Kinda Surreal, This Being Paid To Write Thing

I was pretty busy yesterday, so I didn't have the time to check for the launch of my sci-fi story, "Enemy of my Enemy" over at Afterburn SF. Not until this morning, at least. However, what I *did* notice was the quiet addition of funds to my PayPal account online for the sale of said story. It was a pleasant surprise, to say the least. Not like I didn't know I would be receiving payment (I'd signed the contract almost a year ago, after all) -- but because I hadn't expected it to come RIGHT THAT MOMENT. Part of this is because I was so busy that I had completely lost track of the month. How *did* February already come to an end so quick?

Anyway, it was quite a rush to see payment in my inbox not just from one story--the previously purchased "Khan Tengri" by Silverthought--but now from Afterburn SF, too! The money is not a lot, of course, but for me it is the best payment I've ever received! This is like Scrooge McDuck's lucky dime -- from this I shall build an EMPIRE! Mwah-haha-hah!!!! :)

Okay, seriously though, it's a cool feeling. Now I have to remember to transfer it all to my bank account. For now I keep going back to the PayPal site and just staring at the notification. Like I said, it's not about the money itself (though that's certainly nice, and I'll take more, please), but just the symbolism behind it. While I in no way have the hubris to proclaim I've finally made it onto the publishing scene (I still have a ton more work to do before I can say that, if ever), I do feel that this is an important baby step in the right direction.

Now hopefully this baby can learn to run!Source URL: https://bollywoodsexygirls2012.blogspot.com/search/label/Writing
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LIghtning Strikes Twice In One Month

Back around Feb. 2, I mentioned here that my second sci-fi short story to be purchased, "Khan Tengri," was available over at Silverthought online. Although it was being published first, my actual very first sale ever had occurred the previous year.

Well now that story, "Enemy of my Enemy," is finally online as well, over at Afterburn SF. Check it out for yourself if you're curious how my writing used to look 2 years ago. "Enemy of my Enemy" is an interesting story I wrote when I was still new to the concept of writing "for reals" -- and not just something I played around with like back in my high school and college days. Personally, I think I've grown a LOT since this story, yet so far to date I've been unable to sell anything else. In that sense, this story is like a glimpse back in time. I write more fluidly and concise nowadays, but in some ways these two stories are more FUN! I have to remember to recapture this fun in my new works.

"Enemy of my Enemy" is also a cross-genre fiction piece, blending sci-fi action with just the right touch of horror elements. I liken it to the movie Aliens meeting the video game series Resident Evil. Read the story and you'll understand. :)

So this concludes the thoroughly wild and altogether fruitful month of February for me. To wit, all within a few weeks I've gotten two stories published and have also been promoted at my job. March promises to be sweet as well, with our trip to Paris looming around the tail end of the month (right in time for the start of Spring).

I, of course, will be working hard in the meantime to try and add more short fiction sales to my resume. I don't want the month of February to be a fluke in 2009. I'm so desperate to keep the momentum rolling. Of course, I'll keep ya'll updated on that front.

Hope you guys like the story. Please comment here to throw out your opinions. Or just to chat. Or whatever.Source URL: https://bollywoodsexygirls2012.blogspot.com/search/label/Writing
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Jeez, I Guess I Suck At Spelling . . .

Okay, everybody take a quick 5 minutes to try out this quiz:

The 25 Most Commonly Misspelled Words, from BusinessWriting.com.

I got a 70% -- or 19/27 correct, which the site tells me is "good," but which I consider HORRIBLY, horribly BAD!!!

You'd think I would know how to spell these words since:

A) I pretend to be a writer; and
B) I actually work for a business where much writing and editing is carried out (oops!)

Anyway . . . don't tell my boss, mmmkay? (shhhh!)

Oddly enough, I spelled all the British words correctly. I used to get in trouble in elementary school for using the British spellings of certain words like "colour" and "aluminium," even though I'm not British and have never been to jolly ol' England. I think it's from all the Arthur Conan Doyle and Rudyard Kipling I read growing up.

Post in the comments section and let me know how you did.Source URL: https://bollywoodsexygirls2012.blogspot.com/search/label/Writing
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More On That Pesky Ole "Process" . . .

As some of you know, I talk a lot about the "process" I take to write my stories. In a real way, it's a process that is ever evolving as I learn what works and what doesn't work for me.

Cory Doctorow, SF-writer extraordinaire, writes a monthly column for Locus Magazine in which he expounds on the various issues plaguing the industry these days. But last month he took some time out to write about a common writerly foe -- distraction. More specifically, Internet distraction!

I think we're all quite familiar with that time-sucking demon, ain't we?

Anyway, I'm linking to the free article HERE, because it's just so darn useful. Especially to me. I was glad to see some of my habits are shared by Doctorow, while I've learned some new trick as well. Here's a few points I lifted straight from his article, with commentary by yours truly to follow:

• Short, regular work schedule.
  When I'm working on a story or novel, I set a modest daily goal — usually a page or two — and then I meet it every day, doing nothing else while I'm working on it. It's not plausible or desirable to try to get the world to go away for hours at a time, but it's entirely possible to make it all shut up for 20 minutes. Writing a page every day gets me more than a novel per year — do the math — and there's always 20 minutes to be found in a day, no matter what else is going on. Twenty minutes is a short enough interval that it can be claimed from a sleep or meal-break (though this shouldn't become a habit). The secret is to do it every day, weekends included, to keep the momentum going, and to allow your thoughts to wander to your next day's page between sessions. Try to find one or two vivid sensory details to work into the next page, or a bon mot, so that you've already got some material when you sit down at the keyboard.
This is almost exactly what I do! (yay). Except, the goal I set for myself is 1,000 words a night, or one whole scene (whichever comes first). I could definitely write 1 page in 20 minutes, but reaching that 1,000 word limit can take anywhere from 30 mins to 2 hours for me, depending on the scene. Some days (usually weekends) I max out at 2,000 words. But the rule to myself is to at least reach the 1k mark for the day. And yes, I also believe in doing this every single day -- weekends, holidays, birthdays, whatever. You must write SOMETHING every day, even if it is just one page in 20 mins like Mr. Doctorow suggests. I also use the technique of using the 24 hours between writing to flesh out the next 1,000 words in my mind. To jog my creative juices, I try to focus on one cool aspect/item/image of the scene I want to write (like a mini movie playing in my head) and take the excitement from that one cool item and expand on it. Again, just as Doctorow describes it. Yay, me!
• Leave yourself a rough edge.
  When you hit your daily word-goal, stop. Stop even if you're in the middle of a sentence. Especially if you're in the middle of a sentence. That way, when you sit down at the keyboard the next day, your first five or ten words are already ordained, so that you get a little push before you begin your work. Knitters leave a bit of yarn sticking out of the day's knitting so they know where to pick up the next day — they call it the "hint." Potters leave a rough edge on the wet clay before they wrap it in plastic for the night — it's hard to build on a smooth edge.
This is something I NEVER do, but I'm so going to now! It blows my mind this entire concept of the "hint." Wow, where have I've been? I've always forced myself to finish out my scene no matter what. I know above I said 1,000 words or whichever comes first, but I always fib a little on this rule and try my damnedest to finish out the scene . . . no matter how falling-down dead tired I am that night. But it never occurred to me that this is why it is so hard for me to pick up from where I left off the next day. It's because I always try to finish off my writing for the night with a nice, pretty bow of completion! Next time, I'm going to try and leave a rough edge waiting. I have a feeling this is going to work wonders!
• Don't research.
  Researching isn't writing and vice-versa. When you come to a factual matter that you could google in a matter of seconds, don't. Don't give in and look up the length of the Brooklyn Bridge, the population of Rhode Island, or the distance to the Sun. That way lies distraction — an endless click-trance that will turn your 20 minutes of composing into a half-day's idyll through the web. Instead, do what journalists do: type "TK" where your fact should go, as in "The Brooklyn bridge, all TK feet of it, sailed into the air like a kite." "TK" appears in very few English words (the one I get tripped up on is "Atkins") so a quick search through your document for "TK" will tell you whether you have any fact-checking to do afterwards. And your editor and copyeditor will recognize it if you miss it and bring it to your attention.
OMG, this is definitely me. I mean, the over-researching part. I *wish* I was smart enough to not stop in the middle of writing and super research a minor detail through for 30 mins on the Internet. But do this I do! :) The funny thing is, I already knew about this method of using a technical placeholder from my writing classes. I just never use it. I definitely should. I've been getting around this potential time sink issue with my short stories by lately trying to do ALL the research before I even start writing. It's easier to control such things with short stories, though; not nearly as easy on novels I would imagine. That said, two of my most recent stories dealing with the moon have suffered greatly from the "Brooklyn Bridge" curse. Oiy!
• Don't be ceremonious.
  Forget advice about finding the right atmosphere to coax your muse into the room. Forget candles, music, silence, a good chair, a cigarette, or putting the kids to sleep. It's nice to have all your physical needs met before you write, but if you convince yourself that you can only write in a perfect world, you compound the problem of finding 20 free minutes with the problem of finding the right environment at the same time. When the time is available, just put fingers to keyboard and write. You can put up with noise/silence/kids/discomfort/hunger for 20 minutes.
Yeah, thankfully this is not my problem at all. Not even one bit. I'm very good about writing at a set, specific time and place -- all other distractions be damned! I've written with construction hammers banging all around my house, people shouting and shooting at each other in the streets (remember folks, I live in the ghet-to), and the delivery people ringing my doorbell all day long. I've even written while on the phone (although that was a one-time thing. Okay, a two-time thing.) I put it this way to my friends: NOTHING gets in the way of my writing quota for the day. Nothing. I also believe that a writer's space should be simple and utilitarian. And for the love of God, do NOT sit facing a window overlooking the garden. That way lies madness! I prefer to type facing a blank, white wall with the door shut behind me and a naked light bulb shining down on my head. If available, I would write in a cave or dungeon -- anything rather than get bombarded by visual distractions. I suffer greatly from staring off into space. If you don't give me anything to stare off into, my writing and personal disposition improves greatly, thank you very much. :)
• Realtime communications tools are deadly.
  The biggest impediment to concentration is your computer's ecosystem of interruption technologies: IM, email alerts, RSS alerts, Skype rings, etc. Anything that requires you to wait for a response, even subconsciously, occupies your attention. Anything that leaps up on your screen to announce something new, occupies your attention. The more you can train your friends and family to use email, message boards, and similar technologies that allow you to save up your conversation for planned sessions instead of demanding your attention right now helps you carve out your 20 minutes. By all means, schedule a chat — voice, text, or video — when it's needed, but leaving your IM running is like sitting down to work after hanging a giant "DISTRACT ME" sign over your desk, one that shines brightly enough to be seen by the entire world.
Something else I don't have to worry about. Everyone knows my distaste for web annoyances like IM and e-mail alerts. I have no such things active on my PCs. At all. I hate, hate, hate them. I don't mind being distracted on the phone while writing (surprisingly), but that IM ping would drive me fuckin BONKERS! To the point where someone would have to die. And despite what I said about the phone, I would disconnect it when I write if not for the fact that I rarely get phone calls at my house anyway. Years of caller ID screening and registering for numerous DO NOT CALL lists have finally paid off. Checking my caller ID log, I see that I get roughly one phone call per day on my house line (cell phones get checked at the door, so no one can reach me or Lisa through one once we're home for the day). It's good to be antisocial!
Anyway, that was a very good, not to mention useful, article for me to read. You should definitely click on the link if you want to read more.
Source URL: https://bollywoodsexygirls2012.blogspot.com/search/label/Writing
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A Kick In The Pants

Whoa! I just finished reading this awesome interview of Frederik Pohl in the Jan. 2009 issue of Locus Magazine. This man's been in the game for over 70 years now -- and has had his hand in virtually every aspect of the SF industry, from writer to agent to editor to collaborator, and so on. I've read only a couple of his books, and a handful of short stories, but I've always admired his style and wit. My short story "Born Yesterday" was inspired in part by his 1994 novel, The Voices of Heaven.

This interview completely rocked my world because it's chocked full of anecdotal nuggets concerning the behind-the-scenes workings of the sci-fi publishing industry. The Grand Masters of sci-fi usually give the best interviews to Locus, but this one was truly exceptional. You can read some of the excerpts by clicking here, but will have to buy the full issue in bookstores or online if you want to read more. Or you can borrow my copy (hint, hint to to all my local friends).

As I was reading the interview, I found myself getting more and more excited about the whole prospect of writing in this industry. In fact, Mr. Pohl's words have lit a fire under me to get my latest story started when I get home from work tonight. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have a story that just popped into my head this week and which has been overriding the other stories on my plate already waiting for their turn to be written. I think I will write it after all, and see what comes. If I'm correct about how the concept is going, it should be a quick write and hopefully I'll be finished by Sunday. If I can pull that off, I'll start the story that this one is usurping next Friday.

That's the plan, anyway. I hope I can pull off at least two more stories before now and the trip to Paris. I don't want to have the spectre of a story screaming to be written hanging over me while I'm cruising down the river Seine enjoying champagne and fois gras.

Okay, that sounded a bit more crass than I intended . . . but you get my drift.

Happy Friday everybody!Source URL: https://bollywoodsexygirls2012.blogspot.com/search/label/Writing
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The Good Month Continues . . . Then Dies.

On the heels of the news about me having two short stories published in one month, I was also told by my boss that I was being promoted to supervisor. The announcement was officially made this morning, but I knew about it for 3 weeks now. I just couldn't tell anyone about it except for Lisa and some close friends. So, yeah, it's been one of those months of unbridled good news for me.

That is, until I got rejected by three different outlets on three different short stories all within a general 3-day period of time last week. Ouch! Luckily for me, I've been dealing with rejections for going on a year now since seriously sending my stories out, so I've actually developed a thick skin about the whole ordeal. But to get 3 of them back-to-back and all at once was a bit tough to swallow even for me. Usually the feedback I get is helpful and, in my own way, I'm able to see the validity of the suggestions I receive back from editors. But for this one story, I just had to disagree completely. I'm not going into the details here because I plan to send the same story out to other outlets, but suffice to say that the nit was a very minor one and completely ignores a much larger issue that occurs with the ending twist to the story. The fact that the reader mentions the smaller nit and ignores the larger picture item at the end of the story that actually resolves the nit . . . makes me think that the reader didn't read my story all the way through.

Which is fine. This is how the business works. But whereas I would normally incorporate the comments from a rejection and make some edits before sending the same story out again, this time I'm going to just send it out as is. If I get a similar crit back this time (doubtful), then I'll stop to re-examine the story and see what I can change. I'm not worried, though. Unlike others I've written, I really do think this particular story is darn good. It's not the "Hatchling" story I just finished writing, though. That one is still my best story to date, IMHO. This other one was written back in September and is more of a light-hearted sci-fi parody. That being said, I'm finding it difficult to pick exactly the right market to send it to. On the plus side, it's been quite a learning experience for me discovering new market sources on the web to help me narrow down an appropriate outlet, including those overseas.

So, on the agenda this week:

1) Send out 2 of the 3 rejected stories to new outlets;
2) Put the 3rd rejected story on ice for now. It's been edited to hell and back again, and I just can't seem to sell it. Which is sad because that was one of my good ones (to me, at least).
3) Start the new story I've been working on in my head for the last couple of weeks.

The only bad thing about no. 3 on that list is that, as of this morning, I just got an idea for a quick and really exciting new short that has been overriding all other thoughts since I've been at my desk. I want nothing more than to just lock myself away and work on this, but I don't want to abandon the story I'm *supposed* to be writing this weekend.

Seeing as how I don't think this exciting new new story will hold up to being put on the back burner for a week or two--whereas the other one has been slowly building up in my mind--I think I'll put off the latter to work on the former. It's going to be a quick, short little number I can feel. So maybe I can bat it out in one go (unlikely, given my hectic schedule this month) and start the other one next week?

We shall see . . .Source URL: https://bollywoodsexygirls2012.blogspot.com/search/label/Writing
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Wow, I'm All A-Glow!

Well, as promised, here's the link to my very first purchased short story which is now up at Silverthought Online:

"Khan Tengri"

Scroll halfway down the page to the new short fiction section. My story should be the second from the top. I didn't directly link to it because I want people to see and check out the other excellent stories included with mine in this February update of Silverthought. Give them a read, too!

But of course, read mine first! :) You'll see that there is a "discussion" link underneath my title on the main page. Click on that and leave a comment at Silverthought's message board on what you thought of the story. It requires registration, but it's free. Or, you can comment here in this blog entry. Please leave feedback either way. Us writers are starved for attention, and we need reassurances to coddle our precious little egos along, y'know.

Before you read, however, know that this is sci-fi. If that is not your cup of tea, just bare with it for as long as you can. Or you can turn back now. Be forewarned! :)

A little bit of background on the story:

I wrote "Khan Tengri" 2 years ago, a little after the time I had decided to try this writing thing out for good. I had only been writing for a few months, and this was either my 8th or 9th completed short story at the time. Reading the tale now, I can clearly see that I've improved a bit since writing it. But at the same time it makes me nostalgic for the mind frame I was in back then. I had already felt the sting of negative criticism with some of my earlier works, and so no longer lived in this fantasy la-la land that all my writing gleamed and sparkled. I knew I sucked, and that only time and a lot of work would make me suck less. So with that in mind, I set out to write the type of sci-fi that I liked reading. Because, when all is said and done, why shouldn't I?

Fast forward 2 years, and one major revision later (and a ton of minor polishes based on critiques from friends and workshoppers), and you have the product that sits before you. It's my second story to get purchased, but the first to publish (my first sale is appearing later this month).

It has its problems and setbacks, and is a bit rough around the edges, but I love it!

I hope you enjoy.Source URL: https://bollywoodsexygirls2012.blogspot.com/search/label/Writing
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What It Takes

A while back I mentioned that one of the biggest misconceptions I've since had corrected is that writing is all about talent.

Well, it's not. Not even close.

That's right, you heard me. There's actually a lot more that goes into successful writing than talent alone. In fact, I would even go so far as to say that talent means absolute squat if you're thinking of making it in this business.

But listen to me rattle! As if I'm an expert or anything. :)

No, sadly I have a TON to learn still. But it's funny how much my perception of the trade has already changed (for the better!) since I began taking things seriously two years ago. I was just thinking about it today while working out. Here's what I've learned:

A writer with virtually NO imagination but buckets of determination and work ethic will still make it in this field. He might have written only one or two real novels, and have almost no readership, but he's published. He got to where he was by sheer determination despite his shortcomings.

Then there is the writer with gobs of natural-born creativity--and who knows it to boot!--but is too lazy to put in the hours, months, YEARS it takes to really get noticed. To him, he feels his god-given talent is obvious for all to see, and that publishers should be beating down his door to sign him to a multi-book, multi-MILLION dollar contract. This type of writer is the writer that never publishes anything. His precious ego gets crushed the first time he turns in a failed manuscript due to shoddy mechanics, or gets reamed-in by his crit group. This is the guy who decides after just a few years that the world is simply not ready to receive his brilliance, and mopes around the Starbucks hoping the chick behind the counter will have pity on his sob story and sleep with him.

Point is, talent means zero. Or, rather, very little. All of the professional writers who's life stories I've read have all mentioned one thing in common: and that is that it took real suffering and slaving away at the keyboard for YEARS before they were even slightly competent enough to be taken seriously by editors. These people are the stubborn bastards of their gene pools -- they refuse to listen to good reason when that reason is telling them to pack it up and leave the game to more talented folks. These are the people who willingly descend into madness, locking themselves up in their basements and refusing sunlight or the succor of family and friends. These are the people who bleed their frustrations, hopes, tears, and joys onto the very pages they type. All for maybe some day attaining that dream.

The talented slob is a nobody. The determined hack is king compared to this fool.

Now, I'm not trying to say I fit into either of these archetypes. *grins* In this one endeavor, I happily steer towards the middle. Halfway between burning talent and mediocre tenacity, I aim to be neither one nor the other, but maybe just a little of both. :)

And yes: I'd rather be called a hack and have published a few books, than to be called potentially brilliant but a wasted talent who never took off.

Not that I've been called either. Not yet, anyway. But I'm just saying . . .Source URL: https://bollywoodsexygirls2012.blogspot.com/search/label/Writing
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Dream Opposites

I have this strange reoccurring dream. Seems that I constantly dream the opposite of what is about to happen in real life, particularly concerning important events specific to myself. As a teenager, just before end of the year report cards, it was customary of me to have a particular bad dream the night before where I failed two or three classes and would need to repeat a grade. I would wake up terrified and wonder if it was a portent of things to come. Only to go to school and find out that I had passed with flying colors.

Same thing happened with my driving test, and with my thesis review in college. And each time reality turned out to be the opposite. But sometimes I'll dream a "good" outcome, like winning a contest or something, only to end up having the opposite and "bad" result in real life.

Such is the case as what happened last night. I don't want to go into details, because I firmly believe in the power of the jinx, but I just dreamt that I got a letter in the mail saying that one of my stories was purchased by this really important place I've been waiting to hear back from now. And in the dream, everyone was so happy for me. And I remember saying: "Wow, when it rains it pours! A third story, now? I can't believe my luck!"

And then I woke up. I literally yelled out in frustration. Not just because I realized it had been a dream, but because I know what this usually means for me. Yup, the exact opposite of what happened in the dream.

So now I'm worried that this particular story I have in mind has been rejected. Of course, time will tell.

Then again, one bit of hope is this: the last time I sent a story to this place and was so worried about the outcome, I didn't have any dreams about it at all. And then I got the letter saying it was rejected. Maybe I should take it as a good sign that I had a dream at all this time?

Or maybe I'm just thinking too much about it. Yeah, that's probably right. :)

Well, back to revising. I was just taking a quick break, but now I need to get back. Oh, and Fallout 3 is calling, too. I'll jump back on that after my jog later, and then update my sidebar if I have the chance.

Have a good Sunday, folks! Oh yeah, and it's February! Wow, can you believe how fast the month of January flew by?Source URL: https://bollywoodsexygirls2012.blogspot.com/search/label/Writing
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Sometimes, Life Slaps You In The Face With A Fistful Of Kismet

Well, well, things have certainly turned interesting.

As many of you know, I took the plunge over 2 years ago to seriously go after my dream of becoming a published SF writer. I knew back then that the road would be long, treacherous, and full of tears. I didn't expect to become "good" at it overnight, and knew that it would take me many years of rejections and failed drafts before the day would come when I could start making sales that count.

Well, today is not exactly that day . . . but it's a damn good day for me nonetheless! I've been waiting for the right time to bring it up, but since we're almost in the month of February, I figure now's a good a time as any to mention the news.

No, I didn't publish a novel. Baby steps, people. Baby steps. But I did make my very first sale of a short story! It happened last year, actually, back in April. I sold the short story "Enemy of My Enemy" to Afterburn SF, an e-zine publishing "high octane" sci-fi, fantasy, and horror stories. Due to a serious backlog of submissions at the time, I was told that I had just made it before the doors were closed on new submissions for the year. And that, because of the surplus, my story would not appear until almost a year later.

Feb. 27th will be the day it appears online. I remember the heady feeling at the time almost a year ago. I was so giddy I didn't know what to do with myself. But I made a promise to myself: that I would spend the next year writing even more stories and not letting the year 2009 be a solitary affair for published works.

And so, fast-forward to this morning. Paul Hughes over at Silverthought e-mailed me to say that another one of my stories, "Khan Tengri," was accepted for publication on ST's online site for next month. Talk about a wake up call in the morning! I was floored, and instantly wrote back saying that I would be thrilled to have the story appear in his publication. Silverthought is an excellent quality Speculative Fiction e-zine, with a pretty active forum community to boot. I couldn't be happier to have my piece appear there!

But how ironic is that? Two stories that I wrote back to back 2 years ago and only started submitting 10 months ago, would not only get purchased by two separate publications, but appear in the same month no less! Sometimes I can't believe my fortune.

So, looks like I was able to keep my promise after all. And don't think I'm sitting on my laurels soaking it all up. Nosiree! I'm just as determined to write even more now and publish more tales in the coming year. I have a few promising stories making the rounds as we speak. So, we shall see.

I will of course keep everyone updated on this site with links to the stories when they appear next month. In the meantime I'm going to continue what I've been doing: writing as many short stories as I can churn out, and trying to improve with each one. I still have a LONG ways to go, and so much more to learn.

Special thanks to all my crit group friends at Spec Fiction Fledglings, who workshopped both stories for me and gave me the valuable feedback to make them better. Couldn't have done it without ya'll!Source URL: https://bollywoodsexygirls2012.blogspot.com/search/label/Writing
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Finished My Latest Story . . .

I took a little break in December from writing to polish over some older stories (and play some Prince of Persia). But by the time the New Year rolled around, I was itching to get back in the saddle.

It still took me a while to get started, tho, because I had work I needed to take home, but finally this past weekend I was able to start a sci-fi thriller I had been playing around with for a few months. The concept required some researching of indigenous cultures around the world, preferably those that had been around for more than 20,000 years, like the Australian Aborigines. I didn't want to use them, however, as that angle has already been done to death. Similarly, I didn't want to go with a culture in Africa for the same reason.

So, I eventually landed on the mostly "undiscovered" island of New Guinea. It's one of the last places on Earth with people who can trace their lineage back to over 40,000 years ago! I mean, CHRIST!!! That's a long time! Some of the tribes in the highlands have only seen outsiders for the first time as recently as 1970. Technologically-wise, they were still living in the neolithic!

I think that's simply amazing. With such a setting, it was easy to let my mind wander and take the glimmer of an idea and really expand it to something exciting. After doing some more research, I was able to narrow the location to the western portion of the island -- which is really a province of Indonesia called "Papua." This is not to be confused with the eastern half of the island, an autonomous nation all on its own called "Papua New Guinea." Yeah, try figuring that one out. It sure took me a while. :)

I'm pretty proud of the story I crafted. It took me 4 days to write it, and came in at just under 6,500 words. Despite the low-tech setting, it really is a sci-fi tale through and through. I won't give anything away, but if you know me, there's some pretty freaky goings-on in here! I was particular taken aback by how well the research supported the premise of the story, however. I hadn't planned on it to work out so well, just one of those lucky coincidences we writers wish for in these instances. But as it turns out, the high-concept sci-fictional idea I had cooked up was actually supported pretty neatly by the local native folklore and spiritual beliefs. Wow!

The story is tentatively titled "Prison Moon" for now. I often change the title once I get through the polishing stage, but even though this is still the rough draft I think I might keep this one. We'll see. I'm happy I've been able to cut my average word count down, with this latest story being my most economical to date. I've written shorter stories, but never like this. Slowly but surely my word efficiency is improving. I'm able to "show" more while writing less and less. It's amazing how much story I was able to cram into these 6.5k words. I'm so thrilled!

Anyway, I've already worked out an outline for my next story. Typically I try to write at least one new short story per month. Sometimes I write two. I want to crack open some Fallout 3 on the Xbox 360 this weekend, but since I already have a rough idea of how this next story is going, I may just take a quick few days out of my gaming schedule to write it out for the end of the month.

So, yeah, "Prison Moon" was a success (at least by my standards). Time will tell whether or not I can get someone to take the bait and actually pay me for it. :) I probably won't be sending it out until the middle of next month at the earliest. But I'll keep ya'll updated!Source URL: https://bollywoodsexygirls2012.blogspot.com/search/label/Writing
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As If I Needed Another Reason . . .

IGN *finally* released the full list of their "Best Of" winners for games across all platforms for the year 2008. The grand finale of them all being the "Best Overall Game" of the year award, which went to Fallout 3.




Damn, like as if I needed yet one more reason to start this game -- and FAST!!!


As I mentioned here back in October, Fallout 3 was a game I immediately snatched up when it was released, but then realized I didn't have the time to play it until the new year. What with writerly duties and quick, fun little titles like Gears of War 2 and Prince of Persia taking up all my time, I figured it would be a while before I would jump into such a huge and time-consuming endeavor like Fallout 3.




But now I can no longer ignore its allure. I'm being sucked in to the post-apocalyptic world of Capitol Wasteland (a seriously bombed-out Washington D.C. area), and this time there will be nothing to stand in my way.


Well, except for this story I'm writing right now. But I'm almost done (so far it's quite good), and hopefully by this weekend I shall crank up the ol' Xbox 360 and *FINALLY* get my RPG goodness on! :)


I'll have to be quick, though, as all must come to a grinding stop when Resident Evil 5 comes out in March. I'm pretty sure I'll be barely at the halfway point with Fallout 3 by then, but here's to hoping I can get through RE5 really quick and then return to the apocalypse.




The way things are looking, I might be playing this game off and on for the better part of a year. AIEEEE!!!!
Source URL: https://bollywoodsexygirls2012.blogspot.com/search/label/Writing
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Please Be Patient. I Certainly Am.

Sometimes this waiting game seems like it will go on forever. I'm talking about this period/phase/whatever I'm in right now where I've been putting my nose to the grindstone in terms of my writing and paying my dues. When I first set out over two years ago to write seriously and get published, it was with the understanding that success would not come overnight. I was ready for AT LEAST five years of churning out story after story, getting rejected left and right, and learning from my mistakes.

Some days this grueling ordeal is easier than others. But you know what? I'm patient. Like Father Time patient. I'm in no rush, and I'm still young. In the last two years I feel I've really come far in terms of my writing, but in no way do I feel like I'm *ready* just yet. My writing is not quite where it needs to be, although the ideas are coming faster and faster now. Seriously, it's all I can do to write fast enough to contain them all. That right there is something I'm happy with. It means that although my stories still lack that certain something to elevate them a notch above pedestrian, I still have that hunger and fire to make it in this genre. That's not going away.

So, looking back on the last two years, I feel that I still have a long road ahead before I can start cranking out good stuff. It might be three more years, but you know what? It could be five more years! I'm really not that hung up on it. I just want to keep writing.

In an interview, Elizabeth Bear admitted that she was rejected at least 700 times before finally publishing a professional short story. But she thinks it was more like over a 1,000! And yet she's one of the best and brightest--not to mention PROLIFIC--of the new crop of sci-fi writers that have emerged over the last couple of years. Other new writers have similar accounts.

Rather than sobering me, this makes me even more driven now. If they could keep on going, so can I.

So to all my friends and family reading this who are still asking me: "so, how's the writing coming along?"

It's coming, it's coming. Just be patient with me. I'll get there in my own special time. (ha ha)Source URL: https://bollywoodsexygirls2012.blogspot.com/search/label/Writing
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Back In The Wold Of The Living

Well, I hadn't intended on being a stranger all this time, but as you know I've been busy writing my latest sci-fi story. That's not an excuse, though. I've written stories before while keeping to a semi-regular posting schedule here. But I guess this latest go-round just sucked me in THAT much. I mean, I was so much invested in this story that I had no desire to write anything else at the time. There was also an issue of time. Between work (which was hectic this last week), weight training/running, and this story, I had little time for anything else. Including Gears of War 2 (boo!)

But I'm happy to say I'm done! With the first draft, at least. I finished last night, actually, and it came in a little longer than I wanted -- at 10,000 words. But I'm diving straight into the second draft today and will look to cut out around 3,000 of those words and add perhaps a thousand more in flesh-outs and scenery, as well as some tie-ins to make the plot flow better. It would be nice if, after the final polish, I can have something in the 7.5k range. Keep your fingers crossed.

And, so, what is this story about? Sorry, I won't divulge any details. Especially while I'm still in the rough draft phase. But I will let you in on the story idea that generated this tale, which goes:

What would you do if a bad man from your childhood walked into your clinic needing urgent medical treatment? Would you treat him like any other patient, deserving of your care? Or would you use the opportunity to take a life rather than save one?

This is the dilemma a physician--my protagonist--faces in this story. Can she put aside her hatred for what this man did to her family?

And of course, since this is sci-fi, it takes place aboard a space station situated at the mouth of a strategic wormhole. Because, hell, why not?

I'm off from work all next week, so between this second draft, editing an older story from September (and, oh yeah, that turkey-day thing too!), I'll be playing copious amounts of GoW2 until my bleeding eyes match the Locust splatter across my tv screen. YAY!!!!

Anyone have plans for T-day?Source URL: https://bollywoodsexygirls2012.blogspot.com/search/label/Writing
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Some Slowdown

You'll notice sporadic updates for the next few days, as I'm in the middle of writing a brand new short story. I just started it yesterday and already I'm just under 4,000 words. If all goes well I should be able to bring it in at around 8,000, which I'll then edit down to 7 or 7.5k. Since I'll be back at work tomorrow, I don't expect I'll be able to write more than 900 words tomorrow night and the rest of the week. But I'll try to find the time after dinner somehow.

I was expecting to post up a review of the latest Bond flick this weekend, but the story took precedence so you might have to wait a little longer for that (don't hold your breath). I'll tell you this much: it was very, VERY good! :)

In the meantime, I hope everyone had a great and productive weekend like I did! Or better yet, a weekend where you just relaxed all day vegging out on the sofa. Either scenario sounds damn fine to me.Source URL: https://bollywoodsexygirls2012.blogspot.com/search/label/Writing
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Another Bloody Game . . .

Was busy with writerly duties over the weekend, so I didn't get to crack this game open until tonight. Phew! -- what a gruesome beast this Gears of War 2 is shaping up to be. I've only played through the first two chapters, but already I'm loving all the bloody disgusting mayhem I'm raining down on these bastard Locust hordes! And even though I played the first game 2 years ago, I wasn't rusty one bit! The game takes place roughly 6 months after the first, but really in terms of design, engine, and control mechanics it is the exact same experience. Of course the story is different, and the battles so far are more intense (if strangely easier). But, yeah, I'm in love!



For those not familiar with the series, Gears of War takes place on the fictional world of Sera, where humanity has occupied for a thousand years in what they thought was solitude. Lo and behold there was a literal underground civilization deep beneath their feet just waiting for the day to launch a surprise attack on the surface and take back control of the planet. When the veritable shit eventually did hit the fan--called "E-day," the day the Locust forces emerged from out of the ground--humanity was caught severely off guard. Now, 15 years later, most of the human cities of Sera lie in ruin. Locust hordes are getting stronger and more aggressive. The only thing standing between them and total annihilation of mankind is the human Cog Army. Soldiers are called "gears" in this army, and of course your main character, Marcus Fenix, is in charge of a small specialized recon group called Delta Squad.


The rest is pure runnin and gunnin at its best!



Anyone else out there love this series? Are you playing it right this very minute? I'm tempted to call in sick tomorrow and just spend an entire day kicking pale Locust ass all over the map! But of course I won't. I'll probably play this off and on until Thanksgiving break, when I can devote a lot more time and probably finish the game. In the meantime, I'm knee deep doing a finishing polish on several older stories, revising a couple of recent ones, and planning the plot details for a brand new story or two to be written between now and early December. On top of that, I have to work the regular 9 to 5, too.


Yeah, I have a full plate. But that's cool. I like being busy! :-)
Source URL: https://bollywoodsexygirls2012.blogspot.com/search/label/Writing
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R.I.P. Michael Crichton

HOLY CRAP!

CNN.com just announced that Michael Crichton, famed thriller novelist and TV show producer, passed away yesterday at the age of 66 following an undisclosed bout with cancer. Crichton is best known for writing such best-sellers as The Andromeda Strain and Jurassic Park, as well as co-creating the hit medical drama "ER."

I was first introduced to Crichton's work in high school when I read Sphere in a single day, that's how engrossed I was with his fabulous writing. I remember being impressed that he had been a medical doctor who switched to writing full time. Back when I entertained ideas of becoming both a doctor and a writer, you can see why he was such an inspiration to me.

Such sad news. A great talent has been silenced forever.Source URL: https://bollywoodsexygirls2012.blogspot.com/search/label/Writing
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Writerly Quiz

I took this quiz to determine "What Type of Writer I Should Be." Big surprise I got the result I did, huh? :)


You Should Be a Science Fiction Writer

Your ideas are very strange, and people often wonder what planet you're from. And while you may have some problems being "normal," you'll have no problems writing sci-fi. Whether it's epic films, important novels, or vivid comics... Your own little universe could leave an important mark on the world!


What Type of Writer Should You Be?


What type of writer are YOU?Source URL: https://bollywoodsexygirls2012.blogspot.com/search/label/Writing
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What I've Learned In 2 Years

A little while ago I wrote a series of blog entries titled "On Writing" (so titled after the amazing Stephen King "how-to" book of the same name), in which I mentioned my writing habits and schedule. You can find them here: part 1, part 2, part 3. In it, I mentioned that I only started writing seriously--i.e., with a mind towards publishing--two years ago. Even though it hasn't been a long time at all in writerly years, there's already a noticeable difference in my perception of the business. This outlook is, of course, ever evolving, but I thought it'd be interesting to examine what I've learned thus far.

If I could coalesce it all into one salient observation, it would be on account of discipline. And what does this mean exactly? Well simple:

Before 2006, I thought writing followed a formula of: 10% discipline, and 90% creative talent.

2 years later, I realize this is utterly simplistic, let alone wrong. Writing well enough to publish takes, in my opinion, about: 20% discipline, 10% creativity -- and 70% stubbornness!

If you notice, there's a pretty interesting paradigm shift at work here. Before I knew anything at all about the business, I held a rather romanticized view of writing fiction. I assumed that talent was everything. That good ideas and good natural writing ability was the most important thing to it, and how you went about the actual mechanics of writing was secondary. In other words, if you had the talent, that's all you needed. The stories would all but write themselves.

Boy, how stupid was I?

These days, while I'm still no more publishable than I was 2 years ago, I've learned that talent amounts for squat if you don't have the discipline and tenacity to see your work through. And it's not just through my own writing that I've learned this lesson, but through listening to other writers and their journeys as well.

The wittiest, most popular, most prolific writers out there all have the same thing in common -- and that is that they were rejected hundreds, if not thousands, of times before one of their pieces sold, or before they started selling regularly. Because that's the key right there; not just selling something once, but being able to keep on selling.

These weren't writers who just emerged out of the blue one day with the Hugo award-winning novel under their arms -- they actually *sucked* at some point. Which is not to say they did not possess innate talent (because, of course, talent is sorta necessary if you want to be successful, no?), but that they did not yet possess the discipline to make that talent shine.

The true test of a new writer, therefore, is how much knocking about he can take until pay dirt is reached. Can he withstand the countless rejections, withering critiques, and constant nitpicking and still keep on writing day-in and day-out? The new writer has to be able to eat shit and keep on smiling, because the dream is too big to give up on.

So after learning all this, and spending even just 2 years with my nose to the grindstone, I have come to this one saving conclusion: That all writers are stubborn assholes.

And it would do me well to emulate them their assholery. :)Source URL: https://bollywoodsexygirls2012.blogspot.com/search/label/Writing
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On Writing (pt. 3)

I'm lazy. There, I admitted it. Lazy, but dedicated. How is this possible, you ask? Surely one cannot be both these things at the same time.

Let me explain.

I loathe the more formal machinations of writing. Outlines, note-taking, color-coded index cards -- these are not for me. In college, almost all of my research papers were done on the fly with hardly any advanced preparation. I cited stuff just because it was required, and manhandled the information into a reasonable discourse on paper because I knew what needed to be done to get the good grade. And it worked.

So when it comes to my fiction, I'm reluctant to whip out the plotline bullet points. Luckily for me I've been sticking to only short stories as I learn the ropes to crafting better narratives. Short stories have more leeway when it comes to formal research. Generally speaking, if you have to do too much book nosing to pull out your 5k - 7.5k short -- you're probably over thinking things a bit. I'm one to talk, though, since I still haven't mastered brevity (as evidenced by these blog entries!)

So, no outlines for me. It's simply too much effort for short stories, I'm afraid.

Okay, I'm lying. Sorry about that. I have done outlines for my stories before. Mostly thanks to several writing classes I signed up for last year. I learned how to do them and do them well. Only thing is, my stories sucked as much, if not worse, than they did before the classes. If anything, they were only more plotted now. Not a big improvement.

However, the experience did come in handy in teaching me a tool I'll most likely use in the future when I start my novel. I foresee that, when that time comes, I will have to resort to the outline or die writing the never-ending novel. I know the way I write; it would not be pretty. I need to be reigned in. In this light, I'm confident the outline will be my best friend when I start my novel. Heck, I'm already partially writing the outline in my head for the space-opera novel I'm envisioning.

But for now I'll wallow in my laziness when it comes to my short tales. I don't plan, I just dive into the stories using a general idea as my anchor. The thing is, once I start writing, a dogged determination takes over me. I don't stop until it's done. I don't get writer's block *knock on wood*, but I do encounter snags and whirls in the course of writing a typical short story that would have defeated the old me. Part of what I've been doing these past two years is disciplining myself to always work through these obstacles no matter what. To the benefit or detriment of my work.

Such are the trials of learning, eh?

However, the best time for me in the writing process is the beginning. I *love* staring at a blank screen. It's like pristine snow, or a virgin canvas. Just waiting to be imprinted. Sitting at the keyboard, my mind is awash with numerous possibilities on how to begin a given story. I'm usually giddy with anticipation.

As for the ideas themselves, there is no rhyme or reason as to where they come from. I take inspiration from anything and everything. All writers do. Dreams are not the most obvious place to get them, despite what you might think. Although I once did get a gnarly idea for a weird alien species when I was doped up on Vicodin after getting my wisdom teeth pulled. The dreams I had that night were wild and frightening. But when I woke up, I immediately went to the computer and started typing away. My story "Ascending the Sending Road" was the result.

Usually, though, I get the best ideas from watching tv or movies. It's not that I'm plagiarizing these shows and films, but that some remark or gesture will spur my mind off on a tangent that almost always has nothing to do with the source. And usually with a sci-fi or fantastical bent. Oddly enough, books don't always have this same effect on me. Yet video games do. Go figure.

Once I get an idea, I work out the logistics of the story in my head. The best time for this is either in the shower or on the subway on my way to and from work. I usually read on the train, but not when I'm working on a story. Once I'm in that mode, any book I'm reading is placed on hold so that I can use the spare time to worry away at my own creation. Once I work at it enough to smooth away the most obvious snags, I set to actually translating my thoughts onto paper.

Taking Stephen King's advice to heart, I lock myself away from the world when I write. No coffee shops or window nooks for me -- too many distractions! I work tirelessly and nonstop the minute my fingers hit the keys. I enter a trance mode where I neither hear nor see anything beyond the screen in front of me. 3 or 4 hours later I sit back and take a breather. That's literally how I write. It's crazy, but there's a saneness there for me that I just can't explain. If I could sit in the middle of a white-washed room with nothing but a chair, a desk, and my PC, this would be ideal. No windows, no music, no television, no phones. Just me and the world I'm creating.

I like my methods. They work for me. A more cynical David might say that it's clearly not working at all, because I have yet to write anything worth publishing. But luckily I give myself more of a break than that. You get enough chances to prove yourself an asshole in life to other people without convincing your own self of the fact, too.

No, I know I suck because of inexperience and lack of polish. But that's okay; I'm REAL stubborn. I don't give up easily, and I know that the only way to get better is to keep going at it.

That right there is probably the single best resource I have at my disposal:

Determination.Source URL: https://bollywoodsexygirls2012.blogspot.com/search/label/Writing
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