Someone on the NaNoWriMo chat group mentioned a technique in which a writer writes a pep talk from his or her characters. She said she had found it helpful.
I hadn’t heard of the technique, but just the thought of it scared the snot out of me.
In my fox research for Kitsune-Tsuki and Kitsune-Mochi, I came across this clipping of a hunting trip gone wrong.
I understand that people hunt, some for pleasure and some by necessity. (My husband grew up in an area where hunting provided much of some families’ diet.) But hunting should be quick and clean and respectful.
A hunter in Belarus apparently opted to save a bullet by bludgeoning a wounded fox to death, instead of shooting it cleanly. The fox fought back.
I read that December’s shopping will determine whether 2012 is in fact the year ebooks edge out physical books, or if that will happen in 2013. Regardless, it’s coming soon.
It’s good to have realistic expectations as well as goals, right? And likely goals as well as shoot-for-the-moon goals, right? Authors — and everyone — should have many small goals as they make their way toward large goals.
So in a fit of procrastination from Real Work, I’ve compiled a just-for-fun list of things which would make me happy, small or large signposts on the way toward Arrived — wherever that is.
So you knew I was working on bringing Kitsune-Mochi to you, right? Did you know I’m also working on a non-fiction book?
My day job is in behavior, animal behavior specifically (though I’m also certified in TAGteach), and I’m working on a book in that field.
A 2011 psychology experiment indicates that spoilers don’t ruin a story, but rather enhance it.
With all respect, in this regard psychology has its headlight plugged firmly into its tail-lamp. And that’s coming from someone who makes her day job in psychology and behavior, so you know I feel pretty strongly about this.
So this is what was waiting for me when I flew home through Hurricane Sandy turbulence and walked in the front door.
Isn’t that grand? My husband rocks.
So I just got an email notifying me of my first Kitsune-Tsuki royalties. So of course I had to tweet about it.
First KITSUNE-TSUKI royalties arrived. There's more than one digit before decimal point. Look, I have totally justified my writerly stuffs.
— Laura VanArendonk Baugh (@Laura_VAB) October 24, 2012
Of course, I knew that I wasn’t putting out Kitsune-Tsuki for money. That’s good, because all single-digit humor aside, percentages on a 99¢ ebook ($4.99 in paperback) are not exactly going to pay for a trip to a warmer climate.
I don’t typically attempt NaNoWriMo in the way that many writers do — I mean, actually writing a new novel — but I do use it as a shameless excuse to dedicate more time to side projects I wouldn’t otherwise. I have no memory of what I did with it last year, honestly, but two years ago I wrote an Renaissance espionage/thriller novella based on too many hours of Assassin’s Creed parkour and a single Within Temptation lyric. You need NaNoWriMo to justify toys like that.
A question I’ve received several times on Facebook or elsewhere is, How can we help promote? I love that people want to help me (and other authors) promote their books. Here’s a great little article by Lindsay Buroker on promoting an author’s work. Not just for me — do this for any book you enjoy!
As authors, we spend a lot of time trying to promote our books. Our biggest obstacle is obscurity because there are a lot of books out there. No, really. A lot.
