10 years of writing - A retrospective

It's an odd feeling, that first time you measure a major thing in life by a decade.

While I've had an insatiable love for books since first I can remember (what 8-year-old reads "The Lifecycle of Lobsters" for fun?), and my first attempt at a novel at age 10 resulted in 3 pages of double-spaced, handwritten prose about space pilots using lasers to defeat a giant computer (genius!), I distinctly know that my decision to make a lifelong pursuit of the writing career happened in my sophomore year of college. 2002. And it being 2012 means 10 years have passed since.

What's happened since then?

A lot, to put it succinctly.

Less succinctly....a loooooooooooooot.

Ahem. Let's break it down, shall we?

• I've written over a dozen manuscripts (three being part of a trilogy), most between 80-100k wordcount. I count most of these as "apprentice" novels.
• I attended the NYU Publishing Institute and, through that, worked several years at Simon & Schuster, getting a firsthand look at how publishers work.
• I worked with one agent for a year, and have now been with my current one for 1.5 years.
• I've had 6 short stories sold and published. (not a ton by some measures, but I haven't focused on them much)
• I've attended numerous writing conferences and fan conventions, and, in the course of those, have met countless other writers, authors, agents, and editors. 
• I began a column for speculative fiction news, book reviews, and author interviews.
• I established a website that compiles many writing and publishing resources.
• After several years of portfolio-building, I began freelance writing and editing full-time.

And that's all just the writing/publishing focused stuff. It doesn't take into account all the other big "Life" events, like my getting married, moving  numerous times, my variety of day jobs, etc. Yow. 

There are some milestones I've yet to reach, some goals I'm still working towards. Finally getting a book published is a big one, along with attending cons as an author, and I hope to see more growth in my freelancing. Right now, I'm just wondering what the next 10 years have in store. 

Let's find out.

A Christmas Special - Spooky holiday flash fiction

A little bit back, I got invited to what looks to be a fun new Christmas tradition for those who have a love for flash fiction--the I Saw Lightning Fall Shared Storytelling. For the past couple years, Loren Eaton, who runs the I Saw Lightning Fall blog, has invited a number of authors to write spooky, creepy, or otherwise unsettling flash fiction pieces (100 words, exactly), all centered on holiday themes. Each author then posts their entry to their personal blog, which are rounded up on ISLF for all to enjoy.

So, without further ado, here's mine:

The Rift of the Magi

Each year. In the sky. The star grows ever larger, until it looks less a star. More a scar, bleeding blue-white with rotting purple edges.

Each year. Across the lands. Men both foolish and wise are captured by its light. Their skin fades to match its bloodless rays. They rise as one, as two, as three, and more.

Each year. To the birthplace. The supplicants march, bearing themselves as offerings to the newborn, whose unblinking eyes reflect the rift in the heavens.

Each year. With each birth. The star snares more minds and souls. Until all the earth shall see.

***

Be sure to check out the ISLF blog to see all the other entries! It isn't a contest, so there's no need to vote. Just a chance for writers to share in a creative holiday spirit. 

Merry Christmas, everyone!

A love letter to urban fantasy

Hey! Dear god, Urban Fantasy, back off! This is a love *letter* which means you won't be receiving this for at least a month or so, depending on your area's postal service. So stop humping my leg.

Okay. Phew. Onward.

UF, why is it that you continue to fascinate me? Is it your hardened heroes and heroines that never take "No" for an answer and always rise to impossible challenges? Is it the fact that you show us how a normal day at your local grocery store can turn into a hunt for a demon-infested soccer mom? Is it your ability to flip fantasy tropes on their heads, shock me, and tug me along by my nostril-hairs?

Yes. It is all those things and more.

Urban Fantasy...you take so much of my time. I'm a writer, I'm an author, and yet you don't care. You don't think about my priorities, do you? All you care about is entertaining me. About dragging me away from my current manuscripts and getting me invested in the plights of wizard detectives, magical moms, fantasy families, and more.

FU, UF.

Ahem.

Will I stop reading urban fantasy? Hell no. (Okay, hoping no demons are summoned by my passionate use of "Hell")

Urban fantasy inspires us all to think beyond our normal routine. To consider that homeless guy you pass by every day in  new light. To always doubt our interpretation of reality and imagine what's left to discover. To hope that the kitchen salt shaker can be used to banish a supernatural stalker. It takes the mundane and makes it magical.

And I wouldn't trade that for anything.

Space to breathe, think, and do finger push-ups

Some exciting new developments have been going on behind the scenes here, recently--one of the reasons this blog has been dormant for a bit, alongside Write-Strong.com. For several years now, I've been slowly building up my freelance work in the hopes of eventually cutting loose from the day job and making a go on my own as a writer/editor.

Over the past year, I've felt an increasing desire to make this a reality and, thanks to a hugely supportive wife, I've taken that leap into the unknown. If you drop by Write-Strong.com, you might notice a new Hire Me! section. Yeah, not exactly subtle, eh?

So, I'm into my second week of making a break for it, and so far, it's been going strong. I've been brought on by a handful of clients who have been great to work with, and been able to devote more time to the work I already had going on. If all goes well, this will continue to flesh out into a sustainable career path for me (even if I do have to the occasional part-time job).

Taking this step has given me renewed energy and breathing space to focus on my writing, both in copywriting and fiction. They really complement one another, as far as building good writing habits, such as just getting my butt in the chair and doing the finger push-ups on the keyboard. It's satisfying to know that every bit of work I'm producing, while for other clients, contributes to my growth as a writer.

Alongside all this, I've also been adding some fresher book reviews on my Speculative Fiction Examiner column, and also will begin contributing some monthly posts to SFSignal.com, which I'm excited about.

What's been going on with everyone else? I try to keep an eye on things through G+ and my Twitter/Facebook feeds there, but I know I've likely missed some fun news on your end. Catch me up!

Editorial work and other happenings of life

As you've likely noticed, this blog occasionally goes dormant for a week or two at a time. Fortunately, there's good reason behind that, such as life suddenly deciding the hamster wheel isn't spinning fast enough, or a boatload of freelance work topping the to-do lists. I remain generally active on Twitter in the meantime, in case anyone wants to connect there: @JRVogt.

Anyhoo, here's what's been happening on this end. On the fiction end of things, continuing the patience game with an urban fantasy manuscript out to various editors. Always hoping to have a sudden "good news" announcement for that. You'll know when anything happens there.

Freelance work has built up a bit, both with the copywriting and copyediting. I've joined on with Shimmer magazine as a volunteer associate editor, working with story submissions. That's been a lot of fun! The other big thing is having joined up as an editor with Entangled Publishing. They've been kicking a lot of great books out the door in their first year, and I've been having a great time working with several authors in prepping various urban fantasy and paranormal romance series for publication.

Beyond that, this last weekend was taken up with the Colorado Relay Race. Originally, I intended to just be a driver for my wife's team, but a last-minute change had me running two short legs, including up one Vail Pass. We did 200 miles in 33 hours, and came in 90th out of 130 teams. For a first year effort, it was great. Exhausting, but fun.

So, now it's back to the day job, getting the next manuscript in shape, and working on new stories of my own. What's happening in your world, m'friends?

(Oh! Also, while I'm not officially attending the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writer's Conference like I'd hoped, if anyone is going and wants to meet up for drinks over the weekend, let me know! I'll also be at this year's MileHiCon for sure. See you there!)

"Outside the Lines" - My Clarity of Night flash fiction entry

Just got word that my entry is up for the contest! "Outside the Lines" is #15 (or you could just check for my name).

Many great entries to read so far, and there's only about 70 more spots available...though I'm sure that number is even less because Jason often seems to have about 15-20 to process behind the scenes at any given time. Not much longer before that Final Deadline is called. Get yours submitted before it's too late!

The Clarity of Night flash fiction contest has begun!

The Clarity of Night blog, run by Jason Evans, is now live with its 14th flash fiction contest. Here's the picture that writers are to draw inspiration from, titled "Elemental."

Here are the basic rules. 

1. Write a story with a max 250 wordcount. 

2. Submit it by 10PM, Wed., July 20th. (That's in 1 week, folks!)

However, there is a big qualifier for the entry time limit. You see, the contest has become so popular that Evans is been having a difficult time processing the hundreds of submissions he's received in the past. So to keep things manageable, he's imposing a potentially early closing time. Here's how he explains it:

If I receive 95 entries before the regular close of the contest, I will announce FINAL COUNTDOWN. What does that mean? A clock will be posted on Clarity of Night with 12 hours placed on it. Once FINAL COUNTDOWN is declared, you will have 12 hours to get your entries in. Once the 12-hour period has expired, the contest will close. Whoever makes it in time will be included.

Evans has a couple key posts about how he rates entries, and suggestions on what you can do to improve your chances of winning. Definitely check these out to get an edge over other contestants. Also check out the full rules, guidelines, and awards here.

Here also is the link to the last contest, where my entry, The Care and Feeding of Angels, had the good fortune to place 1st in both the general judging and Reader's Choice Award. It'll be interesting to see how my next attempt is received. You never really can be sure. What you can be sure of is a ton of fascinating entries and takes on how this picture is interpreted. 

Good luck!