Tag: writing

Six Things I Learned About Writing From Jim Butcher

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You might not have ever heard of Jim Butcher, but he came out with a book last Tuesday. Well, he came out with another book. The fifteenth, in fact, of his wildly popular urban-fantasy series, The Dresden Files. Despite not being a huge fan of urban fantasy, I found myself at the launch party for Skin Game at Mysterious Galaxy in Redondo Beach, California. While all the talk of Odin, and Bigfoots, and Wizard councils was over my head, I could glean a bit of writing advice when the breakneck Q & A went into that territory. No matter what you feel about Mr. Butcher (some love him , some do not) he had some interesting things to say about all things writing (from tips on how to make a good scene, to sharing some of his idiosyncrasies) that are totally worth listening to. Here we go!

6. He gets his most of his writing done between 2 am and 7 am.

I’ve heard from numerous writers that they like to write mornings, but I doubt they mean this early. When asked why he writes before the break of dawn, he said it’s for two reasons. First, it’s quiet. He stated that he needs it to be absolutely silent for him to write (Patrick Rothfuss has said this about his writing process, too), and, unless you’re living in a college dorm, 2 am – 7 am are pretty quiet hours.

In addition to having the world silenced for a few hours, he said it was also the only time he’s guaranteed not to be bothered by anyone or anything. While that might come off as stand-offish, he explained it like so: “it’s the only time when I don’t have to answer a phone, or someone e-mails me and says ‘hey, we need your answer on this right away.'” Being a bestselling of author of over twenty books (he has another series, too), he’s bound to have heaps of calls and e-mails getting in the way of his writing time. When one girl asked why he couldn’t write amidst all the requests for his time, he said. . .

5. His writing brain is not connected to his talking brain (or brain for anything else)

Not only does Jim Butcher need interrupted quiet when he’s writing, but he also stated that he can’t even write after having talked to people. “After I talk to someone, I can’t even get a word down for like an hour.” To him, his brain for talking to people, doing things, and his brain for creating his stories are completely separate areas. Perhaps it takes a literal removal from others for him to enter in that world of creativity, like it’s some other world, only accessible by a certain amount of time of isolation. Interesting.

4. He will totally steal any idea he thinks is cool (and thinks we all should too!)

During the Q & A, someone asked him if he’s taken any ideas he thought were cool and integrated them into his stories. Without hesitation, he said “Absolutely”. If he thinks something is cool, he will stick it in his story and, with much conviction, said he “will make it work.” He referenced Harry Dresden’s ride on a T-Rex as being one of the harder ones to work in, but he eventually got it to work. He then went on to say that famous Picasso quote: “Good artists copy, great artists steal.”

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If only he’d gone into the arts. . .

3. He has a selected team of devoted beta readers

Before he sends his books off to his editors, he will first have a group of highly-selected betas read it. Editors are of course essential to the book-writing and book-publishing process, but for first impressions, he goes to his betas. When a hopeful fan asked him what he looked for in his beta readers, Butcher responded with “complete enthusiasm for the story and product”. Editors might read every book, sure, but they might not be the people who’ll be at the bookstore at 9AM to get the next installment as soon as they can. He went on further to say that after his betas have scoured through the text, there is really nothing left to fix once he passes it off to his editors (which the editors like!).

2. How to write a kick-ass action scene

For a lot of aspiring wordsmiths, action scenes are tough ones to crack. So when a fan asked him how to make a good one, Jim Butcher told her to watch football. While we were all confused at first, he went onto say “and listen to the announcer. Their job is describe what is happening for the people who can’t see it. And if you really listen to what they’re saying, their main objective is to tell you where the ball is. And the ball, in your scene, is whatever your character is trying to do or where they’re trying to go. So, focus on your ball, and give a vague idea of what’s happening other places.”

Very insightful. In a large action scene, we might assume we have to tell everything that is happening. I mean, there’s thousands of troops battling, and a score dragons breathing fire, and a swarm of bewitched Franzia boxes flying around! However, we really only need to focus on our characters because, well, we don’t really care all that much about troop #5,678, or Orc #3,471, do we? (I care about the Franzia.)

This line of thinking reminds me of what Peter Jackson said in terms of the editing the Battle of Helm’s Deep for The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Of all the versions of that battle, he noticed that the battle got boring when you weren’t focusing on one of the main characters. Sure, show a couple of nameless elves and Orcs fighting, but then GET RIGHT BACK to one of the people we care about. And what was the result? One of the coolest battles in recent cinematic remembrance!

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Don’t act like you don’t like it

1. Write the book you think you can just barely pull off (if you do at all)

The evening’s most inspiring quote is the one above. Shoot for the book that is just above your skill level, the one that you think you can just maybe pull off. The novel that is that crossbeam you think you’re maybe able to jump up and touch, the novel that is that 5k you think you can run, the novel that is that triple-burger and fries combo you think you can finish (after the 5k, of course. . .). He said he reaches for the top for every book he writes. “If I write books that are easy for me to write, I think that would get boring for me very quickly. I wouldn’t be into it as much, and I think the fans wouldn’t be into as much either.” You should always be striving for that next level, because, not only will you and your fans lose gusto (which is probably the most important thing to have while writing), but you will never improve your craft (which is what we’re all here to do!). Even hardcover bestsellers can keep improving, and so can we!

En conclusión

So that’s all of it, or at least all he had to share that night. Looking at his extensive bibliography, I’m sure he has a bunch more tips to tackle all certain types of scenes. Alas, these are the ones he shared with us, and now I am sharing them with you. Hopefully this helped you learn a bit more about how you write, whether you’re someone who has to type in complete silence, or one who prefers a noisy coffee shop (like Harlan Coben does!), or someone who needs ten doughnuts before they can put their fingers on the keyboard.

Until next time, keep writing! I’m going to take a break and practice that Legolas shield-move down my apartment complex’s stairs. (Keep a look-out for my subsequent medical-bills-focused Kickstarter.)

Sincerely,

Casey of Large-Book-Event-Land

PICS OF THE EVENT!

Jim Butcher 1

Jim Butcher 2

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6 Ways to Motivate Yourself To Write

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Ah, writing. Is there anything that is equally fun and nightmarish at the same time? Sometimes we love it. Other times, it’s the bane of our existence. We want to reach the top of the mountain, but the climb up was way harder than we expected.

Don’t fret. Writing a book is a monumental task, and if you ask anyone who’s ever tried, they’ve had problems with staying motivated. I’m not a published author (yet?), so I’m not really qualified to give writing advice, but I have written four novel-length things (avg. 70, 000 words) and can share with you some techniques I use to get myself WRITING. It’s all about starting, mostly, but sometimes, we need an extra push to get started. Here are six ways I have kick-started myself into getting words on the page.

Look at your bookshelf

I imagine that, wanting to be a writer, you have a bunch of books. Look at your bookshelf (or stack of books all over your floor. . .) and realize what is missing. That’s right. Your books! With us being so closely acquainted with our books and characters, it’s easy to forget that no one else has even heard of them. In our minds, they’re already out there for everyone! But they aren’t. They’re not out there in any bookstore. So remember, the only way your book is going to be out there and on a shelf someday (and hopefully, on a BUNCH of shelves all over the world) is if you get to working on it. So take one step closer to having your name among your favorites.

If you want to take this a step further (which I have), go to a bookstore and find where your books would be on the shelf. My guess is that they will be missing there, too. This simply will not do. So get cracking and you’ll be one step closer to having them there.

Set your timer for 30 minutes

In an age of constant distraction, how does anyone expect to actually sit down and write? We watch videos in six seconds, and switch our minds even less (hopefully we still have enough attention to have read this far!). So set your timer for 30 mins and just work on your novel. Lock yourself away and know that 30 mins is going to be devoted to the act of writing. It’s pretty amazing how much you can get done in an uninterrupted 30 mins. If you want to really go nuts, start doing two hour sessions. You’ll get a lot done and the two-hours of hard work will justify the nap you were going to take later anyway.

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Hmm. . .nap.

Remember what Opportunity Cost is

If you ever took an economics class (and had the willpower to not sleep through it) you might remember a thing called “Opportunity Cost”. For those of you that don’t know what it is, it is essentially the cost of not doing something. For example, if I spend four hours sitting around, that sitting around session cost, according to Opportunity Cost, at an $8/hr rate, 32 dollars, because it could have been four hours that I could have been working. Since I’m guessing you want to make a living at writing, you could apply this idea to your writing schedule. Not writing your book is costing you money, because delaying writing it means you’re further away from the expenses that your book will (hopefully, someday) generate.

Make a “Productivity Contract” with someone

If you want to take the whole Opportunity Cost/Losing Money angle to a whole new level, then go ahead and make what I call a “Productivity Contract” with a friend. (Sometimes these are called Ulysses Pacts). What it is, essentially, is that you set yourself a task, and if you don’t do it by the time specified, you owe your friend 20 bucks. Opportunity Cost, sure, you might theoretically losing money, but by signing this contract, you WILL actually lose money. I’ve used these extensively for things I need to get done (mostly laundry) and the thing is, they always work. By doing what you need to do, you end up saving money and getting work done. It’s a win-win.

Think about your characters and how they want to be written about

I don’t know if you do this, but when I am feeling lazy about writing, I will often think that I am in some sort of meeting with my characters. In this type of scenario, I am a writer, hired to chronicle their crazy adventure, and they are some super-famous group of individuals. I’m the writer chosen to write their tell-all book about their exploits. Here’s the thing. They WANT you to tell their story. Your characters have been on this incredible journey and learned this incredible thing (or whatever), so they want you, their commissioned writer, to get on with and bring it to the world. Their insistence in being heard might just get you to start typing away. Remember from above: No one knows your characters yet.

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Why is he not done writing my story yet? :(

Remember it is your duty to bring this book into the world

Look, ideas are crazy things. We get a million a day, all with different aspects and features (mine are mostly about food). Your book is made up of a bunch of ideas from innumerable sources, and you might be able to think that someone has thought of it all before. But the idea for your novel arrived on YOUR brain’s doorstep. It didn’t arrive at my mental doorstep, or your friend’s or Bill Clinton’s. It arrived at yours. I don’t know about you, but I think story ideas come from whatever you want to call it, the Universe, the great beyond, the weaving of the muses, etc, and what I recognize is that this story is my sole responsibility to bring to all of you. If I don’t, these characters and stories will be lost forever. And if you think someone will, in the next 100 or 1,000 years, come up with the same idea, just remember that no one already has. So don’t see it as a burden, see it as an honor. And be glad to do your duty bringing this thing to life.

What about you? What tips do you use to motivate yourself?

Sincerely,

Casey of Lazy-Writing Land

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Party Time at WonderCon 2014

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Hey everyone, how are you doing?!

I am completely knackered while writing this, but thought I would drop in. Last week, I told you all about how I worked at the Los Angeles Times Fesitval of Books (which was awesome) and, going on the next loop of the independent-bookseller-event roller coaster, I worked WonderCon this last weekend. For those of you unfamiliar with WonderCon, it’s a three-day convention for comics, science fiction, fantasy, video games, movies, television shows, and everything geeky! Think San Diego’s massive Comic Con, just a little smaller.

On the first day, I totally got to geek out at Amy Talkington (yes, geek out at her) about her debut book, Liv, Forever, which I was in the middle of (right in the depth of all the mysteries and intrigue and wondering WHAT IS HAPPENING AT WICKHAM HALL?!) If you guys haven’t read it, you should seriously totally go to your independent book shop and GET THE FUCK ON IT (blurb by Casey Poma). I have since finished it, and will now write her a lengthy e-mail of what I thought about the ending (as she requested!).

Liv, Forever cover
Seriously, ppl! It has mystery AND ghosts!

When I wasn’t freaking out at authors, I was stationed at our bookselling booth and was deemed the line-management dude (official title, for sure). This meant that I could stand right by the table with the authors and moderate the line, which also meant that I could totally chat with the authors and and pick their brains about the business, creativity, or just anything in general. I learned tips and tricks from all types of writers, from the those who write urban fantasy, to middle-grade stuff, to funny books with lots of sex in them. Some of them were also bloggers, others animators, and musicians, and everyone had something cool to say, and was supportive when I told them of my own writing goals (which is pretty damn great).

When I wasn’t curating knowledge (and bznz cards!), I wandered around and experienced just some of the things there was to do (seriously, there was so much stuff). Tommy Wiseau was there at his booth for The Room. A minute later, I nearly had to be resuscitated when I saw a Jurassic Park booth with ORIGINAL concept art drawings. The man who obviously didn’t see how faded my shirt and shoes were was trying to sell them all to me for 100 bucks. I had to politely decline, but opted for a classic JP logo shirt. Fuck yea. On my way back, I stumbled upon Larry Thomas, aka the Soup Nazi, and scored a picture (and made sure not to ask for any extra bread).

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No hoverhand for the Soup Nazi

All around, WonderCon was a pretty amazing experience, and if anything, solidified that yes, this nerd world is a world in which I could continue to work. Last week, I mentioned how Rome wasn’t built in a day, and how my empire of Creative Career won’t be either. I also mentioned that I am starting to feel like I am laying bricks, and have now realized that business cards kind of look like bricks, don’t they? Let’s build this city!

What about you? Share your WonderCon experience!

Until later,

Casey of Obsessed-With-Books-Land

More pictures!

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Rufio! Rufio! Rufio!
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The Schwartz is with them.
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Awesomely, these people did not know each other, but found each other in the crowd.

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Party Time at the Los Angeles Times Fesitval of Books

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I was going to publish an article about writing today, but thought why not be topical and write about the biggest book fair in the country, the Los Angeles Times festival of Books! For those of you that have not yet heard about this wonderful thing (I didn’t hear about it until my second year of living in Los Angeles), it’s a huge festival that takes place at the University of Southern California campus. It’s a weekend full of books, authors, panels, signings, booksellers, and fans!

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Oh, and tents!

I would to tell you about all things I saw, but have to be honest and say that I spent the majority of the time looking at the Physical Education building, working at a Special Seller’s booth. Yes, you heard that right. I wasn’t only there. I was working at it, which means I got to lift heavy boxes of books all weekend get there before everyone else. Yay!

In addition to selling some books, I got lost looking getting people food and stumbled upon the John Green line, or should I say the John Green mob. This I found to be a pleasant surprise because I didn’t even know that he was going to be there until that morning. Had I known, I would have been like “Sorryjobcan’tworktodayhavetoseeJohnGreen!!!” While I would have loved to stand in line, get his signature, and tell him how much I love his educational videos (seriously, they are all great), I had to get my fellow booksellers some burger-y fuel. Due to my height, and the fact he was standing at that moment, I was able to see his head, which was enough for me to text my YA-fan friend: “I saw John Green!”

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I saw John Green’s head! From like 40 meters away!

In addition to Mr. Green, I saw some other authors walking around, and was rather impressed with Laini Taylor’s bright pink hair (I will get around to reading Daughter of Smoke and Bone, because everyone, seriously everyone, told me to read it). I didn’t see as much the next day, but heard the line for Veronica Roth (the author of Divergent) was insanely large as well, which is pretty awesome considering that people think kids don’t like to read. If anything, they were the most ravenous and hungry of all the groups that were there (not that the poetry crowd wasn’t rowdy as hell, as they are wont to be).

I don’t really know what I was trying to say with this post (which is great to say in blogging), but wanted to bring out the fact that this year I was there, and last year I totally wasn’t. I was invited to go with my writing group last year, but had to work all weekend at a German market (and like every single fucking weekend I had that job). But really, if anything, this post shows that in 365 days from now, you could be (as I am from last year) one step closer to where you want to be.

If you told me a year ago I’d be at a the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, and would be even just a small, tiny, tiny part of it, I would have said you were verrückt. I mean, I was technically working this weekend, too, but selling books of authors who were on panels is way closer to where I want to be than telling someone which German mustard goes best with which wurst. (Hint: Bavarian Weisswurst and Sweet Mustard are like made for each other!) And if I could spring from the German market to working at the Festival of Books, who’s to say I could spring from there to bigger book things? Rome wasn’t build in a day, for sure, but at least now, I feel like I’m finally starting to lay down some bricks. And if I can start some brickwork, you can too. :)

What about you? Did you attend the event? Who did you see? If you didn’t go, who would you want to have seen? Who would be on your dream panel?

-Casey of Book-Obsession-Land

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Debut Novel Editing Update – January 25, 2014

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*written very late, posted later during regular human hours*

Hey there everyone, how are you all doing? I was just laying in bed, yawning my ass off and flipping through a draft of my debut novel when the genius idea to write a novel editing update came to me. Inspiration sure does have a way of calling upon you whenever it likes, even if you’re comfortably snuggled under some heavy blankets and feeling just fine. Anyway, I’ll make this quick so I can get back to said bed and finally get some shut-eye.

So, updates, all right. I have to say I’m a little embarrassed to be coming here, especially since I announced so grandly that I would release this book November 1 of last year. And, well, that didn’t happen. So I guess I’m here to tell you that there is a new release date, but I have no idea when that will be. I’m guessing sometime before 2099. Perhaps I will, I don’t know, FINISH IT COMPLETELY before I go off spouting when it will come out, because, with leading such a busy life full of projects, I cannot properly forecast any releases.

What I DO know, however, is that I am just about ready to go in for the third pass. I wrote this beast way back in 2010, and then last year, I read it, then probably read it again, the WENT THROUGH THE WHOLE THING and changed a bunch, read it again, and then again, and, seriously, AGAIN. After so much reading and editing, I was quite honestly knackered and couldn’t come back to it. I’ve explained before that how unanticipated the amount of work was, sending me through the editorial wringer. Editing this book is probably more epic of an undertaking than my characters’ crazy adventure. I’d take a quest through dangerous territory any day. At least then I’d be outside, instead of holed up in the corner, fearing for life from the huge stacks of papers around me.

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I knew I shoulda gone paperless!

So as I said, I’ve had my space and am ready to come back (seriously, book, you were smothering me!), and this time, which a BUNCH of notes. In my mess of files, there is one that has EIGHTEEN notes about what needs to be changed or altered. Some things need to be reiterated a little bit. One minor character has to have her personality completely changed (which will, of course, alter fucking EVERYTHING). Another little scene has to be added that will serve multiple purposes. (I’ll tell you now that all those new scenes I wrote for the second draft I’m going to cut out again, which is fucking GREAT). One scene will be glossed over, and so on. It’s going to be a lot of work, but maybe not as much to freaking kill me like last time.

What’s good is that I finally, FINALLY, found out a way to rid of the tonal problems in the middle. (Remember the tonal graph I made?) So yay for that! Just took a year of hard thinking. Funny thing is, the solution to the problem came about when I was spacing out at my old market job. But really, once those tonal issues are fixed, this thing’ll be tonally consistent, which means that I will finally have the confidence to hand it off to some beta readers and see what they think!

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Confirmed to be one of my betas.

Anyway, it’s very exciting to have everything kind of falling into place. Sometimes I feel stories are like gears, or, like, multiple thingies that have those gear-like teeth (this is the sleep deprivation talking). And for whatever reason, the teeth won’t fit together and they don’t lock. But then, after a while, they DO lock, and perhaps you didn’t know what you were exactly looking for but when you see it you recognize it. And I always had reservations about that middle part. In every single draft, even when my friends who’d read it already said it wasn’t a big deal, that middle part had always bugged me. It just didn’t MESH with the rest of it, y’know? BUT NOW IT DOES, BAY-BEE, and once that’s done, then I can give it off and then get it one step closer to getting it to ALL OF YOU GALS AND GUYS, which is, really, the most exciting part. (And the scariest, too).

Of course, there’s the whole “self-publish” or “small press” discussion in my mind, too, but that is really a whole blog post in itself. So more on that later maybe.

I guess all I wanted to say is that I am getting closer and closer to making this thing as best as it can be. Making it its purest self that it can be. And that I’m excited to get it all out to you sometime. If not later this year, then the next year, but hopefully no longer than that (seriously, the book ITSELF seems excited to get out there!)

But for now, sleepy time. Maybe I’ll work on it tomorrow. Or just nap. Yeah, a nap sounds better. Better books are written when you’re sleeping, right?

Until next time,

-Casey

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“A Distant Horn” Novel Editing Update: September 26, 2013 (09.26.2013)
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