Sunshine Blogger Award

I was presented with the Sunshine Blogger award by Victoria (you can read the post in question here). This award is to recognize any blogger whose content has shed a ray of sunshine into your day, even if only for a moment. Below are Victoria’s questions and my responses!

1. If you dress up for Halloween, cosplay, or other less commonly accepted occasions, describe your last two costumes.

Last Halloween I updated an assassin outfit I’d been adding to over the years. I added leather bracers and pauldrons as well as several hand-carved knives to the latest iteration. Before that I cosplayed as Zero, the Assassin from Borderlands 2 at a convention a few years back. Took me almost 6 months to pull that costume together, but toooootally worth it!

2. What movie or tv show would you consider a guilty pleasure?

Kung Pow: Enter the Fist. It is probably the dumbest movie I own, and I still find it hilarious every time I watch it.

3. If you could live in any fictional world (whether it’s yours or someone else’s creation), where would you live and why?

The world of Avatar (The Last Airbender/Legend of Korra), hands down. It speaks to my love of real world martial arts as well as my fantasy loving side. I’d love to help rebuild the air nation, see the world, and help connect the human world with the spirit world.

4. You’ve been imprisoned for high treason and have been sentenced to death and there is no chance that the governor is going to call. Describe in detail your last meal.

Crispy, homemade fried chicken, macaroni and cheese using my family’s recipe, biscuits and gravy…and now I’m hungry.

5. Answer one of these or both: Name your favorite Doctor on Doctor Who. Name your favorite James Bond.

Well I’ve never watched Dr. Who *prepares to dodge stones and bricks being hurled*, but I gotta go with Sean Connery.

6. If you could choose any piece of music or song to be your theme song, what would it be?

After nearly an hour of going through my music library, I’ll go with “This is War” by 30 Seconds to Mars (that answer will probably change every few weeks).

7. Concerning sleep, do you consider it a wondrous thing that you just can’t get enough of, or are you one of those “I’ll sleep when I’m dead” people?

I have a complicated relationship with sleep. I sleep with a mask attached to my face to keep my airway from collapsing while I sleep (insert joke about airway being too lazy to carry its own weight), so I’m more concerned with the quality of sleep than the amount.

8. Has any character that you’ve created ever done anything that took you by surprise?

Yes, two examples come to mind. To give details would be spoilers, but one has shown more plucky determination (earning a larger part than I originally intended) and the other followed his/her convictions to extremes that I thought were “over the line” for the character.

9. Describe something from a movie, book or tv where you would have written it better.

I’m actually drawing a blank on this one. There are a few things I can think that I would maybe change or write differently, but that’s due to my personal preference rather than it being “better” per say. (Cop out? Maybe, but I’m tired)

10. Are you a shipper? If so, name some of the ships that you love. (For example, if you watch the Flash and you think Barry and Caitlyn should get together, that means you are shipper for SnowBarry.)

Not really, but I’m not heavily into romantic plots/pairings in my genres of choice (harder sci-fi/fantasy). I feel that most of them tend to be a distraction at best, and forced at worst.

11. Sentence fragments. Love them or hate them?

I love them, because people don’t think in full sentences. (Although I’m biased since I’m writing in the first person). But I feel like well paced fragments can convey a frantic, interrupted or urgent tone very nicely.

And now I’m supposed to come up with 11 random questions myself.

1. If you were challenged to a duel to the death tomorrow, what would your weapon of choice be? (That you actually have and could bring with you, sorry, no lightsabers unless you’ve invented one and not shared it with the world)
2. What’s the most memorable compliment you’ve ever gotten?
3. Do you have any funny nicknames? If so, what’s the story behind it?
4. If you could have any super power, what would you pick?
5. If you had the above power, what would your hero/villain name be?
6. If you could be famous for one thing, what would you want to be known for?
7. What’s the last book/tv series (or season) that you finished?
8. If you could take a week away from life and money was no object, where would you go?
9. Do you have any tattoos? Or want to get any?
10. In the last week has there been a song stuck in your head?
11. Early bird or night owl?

And now I am forwarding this award to my fellow bloggers below:

Paula Simons of Beyond the Blue Coat

Katrina June over here

A. B. Penner over yonder

Phoebe Darqueling at For Whom the Gear Turns

J. K. Harrison at The Alchemy of Words

(You’re supposed to tag 11 other bloggers, but most of mine were stolen by Victoria)

It’s Dangerous to go Alone…so don’t

The more I look back at where I was when I started writing my work in progress, the more I think “wow, how did he last this long?” But seriously, I’ve learned so much in just five months of being signed. Trying to relay all of it is far beyond the scope of a single blog post, but I will say the most influential aspect of the experience so far has been having a team.

Generally speaking writing a novel is a solo event. There is no baton to pass, no jerseys to wear and no bench to warm. As far as I was concerned you sit in a room typing until you come up with a finished novel (I now see the error of my ways). So when I was signed to a publisher and introduced to the other authors I was a) intimidated (because these people were waaaay more qualified than I was in my mind) and b) a bit annoyed/anxious that I was expected to interact with other humans. Then just as I got comfortable with the team of creators the company opened a semi-public group on Facebook.  This meant interacting with the public (which is made up of other humans in case you were wondering). As it turns out both groups were invaluable in helping me grow as a writer.

It may sound cliche, but interacting in both contexts gave my confidence a huge boost. The other authors gave me great feedback and exposed me to different genres and styles of writing in a way I wouldn’t have found anywhere else. Once I realized I wasn’t under the microscope the public group was another great place to hear from the writer and reader community. As a writer you should write first and foremost for yourself, but every now and then it doesn’t hurt to hear that someone else is interested in hearing your story.

Secondly, the way I portrayed writing above sounds more akin to a dungeon than a creative haven (unless that’s your jam). Even my publisher told me right after I signed “I’ll add you to the group of creators if you’d like, so you don’t feel like you’re working in a hole.” I didn’t realize I had been working in a hole until someone tossed me a rope.

Even if they’re not working on the same project, there is something about having a group of authors all working to tell their stories that is motivating. We’re not all in the same boat but we’re definitely in the same fleet.

Whenever one of us has hit a snag or a half formed idea or just found an entertaining meme, this is the place to share it. It’s a place where every accomplishment and contribution is appreciated.

Thirdly, people help keep you motivated. I don’t mean that in the “You can do eeeet!” cat poster motivational way (although we do have some of those lovely people too). When you’re working on something for a long time it can be easy to lose steam at some point. Sometimes another thousand words feels like a drop in the bucket at the end of each day. Other days you’re just not feeling it. Knowing there are people excitedly waiting for your work can help spark some momentum. Again I will say you should write for yourself but motivation can come from anywhere. You should never look a gift horse in the mouth and never toss aside anything that motivates you to keep creating. Unless it’s smelly, then maybe hold it at arms length and hit it with a shot of Febreeze.

I was extremely lucky in that a community built itself up around our publishing group. That probably is not the case for everyone. But don’t fret! There are plenty of groups on social media and writing themed sites for you to join, contribute to and become a part of. It may take some time, effort, and patience but I think cultivating a team to write with is worth every second of it. After all, where else can you talk to and about your fictional characters without having your sanity questioned? For the record, nobody in the group questions my sanity; it has been out of the office for awhile and is no longer taking calls. He even has a little sign on the door. So would that make it out-sanity instead? Okay, I’m done now.