Blog – Kit Campbell Books

Card Story Part 8 (And Retreat Thoughts)

May Books: 5/5 (How to Write Romantasy and Shadow and Bone)

June Books: 0/4

Hi-ho, squiders! It’s now June, and it feels like it came out of nowhere.

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A note reading: I don't know what you mean but I had to anyway, it was so dark.
I found the door but it's locked. If I knock on it, will you hear?

A note reading: Not sure--we're not supposed to be near the door during the day

A note reading: Let's try. I'll cut out of math tomorrow. Say 10:30am?

A note with "I don't" scratched out, and then reading: Okay

A note reading: OMG something knocked back
Please tell me that was you

A note reading: I wasn't sure you'd be able to hear

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I don’t have nearly as many purple cards as weird hole cards, which might become an issue, depending on how long this goes. Always a bit interesting, storytelling through a restricted medium.

ANYWAY.

My retreat happened! We were at a new location this year, as the one last year failed us. Pros and cons. It was up in the mountains, so I went on a lovely early morning hike Friday morning with barely anyone else in sight, and the views were gorgeous. But we were just one group on a larger property, so it was much louder and logistically a bit overwhelming (such as during meals). And there was a giant group of teenagers–like hundreds of them–who were everywhere all the time that didn’t help, and in some cases facilities we tried to access turned us away because of said giant group.

Honestly, I’d go back to the old place in a heartbeat. I’ve got a survey in my email that I need to take and which I should. The old place is apparently under new management, so maybe all can be fixed.

You guys don’t care about logistics.

I made friends! That may have been a side effect of the new location. The past two years I’ve been social during meals and a few designated social times and then disappeared into my room or wherever to write. I’ve always tried to mix up who I sit with so I can make a larger swath of acquaintances, but it does mean I haven’t particularly clicked with specific people (though it does mean that I know and am friendly with a good majority of the group at this point). (I did make a friend last year who unfortunately lives on the other end of town and had to cancel coming last minute this year.)

I did do that to some extent this year as well, but because we were just mixed in with the general populace, sometimes it was just easier to be like “I recognize and like this person, so I’m just going to sit with them.” But I feel like I made some real connections, and when I get my life together, I shall reach out to them.

(Why is it so hard to be productive after something like a writing retreat? I’ve gotten nothing done all week.)

Writing was less productive. I did do some writing, and I edited a story off of some editorial feedback and sent it out (very optimistically, only to have a form rejection 24 hours later), and I did do some admin stuff. It doesn’t feel like a lot, but I am trying to remind myself that 1) it is always harder to make more progress if working on multiple things, and 2) the last two years I was there for longer (I had to leave a day earlier because I had concert tickets) AND I was revising, which skews word counts because a lot of the words aren’t new.

(It was an excellent concert.)

I would, of course, go again. But hopefully we go some place quieter.

I’m mostly annoyed about my complete lack of progress since returning Saturday afternoon. School is out. I’ve gained close to an hour and a half of my day back because I don’t have to take children to and from school. Some of our extracurriculars have also stopped for the summer. I have time. But I’m not using it.

Very frustrating.

And, of course, we’re a little over a week out from my week and a half on my own, and I’m worried that I’m not prepared enough, or that I’m going to waste that time no matter how much I prepare. I should be fine, but I’ve just been so tired lately, and I’m worried I’m not going to be able to turn things around.

Anyway.

Hope you’re doing well! See you next week!

Card Story (Part 7, probably) and My Retreat is Today!

May Books: 3/5 (still, I think)

(Look it’s the last week of school and there are birthdays and graduations and also issues with the oldest’s new school–which no one is called me back from–and it’s all a lot.)

(Also I started this post yesterday, sigh.)

I actually made these cards last week and then I finished The Elves of Cintra instead.

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A map of a gym with an arrow going under the bleachers

A note reading: Under the bleachers? But they're always folded against the wall

A note reading: Look or don't, I don't care

A note reading: omg there is a door but it's all dusty and full of spiders under there
And then what? another door?

A note reading: Take a flashlight
There are things that lurk in the shadows

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This section gave me strong flashbacks to a YA horror project called What Lurks Beneath the Bleachers that I originally started as an epistolary project with a friend, and then went on to write both a full first and second draft on my own (with that friend’s blessing, of course). I do hope to go back to it sometime, as it has some of my very favorite characters in it, but it has tonal issues that I need to figure out before I do another draft (it was sometimes a comedy and sometimes a horror, and I did not do a good job of blending the two).

I don’t know what my deal with bleachers is. Though the bleachers in WLBtB were the outdoor ones. Do schools even have outdoor bleachers anymore? They must.

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My writing retreat starts today! (I’ve already gotten a text from the resort welcoming me, which is exciting) I have packed my clothes and necessities but not yet my working stuff (as evidenced from me being here, writing this blog). Also a hiking bag, but my hiking bag is essentially already packed, so I can basically just throw it in the car.

I wish I were more prepared for it this year. I mean, holy moly, am I ready for a few days to myself, but I haven’t really planned out what I’m working on or anything like that. I think we approach it from a reset sort of standpoint–recharge, consider my projects and plans, think about writing in general, plan out the June time period–and otherwise just kind of relax and make new friends and have a good time (and finish my short stories. Hopefully).

And also maybe do some administrative stuff, some minor edits on other stuff, maybe some submission materials for side projects, blah blah blah.

But I’m so excited! Wish me happy creative thoughts!

See you next week, Squider!

Shannara Readthrough: The Elves of Cintra

May Books: 3/5 (The Elves of Cintra)

If you recall, squiders, I finished Armageddon’s Children, the first book of the Genesis of Shannara, in March, and decided it ended cliff-hangery enough that I’d better go straight on to the second book. Here we are, two months later, and I powered through 50% of the book in the last four days, which should tell you how this is going to go.

It should not take me two months to get through a fantasy novel. Not even a 500ish page one.

And, just…look. I’m pretty good, when I’m reading, at turning off the author hat and being able to just enjoy the story. I don’t tend to analyze books as I go.

But what is going on here. From a writing standpoint.

This, and Armageddon’s Children, and I assume whatever the third book is (I looked it up, it’s called The Gypsy Morph), follows two distinct group of people, mainly defined by the Knight of the Word with each group. (Okay, at the beginning of Armageddon’s Children, they were more spread out, and they condensed into two distinct groups.) You have Logan Tom with the Ghosts, a street gang from Seattle made up of children, and you have Angel Perez with the elves (and you guys know how I feel about the elves being handled).

(If you missed my elves rant from the last book, feel free to go and read it, but the gist is that they were introduced badly and the whole thing is lazy and a waste.)

In a book with multiple viewpoints, I expect to jump back and forth fairly regularly between groups of people or viewpoint characters. You know, so as not to forget about other viewpoints and what is happening.

But I feel–and it’s possible I’m incorrect, because as I said, this was a slog and I did not read it very consistently–like each of the two groups had swaths of book where the other group was just forgotten. Like 50 pages at a go, at least. Maybe more. I just…from a writing standpoint, why. Were we concerned that switching more often between groups would disrupt the flow? Did one of the groups have less material, and would switching between them more often have made that apparent?

I’m not sure, but it made the flow of the story feel jerky and uneven.

Also, some of the events in this book feel…not important. I’ve learned the hard way, over the years, that things can’t just happen to have things happen. They have to connect to other events, or show characterization or growth, or reveal important worldbuilding information. And it’s possible that some of these things may be connected to events in the third book, but several of them seemed pointless, in retrospect. There’s a whole subplot about a kid from a different street gang that goes nowhere, and the kid ends up getting killed in what really felt like an attempt to get rid of a plot point that wasn’t working.

So, yeah. It was rough, squiders, I’m not going lie. I am disappointed in the worldbuilding aspects especially for the entire trilogy, because the opportunity was there to do something really cool.

Will I keep reading? Yeah. But I wonder if this disappointment will color later books that I remember more fondly.

I will probably pick up The Gypsy Morph sooner rather than later, though I’ve moved on to a different fantasy series for now.

How are you doing? Read anything good lately?

Card Story Part 6 (I think)

(I should never be trusted to keep track of things numerically. Invariably when I go back through my first drafts I have three chapter 12s and no chapter 9.)

May books: 2/5 (A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping and 10 to 25: The Science of Motivating Young People)

How’s your week going, squider? Mine’s been okay–I finished the first of my five short stories (and they’re all outlined, so I just need to write them) and also got three query rejections.

We’re entering into the last few weeks of school, however, which is a madhouse and may hamper progress going forward. Today, for example, we have a honor roll presentation, an orchestra concert, and a Scout chapter meeting. I am at least on top of my teacher things, for the most part, though I still need to get year end gifts.

(I realized as I was typing the above, that the deadline for some of those gift was, in fact, today, so I’ve taken care of those.)

Still not sure what we’re working on for the writing retreat/June alone time. I hope to at least be done with my short stories before the retreat.

Anyway, on to the cards, which continue apace:

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A note reading: If you don't go home & you don't stay here at school during the day--where do you go?

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That’s it for me for today! See you soon, squider!

Card Story Part 5

May Books: 0/5

How are you, squider? I’ve been relatively productive from a writing standpoint this week (obviously not a reading one, ha), so that’s lovely.

We had a snow day on Wednesday and I couldn’t get to the cards, so we’re running a bit late. (Also I took the pics at, like, 10pm last night so apologies on the weird lighting.)

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A note reading: The forest that surrounds the school?

A note reading: There's not a forest around the school ??

A note reading: Then how do they keep you inside?

A note reading: They don't? Are you saying you don't go home after school?

A note reading: No, seriously, you can just leave? Whenever you want?

A note reading: I mean, you're not supposed to, but I guess you could, yeah

~*~*~*~*~

See you next week!

Card Story Part 4 (and Random Musings)

April books: 3/4 (The Hum and the Shiver)

We’ll do 5 books for May, cuz why not.

It’s come to my attention that I will have 12 days in June to myself. Like, yes, I have to work and all that jazz, but the rest of the family will be off on various adventures and I will be by myself. For the first time in years and years and honestly maybe ever.

(Actually, no, I take that back, there were periods right after college where my spouse would be gone for weeks at a time for work.)

My instinct is to overplan the heck out of those days. That class on music theory I’ve been thinking about taking? A brand new exercise routine? A SCIENCE FICTION SERIES?

Alternately, I’m terrified that I will fall into my worst habits on my own. As I’ve gotten older it’s become more and more apparent that I am probably some flavor of neurodivergent that got missed because I got straight As in school, and I often joke that my family is my executive functioning, but it’s not wrong. My spouse makes sure I go to bed at a reasonable time, and chores and cooking and whatnot have to be done to make sure my children have a functional childhood. On my own I tend to slip into weird hyperfixations and bad sleeping patterns (case in point: my spouse and oldest are away on a campout this weekend, and youngest and I were up until 2 am).

(God, I am so tired. Also I meant to do this blog post on Wednesday.)

But there has to be a happy medium where I don’t get sucked into some hyperfixation for eight hours a day and can do some things I’ve been meaning to get around to. Just got to figure out how to do it.

I’m also going to a writing retreat May 28-30 (it goes through the 31st, but I have concert tickets on the night of the 30th and will have to duck out early). New location, so I don’t know exactly how it will go. But I could in theory do set-up for a big project I start those weeks in June.

Here are possibilities that I have come up with for June, thus far:

Take said music theory class
Spend more time working out (with, like, more of a plan than I’m doing right now)
Eat things that the rest of the family won’t
Start (and maybe complete?) a writing project of some sort

I feel like I had more but I’ve forgotten them at this point. Oh well.

The hope is, though, if I plan out my time, I shall stick-ish to the plan.

Anyway, on to the story. No planning has gone into this either:

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A note reading: What is with you & plants?

A note reading: Oh, so you're talking to me again?

A note reading: What can I say, I'm a sucker for a creepy ass forest

A note reading: ...do they let you in the forest?

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I’m vaguely reminded of a podcast I used to listen to called Tanis. Each episode was full of creepy and occult story bits, but when you stepped out of the episode and thought about it, it didn’t make any sense. Not in a “things are mysterious and aren’t supposed to be perceived by humanity” sort of way, but more of a “we’re making this up as we go and have no internal consistency” sort of way.

So maybe at some point I should figure out where I’m going, but that time has yet to come.

(Also, I listened to four seasons of Tanis, so obviously it worked well enough.)

See you next week, squiders!

Card Story Part 3

April books: Still 2/4 (in the middle of like five books, why do I do this)

Edited that science fiction short I wrote earlier in the year and sent it out to a market, and have been outlining the short stories from my class. But on to whatever these shenanigans are going to turn out to be:

A note that says: What? Cross over from where?

(imagine time passing here)

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Hm, I wonder if I should include the sketches for this in my art goals.

See you next week, squiders!

My Class is Live! (And Other Shenanigans)

April books: 2/4 (The Bookshop of Second Chances)

I finished my interconnected short stories class! It’s live on SkillShare here: https://skl.sh/48HfbY3

Hooray! It’s done! That said, I see SkillShare has, yet again, messed with teacher payments. It used to be that you got a share based on the number of minutes watched per month, but now apparently you have to have at least 75 minutes watched a month before you get anything. So, like, in February I only had 73 minutes watched, and so I got nothing. This seems…scammy. Like, they’re getting my content for free without paying me for it if I don’t meet some arbitrary limit?

This is on top of some shenanigans from a couple of years ago where if you’re not getting enough engagement with a class (people posting comments, projects) they hide the class from new people searching. As I always say, you can’t control other people, so now you’ve got the double whammy of not getting paid because you’re not getting the minutes, and not being able to get found to be watched because they’ve hidden your class.

(At least they stopped deleting classes, as far as I can tell.)

I don’t spend a ton of time on the SkillShare stuff. It’s supposed to be a background thing, a bit of extra income on the side, and I don’t have a huge desire to use up my writing time on marketing it. That’s on me, for sure, choices and all that, but it does feel like it’s purposefully hard to make the platform work if you’re not dedicated to being a top performer. And I wonder if top performers are still making the money they were a few years ago, or if their income has also gone down due to corporate shenanigans.

(Every so often I consider taking my classes to another platform, but none of them work quite the same, and it is easy on the backend on SkillShare. But I spend time on my classes and not getting paid when they’re making money off of them is all kinds of BS, so I shall have to look again and make some decisions. Not right now, though. Summer, probably.)

In other corporate shenanigans, Draft2Digital has announced that they’re going to start charging $12 a year maintenance fees for any author not earning at least $100/annually on the platform. D2D bought out Smashwords and is an indie book distribution system that almost everyone uses. In theory they’re doing it to try and limit the amount of AI slop being put out through them, but once again it’s really only going to hurt indie authors who are already not doing well. I’m not sure I make $100 a year through them. The majority of my sales come through Amazon, and most of D2D’s markets are tiny without much of a user base. Most of the sales I do make through there are to various library systems.

I’ve done some math because why not. If an ebook costs $2.99, you’d have to sell ~56 of them through D2D to hit the minimum threshold to not have to pay the fee. A quick search tells me 90% of indie books sell less than 100 copies. (That may include the AI slop books. I’m not sure.) And I suspect most other indie authors also sell 99% of their books through Amazon, so essentially everyone except those people doing extremely well or those purposefully marketing outside Amazon (and doing extremely well) is going to have to pay this maintenance fee.

Smashwords was completely free aside from their cut of the sales for, like, fifteen years, just saying.

And I know the AI slop is a problem, and I don’t know what the solution to it is, but it does seem like penalizing those not doing well isn’t going to help it.

Whew. That was a lot of Thoughts.

In other good news, I had a story accepted by an anthology! I turned in the contract and edits yesterday and I’m looking forward to seeing the final product.

Next steps moving forward is to actually write the short stories I outlined for my class. I also had some writing friends read the scifi short I wrote at the beginning of the year and provide feedback, so I’m going to do a few edits on that and then send it out as well.

Not a lot of the querying front (I also haven’t sent out queries in a few months due to the Scouting drama) but I have been talking to my SFWA mentor, who has been lovely and very helpful to talk to. If nothing else, it’s good to bounce my feelings off of someone who knows what they’re doing.

Anyway, hope you’re doing well, squider, and I’ll see you later in the week!

Card Story Part 2 (And a Class Update)

April books: 1/4 (nothing new)

Well, squiders, I have finished recording and editing my videos for my SkillShare class. This proved more annoying than necessary as I’ve been using ClipChamp for editing, and apparently it decided to eat the last 20-30 seconds of each of my videos, meaning I had to re-record whole sections in some cases. So now I just need to get the class ready to go in SkillShare and make it live (and hope SkillShare doesn’t find something to be grumpy about) and then the class part is done, and I can focus on writing the stories and doing what I will. It will be nice to see the other end of the videos, which are always the worst part.

I also had a story accepted to an anthology, so that’s fun!

I’m also starting to think ahead. I’ve got my writing retreat at the end of May, and then I’ll have a few weeks all to myself in June as the rest of my family will be at various summer camps. So, in theory, I will have a large block of potential writing time to perhaps start (and get through) a new project. The gears, they are a-turning.

Did more of my card story. Do I know where it is going? I do not.

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A note that says "It is a school, but not everyone is there during the day"

A note that says, "So, what, you're like the janitor? Going thru student's desks? EW"

A note that says "Your desk? What? It's just my stuff inside"

A note that says "Well, things don't always cross over"

See you next week, squiders!

Is This Anything? (Card Story, Part 1)

April Books: 1/4 (The Late Mrs. Willoughby)

As I mentioned…recently…at work I was donated a stack of weird yellow cards with a hole in the bottom. (I did ask various peoples, and the older woman who helps me on Tuesdays told me they were most likely rolodex dividers, as normal rolodex cards would have lines on them for the information.)

(I then realized that my kids probably had no idea what a rolodex even was, as even I have only seen like, two, in my whole life, and they were near the beginning. And I did ask, and yes, they had no idea.)

ANYWAY, I had this idea that maybe I would use said cards in some sort of story, and this week, I’ve started. Except I realized that it would be weird for everyone in the story to be using the same weird, archaic possibly-rolodex divider cards. In the same bag, I was also given purple index cards that are the size of normal index cards, were they cut in half.

So, without further adieu, whatever this is going to end up being: