a story about mistakenly writing (and publishing) a novel as a way to take a break from writing another novel
I recently got news that my book (my second novel!) is going to be published by Red Hen Press. I’m totally excited to work with such a great press—I've been following them for a long time, and most recently I loved reading Sugar Land by Tammy Lynne Stoner. But this isn't about me awkwardly showing off about my book and this press, at least not yet. Today I want to look at the process of actually writing a book in the middle of a busy life with family, a day job, side projects, whining, and chronic pain. When a book goes out in the world and you're holding it (or its digital equivalent) in your hands, it's easy to think that writing the book was just this one coherent thing the author had to do, but writing a book is chaotic and confusing and has to somehow fit inside a busy, messy life. And I enjoy (for some reason) analyzing how to jam a writing process into this life. I don't have a magic formula, but I have a process (sorta), and thought it would be fun(ish) to talk about it.
Why Scrivener? (video)
So I made this short video called "Why Scrivener?"... Why did I make Why Scrivener? I've been tutoring people on how to use Scrivener for many years now. I find that it is effective to first show people what it can do and make sure that it addresses something they are struggling with. As much as I love Scrivener, it's not the right tool for every writer or for every writing project. I run through this shpiel enough times in an average month that I thought I'd make a short video where I make the case for Scrivener (and get to say some dirty words in the process). Let me know what you think!
S2-23: Writing About Loved Ones (podcast)
In this podcast episode, I visit with Jackie and Bill again. We discuss what it is like to write about the people we love, and how it affects them. Jackie is currently working on a (second) memoir and I’ve written lots of autobiographical-sounding fiction (along with a few essays). So apparently we can easily bullshit about this subject for over an hour. (I edited it down to 65 minutes.) It was again great to have Bill's perspective so he could chime in on how it felt to be written ABOUT, even in cases that weren’t necessarily flattering. Give it a listen...
On publishing stuff at medium.com...
So I've been re-publishing a few of my published stories on medium.com this month. Medium can be described as many things, but one thing it is... is a site that looks beautiful where people can self-publish their writing. It has been on my mind to do this, because many websites - even sites that post amazing content - are not so pretty. Either they are poorly designed or they have intrusive advertising or something else. I have no grand plans here, I just thought it would be fun to post a few of my favorite stories on this uncluttered site so a few people could read and enjoy them. Or at least if they don't enjoy them - it is entirely my fault. So here they are, in case you want to check a few of them out. Most are quite short...
Creative Sprints (failvid-17)
In this Failed Writer video, I talk about how I chip away at my creative projects. I'm definitely no model for success — every week I consider dumping my novel — but I still manage to keep doing creative projects every week. So here is my tactic, sort of...
7: Never Good Enough
In this episode, I bully my wife onto the show. Listen to her talk about my various failings as a husband. Everything from my failures as a lawn mower-er to my inability to plan trips with the family to our combined attraction for Angel, the brooding vampire with a soul from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. What's not to like?
tctpod-season1-05: Before I was an African-American artist
In this podcast episode, I talk to Harold Johnson — poet, novelist, musician, artist, teacher, editor, and more. Harold is an African-American man who was born in 1930s Yakima, Washington and I really wanted to listen to him talk about growing up in this time and place. It is only one piece to the story of who he is, but a piece I definitely wanted to hear. So I hope you'll join me on this journey into 1930s & 1940s rural Washington...
vid004: The index card treatment
In this video, I get to focus on Kate's perspective on the index card treatment, which is how she lays out index cards to outline her novel. It not only can help with plotting a story, but with detecting patterns in your book. Kate also came up with a fabulous metaphor about a risk with the index card treatment — a metaphor that required all of my bad animation skills. She says many more things that I didn't get a chance to animate, so check out the full one-hour audio conversation for more of her insights. Enjoy!
tctpod-season1-04: The podcast based on the book based on the movie (with Kate Maruyama)
In this podcast episode, I talk to Kate Maruyama. She is the author of the novel Harrowgate, which just came out in September and hit #3 on the Kindle horror bestseller list. Kate and I usually check-in using an ancient telephone contraption, but I tricked her into Skyping so I could record some of the cool things she says about the writing process. Two things we focus on: Kate's background in screenwriting, and her keen editing abilities...
vid003: From start to end
In this video, I dig into Kristen Forbes' process for writing a story or essay. And I vent about my dislike of the pantser/plotter stereotype. (For those who don't know what the hell I'm talking about, watch the video for a quick explanation.) But most importantly, I animate a great story Kristen told about her obsession with Chad Simpson's writing -- a story that I hope you find as wonderful as I did...
tctpod-season1-03: Writing in the raw (with Kristen Forbes)
In this podcast episode, I get to talk to my good friend Kristen Forbes about writing well-crafted pieces that cover emotionally raw material. I really enjoyed speaking with her, and other than the number of times I stupidly say, “Wow!”, I’m pretty pleased with how this conversation turned out. Check out the first two links below to read the two main essays that we reference in the discussion…
Not exactly a village, but it takes quite a few bad asses
[blog post] I'm doing this Creative Turn thing as a solo project. It's an exhausting racket. A labor of love that often feels like it has an emphasis on the labor part. (Don't worry… this isn't going to turn into a request for $$$!) I spend hours and hours in my attic working through the edits of the audio and the video. I'm the one learning how to stumble my way through tools like Final Cut Pro X at night when my family is asleep. I'm the one paying for the site and servers and services to make this thing work. I'm the one who can't sleep, worrying about whether spending all this time on these projects is going to feel meaningful in the end, or if it will kill me. I'm on this sinking ship alone... But that's a dishonest story...
vid002: From head to heart
In this video, I fixate on one particular topic: Scott's quest to turn his second book (a novel in progress) into a deeper story. And more generally: can you turn something formulaic (and in your head) into something deeper (and in your heart)? ...
tctpod-season1-02: The second big thing (with Scott Sparling)
In this podcast episode, I talk with Scott Sparling about the challenges of writing the second book. We talk about bringing a work-in-progress into your heart when it wasn't born in the heart. We talk about the egomaniacalness of comparing your work to the Beatles. We discuss the pros and cons of having a deadline for your writing project. We discuss bad book sales, writing in tree houses, stones on the beach, delusions of grandeur, depression, tenacity, stubbornness, and masturbating while writing. Enjoy! ...
17.5% less sucky
[blog post] The week that John Gruber and Merlin Mann linked to my video tribute of their SXSW conversation, I started (temporarily) getting 8,000 hits a day on my website. As opposed to the previous 50 hits a day. I don’t count these things too closely, but it was a shocking change. Why am I telling you this? Well, because numbers are tricky...
vid001: Marinating with Joan Didion and Telaina Eriksen
In this video, I fixate on two cool topics that came up during my conversation with Telaina Eriksen: 1. Writing in the moment vs. letting things marinate; 2. Putting your thoughts within the context of a particular scene. I take an under-educated stance on why Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking worked so well. I also find a way to stick my kid’s precious stuffed animal (Shaggy the Jaguar) into the video...
tctpod-season1-01: The depressing episode (with Telaina Eriksen)
In this podcast episode, I get to talk to my friend Telaina Eriksen about how she is able to write about grief and death in her essays. I first met Telaina in 2008 when we both were in the Antioch University low-residency MFA program. I’ve been wanting to ask her about how she gets to these difficult places in her writing for a few years now, and this so-called podcast thingy gave me the chance. Join us for this delightful romp through grief and loss and death.