The Week in Words (August 21)

At the Editor's Desk

This week was so busy it ran into next week! Sorry for the late newsletter, but it's been delayed by some truly exciting projects, so I'm sure you'll forgive me.

Master of Professional Writing

This week I attended the orientation for new graduate students in the Master of Professional Writing program at the University of Oklahoma. It's a two-year graduate degree that focuses on writing novels, non-fiction books, and screenplays. You know I'm already focusing pretty heavily on the first two of those, and I've got secret dreams of seeing Gods Tomorrow as a screenplay within my lifetime, so there's incredible potential here.

I said a little bit more about orientation (and my expectations for the coming semester) over at the Consortium blog, in case you'd like to know more.

Gods Tomorrow

I've also spent most of the month really wrapped up in last-minute improvements to a two-year-old manuscript. That's because I'm planning to self-publish Gods Tomorrow in early September.

It's a huge undertaking, but I've been making rumblings here lately against the publishing establishment, and I've been linking you to article by J. A. Konrath who makes screeds against the establishment, so I'm doing my due diligence. I'm going to publish my best, most polished, most promising manuscript as a total gamble, and let you know what I learn.

Of course, I'm doing everything I can to bias the results, so I've been pretty busy planning a coverart photoshoot with the amazing Julie V. Photography (not to mention contacting Julie Roads for some help with the back cover copy).

On Unstressed Syllables

This week we covered two major topics: after exhorting you to accept your expertise as a writer (I called it "writing in the deep end"), I went on to demand that you obey some writing rules again.

Sunday I introduced the Technical Writing series on expertise with a story about throwing my daughter in the deep end of the pool, and watching her struggle back to the top. Ugh! Just typing that makes my stomach tie up in knots, but it turned out to be a good thing.


Then on Monday I talked about pretending to be an expert writer. I've spent most of the last year practicing what I preach, as far as that goes, and it's definitely turned out to be a good thing.


Then Tuesday I tried to tell you how to overcommit yourself as successfully as I have done. It's all about stretching your competence, and I'm pretty confident that's the only way anyone has ever earned the rightful title of "expert."


On Wensdy (as we sometimes say it in these parts), Courtney told us what she learned about writing this week when she returned to her writing Bible, a memoir/textbook written by Stephen King; in essence, she told us -- as he told us before -- to use the words we know and stay away from the big and fancy words, no matter how tempting they might be. I think it's good advice. How about you?


Thursday I introduced the Creative Writing series on writing rules with a story about a high school math teacher who let me sweat it out, before doing me a tremendous favor. Who would have thought math could be so suspenseful?


On Friday I talked about suspense, and the challenging balance of surprising your readers without keeping them in the dark. One of those things is a requirement of good writing, and the other one is absolutely against the rules. Fun.


Saturday's article cleared things up a little bit, though, because real suspense isn't built out of ignorance. The best way to write suspense is by creating real concern for fictional characters. Once that's in place, you can do more to worry your readers by revealing what's in store than by hiding the things they need to know. It's liberating...and incredibly powerful.

The Week in Words (August 14)

At the Editor's Desk

This week my works in progress included four books, and all of the How Tos. That's not normally the way I run things, but this week has been an excellent exception.

Catching Up on My Reading

This week I didn't get any new scenes written for The Girl Who Stayed the Same, but I've been busy reading anyway. I finally read through Chris Baty's No Plot, No Problem (the NaNoWriMo book), and it was inspiring. I wanted to start writing right away. None of that's a big surprise (most of you know I'm a three-time NaNoWriMo winner), but the message wasn't a surprise and the book still got me ready to go. It's incredibly well written. I recommend it highly.

I also picked up ePub: Straight to the Point this week, and started working my way through it. It promises to teach me everything I need to know about digitally publishing a novel and making it beautiful. So far I'm a couple chapters in and it's telling me to do all the thing I'm telling you to do, but I have high hopes the second half will be the actual application bit.

Getting Behind on My Writing

And I'm not just getting behind on my writing for The Girl Who Stayed the Same. I'm making it worse by adding new projects to be behind on!

This week I designed and outlined a new e-Book that's all about using Google Docs as a Documentation Production Environment (or, put simply, getting the most out of Google Docs). Much of the book's foundation (just like the ePub book I bought) will be the stuff I've said here in the last month or so, but I'm going to get into some pretty detailed advice for management and publication in the e-Book that would be hard to present on the blog.

I'm also working on a new e-Book that's all about writing a novel during NaNoWriMo. And yes, of course, my finally reading No Plot, No Problem is related to that. I needed to make sure my book wasn't too much of a duplicate, and it's not. I think the two guides could coexist quite peacefully.

Two new e-Books, three novels I'm working on at the moment, and the publication of Gods Tomorrow scheduled for September. It's going to be a busy summer.

On Unstressed Syllables

This week we covered two major topics: programming your language and pointing your plot.

Sunday I introduced the Technical Writing series on programming languages with a story about writing a macro in VBA to handle complicated Word tasks. It protected my productivity and saved my sanity...and gave me a great chance to show off my technical skills, too.

Then on Monday I talked about automating tasks as a Technical Writer. Programming might not be a normal pastime for writers, but it's an incredibly valuable one.

Then Tuesday I told you which programming language you should start with, if you're ready to get started. Dive into Python. It's a programming language that does its best to read like a human language, and it can do remarkably cool things.

On Wednesday, Courtney told us what she learned about writing this week from painting trees for Julie V. Photography. She told us to get really good at the things we're good at, and...well, to get good at the things we're not good at, too. I think Chris Baty would agree!

Thursday I introduced the Creative Writing series on plot points with a story about my high school graduation, and the dedication of my first home. Both of them were monumental moments in my life, and both of them proved to be major turning points in my story. I think that qualifies them for a couple hundred words of memoir, don't you?

On Friday I talked about monumental moments and turning points in your stories. I explained the concept of plot points -- what they are, and what they have to offer.

Today's article came with a little caveat, though: they won't really pull their weight until you learn how to write effective plot points. It's a matter of deliberate design. You don't have to outline every scene in your book, but every scene should know which plot point it's moving toward, and what that change will bring.

Around the Web

I also found a couple of good articles around the web this week, that I thought you might find interesting.

• Jane at Writer's Digest's There Are No Rules insists that Self-Publishing and Online Publishing Will Not Ruin Your Chances at a Traditional Deal. It makes sense, and it's certainly good news. I see the future of the industry working that way, even if the present of the industry doesn't.
  
• Self-publishing advocate J. A. Konrath at A Newbie's Guide to Publishing talks about The High Cost of Self-Promotion. He's saying exactly what I want to hear...and that always makes me a little nervous. I'm hopeful, though. That's what I want the future of the industry to be.
  

The Week in Words (August 7)

At the Editor's Desk

After last week's big reveal of my other project, I think it's time to get back to a real focus on what brings us all together here: hating Dan Brown.

Freelance Services

It's a shame that I've never gotten around to preparing a sales page around here, but as some of my blog posts in the last couple weeks have probably hinted, I do have some valuable services to sell. In addition to my own extensive experience with creative and technical writing, I've done writing coaching, document design (fiction and nonfiction), story editing, voice editing, line editing, copy editing, and several types of copy writing.

At the moment, I'm working on breaking into grant writing, and I'm in talks to maybe do a ghost writing gig. It all sounds like a lot of fun.

Incidentally, since I don't have a strong sales process set up at the moment, I've got some open availability, so if you find yourself in need of some of those services, you can feel free to send me an email (or use the site's Contact Form) to ask me for an estimate. I'm not cheap, but I'm terribly good.

The Girl Who Stayed the Same

There's the technical and the creative writing to do, though, and I'm still going strong on my current work-in-progress. This week I finished chapter seven and started chapter eight of The Girl Who Stayed the Same.

Someone finally asked Jonas if he was an angel (and he answered with a qualified no), and we also learned that Jonas is really terrible at chess. He's also pretty emotionally unstable, but what do you expect from a dude who hangs around with artists all the time?

On Unstressed Syllables

This week we covered two major topics: following directions and preparing a document according to the rules (specifically grant applications), and following the rules and writing stories with due respect for your readers.

Sunday I introduced the Technical Writing series on grant applications with a story about my three-year-old daughter learning to read...by memorizing the shapes of words. It's limited in a way phonetic alphabets aren't supposed to be, but it's also advanced in a way three-year-olds aren't supposed to be, so I'm considering the whole thing a wash.

Then on Monday I talked about grant money, selection committees, and how grant writing is just like the slush pile all over again. It's frustrating in ways, but it also gives experienced novelists a leg up on the competition.

Then Tuesday I took it a step further, saying that grant writing is just like writing Shakespearean sonnets. The metaphor isn't perfect, but the application is -- if you can learn to express your ideas well within someone else's strict structure, you're ready to call yourself a professional writer (and start raking in the dough).

On Wednesday, Courtney waxed domestic with a story about sewing up some torn garments, and in the process taught us how to patch up holes in our stories' plots. It can be a lot of work, and it's certainly the sort of thing we're often tempted to let pile up on our To Do lists, but a little extra effort can save a story from becoming scrap, and turn it into a perfectly serviceable Saturday shirt.

Thursday I introduced the Creative Writing series on writing rules with a story about Trish trying to watch The Da Vinci Code in spite of all my lecturing. The lecture's got to go someplace, though! So I spilled it through onto Friday and Saturday, too.

On Friday I talked about respecting your readers, and specifically focused on understanding and deliberately crafting your book's reading experience. When you consider how your story affects your readers (and what they're offering in exchange for your storytelling), it becomes far easier to stick to some of the core rules of writing.

Today's article tied that up with a detailed look at what some of those rules are: premise, verisimilitude, and the unforgivable sin named "Deus Ex." It's been a pretty academic week, and if you've followed along you probably deserve a couple hours of college writing credits for it. Alas, my blog isn't yet accredited.

Around the Web

I also found a couple of good articles around the web this week, that I thought you might find interesting. They're certainly relevant to our most recent discussion.

• Writing this week's aggressive broadside against popular novelist Dan Brown, I couldn't help thinking about literary agent Nathan Bransford's fantastic article last week, The One Question a Writer Should Never Ask.

• Wouldn't you know it, though, Bransford followed up with another excellent post this week on the same topic, Writing vs. Storytelling. Be sure you read both of these -- you'll be a better writer for it.

The Week in Words (July 31)

At the Editor's Desk

At last, it's here! Three months of talking about it, a month straight of setting up, and a week-long, thrilling extravaganza of business plannery have combined to make this the most exciting weekend at Unstressed Syllables since that one time when I wrote an e-Book.

We'd better get straight to the action!

The Consortium

This week I finally unveiled the glory that is my current project: the new new media, the right-brained brain trust, the Consortium...OKC. It's amazing.

If you haven't already been by, go check out the website. My graphic designer hasn't gotten around to making it pretty yet, but it's packed with good information about what we're doing, and grandiose hints at what we plan for the future.

Believe it or not, you'll probably hear more about it below, too.

The Girl Who Stayed the Same

I'm still talking about the girl I've been talking about for a while. (In case you haven't been keeping up, her name is Kelly Lane.)

This week I added three new scenes to chapter seven of The Girl Who Stayed the Same, messing with my newest narrator's muddled mind, and bringing back Jonas with the promise of chess. I'm looking forward to exploring his devious technique.

On Unstressed Syllables

This week we covered two major topics: a business plan as an example of a good document template, and a business plan presenting the ultimate solution to a month's worth of complaining about (C).

Sunday I introduced the Technical Writing series on business plans with a story about my first effort at a sales pitch for the Consortium. It wasn't terribly compelling...but it worked anyway.

Then on Monday I reminisced about the week before and its obscenely long list of template elements. I answered the questions in that list with a look at how the parts of a standard business plan line up with the template elements.

Then Tuesday I got into the nitty gritty, with a look at exactly what goes into the standard business plan. If you ever need to write one, it's probably a good place to start. Not a good place to stop, but you could at least start there.

On Wednesday, Courtney proved she's been paying attention with a timely look at how you can (and should) find inspiration in the public domain. By way of illustration, she talked Lincolns, zombies, Frankensteins, and Koontzes. (Personally, I find the Koontzes scariest.)

Thursday I introduced the Creative Writing series on art with a story about a story about the Academy of the Arts in my fantasy world. Turns out fifteen years ago I was already laying a conceptual groundwork for the world-changing ideas I just dreamed up last February. How unsettling.

On Friday I settled down, though, and spoke to you for the first time in a totally mature and professional voice. Don't worry, I promise you won't hear it from me often. This was a special occasion, though. It's not every day I share the Executive Summary to a business plan about my world-changing ideas.

Then I wrapped up that discussion with today's invitation to become a part of the movement, and find your place in the Consortium. I want you working for me. I've got nothing to offer, and it's going to be a bunch of work, so dive right in!

Around the Web

I've also seen more than a handful of good articles around the web this week, that I thought you might find interesting. Here's the best.

• Kate Shaw at Ars Technica reported on a recent experimental study that found "Pay what you want" benefits companies, consumers, charities. That's a pretty promising finding non-profit organizations and new-media artists hoping to compete with traditional publishing on customer service rather than litigation campaigns.

• Speaking of litigation campaigns, the litigious J. K. Rowling is defending her own work against claims of copyright infringement, but she came out swinging this week. The Bookseller sums up the current legal situation with J. K. Rowling moves to dismiss plagiarism charge.

• Meanwhile, guest writer Phyllis Zimbler Miller writes at BookBuzzr explains why Book Authors Need a Dedicated Website for Their Books. That's something that's been on my mind lately, with all the work on the Consortium. I'll let you know if I find any better ways to get it done.

The Week in Words (July 24)

At the Editor's Desk

I spent the week getting ready for Trish's birthday. But that didn't take as long as it probably should have, so I've gotten some other stuff done, too.

Consortium Time

I've gotten to the point I spend most of my project time these days doing something for my new patronage program (which I do intend to finally announce in complete detail here all of next week). That doesn't mean I'm working on the Consortium instead of writing.

I started chapter seven of The Girl Who Stayed the Same this week, and started coordinating a photoshoot for the cover of Gods Tomorrow (which I intend to publish sometime before November).

I also spent a lot of time working with my programmers to get the Consortium's website working (and doing amazing things), and we've made arrangements to do even more of that this weekend.

My Homeroom

My other big project this week has been my three-year-old daughter. She's learning to read.

You can (of course) expect to hear much more about that in future blog posts, but I worked with her nearly every day this week, and she's accumulating words at a pretty impressive clip. By my last count, she's got eleven words she can recognize on sight now (with a little prodding, anyway).

It's fascinating watching the way she learns, the way pieces slowly start falling into place. And (again of course) I am extraordinarily proud of her.

On Unstressed Syllables

This week we covered two major topics: what goes into a good document template, and what goes into mastering a craft.

Sunday I introduced the Technical Writing series on document templates with a story about a Photoshop tutorial, a blog post illustration, and a reality that's so much less than fantasy. It was a great reminder of the purpose and effect of a good document template, though.

Then on Monday I made the connection, explaining how document templates create context through style. That article included an incredibly handy list of all the elements that go into a document template definition.

Then Tuesday I explained how to use that list, by searching for sample documents and reverse-engineering a template. The trick is to recognize what's general and what's specific -- and then to borrow the best, and leave the rest.

On Wednesday, Courtney told us with a straight face that she's not an expert writer, and we just sort of snickered in disbelief. Who does she think she's kidding? That article was full of expert advice.

Thursday I introduced the Creative Writing series on patronage with the story of the time Kris Austin offered to support my writing. It helped inspire this month's long-running series, and it helped drive me to be the best writer I could possibly be.

On Friday I discussed my ignorance of history, and then went on to give you a history lesson. At least I got a little expert input first. Anyway, it turns out the Renaissance community chose to support the artists to support the arts. They called it patronage. I'd call it retirement.

Then I wrapped up that discussion with today's article on becoming a master of an artistic style. It's all about learning the craft, practicing a refined style, and sticking to the path (even when it feels a little demeaning). My advice to you? Join the school of a master you can be proud to imitate.

Around the Web

I've also seen more than a handful of good articles around the web this week, that I thought you might find interesting. Here's the best.

• I've got a little further reading on last week's Word Count articles. Karen Marcus over at Final Draft Communications offered her own numbers with the post Working With Word Count: How Long Should Your Business Document Be?

• Joel Friedlander at The Book Designer shared a guest post by an intellectual property attorney, What Every Writer Ought to Know about Fair Use and Copyright. It's definitely worth a read, given the conversation we've been having on the topic.

• And wow! There was big breaking news yesterday about "real" authors discontent with the big publishing houses. Alison Flood at The Guardian reported that several celebrated authors bypass publishing houses to sell ebooks via Amazon.

The Week in Words (July 17)

At the Editor's Desk

This week I've spent a whole lot of time advancing hundreds of different projects and goals in hundreds of parallel paths. The net result is probably only a gain of a few inches on average, but miles and miles if you add them all up.

I suppose that's too vague to be useful, but getting into all the specifics would probably be tedious. So I'll just give you an overview of the more interesting pieces.

Visiting with Family

My parents came to visit two weeks ago for the holiday weekend, and my mom stuck around, so I got to drive her home last Friday night. That gave me five hours to chat with her on the drive to Little Rock, which was probably the first uninterrupted time we've had together in most of a decade. She just finished her degree to become a certified therapist, so she's got a lot of exciting stuff going on.

I also got to check out the major work they've done on their house, and spend lots of time talking with Dad about his plans for opening a web practice for his therapy. It just so happens I've spent most of the last six months learning the kinds of things he really needs to know right now.

It was a busy weekend, but it was also incredibly valuable. I've got to make the time to get out there on my own more often.

Writing

After promising to get caught up last weekend, this week I did prewriting work on three different books, and finished chapter six of The Girl Who Stayed the Same. I also got to know Jesse Lane in the process, and he's turning out to be a much more interesting character than I expected him to be.

In fact, I wrote a lot this week. I wrote six detailed project descriptions, and a couple dozen critical emails. I wrote editorial reviews for a dozen different projects in a dozen different media. And best of all, I wrote ten blog posts this week. For the first time since February, I've got an actual blog post buffer.

I'm really hoping to get some significant fiction writing done this weekend, to brag about in my next newsletter. In the meantime, here's the firstfruits of my blogging labor:

On Unstressed Syllables

This week we covered two major topics: the ways writers use word count, and the value of free art.

Sunday I introduced the Technical Writing series on word count with a story about a busy weekend I spent finished up a digital copy of Ivanhoe. It wore me out (but, as I admitted this morning, it also inspired me to start on a brand new project).

Then on Monday I talked about the single metric writers, editors, and publishers use to avoid that same confusion: word count. It's amazingly handy for a lot of reasons (and you'd better believe I exceeded my allotted word count to list them all).

Then Tuesday I explained how to convert word count to page (and vice versa), and listed some standard word counts given for a handful of common document types. I also tasked you with figuring out the right word count for the documents you write, but what are the chances you followed through on that? Probably about (one):(the word count of the fifth Harry Potter book). I can live with that.

On Wednesday, Courtney told us what she learned about writing this week from words, and weird as the words were, their message was a simple one: until you've got them right, you're never completely making the connection with your reader that you want. Spend a little extra time, and hone in on the fine details. You'll be glad you did.

Thursday I introduced the Creative Writing series on the public domain with a story about Twilight that I thought was funny. I suspect in the process I probably alienated nine out of ten of my readers, though (and that's not a ratio, sadly enough, that's a direct accounting).

On Friday I discussed the difference between free speech and free beer, and it was all in the context of stealing a Dickens novel from Barnes and Noble. Wait, no, that's not right. I know it had something to do with the public domain. Go read it, and find out for yourself.

Then I wrapped up that discussion with today's article on how to use free art in your original creative works. It's not as complicated as you might think, and it can be incredibly valuable. If you haven't already, check out the Creative Writing Exercise and give it a try.

Around the Web

I also found an article or two online this week that you might find worth reading (in light of our current discussions).

• I've been hanging onto this one for a while, because I knew I had an article in the works on free art, but Julie Roads (yes, that Julie Roads) posted an article at Geek Girl Camp with a great primer on Using Creative Commons to Add Media to Your Blog. And, y'know, I was just talking about that yesterday!

• And I'd like to pretend that, like last week, I'm sharing this post as a valuable counter-point to some of the things I'm saying in support of self-publishing, but I mainly wanted to share literary agent Mary's post over at Kidlit in which she talks about Self-Publishing, Finally so that you can see the viciously condescending attitude the publishing industry has toward...well, most writers. It's painful to sit through.

The Week in Words (July 10)

At the Editor's Desk

Wow! Thanks to the holiday and some clever use of vacation time I ended up with a six-day weekend this week...and I'm still exhausted. The world is moving in fascinating directions, though.

The Girl Who Stayed the Same

I've stumbled a little bit with The Girl Who Stayed the Same this week. Monday's post didn't actually go up until Wednesday (although, to be fair, I wrote it out longhand in its entirety before lunch on Tuesday). Thursday's is still waiting. I'll get it live before the new one comes due on Monday, but it might be close.

There was a bit of an exciting development there, though. When I finished Part I (with its entire last chapter taking place in Paris), I shared it with Andi Fisher, a friend of my blogger friend, who happens to be in love with Paris. She's now in love with The Girl Who Stayed the Same, too. (I think I'm allowed to repeat that....)

She gave me some fabulous feedback and valuable criticism, but mostly it helps to know that someone who has no real incentive to flatter me considers it a worthwhile project. And that's on just 20% of the book. And in a state barely better than rough draft.

So...yay.

New Book Idea

This one doesn't even have a working title. It's that new.

But yes, as you may have seen if you follow me on Twitter, I came up with a fantastic new story idea this week. I don't have time for a fantastic new story idea. I'm going to follow my own advice, though, and at least do a full prewriting package for it. That should be enough to capture the inspiration until such time as I can give it the attention it deserves.

Extraordinarily brief synopsis: the wizard Claighan, Master of the Sarian Academy of Wizardry, somehow gets banished to our universe where he finds the magic too erratic and feral for him to return home. Based on nothing but the preview of the Nicholas Cage movie, I'd say this story is like The Sorcerer's Apprentice, but not dumb.

I've been wanting to do an action-packed urban fantasy for a little while now, I've been wanting to discuss "Science as the last magic" for a decade, and Courtney has gone and rekindled my love for my old fantasy stuff. This project is the result of all those forces.

On Unstressed Syllables

This week we covered two major topics: Microsoft Word Styles, and copyright.

Sunday I introduced the Technical Writing series on Microsoft Word styles by telling a story of the time I used a well-styled document and created an automated Table of Contents in seconds. It blew their minds.

Then on Monday I backed away from the magic a little bit to show you the goings-on behind the curtain. After all, before you can make a Table of Contents in seconds, you've got to put in half an hour or so setting up and applying your custom styles. Once that's done, you're in business.

Then Tuesday I pretended to backpedal some more, admitting that there is a little bit of work to do to create a beautiful Table of Contents. I dove right into the illustrated tutorial, though, and it took all of four steps. So easy, they'll think you cheated somehow.

On Wednesday, Courtney served up some knowledge (and a tantalizing book description) with her high praise for Descent by Jeff Long. The lesson she shared was that as writers, we should all be adventurers. So get to it!

Thursday I introduced the Creative Writing series on copyright with a story about the I got paid to write some fiction. Yes, "time," singular. Shut up.

On Friday I dove into some discussion of how you could get paid to be a writer, with a brief primer on how copyright works. It's not easy and it's not terribly reliable (and it might be a little bit easy), but that's the system we've got to work with. If you missed the article by Dean Wesley Smith in there, you're doing yourself a disservice. Go read it.

I wrapped that up today with some words that might get me in a little bit of trouble. I'll blame it on Courtney's WILAWriTWe, though. I was being adventurous. Frankly, though, I don't believe copyright is good -- for the public or for artists -- and I said as much in a detailed look at what it costs you to make money off of copyright.

Around the Web

I also read some fascinating articles this week that all did a pretty solid job challenging some of my positions. In the interest of fair play, I'll go ahead and share them with you.

• First, I'm going to throw in Dean Wesley Smith's Killing the Sacred Cows of Publishing: Can't Make Money in Fiction because I don't entirely trust you to have gone and looked it up again for yourself. I know it's long. You're a good reader, though. Make your way through it.

• Then Joel Friedlander from The Book Designer went and undermined my advice that you write a serial novel with Top 5 Reasons Authors Shouldn't Blog Their Books. I don't consider either of these articles crushing blows, but it's worth your time to get both sides of the story.

• Oh yeah! And this one doesn't defy me in the slightest. Thank you, internet! Iain Broome over at Write for Your Life wrote up a tutorial on How to Write Smarter in Microsoft Word with Document Map. That's a fantastic supplement to this week's Technical Writing series, and will let you take that well-styled document even further.

The Week in Words (July 3)

At the Editor's Desk

Once again, I've had a remarkably busy week working on Consortium stuff, but the tidbits I've been doling out here just haven't been terribly enlightening. I've got a big reveal planned for the near future, so I'll just stop discussing it in my newsletter until then. Here's everything else I've been doing.

The Girl Who Stayed the Same

This week saw the end of part one (of five) of The Girl Who Stayed the Same. The book is over 25,000 words, and it's going as well as I ever hoped. It's incredibly exciting.

I'm also probably going to be running a contest on Twitter sometime this weekend for anyone interested in a free copy of How to Build an e-Book. So if you're not already following me on Twitter, click here to get started.

The e-Book Challenge

I've only just started on this one, but it's going to be in the news for the next eight weeks, probably.

It's time to start thinking about the e-Book Challenge, though -- a month-long event for bloggers interested in monetizing their blogs by building an e-Book. If it sounds vaguely familiar, it's the third in the Blog Challenge series that has consisted of Carlos Velez's Pre-Writing Challenge and Dave Doolin's Blog Maintenance Challenge.

I've had a lot longer than either of them did to make plans, so I feel like there's some pressure on me to get it right. Lucky for me, I've already got a guidebook written, in How to Build an e-Book.

Anyway, if it's something you're interested in, make sure to sign up for the e-Book Challenge newsletter now, because I'll be sending out a special opportunity for all its subscribers in the next week, before opening up the general enrollment in mid-July.

On Unstressed Syllables

This week we covered two major topics: HTML styles in Google Docs, and the proper therapeutic approach to writing in drafts.

Sunday I introduced the Technical Writing series on HTML styles in Google Docs by telling the story of a simple little web-scraping script I wrote that evolved into a robust publication process for converting Google Docs into ePub e-Books.

Then on Monday I actually dug into that program, providing an illustrated tutorial on customizing paragraph styles in Google Docs. Of course, the tricky part isn't finding the editor, it's knowing what to do with the editor. The answer: Google.

Then Tuesday I had to answer some criticism from a submissions editor who saw Monday's post on Twitter, but it gave me a chance to point out the difference between formatting your text, and labeling it with styles (which is the whole point of this three-week series), and I provided a quick overview on making your Google Docs styles match a publisher's submissions policy.

On Wednesday, Courtney returned from her summer hiatus with an excellent excuse for her absence: a whirlwind of kitten food purchases, flea treatments, and frustrating discussions regarding the future fate of our furry foundling. She turned that into a phenomenal intro for the posts I had pending, discussing the need to protect, nurture, and de-worm your rough drafts.

Thursday I introduced the Creative Writing series on writing in drafts by providing a follow-up to last week's story about my social anxiety. I'm getting it under control now, thanks to a rigorous workout schedule and my own personal marble statue metaphor.

On Friday I extended the behavioral therapy metaphor, with a glimpse into Narrative Therapy, a recognition of the desire for a perfect, healthy, balanced first draft, and a promise that when yours doesn't turn out quite that right, you can fix even the ugliest rough drafts with a few good habits, as long as you make them deliberate.

I wrapped that up today with some blindingly obvious writing advice: you should write every day. It's blindingly obvious in the same way "you should exercise more" is, but personal experience has taught me the powerful difference between trying to do something in pursuit of a long-term goal, and learning to recognize the immediate benefits. They can be much bigger than you think, but you can't really gain them unless you're already watching.

Around the Web

I do want to get back into the "Around the Web" game, but I've decided to ease into it. So this week I've only got two for you, and you'll be able to see the common link: self-publishing and trying to turn your writing into a paying business. That's more Consortium stuff bleeding through.

• Jane Friedman at Writer's Digest talked about An Exciting Future for Authors (That Can Succeed Without Publishers or Agents) thanks to a new funding source for creative projects in the form of fan contributions. Read more about it or just pop over to Kickstarter.org to figure it out on your own.

• Joanna Penn, who provides some great information on self-publishing, stayed true to form with these six Tips for Potential Self-Publishers

The Week in Words (June 26)

At the Editor's Desk

This week I finally started on a novel I'd been talking about for ages. And I talked to many people for many hours. And I learned way more about CSS than I ever wanted to know.

The Consortium

After about a week of researching various art grants, I met with an accountant Wednesday to figure out what I need to do to get incorporated and registered as a nonprofit. Turns out what I need to do is "pay this dude $1,800 and have a lot of patience."
That's not stopping me, though. I also met with several of my artists about projects we can start on now to get things moving in the right direction, and I'm taking my first halting steps at playing Mr. Manager. I'll let you know how that turns out.

The Girl Who Stayed the Same

The Girl Who Stayed the Same is now one or two scenes away from the end of Act I, and it's been a pretty intense week in Paris. I had two very different scenes this week that were each challenging in very different ways. It was fun.
Once again, you can follow that story on my private series page at the Creative Copy Challenge, or just wait for the e-Book coming to digital purveyors near you in February 2011.

SEATAC

SEATAC, my new sci-fi title, finally has a Google Doc to call its own. Well...it's actually had a Doc for a while now, but that was prewriting. Now it's real.
Two days of work to come up with 400 words of real....

On Unstressed Syllables

This week we covered two major topics: markup languages, and the blogstory style of Julie Roads.
Sunday I introduced the Technical Writing series on markup languages by telling the story of the college mission trip that crippled my faith. It was all about labels.
Then on Monday I took labels a step further, with a look into how markup languages (like HTML) can be used as document authoring tools.
Then Tuesday I got specific, telling you how to apply heading tags (and which tags to use) in WordPress. Blog better.
On Wednesday, Courtney learned another important lesson about trusting her brain when she forgot it was Wednesday already. See? That's why you need a scribblebook. If you're still craving the article you missed, just go back and reread last week's. It really was that good.
Thursday I introduced the Creative Writing series on the blogstory style by introducing the blogstory master (or...mistress?) Julie Roads. If you were reading along, you got to know that name quite well.
On Friday I told you why I thought she was so special. It's not just that she's a great blogger, but that brought the fundamental value of story her blog, and perfected the mix. If you're not already reading her blog, you should be.
I wrapped that up today by talking about you. Well...no, not really. I talked about Julie some more. And about me. But it applies to you! Because Julie got as good as she is by choosing a writing style she loved and practicing perfection. You can do the same thing, no matter what type of writing you do.

The Week in Words (June 19)

At the Editor's Desk

Perhaps my biggest accomplishment this week has been the production of an email newsletter. It has taken me a hair shy of seven weeks to prepare.

I do apologize for the delay. I changed the blog posting schedule at the same time I took on three major new projects, and the newsletter fell through the cracks

I might have a thing or two to say about some of those projects, though.

The Consortium

That's right. After realizing I probably shouldn't be giving away my new genius business idea a full decade before I had the resources to pull it off, I have nonetheless continued in pursuit of that idea (and those resources). I've also discovered a handful of things that make me think maybe it won't take quite so long to make it real. And maybe I don't have to be quite so secret.

I'm not going to go into detail here, though, because that would rob me of a month's worth of blog post material. You can look forward to an interesting series throughout July, though, as I build the case for my right-brained brain trust.

The Girl Who Stayed the Same

I've also continued the serial novel I first announced in the debut Week in Words. This week I finished chapter four, and I dare say it's finally getting interesting.

You can follow that story on my private series page at the Creative Copy Challenge, or just wait for the e-Book coming to digital purveyors near you in February 2011.

On Unstressed Syllables

This week we covered two major topics: document outlines, and story structure.

Sunday I introduced the Technical Writing series on document outlines by telling about my own harrowing encounter with an outline-wielding high school debater.

I thought I was doomed, but it turned out I could easily get over the fear of failure by not trying to win. That's the happy ending to that story (although my debate partner didn't much appreciate it).

Then on Monday I got down to the nitty gritty, explaining why you actually need to understand and use document outlines. Turns out they're a fantastic way to visualize and improve your document's structure.

Then Tuesday I told you how to actually do one, with a detailed explanation (and examples) of the standard outline format. It was awesome.

On Wednesday, Courtney forgot what she was talking about, which made for a fantastic WILAWriTWe reminding you that you should get (and use) a scribblebook.

Thursday I introduced the Creative Writing series on story structure with the tale of a year when I wandered away from writing to focus on designing and drawing mazes.

On Friday I explained what that had to do with writing. If you look at it the right way, the structure of a story is just like a maze, and there are several principles of mazemaking that can help you improve your story structure. One of the most significant: solid structure doesn't have to be obvious structure.

I wrapped that up today by pointing out the big difference between mazemaking and storytelling. In this business, it's absolutely your job to make sure readers can follow the plot of your novel. If they get, ahem, lost somewhere in the middle, you've dropped the ball. And I'm going to be classy here and not mention the writers of Lost at all.

Across the Web

I do intend to include interesting writing-related links in these newsletters, as I was doing for the few short weeks that "The Week in Words" ran as a Saturday blog post. I don't have any for you this week, though. Maybe next week I'll manage my time a little better. One can always hope.

My 48 Hours

Last Thursday, while I was still at work, T-- took the kids to Wichita to spend some time with her family there. The plan was to stay through a big birthday party Saturday evening, then drive home late Saturday night.

I intended, as I often do on these occasions, to take advantage of the peace and quiet to get some good work done. Mainly I had some computer stuff I wanted to do -- reviewing a blog for a new friend, getting caught up on my own blogging after a busy few weeks, and putting together some notes on a new project I'm working on (the Consortium). I figured I'd do a little lawn and house work, too, since our property got hit pretty hard with last week's apocalyptic hailstorm.

Anyway, when I got home from work to an empty house Thursday afternoon, the first thing I did was make a To Do list. (I estimated roughly that each item in the "Must Do" list should represent about 90 minutes of work).

• Must Do
• Thursday night
• Write Sun/Mon/Tue blog posts for next week
• Prepare newsletter for Saturday
• Friday morning
  
• Mow the lawn
  
• Clean out the gutters
  
• Friday afternoon
• Write Thu/Fri/Sat blog posts for next week
• Set up blog review spreadsheet on GDocs
  
• Friday night
• Review Julie's blog posts
  
• Review Julie's blog posts
• Saturday morning
• Chainsaw some trees
  
• Paint hall and bathrooms
  
• Saturday afternoon
• Review Julie's blog posts
• Review Julie's blog posts
• Saturday night
• Edit and link next week's blog posts
  
• Prepare next Saturday's newsletter
  
• Sunday afternoon
• Email Julie about the Consortium
  
• Complete detailed descriptions of the Consortium in Wave
  
• Sunday night
• Write Sun/Mon/Tues blog posts for next week
  
• Outline blog posts for June
  
• Remember to Eat!
• Lunch with D-- (discuss Consortium as non-profit)
• Dinner with K-- and N-- (discuss Consortium network/software)
  
• Lunch with Courtney (recruit her to the Consortium)
• Dinner with B-- (discuss Consortium business plan)
• Extra Credit (if I have free time)
• Recruit Carlos to the Consortium
• Social Writing
• Help Toby program BookMaker utility
• Get in touch with Doolin
• Email Julie about blog review
• Get Courtney her photos (from a Julie V shoot)
• Design novel template in GDocs
  
• Scan many things
• Edit/link guest posts for Doolin
• Make chapters for Carlos's e-Book
• Review Carlos's other support requests
• Call OU Admissions department
• Email Shawn about the Consortium
• Finish Ivanhoe
• Email Courtney about her blog
• Contact Schwinn customer support
• Lowe's run
• Fix exterior lights
• Drop seed, weed killer, and fertilizer on lawn
• Clean out garage work area
• Put some stuff in the attic
• Convert Becca's and Bryce's books to e-Book format
• Read Becca's and Bryce's books
• Check out Courtney's new WIP on GDocs
  
• Write Thursday's Creative Copy Challenge post
• Reply to many comments on my blog and Doolin's

Those were my 48 items in 48 hours (I mentioned them on Facebook). And...well, technically four of those items were scheduled for Sunday, but I'd have my whole family home on Sunday so I figured I'd need to get much of that done in advance.

Of course, I ended up adding to the list before I was done.

• Added since Thursday afternoon (all extra credit)
• Email Courtney about new photo policy at my blog
  
• Update About Page photos in color
• Clean up storm detritus on driveway, porch, and sidewalks
  
• Replace shattered plastic house numbers over garage
• Pick up a birthday gift for K--
• Fix fallen A/C register and attach headboard to bedframe
• Murder weeds growing in driveway, porch, and sidewalks
• Patch busted wood trim around bathroom door
• Caulk floor joints both bathroom
• Organize tool chest drawers
• Wash and put away three loads of laundry
• Paint over garage hail damage
• Take out the trash
• Do the dishes
• Email Cindy about the Consortium as a non-profit
  

And I made time for my 4.5-mile jog every morning, because with all that cerebral work going on, I needed some physical exertion to balance it out.

The problem, it turned out, was that 45 minutes jogging wasn't close to enough time to balance it out. I got started working on the lawn Friday morning, and found myself still working outside when it came time to go to dinner Friday night. Woke up Saturday, went for my jog, and figured since I was going to have to shower anyway, I should do a thing or two outside first.

By the end of the day Saturday (my forty-eight hours), I'd spent about fourteen hours sleeping, eight hours at business/social meals, and a hair over an hour (total) sitting at my computer. The other twenty-five hours I spent toiling -- repairing my house, cleaning, or working in the yard. And none of that was by choice or priority -- it just sort of happened. I was driven.

When everything was said and done, by the time I went to bed Sunday night, I'd completed 34 of the 62 items on my To Do list, including just half of the "Must Do" items. The finished list looked like this:

• Must Do
• Thursday night
• Write Sun/Mon/Tue blog posts for next week
• Prepare newsletter for Saturday
• Friday morning
  
• Mow the lawn
  
• Clean out the gutters
  
• Friday afternoon
• Write Thu/Fri/Sat blog posts for next week
• Set up blog review spreadsheet on GDocs
• Friday night
• Read Julie's blog posts
  
• Read Julie's blog posts
• Saturday morning
• Chainsaw some trees
  
• Paint hall and bathrooms
  
• Saturday afternoon
• Read Julie's blog posts
• Read Julie's blog posts
• Saturday night
• Edit and link next week's blog posts
  
• Prepare next Saturday's newsletter
  
• Sunday afternoon
• Email Julie about the Consortium
  
• Complete detailed descriptions of the Consortium in Wave
  
• Sunday night
• Write Sun/Mon/Tues blog posts for next week
  
• Outline blog posts for June
  
• Remember to Eat!
• Lunch with Dan (discuss Consortium as non-profit)
• Dinner with Austins (discuss Consortium network/software)
  
• Lunch with Courtney (recruit her to the Consortium)
• Dinner with Bruce (discuss Consortium business plan)
• Extra Credit (if I have free time)
• Recruit Carlos to the Consortium
• Social Writing
• Help Toby program BookMaker utility
• Get in touch with Doolin
• Email Julie about blog review
• Get Courtney her photos (from a Julie V shoot)
• Design novel template in GDocs
  
• Scan many things
• Edit/Link guest posts for Doolin
• Make chapters for Carlos's e-Book
• Review Carlos's other support requests
• Call OU Admissions department
• Email Shawn about the Consortium
• Finish Ivanhoe
• Email Courtney about her blog
• Contact Schwinn customer support
• Lowe's run
• Fix exterior lights
• Drop seed, weed killer, and fertilizer on lawn
• Clean out garage work area
• Put some stuff in the attic
• Convert Becca's and Bryce's books to e-Book format
• Read Becca's and Bryce's books
• Check out Courtney's new WIP on GDocs
  
• Write Thursday's Creative Copy Challenge post
• Reply to many comments on my blog and Doolin's
• Email Courtney about new photo policy at my blog
  
• Update About Page photos in color
• Clean up storm detritus on driveway, porch, and sidewalks
  
• Replace shattered plastic house numbers over garage
• Pick up a birthday gift for Kris
• Fix fallen A/C register and attach headboard to bedframe
• Murder weeds growing in driveway, porch, and sidewalks
• Patch busted wood trim around bathroom door
• Caulk floor joints both bathroom
• Organize tool chest drawers
• Wash and put away three loads of laundry
• Paint over garage hail damage
• Take out the trash
• Do the dishes
• Email Cindy about the Consortium as a non-profit

Flying Ice

Monday this week was a day made for disappointment. It always is, but this week was worse than most. After an ice storm lent me another four-day weekend, it was a real bummer to come back to the office. Nobody was in a great mood, and everybody had a lot of work that needed doing, to get caught up. I put in my nine miserable hours, packed up some extra reading to take home with me, and then called it a day.

The roads were pretty clear by then, except for the steep-walled piles of dirty gray slush spilling onto the sides, but the drive still posed some little risks. I felt my car slip a little turning onto MacArthur, and again as I pushed up the ramp onto the highway. It was nothing dangerous, really -- just little reminders that the road wasn't really dry.

I hardly needed them, though. My windshield was enough evidence of that, with the thin, semi-transparent patina of slush thrown up by the cars ahead of me. That got a lot worse when I got onto the highway, and I was leaning forward, waiting for another pass of my worn out wipers, when the car in front of me threw up more than just slush. A pebble the size of a BB flipped up and smashed against my windshield, inches from my nose.

The sound of it startled me -- surprisingly loud crack in the still of my car --and as I flinched back, I wondered if it had chipped the glass.

I first started driving in 1995, and I drove for fourteen years without ever getting a cracked windshield. I've certainly taken my share of pebble bombardment, but they make those suckers pretty strong. Still, the thought crossed my mind because, only a week earlier, gravel bouncing out of the back of a dump truck had put a big score in the driver's side glass right above the dashboard. First time in my life, and here came another pebble one week later.

And then the wipers blurred by, smearing away the muck, and they left behind a single glittering spot, ten inches above the week-old chip. I grunted in frustration, I rolled my eyes, I probably thought something mean about the driver of the dirty white Tercel.

But then a sarcastic smile twisted my lips. I shook my head and chuckled, and said, "I wonder if I constructed that." See, I believe in something called social constructionism, and one aspect of it is that the things we expect, the things we anticipate, are the things that are likely to show up in our reality. By worrying about my glass getting chipped, had I made it happen? It was a swift-passing thought. I sighed and let it go. Probably just coincidence. It's a funny old world, after all.

The words were still fresh in my mind, the smile still on my lips, when I heard the distant groan and rip just before a sheet of ice tore free from that same car. I'd seen it happen on my drive in that morning, and even once or twice already on my drive home, but this time it happened right in front of me. A blanket of ice and snow packed two-inches thick suddenly caught the wind, dancing like a kite up into the air for two seconds, three, and slashing back down to earth.

I was too close, though. I got in the way. The largest shard -- probably two feet across -- came stabbing straight down at me. I braked, I swerved, but there was no time. I caught a dozen pounds of ice dead center on the passenger side of my windshield, at sixty miles per hour. It boomed like an explosion, and the whole windshield shattered -- safety-glass holding the fractured bits in place, but ruined.

It was five o'clock on a Monday afternoon, northbound in the left-hand lane of one of the city's major thoroughfares, so I had sixty-MPH traffic right on my tail. As soon as I knew I was still alive, I put my foot back on the gas. My heart thundered, and I had to fight to catch my breath, but the windshield held. I had a small rectangle, maybe two feet by one, right at eye level on the driver's side where the glass was whole. It was enough to give me a clear view of the road, as long as I leaned forward. It was enough to get me home, anyway.

So I drove on, terrified every time another piece of ice flipped up into the air and wondering if the shattered windshield might give way yet. Ten miles still to go, and nobody else on the road cared how fragile my situation was. I just focused on breathing, focused on getting home safely.

And while I was at it, I tried my hardest to ignore that chip, right in front of my nose, marring the one bit of good glass left to me.

(I prepared this post according to the assignment description in this week's Creative Writing exercise over at UnstressedSyllables.com. I'd love any feedback you've got to give.)

Journal Entry: February 2, 2009

We ended last year with an honest-to-goodness blizzard that rolled in on Christmas Eve. Mom and Dad were here in town, staying at our place for the week before heading out to Germany on Christmas morning, and that ended up being quite an adventure. They made it, though.

Anyway, we had a repeat of that foul weather last week, when heavy ice started coming down on Thursday afternoon, followed by a thick coat of snow all Thursday night. I did end up going in to work on Thursday, but they let us out early and closed the offices on Friday.

That gave us a nice long weekend, trapped in the house. T-- has been sick with a respiratory virus for nearly a week now, so it was a good thing I was home to take care of the kids (especially in the mornings). We had fun, though. AB and I played out in the snow for half an hour on Friday, we started testing out bedtime stories, and she learned how to control my warlock's flying carpet in WoW.

XP and I worked on enunciation and word choice, motor control, and screaming unreservedly for no reason whatsoever. That was a little less fun.

We watched a bunch of Berenstain Bears cartoons with AB, and the first season of 30 Rock when she wasn't looking. I also played a lot of WoW.

Saturday night, like Noah sending the dove out from the ark, we ordered a pizza and were delighted when it arrived in a reasonable amount of time. Sunday morning we finally ventured out, meeting my little sister and her family at IHOP for lunch.

We were not the only people in town with that idea. Alas.

Anyway, we had no real problems on the roads, and afterward T-- dropped me and AB back at the house, and then went to do some grocery shopping. Sunday evening we had sandwiches, and finished off the second season of our show.

Then Monday morning it was AB's turn to be sick, and she was hacking something awful when I had to head to work. T-- seems to be on the mend, though, and it was only really bad for three days or so. So maybe AB will be better before the weekend.

Oh! On the drive home from work I had some serious drama, but that probably deserves a post of its own. I'll get that up as soon as I can. I did end up running some errands in the evening, including a trip to Walgreens where I learned we might have another ice storm coming. Yay!

Other than that, it's just things and stuff.

I Am a Writer

I've been a writer all my life. I started inventing worlds and stories when I was in first grade, and I started learning the mechanics of it all even before that, when my granddad taught me touch-typing on a battered old typewriter.

The Prologue

I first started thinking of myself as a writer in a sixth-grade English class, when I was supposed to write a one-page story incorporating a least half of our vocabulary words, and I wrote eight pages and used them all. I made that the first in a series of absurd detective stories that I developed over the course of the year. When I was twelve my family moved to the big city, and I dealt with the frightening upheaval in my life by writing my first novel. I wrote my classmates into the story to make friends.

When I was in high school I spent an afternoon patiently explaining to my dad that I didn’t need to go to college. My only goal in life was to be a writer, and I already knew how to write. I was well into my second novel by then, and I was marking up my Creative Writing teacher’s noir mystery in my free time. My dad's wisdom prevailed, though, and when I got to college, I discovered not only the limits of my understanding but also the real value of others’ ideas. I chose Oklahoma Christian University for its creative writing program, and took a writing class every semester for four years.

In the process I learned the rules of the craft, I learned to develop my narrative voice, and I learned how powerful a diversity of styles can be. I’ve since had the opportunity to coach my dad in creative writing, and I was able to teach him using some of the same methods I learned in that college program I’d once assured him I would never need.

The Process

Those methods have become more and more important in my life. They include everything from the intensive character development and plot architecture that I've used to build my Ghost Targets series, to the minute attention to mechanics and detail that makes me such a good Technical Writer (and pays for my two houses).

When I first started in the industry, I hated that I was selling out and getting a day job, and I spent a lot of energy separating technical writing from creative writing in my head. All I got out of that was a lot of heartache, and a couple novels that languished as unfinished drafts for years. I've recently come to appreciate the similarities in the two disciplines, and learned how to play to my strengths in both fields. As a result, I've got pretty much the same writing process for both.

I start with as much prewriting as I can reasonably do, whether that's real-world research or rough scene lists, but I always limit the amount of time I dedicate to that. When I've got enough material to put together a draft, I stop researching and start writing. I do a first draft start to finish, with as little editing as possible. When I'm done, I take a quick pass through the document to smooth some of the roughest edges, then hand it off to one or two test readers to get feedback.

From there, I go through multiple stages of dedicated revisions. I've talked about that elsewhere, but it's critical to the process. It also usually takes two to three times as long as the prewriting and writing stages combined, so I've got to dedicate time and energy to the review process from the very first, or I'll find myself in a real bind when deadlines start looming.

The Products

Honestly, I end up applying that process in nearly every type of writing I do. That includes my journal entries here, emails to my friends and coworkers, and my articles on Unstressed Syllables. I've used some of my training to create some extremely effective tutorials, and to prepare business letters and queries for all my many projects. I end up doing a lot of editing work for friends and family, too. All of it is good practice, and all of it depends on my continued dedication to quality writing.

It's rewarding, too. Just last week I was skimming through an old draft of an unfinished novel, looking for an illustration for my blog, and I accidentally got caught up in the narrative. Half an hour and two chapters later, I remembered what I was supposed to be doing, but I came away from that with a determination to get that novel cleaned up and in the hands of some readers. That's an incredible experience, stumbling across some long-forgotten scene and rediscovering the magic and creativity that helped make it happen in the first place.

Currently, that's where most of my energy is focused: getting all my old, unfinished projects up to code, and getting them in the hands of readers. That has me working simultaneously on a utopian near-future sci-fi and a dystopian near-future sci-fi,on a dry political think-piece masquerading as traditional fantasy and on a juvenile emo romance masquerading as traditional fantasy. And, of course, through it all I'm constantly creating new stories. I have a fourth Ghost Targets in the works, and half a dozen story ideas spawned from dreams or debates. I have a handful of non-fiction works germinating, and a rather significant investment in UnstressedSyllables.com. Oh yeah, and then there's the full-time job. No question about it, I am a writer.

(I prepared this post according to the assignment description in this week's Technical Writing exercise over at UnstressedSyllables.com. I also posted a link in the discussion board there, so you can feel free to leave comments here or there, depending what you want to discuss. I'd love any feedback you've got to give, though.)

Unstressed Syllables

This isn't really news to any of you, but I've spent most of the last month getting a new blog set up over at Unstressed Syllables.

I've told a couple people that I'd probably abandon my personal blog, but I don't think that'll actually happen. Not altogether, anyway. I've made the definite decision to give up on my efforts at daily blogging, but I still have a lousy memory and I still find much benefit in looking back on slices of my life from arm's distance, so I'll still be posting here as often as I reasonably can.

For the next month or so, as I get into the swing of things, I'd expect that to be a near-zero value. We'll see what actually happens.

In the meantime, come check out my blog. It's inspired by you, it's written for you, and it probably features some humorous and humiliating stories about things you've done in the past, so you'll need to show up from time to time to defend yourself. Sorry, that's just the way it is.

Other than that, it's just things and stuff.