My "Guide to Literary Agents" blog post is live

Just got a note from Chuck Sambuchino, editor of the Guide to Literary Agents blog, that my column about How I Got My Literary Agent has been posted! You can read it here.

In it, I give a little background on my earlier experiences with agents and how I went about signing on with my current one. While you're there, check out the Guide to Literary Agents book:

Guide to Literary Agents is the complete resource for writers who need representation—to get their writing published or to take their publishing goals to a new level.

Oh, and check out Chuck's own recent survival guide release, How to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack.

MileHiCon 42 - a report

In summary - MileHiCon was an excellent experience, once again.

In not-so-summary, for those of you with longer attention spans...

Friday opened with Toastmaster Paolo Bacigalupi (The Windup Girl, Ship Breaker, etc.) introducing the guests of honor, which included authors Rachel Caine and Katherine Kurtz, as well as award-winning artist Donato Giancola. Then we broke out into an author signing session (with snacks!) and mingling in the hotel bar afterwards. There, I reconnected with sibling co-authors, Dani and Eytan Kollin, who wrote The Unincorporated Man (winner of this year's Prometheus Award) and Unincorporated War. On Saturday, Dani and Eytan did a reading from an as-yet-unpublished short story called "Confessions of a Vampire Knight in the Zombie Wars." This was, they admitted, them giving a big middle finger to the modern view of vampires as beautiful and heroic (and sparkly). Very snarky, very fun story.

Finally got to meet Mario Acevedo, author of the Felix Gomez Vampire Detective series. He's a great guy and we actually share the same agent. He participated in a panel about adapting books to screenplays and comics, and displayed the latest release in the comic book series starring Felix Gomez. He also did a reading later from his newest novel, Werewolf Smackdown and was part of a two-hour workshop on refining elevator pitches for those writers seeking representation and publication.

Ran into literary agent Sarah Megibow, of the Nelson Literary Agency. She was, as always, incredibly friendly and cheerful, and participated in some great panels, such as How and Why to get a Literary Agent.

Paolo Bacigalupi read some from his novella, The Alchemist, which was written in a shared world he developed with Tobias Buckell. And he moderated the Guest of Honor speech panel with flair (and a towel dance, which I know will show up on Facebook or YouTube at some point).

Other panels included "Next in Urban Fantasy," where authors discussed the various creatures that have been and might be popular in the genre, "Building the Ensemble," which went over secondary and minor characters and how they compare to the hero/heroine, and "Villains: An Author's Best Friend."

It was a great time, hanging out with fans and writers, all enjoying somewhat frenetic atmosphere. Definitely a big jump in the number of steampunk costumes this year, though plenty of classics such as Harry Potter, Star Trek/Wars, and, of course, Avatar. For those who didn't make it this go-round, there's always next year!

The uncommon senses of magic

The title might be a tad misleading. It might sound like I'm wanting to discuss whether or not its wise to fling a fireball at a gasoline tank, or the common sense behind enchanting yourself with a breathing spell before swimming down to Atlantis. Not "common sense" but the "uncommon senses" of magic is what I want to toss out today.

When it comes to magic, whether in urban fantasy, epic fantasy, etc., it often seems that the way in which magic is sensed and/or enacted is limited to two or three of our human senses. Magic is often seen in colorful ways, perhaps heard through a crackle of energy, or felt through pain or euphoria. Sometimes, the author of a magical system goes so far as to create an entirely new sense for interaction with magic...a "sixth sense" that requires a "third eye" or otherwise.

But what about taste and smell? Why, at first glance, do these two senses take a back seat to forms of magic based on sight, touch and hearing? And hearing itself seems a lesser of these three. While magic can be heard, are there many types of magic that rely entirely on one's hearing or deafness? More likely, a magic user's hearing is enhanced by magic, but rarely the source of it.

The  main example I can come up of an author employing a true variety of sense-magic is Andre Norton's Five Senses series, which includes Scent of Magic and Taste of Magic. But beyond these, sense magic appears limited in its application. Is it because we don't think of the nose, tongue or ears as sources of power or strength? Are they more peripheral senses, versus our hands and eyes? Do touch and sight root us more firmly in reality, and so we consider them first when creating an altered reality?

I ask this partly out of my own curiosity on the topic, and partly to inspire some thought on what fantasy worlds might be like if they were based on taste and smell versus touch and sight. What if a magician had to eat particular foods to generate power? (Would you get a lot of fat magic-users, as a potential consequence?) What if smells acted as magical triggers? (Would the perfume business be one of the most important in the kingdom?) What if a magician could only tap into her ability when blinded?

Do you know of any fantasy novels or short stories where magic is found within one or more of the less-popular senses? Am I simply overlooking these instances? What are your thoughts on why certain senses take precedence over others?

Beta readers

So I just sent off a manuscript draft to a handful of great folks who have volunteered their time as beta readers. Getting feedback for my stories is a big part of the revision process, because it provides invaluable perspectives on the story. Lets me know if there are any big weak spots, if any characters or action scenes need a boost or any other issues that I've overlooked.

Feedback can be a tricky thing to work with, partly because every reader is different. They want different things from a story, and a particular scene or character that one reader enjoys might fall flat for another. The way I usually deal with a variety of feedback is by looking for the themes...the issues that are mentioned over and over. If one reviewer says a scene is too slow or that they don't like a character, but three other readers all like that scene and character, then it's a safe bet that things are okay. But if the situation is reversed and I've got three or more reviewers all saying the same thing, then I know the issue needs addressing.

And if I don't agree with what the reviewers are pointing out, I try to force myself to ask, "Why?" What am I so stuck on that I can't accept this feedback? Is it a scene I thought was humorous but really doesn't do the job? A character I need to remove or drastically change? Am I afraid of the work involved, or are the readers just not getting what I was trying to do? And if they aren't, why not?

Of course, I have the usual worries of "Will they like it? What if the story flat-out sucks?" The reality is, though, I want my reviewers to let me know if the story, or parts of it, suck. Because then I at least have the opportunity to fix the issues. To "un-suck" it, if you will. And it can also be encouraging to get some positive feedback in the process, to learn what works and what they enjoyed.

What's your feedback process? Are you involved in a writing/critique group, whether online or in your area? Have some trusted folks who get first dibs on reading your new story?

My revision process and checklist

Whenever I finish the first draft of a manuscript, my impulse is to whip it through revisions, get a few quick glances from beta readers and then shove out it the door as soon as possible. Over the years, I've realized this hastiness forces me to often return to a manuscript and realize it could've used a lot more work before being exposed to sunlight, and that there were good reasons it received many rejections at the time.

So I've learned to take a bit more time in the revision process, giving myself at least a couple weeks to gain mental distance from the manuscript before diving back in. I know there are some authors who edit and revise as they go. Dean Koontz, for example, states that he writes and rewrites each page until it's perfect, and only then moves on to the next page. That technique would kill any momentum I gain during the writing, so without the on-the-go editing, I'm aware that I'll usually end up with a pretty messy first draft. And that's okay. Really, it is. *twitch*

Once I do get to revising, my process is to give the manuscript several passes, each with a different focus. The first pass is for basics such as spelling, grammar, tightening phrases, trimming the word count, putting the scenes in proper order, and dealing with obvious character and plot inconsistencies. This also gives me a better idea of the overarching problems that might be affecting the story. I mark scenes and notes to myself with asterisks (***). That way I can just use the search function in Word to find these spots and work on them later.

The second pass then focuses on those marked issues, plus addressing notes I've made, such as "***NEEDS HIGHER TENSION" or "***THIS DOESN'T MAKE SENSE." I do bigger rewrites of scenes, maybe adding or deleting whole sections. I've often found it's the first five or so chapters that require the biggest amount of revision because that's where I was finding the groove of the story and characters. Once bigger revisions are made, then I do a last look-through to ensure the rest of the story is consistent with the changes that have been made. Then it's on to beta readers. Once their feedback comes in, I make any necessary revisions and do a final pass for that last bit of spit and polish.

Because there are so many things to consider while revising, I've cobbled together various checklists of questions and issues to keep an eye out for during all these passes. Here's a list of the main ones:

• Has my novel got enough highs and lows?
• Do I have too many scenes on the same emotional note?
• Should I slip in a quieter scene to give the reader a breather from the tension, or perhaps a bit of humor?
• Do I need more tension or suspense?
• Is the opening gripping, and true to the story?
• Is the ending satisfying? Is it surprising yet inevitable? Does it properly answer the question set by the story? Do I need to plant more seeds to make it work?
• Have I given the prominence I want to the characters who are most interesting?
• Does one character monopolize the story, and do I want it that way?
• Has the sub-plot(s) taken over or dried away completely?
• Are there any other loose ends?
• Does my sub-plot relate to the main plot or has it drifted away?
• Are my themes coming through? Do I even have a theme?
• Is the voice consistent?

When getting feedback from beta readers, I have a checklist of questions I ask them to consider while reading (and these folks really are great!):

• Are the characters boring/inconsistent/two-dimensional?
• Is there too much exposition/backstory?
• Does the plot make sense? What confuses you?
• Is the pace too fast/slow? 
• Is there enough tension, both in action and emotion?
• Is the dialogue natural?
• Do you want to read more, or are you just forcing yourself for the sake of reviewing this?

It's a lot to absorb, but it's a much more organic process than it might look. Based on my gut feelings and the themes my beta readers pick up on, I can usually point out the biggest issues that need dealing with before turning to minor things, like characters' eye color changing mid-scene.

So there you go. That's revisions de l'Vogt. What's your process? Similar? Extremely different? It'd be fun to compare notes.

Also, I've got an increasing number of books that I've reviewed or will be reviewing in the near future. As much as I'd like to keep most of these copies, my shelves already groan under the weight of my library. Would people be interested in mini-contests and giveaways held on here and Twitter for the chance to nab books like Passion Play, Tome of the Undergates and The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack for free?

Where do writers get their ideas? - "Sun behaving strangely"

We have a new article in this sporadic series of "Where do writers get their ideas?" CNN recently published this article: Study shines new light on Sun's role in Earth's climate. The titular quote comes from Joanna Haigh, who led the research this article covers:

"The sun has been behaving very strangely. Its magnetic activity is lower than it has been for several hundred years, perhaps. And so the fact that it's doing strange things in its spectrum is perhaps not that unexpected." 

The headline alone is enough to spark quite a few story ideas. Why is the sun behaving strangely? What does "strangely" mean? What are the consequences of this behavior? Is the Sun doing it on purpose? Why doesn't the Sun want to sit with us during the lunch hour? What did we ever do to it?

Run with this idea and see where it takes you.

Sherlock Holmes gets a modern-day reboot

As a huge fan of all things Sherlock Holmes, I'm both excited and wary in my latest discovery. BBC has released a trailer for an upcoming series, Sherlock, where a modern day Holmes and Dr. Watson team up to take on cases that have police out of their depth.

Now, I'm a big fan of the latest silver screen adaptation of the super sleuth and can't wait for the sequel (rumored to have Brad Pitt cast as Moriarty). But bringing Holmes to present day? I suppose with the rising popularity of mystery shows of the CSI variety, as well as The Mentalist, and Lie to Me, there's certainly an audience for this. I can also guess that Sherlock purists won't be nearly as enthused--but I figure to give this one a chance. It'll be interesting to see how much of Holmes and Watson's characters are accurate to the originals, and how other story elements are translated over the years. 

Opinions?

Fallen - a short film about unexpected life

Enjoy this bittersweet short film about a meteor's brief existence.


Fallen from Sascha Geddert on Vimeo.

In other news, I just wrapped up my current work in progress, which clocked in at 90k words. Nice to have another one tucked away for a bit. It'll get a round of revisions from me before going to the great crew which has offered to provide feedback.