Just a quick note to let you know I’m over at FlamesRising.com today talking about The Thirteen. There, I mentioned some of the works I’ve done since I first started blogging and reviewing for the site.
If you haven’t applied, there’s still time. For the latest update, read “The 13. Final Days to Apply.”
If you have? I’ll be contacting you on the thirteenth and let you know either way.
Good luck!
Saturday, I signed some print copies of Redwing’s Gambit, Rimward, Strange, Dead Love, and Falling Scales Part II at Pegasus Games. After a cooking class and a lovely Indian lunch, I wound up embroiled in a learn-to-paint minis class.
These two are the very first minis I’ve ever painted. Both were practice figures, because I have been acquiring the Mouselings (LOVE THE MOUSELINGS!) both as gifts and as ZOMG THESE ARE COOL. Additionally, I have the Hellboy Heroes and Hellboy Villains miniature sets from Steve Jackson Games. The goal is to paint these, along with a backdrop, and turn them into a three-dimensional piece for my wall.
This bat lord is the first one I painted, though with the washes and whatnot I wound up painting both at the same time. For me, I focused on figuring out the order of what to paint on the mini itself and how much water to use on the brushes. To make this one a little more fierce, I opted for a blood-stained sword. If you want to see a close-up of any of these, feel free to click on them for all their glory. Hee.
This second mini, of a demon, was a lot of fun to paint because the shape of the figure offered me the chance to skip elements like the skin tone. I also liked the idea of a different terrain; in this case, a mountain plateau covered with snow.
It took quite a while to paint these and I started a third one, but sadly. . . Well, let’s just say that female figures are more of a challenge. The, um, boob crack is very difficult to paint around because the water. . . Yeah. . .
To some extent, I feel that writing requires a certain amount of sociology and psychology. We’re telling stories for people and, to reach them, studying people and how they function is one way to do that. In a purely academic non-creepy sort of a way, of course. However, I think there are ways to “people watch” without going out there in public and staring people down. One of them, is to watch documentaries.
There’s a number of documentaries out there that you can watch on cable or, if you’re like me, Netflix. Some of the History Channel and National Geographic documentaries are interesting, but there’s a certain amount of repetition and bravado that comes from the episodic format. You’ll see the “pulse” when there’s a commercial break; I’d argue that watching the documentaries without the commercials helps you see the scripting better and reinforces points if you’re “watching” this in the background.
The other valuable thing that documentaries provide, is that you can people watch segments of the population you may not normally would given your environment. Many documentaries are critical or try to capture a point through exploration; this can also offer you a broader range of topics to listen to — some of which you may not necessarily be comfortable with. I’m a firm believer that pushing your own boundaries is a good thing, because it means your characterization will be sharper and you’ll be able to layer in more depth.
Here’s a few I’d recommend watching:
Edited a little over seventy-five pages yesterday, and wrote about five brainstorming-related pages for Teh New Shiny. It was a long day, in between e-mail, planning something for Dork Storm Press, and a few food-related chores, but very productive. It was the kind of productivity where you look back and go: “Wow, that was a lot of fun. More, more, MORE!”
I slept amazingly well and feel totally, utterly at peace. My office is finally situated, save for the reorganization of beads, my filing, and a pile of “I have no idea what this is” in the corner. But? It’ll get done. I know it will, because with the shift in my priorities, so required a necessary change in habits and work environment. In a way, it’s like managing noise. And where that used to be watching television at night (which I don’t do anymore), now it’s Twitter this, Facebook that, e-mail this, and all the other publicity ephemera necessary to put oneself out there.
I was trying to allude to that when I wrote a post earlier titled “Words, Words, Too Many Words,” but I don’t think I quite got there. That, sometimes, when I’m focused on writing or editing words, I have to consume less of them to focus.
Now that isn’t always the case. On occasion, it’s helpful to have wholly unrelated narratives on in the background so I can tune out whatever it is to focus. I don’t have “one way” of diving into the page; this particular moment, I’m honing in on what makes a good daily work habit. It’s different, too, depending upon where I am. If I don’t have an office, and I’m in a fishbowl, then I like having other noises that I can control to create a sort of buffer against everything else that’s going on around me.
Even then, what I’m relearning is that I always have worked best when I mini-task. I break the day up into smaller chunks and, if yesterday was any indication, hour-long increments. So, at the half hour or hour mark, I work consistently through to the next one where I can take a break.
To help me focus on my current priority list, I removed my second monitor (which isn’t necessary at the moment) and re-positioned my desk so not only is it facing the wall, I also have my back to the door. Straight in front of me, is the oldest poster I have since I first started having offices — a Millenium Falcon procured back in the days when I was one of the first people to sign up for the Star Wars fan club. Below that, is an artist rendering of Thor from the comics. (OF COURSE IT WOULD BE.) An official soot sprite from Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro. . . Shut up, I like anime. . .) looks at me with those googily eyes of his. And, of course, various other paraphernalia and essentials, like the Mega-Chibithulhu. . . So cute, so cuddly, so sanity-blasting. . . and a lot of Hellboy. I should post some pictures of my favorites. Hrmm. . .
Doing this, setting up my office to fit my priorities, was really important because it basically created an environment where I had no excuse but to work or create. This isn’t coffee shop-style writing or meeting where it’s casual or I’m out for the day to listen and observe. This is where the bulk of my career rests on a space that I’m comfortable with long-term for hours at a time. It also means, however, that certain things had to be re-jiggled and adjusted. What I’m doing now is very different than what it’s been like for over a year. I’m still in the same space, though, so that means I had to get a fresh physical perspective to move forward.
But it’s also an auditory one, too. I’ve fallen in love with the Discworld and I’m hoping to do a read-through of the entire series beginning with the first volume. (Yay, libraries!) In the meantime, however, I have a few books on audiotape. When I’m cleaning or doing something where I need a break from plotting, hatching plans for world domination, or what have you — then I play an audiobook on iTunes and listen to the stories. When I’m working and feeling anxious, overwhelmed, frustrated, or just plain scared? I am finding that the best and fastest way to calm nerves is to clear my auditory palette with instrumental music set up into different playlist.
Here’s an example of that. My Cyber Sci-Fi playlist includes these albums:
Ninety percent of these songs don’t have any words in them and they all convey a similar tone and feel. That emotion, as expressed through song, is what I am hoping to capture in [redacted]. It allows me to “hear” the beats of these scenes and get a sense of characterization. (With the exception of Avatar. I just liked the soundtrack.) If the sound doesn’t fit the movie (many people have heard me complain when it doesn’t, like in The Transporter) then I’m totally thrown out of the experience. Sounds are so, so, so important to me both externally and, as I’m finding out more and more? Internally, too.
Before I leave you, I do have to laugh for a second and release some Inner Critic tension. I remember the last time I was explaining work habits and whatnot to someone who wasn’t creative or who didn’t understand the writer brain. “You think too much!” was the complaint. Well, duh!
Fortunately, the more writers and artists and beaders and creative people I meet? The more I realize we all do — because we’re always “working.”
It feels great to be in such good company.
I am the terror that reads in the night… I am the crusader that fights banned books…
It’s Banned Books Week, now through October 6th. It goes without saying that I am not a fan of banning or burning any tome. Any. I don’t care if the story is the worst piece of crap ever written, it has been written — and only through reading, discussing, and learning will we evolve as a species. Yes, I am fiercely on the side of pro-literacy. If ever there was an issue that I feel very strongly about, it’s this one. Books are printed recordings of our humanity and I cannot think of anything, save other artistic disciplines and interpretations, that’s more valuable.
Incidentally, there’s a comic about banned books that’s been tossed around a bit via e-mail and whatnot. It’s not getting proper accreditation, so I’d like to give a shout-out to Incidental Comics. (Sure, no one has used that joke before.) Why hasn’t this comic artist gotten a book deal or an invite to pen a comic for The New Yorker? There are some really insightful pieces in Snider’s collection that you can also purchase as a poster. Highly recommended.
The other day, I hinted I might share another horrendous draft with you. Still posturing that, if only because I would like to share more finished prose with you before I dive into the awful. After all, you want good stories from me, don’t you? 😀 I also embarrassed myself mightily by mentioning the mess of gigantic size in my office. Well, I have no shame. Here it is:
There are the remnants of miscellany and flotsam. Once I’m through that, I can finish reorganizing my art supplies, plant my terrarium, and dive into paperwork. Thankfully, I have a better space to work now.
Now that the room is better constructed, I have a place to do yoga and, if need be, set up a small table for additional art projects like painting and whatnot. I really needed the ability to shut my door and have my own space to be more productive. I talked about adding back in some discipline and, in a way, this hearkens back to when I used to practice piano for hours at a time. While I am hoping to shoot for a word count goal, to start with I am swimming back into blocking out chunks of time at a set period every day.
To help track my progress for my original fiction, I came up with this beauty.
Basically, it’s a weekly organizer in the form of a write on/wipe off sticker that I’ve decorated and stuck to my desk. Goals can change, but here this reminds me that whenever I’m penning “original fiction,” I have a goal. This is above and beyond what I normally write, edit, or blog. Right now, I need to separate that out because “on spec” isn’t pay-the-bills work and my freelancer brain sometimes has a hard time reconciling that. It’s a solution to my problem which is, if I don’t set time to work for myself, regardless of everything else I’m doing, then it’ll never get done.
I’ll post another picture in a month or so with the word count filled out. Hrmm… maybe even a graph, too!