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This weekend, one of my former students, Katie Beckett, died at 34.

Why talk about this at all? Katie was certainly a gifted literature student, one of the best I had had. Her research papers went above and beyond, and her interpretations of texts were nuanced and complex. More importantly, as you read about Katie’s life, you will see that she was an IMPORTANT PERSON (TM). There’s a law named after her, and her life was in part that of a disability advocate.

I have talked about death here. I’ve always felt that my father did more harm than good in the world. And my father-in-law had the life he wanted, and left those he knew better than he found them. Katie was a normal person in extraordinary circumstances, and left a legacy to other hospitalized children around the country.

The last time I saw Katie, it was during a writing session I was having at Barnes and Noble during finals week. She robbed me of some of my writing time. I resented that a little. As good a student as Katie was, her new hope was to be a YA writer. She tried to get into a YA program twice, but she wasn’t ready. I would go so far to say that Katie was a terrible writer of fiction. But there’s a lesson in that too.

Continue reading “This Mortal Coil”

For the majority of this weekend, I’m going to cozy up to my work computer and move forward with Abigail Rath Versus Blood Sucking Fiends, which has not been receiving the attention it deserves for a variety of sad, sad reasons. However, I am ready to get back to it. I need to get back to it, especially to get it done just in time for the holidays. You know, when publishing shuts down. 😉

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It’s been a while since you’ve had one of these, but here ’tis…all the writing projects that at least have a file, and where they are at.

But of course this is more for me than you. If you want to see something that’s more for you than me, look at the two posts before this. Judging from the traffic they’ve been getting, you’ll want to have a look-see.

Projects Underneath the Cut.

Continue reading “Writing Projects: Summer, 2012”

Greg Van Eekhout is the rock star of middle school writing. My first experience with Greg was when I met him at World Fantasy in 2009. As fate would have it, the book I had finally advanced to in my big stack o’ to reads was Greg’s first book, Norse Code. Norse Code‘s cover made it look like any other urban fantasy. But that’s not why I bought it. I bought it because of buzz about Greg from Sarah Prineas.

And this book was awesome! I met Greg when I’d only gotten to page 60, and asked him for an autograph. He dutifully wrote, “Don’t read past page 60. Greg Van Eekhout.” But on Saturday night, I needed some me time, and I sat in the bar with the book, reading, trying to exude friendly, but really wanting alone. After a short time it didn’t matter, because I was only thinking about the story. And then it was suddenly midnight.

So, I started paying attention to what Greg might be publishing, reading his blog. And next was Kid Vs Squid The title was so awesome. Couldn’t say no to that. So…I read the first few pages. And I knew that this was one of those books Bryon and I would have to read to each other on the commute to work. It struck as as very much like those Scholastic adventure books we bought from a flier in school. It was a lot of fun. The Boy at the End of the World wasn’t as much fun, but it was still good, and the hubs and I still talk about Protein as a suitable name for mammoths every time we see a walking with pre-historic beasts program.

So, I’m a fan, and I get a little shy around Greg because I am a fan. His wonderful humor keeps me reading, but at the same time he can contrast humor and drama really well. Another writer I’m a fan of, Jim Hines, does the same thing in a different ways. A writer could have worse role models for humor.

Thanks, Greg, for the interview.

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Tamago: Do you have a regular drafting process, or does your drafting process vary from book to book? (If it varies, please keep one project in mind as you answer these questions.)

Greg: My drafting process is totally stupid. First I outline. Then I start writing. Then I decide my outline is stupid and I start ignoring it. Then I regret ignoring my outline and I dump a bunch of words and go back to adhering to my outline. Then I decide the entire enterprise of writing a novel is pointless and stupid and the only thing keeping me going is the fact that I’ve already spent my advance and can’t afford to give my publisher their money back. Eventually I stumble my way to the end of the book and I brag on Twitter about how awesome I am for having written another book. I do not recommend my process to anyone. It’s completely inefficient, frustrating, and ridiculous. The only thing I can say for it is that, eventually, the books get written, and I haven’t missed a deadline yet.

Continue reading “The Writing Process and Greg Van Eekhout”

Today, Jim Hines talks about being on his depression medication for one month. This wasn’t the post I planned to write today, but the hallmark of a good blog entry is that it sends ripples out into the universe.

So, today, I want to talk about my own struggles with anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder. Because until about four years ago, I was oblivious to the fact that I had anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder. How can that be so?

I am a survivor of childhood molestation. BTW, you need to see this. Project Unbreakable points out how widespread the problems of sexual abuse in this country are. I salute these very strong men and women for sharing their experiences and empowering themselves by speaking out. Go take a look.

Continue reading “Survivor”

We live in interesting times, but not the ones I expected.

At some point last week, I’m pretty sure I crossed over into an alternate universe, a la E.C. Myers Fair Coin. In some other universe, Catherine became a dean because her hard work was rewarded by a higher salary. In yet another universe, she became a director because she never did conquer her workaholic tendencies, and/or didn’t realize her self worth. In both of those universes, her writing takes a back seat to her other career. She squeaks out some time to write, but it’s a struggle.

In the universe I find myself in, Catherine realizes that English Language Acquisition needs a full time administrator, but she’s not going to do it, because the money to extra time ratio is not for her. She thinks, however, that she needs to find a way to make that happen for someone else.

Continue reading “Earth 2”

In general, I like to do these two posts separately, but Julie was so fast in getting this interview back to me that I’ve decided to combine these into one post.

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Julie Rose currently publishes indie. Many of her books have placed notably in literary contests, marching forward in Amazon’s new novelist contest and the Faulkner awards. Recently, I finished Julie’s newest book Oleanna. Oleanna is a literary historical about a dark time in the life of the title character during turn of the century Norway. The book is based on Julie’s ancestors, and was begun in 2003 after the death of Julie’s mother. It is a poignant dark book with a personalized journey that keeps you guessing what the character’s choice will be right up to the end of the book. The historical research is accurate and the relationships ring true. I would recommend it.

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Julie was kind enough to give us an interview about her writing process.

Tamago: Do you have a regular drafting process, or does your drafting process vary from book to book? (If it varies, please keep one project in mind as you answer these questions.)

Julie: In general, I write the shitty first draft and let it sit for a month or three, and come back to it with fresh eyes. Then I revise and revise, usually two or three drafts, after which I send it out for feedback. A few months later I’ll incorporate the appropriate feedback, then another draft or two, and then a final polish.

Tamago: How long is a writing session for you? How many words do you write? Are you likely to keep most of those words?

Julie: A weekday writing session is 45-60 minutes, and generally speaking I’ll get about 500 words, 1200 or so if I’m in the flow. On the weekend, I’ll usually do 60-90 minutes. I do generally keep most of the words.

Tamago: How do you find time to write while holding down a very challenging day job?

Julie: It can be tough, can’t it? I get up at 4:30 a.m. so I can get my writing time (and workout time) in before I start work at a Large Computer Networking Company.

Life has become more complicated now that I have two books out there—I have to add book promotion time to the morning mix as well. Then it’s a full day, and after work, attempting to have a life with husband, friends, and family. Then falling into bed, reading for 30 minutes, and passing out at 8:30 so I can start all over the next day. So while that schedule is the goal, it doesn’t always work out. And sometimes, to keep my sanity, it means not writing on the weekend, or taking a day or two off during the week (or entire weeks). If I’m too burned out, I won’t get any words down at all, so refilling the well is important.

Continue reading “The Writing Process and Julie Rose”

You might remember that a few Christmases ago, what I wanted was George Bush on trial at the Hague.

Close enough. And with a little luck, maybe this will catch on.

And if you’re still feeling all patriotic about the war in Iraq, I strongly suggest that you also look at the U.S. government’s human rights violations during that time, and think again.

Looking toward the future:

“If President Bush was the President of extra-judicial torture then US President Barak Obama is the President of extra judicial killing through drone strikes. Our work has only just begun.”

Which I regret to say I agree with as well.

War still sucks, regardless of its campaign value. We must endeavor to take the high road.

Catherine

My MacAir decided to go kablooie last night while I was working on a friend’s chapters. So…I’ll be working from the work computer until we ascertain whether it can fixed or it needs replaced.

Darned it. I am so not looking forward to writing with Word after getting used to Scrivener.

Oh well.

Cath

Sorry, sorry.

Saturday night after The Avengers, I fell ill suddenly, and I am still playing the catch up game. I have an upper respiratory infection and an ear infection, which is making it a challenge to stay on top of the planet. But I have finals this week, so I am in the office. Whatcha gonna do?

At any rate, it has been a miserable week for writing, BUT I will get back on the horse once my balance improves.

So, what about The Avengers then? Insert spoileriffic free cut here.

Continue reading “Avengers: The Review”

E.C. Myer‘s first novel Fair Coin is a wild ride through wish after wish. This debut novel demonstrates a mastery of writing that has been honed through a variety of short stories. Here, Myers shares his writing process with us.

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Tamago: Do you have a regular drafting process when you write a book, or does that process vary from book to book?

Eugene: I always start with the same process, but it might be necessary to try a new approach once I get farther into the draft. My default method is to work out the major plot points and characters ahead of time. By the time I start writing, I might have scattered notes about character traits, bits of dialogue, plot ideas, a few scenes—not in any organized sense, like you’d find in an outline, but just fragments of ideas that I may or may not refer to while I write and which help guide the draft. This isn’t too different from how I would tackle writing a short story, though I might have even less figured out in advance for a shorter piece.

My third novel is an example of when my process changed considerably. It had too many characters and too complex a back story to keep everything in my head. I also had difficulty deciding what to write next during my writing sessions, which wasted the hour or so I set aside for them every morning. So I finally decided to try outlining every scene in the book, and it was exactly what I needed to move forward with that particular book. I returned to my old ways for the next novel.

Tamago: Do you write by yourself or do you write in a writing group? What do you see as the benefits of the method that you choose?

Eugene: A bit of both. I’m lucky to belong to a terrific writing group called Altered Fluid, and I also have a number of other trusted beta readers, but I don’t share my work—or even talk about it much—with anyone until I have completed a solid first draft on my own. All my first readers are smart people with unique writing strengths, areas of expertise, reading interests, experiences, and perspectives. Their critiques help me see if the draft is working the way I hope it does, for a wide range of readers, and shows me where I can make improvements in rewrites.

I think it’s helpful to know people who can not only tell you that a draft has problems, but can express what they are and offer suggestions for fixing them. Writing can be very lonely and frustrating—ultimately, it’s just the author and a blank page—but it’s so much better when you can talk with others who understand what it’s like. The communities I’m part of provide an invaluable support network when things aren’t going so well with writing or submitting my work, and it’s also great to share in everyone’s successes. Good news, even when it isn’t your own, can be a powerful motivator to keep going when you’re discouraged.

Another side benefit is that I often get to see their stories and novels before they’re published. As a fan of their work, I get a thrill from reading manuscripts before anyone else, and I’m honored that my friends value my feedback. And critiquing other people’s fiction absolutely improves my own writing.

Continue reading “The Writing Process and E.C. Myers”