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Month: April 2018

Writer’s Nook

Writer’s Nook

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I’ve been thinking more and more about this writer thing and how to be more productive. Disclosure – the above picture is not my writing space, more of what I envision. My current “nook” is way too crowded and disorganized. It also has multiple uses, the most prominent being where I conduct all of my business for a small company my wife and I run, but that is for another post.

Paul and I seem to do some of our best writing out and about, usually at a coffee shop or restaurant. Currently that is a small locally owned shop near by called The Daily Grind. The owner, Tyler, is very forgiving of our long hours and makes an excellent, well, anything you could want from a coffee house. But I digress. Back to my current office. Every time I look up or over, I see work for the business that is not getting done. Several people have already “complained” that our second book is not further along and I couldn’t agree more. We are 53000 words into the first draft on a 120000 word novel. Not even half way. It seems like we have been stuck at this number for awhile now. One of the reasons is that after writing a chapter or section, you go back and delete your notes. It seems like taking two steps forward and then one step back. My solution is to move all of the business materials into a corner of my wife’s office and do any work associated with the business in there. Before getting your skivvies in a wad, this was at her suggestion. She wants to read book two as much everybody. For those who don’t know, I married up.

My “nook” will certainly not look like the one above – for now at least, but I will hopefully be able to get the feng shui right for optimal wordsmithing. “Shaking the tree boss.” Back to work.

Steve’s RavenCon After Action Report (AAR)

Steve’s RavenCon After Action Report (AAR)

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Paul and I attended RavenCon13 or RavenCon 2018 depending on who you ask. It was the 13th Con held in 2018 if you are wondering. Had a great time and learned a lot from the gathering of misfits and geeks that are the SciFi writers and readers of the world – Rock On! or should that be Geek On? Either way we had a great time. I will follow Paul’s lead and bullet point my takeaways from the convention; with the exception of the first bullet point, they will be in no particular order.

  • I got to meet Chuck Wendig this weekend. If you don’t know his work you should get to know it and buy his books. I’m telling you, he has something for everyone. He is a voracious writer with over 20 novels to choose from. As Chuck says, “Trust me, you really need some Miriam Black in your life.” He is also just a great guy, down to earth, funny, and good to be around. He made himself available to con goers all weekend – either sitting on panels or while walking the halls, he had time for fans and authors alike. We even talked him in to taking a bite out of our novel.

Like I said, get to know him, you will not be disappointed.

  • All of the panels I attended were excellent. All but one I should say – some people take themselves way too seriously and just like to hear themselves talk, but all of the others were well thought out and the panelists were knowledgeable of the information being presented. I will submit to you that if Chuck Wendig, John Hartness and Michael A. Ventrella hosted a panel on the air velocity of a coconut laden swallow, it would be worth attending.

I will take a moment to mention a few of the panels that I thought were excellent. This is not to say that others weren’t, but these stood out in my mind.

  1. Packaging your book to sell – this panel covered everything from software for publishing to Fonts.
  2. Promoting yourself as a writer – covered social media, trends, meta data, all the way to person to person marketing. But first and foremost – WRITE BOOKS! Don’t worry about promoting what you don’t have.
  3. Editing – Yes, you need an editor! At the end of the day, it is your name on the book. Covered story editing, copy editing and line editing.
  • Paul is getting too old to drink a lot at Con’s. 😉
  • This is a small Con so there is a lot of opportunity to engage in a meaningful way with other authors, publishers and fans.
  • The hotel – The Double Tree by Hilton – is an excellent venue; close to several restaurants within walking distance and several more just a short drive away. The hotel food was average and somewhat pricey, but the staff, to a person, was excellent, friendly and helpful at every turn.

Here we are at our book signing.

 

Hopefully next year we will have two more books to sell on the table. Paul’s next book in his Necromancer series will be out and hopefully the next book in The Knights series will also be out by then. Three books look a little thin on the table.

Our next convention will be LibertyCon in Chattanooga, Tn. on the weekend of June 29th. When we receive our itinerary, the panels we will be on and the times of our book signings, we will let you know.

Ravencon 2018

Ravencon 2018

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Paul and Steve at Ravencon 2018

So Steve and I attended Ravencon this past weekend (the 20th-22nd) in Williamsburg, VA, at the Doubletree by Hilton. We had a great time overall and here are a few of my takeaways from the event.

1 – I met Chuck Wendig about 8 years ago. He was a generous, funny, sharing human being then, and success has not changed him. He was the Guest of Honor at the con and was always around to talk with people and offer support, encouragement, and a friendly word. The panels on which he was a guest he attended with amusing stories, useful advice, and a generous dose of laughter. He is a truly wonderful human being who deserves all his success.
2 – On the flipside, there are some people who take both themselves and our little corner of the world (that being sci-fi fantasy geekdom) way too seriously. We attended one panel and left after ten minutes when the panelists took what was essentially a nonsense subject and tried to imbue it with all the gravitas of a discussion on global warming or a seminar on childhood cancer. It’s all make-believe, folks. Treat it as such and have fun with it.
3 – Overall, the con continues to be a small, friendly affair. The one panel aside, everyone was there for a good time and to learn and celebrate their fandom. We picked up several good tips with regards to writing, editing, and promotion. So from that standpoint, it was well worth it.
4 – If you’re a panelist, you’re always going to be on a panel that conflicts with one you wanted to attend. This happened only once this time because I wasn’t on many panels, but it happened. Fortunately, Steve was able to go and take notes, so all was well.
5 – Having a Starbucks and several good restaurants near the hotel is a great thing.
6 – The Misbehavin’ Maidens seem like a good group of ladies and I hate that I couldn’t make it to their concert (again, a panel interfered)
7 – I’m getting too old to drink a lot at cons.
8 – For the most part, sci-fi and fantasy authors are a great group of people who are happy to pay it forward by offering advice, encouragement, and general goodwill toward their fellow writers.
9 – I wish I could have been on more panels and I wish my reading hadn’t been on a Sunday afternoon. That’s when everybody is pretty much ready to leave.
10 – A special shout out to Edward McKeown, Michael Hanson, and Michael A Ventrella for being cool people who are a lot of fun to converse with.
11 – I definitely hope I’m invited back again next year and that I get a chance to do more.

So there you go. Ravencon 2018 in a 500-word nutshell. Next up for me is OutlantaCon in Atlanta. Steve won’t be attending, but I’ll be there with bells on, things to say, and books to sell. Hope to see some of you there.