Good morning, Readers!

Writing didn't go nearly as well yesterday as I wanted it to, but I did manage two thousand words​, so it wasn't nothing.

Also, streaming last night was heaps of fun.  The Witcher 3 is a fun game, and now that I'm a certain level, it's easier to, you know, kill things.  Which makes it less frustrating and much more fun.

I haven't heard back on the post I wrote for the other site.  It's an opinion piece, because of course it fucking is.  I have opinions.  A lot of opinions.  Loud, opinion-y opinions.  This should surprise absolutely no one.  Hopefully the post is fine, and I'll be able to share it soon.

There honestly isn't all that much to report.  Life carries on as it usually does.  I am quite boring, really.  I wake, work, write, train, sleep, with some time for eating in there somewhere, and then wake up and do it all again.  It's fearfully dull.

Listen, as I haven't much to report, I'm more than happy to answer questions.  You all know I'm pretty much an open book, so let's have a blog AMA (ask me anything).  It can be any topic, from demisexuality to gaming to writing to my favourite bands... or something.  If a question is out of bounds, I'll just leave it at a simple 'not going to answer that.'  If that sounds like something you'd like, feel free to ask me a question on any of my platforms, and I'll pick my favourites to answer in my blog.  It may be one question a post or several, depending on the questions asked and how deep I feel I want to dive into a topic.

Right,  I have a lot of work to... by which I mean more writing to try and muddle my way through.

​Ciao! 

Good morning, Readers!

Holy hell was yesterday ever productive!

I managed to strike a number of things off my list.  I wrote the blog post for my site, a blog post for another site, signed up and created a team for the Ottawa Foam Fest for myself and my martial arts students, sent a bunch of emails that needed following up on, and wrote just a titch over three thousand words of Outcast.  Then I went to martial arts training and kicked and punched things... and had my arse handed to me repeatedly in sparring.

Not to toot my own horn, but go me!  It was insane yesterday.

I'm particularly pleased with my three thousand words.  I was in the zone yesterday.  The words just tumbled out.  It feels so damned good to have that happen.  I haven't had a writing session like that in such a long time,.  I had forgotten how pleasurable a really good writing session can be.  I would liken it to waltzing with someone who really knows how to waltz.  That feeling of floating, of your feet not touching the ground, of effortless elegance.  That's what it felt like writing yesterday.

Needless to say, I'm hoping for much the same today, though I'm not especially attached to the idea.  I'll be thrilled if I manage a thousand words.  I do want the zone back.  I'm hoping I'll be able to slip into it again.  It might not come to pass.  I'll have to live with that.  It is, after all, marathon, not a sprint.

Still, having the words flow like that is the closest thing to actual magic I will ever know.

*happy sigh*

Also today, I will be streaming Witcher 3, starting at my usual time of 7:00pm.  I'm really enjoying this game for its story and characters, but I do have my issues with it.

Anyway, I have some stuff I need to get done before I settle in to start writing this afternoon.

​Ciao!

Good morning, Readers!

I did not post yesterday.  It was a holiday here in Ontario, and I took full advantage of that fact.  I spent most of the day gaming, while waiting for a video to export.  I didn't export.  I'm annoyed.  I had done all of my adulting in the morning, and spent the rest of my time in the world of Witcher 3.  Some people binge television shows for hours and hours.  I slay digital monsters.  It was entirely needed.  I needed that break from the real world and from life.  I'm so relaxed today... or would be, if my computer would start working properly.

​That said, there are a few things that I need to catch up on, so today's post is a little bit of house-keeping.

First, the talk I was supposed to give on fighting in fiction a couple of weeks ago was cancelled due to the weather.  It has been rescheduled for April 10th.  Mark your calendars, if you're interested.

Secondly, I've taken on two new volunteer positions, making my already hectic life even more hectic, but that's alright.  I'll figure out a way to make it work.  The first will probably be public early next month.  The second... I don't know that I'm expected not to announce, but I won't for now.  Which reminds me, if you're an artist, and you don't your art (with credit and links) to be used on a site, email me or leave a comment, and we can work something out.

Third, I will be at ComicCon this year.  It is likely to be my last year, as rising prices for tables at the event are forcing me out.  It sucks that the tables have become so entirely unaffordable.  I really like having the opportunity to chat with readers, and I've seen so many of you return each year.  It was really wonderful.  Unfortunately, I've been priced out.  So, if you're going to Ottawa ComicCon, do come see me.  It will likely be the last time I shall be there.

I honestly think I had more, but that's all my coffee-deprived brain can conjure.  I have several things to take care of today, so I really need to get going on that.  Have a great day!

Ciao!

Good morning, Readers!

So, this is the post that I would have put up yesterday, if I had posted Wednesday.  Instead, I'm playing catch-up.  So, this is my would-be Valentine's Day post.

I hate Valentine's Day.

Those who have followed me for a while will know this about me.  I hate it.  Always have.

I've matured a little bit.  I mean, sort of.  I'm older anyway.  I no longer resent those who revel in today, even though I do think it's the stupidest day of the year.  I still hate today.

After much unpacking, I know that my hatred of this day began when I was a young tween.  This was before I realised that I was demisexual, that asexuality was even a thing and that I was on that spectrum.  I hated Valentine's Day, because it called out the fact that I didn't have anyone, and didn't particularly want anyone, and that I was the only one in the whole world like me.  Single people were generally pitied or looked down on on Valentine's Day.  It made me seem even more of a freak that I felt, and despite not wanting anyone, it also made me feel so utterly lonely.  I hated it all, and despised the 'sheeple' who 'mindlessly' celebrated it.

It also, I felt, invalidated the love I did feel.

The focus on romantic love pissed me off.  It still does.  It glorifies one type of love only, and recognition for and the importance of other kinds of love were downplayed and cast aside.  This seems to me have had a knock-on effect.  Love other than the romantic variety is largely devalued in society in general, not just on Valentine's Day, and powerful loving bonds are ignored or questioned if you aren't also boinking the person with whom you have such a bond.

That's some serious horse shit, right there.

You don't have to be screwing someone to experience a fierce love for them.  I love my friends.  I would go to war for my friends.  I have in the past bared my fangs on behalf of friends, and will do so again.  And that love is all the more true because I'm not concerned that their returning love is dependent upon a hope to one day get me in the sack (most of my male friends are very much taken).  I don't have to fear abandonment from friends because of a lack of sex, because this love is not dependent on it.  These bonds are true and strong and without strings attached.

The pain from the breaking of these bonds is also very real.  It's still heartbreak, and it's some of the worst pain I've ever felt.  Just because I wasn't bumping uglies (how many euphemisms for sex do you think I can come up with?) with them doesn't mean that when that friendship dissolved in flames and fury that I wasn't absolutely distraught (it was abusive, and it's a good thing we're no longer friends, but at the time it was the ending of my world).

Every Valentine's Day, I'm reminded how little society values love that doesn't involve sex (I've run out of euphemisms after all), and how many people cannot seem to grasp how deep and true that love truly is.

My hatred of Valentine's Day remains, and likely will never be remedied.  While I think lovers should celebrate their love, I also think that we as a society need to recognise and celebrate those other kinds of love; the kinds that won't result in marriage and children, and we all need to learn to value them far more than we do.

So, enjoy your Valentine's or whatever.  I'll be over here, happily single and very much loved.

​Ciao!

Good morning, Readers!

Firstly, let me apologise for not posting yesterday.  There was a snow storm, and I was home, and not feeling great.  So I didn't go anywhere near a computer.  I did however, manage to practice my guitar, and by the evening I was feeling better and well enough to stream... again.  I've done a lot of streaming this week.

To make up for it, I'll probably post something on Friday.  Maybe.  Right, on with the series about writer's groups.

Oh, Happy Valentine's or some rubbish (I'm not a fan of the day, to be honest).

If you're part of a writer's group, you have a responsibility to show up, even if it's not to your direct benefit.  Now, sometimes there are times you just can't.  You're unwell, out of spoons, have tickets to Hamilton.  We get it.  There are times when you're just not able to be there for a meeting.  That's alright.  However, if the only time you show up is when you're reading, you're only doing half the work.  More, it's pretty damned selfish.

Unless your writer's group has a rule that only readers attend a meeting, you need to show up and lend you ears, time and expertise for the people who do the same for you.  Not having something or not be scheduled to read isn't really a good reason to skip the meeting.  Your feedback is necessary and needed, and is one of the reasons you were accepted into the group in the first place.

It's the decent thing to do, but if that means nothing to you, perhaps something more transactional would.  Not showing up for other people makes people not want to show up for you.

Now we have that clear, and you're totally willing to show up and lend your ears and opinions even if you're not reading, the real work will begin.  You need to pay attention when someone is reading.  You're not just there to have someone read to you a pleasant little story.  This isn't a reading of the book tour variety.  You're not there to kick back and let your mind be led down wonderful and terrible paths.

You need to sit up, pay attention, turn on the critical part of the brain that is often shut off when people are read to.  You're searching for sentences that don't flow so well, character behaviour that doesn't make sense in context, inconsistent characters voices (I've encountered this - where suddenly a character that speaks solely in slang suddenly started with poetic words - the only time it ever happened), plot holes, confusion plot points or sentence structure, etc.  Now, it may be that a reader shows up with a really clean piece.  That makes critiquing far more difficult, it's true.  You have to pay closer attention to catch out the issues.  But you still have to pay attention.  Honestly.  The reader put in the work to offer the best writing they could for you.  The least you could do is your part in making it even better.

The reader needs your help to improve.  Don't let them down.

Show up.

Do the work.

Speaking of work, I have tonnes to do.  So I'll leave off and go do it.

Ciao!

Good morning, Readers!

After much searching and testing of various small communities of writers, you think you've found your tribe.  Excellent!  Go you!

Now what?

Well, as I mentioned yesterday, each group works a little differently.  Some are super-duper serious and do a lot of work, some are a little more than laid back.  However this group works, it's up to you to show up and do that work.

In most of the groups I've ever been a part of, we've simply read a section of story to one another and listened to the feedback on that section.  Sometimes, it was simply a discussion of an issue someone was trying to work through.  Some groups have many readers in a session, some groups focus on one reader for a bit.  Some don't require written feedback (most, I would argue), where each member is sent the section being read so they can mark it up with suggestions and feedback, some do.  No matter what this group does, you need to do it too.

If it's your turn to read, then make sure you have something worth reading.  It doesn't have to be much, but I do highly recommend getting it as polished as you can.  Make sure you've read it aloud at least once before going live in the group, so that you're not confusing yourself as you read.  The clearer your reading, the better feedback people can provide.  It's nearly impossible to offer feedback on something that someone changes on the fly, if sentences are stopped halfway through, changed, then picked up several words later.

Reading aloud to a group of people can be terrifying.  Who am I kidding?  It is terrifying.  Stuttering and stumbling is alright.  As long as the text is relatively clean, most listeners can forgive stumbles.  Besides, it's really excellent practice for all those public readings you're going to have to do to when you're published.  If you've chosen the right group, then you've also got the benefit of your audience actively rooting for you, and being there to help you in your quest.

You lucky dog, you.

Right, so you've gotten your piece to read, and it's clean.  Not perfect, of course, because why then would you need feedback?  But it's clean.  You've read it, and it went alright, for the most part.  Also, why was arugula the word you found difficult to pronounce?  Now, it's your audience's turn.

Accepting feedback means you're going to have to be prepared to hear the words 'no' and 'not working' and 'you can do better.'  You're not there to be told how brilliant you are.  You're there to have your story and your craft improved.  Sometimes, that can sting; particularly if the only feedback you're used to is to hear your mother tell you how brilliant you are.  It's alright to feel hurt.  Those feelings are perfectly valid.  Lashing out, dismissing or arguing the point certainly is not.  These people just offered you something precious - their time - to hear your story and help you make it stronger.  Be grateful, even if you're a little sore.  Also, try to take their comments under advisement.  It's so easy to simply dismiss a comment off-hand and ignore it, making no changes whatsoever.  But try, even if it's upsetting, to consider what they've said and maybe play around with the problem area in your story they've identified.  If it still sits well with you, by all means, drop the advice and go with your gut.  Be absolutely certain, though, that pride has not pulled the wool over your eyes.

All that said, you don't have to accept abuse, either.  If all you're hearing from your fellows is harsh criticism that is in no way constructive (not all criticism, even when harsh, is cruel), and is designed simply to make you feel badly about yourself or your writing, then you haven't found the right group.  Get out of there.  You don't have to be made to feel like trash in order to improve your writing.  Don't put up with that.  Life is too short.

Right, tomorrow I'll talk about your responsibilities when you're not the one reading.  For now, I have things I need to get done.

​Ciao!

Good morning, Readers!

So, you're working on a manuscript, or you've finished a manuscript, or you've finished many manuscripts... you've written something, is what I'm saying, and now you're wanting to up your game.  You're up for some writerly growing, some feedback, or maybe you're stuck somewhere in the story and you need some help.

You've done a bit of research, and you've come across this thing.  It's called a writer's group or a writer's circle.  What it that, exactly, and what does it mean?

Well, each writing group or circle works by different rules, but the basic premise is the same:

A bunch of writers have gotten together and mutually decided to help each other up their writing game.  They generally meet regularly, but sometimes not (let's be honest, trying to schedule a mutually agreeable time for everyone is nigh on impossible), and they share their work, asking for and expecting feedback.  They do this in order to help them improve their craft, or, sometimes, help with a particularly nasty plot problem they're experiencing.

Writing groups are great places to meet with people who understand what you're going through, and to find a mutually supportive network to help you continue towards your writing goals.  They are, on the whole, a fantastic resource for writers, and I can highly recommend them.

They can also, however, be horrendously destructive to a writer if they find themselves in the wrong group.

When searching for a writer's group, do your research.  Look who is in that group.  Do they have a reputation for being supportive and smart?  Or are they known for being selfish and patronising?  Do they write the stuff you're writing (in other words, would they understand what you're trying to achieve with your writing.  There is nothing worse than a SFF writer caught up in a group whose main critique is that 'faeries don't exist.'  Thank you, Sam.  I KNOW)?  Ask to sit in on a few meetings before deciding to join a group.  If you dig the people and the vibe of the group, you've found a place to stay for a bit.  If something seems a little off, don't join.

By this I do not mean only accept fawning praise from this group.  That's not the point.  But nor should you stay in a group that can do nothing but trash your work.  You're there to level up, not get your soul destroyed.

In short, a writer's group is a small tribe of writers who have mutually agreed to gather and help one another improve their craft, solve sticky writing problems, and generally be a support network for one another.  They useful, and great to be a part of... if you find the right fit for you.

Right, I have things to be getting on with this morning.  Stick around and I'll talk about what to do once you've found your writing tribe.

Ciao!