August Project Report / September Goals

And August 2014 is in the books.

I started out the month by attending some writing sessions at OSFest 7.  Regardless of your writing level, there is always something to learn by attending writers' discussion panels.  During one of the panels, the 2014 Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Colorado Gold Conference was brought up.

I mentioned it to my wife and she thought it looked like something I should attend.  So I was like, whoa, that's why I married you.  I signed up for the conference right away and then redirected my focus to prepare for the conference.

Author Interview: Isaac Birchmier

10 Questions with Isaac Birchmier

How long have you been writing and what got you started?

I have been writing now seriously for two years. Sure, I wrote little fun stories about superheroes when I was a kid, but it wasn’t really until my junior year of high school that I actually buckled down and started developing myself a routine. I have had the dream of being a writer in the back of my mind ever since I learned how to read at age three. But it wasn’t until around thirteen years later when I felt the urge to go to my public library and the first book I grabbed ended up being Finnegans Wake that I decided I needed to make my dream a reality.

Five Links Friday 8/29/14

Hey, it's Friday.  Almost didn't make it, but here are your five links to read over the weekend.

1. Literary agent Carly Watters gives takes an interesting look at something we don't usually ask ourselves when we look for agents: How Writers Can Show Agents They’re Career Authors.

'The Creatures Who Could Smell Sadness' online at Theme of Absence

The latest story has been posted at Theme of Absence.

Click to read 'The Creatures Who Could Smell Sadness' by Isaac Birchmier.

Quick update on novel stuff

I wanted to check in real quick and talk a little about how the current revision of the novel is going.

And you know what? It's going surprisingly pretty well.  A couple of weeks ago, I literally (literally, I tell ya!) wanted to print the whole thing off, so that I could throw it in the garbage, light it on fire, and urinate on it.  I believe that's actually a common feeling writers have when they are working on a major revision.

Author Interview: Melissa Osburn

10 Questions with Melissa Osburn

How long have you been writing and what got you started?

I've been writing since I can remember but have only started seriously writing and submitting stories in the last year and a half. I guess what got me started writing was my love of books. I'd read something and it inspired me to write my own stories. Some of my earlier stories were terrible fan fiction.

What is the best piece of advice you have for new writers?

The West Wind's Daughter online at Theme of Absence

The latest story has been posted at Theme of Absence.

Click to read The West Wind’s Daughter by Melissa Osburn.

Five Links Friday 8/22/14

1. Self-publishing is not easy.  At least not if you want to achieve any measurable success at it. Dereck Haines has some advice in this article: Self Publishing – Not For The Dreamers.

2. Don Yaeger has a great article on the Success blog: Don’t Dodge Your Fears—Channel Them. I couldn't agree more.

Book Review: The Fault in Our Stars

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green


So...where to begin.

I listened to this book in the car, mostly because I'm cleaning up my current YA novel and it's written in a style that reminds me of John Green or other similar authors.

I went in having no idea what it was about.  That's how I listen to YA novels in the car.  I don't even read the cover jacket just because I like the surprise, so I didn't even know that the book was about cancer kids until I started it.

Author Interview: James Sabata

10 Questions with James Sabata

How long have you been writing and what got you started?

I’ve been writing since the day I told my first lie.  That’s all writing is.  Particularly when you become good at lying and actually think it out and make sure it all adds up.  You’re editing life.  I cranked out my first story at the age of eight, with no idea that it was fan-fiction, because I didn’t know that existed at the time.  I wrote my first “novel” at ten, filling every page in a notebook.  My mother is the only person other than me who ever read it.  I’d say that was my first in person rejection letter as well.  I’m not like a lot of other writers.  I never made the conscious choice to write.  It’s just always been there.  If anything, for a few years, I made the choice NOT to write.  The stories were still there so I started putting them down on paper and giving them to people.  Might as well share the demons in my head with others.  Publishing was a choice, but writing never has been, at least for me.

Five Links Friday 8/15/14

Happy Friday.  Here are five writing tip links for ya.

1. Don't you hate it when you get half way through your story and then get stuck?  Here is some advice from Elizabeth S. Craig has some advice for you in her guest post at Writers in the Storm: When Middles Sag.

2. If you write fantasy, you'll be better off if you Know How Your Magic Works.

'After Life' online at Theme of Absence

The latest flash fiction at Theme of Absence is online.  Check out After Life by James Sabata.

Crunch Time

I looked at the calender today and screamed.  Figuratively, of course, as I didn't want to get hauled out of the workplace by the white coats again, but nonetheless, the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Conference only three weeks away.

Last post, I talked a little about the revisions I'd like to make, and I have been working on them.  I've got a much more solid opening scene, but I'm still getting the jitters.  I think it's time I shift focus a bit and dedicate every spare second to working on these revisions.  The last thing I want is to show up at the conference with an imperfect version of the novel.

Novel Revision To Do List

I'm looking forward to the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Conference this year.

I'm less than excited, however, to say that I've got a lot of work to do in the coming weeks before the conference.

At the top of the list of priorities is my novel.  While I do have a completed version of it (and I should since I had been sending out queries) I've decided that it needs more work in a couple of areas. In fact, I stopped querying after listening to The Successful Novelist: A Lifetime of Lessons about Writing and Publishing in the car to work on the revisions.

Author Interview: M.V. Montgomery

10 Questions with M.V. Montgomery

1. How long have you been writing and what got you started?

I’m sort of a born-again writer, having done a lot as an undergraduate, then taking a break for grad school and to raise my kid. I got back into it about ten years ago, mostly by keeping a dream journal, taking notes on what I read, and participating with my students in short exercises.

2. What is the best piece of advice you have for new writers?

The Pearl Driver posted at Theme of Absence

The latest story is online at Theme of Absence.

Click to read 'The Pearl Diver' by M.V. Montgomery

Five Links Friday 8/8/14: Five Cool Authors

I attended OSFest 7 in Omaha last weekend and had a great, educational time.  Yes, only I would go to a science fiction convention hoping to get educated.

While I am a big fantasy/sci-fi fan, my main objective at these types of events is to learn more about writing in those genres.  So with that motive in mind, I attend as many of the author panels as I can.  There were more authors this year than when I attended a few years ago, so I thought I'd share a quick link to the authors that really stuck out or inspired me at the event.

Quickie Book Review: The Successful Novelist: A Lifetime of Lessons about Writing and Publishing

The Successful Novelist: A Lifetime of Lessons about Writing and Publishing by David Morrell


I thought I had never heard of David Morrell until I started listening to this book in the car. Then I realized that not only I, but most of the civilized world was very familiar with him, due to a character he created. David Morrell is the author of First Blood, which introduced the world to Rambo.

Under the Bed (August 2014) Available Now

The latest issue of Under the Bed magazine includes my short story "A Reunion In Cloverbrook."  You can check it out from the publisher's site, and it should be on Amazon soon.

Under the Bed (August 2014).  Available electronically for $3.99.

Writing Confessions and my Goals for August (and beyond!)

I have to look at why June and July weren't my best writing months.  I set some specific goals and just couldn't get them done.  It wasn't like I wasn't writing, but I wasn't working on the right things.  For example, I missed some simple goals such as finishing a synopsis in June and short story in July.

I found myself sending out queries while ignoring some major flaws in my novel only because my habit was to send out a query once a week.  I found myself resubmitting rejected stories without re-editing only because I "didn't have enough time" to read them over again.  I found myself constantly avoiding real writing by browsing listings for anthology ideas and then starting something new and working on it until I got bored and moved on to something else.

Autor Interview: Lela Marie De La Garza

10 Questions with Lela Marie De La Garza

How long have you been writing and what got you started? 

I have been writing for over 60 years, I started my my third grade teacher asked us to write a Christmas story. I'd been reading since I was four and somehow had the idea that every thing I read had really happened and that someone had written it down. But when my teacher gave us that assignment, I realized that stories could be made up, and that I could do it.

Five Links Friday 8/1/14

Five Links Friday!

1. Lolly Daskal tells you What Nobody Tells You About Being an Entrepreneur in the current issue of Inc.  Read this as an entrepreneur, but also read it if you're a self-publishing author, since you really need to think like an entrepreneur to successfully self-publish.

New Flash Fiction at Theme of Absence: Little Yellow Eyes

 The latest story at Theme of Absence is online.

Check out Little Yellow Eyes by Lela Marie De La Garza.