Conferences and Conventions and Rewrites, O My!

So here we are in October already (crap!!!), and I’m looking a little sadly at the pile of not-quite-finished September Projects … and, for that matter, August and July … and realizing that, you know what–they ain’t getting touched again this side of Christmas unless a miracle descends into my life.

(Pause, listen for trumpets, shrug.)

That’s all right, though, because I’ve determined that if I can only handle a small handful of items at a time, I will throw myself into those items and rock the *&^% out of them. For example, the James River Writer’s Conference is this weekend, in Richmond. I will be on three panels. I will be studying for those damn panels like they are a college course.

(I won’t be foolish and say “like a doctorate level course”, which was, admittedly, my first impulse. See? I’m learning to slow down a little.)

I have another convention the following weekend, this time in Gaithersburg, MD. Capclave was a lot of fun last year, and it seems to be shaping up as well this time around. I honestly don’t remember if I already have my schedule of panels for CapClave — I *think* I do, somewhere in this pile of emails and printouts on my desk, but that won’t get looked at until the Monday before, at which point I will start studying for *those* panels like they are college courses.

I used to try prepping for conventions a month or more in advance. That’s crazy-making; for one thing, most conventions don’t give you a final schedule until two weeks before the event. For another, it was just one more task to get lost on my quickly overcrowded desk, and my stress level skyrockets when I have Undone Items staring at me while I try to write fiction.

Which bring me nicely into the fiction writing section of this post. Or rewriting, as the case may be. Back in April, I turned the last two novels of the Children of the Desert series in to my publisher, rather proud of myself for clearing that particular 500 pound gorilla off my desk. I knew it would take a while for her to get back to me with feedback, because she had a couple other books ahead of mine in the queue, but I was fairly confident that all was well, so I went about taking care of other items and began de-trunking a long abandoned SF story (which I’ve talked about in previous posts).

Well.

I kind of had this niggling little worry…

I knew there was something a leeeetle bit off with book 3…

Surely, though, it’s “good enough”. I mean, how bad could it be? It’s a good story. It’s a great story! I did a decent job. It’s good enough. It’ll be fine…

Then I got the email. Summarized, it said: Book 4 is fantastic. I love it. Book 3 has some Problems. Your writing is so much better than this. Can you bring book 3 up to par with Book 4, quality-of-writing-wise?

*urk*

(Pause to stare blankly at the screen. Pause for long string of expletives. Pause for long burst of rueful laughter: She’s right. Damnit. It’s not “good enough”. I could do better. Damnit. Why’d she have to be so perceptive? Pause for long burst of expletives and more laughter, followed by a 2 hour phone conversation with the publisher in which we mapped out exactly what had gone wrong and how to fix it.)

So I am now embarked on a radical rewrite of Book 3 (not the plot, which is overall fine, but the writing style, which is from 5 years ago). This, sadly, means the SF story is sliding back towards the trunk again. I’m trying to keep it alive, but it’s on pretty thin life support at this point. I’m hoping the muse involved in that particular story will forgive me and take me back in a couple of months, because what with the two conventions mentioned above, an editing job or two, and the 750 lb gorilla that just sat on me… I can’t split my brain in that many directions at once. The renovations upstairs are now on a side-job, piecemeal standing, not one of my main interests. My friends are getting used to seeing less of me at social gatherings. My dogs are still bugging me to take them for more walks, which is actually probably a damn good thing, or I’d never leave my desk.

But I am having a fantastic time. The rewrite is flying along, because I see exactly where the older writing just isn’t strong enough to carry the story, and I’m bringing a lot more conscious craft into the process than I did the first … well … *mumble* three drafts … or so … *ahem*. My goal with this rewrite is, quite simply, to have readers really hook in emotionally to what’s going on. I did that with the fourth book. I can do that with the third one. I’m casting an eye back to the first two books and pulling in a clearer connection to those threads and arcs.

Overall, this whole process really does feel like studying for a class — only this is one class you never actually close out or get a final grade on; it’s an ongoing, ever-open learning experience. Wouldn’t it be fun if there was really a class designed to just take you through all sorts of random subjects and experiences and you didn’t have to worry about grades or exams or …

Hey.

Waitasec. There is.

It’s called life.

So go out and live it! And don’t forget to write it all down…..

 

End of the Year Thoughts: 2010

Editing note: Most of the links have been temporarily removed from this post until the housecleaning is complete. 08/2011

It’s been a fantastically interesting and wild year all around. My first post of the year (deservedly, if I recall right) involved the history of alcohol. I attended MarsCon 2010 as a guest writer–my first “pro” convention appearance–very exciting (and a whole lotta fun!) Then I got snarky about the FTC crackdown on review bloggers.  I had an ethical dilemma, talked about werewolves, and held my first book launch party. Around RavenCon time, I had a chain of mini-disasters. I went to my first online writing convention, Coyote Con, and enjoyed it tremendously. I discovered a great blog, Fan to Pro, and became friends with the author (Steven Savage)–I also reviewed his first book (damn good for a fledgling effort)–and by the way, Steven will be starting up as a regular guest blogger here in 2011–very cool, to my way of thinking!

I mused about the benefits of being ill, hosted guest bloggers Tina Morris, Danielle Ackley McPhail, Allen Wold, and JeanMarie Olivieri. I opened up to readers about my own battle with depression. I attended my first BaltiCon44 and almost accidentally made contacts that put me straight into CapClave 2010 and a speech at the Library of Congress (the writing of which came with a side trip all its own). I (and many others) mourned the passing of Jeanne Robinson. 

I joined some good friends at the Mystic Moon one day for a book signing , talked about why research is actually kind of fun when done right, and perpetrated some of that research (about tea) in service of my forthcoming novel (Guardians of the Desert).  I also admitted that I enjoy the process of revising my novels  and faced up to my fear of Famous People. I broke my own rule and reviewed a friend’s book on my blog . I ran headfirst into an interesting version of writer’s block . And I took one of the most boring conversational topics I could think of and pointed out why the weather is actually important to a writer. And I unearthed a lost blog post.

What amazes me the most about the above list is that it’s not comprehensive. I blogged a lot this year. Not every day, not even every week, but considering that I also: went to somewhere around eight or nine out of state conventions and multiple in-state book signings, finished and proofed Guardians of the Desert; finished and put aside book three, and am now burning through book four at a remarkable clip (given the rather unpromising and frustrating start); went to Florida on a completely unplanned, last-minute decision, two week visit in October, then went down for another week over Christmas holidays (first time driving, second time flying–don’t know which was worse, as I’m horrible at flying but the van required almost a thousand dollars of repair halfway down  the road on the first trip); threw my back out about four times; took a typography class; faced up to my fear of elevators (one more item almost off the What Scares Me list–woo!); helped friends clear out a Very Large storage unit in hundred-degree-plus weather; and generally pushed my boundaries in all possible directions to find out what suits me best … given all that, I think I did a pretty good effort of blogging in 2010.

And what have I learned from all this? Well, that I’m moving in the right direction…because I decided a while back that I don’t want to look at my life when I’m fifty or seventy or ninety and say, I wish I’d tried… or something similar. I’m going to do it right now, and see if I like it. Looking back over the past year, I can certainly say I didn’t leave too many stones unturned, and I’ve got plans in place to kick over a few more in the coming months. I met some great people and strengthened my practice of treating others as equals, instead of looking for differences or spots where I’m better or worse. I saw some amazing things and found out where my limits are in some directions; discovered that my limits are much further out in other directions than I’d expected.

I’m closing the year out, of course, listening to some weird and fun music we picked up on our Florida Christmas trip: Only The Good Stuff, a CD from local Florida favorite The Barefoot Man. (Think a calypso/reggae Weird Al, and you’re close. Check out his stuff here.)

All in all: 2010 has been a good year. I look forward to blowing that high mark out of the water in 2011!

HAPPY NEW YEAR–be safe, be honest, and remember to laugh whenever possible–because that leaves less holes in the walls!