m terrified!
Every time I finish a book I look for reasons not to publish it because then I don’t have to get bad reviews. I don’t have to feel rejected. Or hurt. Or afraid. Worrying that no one will ever buy it, ever read it, or ever care what I have to say.
It is hard to divorce yourself from the work, let it go, and say… do your worst!
Author Crissy Moss 