man bites world

Well.

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Today I’m writing at Austin Chase Coffee, which is right next door to the Fisherman’s Terminal. There’s a big glass wall on one side of the room, with the coffee roaster right on the other side. So shiny! So many colored lights! So many turning machines! It’s hypnotic, like an episode of HOW IT’S MADE without the v/o.

Anyway, here’s some big news: The official title for book 3 is going to be CIRCLE OF ENEMIES. Yay! I like it, not least because there isn’t another book on Amazon.com with that title. Also, Google Alerts won’t be sending me links to people who’ve posted Queensryche lyrics.

All CIRCLE OF ENEMIES posts will still be tagged with the working title, MAN BITES WORLD, just like GAME OF CAGES is tagged EVERYONE LOVES BLUE DOG.

Also, I want to talk a little about the book giveaways I’ve been doing. I want to clarify a couple of things: You can enter once for each item, but you can request as many books as you want. I don’t care if you ask for all 31. You can also win as many times as luck allows; you don’t have to stop requesting books after you’ve won one.

I’m not actually picking any winners. Here’s what happens: I receive comment notifications for every LJ and blog comment. Each day’s contest has it’s own folder in Thunderbird, and I drop the email notifications into the correct folder. Once three days have passed since the blog post went live, I make sure there have been no requests within the previous 24 hours; I don’t want to cut things off if people are still actively asking for the book.

Once both conditions are satisfied, I open the folder in Thunderbird and my 8 yo son rolls a die. Whatever the number he rolls, we count down that many emails and that’s the winner. (If he rolls a number higher than the number of emails, he rolls again.)

So far, all the winners have been LiveJournal people, and none on the blog. In part, that’s because LJ comments outnumber blog comments four or five to one in some cases. I’m sure there’ll be a couple of blog commenters getting books at some point–random chance can’t keep favoring LJ forever.

And as of yesterday, all of the claimed books had gone into the mail. The first five, I believe. The giveaway for day six, Ombria in Shadow, will be chosen tonight (as long as no one new jumps in to ask for it.)

If anyone has any questions about this, or if I’ve been unclear, let me know. But one thing I did want to emphasize is that I’m not picking winners of each book. It’s all random chance.

Good thing I don’t have any hair to tear out

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I swear to God, I have never sweated over anything as much as I just sweated over the “script” (really a shot list w/ dialog) for the book trailer for Man Bites World. Never. And believe me, I sweat. I’m a sweaty, sweaty man.

Remember when I realized that I had the same thirty people leave a building and then magically leave it again 20 pages later? That I was a third of the way into MBW without having introduced a vital subplot? When I was sweating my query/synopsis for Child of Fire?

Kid’s play.

The weird thing about trailers is that it’s so damn easy for a film (Okay, not easy but whatever) because the footage has already been shot. You look at what you have, what works, what tells the truth about the story but isn’t one-two-three in the film.

For a book, though, you have to decide what you’re going to film. Books aren’t designed to hand over the premise in a line of dialog. They’re more digressive and indirect (if they’re any good, IMO). Characters may kiss or punch or embrace or shoot, but that visual is not how the story is being told.

So I’m writing this trailer, knowing that some of these shots will be half a second long, and that it’s heavy on fx (too heavy. I know it’s too heavy. I did that deliberately–and at the request of the filmmakers–so the trailer can be dialed back to what’s possible rather than dialed up to what’s awesome).

And some of what I’m writing doesn’t match what’s in the books. The ghost knife is a piece of paper that can slice a steel girder in two. It’s also laminated. Is that going to come across in a book trailer? Is it going to be obvious what the Ray is using to, say, cut a padlock?

I suspect not. What’s in the trailer won’t match what’s in the books, exactly. I’ve been mulling over what needs to change and what absolutely can’t change, what portrays the essence of the story and what gives the wrong idea.

What’s more, the traditional script format that I’m used to doesn’t really work for this. I experimented with a bunch of ideas and kept it clear and under two pages. But Jesus, what a pain.

I finished it last night and sent it off. I expect to revise it thoroughly but it’s good to have a starting point, at least.

Immediately after, I sat down and wrote a selling synopsis for The Buried King. It’s good, too, if unpolished. Then this morning I fell right back into the text and made goal even with a shortened work time. The story is moving now and has momentum. I don’t know if others feel this way, but for me a book has momentum when the characters are pursuing their goals and Things Need To Happen. The text I write sometimes feels like a snowmobiler trying to outrun an avalanche.

And I’m there with this book, and it’s exciting. (Which of course means it’s time for my copy edit to show up.)

“That’s so funny it makes me sad.”

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I had another good day working on The Buried King. I’ve pretty much stopped fretting about word count and daily goals–at this point I make note of the page I’m on when I start a session and the page I’m on when I stop. What the hell, right? Keeping careful records wasn’t getting the book done, so I’m not going to bother.

And with the release date for GAME OF CAGES coming up, I have a crazy load of writing to do. That means it’s time for a list! Here are all of the projects I have to complete by at least the middle of August (in no particular order).

  • A Big Idea piece for John Scalzi’s blog to promote Game of Cages.
  • Another chapter of The Buried King so my agent can send it to publishers.
  • A thorough, careful revision of the opening chapters of The Buried King.
  • A “shot list” or “shooting script” for the trailer for book 3, which is still called Man Bites World.
  • A selling synopsis for The Buried King.
  • Clean up chapters 2 and 3 of Game of Cages to post on the blog.
  • A write up of the next Kolchak episode.
  • A quick polish of an old project I can’t talk about.

And so on. I know there are a lot of writers who could do that in a couple of afternoons, but I’m slow slow slow. This will take me quite a little while to do, but I’m hoping to steal some time this weekend to cross some of these items off my list (and the Kolchak is pretty far down the list of priorities–Sorry to anyone who has been enjoying those).

On top of that, I’m expecting the copyedit for MBW at any time.

Back to the day job.

“Lovecraftian”

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Found another review of Child of Fire today that used the “L” word. “Lovecraft.” It’s one I think about often. I stuck werewolves into my first novel because they’re scary (to me, anyway–I have had many nightmares about dog attacks) but the books are meant to feature supernatural creatures you don’t normally find in folklore. No pixies, no rakshasa, no ghosts, no ifrits, none of that. I wanted to make my own.

Which would be one thing if I was writing a second-world fantasy, but the setting for the Twenty Palaces books are contemporary Earth. And if you write contemporary fantasy but do not use the traditional horror/folkloric supernaturals, how are people going to describe those creatures?

With the “L” word.

Me, I enjoy most Lovecraft–especially the monsters–but I have always hated the names. Cthulhu. Nyarlathotep. Yog-Sothoth.[1] They always rubbed me the wrong way. I can’t believe people would be willing to stick with those unpronounceable names, except under very special circumstances (as in “Nyarlathotep, have I got a deal for you!”). I mean, how long did it take for the U.S. to stop using the name “Peking.” People change things for their convenience.

But the real question is, how do you write a fantasy creature that does not draw on a religious or folkloric tradition that does not prompt comparisons to H.P. Lovecraft?

edited to add: finally reached 100 reviews on Amazon.com yesterday, which I think is pretty cool.

[1]All spelled by memory. Because.

This doesn’t work

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This is one of those complaining posts, because sometimes shit just doesn’t work out. There will be one positive note included at the end, just so you don’t think everything in my life is petty annoyance. People who hate to read griping should skip to the end.

First: My modem at home has died. I emailed a link to myself from work at 5pm. When I got home at six, the email was there, but I couldn’t connect with the web. After more than an hour with tech support, they decided that I just need to buy a new modem.

I’m counting that time as my “cleaning” time for yesterday. Grrr. Today I need to take a bus clear across town to buy a replacement. Maybe that will be my… I don’t know. Maybe I can’t follow my guidelines today.

Second, after a night of leg cramps and nightmares, I completely overslept. I hate oversleeping, especially on day-job days, because that’s my writing time. So not only was I nearly an hour late for work, but I have written nothing today.

Third, (just to bury the lede) I may be losing my day job. It’s not an ideal job, but I need to be part time on these particular days, or I can’t work here. The company is “reorganizing” (iow, trying to drive out a union for a different dept) by combining all its call centers into one. I will go from being employed by a non-profit to a state employee, which means I’ll be doing the same job, but starting over as a new employee.

That means: new benefits, six-month probation, loss of accrued sick time, an end to my retirement plan, new bosses, new office, new co-workers, etc. Will I still be part-time? Will I keep my same shift? That “hasn’t been decided yet.” They still have to “examine the work flow.”

Did I leave my wife alone in upstate NY to deal with all this family crap because I didn’t want to lose a job I was going to lose in two months anyway? Shit.

Anyway, here’s the upbeat news. I’ve received permission to post Chapters 2 and 3 of GAME OF CAGES online. Chapter 1 is already here, of course, but the next two won’t go onto the internet until closer to completion date (especially considering the work I have to do to get them ready).

The as-yet untitled third Twenty Palaces book

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Over on Livejournal, I have a poll asking people what they think of a few possible titles for the book that I’ve been calling Man Bites World. Why LJ? Because they make polling easy.

If you have a LJ account (they’re free) you can vote for the title you like best. If you don’t, you can leave your thoughts in comments anonymously.

All input is appreciated.

Under the heading “Good News”

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I am informed by Reliable Sources that the Delivery and Acceptance check from Random House is on its way. Yay! Man Bites World is now officially turned in. All I have left is title it, review the copy edits and galleys, plus whatever promotional stuff I have to do.

I feel unemployed.

Five Things for a Friday

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1. After weeks of trying to figure out how to fit exercise into my schedule (“What do I give up?” and “When would I have the energy?” being the most important considerations) I suddenly realized that I could squeeze a long walk into my schedule after I finish my shift at my day job, but before I come home. This week I’ve been walking the bus route toward home for 30-40 minutes, and it’s working well. Soon I’ll bump that up to an hour. It means giving up some reading time at the bus stop, but it’s worth it.

2. My feet and leg pain is back. See number one above. I haven’t told my wife about it because it freaks her out, but it’ll soon be obvious because…

3. Our Mothers Day jaunt will be a trip to the park. Lots of walking. Lots of greenery. She loves long walks outside and considers them an essential part of her spiritual self-care. Unfortunately, our son only ventures outdoors after an hour of whining and misery. But we’re doing it, for her. I expect to be in a lot of pain, and to be stuck in the middle.

4. Also this weekend, a very good, very old friend will be in a nearby town. Will he be able to visit? Will I be able to go visit him? No clue.

5. I’m pretty much committed to making a book trailer for book three. Nothing much is going to happen to it at least until the fall, after Game of Cages (aka book 2) comes out. No rush. I will, however, be watching a ton of trailers in the meantime to see what I like and don’t like.

Surprising 6th item: The pre-writing for The Buried King is at the absolute worst part–I have all the characters set and what they want. I know how they’re going to try to get what they want. What I don’t have is a clear idea of how all the conflicts are going to play out.

Truthfully, I don’t need to know this exactly, but I have to have enough information to be sure that the protagonist is going to have conflict with each of the antagonists, and I need to know that each conflict is going to be different. I’m not there yet, which means I’m ready to start writing chapter one but I’m also not ready. Frustrating.

There was supposed to be a surprising seventh thing, too, but I can’t remember what.

Online much?

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Not really. Pizza Week has been a single-parent experience, and I don’t have a lot of time to hang out online. I’m trying to keep up with my email and LJ friends list, but even that’s a struggle.

Anyway, I spoke with my agent about Project Number Next last Monday. The story idea came from this discussion, and although at first I wasn’t sure I wanted to tackle something like that, eventually the idea started taking over my brain. I had a character I wanted to write about. I had a take on the standard urban fantasy setting that I really, really liked. All through the rewrites of Man Bites World, I was thinking of a handful of confrontations in the new project.

But I fucked it up. I wrote 44 pages with very little dramatic tension–there was no villain, no serious obstacle, just a story question that spins out without resolution. In fact, I did something I pretty much never do: I liked a character so much that I just went along for the ride in her day without a solid narrative. A character died off the page, yeah, and there’s a “Who killed the jerk?” story line, but overall it didn’t work.

Worse, the project as it stands feels very whole and solid to me. It needs to be rethought, but I’m going to need some distance before I have another go at it again. I’m too close right now.

Which means that, as I wait for a second round of notes on Man Bites World (or maybe a check instead!), I’ve gone back to The Buried King, the second-world fantasy I was writing while I was querying for Child of Fire. I abandoned it when Caitlin offered to represent me (and told me to start work on Game of Cages.) I’ve gone back to the goof and discovered I hadn’t really solved the plot yet. So, it needs a little more pre-writing planning, and then I’ll be jumping back into a new book.

And now I’ve spent too much of my writing day on this post, and it’s past time to wake my son. Have a great Friday, everyone.

Forgot to add: my back is almost back to normal today.

I solved the last scene of Man Bites World yesterday

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Revised it, cleaned up the manuscript this morning, and just now emailed it to my editor.

Phew!

Now I whip up a list of reviewers who need ARCs and try to come up with a selling title for it.