NaNoWriMo — Getting Warmed Up!
Alright, we got one week left before NaNoWriMo — National Novel Writing Month — gets underway. I don’t know about you, but I’m getting stoked. This is going to be my second year participating, and my first time working on a novel while I’m working full time. I’ll admit I’m a little nervous about that too — every time I’ve tried to write without being able to focus entirely on the book, it’s fallen flat. I’m hoping that this year I’ll be able to use NaNoWriMo for motivation to keep me going.
I’m going to be working on Broken Peaces, with hopes I can finish the series up by Christmas — that’s the goal, at least, and we’ll see what happens. I’ve got some ideas to work out, and I wish I could bounce them off this thing, but since Shattered isn’t out yet, I’m going to keep my mouth shut for now.
Okay, it’s getting close to my bedtime and I need to get an email or two out, so I’m going to wrap this up. Catch you on the flip side.
–Matt
A Spark Arises
Well, the old fires are starting to spark up again. Maybe it’s because it’s nearing November, which as any writer who’s spent any reasonable time online can tell you, is NaNoWriMo. Maybe it’s just the changing of the weather — colder days seem to draw out the creative juices a little better for me for some reason. Or maybe it’s just because I’ve taken enough time away from it that I’m starting to miss it and get tired of coding all day again.
Regardless of the reason, the writer in me is starting to stir around again, and I’m once again fleshing out ideas for Broken Peaces. Of course, I’ve still got to get Shattered up to specs, but I think most of Shattered is pretty solid. It needs some clean up — there’s a lot of typos and a lot of stuff that could be worded better — but it’s … well … solid.
The main thing I’m having a bit of trouble with right now is how to come up with a story that can top the drama in Shattered. Like I said quite a bit last year, Shattered is a lot darker than Like Glass was. A lot darker. I was re-reading the last third or so of the novel today, wanting to bring myself back up to speed on that world so I can dig into Broken Peaces, and I was pleasantly surprised at it. It’d been a long time since I’d looked through any of it, let alone the tail end where things really go to hell, and while I’d remembered the genera idea of the plot (i.e. who does what to whom and for how much), I’d forgotten the overall gist of it. It’s kinda like the difference between just hearing a song’s melody and hearing the song with the full band behind it.
Anyways, I’ve got a couple of decent ideas for things that could … well … go wrong. And let’s face it: stories where things go right are pretty boring — something has to go wrong in order to get your interest. The girl has to dump the guy. The aliens have to invade. The super villain has to have his plot to destroy the world unless the world governments are going to pay … one million dollars (where the hell is the Dr. Evil pinky-to-cheek emoticon when you need it?). Otherwise, it’s a yawn fest.
And for what it’s worth, I already know how Broken Peaces is going to end. It’s just a matter of getting there — the journey’s the best part.
It’s going to be interesting to see how I’m going to pull it together though, now that I’m working full time at a job I actually enjoy. When I wrote Like Glass, I was working from home, so I could write while I had some down time. When I wrote Shattered last year, I was taking a leave of absence for personal reasons. Where I’m at now though, I couldn’t take the time off, nor do I even really want to — the job’s actually pretty good.
That probably also has a lot to do with how I’m looking at Broken Peaces and why I’m having such a hard time getting my brain fired up for it. I’m in a much better mind set than I was when I wrote Like Glass, and worlds better than when I wrote Shattered. Now I don’t quite have the same emotions to build from, so getting the juices flowing is going to be a lot different this time around than last time.
At least there’s one thing in my favor for this: I’d never planned on Broken Peaces being anywhere near as dark as Shattered. Probably not as dark as Like Glass either, but definitely much lighter than the last venture into Rob’s world. So that should make it a bit easier to get going. We’ll see though.
Well, I’ve got about three weeks to get things in order before NaNoWriMo starts, so hopefully that’ll be enough time to get the fires lit properly and get some good ideas flowing.
In the meantime though, it’s nigh on bedtime, and I’ve got a couple of projects due at work in the next couple of weeks, so I’d better start heading along. Catch you on the flip side.
–Matt
Another Day In Paradise
Okay, got up way too early this morning for a Monday, but it’s all good: one of the downsides of trying to work with someone in the UK is the ~7 hour time difference, but over the years I’ve become more of a morning person than I used to be. Coffee is my friend, and it’s a friend I cherish deeply.
Nothing really to report on the publishing deal yet, except for the fact I’ve discovered how different mailing addresses are in the US vs. those in the UK. The publisher wants a hard copy of Like Glass, and the other day I tried to start an order from Amazon to get an idea of how much it cost. Fifteen minutes later, I think I might have gotten it to accept their address, but I’m a little leary of sending it out. For roughly $50 total (w/ S&H), I’d really rather not take a chance on it coming back and having to send it again.
Also, I’m wanting to discuss the options we might have available for working on Shattered and Broken Peaces together — those are the other two books in the Like Glass series. We’ll see what happens with that. Not really getting my hopes up, but hey: stranger things have happened, right? At least Shattered is technically finished. It’s a mess at the moment, but mainly because I haven’t had any need to work on it (and I’ve had more pressing issues to deal with, like “real” life). If there were interest in it, I could probably have it polished up to a pleasant shine in a couple of months. Broken Peaces, now… that would take a little time. But hey, even if we signed the contract today, Like Glass wouldn’t come out for another couple of years, then Shattered would have to make it’s rounds, probably a year or so after Like Glass, and then we’d have to worry about where the final book in the trilogy is.
Aside from that though, things are trucking along. Work’s getting … interesting, to say the least, and quite hectic as project deadlines loom.
The missus and I are moving — did I mention that? Nothing major, just moving across town. Cheaper rent, and I’ll be a little closer to my old stomping grounds. Longer drive to and from work, but you can’t have everything, can you? Gonna get that taken care of this weekend — thankfully we’ve got some movers lined up, and that’ll make things a lot nicer.
Other than that, just another day in paradise. Need to start getting ready to get back into the grind, so I’ll catch you on the flip side.
–Matt
Early Morning = Time to Post
Damn, I’m really not doing that great of a job of keeping up with this thing, am I? 
Been a month and a half since my last “post”, which was just a JavaScript tip, and my last “real” post was a week before that.
Well, I can honestly say that things have been really hectic around here for quite some time, and it doesn’t look like they’ll be calming down anytime soon. Hell, I’m only posting now because I woke up at about 5:30 this morning, and I was able to get all my Facebook games out of the way with time to spare before I go to work.
Things are, as I said, pretty damned hectic right now. The Mrs. and I are moving (once again), which is always fun. I’m running two projects at work that need to be done last month, and I’ve got two more on the back-burner, where we’re waiting for some consultations to finish up. Once that gets done, I’ll be working on four projects. Throw into the mix the desire to try and keep up some semblence of a home life going, as well as the Facebook games I mentioned above, and I’m surprised I get any sleep at all.
No time for writing with all of that, of course, but trust me: it’s always in the back of my mind. I’ve thrown around tons of different story/novel ideas in the past few months, but none of them really seem to stick. Of course, they may all have turned out to be great projects to work on had I just sat down and started them, but of course I didn’t and none of them would stick after the fact.
That’s been one of the things I’ve tried to keep in mind — if there’s something I really want to work on, some idea that really sounds fantastic, then the idea just won’t leave me. It may fade out now and then, but it’ll always come back. I haven’t had any plot ideas that do that for me yet.
I’m sure they’ll pop back around when the time is right; at the moment, I’ve just got too much else on my plate. Or, another way of looking at it: I’m not quite as motivated to work on anything just yet. Last year, when I decided to work on Shattered (the sequel to Like Glass that I may-or-may-not ever release), I hated my job and wasn’t doing terribly well, psychologically speaking. This year, I actually like my job, and I’m in a much better frame of mind to boot. At the moment, I’m fairly content with my lot in life, and I don’t see any reason to put the kind of pressure on that’s required to toss out a novel.
Of course, that’s subject to change without notice…
Oh, and by the way, there’s a slim chance that there might be some news regarding Like Glass over the next couple of weeks. I’m not counting any chickens yet, but I want to throw that out there for you. And I’ve learned my lesson from past experiences: you will hear absolutely nothing more until everything is completely confirmed on all sides (although I may explain what’s going on if things fall through). So, stay tuned for that.
Anyways, I need to start getting ready for work. Catch you on the flip side.
–Matt
Still Kickin’
Yep, I’m still alive, and I’m still writing. Actually doing some sketching for Vanishing Point — just as an FYI though, that’s strictly my working title, and I’m not sure if it’ll stick or not.
I’m also going about this one differently than Like Glass or Shattered — I’m actually trying to outline this one, in hopes that I’ll be able to make a better story of it. I’ve found it to be difficult, trying to tell the story before I tell the story, but it does seem to be working out fairly well. We’ll see what happens.
Just wanted to drop a line and let you know I’m still amongst the living.
–Matt
Might Be A Little Quiet Around Here
This post ought to be interesting, a nice little cross-pollination between my psychological crap and all my book promo stuff. It’s probably something that’s better left for a diary entry, kept private and all that, but I’ve never been able to see the point in writing something that no one was going to read, and I need to write this out.
I’m in a bit of a tough place right now. I’m on a bit of a leave from work for about a month or so, and I’m torn. I have Shattered sitting on my desk taunting me, wanting me to finish editing it and prep it for publication, but it’s driving me crazy. I mean that almost literally, too.
Like Glass didn’t seem like this big of a deal; I don’t know what the problem is with Shattered. For some reason though, I just can’t bring myself to finish it off. I just get so damned overwhelmed when I look at it that I wig out and can’t hardly see straight. Then I think of all the other work that’s got to go into it once it’s edited – designing the book cover, submitting it for proofs, the whole publicity run, yadda yadda yadda. Aarrgh!
I promised myself I’d take this time off and just relax. Play video games and maybe write a program or two. I can’t bring myself to do it though. I’ll start, then after a few minutes, I’ll go and check my email. Then Twitter, then Facebook. Then the hits on my website. Those are always too low, so I’ll tweet something about my latest post and watch the hits. Then I’ll pick up my red pen, because by this time I’ve forgotten that I’m supposed to be relaxing, and I want to get the book finished so I can say “I have two books available, here’s the link”. Stare at the page for about two minutes, then decide to go smoke. Rinse and repeat.
Now, there’s always the possibility of hiring someone to take care of all this, but that’s something I pretty much have to discount out of hand – too many bills and not enough paychecks. Simple as that.
Of course, there’s the other alternative: get a publisher. They’re supposed to take care of the whole shebang with your book, everything that I don’t want to do. So I’ll spend time looking for a publisher, thinking “Damn, this is a waste of time (and it always is) that I could be spending working on the book myself instead of trying to be lazy and find someone else to do everything for me.” After going through that thought process a few times, I drop the web browser and pick the red pen up again. Maybe I’ll get through a whole chapter this time, before I start thinking “Damn, there’s just soooo much crap to do,” and go back out to smoke. Then it’s back to Twitter and Facebook for a few minutes.
So, the short version of all that is that I’m probably making it much harder on myself than it really is, but I don’t know how to break the cycle. I want it to be finished, but I don’t want to put the energy into getting it finished.
Maybe I really need to force myself to take a break. Maybe getting away from it for a little while will put it all back into perspective and make it all a little more palatable. I dunno.
I’m not saying I’m going to; my brain’s just a little fried right now, and I’ll probably think differently about it all in the morning. Who knows. But in case things slow down around here over the next couple of days, now you know why 
Okay, rant done (for now).
Catch you on the flip side.
–Matt
Something To Consider…
The response to my previous post (Like Glass Off the Market) was much bigger than I expected. One of the comments left there mentioned “releasing” the book as a serialized podcast. That’s something I’ve considered before, but I’m not a very good “reader” when it comes to doing an audio book.
I’m looking for opinions here though, and I’m throwing out a couple of options. First off, let me make it clear that this does not involve trying to get an agent or traditional publisher. That’s something I’m definitely done with for the time being. But, since my post yesterday seemed to cause a bit bigger of a wave than I expected, I figured it’d be wrong to just completely fold up ops on Like Glass at least.
So, here’s the options:
1) Release Like Glass as a series of podcasts (MP3 files) that people can download for free.
2) Release Like Glass as blog posts – this would be chapter-by-chapter, everything let out for free over the course of a few months.
3) Put Like Glass back up for sale, and just forget about it.
4) Release Like Glass as a free PDF file.
5) You’re on the right track now; just forget about it and chill.
Now, I’m sure you’ll notice a common thread through most of those: the word “free”. Those of you who have a bit of a business mind might cringe at that word; my philosophy is what’s the point in trying to sell something if no one’s going to buy it? I keep decent tabs on the hits I get at my website; I get a fair amount of traffic, and I can count on one hand the number of copies I’ve sold online. Anyways…
Those are the options I have in mind right now for this “unofficial” poll. Leave a comment and let me know which option you think is most appropriate – if you have another idea, I’m all ears (though I want to say right now, if it involves trying to get an agent or a publisher, I can almost guarantee that I won’t go for it).
Like Glass Off the Market
I thought, when I started trying to sell Like Glass about a year ago that it was a good idea. I’d get my name out there, people might take a little notice of it, and it’d be easier to get a publishing deal when I could say “Hey look, I’m selling books, I just can’t market it the way it needs to be marketed.” I knew I wouldn’t get rich in the process, but I figured I’d make enough for a couple cartons of smokes.
Turns out I was sorely mistaken. Not only has it been nothing but a headache, it has actually damaged my chances of getting published. In spite of great reviews, no one wants to touch it because it’s self-published. Of course, if it had made great sales, it’d be a different story; what I’m wondering though, is why anyone would think I’d be seeking a traditional publisher if it had made great sales… Seriously, if I can make some decent money and get noticed on my own, why waste anyone else’s time?
Anyways…
I need to get my head out of my ass. This writing thing is fun, but I’m not cut out to be a career writer. I just can’t handle the business side of it – the marketing mostly, but pretty much everything else aside from the plain-old creative part (and even that drives me to the brink of psychosis). It’s just too much work for me to handle, simple as that. Others can deal with it quite well; I’m not “others.”
I need to relax, refocus on life. I need to focus on my job. My family. My sanity – as much as I try to not let it get to me, getting rejection letter after rejection letter starts to take its toll.
So, with this time off (if I get it; it’s still pending), I’m going to just chill out, play video games, maybe work on a software project or two. Like Glass and Shattered are no longer a concern. If I feel like it, I might work more on Vanishing Point stories, but even those were a means to an end – they were just supposed to get people interested a little in the story so I’d have an audience for a set of novels I was planning. If I have the urge to work on them, there’ll be more, but I wouldn’t expect much.
Thanks, and it’s been fun.
–Matt
Pursuing Happiness
That’s what I’m having the biggest problem with in life: pursuing happiness. I don’t know exactly how to pursue it, and that’s what trips me up. Or, probably a bit more appropriately, I don’t know what to pursue – writing, music, programming. Or hell, even just pursuing nothing and “being” happy.
That last one is what my wife suggests, and I know she’s right, that’s the secret, just letting yourself be happy with where you’re at. I’ve spent my life trying to figure out where to go with myself though, that’s almost 30 years of trying to figure out my place in this world. That’s quite a bit of time to build up a lot of momentum, and it’s pretty hard to turn that momentum around and point it in a different direction.
But that’s where my mind’s at – today, at least, and if you pay any attention to this blog at all, you’ll know that’s subject to change without notice . Today I’m throwing around the idea of just letting go and enjoying the ride. I know this probably sounds like one of my “giving up again” kind of posts – and, in a way, it might be; I haven’t really decided how I feel about it yet. But it doesn’t feel like that, it doesn’t have the same “Oh! Woe is me!” kinda feel to it. I don’t think I’m giving up at all.
Just relaxing.
Last time I had some time off, I busted my ass trying to get Shattered finished. I succeeded, but damn did it drain me. I thought I’d feel a lot better about everything once I had it finished – book #2 finally out, kick back and rest for a bit and let it simmer before editing it and publishing it. Then maybe I’d be able to get a publisher or an agent, since (according to the rumors I’d heard, at least) two books are a bit easier to sell than one.
Didn’t work out that way. All that I accomplished was driving myself crazy, stressing out about getting it done before I had to go back to work. I mean, yeah, I finished it, but at the expense of enjoying some relaxing time off, making myself (and my wife) miserable in the process.
Now I’m wondering if I should try again here, as I approach some more time off. Should I try busting my ass, in the (most likely vain) hope that something will come of it later? Or should I just kick back and enjoy the ride?
This is where the whole “pursuing happiness” thing comes into play. There’s a part of me – a huge part of me – that doesn’t want to waste this time just relaxing, playing video games, and keeping track of what’s going on for the doctor. That’s the part of me that’s driven me – for better or worse – to become a musician, a writer, and a software developer with only minimal formal education in any of those subjects. Some times I like that part; it’s been pretty good to me in a lot of ways. Other times, I hate that part. It’s probably the biggest reason I have issues with depression and stress – I’m never good enough for myself, always need to keep pushing harder, blah blah blah.
The end goal with that train of thought is that, if I play my cards right and try hard enough, I’ll end up doing pretty good, financially speaking. I’ll finish that one project that’ll get me noticed by the world-at-large, and I’ll be able to either have plenty of time to just kick back and relax, or I’ll at least enjoy what I’m doing enough to where “work” won’t feel like work.
Of course, I’m sure you know how close that is to a pipe-dream. If you’ve ever tried to get an agent or publisher (if you’re a writer, of course), then you know how difficult it can be. And, of course, once you get one, that doesn’t mean you can start writing full time, either, because they normally don’t give beaucoup bucks to first-time novelists.
So, on the other side of the coin, since the odds of a mind-numbing effort now having any major repercussions in the near future are pretty slim, why not just kick back and enjoy what I have right now? Why worry so much about trying to get published, trying to get Shattered edited, trying to “work” on anything? Why not just enjoy a relaxing break and take care of what needs to be taken care of around the house and for the doctor?
It’s really a tough call for me, believe it or not. It’s really hard for me to relax without feeling like I’m just wasting the days. Or, since I pretty much am just wasting the days, to feel okay with that. I’ve rarely been comfortable just hanging out and doing nothing that doesn’t have the potential to get me known (not that I’ve ever actually finished any of those things, save the two books). I’ve always had to either be working on a project or learning how to do something. Taking my foot off the gas pedal feels a little strange.
So, I don’t know. I wish I could say with certainty that there’d be another book out in a month, or that Shattered would be edited and ready to publish, or that I’d have anything to show for this time off. I know once I go back to work, I’m not going to be able to really accomplish much of anything, so it’s kind of a “now or never” situation, but I don’t know if that really matters. Or, at least, it shouldn’t matter. I should just relax, I know that. Hell, I never thought that relaxing would be so damned stressful though…
That’s what I’m trying to figure out at the moment, which form of happiness to pursue: immediate, guaranteed happiness, or bust my ass now in the hopes of having a better future, with possibly “better’ happiness in the long run (though it’s hardly guaranteed, of course).
I don’t know. But, for today, I think I’m going to just kick back, since there’s only a couple more “useful” hours to play with anyways.
Catch you on the flip side.
–Matt
Yes, I’m Still Alive
Been a while since I’ve posted, figured I’d drop a quick line and let everyone know what’s going on.
Right now, I’m basically just taking a short break from writing. After finishing Shattered — which was a great experience, but pretty damned rough too — I had to go back to the day job (ugh). It’s taken a lot of getting used to, as I was off for a couple of months, but hopefully I’ll be back in the swing of things.
Also, after going all-out on writing Shattered for a while, I’m a little worn out. There’s a lot of stuff in Shattered that was quite draining for me to write about — lot’s of personal stuff, lot’s of things that were more than a little hard to write about.
No worries though; I’m stil planning on working more on the Vanishing Point series, and still have a book or two in mind for it as well eventually.
I’ve also been giving consideration to looking for an agent, but that’s a really tough call for me. I almost feel like I’d be bailing out on Vanilla Heart Publishing even before things get started. But, at the same time, I think that’d be the only way I’d be able to get a good enough deal to where I’d be able to quit the day job and write full time — and that’s something I’ve learned I need to do, after taking my little break. There’s a lot of people out there who can work full time and still manage to write; I’m not that great at multitasking.
Anyways, it’s a tough call for me. I know an agent could probably hook me up with a good deal, and I know I have a lot to offer a publishing company that’d be willing to give me a decent advance — there’s the Vanishing Point books I have in mind, and the Like Glass/Shattered universe is going to bring one more book from Rob’s perspective, and probably several more from the POV of other characters in the series. I mean, pick a number and I’ll give you that many books (well, within reason, at least).
Then there’s writing that damned query letter. I hate that. You want to know a secret? That’s one of the main reasons I started getting involved in the social networks like Facebook and Twitter — I was hoping I’d get in with an agent who’d be willing to let a bad query letter slide, because I was a “friend”. Seriously, I can’t query to save my life. If I had to choose between getting dental surgery without anesthesia, or working on a query letter, I’d … well, it’d be a tough choice. I’d probably go with the query letter, but I’d be wondering if the surgery would’ve been that bad while I was writing it.
Anyways, I need to start getting ready for another lap in the rat race. If you happen to have an agent tucked away some where though, and you think they’d be interested in dealing with the Like Glass series, send them my way. Or, at least, see if they’d be willing to overlook a bad query letter
Catch you on the flip side.
–Matt
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