10 Questions

So, this was one of those Liebster Awards, but I already did one, so I’m just going to answer the ten questions that my nominator, Emily June Street (Twitter), wrote for her victims:

1) What was your dream career when you were a kid?

I wanted to build robots. Short Circuit was my favorite movie. I used to build little Johnny 5s out of Legos. Even when I grew older, I still loved to consume media like I, Robot and Battle Bots (which was a TV show pitting real robots people built in a fighting arena). I went for an English degree, but if an engineer came over and asked if I’d like to spend a day in his robotics lab, I would go without question.

2) What is one physical activity you want to do before you die?

I want to go skiing. I have never been. I almost went this month, but then everyone backed out on me.

3) What is your favorite trip or vacation you’ve ever done, and why?

When I was 10, my mother took me to Disney World in Florida. I know that isn’t as grand as some of the places I’ve gone, but I was ten and I ate Mickey Mouse-shaped waffles every morning and swam in the water-park every night. That might have been one of the best weeks of my life. 

4) Do you dance?

Yes. I was a part of a show choir in HS, so I danced them. I like dancing, except at weddings. I guess that’s my one pet peeve. I think weddings are stupid and predictable, and the music is always awful. Maybe I’m just jaded for some odd reason…

5) Editing or drafting?

It’s all good to me.

6) Your favorite myth or fairy-tale and why?

Fairy tales and myths kind of bore me, so instead I’ll answer Jules Verne. Journey to the Center of the Earth, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, and Around the World in Eighty Days were my favorite childhood stories, and they were the closest things I had to myths growing up.

7) Where (and when) did you grow up and how do you think it shaped you?

Belleville, IL. My shape came from two places: a theatre group and the local band scene. I used to perform as a singer/guitarist for a few bands (check it out). I wrote almost every song that I played during that time, and that is how I became interesting in writing/composition. One revelation I had was that I’m great at composing, and not just music, but art. I can see how small aspects form together to create big ones, which is why I’m trying to become a novelist. I think most people say that they have a great attention to detail, but I consider myself a big picture guy. I see a scope of details that will become a finished product.

My theatre background is what shaped my personality. I think I learned more social skills backstage than anywhere else. I did a group that wrote, practiced, and performed plays in a 24 hour period in a big festival of sorts. I might be getting back into that soon, actually. When I do that, I always direct.

8) You have $100 that you must spend on yourself by the end of the day. What do you buy?

A drawing pad and a set of Faber-Castell art pens, any remainder on coffee beans.

9) Pick any three objects or people to be stranded with you in a lost space ship.

Michael Phelps
A saddle
a gold medal strung to the end of a stick

OK, so that’s actually what to bring when stranded on an island… (but I love repeating that joke (I did not write it)).

Assuming I cannot pick objects that can send me home (teleporter, a satellite beacon for messages, etc.) and that I am not in immediate need of life support (such as food or air), I would pick… a loaded Kindle, a computer with Skyrim, Minecraft, and Microsoft Word installed (to get my mind off the ship), and a piano.

10) What’s your favorite piece of music and why?

Incubus is so much more than the few songs that have been on the radio. The song I picked is just like me… mellow, forward thinking, and weird. Also, I sometimes accidentally make it rain frogs.

11) Are you a pantser or a plotter?

Both, equally. I write a rough plot, and then allow my characters to do whatever they want. I don’t stick to my plotting. I often rewrite the plotting to accommodate for characters that decided to invent themselves along the way or spots where my leads took a wrong turn. The plotting is a mental activity, not a roadmap.   

Thanks again to Emily June Street! She’s awesome, so go check out her blog!

pic unrelated; I just drew this recently

Project Update - #Unraveler #Pixelic and more

Today I completed another major round of editing on my primary writing project, The Unraveler. I’m telling you, it feels good, man. My original goal for having my novel sending-out-to-agents-ready was my birthday (September 25th), but I think I’m going to push that back until spring. 

halloween nears!

For those who haven’t studied the business of writing/selling fiction books, the basics (for an unpublished writer like me) are like this:

1. Write the book
2. Edit the book to absolute perfection
3. Write a query letter that shows how awesome/marketable your book is
4. Send said query letter to an agent
5-. If the agent rejects you, move on to the next
5+. If the accepts you, then the agent will attempt to sell your book to the various publishers
6. If the publisher accepts, then woo-hoo, you’re going to be published

Step 7 and on is marketing and etc, etc. It might even be the biggest/most complicated part of the whole thing, but that’s not what this blog post is about.

I’m on step 2 & 3, and I’ve been there for a while. I’ve been polishing my book to an insane degree, and I’ve spent more time on the editing than I did on writing the book.

The reason is that you cannot send a query letter about the same book to the same agent twice. So, if my book is littered with problems and grammatical errors, then my ship has sunk if I mail out my query letter too early.

So, I’ve been editing, editing, editing…

long past the point where my friends & family who have read it have told me that they think it’s already perfect. Honestly, it wasn’t and isn’t, but I can now say that it’s getting close. I might do a few more read-throughs before feeling OK to send it out, but all the major issues my book had have been fixed. I’ve spent years cutting out the fatty, boring parts and enhancing the awesome. I’ve spent so much time just considering plot loopholes and character perspective and all that jazz, but it’s nearly there.

and the rest of my projects

But I want to have a career in writing; not just be a one-book-wonder. So, while I’m editing The Unraveler, I’ve also created a potential series plan, wrote the first 3 chapters of book 2, and I’m ramping up a second book series called Pixelicand planning out a one-off novel (codenamed  Project HIM). I’m also writing a bunch of short stories and poems that I wish to submit to magazines soon. But that’s not all.

I’m working on a marketing plan for myself (so when I do talk to agents/publishers, I won’t feel completely ignorant), a synopsis of my book, a career path (so I can see the direction I want to take), reading books on book selling/writing as an industry, and I’m creating the foundations for a successful social media world. That, and I’m still working on making my query letter explain in so few words why I believe my book will sell. 

It’s a lot of work. 

Oh, yeah, and I have a fulltime job. lol

I haven’t made much time for friends lately, and for that I’m sorry. I’m basically in a mad drive to get my book completed, at this point. Deadlines are insanely important to me, and I don’t want to be working on The Unraveler forever (but I also won’t quit until it’s truly perfect).

In unrelated news, 

I’ve started reading The Unwanteds: Island of Legends and also I’ve begun Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series. Something light and fun and something deep and adult. They are a surprisingly good combination of books to read at once. Oh well, that’s my update.

Thank you to everyone who has and continues to support me in my crazed ambitions. I hope I make it all worthwhile, someday.

The Search for the Perfect Critique Partner Continues...

To be my critique partner, you must be:

1. St. Louis area-based (I want to be able to meet up in real life, and F.Y.I. I live on the IL side).

2. a writer who writes often (I'm looking to exchange feedback). I want to give feedback and get feedback with someone who takes writing seriously. 

3. an enthusiast of sci-fi, fantasy, horror, steampunk, and young adult, because that's what I write (click here to read about my current project). I will read almost anything but romance.

4. able to take criticism. If you cry because I pointed out a misplaced comma in your novel, then we're probably not a good match. I am very honest. If you tell me that you want to get this published, then I will look at your work as a marketable product.

5. willing to dish out criticism honestly. I have an iron gut for criticism, and I want blunt/honest thoughts. I want to know how to improve my writing. I don't like wishy-washy statements. If you hated my chapter 3, say so.

6. willing to read novel-length projects, since that's what I generally write. 

7. excited at the prospect of Halloween, because my writing is infused with the spirit of that season.

8. near my age. I'm 27. I would feel a little weird hanging out with someone who is 65. Just being honest. 21-39 seems like the ideal age range.

All that said, it’s also important that crit partners generally enjoy each other’s writing (and are near each other in skill level, so I don’t get jealous if you’re better than me or vice versa). I suppose that would come on a read-for-read basis. If you happen to read this and want to trade examples of writing, email me (oxyborb@gmail.com). We can swap chapter 1s, and then either say “yes” and continue or “No, we’re not a match” with no hard feelings.

That’s what I’m looking for. If you seem to fit any of that, you should leave a comment or email me

Editing Wind

I have been working really, really hard on my novel.

The past few months have been all about world building. Figuring out how society works in my work. Ironing out ancient history. I challenged myself to name all of the year’s holidays in my world. I listed what musical instruments there are. Who the top famous 5 living and top 5 dead musicians are. I knitted my giant family tree together. For each of the major cities in my world, I created an emblem like the ones showing on this post.

turning of the tide

But that was all the last two months, this month has been about working the prose. I’ve been line editing. Fat cutting. Rewording. Man, it feels good to know how much my book has progressed. I think I’ve been supercharged creatively because I’m about to start a new job. It makes me feel awesome to know that I have my money-needs covered now, and I can start rocking my writing without feeling the need to spend most of my day looking for work.

Then the other day I got feedback, and it gave my already high-paced wind an extra boost. Feedback is a writer’s Christmas. The best thing you can give a writer, truly. Feedback makes you feel like your endeavors aren’t completely lonely ones. It makes you think about your own work in new ways. It’s exciting. Useful beyond measure.

old copy

The one weird thing about feedback with a novel-length work, especially for an insane worker like me, is that you often have created several new drafts before any feedback is returned to you. I really don’t want to annoy my friends by sending them new drafts all the time. I don’t want to be pushy, because reading a draft of a book is a lot harder than reading a final product. Looking through notes on an old draft can really make you embarrassed. So many more mistakes, many ones you’ve already corrected. Plot holes you’ve already filled in. Questions the reader has, already answered in the new draft. The book I have now is so much better than the one I first put an ending to.

That said, feedback is so incredibly invaluable, but I also completely understand that work goes into reading, too. My friends who have sent me feedback are so incredibly kind for doing so. Thank you times a thousand. To my friends who haven’t sent me feedback, no worries, you’re still awesome too (but if anyone happens to want to read my novel, email me to get the latest draft!). Honestly, just to allow me to vent to others about writing is so good for me and helps me in other ways than editing. My friends are awesome.

Looking ahead

I feel like I have about 2-3 more read-throughs before I will claim that it is ready to submit to agents, but I’m so excited. Allow me to daydream a bit: Wouldn’t it be great to get published? Not only that, but to be able to claim that writing is my profession? I would put out a new book every year if I had all the time in the world to write. I know I would, and they’d be awesome books, too. I have so many awesome ideas. The Unravel is just one (which has true series potential).