Reading, Writing, and Such

It seems I'm always reading something though I would say a large measure of it has been online articles in recent times. I'm working through book submissions too. With all that I've managed to do some other reading too, including ebooks and hardback books. Reading is fundamental for the writer. It's like our primary fuel. While I've definitely been reading far more nonfiction lately, I know that fiction is just as crucial to the work.

What have I been reading? Well, an assortment of things really. As I've already shared here before, I've not been writing much. Publishing has taken the larger share of my work time. Just the nature of things right now, I suppose. Still, I've been taking a few steps back into  writing more regularly. Part of my preparation has been reading books on the craft of writing.

I purchased a writing ebook bundle which contained work I'm still reading through but I have to say I started with the two books by Dean Wesley Smith first. His influence is profound for me as a creative writer. The first one, Stages of A Fiction Writer, was very illuminating about how authors at different points in their careers think about the process of writing. Then there is a big one, Heinlein's Rules: Five Simple Business Rules For Writing. 

Then I went to a book by one of the older pros, Lawrence Block. He wrote a book years ago called From Plot To Print. Now that book has been updated in a new edition and titled From Plot To Print To Pixel. This one I'm still reading and taking my time. His insights have been invaluable too. I've read several of his nonfiction works about writing but haven't had much opportunity to read his fiction to see how he puts so much of what he writes about into practice. Block started writing in the 1950s and remembers the old pulp magazines of the day and contributed to some of them as well before heading more firmly into the direction of novels. The man's written many novels and short stories over the course of his career -- which has been a fascinating one. 

One of my ongoing research projects was inspired by the writing philosophy of Dean Wesley Smith and it hearkens back to the old pulp magazines of the early to mid 20th century. Many writers were prolific and had long careers. Their stories inspire me just as they inspired Smith. One of his recommendations was a book, an auto-biography of one pulp writer detailing his career writing for the pulps up until he went to Hollywood to write for film and later television. Writing in 1967, nearly the end of his life, Frank Gruber's book, The Pulp Jungle, was a very quick read for me and I find myself wanting to read it again just to absorb the hard realities of making a living off fiction back in the 1930s. Very illuminating and informative. I've got to add this one to my library, I think. 

With so much writing and publishing facts floating around, I needed a slight departure and found a book called Agnostic: A Spirited Manifesto at the library. As of this writing, I just finished the book. While I don't speak of it much here, I have a deep and abiding interest in spirituality, philosophy, and religion. In the pages of this book by Lesley Hazelton, I found much that resonated with me personally and insights that I hadn't considered. I won't go into it much more than that, but if such subjects interest you, I highly recommend her book.

I have to say that even with so much going on here, I find it's necessary to get caught up in a good book. That fact is at the heart of my writing and one of the main reasons I am a publisher too. 

So on it goes. I hope to get back here sooner, but I at least wanted to put down a monthly post. The writing is coming back up and I hope to share more of that with you in coming weeks.

Update Of Sorts

It's been over a month. I haven't updated much on the goings-on here in my little corner of the universe. It's been a busy time and a time for continued reflection on what happens next. I've been looking at what it is that I've been doing as a writer and what I would like to do. There are differences. In some cases, big differences.

What is at issue is more than writing. It is what else in my life takes up the limited time each of us has day by days. The matter is deciding what to prioritize. That can be tough when there are so many possibilities. I've grown busier and honestly my priorities have been changing. I've been looking harder at what I'm doing and what sort of projects I'd like to do and find more options out there than I ordinarily let myself see. 

I'm a publisher. That's taking more or a front seat and I'm glad for it. But, there are other things too. I've always been something of a creative sort and that hasn't been limited to writing. Making art is a much broader description. I know this but I haven't lived this enough. So that's changing. I'll been informing on more than just writing.

As a writer, I've been very narrow on what sort of work I've been doing. Naturally, some would say that it makes sense to focus on a particular style of writing or a genre. There is some merit to that thinking, but it isn't always right. So, I'm moving past it, and becoming more experimental. Fantasy and science fiction are still important to me as modes of expression, but I want to see what else there is. I want to come more in line with where my tastes have grown.

I'll be trying to update on the goings-on as they go on and inform the interested on works completed.

So there it is.

And Write, And Write, And Write...

Okay, I get it. I'm taking this writing thing too seriously. I know I didn't start out that way. I remember writing short little stories when I was kid on my Dad's electric typewriter. I was swimming in sci-fi and fantasy visions even then. I can still remember the hum of the machine, the heavy striking of the keys that sent hammers out to cover the page of paper with letters, and inevitable use of the whiteout function. My dad brought home scrap paper that I used to tap out the little stories when I wasn't filling them with scribbles and pictures.

There was no thought for plans or hashing out details of career building. I  mean, I was a little kid. I was having fun playing with the typewriter. I was using my fertile imagination to create. I rekindled that  fun years later when I started messing with comic book writing. I wrote a short story in school. It was the only one I wrote and finished. Nothing more came of this thing called writing until I had consumed a fair amount of fantasy fiction. I am talking Tad Williams, David Eddings, and, yes, Robert Jordan. Epic stuff.

I started a novel and, a long time later, I did finish it. I've told that story enough. I've done tons of freelance writing, including articles and ebooks. I've written lots of short stories. I've written nonfiction and fiction books. The point is…I have been writing. I keep writing posts about how I'm having so much trouble writing, but I have produced a body of work. Am I meeting some self-imposed expectations? No. No, I'm not. And you know what? That is really okay. Or at least it should be.

I keep setting these goals and laying out expectations that I consistently fail to meet. Why do this? I reason that I need some level of organization if I am going to be consistent producing work and then finding paths to publication for the work. That's the more sophisticated thinking that I've picked up listening to other pro writers and since I became publisher.

But, I've misplaced the fun parts. I've got to recover the fun parts. So, I will keep writing.

Back On The Horse…Or Yep, I'm Writing Again

Seems like these points where I end up spending much longer away from writing fiction are coming pretty regularly. Maybe they're part of my process. The honest point to make is that it probably has a lot to do with procrastination. (I know, shocker right?) Anyway, I'm back on this blog writing something of an update.

First off, I don't have any new stories finished so I can add those to the list. However, I am working on a book. In fact, I could say that I'm working on two books. I've even put tracking meters up to show the rate of my progress on these two novel projects. Does this mean I'm not writing shorts or I've given up the challenge? Short answer: Nope. Not quitting. I'll get those stories done.

I'm just trying to get firing on some new work and thought it would be nice to have the meters up here for some form of accountability. Or just for fun maybe. I definitely don't want to do if it isn't fun.

I'm working on books. I might even have  nonfiction gig ramping up soon. I'll have to see what the client says when I present estimates. I like doing the co-authored work. It's fun to stretch myself as a writer. Part of that stretching surely happens when delving once again into the kind of nonfiction subjects I've written about before but I'd also add that I plan stretching in fiction as well. Particularly genres. But, that's all further down the pipeline.

Well, that's the update, folks. I'll catch you later. My collection of short stories Other Realms: Volume One  will be out very soon so I'll put something up about that in the next week or so.

Pondering Nonfiction's Place In My Career

I've not been writing fiction lately.

Instead, I've been reading and thinking about the kind of writing I want to do going forward. I've also been thinking about the nonfiction books and freelancing I've done in the past. As any one can see by clicking on the Nonfiction tab at the top of the page, I've done a few nonfiction books. These titles were paid project that helped in establishing my publishing company.

Lately, I've been thinking about writing nonfiction again. I've also been presented with the possibility that I'll be doing another paying gig for a book. No details there but it is in the works, so to speak. My reading habits have leaned more heavily towards nonfiction for years now. Such tastes were acquired through serious theological studying and reading on religion. (In truth, many of my tastes remain embedded in these same subject matters, but I've added plenty of history and other subjects too.)

I've written one nonfiction book, a short one, that I don't claim too often since my views have changed so much since writing it. At the time, I wrote it under a pen name. It's still out there for sale, but not selling really.

Still, I have contemplated writing nonfiction. Essays mostly. I got as far as general subjects and titles, before I backed off the project. Writing about religion can be difficult. It's one of those subjects that doesn't endear you to certain  readers and can be controversial. It's one I'd probably write under a pseudonym, or some variation of my name, just to keep it separate from my fiction work. It's a possibility though.

In other areas, I think I'd like to do some other nonfiction work just to learn about the subjects. Call it a form of self-education program. Whether any of these ideas will be beneficial to my career, I can't tell. I've said that I want to focus on fiction and building a career as a fiction writer, but I have to admit to myself at least, that I'm more than a fiction writer.

To those who actually read my fiction, do not fear, I will continue writing. Storytelling is an art form I do wish to improve in. The only way to do so is by practicing it.

Looking Back On 2012

Now that it is December, I'm in a reflective mood and am looking back on what I accomplished this year as a writer. I've published a great deal this year. It is, by that measurement, my best year to date. I've achieved success. I have much to be proud of both as a writer and as a small publisher. For this post, I'm choosing to focus specifically on what I've gotten out there as a writer.

Short Stories

I wrote/published several shorts as ebooks in the early months of this year. As has been my habit, these are mostly works of fantasy. I had a lot of fun stepping into the realm of the short story late the previous year. It was a move I was spurred to take when I discovered the writings of Dean Wesley Smith and his wife Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Both were long-term writers who had a very no-nonsense take on writing and the publishing industry. They were also among those pros who had started exploring the new world of publishing that was developing due to the introduction of the Kindle and the explosion of the ebook industry as a whole. I owe them both a continuing debt of gratitude. 

Here are the short stories I published (All are available on Kindle, Nook, and via Smashwords for most e-reader file types):

January 9: The Swordsmen Of Calabray; January13: Land of Broken Dreams, Fall Of the Witch-King, A Previous Engagement, Agent Of Change; January 14: Ghosts Of America; January 16: Five Stories: Volume One; February 4: Five Stories: Volume Two; February 10: Whispers In The Dark; February 24: The Oracle Of Sadeer; March 2: Chasing Demons; March 3: The Shaldar's Pride; March 17: Five Stories: Volume Three; March 23: A Perilous Fight

Nonfiction Books

I also published three nonfiction books this year. Two of them (Remember The Ride on January 16 and Kicking The Odds on April 11) were contracts I had to get other people's stories into book form. They were great experiences. The other, On The Path on February 16, was a collection of posts from this website that collected some of my insights as a freelance writer. It was released as an ebook only. 

I learned a great deal from transforming the notes and ideas of real stories or helping my clients shape their ideas or experiences in ways that would work best within the book form. I know that I would like to do other books like this. I also know that I will write nonfiction books of my own again. There are so many ideas worth exploring that my biggest problem will probably be choosing between them and spending the requisite amount of time to organize such thoughts and ideas into a cohesive structure so that I can write a book that makes sense. 

Fiction: Novels and Novellas

This year marked the debut of my solo long fiction works. While last year's co-authored venture, Autumn Sky, was a nice entrance, I think the release of my first completed novel, my oldest work, Cries Of The Faithless on June 16, was a very big milestone. It was the realization of a dream for me. It allowed me to move on to other novels and other works of fiction. I do hope to return to the world that story takes place in, I also hope to share some of the other stories that have been stewing inside.

I followed up the release of Cries of the Faithless with the novella, Helioclypse on June 26.

During the rest of the summer I completed and published the novella, The Cursed King, on August 4, and my second full-length novel, A Kingdom Of Shadows, was released on September 11. 

I've started some novels and novellas but none of them have taken hold so that I can write them to completion. There was been plenty of internal distraction in this writer's life but with any luck, I can get on a new track to adding to my portfolio of finished books and stories. My hope is that fiction will be one of the largest factors in my future output. I would be tempted to call 2013 the year of the novel,  a productive year wherein I will produce nothing but new novel-length manuscripts and keep myself busy with publishing them. I won't make any firm pronouncements. 

My readers can be assured that I will keep you updated on the various happenings. I have a good feeling about the new year.