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Author Craft / Re: Complete and utter self promotion.
« on: May 22, 2016, 02:37:01 AM »
Yeah, it's a quarterly 'zine, so it went live on the first. I didn't even think about that beyond it being fitting for a venomous little rodent like Shaifennen Roehe.
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Author Craft / Complete and utter self promotion.
« on: April 02, 2016, 12:21:57 AM »
In August, I got an acceptance from Abyss & Apex for my short story, "Cheatin'." My first sale, and the first short I've written since my freshman year. (That was when we had to make our own dirt. Out of wood.)
Today that story went live in Abyss & Apex's Q2 issue.
It's sci-fi; the two nastiest creatures on a broken and lost colony world have a go at each other. One is a vicious and cruel indigenous carnivore; the reason that every Homestead booby traps and mines every last vent or hatch when they huddle up for the long darkness of winter.
The other's a 12 year old girl.
Think of it as a heartwarming, coming-of-age tale about an adorable scamp with the stars in her eyes, and grenades in her pockets. Lots of 'em.
Wander by, kick the tires, let me know what you think.
You will all hold places of honor and glory in the New Regime.
http://www.abyssapexzine.com/
Today that story went live in Abyss & Apex's Q2 issue.
It's sci-fi; the two nastiest creatures on a broken and lost colony world have a go at each other. One is a vicious and cruel indigenous carnivore; the reason that every Homestead booby traps and mines every last vent or hatch when they huddle up for the long darkness of winter.
The other's a 12 year old girl.
Think of it as a heartwarming, coming-of-age tale about an adorable scamp with the stars in her eyes, and grenades in her pockets. Lots of 'em.
Wander by, kick the tires, let me know what you think.
You will all hold places of honor and glory in the New Regime.
http://www.abyssapexzine.com/
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Author Craft / Re: Author In Progress
« on: August 15, 2015, 05:41:09 PM »
Biggest thing to remember is always keep writing. You'll learn from the process of just hammering words out, even if they suck. (Granted, you have to go back and look them over with a critical eye, figure out what doesn't work and why, etc.) But it's about exercising those neural thingees as much as it is anything else. Set a daily minimum for yourself, even if it's just a couple hundred words. (I go by weekly, myself, but I've been spending so much time editing and revising multiple stories I've had little chance to hammer out fresh, new words. Gotta see to that.) In any case, keep it up!
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Author Craft / Re: Author In Progress
« on: August 04, 2015, 01:25:08 AM »
Yeah, they usually take 2 to 6 months to decide on submissions. This was same day. Granted, I submitted first thing in the morning, on the first day of this quarter's submission week... but yeah, I reckon it's got to be good to be accepted by Abyss & Apex, and to make it past their entire editor posse in one day. Whompety-BOOM, as Shaifennen would say.
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Author Craft / Re: Author In Progress
« on: August 02, 2015, 08:13:41 PM »
*Crawls out from under his work in progress.*
Just sold a Shaifennen Roehe story to Abyss & Apex. It'll appear some time next year.
*crawls back under work in progress.*
Just sold a Shaifennen Roehe story to Abyss & Apex. It'll appear some time next year.
*crawls back under work in progress.*
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Author Craft / Re: rules on watching telivision for writers
« on: January 08, 2015, 11:40:51 AM »
The Outer Limits had some good, tight writing too. And both shows had some delightfully subversive writers, slipping things past the Standards & Practices folks regularly. Now I need to rewatch "Soldier" and "Demon With A Glass Hand."
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Author Craft / Re: rules on watching telivision for writers
« on: January 07, 2015, 09:10:35 PM »Heh. B5 is kind of depressing as an example of someone who knows where they are going storywise getting to do enough of it that its visible and then being messed about by forces beyond their control in ways that seriously bugger up their ability to deliver the rest; I think the take home message there is "there are reassuringly fewer other people involved in the process of making novels."
I couldn't stand Fringe, didn't even make it through the first season, and haven't got to Legend of Korra yet. But in the interests of positivity, the example that comes to my mind of a current show that's written to a defined structure, and that is doing some awesomely tight and clever story things, is Gravity Falls. I am in awe of some of what that's done, and really hope that Alex Hirsch manages to keep doing it; I gather depressingly much of what he does these days is fighting with Disney's internal standards people to get them to let him do the things he wants.
Agreed on B5, and Crusade in spades...
Fringe's first season was largely "Creature of the Week," which doesn't do much for me... but when they started weaving threads together, it turned out that there were some interesting story arcs to be had. Seems like networks insist now that the first half season be stand-alone, creature/caper/crook of the week for fear that Joe Audience will tune in on the 4th episode, and not know what's going on. I've seen a number of shows that started annoyingly simplistic turn into something worthwhile after that initial warm-up.
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Author Craft / Re: rules on watching telivision for writers
« on: January 07, 2015, 12:41:09 AM »
Yup. We can learn from both good and bad (lazy) storytellers... TV has a surplus of the latter; understandable given the Suit Desk Things who do things by focus groups or "what's always worked before... or who want the writing dimmed down to the lowest common denominator of the audience.
Examine what felt cheap and predictable; where you felt let down and unimpressed by some predictable "big reveal." Then compare that to those shows where you where either completely blindsided by something which you didn't expect, yet happened to be well within the bounds of plausibility. Where you're surprised as Hell, but find yourself saying "Huh. That made perfect sense." In particular, look for stuff that you saw a possible outcome coming, but felt rewarded for getting it right, like you accomplished something.
Tropes, how to avoid them, how to tickle and twist them into something useful.
Also, compare storylines where the writers knew where they were going (Babylon 5, Legend of Korra, Fringe) to those shows that had a great concept, great characters... but floundered and meandered aimlessly (X-Files.)
Examine what felt cheap and predictable; where you felt let down and unimpressed by some predictable "big reveal." Then compare that to those shows where you where either completely blindsided by something which you didn't expect, yet happened to be well within the bounds of plausibility. Where you're surprised as Hell, but find yourself saying "Huh. That made perfect sense." In particular, look for stuff that you saw a possible outcome coming, but felt rewarded for getting it right, like you accomplished something.
Tropes, how to avoid them, how to tickle and twist them into something useful.
Also, compare storylines where the writers knew where they were going (Babylon 5, Legend of Korra, Fringe) to those shows that had a great concept, great characters... but floundered and meandered aimlessly (X-Files.)
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Author Craft / Re: Process Question
« on: January 06, 2015, 02:10:28 AM »
It is... from what I've read, strictly self-published authors don't even start to get readers beyond their immediate circles of friends/facebook/etc until they've got 3 or 4 books out there. Folks see one or two books by a no-name, they're not as likely to risk a couple bucks. They see 4 or more... they're more likely to take that no-name seriously. Plus, each work you do that folks like can lead them to the other stuff you've done. More work lets you cast a wider net for a variety of reasons.
Personally, I'm shooting for the hybrid approach. Shorts go to the slush piles of the appropriate magazines. Novellas I self-publish, because I want to get some stuff out there and learn from the feedback, plus, I just gotta share those stories, but few if any pro-level agents are interested in starting with a no-name who's just got a novella or two. The actual novel (which is being prepped to send to my copy editor) I'll shop to pro agents. If none nibble, then I'll self publish it.
Personally, I'm shooting for the hybrid approach. Shorts go to the slush piles of the appropriate magazines. Novellas I self-publish, because I want to get some stuff out there and learn from the feedback, plus, I just gotta share those stories, but few if any pro-level agents are interested in starting with a no-name who's just got a novella or two. The actual novel (which is being prepped to send to my copy editor) I'll shop to pro agents. If none nibble, then I'll self publish it.
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Community Cork Board / Re: Ravati Aziz and the Terror of Twelvety Town
« on: January 05, 2015, 12:41:51 AM »
Thanks for the kind words, Blaze! Be sure to re-download it... I've learned a hell of a lot since I uploaded the original edition.
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Community Cork Board / Re: Ravati Aziz and the Terror of Twelvety Town
« on: January 05, 2015, 12:29:27 AM »
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Community Cork Board / Ravati Aziz and the Terror of Twelvety Town
« on: January 05, 2015, 12:24:17 AM »
Just uploaded a revised version of my novella. In addition to the revisions, I've added a historical timeline and a pretty extensive glossary.
Captain Ravati Aziz has guarded caravans, stormed bandit palisades, and navigated the treacherous shoals of the New League's fledgling bureaucracy. She's overcome the dangers the colony of Ayeden has thrown at her as her world gradually recovers from an ancient war.
But now, Ravati faces the greatest challenge of her career, a threat which could derail the efforts to unify Ayeden's scattered communities: Shaifennen Roehe, the Terror of Twelvety Town.
The songs say that Shaifennen doesn't ride a horse, but a tame grumper. They say she can sing skizzers to sleep and kill snow-devils with just a bit of magic string and a poisoned apple. Shaifennen's fought off bandits and strong-arm boys, put the Trader Families in their place... along with anybody else who wanted to rob the people who call the old Number Twelve Mine "home."
Now, Shaifennen's on her way to Greenline Town with a wagonload of relics and tech from the war, and a chip the size of a steam tractor on her shoulder. Surely Ravati can keep a fifteen year old girl from causing too much trouble...
http://www.amazon.com/Ravati-Aziz-Terror-Twelvety-Town-ebook/dp/B00GZEDSIQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420414604&sr=8-1&keywords=ravati+aziz
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ravati-aziz-and-the-terror-of-twelvety-town-j-kenton-pierce/1120996924?ean=2940148864103
Captain Ravati Aziz has guarded caravans, stormed bandit palisades, and navigated the treacherous shoals of the New League's fledgling bureaucracy. She's overcome the dangers the colony of Ayeden has thrown at her as her world gradually recovers from an ancient war.
But now, Ravati faces the greatest challenge of her career, a threat which could derail the efforts to unify Ayeden's scattered communities: Shaifennen Roehe, the Terror of Twelvety Town.
The songs say that Shaifennen doesn't ride a horse, but a tame grumper. They say she can sing skizzers to sleep and kill snow-devils with just a bit of magic string and a poisoned apple. Shaifennen's fought off bandits and strong-arm boys, put the Trader Families in their place... along with anybody else who wanted to rob the people who call the old Number Twelve Mine "home."
Now, Shaifennen's on her way to Greenline Town with a wagonload of relics and tech from the war, and a chip the size of a steam tractor on her shoulder. Surely Ravati can keep a fifteen year old girl from causing too much trouble...
http://www.amazon.com/Ravati-Aziz-Terror-Twelvety-Town-ebook/dp/B00GZEDSIQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420414604&sr=8-1&keywords=ravati+aziz
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ravati-aziz-and-the-terror-of-twelvety-town-j-kenton-pierce/1120996924?ean=2940148864103
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Author Craft / Re: World building: my strength and my weakness.
« on: January 05, 2015, 12:10:33 AM »
I found that creating a "bible" of sorts helped. Nothing fancy, just a timeline and glossary. Maybe do a dramatus personae as well... it'll let you lock down the things you're already good at... That might make it easier to turn your mind towards how living, breathing people take part in those events, or are affected by them.
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Author Craft / Re: Arting Harder at the Pen Monkey Toiling Pit (Celebrate Them Pages Pt III)
« on: January 05, 2015, 12:06:56 AM »
"Valorous Daughter" (novella) is in the hands of the very model of modern capable copy-editor. I've got another short story finished... purposefully ignoring it for a week or so while I revise some other shorts before sening them back to the slush pits. And the ongoing edits of "A Kiss For Damocles," which will hopefully be ready to go to aforementioned copy-editor once he wraps up his work on Valorous Daughter. Been a productive couple of months.
The big news is that I took everything I've learned over the past year... reader feedback, betas, personal rejections, and a couple story critiques from P.N. Elrod and looked at the novella I self-published a year ago. Learned a lot since then, so I revised that sucker, fleshing some things out more, trimming redundant expositional overexplaining that was excessive. Also added a historical timeline and rather exhaustive glossary of terms. Just goes to show that when you think a piece is "perfect," putting some time and words between you and that piece will invariably point out some room for improvement.
http://www.amazon.com/Ravati-Aziz-Terror-Twelvety-Town-ebook/dp/B00GZEDSIQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420414604&sr=8-1&keywords=ravati+aziz
The big news is that I took everything I've learned over the past year... reader feedback, betas, personal rejections, and a couple story critiques from P.N. Elrod and looked at the novella I self-published a year ago. Learned a lot since then, so I revised that sucker, fleshing some things out more, trimming redundant expositional overexplaining that was excessive. Also added a historical timeline and rather exhaustive glossary of terms. Just goes to show that when you think a piece is "perfect," putting some time and words between you and that piece will invariably point out some room for improvement.
http://www.amazon.com/Ravati-Aziz-Terror-Twelvety-Town-ebook/dp/B00GZEDSIQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420414604&sr=8-1&keywords=ravati+aziz