Tag: Frustrations

Some new thoughts on productivity

I’ve been thinking a lot about writing and productivity, mostly because I seem to be struggling a lot with it lately. With nanowrimo just starting, this is a pretty topical thing to blog about, but I also want to look at it from a long-term career perspective, since that’s what I’m personally more interested in.

As writers, when we spend all our time procrastinating or fail to meet our word count goals, we tend to beat ourselves up and frame the problem in terms of a lack of self-discipline. If only we had greater will power, we could buckle down and pound out five or ten thousand words a day like those super-prolific authors.

While there’s definitely something to say for raw self-discipline, though, I think there’s another dimension to writing productivity that we tend to miss. Not all writing-related activities are productive–and not all non-writing related activities are totally unproductive. In order to make the most efficient use of our writing time, I think it’s more important to understand and respect our individual creative process than it is to merely force ourselves to produce more words.

To better understand my own creative process, I took a little time to group every writing-related thing I do into four different categories:

  • Writing activities
  • Fill-the-well activities
  • Publishing chores
  • Procrastinating

WRITING ACTIVITIES

This should be pretty self-explanatory. It’s basically all the stuff that leads directly to a finished manuscript. It requires the highest amount of energy and produces the most important content.

Activities in this category include:

  • Writing new material
  • Making substantial revisions (putting in and taking out)
  • Updating chapter and scene outlines

FILL-THE-WELL ACTIVITIES

This is the non-writing stuff I do that helps me to be more productive when I switch back to the writing activities. Basically, it’s the stuff I do before and after I write that helps me to maintain a creative momentum.

Activities in this category include:

  • Reading
  • Blogging
  • Catching up on blogs
  • Listening to podcasts
  • Doing mindles chores
  • Going on walks
  • Exploring new places
  • Watching movies
  • Playing RPGs
  • Talking with friends
  • Reviewing first reader feedback
  • Writing character outlines
  • Making book soundtracks

PUBLISHING CHORES

This is all the professional stuff that I have to do, which may feel productive while I’m doing it, but actually takes time away from the stuff I should be doing. I still have to do it, but I should waste as little time doing it as possible.

Activities in this cateogry include:

  • Ebook formatting
  • Producing cover art
  • Writing blurbs and book descriptions
  • Writing author’s notes
  • POD typesetting
  • Handing financial stuff (royalties, invoices, etc)
  • Researching the publishing industry
  • Processing copy edits
  • Sending out email newsletter

PROCRASTINATION

Again, pretty self-explanatory. This is the stuff I shouldn’t do, but end up doing anyway in order to avoid stuff that feels like work. It’s all the stuff that I need to cut out entirely if I want to maximize my productivity.

Activities in this category include:

  • Minecraft
  • Alpha Centauri
  • Any other game that I can’t stop thinking about
  • Checking ebook sales numbers
  • Dicking around on Facebook and Twitter
  • Browsing the Kindle Boards
  • Watching TV and Youtube
  • Minecraft

So now that that’s done, what next?

I’m still figuring this part out, but I think the best thing to do would be to put as much distance as possible between the stuff that boosts productivity (writing and filling the well) and the stuff that doesn’t (publishing chores and procrastination).

The way I see it, there are basically two ways to do this:

  • Physically separate the activities. Do all your writing on a machine that’s disconnected from the internet and doesn’t have any games installed, and do everything else on a separate computer.
  • Set aside blocks of time specifically for writing. Organize your schedule so that writing is a priority, while acknowledging the need to take breaks and refill the creative well.

I can’t really do the first one while I’m here in Georgia, but I definitely can do the second. So far, I’ve found that waking up early to start the day with an hour of writing helps me a ton to build and keep momentum. However, I need to do a better job setting time aside in the afternoon, both for writing and for refilling the well. If I don’t, I usually end up procrastinating by default without realizing it until it’s too late.

So anyhow, those are some of my latest thoughts on writing and productivity. What are yours? Does this square with your experience, or is there a better way to think about it that I’ve missed?

Still here, wherever that may be

Wow, it’s been forever since I’ve been active on this blog.  I guess living in the developing world will do that to you.

It’s not that I don’t have good internet access, it’s that the places where I can get it are often noisy and crowded, with a fair amount of cigarette smoke.  By the time I’ve checked my email, caught up on all the blogs I follow (or at least the interesting ones), and generally finished screwing around done everything else I need to do on the internet, I’m pretty wiped out.

I’ll try to write my future posts offline, like I did in Jordan, so all I have to do is copy and paste.  I can’t really do that with Trope Tuesday posts, but for everything else, it shouldn’t be a problem.

In any case, I’m still here–wherever “here” is.  Currently, it’s Tbilisi.  I came out for the weekend to pick  up a package from the USA…I was hoping to get the new kindle paperwhite, but instead got the case and adapter.  Turns out the actual device is shipping out next week–I’d say it’s a disappointment, but I’m actually just relieved to know that it wasn’t lost in the mail.

Things are going well out here in Georgia.  The village kids are a lot of fun to teach–I basically feel like a rockstar whenever I’m at the school.  It certainly helps that I give out stickers left and right every time someone actually does their homework.  Whenever I pull them out, the kids say “smiley!” and go crazy.

But yeah, even though I enjoy being out here, I figure it’s time for a change.  Like I mentioned in the last post, I’ve accomplished just about all my goals for coming out to Georgia, which mostly had to do with trying out a TEFL career and seeing if it’s a good fit.  I think it is, so I plan to go out again after a few months, but I want to come back to Utah for a while to see some old friends, spend time with family, and recharge before the next big excursion.  That’s the plan, anyway.

As far as the writing goes, things are going, but slower than I’d like.  I’m only in chapter two of The Sword Keeper, which is kind of frustrating, but I think I’ve overcome most of the hurdles and now it’s just a matter of buckling down and doing it.  I definitely think I can have this novel finished before the end of November, which would make it my second novel for the year (third, if you count Star Wanderers I-IV).

In terms of publishing, though, things are looking great.  I found someone to proofread Star Wanderers: Sacrifice, and she should be getting back in the next few days.  If all goes well, it’ll be up on Amazon and Smashwords by Monday the 29th.  Star Wanderers: Homeworld is also getting close–I just need to get the feedback from my first readers and figure out where to go from there.  If there aren’t any major issues, it should be up by the end of November.

I’m debating whether to splurge on the cover art for the omnibus, and if so, who to ask to do it.  This series have a very different feel from my Gaia Nova series, even though they both take place in the same universe.  Not sure what to do for the illustration, or who to ask to do it, but that’s still a few months down the road.

That’s about it for now.  I’ll end with a few shots that my friend took in Prometheus Cave, one of the coolest sites out here in Imereti province.  Imagine about a mile of caverns, brimming from floor to ceiling with formations like these:

Later!

Update on STAR WANDERERS and other projects

So I’m back in Kutaisi again, recharging my netbook battery due to some chronic electricity problems out in the village.  Seriously, I think I heard a transformer explode this morning.  Anytime it rains, you can prettymuch expect a blackout here in rural Georgia.  Hope for the best, plan for the worst–but that’s the subject for another post.

Anyhow, here’s where things currently stand with Star Wanderers:

Part III: Sacrifice is almost ready for publication, and will hopefully be up in a few weeks.  I’m just waiting for  some feedback from my first readers, to make sure there aren’t any major problems.  I made some pretty big changes to the story after getting some helpful feedback I got from my friend Laura, so I don’t want to put it out until a few other eyes have seen it in its current form.  Of course, I’ll need some help with proofreading, so if anyone wants to exchange services (proofreading or formatting), just shoot me an email.

As for Part IV: Homeworld, I’m currently wrapping up the 2.0 draft and should have it finished by the end of the week.  I’m really excited about this story, especially the ending I have planned and the way I want to bring together all the threads from the first three parts.  You know that moment when a story just comes together naturally, without being forced or anything?  Yeah, that’s what I’m experiencing right now.  It’s awesome.

So the plan is to publish Star Wanderers: Sacrifice (Part III) sometime in mid-late October, and to publish Star Wanderers: Homeworld (Part IV) sometime in November.  As with parts I and II, they will both be free via Smashwords for the first two weeks to subscribers of my email newsletter.  To sign up, fill out the form in the sidebar ——–>

This isn’t the end of the Star Wanderers series, of course.  I’ve already completed the first draft of a parallel novelette to Part I: Outworlder from Noemi’s point of view.  I’d also like to do stories with the other characters, like Samson or Mariya.  And of course, there’s the omnibus for parts I-IV, which I’ll probably release early next year.  If you’d like to see a story from any particular point of view in this universe, let me know–I’m always open to new ideas.

In the Gaia Nova series, I’m hoping to publish Stars of Blood and Glory by January.  I’ve been in touch with my copy editor, and things are looking good for a 2012 release.  I need to make another quick revision pass first, which I’ll probably finish in October, and then we’ll see about getting the ball rolling.

So that’s where things stand right now.  I’m happy to see that sales are trending up on all the platforms where I’m published, which means that I can reinvest more in new titles and put them out more frequently.  And my teaching schedule here in the village is pretty light, which means I have lots of time to write–that is, when we actually have electricity.  And even when we don’t, there’s always pen and paper.

That’s just about it for now.  My battery’s almost at 100% and it’s starting to get dark, so I’d better go.  See you all later!

Form rejection and WOTF closure

So I finally got an email from the Writers of the Future contest.  It reads:

Dear Entrant,

Your story has now been judged and did not win or place in the 1st quarter. Even though you have never had to wait for results in order to submit for the next quarter, this hopefully gives you incentive to submit again. The more often you enter, the better chance you have of winning, and improving  your skills.

I do urge you to join our forum if you have not already, or subscribe to our judge, David Farland’s newsletter. Lots of great tips at both locations to help you.

I do hope you are already working on that next story and do let me know that you did get this e-mail.

Best regards,

Joni Labaqui

I’m not going to lie: it’s a pretty disappointing way to end an 8+ month wait.  But when you’re a writer, rejection is just a normal part of the business.  I was hoping to get at least an honorable mention, but oh well.

Stories are fundamentally subjective: what might work really well for one reader might not for another.   The important thing is to write the best stories that you can, and to send them out into the world until they grow into their audience.  I still feel confident that Star Wanderers represents some of my best work to date, so I plan to make it available as soon as I can.

I’m flying back to the States on Friday, but Part I is already edited and formatted, so I’ll probably publish it over the weekend.  In the meantime, I’ll finish the first draft of the complete novel somewhere between Tbilisi and New York.  That’s one good thing about the long wait–it helped me to finish the story and work out some of the kinks before publishing it.

So yeah, the WOTF rejection is a bit of a setback, but at the same time, it’s also quite liberating.  All I really wanted was to get this story out to the readers, and now I can finally do that!  If you like my other stories, I think this is one you’re really going to enjoy.

Expect to hear more about it soon!

Still waiting…

So the finalists for the first quarter Writers of the Future have been announced, but there hasn’t been any word on semi-finalists or silver HMs and probably won’t be until the winners are announced.  I can’t really publish part I of Star Wanderers until I hear back, so that means more waiting.  Grrr…

In the meantime, I’ve been finishing up the rough draft of the full-length novel.  I’m currently on the last chapter, probably about 2k words from the end.  Maybe I’ll finish it tonight…who knows?  I’m currently in Tbilisi, traveling over the weekend, but I’ll see what I can do.

This will be the seventh novel I’ve completed, including one that I trunked and two that I haven’t published yet.  There’s a weird sort of feeling when you get to this stage, like coming to a turning point in your life as one phase ends and another begins…it’s difficult to describe.  Since I really am at a turning point like that in my life, perhaps my view is a little bit biased, but I do feel like finishing this novel is having something of an influence.

I could ramble on for a while, but I think this is as good a place as any to stop.  Besides, I want to get some writing in.  I’ll leave you with this photograph:

This was when I knew I’d fallen in love with Georgia.

Taken today on the train ride from Kutaisi to Tbilisi.  These are the Lesser Caucasus Mountains…I’m not sure what the name of the river is here (there are maybe half a dozen of them) but the view is pretty awesome.  Seriously, it’s like a thickly forested version of Glenwood Canyon from the States.

Good stuff.  More on Georgia later–but first, I have a novel to write.

Some quick news

So I figured I should post something here and give you guys an update before the next Tuesday rolls around.  I’ve been neglecting this blog, but that will soon change, inshallah.

Last night, I was on pins and needles waiting to hear back from Writers of the Future.  We’re almost overdue for the winners / finalists announcement, and my story has been “on hold” for about a month.  What that means, I don’t know exactly, but I haven’t been rejected yet and it looks like…

…no, I’m not going to jinx it.  In any case, they told us the results would be out before the end of the month, so whatever happens, it’s going to come soon.  I hope.  GAH!!!

In other news, I read an amazing novel this week, quite possibly the most perfect novel I have read so far all year (and that includes War and Peace, at least the first two thirds of it).  It’s called Ali and Nino, and it is basically Romeo and Juliet of the Caucasus.  Except…it’s so much more than that.  So much more.  Expect to see a glowing review in the next couple of days.

In other news, I have decided to put Into the Heart of the Nebula on hold for a while, and to focus instead on a new project…which I can’t really talk about because it’s connected to that writers of the future story.  GAH!!!  But it’s really, really awesome–seriously, one of the better stories I’ve come up with–and I’m really loving it so far.  Except writing has been slow the last couple of days, for stupid reasons that would only bore you.  Point is, things are finally heading in the right direction.

Speaking of which, I’ve earned enough money through my ebook sales to commission a new cover for Bringing Stella Home.  I got in touch with Hideyoshi, the illustrator who did the cover for Genesis Earth and Desert Stars, and he’s really excited about this one.  After seeing the first sketch, so am I!  Not much else I can tell you, but you can expect to see some really cool artwork in the next few weeks.

Tomorrow is Georgian Independence Day, which means a giant military parade about fifteen minutes from where I live.  And the opening of the new Parliament in Kutaisi.  It’s going to be big.  But it’s late right now, and my host family is about to hit the sack, so I’d better cut things short and get back to writing.  With luck, I’ll put in another thousand words on the awesome unnamed project before going to bed.

Good night!  Or, as they say in Georgia, ghame mshvidobis!

Up to my elbows in book surgery

That’s probably the best term for what I’m doing with Heart of the Nebula right now.  Basically, I let some of my darlings live, and they grew some extra limbs and started drooling acid without my realizing it.  But now, I’ve put enough distance between myself and the first draft that I have no qualms about grabbing the axe and chopping off heads.

Don’t worry; this is all a normal part of my creative process.  Maybe someday, stories will burst fully formed from my head like Athena from the brow of Zeus, but for now, my ideas are a lot more like baby turtles–if I’m lucky, one or two out of a dozen will actually reach the water and survive.  Protip: don’t follow the lights.

Speaking of ancient mythology, I’m reading the Argonautica right now, and I can’t help but notice that it would make a really, really, REALLY awesome science fiction story.  No, seriously–think about it.  A group of legendary heroes sets out on an epic voyage in search of some applied phlebotinum macguffin, have all sorts of adventures on strange and distant planets, get the girl to fall in love with the captain, and bring her back with them to their homeworld.  It would also work well as a heroic fantasy, but space is so much more awesome.

Incidently, Kutaisi was the capital of ancient Colchis, where Jason and the Argonauts came seeking the golden fleece.  People still speak of Medea as if she were a real person–generally, they think she was a dirty traitor who sold out her own people.  But people still enjoy the love story, and if you keep your eyes open you can see restaurants and hotels named after her.

So yeah.  Ancient Greek mythology + science fiction = win.  You can definitely expect to see some more of that in my own writing in the future.

In other news, I recently did an interview on fellow indie author Ty Johnston’s blog.  In it, I talk a little about my travel writing, what draws me to speculative fiction, my favorite number (hint: it’s 12), and my insights into the ancient Mayan calendar and the 2012 apocalypse.  It was a lot of fun–you should definitely check it out.

If you would like to host me for an interview on your blog, shoot me an email!  I’m always up for stuff like that.  Otherwise, I’d better roll up my sleeves and get back to hacking up operating on my book.

Managing time and mental space in a foreign country

Some of you asked for a writing update, so I figure I might as well do a quick post on my current projects and where they are.  I’ve also been experimenting with my daily schedule a bit, so it would probably be good to blog about that as well.

Right now, the main project taking up all of my attention is the 3.0 draft of Heart of the Nebula.  It’s a direct sequel to Bringing Stella Home, and continues the story from James McCoy’s point of view, five years later.  I’m making a lot of changes, toning down the romantic subplot and emphasizing the more interesting social and ethical issues.  When I’m through, I think it will be completely different from the first couple of drafts, but in a way that’s truer to the spirit of the first book.

I’ve only been managing about 500 to 1,500 words per day, though, which is abysmally low compared to my usual word count.  Part of that is because I’m throwing out entire sections and drafting new ones from scratch, but the more significant part is that I don’t have as much mental space for writing as I did back in the States.

Basically, moving to a foreign country and starting a new career has taken a lot more out of me than I thought it would.  I teach 18 lessons per week, some with as many as 30 or 35 kids, across grades 1 through 12.  Culturally, everything is completely different too.  So far, the shock hasn’t been too bad–I really love it out here in Georgia–but it’s made the writing a little bit more difficult than I’d expected.

I have a lot of free time, though, so that’s not a problem: the problem is clearing my mind and keeping the creative juices fresh.  Here’s how I’m going to do it:

  1. Limit internet time.  As tempting as it is to turn to the familiarity of the internet, it’s a huge time-suck and doesn’t really do anything for the culture shock.  A much better thing for that would be to spend more time reading.  From now on, I’m going to limit myself to one internet session per day, no longer than 2 hours (more if there’s something I actually need to do).
  2. Get out more.  I get cabin fever very easily, and it’s only gotten worse now that I’m in a foreign culture.  Fortunately, there are tons of places to explore, and in my local neighborhood I’m kind of a celebrity (hey look, it’s the American!  Let’s chase him and shout ‘hello’!).  The prime time for this is the late afternoon, when everyone’s out and things are still open.  If I check the internet right after school and get out immediately after, I think that will help me better to focus.
  3. Get up early to write in the morning.  I tried this last week, and it was a great way to get focused and build more momentum.  Even if I only manage a couple hundred word, it gets me thinking about the story for the rest of the day, which makes it easier to pick up in the afternoon and evening.

So that’s the plan for now.  My goal is to finish Heart of the Nebula before the end of May, which is going to require a significant change of pace.  It should be pretty straightforward, though, and after this draft it shouldn’t need too many more revisions before it’s ready to publish.  If all goes well, I foresee a publishing date sometime in the fall or winter.

Do you have any other ideas for ways to manage creativity in a totally foreign culture?  If so, I’d love to hear it–that’s my biggest struggle right now.

Q1 2012, or what writer’s angst looks like

Actually, this last quarter wasn’t quite so bad as the title might make it seem.  For the first part, I was on roll, writing almost 25k new words a week.  But then I finished that project, started a new career, moved to the other side of the world…yeah, my writing took a hit.  Or at least, that’s how it feels.

In January, I was working on Stars of Blood and Glory, and was really on a roll.  The application process for TLG was still pending, but I pretty much knew I was getting in, and since I was staying with my parents until it went through, I didn’t have to worry much about money issues.  With lots of writing time, I finished SBG in about 6 weeks and published Journey to Jordan.  Life was good.

After Stars of Blood and Glory, I went back to Star Wanderers, finishing up Part II and starting Part III.  However, something felt wrong, and I didn’t really know what it was.  With my TLG departure date imminent, it was really hard to focus, and I wasn’t in much of a position to move on to anything else.  That’s when the angst began.

I flew out to Georgia on February 15th, did a week of training in Tbilisi, and then was whisked about 220 kilometers away to Kutaisi.  As a consequence, I didn’t get any real writing done for almost a month.  However, I didn’t have any major challenges navigating the new culture, and was soon settled pretty comfortably.

The trouble was, nothing was working.  Star Wanderers was broken, and I was too close to the project to fix it.  But after putting it on the back burner, I didn’t know what to do.  For most of March, I switched from one project to another.  Nothing seemed to stick, though, and by the end, I was getting pretty antsy.

What if I’d made a mistake to come to Georgia?  What if that was the reason nothing was working?  It sounds silly now, but that was what was going through my mind.  I still worry about it a little, but I think it has to do more with my creative process than anything here in Georgia.

I have a very non-linear way of writing first drafts.  After starting the revision for Heart of the Nebula and making some good progress on that, I got an idea for Star Wanderers and moved back to that.  At this point, I think the only way to get productive again is to finish that project, even if it sucks.  I’ve got a lot of great ideas for other stories, but until I can close the book on this one, I don’t think I’ll be able to make much progress.

So that’s where things stand right now.  All in all, it wasn’t a bad quarter, but I’ll be happy when I’ve actually finished something for a change.  Hopefully, that’ll only be a couple of weeks.  In the meantime, I’ll keep writing.

Trope Tuesday: New Year Has Come

Just like a story, every year has a beginning and an end.  For this reason, New Years has become a time to celebrate change, renewal, and the setting of impossible goals which we will all probably break by March.  Over time, this tradition has become so ingrained in our culture that it’s only natural for it to pop up in our fiction.

Most stories that feature a New Year subplot are episodic, such as cartoons, comics, anime/manga, and television shows.  They usually reflect real-world holiday traditions, such as the practice of setting New Year’s resolutions.  Because all stories need conflict (but also because fiction sometimes reflects reality), the characters in these stories are often just setting themselves up for failure in some hilarious way.

At first glance, this might seem depressing.  After all, if most of us will never reach our goals, why do we even bother setting them?  Why torture ourselves with guilt when, in all likelihood, we’re just setting ourselves up for failure?

In some ways, I think it comes down to this quote from David Gemmell:

May all your dreams come true save one; for what is life without a dream?

One of the things that makes us human is that we all need to have some impossible dream to strive for, some sense of hope for the future.  Through our New Year’s resolutions, we tap into that sense that anything is possible, and that we can change who we are and become better people.

For some of us, those resolutions are an effective tool to turn their lives around.  For those of us who lack that kind of will or self-discipline, the act of setting resolutions still helps us reflect on our lives and change in ways that perhaps we don’t immediately perceive.  After all, the truest measure of success isn’t whether you’ve accomplished all your goals, but how much you’ve changed through striving to meet them.

That’s my take on it, anyway.  In any case, a New Year’s story is a great way to give your characters some time for reflection, since it’s probably the most introspective holiday in our Western culture.  It’s a time for beginnings, endings, and chasing impossible dreams.

Happy New Year!