Patreon - Chain Story

At the beginning of the year I started up a Patreon Page. I have to admit that right now this experiment is an utter failure. Part of it may be because I'm unwilling to beg my friends to pledge to "get the ball rolling" and show the world that I do indeed have some patrons. But I think the biggest part is that I don't have a big enough fan following yet for my writing. This is something that's going to take time, and far more publications under my belt (also clearly getting a hang of marketing for more visibility). With indie publishing, the Long Game feels like a bit of an understatement sometimes. ;)

This doesn't mean I'm completely giving up on Patreon, though. I was seriously looking forward to having some fun with it, to interact with my patrons and write super short stories or poems in response to offered prompts. Writing can be a lonely business, elbows deep in a novel especially, so mixing in a bit of a game for fun and interaction sounded appealing to me. After next month, though, I likely won't be actively posting to Patreon. At least not until I actually have a patron (or more books and a bigger following behind me to make a bigger push with the Patreon platform).

So, here's the game plan:

❦ Last month I posted the beginning of a Chain Story. This post is a public post. That means anyone can see it and respond to it with no need to be a patron (in other words - free). Only one person has added to it so far, and then I added another sentence as well. I'd love to see more people add to it. You don't even need to be a writer to add a sentence! Chain stories can wander down some pretty strange paths. So, I'll try to get more people involved with the Chain Story over the next month or so. Share it around - this is supposed to be for fun!

❦ In September, I'll post another story. This one will also be public. I recently got my kids some Story Cubes. I intend to use them to write the September story! As a bonus, if my eldest daughter writes something with the same roll, I'll post that as well (if she lets me).

❦ Some time in October, if I still have no patrons, I'll announce a hiatus on Patreon. Though I'll likely post public updates at least every other month.

❦ If any interest is finally shown in my Patreon Page or when I feel I might have more of a following that would be interested, I'll be happy to start creating more content for the page. I just can't keep creating content that no one is seeing at this time!

So, go on and add to the Chain Story. I look forward to see how it progresses!

Camp NaNoWriMo and a Chain Story Continued

Many of us know about NaNoWriMo - that novel writing event that comes around every November. Writers dive in and attempt to accomplish 50,000 words of a rough draft, ignoring other less important things for the month, such as cleaning and sleeping.

Of course, November can be a less than ideal month for some to attempt this challenge. Thanksgiving dinner for those in the U.S. can interrupt the flow (especially if the writer is the one preparing that dinner, and for a lot of people). School is in full swing as well, students and teachers working on things not only during school hours, but at other times as well (teachers have homework too!). Oh, and usually the weather is turning into something plain undesirable, making it harder for those people with weather mood swings.

So, why November? Why not have this novel writing month in summer? Well, those of you who have desired such a change don't need to wait any longer because now there is Camp NaNoWriMo! Camp NaNoWriMo is run both in July and August, so the writer can choose the month that works best for him or her. Or maybe try both!

I know, you're about to say I'm a little late on the bandwagon with talking about Camp NaNoWriMo. July is almost over. I actually didn't know about it until June 29, and I had the blog slots all scheduled and planned. So, I'm talking about it now. And what better time to do so than when we're so close to August? There's always time to set up your tent, throw some logs on the campfire, and join in with the other campers...er, writers.

Will you join in on Camp NaNoWriMo? What do you plan to work on?

I hope to get down 25,000 words in August (I sadly know well enough that I don't have time to do 50,000 in a month right now), which is a scary goal to begin with, and I'll be continuing Dead As Dreams - I'm so close to the end, I can taste it!

Also, don't forget to watch my Facebook page for August's Writing Quest!

I'd be interested to hear what others are working on - feel free to post a little something in the comments, and if you're bold, post an excerpt as well. ;)

Speaking of the comments section, I'd also love it if we'd all continue the last chain story that was started. I have copied what we already have below for ease of reading (and added some paragraph breaks - heh).

The Rules: Add only 1 sentence at a time - you can take as many turns as you'd like, but you can't post right after you just posted! To get the ball rolling, I will tag someone on Facebook, so if you'd like to keep the story going, make sure to tag someone or e-mail someone to ask them to take the next turn.

The Story So Far:

A dandelion seed danced on the wind, weaving back and forth, finally alighting on the cap of an emerald mushroom. It quivered in the breeze, almost lifting off, but the skin of the mushroom cap rippled and engulfed the seed, casting off the fluff.

Tetrarch Q'rin hovered over the scene, dutifully noting the occurrence in her journal. Soon it would be time to face her new husband. She did not know how the arranged marriage would work, she being a scientist, and he being a royal bureaucrat, although she had an empirically based estimation...and a bad feeling.

She sighed, turning to go, but saw the mushroom twitch.


NEXT UP: A guest blog post from Liz Coley.

Randomness: Sense of Wonder, the Sublime, the Uncanny (And Chain Story #2)

*Grips the wheel of randomness, takes a deep breath, and pulls it into a dizzying spin* Where will the wheel stop? Who knows?

Yes, yes - I know. I didn't know last week, though. >:) Today, the wheel has landed on Sense of Wonder, the Sublime, and the Uncanny! Also, if you keep reading until the end, you'll find the beginning of another chain story for your writing pleasure.

So, as mentioned in my update post, I had my residency for my M.F.A. program this month. It was a blast, and I knew I'd want to blog about at least part of it. Dr. Al Wendland did a wonderful module on Sense of Wonder, the Sublime, and the Uncanny. I thought it would be a good idea to at least cover the definitions of these concepts as they can be hard to wrap your head around at times.

Sense of Wonder, the Sublime, and the Uncanny are all devices used in speculative fiction (and can also be found in other types of fiction). These devices make a story richer and can help deliver a bigger impact.

Sense of Wonder is found mostly in beautiful description, evoking awe and the desire to be pulled into the described location or object. The use of color is prevalent, as well as other sensory details. As a writer, you take something ordinary and make that ordinary object breathtaking with words. A sunset, a vast field of flowers, the intricacies of an electronic device - anything can be described just so to bring out that Sense of Wonder inside of us, a tug at our emotions.

The Sublime takes that Sense of Wonder to a whole different level. It's a feeling of vastness and the unknown. Instead of looking at something ordinary, the writer takes a look at something that is incomprehensible. This is utilized in things such as an alien planet or an apocalypse. The reader gains a sense of something impossible to describe when introduced to the Sublime.

And then there's the Uncanny, where you take something ordinary and make it strange. Talking cat? Uncanny. It's where the writer creates something normal that does something unexpected. If it's taken far enough, if that ordinary object is pushed to the point of changing that it becomes a bit terrifying, it turns into the Grotesque.

So, where in your writing do you take advantage of Sense of Wonder, the Sublime, and the Uncanny? Even if you weren't aware of writing these things in initially, you'll notice that they're there and they make your writing that much better.

Speaking of writing, don't forget to join us for Writing Quest - July. Sorry, had to mention it. =)

Now, as promised, here's the start of a new chain story (and an example of a Sense of Wonder). Rules are the same as last time: only add one sentence, you can add another sentence after someone else has posted, and don't be afraid to have fun (and be silly). Happy writing, all!

Beginning of Chain Story #2:

A dandelion seed danced on the wind, weaving back and forth, finally alighting on the cap of an emerald mushroom.

Continue the story in the post comments!


NEXT UP: The MGOC Series on Fantasy continues with Mike Mehalek!

A Step Back

Wow, it's been a seriously long time since I've done a purely personal blog entry. I guess that's a good sign - it means I have tons of other material to cover!

If you prefer not to read my ramblings and updates, feel free to stop reading and come back next week (when I will continue the MGOC on Fantasy Series). But if you don't mind my craziness, don't hesitate to read on!

I figured it was time to take a step back and examine what I've accomplished so far this year and what's ahead of me for the rest of 2011. It's always good to assess, as it can help refresh what still needs to be done.

The big accomplishment: completed another revision/edit of The Mind Behind the Mind. I think it cleaned up quite nicely! Not to mention it is currently sitting in the slush pile of a publisher who requested to see the full manuscript. This still excites me, and it reinforces that my first 50 pages aren't drivel - ha! So, what's ahead for this manuscript? I wait for a response back from the publisher. If they want to sign me, I celebrate (and panic about writing the sequels). If I get a rejection back, I already decided where I want to send it next. Good to have a plan. ;)

In other news, I have been running the monthly Writing Quest for over a year now! Yup, it started back in June of 2010. You can always find the event for each month on my Facebook author page. Come join us for Writing Quest - June! I feel this monthly challenge has been quite successful.

As for other writing, I mostly still have a lot to do. I'm still sending short stories out to slush piles, I still have the Dead As Dreams rough draft to finish, and I have many short stories that need to be revised. I hope to be able to work on those in the next couple months, but other things will come first.

What other things? Well, my crazy choice to go back to get the F to shove between the M and the A. I start full-time in less than two weeks! Residency starts on June 21, and after residency is over, I'll need to concentrate on a new thesis project. Daina's Dance has been on the back burner for ages, and I really want to work on it with my mentor because it's a lot of juggling (it's a working title - feel free to suggest any different titles in the comments). Here's hoping I can also finish Dead As Dreams while working on Daina. That will be quite a challenge for me! I also have another Readings in the Genre class starting in August. My main goal for the rest of the year is to survive. =D Then I need to survive the first half of next year. =/ Can't think about that right now.

So, I feel like I've been productive on many fronts at least, and I know I still have a lot of work ahead of me. Time to get out the battering ram to keep it all in place. What have you all completed this year so far? And what do you have left for the rest of 2011? Don't be afraid to take a step back, suck in a deep breath, and examine everything you've done and that you still plan to do.

Happy writing, all! Oh, and don't be afraid to add more to the chain story we started a few weeks ago: Luca's Story. I was going to end it, but unless everyone wants it to be a dark, gruesome wrap-up, someone else better add to it! It's back to reading for me now. =)



UP NEXT: A new entry in the MGOC series on fantasy from David J. Corwell!

Writing Prompt #2 - Chain Stories

My apologies for posting this later than intended, but Blogger was down almost all day yesterday.


Any past Tips & Prompts can be found on my website: Writing Tips & Prompts.

Writing Prompt #2 - Chain Stories

So, what's a chain story? A chain story is when two or more people get together and go back and forth, adding bits to a story. Each person could write one sentence, one paragraph, or even one page (or more, if people are so inclined to attempt a chain novel).

This isn't to be confused with collaboration, though. Collaborating with another writer on a story or a novel is something that takes a lot more thought and planning. Chain stories take no planning at all! They are very in the moment.

Why write something that is so unplanned and spontaneous?

First, getting together with a group of friends and seeing how a story unfolds when you have to continue from the previous person's addition is just plain fun. Heck, if you have a bunch of writers at a party, it might actually be a great game to play. Most of the chain stories I participate in tend to end up humorous--it makes the stories more fun and off the wall. Lots of laughs all around.

Second, it teaches you how to think (er...write) on your feet. You need the story to still make sense from one entry to the next, and you have no clue what the person before you is going to write until she writes it. This pressure to come up with something on the spot is even harder if you time each person's turn. If you're doing it via e-mail, you can say, allow a day between each response, even less if you're writing the story in a chat or if everyone is together in the same room!

Third, it can get the writing juices flowing. If you're having some issues with Writer's Lack of Motivation (or Writer's Block, but I don't believe in that now, nope, no such thing) writing chain stories with others could just be enough of a push to make your fingers itch to work on your own writing. Like stretching before a run--it gets the blood flowing.

Don't be shy to ask some friends to join in writing a chain story with you. You may even come away with new ideas for your current or a future work in progress.


Now, after this prompt, I thought it would be nice to start a small chain story here. The rules for this one are as follows:

• Each person writes one sentence, taking all sentences that came before into account.
• Post your sentence in the comment section - you can add another new sentence after someone else posts after you. No limit to how many times you can add to the story.
• Don't be afraid to be silly (and don't worry too much about grammar and spelling)!

OK, without further adieu, here is the first sentence:

Luca swirled the water of the pond with his finger, then yanked it back when something nipped at him.


NEXT UP: Chris Stout will be guest blogging!