Waiting Time

I’m back home. It’s May and life is beating a march I call normal. I’m no longer subjected to hospital food and life’s mysteries lie beyond the scope of Gameboy sized monitor-boxes linked to Dad's bedside.

My Mysteries all now waltz around a second topic. One I like to call “Let’s get thee published!” Far as that dance goes, STEAMTOPIA RISING is in the arms of an editor. According to my calendar, my baby's been there for quite a while. I’m turning into an unpublished helicopter parent. Is she having fun? Is she getting along? Do they like her? The imagination that created 90,000 words of Rob-lit, is now inhabited by “what-if” tales of abuse.
“You’re too fat!”
“You’re too weird!”
Oh, my baby…Nobody likes editor bullies—and yet, all I can do is wait outside.
And trust.

Editors are good people, after all, and these ones are looking after my baby. They’ll treat her as the princess she is. This isn’t like summer camp. It is finishing school.
So how do I keep from worrying while I wait?
I weep.
But beyond that, I have a list—like any other author-parent—things that keep me from wearing worry lines into the carpet. It goes a little something like this:

1. Catch up on new video games:

  



It's been a while, but I think I can still maneuver my way around a joystick.

2. Invent things:

A new card game or trumping plot lines? Not sure it matters....

Keep creative juices flowing! Whether it’s exciting worlds or board games, I exercise my mind. Fill my idea notebook stores, before  the next idea drought strikes.

 

 

 

3. Discover a world outside my office:

The world in my head isn’t the only world that exist. Twists of subplot turn right outside that door….

   

 

 4. Reintroduce self to family:

You must sacrifice to rejoin our pack.

My cats and wife barely remember who I am. I try reaching out to one member at a time; too many strangers at once could result in brain bends.

 

 5. Plot the next book:

 

Eventually it's time to move on. When waiting for the world outside my head to turn my way I need to move the world inside forward.



That’s how I deal. While we wait for words from my editors, why not tell me how you do it?

What's in a name?

"I love the name of your book!" said one agent to me this weekend.

Steamtopia Rising.

It's funny. Other agents ran the gamut from "Meh," to "Look!  The line at the bar is gone!"

This agent loved it. That's what she said. In my own special way, I love her back. She loves the name of my baby.  Funny thing, (Cuz this blog seems to be filled with unfunny funny): I always thought Steamtopia Rising was more of a nickname. It's what I called my manuscript till I found something better. I still have a list of options that includes things like "Crafters of Chaos" and "Harrow's Opus." I dunno. Naming a book can be a bottomless rabbit hole from which there is no return.

"Eat me."

Lord knows I love me some rabbit hole.

The problem is, rascally rabbit, it just doesn't matter. By the time an agent and an editor give everything the official okey doikey, it could be called "Beavis Rising."

Ok, not that, but you get the idea. So I don't even think right now.

Just like Beavis.

On a promising note, there's a Detroit Steampunk conference. Guess what it's called.

Go ahead guess...

You're no fun.  The glorious gala is called Steamtopia!  Ask me, that just rocks.

So now I share titles with a steam function. So maybe Steamtopia Rising will stick. Maybe it won't, so long as I  avoid Beavis Rising I'm a happy writer. Until it's published, the only title that's sure is "Completed Manuscript." And for that, I'm grateful.

Soundtrack

Do you soundtrack? Is there a needle traveling the surface of your soul; playing heartsongs to your head, even if your ears aren't tuned to it?

There was an LA radio station in the 70s that claimed to be a soundtrack to the California day. I always liked that. I pictured my self a gritty narrator setting the scene. That's why I soundtrack. My day is filled with music. It helps my mood and even puts me in character.

I read an interview, ages ago, Sandra Bullock said that sometimes she smoked flavored cigarettes to get into character. Something about the flavor helped her identify. I like to think I'm doing the same thing. I'm not nearly as attractive doing it, but in my way, I'm trying to find the soul of a character through sensation.

While writing Steamtopia, I set a playlist on my iPhone. When I worked out dialogue, I used smaller lists. Songs that gave me the attitude and verbal cadence of the character. It wasn't exhaustive, just enough to put me in a place.

This is the playlist I created for for Rowena, my Morlock girl wrestling with others' expectations vs. her heart's sense of justice. The songs don't say all that, but they moved me to a place that put me in mind of her goals.


What about you?
Do you soundtrack?
What puts you in your creative space?

Gambol of Words

I hate the salesmanship of writing. I mean, I get the necessity, I just wish somebody else did the work. You know, a designated pitcher.

"Step right up! Come, marvel at Rob and his magical Morlocks!"

I left sales to create worlds—not create sales. Selling a TV to Ray Parker Jr., that's just a bit-o-stress in a day's work; selling two-years of my soul to an agent? That's an emotional twerk in a rejection minefield. I'm begging experts to love Steamtopia based on thirty seconds of verbal illusion.

It's more than Steamtopia Rising, I'm risking that they'll love me! I'm one junior high dance floor away from getting published.

"Here dear agent, would you care to twirl an ungainly tangle-tango with 125,000 of my favorite words? No? That's okay, it didn't work with a seventh-grade Gina Robbins either. sigh..."

Obviously, like junior high, I need to start with confidence. Time for big boy panties. I wore them to my first dance, I can wear them now. This time,  I'll put them on, one leg-hole at a time, and  inside my pants.


The other thing that makes this tough is translating the pitch from written to verbal. It's common practice to open a letter with, "Steamtopia Rising is a 125,000 word YA alternate history, fantasy novel. As Harry Potter introduced the wizarding world to muggles, Steamtopia Rising introduces steampunk Morlocks to ELOI." Try leading a conversation with those words. They'll only confuse, and Gina Robbins still won't want to dance.

So that's where I am this week: perfecting the conversational query. Working words of character and charm, so that next Saturday I'm my Friday-night best.

"Would you like to dance?"

A Morlock By any other Name

Manuscript housekeeping day!  Today I worked through my Glossary. Not really part of the book, just the way I keep track of names and characters. I'd love to use something like Tinderbox, but I'm a starving writer: I can't afford the fancy china.

Instead, I do this:

The next step begins next week: analyze my notes, and start plotting book 2.

Horse Collides into Cart: Film at Eleven.

Is it pretentious to geek-out on a world you've created? I hope not. I've spent hours crafting a "Steamtopia Rising" home screen for my iPhone. Everyone who looks at my iPhone will gasp at my fanboy cred. I'd hate for them to think I'm crazy too.

Eh, who am I kidding? They already know I'm crazy: I create worlds in my head!

I know. I know. I'm cart-before-horsing this. I don't have a book deal—not yet; no cool illustrator mocking up cover art (although, if I had a choice, I love Kirbi Fagan's work). Yet I'm obsessed. I've built a font over graphic cart to share Steamtopian pride.

"See my baby!"

The horse will come later.

What do you think?

It's Official!

I'm registered for the 2015 SDSU Writers' Conference. 

This year I'm offering up the first pages of "Steamtopia Rising" for advanced reading. Two agents will read, then talk about what works and what doesn't. I've also signed up for a "consultation" appointment. What's a consultation? Think speed dating for manuscripts, only there's one person, one chance, no pre-read--just ten minutes of stress to impress.

 Hopefully "Steamtopia Rising" can gain the same interest that DTTR did. I mean Steamtopia did place at Detroit Working Writers, but writers are one thing; agents and publishers are a different monster all-together.

I'm so excited! This January 23-25, look out San Diego: Robby's back in town!

Wish me luck!