Audio Fiction

September 19, 2010September 19, 2010 ~ Scott W. Baker ~ 2 Comments

I love listening to stories and novels performed. It was quite a treat when we got to watch a performance reading of one of L. Ron Hubbard’s stories in LA with WotF. But that’s not what this is about. I loved the audio performances for the Harry Potter books. But this isn’t about that, either. This is about trying to get audio performances of MY stuff.

I’m told that there will be an audio version of Writers of the Future 26…eventually. It would be badass if some of the same performers from the reading were involved, but I’d be surprised. Besides, my story should properly be read by a woman, I would think. It is told from a woman’s point of view despite the fact that I am not a woman. (Trust me on that.) This was how I experienced WotF 24 and I loved it.

I recently sent “Leech Run” to Escape Pod for consideration. (Recently as in ten minutes ago.) It is currently out in print in Zero Gravity and I think Escape Pod could help create some buzz for the book if they like the story.

I also sent the as-yet-unsold story GB to another audio market, Sniplits. I think the story will lend itself well to an audio performance despite the trouble I’m having placing it.

I’ll be shocked if both stories get picked up; it would make my day if either one did. The prospect of an audio version of my work is second only to the anticipation I felt waiting to see the artwork for my WotF story. I’m not by definition holding my breath, but I’m breathing very shallowly.

Zero Gravity Review

September 7, 2010September 8, 2010 ~ Scott W. Baker ~ 5 Comments

The first review of Zero Gravity has popped up on the net. Not a glowing endorsement, but generally a positive review. I definitely take his comments on “Leech Run” as positives, more so than perhaps some other stories’. Which is too bad; I haven’t read a bad story in there yet.

Too long away from the bar

September 6, 2010 ~ Scott W. Baker ~ Leave a comment

The progress bar for my YA novel, that is. I haven’t updated the blue in months despite some significant work happening during part of that. I didn’t update because I’d created a mess with some parts written twice and some pieces skipped over. To clear it all up, I cut and pasted the less desirable portion (albeit longer portion) into a different file so I could feel free to delete. From that big chop I’ve typed a little more and now my word count is about 10,000. That puts me up to 20% of my 50,000-word blind target.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I jotted down some notes from what I had before but I haven’t gone back to make the changes in the file, since I may well want to change them again before the end. Mostly I wanted to read my copy so far to get back on the page I needed to be on. I feel like I’ve overlooked a subplot and spent too much time on a character quirk, but I can iron all that out later.

I’m currently in a slow part of the story where a lot of milieu building, character building, and foreshadowing take place. I know, boring. I need to toss a little sabotage or paranoia in the mix. Again, later. Once I power through the next 1000 words or so, I’m into raw plot. It’ll take another few thousand, maybe even the halfway point of the book, before the big game-changing conflict strikes. The pacing is a little off, I’m sure; short stories are not just little novels. As I read Old Man’s War — John Scalzi’s premiere novel, not totally outside the length target of my project — I am paying careful attention to things like pacing. Never stop learning.

So the bar is current and I’ll update it more soon. Jason Fischer (the Aussie in the mix at WotF 26) has cast down the gauntlet (though I think it was actually a mitten) challenging the WotF crew to write a thousand words a day. I had already written about 800 today before the mitten dropped; I intend to hunt-and-peck a good 7000 words over the next week, though maybe not evenly spaced over the days. I guess I’m targeting 1200 tomorrow. If I can produce that much consistently, I’ll have a novel by month’s end. Nevermind I have to get my Codex Halloween story written sometime…I’ll just deal with that later. I’m a novelist for the next few weeks. And hopefully a lot longer.

Getting back on the horse

September 5, 2010September 5, 2010 ~ Scott W. Baker ~ 1 Comment

It sucks to get a rejection. It’s part of a writer’s life, but not one of the nice parts. It sucks more when that rejection is a slip of uninformative paper or part of a mass email. Even the personalized ones can suck when they say you missed it by [ ] that much. So what do you do when the rejection comes in? Put the story out to another market.

At least that’s the idea. Keep it circulating until it finds the right editor on the right day who ate the right breakfast and blinks at the right times so he/she doesn’t miss the brilliance of your story. If it sits in a drawer or on a hard drive, no one can discover that brilliance. Sadly, I have done a poor job of doing this very simple necessity.

I only have about six finished and unsold short stories in my portfolio at the moment. (There are others I keep chained to a radiator in the basement, but they will never again see the light of day.) Just six to keep up with. When I left for WotF two weeks ago, only two of those stories were out to markets. Sad. Pitiful. Inexcusable. Inconceivable! (You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.)

So that is remedied now. Yesterday I reported sending a story to Lightspeed. Today I hit the post office’s automated shipping center (R2D2’s ancestor) and got a couple snail packages out to two of the baddest slush piles on the block: F&SF and Analog. The story I sent to F&SF (TRM…for those who don’t know, I use initials instead of story titles after a mild disqualification scare with my WotF winner, though now I doubt leaking titles will injure me) needed some brushing up. I managed to fix two major dangling plot issues with one tidy knot before stuffing it in a big manila and sending it to Gordon to reject. The Analog candidate (TOL) was the one Andromeda Spaceways held for so long and had very nice comments from one editor, so I sent it out as-is despite some dislike of the ending. I like the ending in a minimalistic way, but I’d be happy to entertain a rewrite request. I also sent a story (GB) to Clarkesword, rounding out my six stories in circulation; not sure how realistic that fit was, but we’ll see.

I’m hoping this offering appeases the karma gods of rejection enough to let me hear from those two older subs. 64 days from Asimov’s seems a long time, but they’ve surely increased their volume a lot since opening to electronic subs (which mine was). Anyway, I need to write to keep my mind off of it. Watched pots and all…

Before I close, I’ll analyze my procrastination. TRM needed work and I knew it, so maybe that’s why I didn’t send it out. TOL was a bit of a heartbreak, having been on hold, and maybe that’s why, but that’s a rotten excuse. Gee, this story came so close to selling that I’m not sending it out where it could actually sell. I am aiming higher on the totem pole now that it’s back out, so maybe that intimidated me. A good reason to always start at the top and work down. GB was a hard fit anywhere, so maybe I just didn’t want to take a chance. Another really dumb excuse, though it works equally well for TWHDotGMP. Bottom line is that I know better than to sit on manuscripts; I know I have pro level talent; I know all six of these stories are good in different ways. I’m bad for letting BS (that’s not a story title, it stands for…what it usually stands for) get in the way of my career. I’m fighting against that now. I want to be a professional writer, and to be honest it’s been very hard going back to school after spending a week in LA pretending I’d already made it. It’s going to take some lifestyle changes, but I will become a successful SF writer. So if you’ll excuse me, I have to go type.

Not Quite Writing

September 5, 2010September 5, 2010 ~ Scott W. Baker ~ 4 Comments

I’m still experiencing an overwhelming desire to write. Alas, I’m still not doing it. I edited a story (TWHDotGMP) and sent it back out to Lightspeed who won’t want it and will have it rejected by Monday at the latest. They may be into quirky humor, but I’d be surprised. Technically I’m always surprised when I make a sale. It’s not the standard response to a submission.

I’ve just finished a read through of my YA novel, or as much as I’ve got. I’ve dumped the last ten pages or so and I’m attacking it again. It was a move I made about the time I stopped working on it. Now that I know where I’m going, I’m convinced it was the right move. I made editing notes as I read because I can’t help myself, but for now I’ll pick up where I chopped it.

I have to get this story rolling faster than I have. The first couple conflicts hit bam-bam, then the story just kind of drifts on inertia. I’ll likely have to go back and smack someone with a tire iron or something to break up the dullness of my milieu-building. But not right now; now it’s time to move forward.

Today was the last day of the county fair where my wife was exhibiting, so my time should become more flexible meaning more potential writing time. And I need to use that time for writing. I’m thinking about cutting my television time down to just meals (yes, we heathens eat in front of the idiot box) and exercise time on the elliptical machine (which is currently time that does not exist). That should have the double-edged effect of decreasing television time and increasing workout time. But to do that, I really should get my wireless headphones fixed so I can hear over the woosh-woosh-woosh of the machine. But I digress.

I slept late today, until about 10:30, and I feel much more alive for it. Basically I’m whittling away excuses to avoid writing. I never appreciated how many I had and used. There’s always more: papers to grade, cleaning to be done, cats to shave, 80s movies to reenact…but it’s time to push them all aside and write. Tomorrow. 🙂

[ADDED]: As of about 1:30, I’ve tightened up some loose threads in another story (TRM) and I’m sending somewhere before I get to bed. Why can’t I let things go until morning? At least they’re getting done this way.

Boo

September 1, 2010 ~ Scott W. Baker ~ 3 Comments

I really wanted to write tonight, but I can’t keep my eyes open. Took my daughter to the fair, ate up my reasonable work time. Lots of fun until she got too tired. I did a little people watching for some character stuff, but generally it’s a lost day. Not cool. Tomorrow I have a dentist appointment, so there’s more lost time. I need to haul myself by the bootstraps and get this draft going now that it has some direction.

Maybe the long weekend will pay off? I just need to write!

Heading back to the real world

August 30, 2010 ~ Scott W. Baker ~ 3 Comments

I feel a little like Dorothy climbing in the balloon to go back to Kansas. The Writers of the Future workshop was amazing! Pro authors, people wanting my autograph, people buying my book, a free hotel, writers to talk to about writing, food, events, a massive awards show,- Hollywood Blvd…and tomorrow I have to wake up and teach. Not sure how I’m going to do that.

I prolonged my unreality just a little longer by upgrading my first flight to first class. In the end it only cost $50 extra, so I’d say it’s worth it. DirecTV, a couple free drinks (a something-and-Coke), a hot towel, good service…and tomorrow I have to wake up and teach. (Notice a pattern?)

I think a bigger piece of me has become a writer than when I left. I can’t wait to share some stories and revelations, but I’m typing all this on my Android phone.

My sardine-class fligh leaves in an hour. That will start the real world coming back to me. More posts soon.

Oh, and all you WotF 26 attendees lurking out there, say hi. I miss you all already.

Off to WotF

August 22, 2010 ~ Scott W. Baker ~ 3 Comments

Tomorrow is travel day. I have to leave for the airport around 6AM. Blech. Assuming I can sleep at all, that is. Bags are packed, though I’m not sure what I’m forgetting. I have clothes, shoes, laptop, notepad, pens, toiletries, Firefly videos (can’t find disc 3). I think I’ll bring my iPod for the flight, maybe a book or two. Against my better judgment, I’ve left the StarCraft 2 disc in the computer for the trip. I’ll only use it if tempted by someone with a similar lack of self control.

I’ve decided against bringing books to get signed by authors in attendance. I don’t have many titles from those authors, honestly, and I don’t want to offend anyone by getting author A to sign a book while not having a book for author B to sign (despite maybe being a bigger author or more involved in WotF). It was suggested (though by no means promised) that this year’s winners might get a copy of the 25th Anniversary coffee table book which would serve as the perfect autograph book. If we don’t get one as a gift (no one owes it to me, but it would be a lovely gesture, wouldn’t it?), I may well purchase one for that purpose.

So what else could I need? Snacks? I’ll probably bring a few. Reference books? Honestly, I can’t imagine what I’d need to look up that I couldn’t Google. Most advice I might need would take too long to find for it to be truly worth the effort. What else? I don’t see a massive Nerf war in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel going over well, so I’ll leave my arsenal at home. Itinerary is in my computer bag. I guess I could bring a bunch of beverages for the room (checked luggage, not carry-on), but I don’t want the charge for an extra-heavy bag. Meh…I guess I’m ready enough.

I’ll post tomorrow, once I’m settled. It may be bedtime by then. I’ll try to keep a general commentary going about stuff.

If you want to watch the live stream of the awards ceremony, you can find a link to it at the WotF homepage. It’s Saturday night, not sure what time. I think I’m supposed to have some sort of Halle Berry style speech prepared. Maybe I should work on that since I don’t ad lib well. If you don’t want to watch it all, I’m sure it’ll hit WotF’s YouTube channel so you can skip around looking for me in my very large tux.

Time now for a little more family time before bedtime and bon voyage. Got to get my fix while I can.

I’m on Kindle

August 19, 2010 ~ Scott W. Baker ~ 2 Comments

Mere days before I flit off to LA to live a week like I’m something special, I realize I am special. I’m in a book on Kindle! Yeah, yeah, lots of people are, even people who aren’t in a real book…stop trying to burst my bubble. I’m on the biggest electronic reader in the world.

For the bargain price of five bucks ($5.00), you can read “Leech Run” and all the other stories in Zero Gravity. Big savings over the paperback price of $15.29. There’s something spacial about having a story in tangible print on paper that I can keep on a shelf and point to. There’s also something special about having my story distributed through cutting edge technology.

I suspect I may end up on the Kindle again when Writers of the Future XXV! comes out. Ooh, I just checked and found something cooler!!

How pretty is that? It’s available for pre-order through Amazon. People are pre-ordering me! *giggles like maniacal school child* They aren’t advertising it for Kindle yet, but I bet it will happen after the first surge of paperbacks sell…but wait. Previous years’ anthologies aren’t available on Kindle. Huh. I’ll ask about it next week to see why. But a print book is still great. They did an audio book of volume 24 that was excellent; I’d love to see that happen this year.

I guess I should go to sleep now. I have that real job thing in the morning.

For those interested, I’ll try to throw up a note here every day or so while I’m in LA. Nothing long winded until I get back. Now go buy me on Amazon!

Creepy Toys

August 8, 2010August 8, 2010 ~ Scott W. Baker ~ Leave a comment

I once wrote a story inspired by a toy (technically a night light) that I bought for my daughter. It’s a good story that hasn’t found a home yet, but it will. Anyway, I like the idea of toys inspiring stories, especially if that inspiration leads in an unusual direction. So when it became necessary that I provide a story seed for the Codex Halloween short story contest, I decided to scour the internet for some odd/creepy/bizarre toy images. There are quite a few out there. Some of my favorites that had (IMO) the most story potential have been reproduced here. Some are more subtle than others.

If you’re here for my Codex story seed, feel free to use whichever inspires you most.