Losing Heart: My Thoughts on Christmas

Posted on December 19, 2010 by C.A. Jacobs

I saw on the news tonight people who were upset with other people wishing each other a Merry Christmas. In a lot of ways, I think this is sad. Christmas for me isn’t about presents, or shopping, or Christmas carols. It’s about family. It’s the only dedicated time every year that I get to spend with my family, and I don’t always get to see any of them. Next year, I probably won’t get to see any of my family members for Christmas, and this year I don’t get to see all of my family, either. But I know that all of my family knows that I’m thinking of them and that I would be there if I could. I like giving people presents. I like spending the time shopping for people or making them something special. I like knowing that I can safely give people whatever I want and they can’t give me crap about it. It’s hard to get people to accept presents these days because most people feel like extra generosity is a bad thing. I think this is another of the many things that make me sad that we live in the world we do. People feel guilty about receiving gifts and presents from people, and I think the main reason for that is because we often don’t feel like we do enough for the people who matter the most to us in our lives. So I like that the holiday season gives me a reason to give people presents, or even just to send them cards to let them know that I’m thinking of them. The truth is that I think of everyone in my life all the time, every single day, and I know that my life allows me the luxury of those existential thoughts.

If I’m walking down the street, and someone wishes me a Blessed Solstice or a Happy Chanukah, I’m not going to get upset or angry with them for not following my holiday traditions – I’m going to wish them a Merry Christmas and a Blessed Solstice or Happy Chanukah or whatever seasons greetings they approached me with. It’s a time when we should all feel thankful for the people who matter most to us – where we should feel blessed by the simple things in life because not everyone has so much to be thankful for. I have a family who loves me and are extremely supportive of all the things I do with my life. I have a roof over my head and my very own room with built-in heating and air conditioning. And indoor plumbing. Really, anytime I think my life is terrible, I remember life without indoor plumbing. But we all have so many things to be thankful for! Do we really need to make this time of year about learning or teaching hatred? Our religious beliefs may not all be the same, but it should be the spirit that matters – the spirit that tells us all to be thankful for what we have, especially if what we have is the ability to spend time with our families and those who matter the most to us.

If someone offers you a seasons greetings that’s unfamiliar to you, but meets the same intent of thankfulness and joy, greet them as a friend. And if people don’t seem to understand all the good they already have in their lives, send them holiday wishes that someday, they’ll understand what really matters. For me, that’s my family and friends. For others, it could be their pets, or even shelves of old, worn out books. There’s been a lot of those old, worn out books that are very much like dear friends to me.  But the point is to spend the time given to us with those who matter the most, whoever they might be, and to be thankful for the gifts of family and friends, especially during the winter months, which are often the hardest for so many.

So I wish you all a Blessed Solstice, a Happy Chanukah, a Merry Christmas, or just plain Happy Holidays, depending on your preference.

Posted in Randomness | 2 Comments

An ambitious writer

Posted on November 2, 2010 by C.A. Jacobs

Going over my project list tonight, I realized that I have a lot more books going on than I thought I did. Accept Fire and Blood, the first book in my intended Wildlands series, is currently under review with Edge. Betray, the second book in my intended Wildlands series, is about half complete and I’m hoping to have a first draft done within the next several months before I leave on my extended research trip. Then there’s Janitor, which is my possible Young Adult book that’s barely made it past the first chapter. There is also the unofficial NaNoWriMo novel Child of Chaos. And last, but not least, the super secret writing project that will likely make me a best seller, TBR.

The fun part about all these writing projects is that they are all completely different. Different genres, different story types, different ideas. It’s not like I’m just writing fantasy or mystery. I’m writing almost one of everything. I do believe that the more I write, the better of an author I will become and the more prolific my work, the greater the chances of becoming a household name author. I want to share the stories in my head the best way possible with the most people I can.

Writing is fun. Building characters and worlds and impossible situations is an amazing way to spend my free time and I’m looking forward to someday saying that all those stories are available for purchase. But that’s going to happen for several years, at the very least.

Posted in Accept Fire and Blood, Betray, Wildlands | Leave a comment

World Fantasy Convention 2010 complete

Posted on October 31, 2010 by C.A. Jacobs

Wow. This year’s World Fantasy Convention in Columbus, Ohio, was absolutely amazing. I met a lot of interesting people and attended a few interesting panels. I should probably start at the beginning, though, since it’s been so long since I posted anything.

I’ve spent most of this month secretly working on the second book in my intended Wildlands series, which is probably a really good thing. The first draft of the second book, Betray, is just over halfway completed. I was posting about it on my facebook, but I stopped because it didn’t really seem to me as though anyone cared except me, and that’s okay because I’m the one writing it, therefore I ought to be able to provide my own motivation to continue working through projects.

I left for WFC late on Tuesday night after a really long and extensive day of work. My flights were really smooth and I finally arrived in Columbus around dinner time on Wednesday evening. I stopped at the registration desk only to find that the entire volunteer crew was leaving to go to dinner and done doing things for the night. I made arrangements to help them out in the morning and I worked solidly after that, only attending three panels total from Thursday through Saturday. I meant to go to so many more, but I was just so physically, mentally, and emotionally drained that I didn’t think I had the ability to sit down and be quiet during a discussion.

Seton Hill University’s MFA in Writing Popular Fiction had a fantastic turnout and it felt like everywhere I went, I ran into people I knew. It was a good, warm fuzzy feeling, but it also made it more complicated for me to volunteer because I wanted to hang out with my friends. SHUers even participated in several of the panels. I’m hoping that they came out as well as I did in the end.

I’ll give a detailed list of the panels I attended and my impressions of them, as well as my book haul, once the books arrive in the mail sometime next week. I had so many books that I had to mail them back to myself.

I met a lot of amazing people and I hope to be able to keep in contact with them as we all become peers and coworkers in the book industry, be it as writers, editors, publishers, agents, or just people who enjoy to read.

When I checked my email on Thursday, I found another note saying that my thesis passed, which was unexpected news. I was shocked because I honestly thought that I would receive one passing grade and one failing grade, with a note about how I now had 3 weeks to fix the entire manuscript. I was prepared to spend the entire month of November frantically writing and attempting to fix my manuscript in order to pass my MA. So the only things I brought on the plane with me to work on was my manuscript. As soon as I received the email informing me of my impending doom of passing, I saved the files to my desktop and immediately began work on them during my second flight, which was a wonderful thing for me to have done.

So while participating in huge amounts of manual labor, I met a great many people in the industry. Everyone saw me hauling books and working and generally just being extremely productive. So when it came time for me to suck up my fear and approach a publisher to a smaller, but very respected company, and tell them that I’m a writer with a finished first manuscript, they told me to send them the full and they would look it over.

My full, entire, 100% complete manuscript is currently in the hands of a publisher. I can’t even begin to describe how this makes me feel. I was a little confused and stunned at first, but I eventually followed the very good advice received from several sources that told me I should follow their instructions when I didn’t seem to understand what I was supposed to do. So I checked their website for their submission requirements, spent about an hour and a half reformatting to their standards, and then I sent it off. I’m very glad I made immediate corrections as I received comments from both of my graders. I’m also very glad I spent so much time lately revising and polishing everything and then working on the second novel behind everyone’s back.

But now I’m very tired and hoping to get to bed soon. Work will be long and difficult for the next month, so I didn’t sign up for NaNoWriMo, but I might just do it anyway without signing up. I have at least three story ideas that I need to actually write and get on paper. If the publisher decides they like my work, I’d like to make sure they understand that I’m willing to actually do the work and that I enjoy writing very much – that I will be a prolific investment for them.

Posted in Betray, Conventions, MA in Writing Popular Fiction, Wildlands | Leave a comment

Book Review: Beginnings, Middles, and Ends by Nancy Kress

Posted on October 10, 2010 by C.A. Jacobs

Beginnings, Middles, and Ends (Writing Guide 143 pages) by Nancy Kress was the next book on my required reading list for my MA in Writing Popular Fiction through Seton Hill University.

The big reason why this was one of my required texts was because I’ve been struggling with a good place to end Accept Fire and Blood because I am designing this book to be the first in my Wildlands series. Since my thesis is currently under review by my two final readers, I feel as though this is a bad time for me to go through the book and make changes, either in concept or to the ending. I have very little to no faith at all that my thesis will receive a first time pass for this course, which is fine because then I will have the month of November to make it perfect.

Beginnings, Middles, and Ends is well structured and easy to read. I think as soon as my thesis comes back from my graders, I will actually use all of the exercises at the end of each chapter. I’m very curious to see how well my manuscript will hold up to the promises intended and promises delivered. In fact, there are large portions of my story that I really don’t remember writing. So in a way, I’m also looking forward to rereading my story as a reader and not as the author. The last time I did that, I learned that my first six chapters were so incredibly boring that even I as the writer was falling asleep and I knew what happened!

What I’m learning about series books is that it still has to be a stand alone novel, with a beginning, middle, and end all by itself. The section in chapter 7 “The Special Case of the Series Book” brought up several key questions for me, and then I had to take into account that this book, while extremely helpful, has a copyright of 1993. Most of the series books that I read these days, Jim Butcher‘s Harry Dresden novels, Carrie Vaughn‘s Kitty Norville books, David Weber‘s Honor Harrington space opera, are all examples of the ongoing series using mostly the same main characters. In these books, I’d have to say that it’s all about character arcs. Throughout each series, the character changes just a little. Sure, they more or less stay the same as when we started, but the bad guys keep getting more encompassing and the good guys keep having to do more and more despicable things in order to defeat them. I absolutely love this about all these novels.

Using these books as a prime example of what I want to do with my series, I’d actually disagree with Nancy Kress when she says “… that readers who enjoyed her in one book won’t find her with a different personality in the next book. If you write this kind of series, you need to make sure your protagonist ends up in roughly the same professional and emotional place she started. You’ll have to emphasize plot over character development.” (page 115-116). All of the series I mentioned above have drastic arcs for the characters, and it’s taken several books in each series to get a full scope of what the characters would and would not do, given certain circumstances.

Overall, a good book on craft and one I look forward to using once my graders decide if my thesis passes or fails.

Posted in Book Reviews, MA in Writing Popular Fiction | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

smaller writer’s technology

Posted on October 8, 2010 by C.A. Jacobs

Looking at my calendar for the next several months, it appears as though my traveling schedule is getting ever closer. Given that I’m going to be out and about for quite some time on this research trip, I’ve been looking at electronic gadgets that I think might be portable enough to take with me.

I’m seriously thinking about picking up an e-reader of some sort, and I’ve got a pretty good idea which one I’ll wind up springing for. I was debating asking for it as a Christmas present, but I’m impulsive and would probably buy it if I found it in a store. I need something small that can fit into a pocket so that I can carry with me. Having a great battery life would also be very beneficial. So if I do wind up picking this up before Christmas, anyone who actually knows me and intends on sending me a Christmas present of some sort can buy me gift cards so I can put my important books on my new e-reader (that I don’t own yet). I have so many books that I absolutely love that it’s hard for me to think about traveling and not having access to them.

I’ve also been trying to figure out what I should do about something to write on. I already have an Alphasmart and I seriously think it’s one of the best writer tools ever, but it’s just not as portable as I need. So I took the initiative and sent out an email for my Go Writer! idea. I sent that out last night and I actually had a response in my email box this morning. Not quite what I was expecting, but it was still interesting. So that actually has potential and I would be very excited if my Go Writer! idea became something I could actually purchase and take with me on my travels.

The funny part about technology is that it keeps getting smaller, but with more applications. I don’t want a palm-sized phone, GPS, movie-watching toy. I just want something I can write on like the Alphasmart and something I can read books and PDFs with so I can carry my library and keep myself entertained during long flights. I think that those individuals who invent things should be making two versions of all their new gadgets – the simple version with only the basic tools necessary and the complicated version with all the bells and whistles. That way, everyone can get what they want. I mean, we have the ability to do that with cars, right? I could get a 2010 whatever with power windows and built-in MP3 player, etc., or I could buy the same 2010 as a manual with no power windows and a CD player. Why can’t I do that with my electronics?

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Book Review: Discord’s Apple by Carrie Vaughn

Posted on October 3, 2010 by C.A. Jacobs

Not really knowing what else to do with my weekend, I finally had the time to pick up Carrie Vaughn‘s Discord’s Apple (Fantasy 299 pages).

I really do enjoy all of Vaughn‘s work. She’s a very talented author, with great characters and fascinating storylines. The scattered mythology all throughout the story was wonderfully done and reminded me of having to translate the Aeneid during my undergraduate Latin days. I remembered Chapter Two as my favorite chapter because that was the fall of Troy, and was vividly described by Virgil. Reading it “unedited” from translation was a very bloody experience that stuck with me for many years.

Overall, this was a great story and I’m glad I finally had the time to read it.

Works cited: Vaughn, Carrie. Discord’s Apple. New York: Tor, 2010.

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October NaNoWriMo Day 02

Posted on October 2, 2010 by C.A. Jacobs

I started my internal NaNoWriMo yesterday and have so far logged 3990 words, which is an interesting 8% complete of my working goal. Although, this is the first chapter of the next book in my intended Wildlands series, it’s a lot bloodier than Accept Fire and Blood. But I guess that’s one of the reasons I’m supposedly writing horror.

Posted in Accept Fire and Blood, NaNoWriMo, Wildlands | Leave a comment

the beginning at the end

Posted on October 2, 2010 by C.A. Jacobs

Having worked solidly for a month of straight-up revisions, I find myself with a little bit more personal time. Since November is going to be something of a nightmare for me with work, I’ve decided to do my own internal NaNoWriMo during the month of October.

But what is NaNoWriMo? NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month, an annual tradition where writers from all over the world give themselves one month to write a 50,000 word novel. The idea is to produce quantity over quality, which is something that many novelists struggle with. I’ve heard multiple times from many authors that it’s much easier to grow flowers out of crap than out of air. I find this to be remarkably true. Once the words are on the page and the story is complete, the revision process is much simpler. In fact, my own experience with Accept Fire and Blood demonstrated to me that once the story is complete, it’s a lot easier to tell what kind of major overhauls the story needed in order to be something worth reading.

I started my internal NaNoWriMo yesterday, 01 October 2010, and will go until 31 October 2010. As I am attending the World Fantasy Convention 2010 in Columbus, Ohio, over Halloween weekend, I’m actually hoping to reach my 50,000 words before I leave for that. I’m also hoping to start pitching Accept Fire and Blood while at WFC, and as it’s designed to be the first book in the series, I think it will be more marketable if I already have an 80% solution on the next book.

I have no statistics or facts to back this next part up, just a weird intuition, but I wonder how many one time novels get queried every day? I think about how proud I am to have finished writing my first novel and how excited I would be to sell it, but I also think there are a lot of authors who spent so much time on *one* novel that they might not get picked up for publication because they have nothing else to market. I think if I were an agent, editor, publisher, etc., I would have second thoughts about people who only had one idea to sell me. And I think as a reader, I might be less inclined to buy an author’s book if I didn’t think there would be more to follow.

So I think it’s a great idea to have as many projects ready to go as I can get. I started my internal NaNoWriMo yesterday and have so far logged 2064 words, which is an interesting 4% complete of my working goal. I guess I better get back to the story then, yes?

Posted in Accept Fire and Blood, Conventions, Wildlands | Leave a comment

Another draft complete

Posted on September 28, 2010 by C.A. Jacobs

It’s been a busy month of writing. I more or less managed to rewrite the first half of Accept Fire and Blood and revise the second half, all within the month of September. Add this to a long line of work and life related issues, and I think I will come out ahead for this month.

While I very much want to keep revising the book, I realize that it’s probably a bad idea. This is my thesis project for my MA at SHU and I submitted it to my two final readers via email yesterday. I think the first 12 chapters are solid, but I’m not sure how my “graders” will feel about my last 3 chapters. I really felt like I didn’t give those chapters the time and attention that the end of a book deserves. I have been known in the past to work on multiple versions of the same book in order to find the best way to tell the story. It’s more important to me that I share my story in the best possible way I can tell it, rather than just writing to write.

Even though I haven’t been getting much sleep due to the deadline and work issues, I’ve really enjoyed the revision process and finally making my story something that’s worth reading. I think while I wait for my final readers to get back to me on whether or not I’m going to graduate, I’ll start work on the next book in the series because I’ve enjoyed writing so much lately.

I think it’s weird that the more I write, the more I want to write. Sure, I’m getting frustrated that I don’t seem to have time in my life to do anything other than work and write and there are so many other things that I wish I could be getting done, but somewhere along the lines, I’d forgotten how much fun this could be.

Admittedly, there are a lot of days when I feel like an amateur hack writer who should just be content to have “a real job” for the rest of my life. Those are usually the days when I just can’t seem to get the story right or flowing and it’s frustrating. But I’ve learned that I just have to keep with it and push through. We all have self-doubts, but it’s what you accomplish when times are tough that show you what kind of person you really are.

My advise to all those like me? Just keep writing. Anything worth doing takes hard work and effort, but if you love it, the good days will outnumber the bad. It’s worth it because you have great stories worth sharing. The more you write, the better your writing will become.

Posted in Accept Fire and Blood, MA in Writing Popular Fiction, Wildlands | Leave a comment

The revisions at the end of the tunnel

Posted on September 12, 2010 by C.A. Jacobs

I finished up the newest version of chapter 3 very early this morning and should finish the next draft of chapter 4 within the next couple hours. Once I actually sit down and start pushing through things, the revisions go a lot faster, but these early draft of the first chapters weren’t very strong. Now that the first full draft of the story is complete, I’ve found that revising the first chapters has been a lot harder than I thought it would be. I have to be careful about how much I change because all those changes have to carry through the revisions of the rest of the book.

Also looming in the back of my mind is the fact that I’m not entirely certain what will qualify as a satisfactory ending for what is designed to be the first book in a series. I want it to end on a cliff hanger with an ambiguous ending like many horror stories do, but I’m afraid that if I end where I want that I will not receive a passing grade for this class. I’m not really sure what a satisfactory ending will be for this type of work, but it’s causing me a little stress. I’ve already added another chapter to the end, but even that leaves things up in the air. I’m not writing romance so I don’t need Ryn to wind up married and pregnant at the end, and that wouldn’t make sense with the rest of the story anyway. I can’t kill all the bad guys, nor can I answer all the questions about what’s going on in the world. It’s a little unsettling, but I’m sure I’ll figure something out.

Posted in Accept Fire and Blood, MA in Writing Popular Fiction, Wildlands | Leave a comment