Trade Camp Secrets
"Campfire" by Temarinde, originally posted on Deviantart.com Here
It's been one of those weeks. The days fill up with appointments, activities, and long-overdue visits. Errands have to be run. Bills have to be paid. Other aspects of business and collaboration require attention. Before you know it, it's already Friday and you realize, "Crap, I only got a few more pages written this week."
Secret #1: It's ok if you don't get a lot written, as long as the reason is that you took time off to regroup or had other responsibilities. Something is better than nothing, true, but sometimes it's just hard to squeeze more time out of a day to accomplish something. You have limits as a human being. Time and space are two of them, and that's ok. It's not worth beating yourself up over it. Burning yourself out on the process isn't going to do your art any good either. Just get back to business when you can and don't feel the need to make excuses for it.
Secret #2: It's when you're actively avoiding writing that you need to take a step back and evaluate what's causing that desire to not write. Sometimes we hit a wall. Sometimes there's so much background chatter and outside stressors that getting into a creative space is difficult. Sometimes we write ourselves into a corner or hate a scene so much that it's easier to just avoid it than to try and fix the issue. Take that step back. Try and look at it from a different angle. If you're stuck on point B, try looking ahead or working on point C, D, or even Z. The more you know about where you want your story to go, the easier it is to tie all the points together. Also, sometimes taking a break and doing somethingelse completely different for a while will allow you that "Ah HA!" moment you need to break through a barrier.
One of the activities that took me away from the computer for an evening was the dinner I had with a former coworker of mine. We were case managers together for a mental health facility (though she had the rougher version of the job than I did, no question). I had a fantastic time catching up with my friend, talking about our current adventures, and reminiscing a bit about our prior work together. One of the things we both agreed on was that, in spite of our current career paths, our education and training in human services and psychology have been invaluable to our day to day lives. If I knew then what I know now, I'd probably have gone ahead and double majored in English, but I'm well past bemoaning the "psych degree I don't actually use." As it turns out, I use it constantly, just not in the capacity I originally anticipated.
Secret #3: Use the skills you already have, and build up the skills you feel or know you're lacking. It's very rare that a writer is going to nail every aspect of the process in one go. That's where your Alpha and Sample readers come in, to help you identify what parts need to be strengthened before you move forward in the editing process. If they're doing what you need them to, they'll give you feedback on what's working, what's not, and what might be a better option. Don't take it personal, use it as a sculpting tool, and balance what they suggest against your overall vision. At the end of the day, it's still your story. A little ego fluffing and encouragement is fine, but that's not really what their purpose is.
Secret #4: As I've read through the reviews for Ash to Ashes on my Amazon page, I've seen a recurring theme that multiple people have commented on - people really like my characters and character development. Score One for team psychology. My background makes it a basic practice for me to look at people a little differently and deeper than typical. What quirks do they have? What are their strengths and weaknesses? What motivations bring them to the story? How do they speak? How do they interact with people? Are they the same with all people or just specific people? What highlights can I give to convince the readers to view a character more or less favorably, and is there a reason I would want to? How much of their background is relevant to the character as they appear in the story? How would it appear in the context in which they are written? There are plenty of other traits to look at also because, bottom line, the characters are people who exist in your story setting, not just tent posts to hang your plot from. People are dynamic, and deep, and super messy, but it's worth it to get beyond the superficial layers and find out who they are if you're going to introduce them to your readers. Otherwise your characters are just more words on a page and they aren't really serving much of a purpose.
As I come into the end of this week, I admit, I'm disappointed I didn't get further with Book 2 than I had hoped. But, I'm not going to let it bother me. There's still plenty of time. Next week looks significantly better for productivity (in this regard), and I have plenty to be thankful for that went well this week.
Secret #5: Be kind to yourself. Do your best always, but be careful not to burden yourself with ridiculous expectations. You deserve, no, you NEED time off. (Believe me, I learned that one the hard way after several harsh lessons.) Get the sleep. Eat the (healthier) foods. Do the fun things. Because a creative mind needs these things to grow, expand, and remain pliable. You can't make art with broken pencil nubs and dried up old paints. Likewise, you can't write when you don't keep your mind sharp and properly fueled. Stay healthy and stay creative.
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Updates:
Tuesday ended the super birthday weekend sale for the e-book. I've got some ideas on when I might throw up another sale like it, so stay tuned if you missed this opportunity or have a friend you want to get in on the next deal.
Matchbook will remain in place indefinitely for Ash to Ashes at this point. So if you buy (or bought) the book on Amazon in paperback, the kindle edition will be crazy cheap for you.
Jack Voraces continues to make progress recording and editing chapters for the audiobook. Some very exciting results are coming from that project that I'm looking forward to see come together. Kent Willmeth is wrapping up a third concept art piece for me as of this weekend. I'll start revealing what he's done probably next week, and I should have them going to the printers in time to take to TopCon September 9th if not sooner!
