Good evening, squiders! I just have a quick cover reveal for you today! Introducing The Hedgehog Dilemma by Armanis Ar-feinial!
This is a two-book collection, which you can find more information about (and purchase) here!
Hope your July is off to a good start!
2024 still sounds like a science fiction year to me. Oh well.
Sorry for the delay in getting this posted, squiders! I got back from a long trip on Wednesday. I’d originally planned to pre-write and schedule a post, but the subject I was going to post about didn’t come to be (I’d hoped to finish my revision before we left, but alas–still a chapter and a half to go), and then I thought I’d just post when I got home (*laughs in jetlag*), and then I thought I’d post Thursday or yesterday, but oof, real life is taking some adjustment.
BUT HERE WE ARE
The end of June looms, so I thought I’d take a quick look at what how I’m doing for the year versus how I thought I’d be doing.
(Oh, as for SPFBO, as of RIGHT THIS SECOND, Hidden Worlds is still in the running. Fantasy Faction, which is the blog I was assigned to, hasn’t done any cuts yet, though some of the other blogs have.)
Oh, first, in celebration of SPFBO, Hidden Worlds is free at both Smashwords and as part of the Enchanted Escapes bundle at Prolific Works, if you want to pick a copy up!
So, goals and such. They look something like this:
So far, we’re here:
All in all, we’re doing pretty well!
I did spend some time pondering publication earlier today. With Turtleduck Press closing, I don’t have a market for my novellas that I have control of, unless I self-publish them, which is an option. But with TDP I got two rounds of editing that anything I do myself will be lacking.
Nothing to do about it right now, and we can see where we are when I have something new ready.
How are you doing, squiders? Having a nice summer? Hitting your goals?
Happy Wednesday, squiders. How are you?
This month WriYe’s prompt is: Define your biggest distraction and how you deal with it.
Ha. Haha.
I don’t necessarily have a specific distraction that draws me away from writing. What I have is a mindset issue, where I self-sabotage.
The self-sabotaging is frustrating on many levels, because it stops me from being as productive as I would like, and also the things I self-sabotage with are usually stupid things that aren’t worth my time.
(Some things that I do instead of what I am supposed to be doing: scroll memes, play repetitive flash games or Minesweeper, watch YouTube, read fanfiction, color on my phone app, troll tumblr and/or reddit and/or AO3, etc.)
(Each of these activities are fine if you want to do them and/or plan to do them, but when I do them they are almost always a procrastination technique.)
Now, arguably, some of the self-sabotage does stem from me over-taxing myself. I work and I have the small, mobile ones to raise, and often I am just tired, and sometimes despite the best intentions I simply do not have the energy to do whatever creative thing was on my list.
BUT I would argue that that is not the main problem.
Another part of the self-sabotage is avoidance. Let’s say I have to make a phone call I do not want to make. (I have no idea why phone calls are so anxiety-inducing. And I’m fine with them in general, but if it’s something weird or something that may have an unpleasant aspect to it, I have a really hard time working up to doing it.) So I need to make this call, but I don’t want to, and so I don’t, but I also can’t do anything else useful with my time because I feel guilty about not making the call, and so I procrastinate the hell out of everything (and then invariably by the time I work up to the call, the place has closed).
But some of it definitely stems from from…burnout? Self-doubt, like we talked about last week? Something where I am like “what is the point, no one cares, no one likes my stories and I am never going to get anywhere” which is frustrating on its own.
Sometimes I can just power through these moods, sometimes I can trick myself into it for a short time. Timers helps (work for so long, take so long of break), as do to-do lists. It helps if I just kind of stay in my own lane and don’t look at what sort of attention other people are getting. (What is the phrase? Comparison is the death of…? Hold on. Comparison is the thief of joy.)
But, man, if people have suggestions, I’d love to hear them.
How about you, squider? What’s your distraction?
Good morning, squiders! I meant to say last week (and didn’t) that I’m going to be moving to a once-a-week posting schedule for June (and maybe July, but definitely June). Now you are aware! Hooray.
I went to two sessions as part of my writing retreat a few weeks ago. The first was on beating self-doubt, because I have run into issues where I avoid opportunities because of fear or imposter syndrome or, to be completely honest, just being tired of not getting anywhere.
The other was on plotting because I just find people’s writing processes fascinating. (A couple of interesting bits there that I might give a go, but nothing mind-blowing. Also I did think we were going to go over different ways to plot instead of just hers, so I misread something somewhere.)
The self-doubt one I went to because it felt relevant, and also there was the promise of getting trolls. (I named mine Giuseppe. Why? Who knows.) It was run by Corinne O’Flynn who in addition to being a bestselling novel is also an entrepreneur coach.
As part of the session, Corinne led us through a thought experiment. Basically, you pictured your goal(s) on the top of a hill, but when you head toward the goal, there’s a river in the way that’s too big and deep to cross. But a little ways down, there’s a bridge.
But when you try to cross the bridge, a troll appears and blocks your way.
Corinne’s point was that the troll is a defense mechanism. It’s there to stop you from getting hurt, because reaching for your goals will expose you to failure, and maybe other bad things like ridicule or depression. This troll echoes back all your doubts to convince you to not go on.
Now, as part of the thought experiment, you were supposed to be able to talk your troll into supporting you, to change its negative messages into something positive.
I couldn’t do this part. I still have nothing. Not encouraging, whoops. Everyone else in my group did not have a problem with this so I assume it’s something with how my brain individually works.
But I did find the exercise useful, and I did come out of the session with some thoughts on how to push through my own self-doubt, and some ideas on how to increase my confidence, and a pretty good idea why I find it harder now to be as productive as I was in my 20s (basically, it boils down to being more easily discouraged now, whereas when I was younger I hadn’t really faced any criticism or failure when it came to writing, and so thought I could do anything).
What do you think, squiders? Do thought experiments work for you? What would you name your troll?
Hidey-ho, squiders! It’s been four days since I’ve been home from my retreat, and I gotta say, I miss the level of productivity I had going for me. I got through four chapters and about 15K words, which means I might actually finish the entire draft this week!
I have been working on this revision for over a year, so you have no idea how freeing that idea is.
So, my retreat went from Thursday to Sunday morning, and each day was basically divided up into three sections. Well, Friday and Saturday were, I guess. Thursday you could arrive between 1 and 6 pm and then there was a meet and greet after dinner, and Sunday we had breakfast and then needed to be out by 10:30 am (I had to leave a little early because the larger, mobile one’s Scout campout was getting back about an hour before I expected them to).
So basically, there was breakfast, then a session from 9 to 12 that could be used to go to one of the classes or write on your own, and then another from 1 to 6, and a third after dinner which in theory could go forever (though they looked the doors at 11 so you had to be in the correct building at that time). The classes were nice too, in that they averaged about an hour and a half, so you still had time outside them to write in that block.
But it went great. I met a lot of other authors and had some really good conversations, and outside of meals I didn’t especially have to (and didn’t) interact, which is good, because by Sunday morning I was feeling pretty peopled out even though I was having a great time and enjoying everyone’s company.
I was very productive and I feel good about what I got done, though I did end up just working on the revision. Once I got going it seemed silly to derail my momentum, and I can work on new story ideas in a few months between other projects, when it might be more logical.
And even though I was productive, I didn’t just work the whole time. I got up early Friday and Saturday to go to yoga, and I’d say I spent most of the morning sessions working and half the afternoon sessions. I also read a book, walked the labyrinth about eight times, went for an impromptu hike (and got rained on), explored everywhere I thought I was allowed to go, played some Minesweeper, and took a couple of naps. (The evening sessions were kind of hit or miss. I did work a bit during them, but in general my focus wasn’t great.)
I went to two of the classes, which we’ll talk more about next week, and the meet and greet, but otherwise I stuck to writing.
I guess my one complaint–two complaints–would be that there wasn’t a lot of great places to work outside my room. There was a desk in my room, kinda small and with a support bar to knock your shins against, that I mostly worked at, and I also worked in the conference room after a class once (when I was working on a new chapter and didn’t need my papers with me) and in the lobby once (paper editing, so just papers and pen). But while there were lots of chairs, there weren’t a lot of tables. There WERE tables outside, but they were those metal ones with the holes in them, and it kept raining. (Saturday afternoon I figured out the code to the other building and cruised through it, and the basement had some nice spots to work in, but at that point it seemed like a lot of work to drag all my stuff out of my building and across the way.)
The other complaint is that we kept running out of coffee, though, honestly, that’s probably for the best.
Anyway, I highly recommend this sort of thing. I’m already making plans to go to the one next year.
Ever done a retreat, squiders? What did you think?
Morning, squiders! My retreat was EXCELLENT, highly recommend.
Today I’ve got a steampunk novel for you! Steampunk is always so interesting to see in books, because so much of it is a visual medium.
Steampunk
Date to be Published: June 7, 2024
Publisher: Changeling Press
Replete with all the trappings of an alternate world — airships, steam powered aircraft, automatons, moon bases, and witches with psychic powers — Cressida’s Agents is a steamy thrill-a-minute ride in a universe of what could have been.
Cressida Troy, after being mesmerised into betraying humanity, is now the wife of Mon Ilson, the alien leader, and is crowned Empress of Space. While pretending to be the love of his long-life, Cressida is desperately seeking a way to redeem herself, and somehow save human civilization from destruction at his hands. Then her former fiancé, Jacob, is captured and brought to the moon. Can she earn back his love, or has her seeming betrayal hurt him too much?
Meanwhile on Earth, Marjorie, in the guise of brothel madam and casino owner is acting as an agent of Mon Ilson. Her goal is to learn from him the secret of immortality, and for now she must do his bidding. A violent assassination attempt on her airship Fortuna brings her into the strong arms of handsome Squadron Leader, Sir Christopher “Kit” Colby. Her attempt to uncover the mastermind behind the plot leads them both into deadly danger.
About the Author
Aussie Mikala Ash used to be a mild-mannered training & development consultant by day, and a wild sci-fi and paranormal adventure writer by night. Now she is a brazen full-time writer and nature photographer who is concentrating on having among other things, “… bags, and bags of fun!” Mikala can be found on Facebook and on Twitter.
Contact Links
Publisher on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok: @changelingpress
AH
I’m very excited. Fingers crossed that this is an excellent experience! I’ve decided to go with the combo revision/outlining idea that I talked about last week. I kind of feel like this is the both of best worlds–I make progress on my revision, which is the smart project to work on, and I can work on creating some new stories to work on in a bit.
Do I feel a little bad about not writing at the writing retreat? No. It’s more I feel like I should feel bad, but in the end this retreat is for me, and I can do what I want.
Also, technically the revision IS writing, since I’m working on new parts and rearranging the old parts, and retyping/rewriting everything.
(Also, on the off chance that I get an amazing idea and get it to the point where I could start writing on it, I give myself permission to do so.)
Not quite ready, though. A lot of logistical things need to be done in the morning, and I’m beginning to wonder if I didn’t leave myself enough time.
Oops.
Anyway, wish me luck! (and remind me not to forget my yoga mat)
HA! What are the odds?
(I still am not sure about what to work on at my retreat next week. Leaning more toward a combo of revision/idea planning but haven’t given up on outlining something new to work on. Still, I would need to have some free time. Yesterday was the last day of school and was full of ceremonies, but maybe today I can spend some time on it.)
This month’s WriYe prompt is: Plan out your ideal writing retreat. Who would you invite? Where would it be held?
I’ve done maybe two writing retreats previously. One was for Nano in, oh, 2019? I booked a room in a local hotel for one night, ordered in food, and banged out 9000 words (which caught me up). That’s probably your most basic of retreats. Not necessarily sustainable in the long run.
The other time, I went up the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park for a night. That was a group, and we wrote for several hours (and potlucked dinner), and then I went to bed while everyone else went ghost hunting. (My stance on ghosts is that I Do Not believe in them, but I would prefer not to have that worldview challenged.) I don’t remember what I was working on then, but it was probably about 10 years ago.
And, of course, there’s this one next week (less than a week from now!), which has 33 people going and lasts for a few days.
Requirement #1: Someone else must feed me.
I cook dinner almost every day, and while I don’t mind it (it’s relaxing, sometimes, and definitely healthier), it’s such a treat when I don’t have to cook. Any perfect writing retreat for me is going to give me food. Ideally it would be healthy and delicious.
Requirement #2: Built-in Breaks
My focus is not necessarily the greatest thing ever. I can and have written for hours straight, but that is definitely not the norm. And the longer I “focus,” the worse my focus gets. (Like, if I write for an hour and a half straight, and try to keep going, the more breaks I’m going to take to check Discord or something, or stare out the window, or poke at my phone.)
I know this about myself. At home I set timers sometimes–write for so long, take a ten minute break, etc. because I know if I try to force myself to work for too long, my brain is going to rebel. So having a couple hours of working time, and then something else, like a meal, or a walk, or a nap, would be best.
Not too many breaks, though, or nothing get done.
Requirement #3: The ability to isolate
Can I write together with other people? Yes. Is this the most productive way to work? Sometimes! That’s the whole reason “write-ins” exist. If people are focused and writing, it acts as a form of peer pressure, a “they’re working, so I should work” sort of deal.
(I recently learned about a concept related to ADHD called body doubling–though I can never remember what the concept is called and have to search every time I want to tell someone about this–where the ADHD person sits with someone else, which helps them focus on their own tasks. This is essentially the same thing.)
But I’ve also been at write-ins where we spent an hour talking about Star Trek, or laughing over something on the Internet, or coming up with elaborate lore that had nothing to do with anyone’s stories.
So sometimes it’s better to go off and work on your own (provided you will actually work and not scroll memes), and the ability to choose would be helpful.
Requirement #4: The ability to go outside
Not to work, necessarily. I actually don’t like to write outside. It’s hard to see the screen, or your paper blows around, or it rains on you, or you get distracted by squirrels…
But I love to go for walks, especially through the woods, and having the ability to go out into nature for a bit is very beneficial to me. I’ve been on non-writing retreats where I kind of burn out on people and being inside, and going outside (by myself) always helps.
So, yeah, an outdoor environment that I can sit in is super great.
People or no-people?
I’m not sure on whether my ideal writing retreat would be me, out in a cabin near the forest, where someone brings me food a couple times a day, or whether it would be better to be with a group of people in a retreat center or something (out near the forest).
If you’re alone, there’s less distractions (in theory).
With other people, you can benefit from the body doubling we talked about above. You can network and make new friends. When we started talking about writing retreats here a few months ago, that’s what I wanted out of one the most (which is why we started with conferences and moved on to residencies before ending up at retreats).
But other people can also be a problem. If you don’t gel with the other attendees, or if people keep interrupting you, or if people are actively malicious…
I may have to go to this one next week and then make a final decision on this front.
What about you, squiders? If you were going to a retreat (not necessarily for writing, but for anything), what would your perfect one look like?
Hiya, squiders! How are you? The last week of school is kicking my butt here, even though I thought I put enough reminders everywhere to not forget things (I forgot a camping meeting with the smaller, mobile one’s troop leader–which was a one-on-one–and just got a text from a parent putting together a video for the bigger, mobile one’s teacher that I also completely forgot about, wheeee).
Yesterday I did a video interview for SPFBO, hosted by the lovely Katherine D. Graham. It’s been a long time since I’ve done any sort of video anything (I think the last one was when I moderated a virtual editing panel for MileHiCon in…2020?) and I succumbed to my nerves more than I would have liked. Ah well.
My writing retreat starts next Thursday! My spouse promises me all the logistics of the mobile ones are taken care of, so I’m trying not to stress out too badly about that. The retreat should be fun. There’s some optional seminar type of classes throughout the day, some of which sound useful, and yoga every morning (the older I get the more I appreciate yoga), and plenty of writing time (especially if you don’t go to all the classes).
But I find myself with a conundrum. What do I work on while I’m there?
The retreat is four-ish days, with several writing or class blocks throughout. (Thursday has seven-ish writing hours, Friday has nine-ish but also potentially the most useful classes, Saturday has nine-ish as well as a brainstorming session, and Sunday has about one and a half)
That’s a lot of writing time! I could potentially get so much done.
Basically, it comes down to three options:
I suppose I could also maybe do a combination, where I work on my revision part of the time and do something else the rest of the time. Hm, decisions, decisions.
I just want to make sure that I’m using this time the best I can. I don’t often get a chance to just buckle down and write, and who knows when the next opportunity will come along.
What do you think, squiders? What would you do?
Howdy howdy, squiders! How are you?
The big news of the week is SPFBO (Self Published Fantasy Blog Off), which is a year-long competition. 300 fantasy books go in, 10 finalists are selected, and 1 book wins (and some of those have gone on to receive traditional book deals because of the competition).
I’ve been aware of it for, oh, eight years, I want to say? I think I originally found it about when City of Hope and Ruin came out, because I remember mentioning it to Siri, and we’d missed the deadline for the year. Every so often I remember it exists and check up on it, but because I am flighty and there’s fifty million things that you should, in theory, keep up on as an indie author, I am not normally on the right trajectory to participate.
BUT NOT THIS YEAR.
This year, a few months out, I put a to do on my to do list app (I use Todoist for long-term things and Microsoft To Do for daily lists) to get ready for SPFBO. I read the rules several times. I downloaded an epub of my book off Smashwords, and found a copy of the cover.
Traditionally (this is the tenth year of the contest), the first 300 entries get in, so you have to be primed and ready at the right time. But this year they operated on a lottery system, where you had 24 hours to enter, and then they selected the 300 out of those. Lovely! Less stress, except for the stress of whether or not you’d be selected in the lottery.
(Which, to be fair, was a lot of stress.)
But I made it in! And then promptly fretted for two days about whether I’d messed something up and would be disqualified before the contest even started.
Oh. I entered Hidden Worlds.
The contest rules say that a book can be entered, no matter how old. Hidden Worlds was a launch title for TDP at the end of 2010 (though I had published an earlier version that needed some help, in 2009) and it is my oldest book (that’s not an anthology). But I never truly gave it a book launch, because of imposter syndrome and a bunch of other silly reasons, and so, despite it being my highest rated book, and the one that I’ve gotten the best reviews on (including a 5-star review from Reader’s Favorite), it hasn’t ever really had any reach.
(Mark, who runs the contest, put up a list of the five oldest books. Hidden Worlds is the second oldest.)
From what I understand, SPFBO is great for visibility. My hope is that this fun little book finally gets the love that it deserves. I don’t expect it to be selected as a finalist or anything like that–it’s up against a ton of other great books–but if I could get 100 or even 50 new eyes on it, or a dozen new reviews, the contest will have made it for me.
(Of course, there’s always the possibility that it gets eliminated immediately once the contest officially starts on June 1. The reviewers don’t HAVE to read all their books. But fingers crossed!)
Wish me luck, squiders!
