My Awesome Ideas Book

As I was cleaning out my bin of crap (I have a catch-all three drawer thing in my kitchen where I write), I realized tonight I have a complete stationary problem. I have an entire pencil pouch full of highlighters. Another holds my sharpie markers. I have a third for colored pens and another for drawing pencils and erasers.

In among this I also found a huge amount of sticky notes. I have seventeen different packs of sticky notes in various sizes and colors.

Over the years I’ve bought a LOT of journals. Some of them have cool sayings. Some of them were made of pressed paper. Others had gilded edges or leather covers. I have kept them and never done anything with them because nothing I can think of to do with them is cool enough and I feel like I would be wasting them. I buy them, I keep them and they sit and collect dust.

That is, until this one:

I picked this up on clearance during a late night run to WalMart. I thought I could fill it with all the story ideas I have running around in different binders. I could put the storyboards I’ve done into it and have everything all in once place. I brought it home, opened it up and then the inevitable happened.

I froze. I couldn’t write anything in it because then it would be ruined and I wouldn’t have it forever AND be able to keep all my notes in it. Once it was full, it was full. There was no way to organize thoughts and once it was on the page, it was there. I couldn’t move it around or change anything.

Permanent. And unacceptable.

Well, until I could convince myself to write in the pages, I would take the stack of sticky notes I’d been storyboarding on and tuck them safely inside on the first page. I could go back for them later.

And that was when it hit me. I didn’t have to write on the pages at all! I could write on STICKY NOTES and TACK THEM TO THE PAGES!

If an idea needed moved, I would move the note. If I got more information about book promotion, I could shift all my ideas down a page. If I screwed something up, I could pull it off the page, throw out the sticky note and write a new one. My journal destroying days were over! No longer would I have to watch a beautiful journal sit on the shelf unused!

It has been really handy. The inside cover has my Scrivener key, my Vent info for guild chat and the password to the WiFi that I am constantly losing. I have information about recent things I need to keep a hand on, like my doctor’s info and my sales info for DoTerra. Then there’s information about my Flight Rising account, what armor I was working on for my World of Warcraft Warrior (that is probably seriously outdated at this point) and promotion efforts for books. I have useful email addresses like the people I send beta reads to and my crit partners. I have blog entry ideas and submission calls I want to submit for. And then there are the pages shown above.

The image above is what my storyboards look like. I have questions from my editor on a little arrow. I have research about the story on sticky notes. Little plot ideas are tucked in on tiny notes. Big plot points are on the larger notes. Right now they’re all spread out. I get an idea, I jot it down, slap it on the page and worry about the rest later. I can spread it out over other pages or I can keep it all on one.

I have at least one page for each story I’m plotting or writing.

Now I can have my journal and use it, too.

Song Sung Blue

Why is it I am only inspired to write under certain circumstances? (Don’t get me wrong, I write rather or not I am inspired!) Generally those circumstances are under intense emotion such as sadness. I have the urge to write when I’ve had coffee or with a glass of whiskey, particularly a good scotch.

I have a difficult time expounding on the background of my novel. Who cares what color the tablecloth was? Why do they care how the house looked or where the furniture is arranged? I have difficulty putting emotion into my writing unless I am feeling what the character would be feeling at the time. Many times my writing inspires that emotion in me if I really let myself go.

Personally, I have trouble letting myself go because the emotions of my writing, when I really let myself feel it to write, bleed out into my everyday life. If my character is stressed and overwhelmed and angry, that carries through. In a job where we provide peace and tranquility and work to actively de-stress people, it seems like a contraindication.

Drinking lowers inhibitions and gives false courage. When the whiskey dries up in the morning, the emotions dry up with it. We can go on about our day to day lives and live.

Or can we? Does anyone else experience the three day crash after drinking? We drink. We have a good time. We talk to people we otherwise wouldn’t and do things we normally wouldn’t like dance instead of standing at the sidelines or make silly jokes because we no longer fear the social repercussions. We go home that night and sleep like a baby. Work the next day is great. We had fun and we’re refreshed!

Then the crash hits. If my character is intensely sad, I become intensely sad. I start to doubt myself and all the aspects of my life. The world is terrible and everyone hates me! I’m a talentless hack. I can’t write. My day job sucks because people are always whining at me. I’m hyper sensitive to everything. And in the pit of this sensitivity, we look back at our writing.

My MC (main character) loses her best friend into a potential pit to hell. At first she is angry. Then she moves into the fiercely determined phase. And then she devolves into frustration and, finally, hopelessness.

The fiercely determined phase isn’t so bad, but the other two leave me with coworkers scratching their heads and clients sometimes picking up on the energy. But is there a way to write emotionally intense scenes without letting it carry over? Or do we need to let it flow through our pores and let the raw emotional nature pour into the page?

And won’t we just take it out in editing anyway?

Do you write drunk? Or do you have some insight to writing emotion without letting it creep into your life? I’d love to hear it.

 

A few articles I found poignant while searching for actual medical science to back up my crazy idea:

• Why do we love drunk writers also entitled Shut up and pour the bourbon already
• 7 Mistakes to Avoid as a Beginning Writer
• Writers who Drink or Drinkers who Write

Obscure Colour Words

My girlfriend often sends along writing advice she finds on Tumblr. I have a Tumblr account, but it’s usually to reblog things like cute kittens and wiggling foxes. While I reblog writing advice on my Tumblr, it makes it really hard to find it later. Anyone who reads this blog might just see advice on writing and, to be honest, I think it’s a good thing. Anyone who reads, I believe, will eventually attempt a novel.

What I might do is make another blog simply for writing advice and keep this blog for important updates (pffft hahahaha) and save the other. For now, however, I think this is interesting enough to share.

Obscure Color Words

http://octoberspirit.tumblr.com/post/63995511136/obscure-color-words

• albicant: whitish; becoming white
• amaranthine: immortal; undying; deep purple-red colour
• aubergine: eggplant; a dark purple colour
• azure: light or sky blue; the heraldic colour blue
• celadon: pale green; pale green glazed pottery
• cerulean: sky-blue; dark blue; sea-green
• chartreuse: yellow-green colour
• cinnabar: red crystalline mercuric sulfide pigment; deep red or scarlet colour
• citrine: dark greenish-yellow
• eburnean: of or like ivory; ivory-coloured
• erythraean: reddish colour
• flavescent: yellowish or turning yellow
• greige: of a grey-beige colour
• haematic: blood coloured
• heliotrope: purplish hue; purplish-flowered plant; ancient sundial; signalling mirror
• hoary: pale silver-grey colour; grey with age
• isabelline: greyish yellow
• jacinthe: orange colour
• kermes: brilliant red colour; a red dye derived from insects
• lovat: grey-green; blue-green
• madder: red dye made from brazil wood; a reddish or red-orange colour
• mauve: light bluish purple
• mazarine: rich blue or reddish-blue colour
• russet: reddish brown
• sable: black; dark; of a black colour in heraldry
• saffron: orange-yellow
• sarcoline: flesh-coloured
• smaragdine: emerald green
• tilleul: pale yellowish-green
• titian: red-gold, reddish brown
• vermilion: bright red
• virid: green
• viridian: chrome green
• xanthic: yellow
• zinnober: chrome green

Twelve Questions Answered

A few days ago I posted Four Character Sheets to the Wind about the 12 Questions Mette Harrison suggests asking yourself about your magic system. I sat down and wrote out my answers. I’m not sure I answered everything the way the creator intended, but this gives me at least some guidelines for the system so I don’t pull a fast one on myself.

Image courtesy of [digitalart] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net 

Twelve Questions to ask yourself about your magic system:

• How is it learned and executed?

Most people in the world don’t know magic exists. Children are more easily able to access magic when young because they’re creative and have grand imaginations. The sky’s the limit. Not every child can use magic inherently, but it can be taught in a limited scope to most toddlers. If they show aptitude, it can be coaxed through their school years. As long as they practice, they can keep the talent. If they lose interest, they become banal to it like everyone else. Magic isn’t often taught to anyone without a specific aptitude, especially since the majority of the world doesn’t believe in it. When one loses their sense of wonder and falls into the monotony of everyday life, they can lose the ability to cast easily.

When those with aptitude are taught, magic is executed through force of will. Using spells, enchantments, circles, etc can make it easier. Once you’re practiced enough, the bells and whistles aren’t necessary. Through force of will and thought, magic happens. Meditation can aid in magical workings, freeing the unconscious mind from mundane thoughts. When in a meditative state, the caster has a limited focus. They can work with the things they went into meditation with, but it’s harder to switch gears.

• How is it accessed?

Through the mind.

• Does it have a will of its own?

The only part of the magic system to have a will of its own would be thoughtforms. When created, they can become almost aware and can grow out of control if not checked and released by their creator. Elsewise magic is simply an ambient force in the world waiting to be taken advantage of.

• Is it restricted in space and time?

Magic is more powerful the more people who believe in it. If they were to go back to the middle ages, magic would be much easier to control. However, there is the constant threat of being burned as a witch as well.

• What does available magic do?

Available magic can do anything the caster can imagine strongly enough. If they want to set someone on fire, they can set someone on fire. If they want to turn them into a lawnchair, they could turn them into a lawnchair. The more unrealistic the spell cast, however, the more effort it takes. It would be easier to turn a human into a troll than it would be to turn them into a lion.

• How does it relate to the character, plot and theme of the book?

The characters in the story who use magic come from a magic using family. They use it to hunt demons, bind spirits and the like. Magic is uncommon but extremely useful against enemies most of the world doesn’t see.

• What is the cost of magic?

When magic is used, it is mentally fatiguing. If the mental fatigue becomes too much, physical symptoms can exhibit. To most people, it appears as dehydration and physical exhaustion. Some magic users may have the diagnosis of Chronic Fatigue or Fibromyalgia. If magic users become too exhausted, they can die. As a channel for magic, the body won’t shut down as it would in other fatigue cases. They will literally burn themselves out and die.

• What can it not do?

Magic can’t bring people back from the dead as they were before they died. They become zombies.

• How long does it last?

The effects of the spell will last as long as the caster can keep concentration on the spell. In cases of setting someone on fire, the fire will burn until it no longer has fuel. If the caster continues focusing on the fire burning, however, it may not be snuffed by traditional means or it may relight after being doused.

• Who can use it?

It can be used by anyone with an aptitude who has been trained. It can be self-taught, but sometimes with questionable results.

• How do others react to it?

Most people don’t know magic is real. Those who see it will probably gloss it over and think it was a hallucination. Those with an aptitude are more open to magic being real, but if they’re groomed to believe magic is impossible, they will eventually believe it.

• Why haven’t people with this power taken over the world?

There are incredibly few magic users in the world. Those who use magic don’t want to become a test subject. They are careful to keep it hidden wherever possible. In the case of resurrecting the dead, there would be charges for desecrating graves/remains. Even if they could prove their power, they would be locked up. That, however, doesn’t apply to villains once they amass enough power. 🙂

 

Are there aspects of my magic system I may have missed? Does this make sense to you? If not, leave me a comment. I’m up for suggestions!

Four Character Sheets to the Wind

Image courtesy of [bplanet] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I wrote earlier about a character sheet I was working on. The lovely Belinda Crawford sent me a Scrivener template with a nice character sheet included. It is based off the Snowflake Method and has been tremendously helpful in wrangling this series into shape.

Starting with the 10 step method (9 because I deleted a step), I laid out the overall plan for the entire novel series. Each character is getting a character sheet detailing their plotpoint from start to finish. From there, I am going to break down all the points for the overarching plot into segments. From there, I will take each segment and do the Snowflake method AGAIN until I have one novel. I will then begin work on the first novel and work my way through.

This is an incredible amount of work, but when I have it done, it will be grand and glorious.

At least I hope.

In designing my world, magic is a big part of it for the main characters. It’s not so well known to the world at large, but for the characters who use and interact with it, I really needed to lay out the system and what makes it tick. I found Mette Harrison’s 12 Questions to Ask Yourself about your Magic System and I am using the HELL out of it. I might even post a blog entry at some point with those 12 questions answered.

Regardless, I’ve been doing a lot of research thanks to the copy of The Dictionary of Demons: Names of the Damned by Michelle Belanger I drove all over Columbus to pick up. (The Sawmill location didn’t have it. Only Easton did. The Easton store ate me.) Research into minor and common demons has been slow since Michelle’s book only talks about the major demons (for the most part). The Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits
by Rosemary Ellen Guiley is pretty sweet. And then there’s good old Google. Between them, I’ve hashed out part of my storyline for the big series I want to write and the plotline for a gritty YA novel I saw a submission call for.

Bonus points if you say they’re set in the same story universe.

I’m not sure how often anyone follows what I’ve written here on the blog or if any of you are interested in my journey in writing, but I might be quiet for awhile. I’m going to be writing some novels.

Instant prologue: just add crit and edits

I put my first bit of work for my crit group to dissect. I looked for obvious errors, then set it loose in the wilds of other writers and waited. Within a week, five people posted. For your perusal, I will post my first draft as it was submitted to my crit group. Once I’ve gone through my edits, I will post the updated version. Said version will be re-submitted to be sure I’ve gotten what needed done. Sometimes when you crit, you’re so tripped up by certain aspects you miss others.

Here is the first draft:

Rose tripped over an overturned dresser drawer, the duffel in her hand skidding across the floor and dumping contents like a breadcrumb trail toward the doorway. Leaving it behind, she skittered through the bedroom and into the upstairs bathroom, crawling quietly into the bathtub. Making herself as small as possible, she hid behind the shower curtain, every tiny sound echoing through the empty house. No heater hissed, no pipes clanked. Only the dull thunk of boots against worn carpeting, the creaking stairs as her pursuer came closer, the hiss of his jacket as it brushed the door frame when he passed. Just as she breathed a sigh of relief, his steps neared, slowed and stopped just as his heels clicked against the thick white tile. The surprisingly loud click flooded the room with the overhead light and Rose shrank back, trying to stay out of sight. Why hadn’t she hidden under the bed? She could have run when he came into the bathroom. Instead she was stuck inside with no way out.

Slowly he advanced, every step echoing until he snatched the shower curtain away. Rose cowered, arms wrapped protectively around her body. He lashed out, grabbing her arm hard enough she cried out. There would be bruises in the morning. Putting all her weight behind her, she tried to keep her backside against the shower wall. Another thick hand grabbed her other arm and hauled her up to her tiptoes, his breath hot on her cheek when she turned away. He inhaled, short stubble scratching tender skin. Her head hit the shower wall and a tear slipped free, the whimper uncontrollable as she forced her mouth further from his.

A figure loomed in the doorway, shadows darkening his skin. Its spine stood out, the skin sunken around the processes and between his ribs. It paused on all fours, its back too long, its arms to narrow and its legs bent at strange angles. Her eyes locked with ebony pools and she shuddered.

“Help. Please,” she whispered, watching the strange being cant its head and lean closer.

Her aggressor turned to face the creature. “What the fuck is that thing? Some kind of fucked up dog?”

Its face was too human as it loped into the bathroom and looked up at the man. Its dark eyes swiveled from him to her and back again.

The man dropped her, turned toward the creature and puffed his chest. Brandishing a knife from his belt, he advanced. The creature pulled back, brow drawn and cheeks pulled taut.

Rose summoned her voice. “Run!”

The angular face turned to her just as the leather-clad man struck, drawing a started cry from the creature. Its face contorted in rage and it took a pair of steps back, rising to its full height. Its arm oozed thick black from the thin gash across his bicep. With a hiss, it grabbed him by the throat and snarled in his face, long canines bared and glistening in the light. The creature grabbed the robber’s arm, twisting it back until it crunched and the knife dropped from his hand. A shadowy forked tongue traced the man’s neck as he spit obscenities. The noise stopped when sharp fangs touched skin. Despite fighting the creature before, the robber now held very still. Rose crawled over the tub edge and grabbed the weapon, every movement slow to avoid the creature’s attention.

With a crush of strong jaws, the man’s howls echoed against tiled walls. The creature’s mouth closed and its throat moved, swallowing as the man first struggled and then went limp. Dropping the lifeless body to the floor, the creature turned to Rose and crouched down, red-black eyes watching her intently. Long ebony nails clacked as they settled against the stark flooring, its hands between its feet. Rose shivered, expecting it to attack. She clutched the knife, the hilt against her solar plexus.

Instead of coming toward her, the creature circled the corpse, snuffling his neck and shoulder. Giving a quick glance back at Rose, it nosed the head toward her in a macabre offering. When she didn’t respond, it picked up an arm and hauled it toward her. A squawk of terror rose from her throat and she violently shook her head. With its brow drawn, the creature took a large bite of flesh, then shook the limb at her. Rose screamed, turning away from it and covered her head with her hands. The knife clanked against the tub floor and settled near the drain. A heavy thunk was all the response she received. Rose peeked over her shoulder at it. With a shrug, the creature hunkered down and licked at its hands like an overgrown cat, the ends of its tongue cleaning the crevice of its nail. When she shifted, its long, pointed ears flicked but it otherwise ignored her. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt her. She stared at it, watching as it worked from one finger to the next. It made a face as the pungent scent of human excrement filled the small space, but returned to its grooming.

Something was familiar in its face. Despite the hard angles, she could see human features. As if sensing her stare, it turned and looked at her, watching her for a moment before returning to its tongue bath. Something in its eyes reminded her of someone she knew.

No. It couldn’t be.

Slowly reaching out to him, she called him by name.

The Beauty in Critique

I’ve recently been reading through a self-published novel by a supremely awesome person I met on Twitter. She gave me a free copy of her novel to do a review for her and I’ve been cruising through while juggling NaNoWriMo prep, setting up a writing area, working crazy hours, keeping my house up, trying to get through the crap in our basement and, in general, find time to spend time with my family around everything else I’m doing. I’ve found the novel engaging and I find the gem of a great story therein, but I can’t help but think about all the advice I’ve read about self-publishing and not rushing. Now before I go too much further on this ramble, please understand I am not saying this novel is bad. I am not trashing the author because I really am enjoying her book. I just think she could have used a strong critique and someone to wrangle her plot, commas and repetitive sentences before she published.

Editors are expensive. Really expensive when you’re broke and publishing. Unless you know someone who works for peanuts or pad thai, affording that necessary kick in the pants is difficult. Sometimes, when we write better than our peers, it’s difficult to find someone who will give us honest feedback on our novel. Friends and family know it’s our baby and they sugar coat and pat our hands, telling us it’s better than it is.
With my own writing as an example, my friends aren’t really good at the “OMG WTF is this CRAP?” Well… some of them. I needed someone to sit down, point it out and tell me why.

I posted my first crit piece for my crit group. I went in with a sense of trepidation. Some of the critters told me flat out when they introduced themselves they crit hard and pulled no punches. It took me a week to go over the prologue I was relatively happy with and finally post it for review. I knew they were going to find errors. I had no doubt. What I got was something different than I expected.

No one told me it sucked. Everyone was, while firm, not mean about it. I was worried some of them were going to make me cry. Not a single tear. I went in, read over their edits and nodded along with most of it. A couple of them apologized ahead of time and one member who hadn’t reviewed my work sent a private message and gave me a pat on the shoulder.

Surprisingly, I didn’t need it. I joined a crit group, I put my work out there and they were critical. That’s what a crit group is for. I expected much worse. They could turn up the intensity and I would still be okay. They might have been gentle since I’m the new kid, but I was pleased. Someone critted for me AND it was helpful without any “OMG STOP WRITING NOW”.

I think I know why I haven’t been published before now. I needed a group of people to go “Okay, honey. Really. No. I know this is your baby, but no.” Maybe now when I post my stories to different publishers they won’t toss it out without reading more than the first three lines. With a little self-editing, I’ve got a shot.

I would honestly love to see the above mentioned author join my group. She’s super awesome and I really think she could add to the group. Now I just need to figure out how to suggest it without being a jerk.

National Novel Writers Month is creeping in

I’m sure everyone has seen a post or thirty about NaNoWriMo coming around again. Every November catches me with my pants down around my ankles as I scramble to try and find venues for write-ins and plot-ins. Thankfully my fellow Municipal Liaison has done some of the footwork already for write-ins she’s holding. I’m the one lagging behind! Monday will be my big phone call day in which I chase down those in charge of places for people to do things and get them to confirm dates.

I’ve seen several posts about how to be successful during NaNo, how NOT to be successful, some books that will help and people’s general thoughts on how they make November successful. One of the girls on our forum said she’s NaNo Nesting. It’s a really good term for preparing for the month. People are plotting, jotting scene ideas, making premade meals so they can just toss them in the microwave and have dinner for the family when they need to write… anything it takes to make navigating November more successful. I, personally, eat more takeout and spend a LOT of time at write-ins. I spend lunch breaks at work furiously writing either on the laptop I bring with me or in Googledocs on the work computer. My house looks like an absolute disaster, usually just before Christmas. I let laundry go. I let dishes go. I let showers go. Yes, I said it. I forgo one shower a week in order to write more.

The biggest thing it comes down to is writing. Just write. Sit down, bang out some crap and call it done. It doesn’t matter if it’s good. That’s why you edit later. You should be aiming for 1667 words a day every day for 30 days. If that works, great. If you have to sit down on a Saturday and beat out the week’s worth of words, do it. Whatever gets those words down on a page, do it. Create a general road map, sit down and write. Make time.

And that’s the biggest hurdle. Make time. That’s really the secret to writing at any time of year. Sit down and write. Put words on page and WRITE. Yeah, yeah, stop calling me Pot, Kettle.

If you want someone else’s strategy, you can always check out Kevin Kaiser’s NaNo 30 day survival guide. Chris Beatty, the guy who started all this insanity, has a few books on sale in the NaNo store about writing. All the proceeds go to funding future NaNo goodness. Savvy Authors is doing a NaNo Boot Camp and it’s free for their premium members. Blog writers everywhere are starting their posts (like this one) and are gearing up for the insanity. The wonderful Chuck Wendig has a really sound blog post about NaNo with a lot of links, so make sure you’re ready when you open this one.

I’m going to take my happy ass onto the forums now so I can see what else is going on. See you all on the other side of November.

Self Marketing for Writers: Professional Bio

I am absolutely horrible when it comes to writing any sort of bio for anything. I hate talking about myself, I hate talking about myself in the third person and I either give too much information or too little. Just when I think I’ve got a winner, something comes along and changes it in three months and I have to update. I never know how to truncate my bio for something like twitter where I have only a few characters to tell you all about me.

The writers at The Undercover Recruiter suggest having three different bios to fit different size limits.

The smallest of your bios should be able to fit in your twitter bio, so fewer than 160 characters. It should be one or two sentences telling everyone how you’re unique. If someone’s twitter bio doesn’t reach out and grab me, I’m hard pressed to go in and look at their tweets to see if they’re someone I want to follow. In the business world, this brief statement about yourself is called a “brand statement”. It should have a mixture of shock and delight, according to the Undercover Recruiter, and be simple enough an eight year old can understand it and tell you your value.

To pick what should be included, sit down and write out your key attributes on a paper. Pick those that make you unique and write it out telling people what value you provide, how you do it uniquely and who you do it for.

While you’re cruising through Twitter to update, make sure you link your personal sites, have a good profile pic and your location data is in your profile so people can find you. If you live near someone, they’re more likely to follow you.

Once you’re done with the short and sweet version, you’ve already done some of the setup for your longer, one page bio. This is a nice little story about you that tells everyone who you are and what you do in a way they’ll want to read it. It’s generally done in the third person so it’s like someone else is writing about what a great author you are and what kind of fun things you do.

Included in this one page babble about yourself, you should include:

1. Your name in the first sentence (so people know ‘who’ if they jump from Google.)
2. Where you’ve been published or featured (link to it if possible)
3. Any awards or acknowledgements for writing
4. Education or credentials, and not just for writing
5. Hobbies or interests
6. Contact details

Be sure you have someone read over your bio to make sure you haven’t forgotten anything important and you haven’t forgotten a word or punctuation. Editing isn’t just for novels. They also suggest cruising through your biography monthly just to make sure nothing has changed. You don’t want to forget a recent publication or public appearance and have someone skip your page thinking they’ve found the wrong person.

Any biography posted with a picture gets more views. Make sure pictures you use for promotion are of professional quality, aren’t reminiscent of a My Space photo you took at the bar and wouldn’t make your mother blush to see it on the back cover of your novel (unless that’s the image you’re going for).

Get out there and wow them! (And give me a link to check it out if this blurb helped you.)

Resources:

• The Undercover Recruiter
• 7 rules of professional brand statements
• How to craft your personal brand statement
• Why your bio is more important than your resume
• 8 steps to writing a bio like a pro
• 7 profile pictures you should never use

Self Marketing for Writers: Personal Brand

As stated in my last post, a lot of publishing companies are requiring writers to market for themselves. Rather this is to keep costs down so publishers don’t have to charge as much for books or if it’s to keep small and indie presses flowing smoothly, it’s something we all are going to need going into the future. How do we market ourselves? In the research I’ve done, it seems like a pretty simple thing. All we have to do is what the business world calls a “Personal Brand”.

A personal brand is simply the face we put forward into our professional scope. To create a personal brand, you really only have to do the things you’re already doing.

• Blogging

How many of us don’t have a blog nowadays? Most everyone has a blog, including inkslinging monkeys banging their face against a keyboard and leaving it for the world like some primate Picasso. I have this blog  for writing and storytelling. I have another for cooking recipes and yet another for my gaming woes. When you’re working with your personal brand, you need to add regular content. When your readers can rely on a post, they’ll come back for more. By the time you start talking about your next novel coming out, the established reader base you already have is going to be there waiting.

This means, however, that you’re going to need a reader base. There are a few simple things you can do to draw people in. Go to other blogs and Twitter feeds. Read their stuff and comment. Open a dialogue between other readers and writers like yourself. Post reviews of the books you’ve read on Goodreads. You can do guest posts for other people’s blogs. It’s like a vicious cycle that isn’t vicious. You learn things, they learn things and people follow people. Easy, right? (Just don’t be “that guy” and go everywhere spamming that you’re a writer and you have a great book everyone needs to read. We’re all pretty sick of hearing that already.)

On that topic:

• Be active in social media

Twitter is like an addiction for me. Since I use Tweetcaster paired with Readability, I can cruise through my Twitter feed, read all about people’s lives, save interesting articles to read later and keep up on what’s coming and going in the world of writing. I can comment directly in Readability and others who use the site can see what I’ve written. I retweet like a fiend when I’ve found an interesting bit of online knowledge. Most of what I post on Twitter posts automatically to my Facebook page. I can keep several options open.

Don’t do like I did and join all the things. Stick with the social media sites you’ll actually use. My twitter feed posts to Facebook, but I actually have to check in on Facebook to see if anyone is replying to what I’ve written and do it sooner rather than later. There’s nothing worse than feeling connected to an author for some reason or another, leaving them a little post and never hearing from them. You get lost in the floe of posts coming to those popular people and carried away. It could be what makes or breaks a connection with someone else.

I post not only a lot of retweets (which I do too much sometimes) but also content of my own, what’s going on in my life, pictures of my animals, my new haircut… You get the idea. I take what I enjoy reading about other people and I do the same thing. I’m active there and when I publish, I might actually have a few people who are genuinely interested in hearing what I have to say. I’ve posted once about what annoys me on Twitter and another on what I want to see in writer blogs, but it bears repeating: Don’t be “that guy”. We want to know some things about you personally just as much as we want to know what you’ve written.

• Do a meetup

Many people I’ve talked to have spoken on attending writer’s groups for people to bounce story ideas off of, get information and research, cover angles you haven’t thought of and to get good, honest critique before you ship your babies off to be cowboys or, in the case of bad writing, hamburger. Do a quick Google search of writers groups in the area.

My favorite meetup is NaNoWriMo. For those of you who may not have heard of it before, it’s a month of crazy writers drinking too much coffee and writing a terrible 50,000 word novel in 30 days. It’s all self-paced and nominated. There are no judges, no one who picks whose novel is best or worst. A bunch of us crazy people get together in coffeehouses, restaurants, bookstores, libraries and even grocery stores and write throughout the month of November. I love it enough I work as a municipal liaison for Columbus. Previously I worked as ML in Findlay. I have met some wonderful, incredible, horribly knowledgeable people who have given me the best advice and invited me to so many fun things. It really is an experience you should try at least once. If nothing else, it teaches you to sit down and write a little every day.

The most important thing in developing your personal brand seems to be just getting out there and having a good time with other people. Do guest blog posts. Record a video blog. Do some blogging of your own. Come stalk me on twitter. Read the articles I’ve saved to read on Readability. Check out my reviews on Goodreads. Talk to me about your books. I’ll even do reviews for you. Without sounding too desperate, I LIKE hearing from people and I LOVE making new friends. Let’s improve our brand (and our chances at getting published) together.

Resources:

• The Undercover Recruiter
• How to keep your personal brand present
• In her blog, M.J. Pullen gives some great tips on self-promotion without feeling like a complete skeeze.