Posts Tagged ‘novel’

26
Aug

Mid-life Crisis

   Posted by: Michell    in Irreverent Muse

I’ve seen other people have a mid-life crisis where they buy a banging sportscar (note: use of word banging is merely my attempt to feel younger and more relevant) or trade in a spouse for a newer model. My fast-approaching high-school reunion (tomorrow, and no, I’m saying which one) has made me realize that I really need to get onto one of my own and soon. Otherwise, I’ll be retired by the time I actually get around to it.

But, what purpose does a mid-life crisis actually serve?

I think, and it is only my opinion, is that those people who suffer said affliction come to a realization that they haven’t achieved all those things they set out to do when they were young. Some compensate by trying to relive their youth through fast cars, hair weaves, inappropriate clothes (pop collar shirts unbuttoned to reveal your man-sweater complete with heavy gold chain; I mean, really?) or young lovers. Others create the so-called “Bucket list” to work through.

All in an effort to be young and hip and maybe fulfill some of our dreams.

The thing about dreams is, they change. Sometimes they become irrelevant, sometimes more important dreams come up and depose the old ones. We also sometimes learn to refine those dreams from the broad ethereal ones to something more concrete.

Now, having a mid-life crisis isn’t something to do lightly. If you buy the wrong car, or get the wrong hair weave you just look ridiculous. If you get the young lover and actually discover you still love your spouse, you can never go back.

So, rather than move serruptitiously into the mid-life crisis (or MLC as I will refer to it from this moment on) I decided to examine the my goals from when I was young.

Let’s see. I wanted to have super-powers by the time I was twenty. <pats self down> Nope, didn’t get those. In hindsight, that’s probably a very good thing. Considering my low opinion of people who speed through playground zones near my house, my lack of super abilities has meant the continued survival of many evil-doers. Chalk one up to dream unfulfilled.

I have, however, written a book that is going to be published next year about a boy who decides to be a superhero. Maybe the dream didn’t fade after all. I think it was probably just rechanneled to something less destructive.

Um, how about the one where I become immortal? Nope, that one didn’t happen either. Still, I DID write a story about an immortal who lost everything but her immortality and the lengths she went to trying to become powerful again. Not a very nice person at all. Whew! Dodged a bullet on that one.

I wanted a family of my own when I was young. Check. Got one of those, and a great one at that. I’ve also got more friends than I ever thought possible, so I’m very lucky that way. Big checkmark now.

Rich and famous? Nope, but that was never a goal. I mean, who wouldn’t like to be able to do whatever they want whenever they want? Still, it wasn’t something that I ever got too worried about.

That leaves one last dream worth talking about. Being a professional writer.

When I conceived that particular goal, I had no idea what it meant. It was infinitely more probable than getting super-powers or immortality but it was also infinitely harder. We comic book readers know that the first two only need timing and luck. The last one needs luck, sure, but it also requires hard work, perseverence, patience and, well, more hard work.

It also means defining for oneself what is meant by professional.

In my case, I now know I want my work published and generating enough income that I can retire earlier from my current career. I also want to be able to write until I can’t write any more and still expect to see my stuff in print. Anne McCaffery and Terry Pratchett are two of my favorite authors and that is exactly what they continue to do even now.

While I can’t see into the future, I do know I’ve had some short stories published AND I have the aforementioned Boy Superhero novel coming out next year along with some self-published work.

I do believe that dream is coming true.

That can mean only one thing: MLC averted. Sorry Mr. Car Salesman, but please cancel the order on that sportscar.

TwitterShare

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

2 Comments
25
Mar

I have an interview on ‘View from Valhalla’

   Posted by: Michell    in Irreverent Muse

Hello everyone,

One of the things I tout (and spout) all the time is the power of cross-promotion. It’s a great way to find new interesting people/places/things via the ones you already know.

Odin1eye (on Twitter) put out a call to podcast authors to participate in an interview series on his website called “How I do what I do”. It is an in-depth look at how many of the different podcasters and podcast authors create/produce/release their content.

I couldn’t pass it up, so I sent Odin1eye a tweet asking to be involved. He sent me the questions which I filled out and the rest is history. My interview is now available at: http://viewfromvalhalla.com/2010/03/24/michell-plested-how-i-do-it/.

His questions were excellent and really got me thinking about the way (and the why) I do things. If you have any interest in knowing my process for “GalaxyBillies” and/or “Get Published” I suggest you have a read.

And while you’re there, you should read some of his other stuff. He really does a great job reviewing podcast novels and other things.

TwitterShare

Tags: , , , ,

2 Comments
21
Oct

Gird Your Loins

   Posted by: Michell    in About Writing, Irreverent Muse

I know I’ve talked about NanoWriMo before (last week in fact) but let me talk about it one more time. In 10 days NanoWriMo will once again take place. I will, once again, go into battle (with myself) and try to write a 50,000-word novel in 30 days. This will be my fourth year participating and last year I toiled with over 120,000 others.

So what is NanoWriMo?

As you may have guessed, the crux of NanoWriMo is to write a 50,000-word novel in 30 days. That equates to 1,667 words per day, every day for the month of November.

But is that ALL NanoWriMo represents? I think not.

NanoWriMo was started in 1999 by Chris Baty and some friends. They wanted to challenge themselves to write a novel in a month. That first challenge had 9 participants. As I mentioned earlier, last year the number of participants exceeded 120,000. Not bad for only 10-years, huh?

For the past few years, the NanoWriMo staff have worked to help other too. NanoWriMo is a free event, but you, the participant has the option to donate money to help keep the systems running. The residual is used to build libraries around the world, usually in poorer countries where literacy is difficult to attain.

Another program is the young writer’s program. Educators and individual young writers can sign up. For Educators, the NanoWriMo staff provide posters and learning materials to help students.

The Nano credo is “It’s about quantity, not quality”.

That is what NanoWriMo is right now and it is constantly evolving.

I’m guessing that the Nano credo might have caused a few raised eyebrows. After all, if you’re not worrying about the quality of your writing, why bother? There are a number of answers to that.

The biggest single thing I would say to it is, you can only edit what you’ve written. If it isn’t down on paper (or in electronic form) it’s pretty hard to work with.

So what do I personally get from it?

The first thing I got from Nano was the confidence that I can write a book. My first book took me almost 7 years to finish. My second (and shorter novel) took me 3 weeks. Was the second book any good? I’ve had two different publishers interested in it. I believe it will sell. I’ve since managed to write two more Nano Novels and another outside of Nano.

The second thing I got/get from Nano is a sense of community. I have a number of NanoBuddies, some of whom I only talk to during Nano. We share a common bond and I realize that I’m part of something much bigger. That is a very important lesson to learn; writing can feel so lonely and solitary.

The third thing I get from Nano is the mentoring aspect. There are always newer participants who are uncertain about the whole thing. I’m able to give my perspective and help them to move forward in their writing.

The fourth thing is I get another book finished. Yes, it requires editing, but so does every other book ever written. When I am done Nano this year, I’ll have three books in my YA series, “Mik Murdoch, Boy Superhero”. I have been advised by a friend that the big publishing houses are interested in series more than singles. This will give me a better product to sell.

The NanoWriMo staff provide an amazing interface to work with. It helps you to track your writing progress, connect with others and be part of the movement. They provide motivation and cheerleading to keep you going. You get inspirations from your fellows. It is a wonderful experience.

So, in 10 days I will be preparing for battle. I will go in and write my next book and I will have fun doing it (did I mention that my first NanoNovel was the most fun I’ve ever had writing?).  In the process I’ll meet some new people, reconnect with old friends and write like I’ve rarely written before. I encourage you to join me.

You can find out more about NanoWriMo at http://www.nanowrimo.org.

Personal Update

I have been made aware of two YA Novel Writing Contests. I will be entering both. I’m almost almost finished my fantasy novel edits (I will be done by Saturday). It will then be sent to my editor for review. Finally, I will be outlining my NanoNovel. Lots to do in the next few days.

TwitterShare

Tags: , , , , , , ,

2 Comments
Back to top
Get Adobe Flash playerPlugin by wpburn.com wordpress themes