Be Kind

Warning: Don't read the first two paragraphs. There is no news/information here. It is simply me getting something off my chest.

I was originally going to start this entry off with a rant. Then, as my anger cooled, it turned into more of a well-worded, but hostile, examination. Being more of an observer of humanity than a member, I started to notice something. The thing I was going to rant against has mostly good people involved. Like a charity that spends too much money on donuts. You don't want to call them out for wasting money because you'll look like an ass for criticizing a good charity. Even though that money could be put to better use. Even though I'm right. I saw people defending the good while shooting down any idea of the fact the system is flawed and requires reform. They were being nice. Which led me to something even worse than a rant: A lecture.

I highly value kindness. It's a rare resource or at least rarer than it should be, and it genuinely makes the world a better place. The thing is, I also highly value honesty. And, when you value honesty, you learn the difference between being kind and being nice. Imagine, if you will, that you have a good friend that's currently in a toxic relationship. Being kind is telling your friend to dump that loser. Even though it will hurt. Even though speaking up might jeopardize your friendship. You still need to do it. Because they're your friend and they deserve better. On the other hand, being nice is pretending you like your friend's loser partner despite everything. Sure, you'll be there for your friend when the relationship comes crashing down, but you probably should have spoken up earlier. Being kind requires honesty. Courage. Being nice just requires your presence. Don't be nice. Be better. Be kind.

Now that I've gotten the toxin out of my system, on to the news.

The biggest news, that doesn't involve moving, is that I finally finished the latest round of edits on my novel. I'm expecting to start querying it again in the next week and even entered it into the Pitch Wars contest. I don't expect it get very far since I'm a cynical asshole because I no self-esteem. Or I have no self-esteem because I'm a cynical asshole, depending on who you ask. Still, I march on. Let's hope I can sell this book before I'm dead.

I already mentioned that I'm the ML for my region when NaNoWriMo begins next month. Though, I haven't done too much about it. I've been holding off on planning the writing event because I've been too damn busy. Even as I type this, I'm waiting on the final task so I can complete the fiscal year-end at work. Step one will be to formulate a calendar/attack plan for the event and establish meetups with anyone will to listen to me talk about failing at writing for an hour or so. NaNoWriMo: spring break for writers.

Last bit for now. I finally got the results for the third quarter of the Writer of the Future contest. Another honorable mention. It's better than an outright rejection, but I still won't see my work published in any form. It's a so close, and yet, so far kind of feeling. The damnest thing is that I had a great idea for a short story in the middle of the night just last night. I didn't bother to write it down and now it's lost to the void. Just like my novel.

Until next time, and at all times, be kind.

What's Up?

I don't have much to update on writing-wise, so I'll try to be brief. Moving is going slowly, but we're making progress. I hope to do a separate blog entry on the painting designs I'm doing, so keep an eye out for that. I haven't been taking pictures of my progress because there aren't enough people who pay attention for me to put in the effort. You will, however, see the finished product once I'm done. Might be as early as this weekend. End of August at the latest.

Writing stuff, there isn't much to report. I've scheduled a short-form writing time on Sundays, but I have yet to keep it. To be fair, I have a good excuse. Might have to wait until all the moving is done before I can dive back in. I'm still editing Variant War, entering the final arc of the novel. I'm keeping track of who POVs each chapter because I need to go back and edit Snyder's chapters. If I keep this up, I should be done soon.

I put in an application to manage my local region for NaNoWriMo. I'm still planning on doing it even though I have yet to plot out the novel. I still have three months. Editing and moving have just gotten in the way. Plus work keeps throwing me curveballs. That's never fun.

In other uninteresting news, I completed reading my Heinlein collection. Had some oddball short stories and a collection of speeches that had alluded me until now. I want to do a podcast to do a deep dive into his work, but it's not like I have time for that. Also, I can't think of anyone who would want to listen to my voice.

Still nothing from Writers of the Future for the third quarter, but I'm not expecting anything until September. As I understand it, they haven't finished doing the second quarter. We'll see.

That's pretty much it for now. I know it's pretty much reviews at the moment, but that's what pointless blogs are for.

I just flew back from Europe and boy are my arms tired.

Actually, I've been back for a few weeks now, but this is the first blog entry since being across the pond. Europe was great in case anyone cares. I was half expecting some kind of revelation when I was over there, but it was just enjoyable and not some kind of other worldly experience. The only place we visited that I thought would be a good place to live in was Amsterdam. Seriously, legal pot is the least interesting thing about the place. But more on that later.

Mostly it's been a struggle to get back on track since the honeymoon ended. I spent most of June just catching up on stuff. Then, almost as soon as I felt things were back to normal, we had to start moving into the new house. Good news is that we're not in a hurry. Bad news is that the process eats up all my free time. I'm still editing The Variant War, a process that should be done before October. Speaking of October, the 2020 version of the Writer's Market book comes out on the eighth. I've decided to hold off on query letters until then. Just need to focus on personal stuff so I can be ready for what's ahead of me.

Have my other writing projects gotten any love? Not really. I hope to spend the next few months doing prep work for Thermal Kings to be ready for NaNoWriMo in November. I also put in an application to be the regional dude for the event. It will feel good to finally get to do some actual writing again. I also have a new short-form project, but it hasn't gotten as much attention as it probably should. The best solution here would be to schedule two hours every week to work on it. But, you know, personal stuff.

I finally got the Honorable Mention certificate in the mail. I will hang it up in my new office when we move. Wifey has been calling it the 'L. Ron Hubbard certificate', which has jokingly been taken out of context.  Hilarious. I also entered another short story for the third quarter. I won't hear back from them until around September. There has been a new story swimming around in my head, but it will stay in the notes phase until next year. Like most things apparently.

I had to look at the last entry before I realized that I hadn't made an update to the conference. Short version: It was a waste of time and money. There is no long version. I still might go back, but I'll be more careful with who I pitch to. That's all I have to say on the subject.

To end on a more positive note, I visited the Rijksmuseum while in Amsterdam. They had a Rembrandt exhibit but we were unable to get in. It was the last weekend and the viewing was a madhouse. However, they kept Night Watch in its proper place as the centerpiece of the museum. Words don't do it justice, so I won't even try. All I can do is ask a question. If you don't have seeing Night Watch on your bucket list, do you even want to live?

FML and an Honorable Mention

You should never write when you're under the heavy influence of either anger or depression. But my two fans won't be able to sleep tonight if I don't update them on the Atlanta conference that I just got back from. So, which negative emotion is coursing through my veins? Read and find out.

Disclaimer: The bit about the conference is towards the end. Not that you should skip to the end, but I don't want you to feel I'm burying the lede.

First up we have the Alabama Book Festival. To be honest, it felt like an off year. Even the food vendors were lacking. Which is a shame because I was really looking forward to a hot dog. Usually, it's an all-day affair for me, a holy day even. But, this year, I didn't show up until late in the morning (which is actually good because it was also Record Store Day). The first event I wanted to do was a poetry workshop. I was glad I decided to go because it was well worth attending. After that though, I should have left. There were no interesting guests and the book store was almost entirely travel, history, or true crime related. Even Christian literature had trouble showing up that particular Saturday. The next event of note was the comic book panel with the creators of Tuskegee Heirs. It was a good panel, but the lack of food had me more than a little tired. Then a massive wasp came into the room and everyone was super alert.  I wanted to stay for an indie publishing workshop at the end of the day, but I just didn't have the energy. So I left with no new books in hand. On the bright side, my to-read shelf is still only slightly overflowing.

I spoke last month about entering a short story contest, but that ended in failure. Well, at least sort of. I just decided to not enter because it turns out it had an entry fee. Unless the fee is something small to cover the use of a third party form service, the fees are usually bullshit. At least my work on the short story wasn't a waste of time because I will enter it into the Writers of the Future contest after I give it one last go through.

Speaking of Hubbardville, I'm getting an honorable mention for my first quarter entry. I know it's just one small step above a rejection, but it's a start. I should probably shop the story around. If you're reading this and know someone meaningful that publishes urban fantasy, comment below.

Now, the main event. The Atlanta Writer's Conference. Truth, I'm not totally sure I want to talk about it. It's still too early to say if anything will come out of it, but I have serious doubts. The highlight is that an editor really liked my sample, but she doesn't take unagented manuscripts. I could probably do an entire post on what is wrong with that, but I'll leave it be as it will not solve anything. The good news, I have a lead if I get an agent. The bad news is that I'm not likely to get an agent any time soon. Later this month I am sending two query letters to agents I met at the conference, so not all is lost. If anything, I learned that I should be more picky about who I pitch to instead of just throwing at everyone with their mitt out. Especially if I have to pay a butt load of money just to get in the room.

Plus side, I reacquainted myself with a couple of cool guys who are in the same boat as me. Or the same peas in the same pod. Which ever cliché suits you.

I could go further into detail about the conference, but I won't waste the time. My life, at least currently, isn't a zero sum game. In fact, it's going pretty well. We're moving into a bigger house later this year. My wife is super hot. Will probably start having kids by year's end. My friends are better than your friends. It just feels the lack of progress on my writing tips the scales into the negative. I know it's not true, that my life is awesome. Well, at least better than most. What am I feeling? Hopeful. It's just mixed with being angry and depressed. You know, how being alive is supposed to feel like.

Last note, I'm going on my honeymoon at the end of May, so it's unlikely I will do a blog entry at the beginning of June. If anything important happens, I'll be sure to like you know. If not, I'll catch you in July. I might do one before I leave, but, if you don't hear from me by May 31st, I'm too busy drinking German beer and trying to impregnate my wife.

Comment below if that was TMI.

Progress with a Side of Failure

Pitmad was a failure. I'll just start off there. It's also probably my last attempt to follow through with that event. I've found that it's heavily skewed towards YA, which shouldn't be that much of a surprise since the event takes place on Twitter. I personally wasn't expecting much, but what bothered me was that I saw people with really good pitches gain almost no traction because their stuff was adult. It's also a breeding ground for "publishing" companies that don't do much better than if you just put it out there yourself. If their only releases are anthologies with a book cover that is just a stock photo overlaid with some text, they aren't a real publishing firm. I know this sounds like a rant (because it kind of is), but the whole thing left me sour. If you couldn't tell.

In better news, I turned in the samples for the writing conference. I suppose I should get used to deadlines if I want to succeed in this writing thing. I won't know what the editors think until the conference in May, but I think I've put my best foot forward. I'm not likely to do another blog entry until after the event, so I should be able to at least give my first impressions of how things went next time you hear from me.

I should really keep notes on what happened during the month so I can reflect more easily. All of this is just off the top of my head and that's not a good way to maintain a blog. I know I'm screaming into the void, but that's no reason to be terrible at it.

After I turned in the sample, I resumed editing my first book. It's mostly just small changes, but it has to be done. I'm also re-working a short story for a contest. The contest isn't science fiction-centric, but I'll try anyway. If anything, if I get rejected, I can always try the Writers of the Future contest. Speaking of which, they still haven't announced the winners for the first quarter. There's a whole heap of drama around that, but I won't get into it. I just hate refreshing my email for rejection letters.

And then there's poetry. I entered a random piece of work in a contest of its own. Didn't win. Not that I'm surprised. My poetry is trash. It's slowly getting to the point of readability, but it's not there yet. A good friend of mine introduced me to a poetry/spoken word weekly event, but there is no way I'm reading my garbage in there. I might try to do some spoken word stuff. I have a few pieces I could dust off. But it'll have to wait until after the conference. Everything is waiting until after the conference.

I know I said last month that I needed to get started on my newer projects. No real progress was made on that front. I just don't have the time while things that could actually be published within a year take precedent. My goal for Thermal Kings is to have the narrative, setting, and outline fully planned out by the end of October. I should probably work on that first thing after the conference. After I get the short story turned in, I need to work on my actual pitch for the agents/editors. Talking to people has never been my strong suit, which might explain why I write.

End of line.