Committing to NaNoWriMo 2013!

There are a lot of things I've wanted to get accomplished, both throughout my life and in the last year or so, that I haven't.  Things come up, things slip the mind, whatever.  Excuses are excuses, and while there is a difference between "excuses" and "explanations," I'm guilty of a little of each.  However, despite an abortive attempt in 2010, I succeeded in completing National Novel Writing Month, also known as NaNoWriMo, in 2011.  I produced a little-known work called Protostar:  Memoirs Of The Messenger, released it on Amazon's Kindle, and it's probably my best-selling novel to date.

It was genuinely a blast, and while I'm too much of a coward to venture into the public, in-the-flesh NaNoWriMo gatherings (and I question the sense of having them during the "contest," when everyone is wired on the fifty-thousand-word deadline!), I certainly enjoyed the self-imposed challenge of writing 50k words in thirty meager days.  I took 2012 off for many reasons, not least this - let's be polite! - unpleasant woman named Sandy who strolled through my town, but now I'm back, baby!

For 2013, I plan to pen a sequel of Protostar!

I've written some notes.  I'm assured that isn't cheating!  So far I think I want to go with a sort of jarring start, and while I plan to feature the same cast of characters (the crew of The Messenger), I'm going to make the first chunk of the book about solving a riddle trapped in Captain Lahira Ocean's mind.  At least, that's what I'm thinking I'll do!  Once that's deciphered, her team will have to put that solution into practice - a completely different scenario!

Will Humankind survive it's war against the Orphans?  Well, when the first novel ended we were assured that Lahira had succeeded in creating allies among her former enemies, and a rebellion was afoot in the alien ranks.  Whatever the exact state-of-the-war, this isn't one of those tales where last-minute heroics is the only hope of our future-species.  At least, not yet!  Remember, dear reader, that there are in fact three other alien species out there:  The fish-like Aquarians, the brutish Firions, and the artificially-intelligent Automatons.  Despite Mankind's good relations with all three (and even with military aid coming from them!), is it possible that they could somehow change this war's course for the worse?

Outside of the realm of plot devices and character arcs, I also want to experiment with more editorial precision when it comes to creating the final, distributed product.  Protostar is probably the least-edited of my more recent books, since it was written in under a month and all.  There was no ongoing proofreading process.  Things just got, well, written.  Publication was never a major consideration!  This time, it is.  So this time, after November is done, it will be heavily redacted processed.

As always, I'll blog about it!

Writing/Art Tips: Dealing With Project Sprawl

Hello, fellow creators!

While I was working on my lego comic, and debating on drawing some more cover art for a book I'm almost done with, I was networking and writing my local news blog and...

...And I realized I have a problem.  See, I have a lot of projects on my hand at any time.  Sometimes I get commissioned to write an article, while other times I just end up in a pointless debate with someone on the internet.  Most of the time, though, I'm working on a book.  And there are lots of them I'm working on, and lots more that I've de-facto abandoned.  That's probably the greatest shame, because I've written them all in my head!  Just not on paper!

But if I were to start on them, then I'd leave other projects un-done, and therein lies the problem.

Focus On One Thing?  Hah!

Some people's first bit of advice is to pick one thing to focus on at a time.  For many people, that works - and if you're that lucky, hey, good for you!  Put that talent to use.  But many others find themselves always waking up, each day, with a different "feeling."  Maybe some day they feel like writing, while another day they feel like painting.  If they don't write, their manuscript goes unfinished; but if they try to force themselves to write when they want to paint, well, nothing gets done except for the denial of the true desire!

In my case, I wanted to write this article because I was working on the cover-art for my next novel, and realized that I was all over the place in terms of goals.  There's so much I want to get done, but so little I can.  It's a problem.  So I decided I needed an image that really demonstrated this feeling, and showed what "Sprawl" is.  Creating the above picture took me about 20 minutes.  True, I learned some new GIMP tricks that, had I known them earlier, would have sped the process up!  But it's still a significant expenditure of time, especially when time is unpleasantly short.

So what's my answer?  Well, one thing is to try to have a schedule.  "Day one, work on project one.  Day two, work on project two."  Whatever it is.  Sometimes, however, my daily life limits me to only having 15-20 minutes of "Creative time."  This forces me to pick something I can get done quickly, or at least something I can make a major contribution towards.

Truly, sprawl is a problem.


The Answer Is Patience

Most of all, I feel like I'll never get something done in time.  That the book cover will take so long I don't want to do it; that finishing a novel will take forever; that doing the research I need to perform in order to properly establish my older novels as viable is just going to be a brick with which I can bash my own head, and little else.

And none of that is true.

See, I'm young.  I'm 28.  But even if I were 68, I'm probably not dying tomorrow.  I'm probably going to wake up tomorrow and have time to work on my next idea.  The biggest reason why people seem to differentiate into working on dozens of projects at once is because they don't know how to be patient, to put their ideas on paper until the ones they're already executing are complete, and come back to it later.  That's right - patience.

For me, it's patience to know that, yes, this cover-art will get done; yes, the book will be released; yes, I can re-release old ones, and - finally - I can put out new material.  I can clear this massive plate I have in front of me, and I can think about new ideas and not feel like I have to immediately act on them in order for them to ever happen.  The key?  If they are strong enough ideas, they will be there when I'm finished with what's got me busy.

For others, I'd recommend the same - or, at least, a conscious evaluation of which projects should take priority and should be the subject of the most effort.  Immediate performance and financial income isn't the only guideline, here; existential reward and personal satisfaction matter, too.  Each person will be different, and there's always some creep, but sprawl should be kept to a minimum - before it gets out of hand, and nothing gets done.

Dystopian Lit Guest Post at BookGoodies

Howdy, sports fans!

I open with this line because if you're a sports fan, you're well aware of the Har-Bowl coming up?  Sweet.  I dislike that the Patriots made it that far, but at least they ain't gettin' another Super Bowl!

Moving on.  I recently submitted a guest post to BookGoodies.com, and low-and-behold they posted it, today!  This marks the second one they've posted by me, the first being about NaNoWriMo.  It's about Dystopian literature (and art in general), and it serves as a fairly basic introduction to the genre.  All in all its a fun, quick little read to get you into the spirit of nightmare worlds!  I might write another one for them, one about Hyper-Local Journalism.

Moving on.  Again!  Today is a special day for me because it's the year-and-a-day of Physics Incarnate.  My precious little baby novel is getting so old!  And as much as I'm working on its sequel and other projects, I'm celebrating by having it as a free book on Kindle, today.  So, check it out!

Enjoy yourself, and stay safe!

On Asking Friends for Help With Artistic Projects

Howdy folks.

This is kind of a more introspective piece, and its brought about by the most pleasant of circumstances; I published my novel with the help of some really awesome friends and family. That kind of support is really never-ending, but it can get very hard to keep asking the same people to do the same kind of favors for you.




The Initiation of an Awkward Conversation

First of all, I feel really guilty asking my friends to shill for me. "Hey," I'll start a conversation off. "How are things?" Polite small-talk because I have an agenda on my mind, and while the friends' events are important to me, this is my life. Okay, so its probably not my life, but its certainly a request that's coming and, quite possibly, that friend is already aware.

"So, have you heard about..." is one ice-breaker, along with the, "I actually just started..." line. This is the transition. Its when I get into asking my pal the actual favor. The favor that is very possibly the reason I bothered contacting them, at all.

They usually respond with enthusiasm, but they don't necessarily go, "how can I help?" Many times they say its cool and interesting (it probably is!), but they have their own lives. Again, this is my life that I'm asking help with, so its hard for me to understand, sometimes, why they aren't thrilled.

Then, most likely, I have to come out and say it. "Could you do me a favor, actually?" I ask. At this point, the natural response is to say they can. Then I make my request.


Requesting Aid from Friends

Lets remember something - this isn't the Golden Age, and we don't even live in average economic times; its the second great depression, to some, and a "bad recession" to others. Face it, most people don't have money - especially not those who are young and struggling to get by. Most of the time, my requests are just that my friends spread the word of what I'm up to around.

"Hit the reshare button on Facebook," I'll ask. "Like it!" "Put it on Reddit or Fark!" "Retweet this for me?" Or, sometimes, I'll even go with one I need the most, lately; "Fill out a review of my latest book," "the book's preview," or whatever. And many times, after much haranguing, it'll get done.

But there's always this feeling of guilt whenever I put out a plea, because I'm asking my friends to give me special help that they might not give someone else. What's worse? This sort of thing can strain friendships.


When Art Harms your Friendships

Long and short, I know my friends generally have my back. I know that in a perfect world, my friends - and the many fans I've made with my many writing projects - would support me if I asked. However, this world isn't perfect. These friends have a life all their own, and constantly nagging them to help me out? Yeah, it can get annoying.

Then there's my side: I'm a struggling artist. I work a low-salaried full time job for the benefits, and a few part time jobs; I coach swimming, I teach swim lessons, I lifeguard, I write for contracts when I can get them, and I write blogs/articles. Any given day, I might "work" only 8 hours...But then these part-time gigs kick in and I'm throwing down 10+ hours/day, even on weekends. Why does this matter?

Because sometimes, despite knowing that my friends and fans care, its hard to feel it. Maybe its that I have psychological issues underscoring the situation, or maybe its just that it seems so important to me to get this help, but when I don't see the response I hope for (which is always more than reality offers), I can sometimes get upset. I sometimes wonder why I help my friends out when they ask, then get nothing in return. It makes me bitter.

And what's more? Its a false perception. My friends and fans help; but they're human, too. They can only do so much for me, and its very hard to understand how some people feel about their passions.

Well, hopefully now I've shared a bit, and hopefully now some help can find its way to me.

Writing When on Vacation!

First of all...Hi! Its been a very long time since I've commented on this blog, which is kind of not what I was intending. But, here I am! And "Here" is subjective, as I'm in Washington DC!

- Pic by Carol Moravcik.


This picture is me at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum; pictured are V2 and V1 rockets (left to right), along with maybe other background stuff. Thought one is, wow - the V1 and V2 are reallllllly different in size! But, secondly, these missiles were the sort of thing that my grandfather on my dad's side worked against during WW2. That's right - he was part of an anti-aircraft battery. As an aside, grandpa on my mom's side was a prison guard, if I recall.

The reason I bring this up is because sometimes, being on vacation can be a powerful impetus toward writing. Now, obviously you don't wanna spend all of your time writing (Unless, say, you're at a writing-retreat), but inspiration is a really great thing to have, sometimes.

I, for one, used this as an opportunity to both research (as I've written about space travel) and fantasize (as I write about intergalactic travel things). Reading about fuel cells helped me learn about ways we can power tomorrow, which helps me edit down the book I'm releasing soon! Admittedly, I'd done my research pretty well when I wrote it. ;) This was more of a "hey, lemme look back over my stuff."

So, anyway, if you ever end up on vacation (I hope you do!), then give it a try. Poetry, prose, and any other form of art you might be interested in - all of them can be enhanced by taking a journey. You've just taken a bit of a journey through my creative process. Now, take one through yours!



Physics Incarnate

Physics Incarnate is my next-to-release novel. Currently I'm in the fund-raising phase, and through Kickstarter I've reached $400 of my $600 goal, so far. Thanks to all who donated and have otherwise supported me - and if you haven't, well, hopefully you'll read this one-chapter preview and change your mind!

All my best!