Sunday, February 27, 2011

Links of the Week, Vol. 2, Issue 6

http://www.designspongeonline.com/2011/02/biz-ladies-photo-usage.html -- important information on rights and using photos online. Important for every blogger and website owner.


http://talktoyouniverse.blogspot.com/2011/02/expansion-of-global-information-wars.html -- My extremely smart and talented friend Juliette Wade offers her perspective on controversy over approaches to good v. evil in fantasy


http://www.selfpublishingreview.com/blog/2010/10/12/ebook-opportunities/ -- a successful self-published author rates the various self-pub options and his experiences with them.


http://tinyurl.com/5u2whmo -- agent Jennifer Laughran on how agents decide where to submit clients' manuscripts.


http://www.alanrinzler.com/blog/2011/02/19/book-bloggers-can-help-sell-your-book-tips-for-authors/ -- The importance of Book Bloggers in selling your books. Important strategy for authors.


http://networkedblogs.com/eFg9y -- My friend Moses Siregar, a talented writer, explains how to network well and grow from it by hanging out with successful writers, and, coincidentally, articulates the purpose for which I started #sffwrtcht on Twitter.


Article on Indiana Governor who turned an inherited $600 million deficit into a $370 million surplus the next year http://on.wsj.com/eYLGrE
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Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Science Fiction And Fantasy Writer's Chat 2/23/11 with Jay Lake

12:50 amBryanThomasS:#sffwrtcht now has an official page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sffwrtcht-Science-Fiction-and-Fantasy-Writers-Chat/144219588975058?v=wall
1:59 amBryanThomasS:Guest's here. Let's get rolling! #sffwrtcht
1:59 amsffwrtcht:Welcome to Science Fiction Fantasy Writer?s Chat. #sffwrtcht
1:59 amsffwrtcht:Our goal is to talk w/ writers, editors, & others abt the craft of writing, specifically related to writing speculative fiction. #sffwrtcht
1:59 amsffwrtcht:Our format is round table discussion. Please restrict ?s to writing craft, business of writing & the specific works of the guest. #sffwrtcht
1:59 amsffwrtcht:No queries, no pitching, no politics, etc. #sffwrtcht
2:00 amsffwrtcht:Please wait until your question gets answered to ask another & use the hashtag #sffwrtcht for all questions and comments.
2:00 amsffwrtcht:It?s up to the guest whether the question time will run longer than our allotted hour slot. #sffwrtcht
2:01 amsffwrtcht:Next week, we have editor @kaolinfire of GUD magazine. The following week author/editor Kevin Anderson & then @brendacooper 3/16 #sffwrtcht
2:01 amJ_GriffinB:I am here, bluntskulls. #sffwrtcht
2:01 amSpiceBites:RT @shadowflame1974: We have the awesome @Jay_Lake tonight on #sffwrtcht. Come join us! #sffwrtcht
2:01 amsffwrtcht:Tonight's guest is an author, editor, world traveller, salesman, and all around nice guy named @jay_lake. Jay, welcome! #sffwrtcht
2:02 amBryanThomasS:@J_GriffinB Cover that shiny object dang it! #sffwrtcht
2:02 amjay_lake:Hi, Bryan #sffwrtcht
2:03 amJ_GriffinB:Cover my glorious- Erm, I shut it now, that the guest might speak. #sffwrtcht
2:03 amBryanThomasS:Jay has written about everything. Two novel series, novellas, you name it. Steampnk, fantasy, SF, spec-weird. #sffwrtcht
2:03 amshadowflame1974:Hi Jay glad you could join us tonight :D #sffwrtcht
2:03 amBryanThomasS:@jay_lake His novel Green just came out in mass market paperback and Pinion is soon to follow #sffwrtcht
2:04 amjasonsanford:@jay_lake Any thoughts on this year's Nebula finalists? Any surprises or works you wish had made the ballot? #sffwrtcht
2:05 ampattyjansen:@jay_lake #sffwrtcht Jay, how do you feel about writing/marketing across different genres?
2:05 amBryanThomasS:And @jasonsanford cuts to the heart of the matter. #sffwrtcht
2:06 amjasonsanford:@BryanThomasS @jay_lake Apologies. I should have allowed time for pleasant banter. :-) #sffwrtcht
2:06 amjay_lake:I'm real pleased with this year's Nebula ballot. Representation of both women and writers of color is much stronger this year. #sffwrtcht
2:07 amjay_lake:I don't think there's anything odd or surprising about the Nebs. Pleased to see so many of my friends there. #sffwrtcht
2:07 amsnott:#sffwrtcht Going on now for speculative fiction writers - check it out! #writing #wip
2:07 amSpiceBites:@jay_lake <3 your writing. Do u start w/character, question or situation? #sffwrtcht
2:08 amjay_lake:GREEN is just out in TPB. I'm looking at a November release of ENDURANCE, which is GREEN book 2. KALIMPURA will be in to Tor June #sffwrtcht
2:09 amjay_lake:@SpiceBites - Thank you. It varies how I start. Often it's just with an image or a situation. Visual or language cue, maybe. #sffwrtcht
2:09 amjay_lake:I can gin up a story from a very small seed. It's one of the pleasures of the craft for me. #sffwrtcht
2:09 amJ_GriffinB:RT @jay_lake: I can gin up a story from a very small seed. It's one of the pleasures of the craft for me. #sffwrtcht
2:09 amBryanThomasS:@jay_lake KALIMPURA is part of a new series or Book 3 of Green? #sffwrtcht
2:10 amSooGuy68:RT @snott: #sffwrtcht Going on now for speculative fiction writers - check it out! #writing #wip
2:10 amjay_lake:@pattyjansen - Writing across different genres seems a fine thing to me. I'm not wedded to f/sf, it's just my first and best love #sffwrtcht
2:10 amBryanThomasS:@jasonsanford No problems. I was teasing. Glad to have you. Great question #sffwrtcht
2:11 amjay_lake:KALIMPURA is GREEN #3, & finishes out this story cycle. Might be more if readers & the market want, but this is a logical close. #sffwrtcht
2:11 ambrendacooper:Dropping in for a moment to wave during #sffwrtcht -- BTW Endurance cover is gorgeous.
2:11 ampattyjansen:@jay_lake #sffwrtcht OK, but often agents rep only one or two genres, or they'll only rep adult (not kids books) I find it v hard
2:11 amjasonsanford:@jay_lake Are the Green books a trilogy? Will there be more books after Kalimpura? I ask because I love the character of Green. #sffwrtcht
2:12 amjay_lake:Now working on a massive, ambitious space opera called SUNSPIN #sffwrtcht
2:12 amjasonsanford:@jay_lake Nevermind. Questions answered. #sffwrtcht
2:13 amjay_lake:And yes, GREEN is secondary world fantasy with colonialist leanings. Borderline steam age. Gods and monsters. Ninja nuns. #sffwrtcht
2:13 amjay_lake:@pattyjansen - Some agents rep more widely. Some people have more than one agent. :) #sffwrtcht
2:13 amBryanThomasS:@jay_lake Sounds great. I have to read that. #sffwrtcht
2:13 amSpiceBites:@jay_lake have u created a SUNSPIN cheatsheet to keep track? #sffwrtcht
2:14 amJ_GriffinB:@jay_lake has an excellent and almost daily- updated blog: http://www.jlake.com/blog/ #sffwrtcht
2:14 amSpiceBites:RT @jay_lake: Ninja nuns. :P #sffwrtcht
2:14 amjay_lake:@jasonsanford - No worries. Happy to discuss Green and her world. Did you see the new cover at tor.com? #sffwrtcht
2:14 amklagor:@jay_lake what's your favorite thing to tell new writers? #sffwrtcht
2:15 amjay_lake:Re SUNSPIN, I have a 120-page document which tracks characters, planets, backgrounders as well as plot synopsis #sffwrtcht
2:15 amjay_lake:First draft will be 500,000 to 600,000 words. Requires new techniques and tools for me. #sffwrtcht
2:16 amshadowflame1974:@jay_lake so it looks like you do a lot of world building. #sffwrtcht
2:16 amjasonsanford:@jay_lake No, I haven't seen the new cover. I'm popping over there right now to check it out. #sffwrtcht
2:16 amBryanThomasS:@jay_lake A big undertaking. How many books are you planning? #sffwrtcht
2:16 amjay_lake:Far future space opera in a second empire setting. I've published 5, 6 short stoies in the continuity. #sffwrtcht
2:16 amjay_lake:@klagor - I like to tell new writers to "write more". Another comment that comes up a lot is... #sffwrtcht
2:17 amjay_lake:..."Publishing is meritocracy, but it is not a just meritocracy". #sffwrtcht
2:17 amjay_lake:Which is to say being good is a necessary but not sufficient condition for success. #sffwrtcht
2:17 amsffwrtcht:@jay_lake Is that kind of a suggestion that the way to succeed at writing is to write a lot so you can learn and grow? #sffwrtcht
2:17 ammlvalentine:Author @jay_lake is talking about writing and space opera on the #sffwrtcht. Go say "Hello!" :)
2:18 amSpiceBites:RT @jay_lake: Which is to say being good is a necessary but not sufficient condition for success. #sffwrtcht
2:18 amjay_lake:"Write more" just means whatever you're doing, do more of it. Plus I'm a big fan of putting down the tv and the videogames. #sffwrtcht
2:18 amjay_lake:Nothing wrong with entertainment, but things that scratch your plot bump will keep you from writing. #sffwrtcht
2:19 amjay_lake:The question is: do you want to be a producer or a consumer? #sffwrtcht
2:19 amBryanThomasS:@jay_lake Can you be both? #sffwrtcht
2:19 ammlvalentine:RT @jay_lake: The question is: do you want to be a producer or a consumer? #sffwrtcht
2:19 amjasonsanford:Here's the cover for Endurance, which @jay_lake mentioned a few moments ago. Wow! Can't wait to read it. http://bit.ly/f3eM8c #sffwrtcht
2:19 amSpiceBites:RT @jay_lake: The question is: do you want to be a producer or a consumer? #sffwrtcht
2:19 amjay_lake:And yes, writing a lot to learn and grow is exactly how we succeed. Nobody is born a literary genius. #sffwrtcht
2:20 amjay_lake:You would expect to practice a martial art or a new instrument or a foreign language. Why wouldn't you practice writing? #sffwrtcht
2:20 amscribofelidae:RT @jay_lake: The question is: do you want to be a producer or a consumer? #sffwrtcht
2:20 amjay_lake:And write new stuff. Don't spend years laboring over your Great Work. Trust me, it's not that great. Go write another one. #sffwrtcht
2:20 amlouisbshalako:RT @Jay_Lake @sffwrtcht The question is: do you want to be a producer or a consumer? #sffwrtcht
2:20 amshadowflame1974:RT @jay_lake: The question is: do you want to be a producer or a consumer? #sffwrtcht >> excellent advice
2:20 amJESilverstein:Author @jay_lake is talking about writing and space opera on the #sffwrtcht. Go say "Hello!" :)
2:20 amSpiceBites:@jay_lake Can't some consumption lead to inspiration? Read to write idea... #sffwrtcht
2:21 amJ_GriffinB:RT @jay_lake: And write new stuff. Don't spend years laboring over your Great Work. Trust me, it's not that great. Go write another one. #sffwrtcht
2:21 amjay_lake:@BryanThomasS - Of course you can be both. We are all consumers by definition. But to be a producer, ... #sffwrtcht
2:21 amjay_lake:...you have to shake off some of the habits of being a consumer. #sffwrtcht
2:21 amAndrewMayer:RT @jay_lake: Writing a lot to learn and grow is exactly how we succeed. Nobody is born a literary genius. #sffwrtcht
2:22 amJ_GriffinB:@jay_lake games are my downfall. #sffwrtcht
2:22 amJESilverstein:Author @jay_lake is talking about writing on the #sffwrtcht right now. Drop by and see what he has to say. #writing
2:22 amBryanThomasS:@AndrewMayer Andrew, nice to see you here. #sffwrtcht
2:22 amjay_lake:@SpiceBites - Absolutely. It's called filling the well. Imagine a chef who never ate anyone else's cooking. But time is an issue. #sffwrtcht
2:22 amjay_lake:People complain they don't have time to write, but they're in WOW every night, or watching House. Or whatever. That's a *choice* #sffwrtcht
2:22 amSooGuy68:RT @jay_lake: And write new stuff. Don't spend years laboring over your Great Work. Trust me, it's not that great. Go write another one. #sffwrtcht
2:23 amklagor:@jay_lake Fantastic advice. Much thanks. #sffwrtcht
2:23 amSpiceBites:@jay_lake Time...never enuff. Good point. #sffwrtcht
2:23 ampattyjansen:@jay_lake #sffwrtcht Don't you find inspiration comes from genres diff from what you're writing, e.g. non-fiction?
2:23 amsffwrtcht:@jay_lake It definitely is. So being disciplined in your consumption is necessary #sffwrtcht
2:23 amBryanThomasS:@jay_lake It definitely is. So being disciplined in your consumption is necessary #sffwrtcht
2:23 amjay_lake:@AndrewMayer has the coolest book coming out, btw. Steampunk superheroes in NYC, 1880. I have a reading copy RIGHT NOW! #sffwrtcht
2:24 amAbsoluteWrite:RT @jay_lake: And write new stuff. Don't spend years laboring over your Great Work. Trust me, it's not that great. Go write another one. #sffwrtcht
2:24 amAbsoluteWrite:RT @jay_lake: You would expect to practice a martial art or a new instrument or a foreign language. Why wouldn't you practice writing? #sffwrtcht
2:24 amjay_lake:@J_GriffinB I love games not arguing against them. Just pointing out they take up the same brain space and time-of-day as writing #sffwrtcht
2:24 amNataniaBarron:RT @jay_lake: People complain they don't have time to write, but they're in WOW every night, or watching House. Or whatever. That's a *choice* #sffwrtcht
2:25 amjay_lake:@pattyjansen - Absolutely. That's why I try to read (and DVD watch) outside my genre. So I don't grow stale. #sffwrtcht
2:25 amlaurendane:RT @YasmineGalenorn: Author @jay_lake is handing out some very good, useful advice on writing right now in #sffwrtcht I recommend paying attention.
2:25 amGallagherWitt:RT @jay_lake: And write new stuff. Don't spend years laboring over your Great Work. Trust me, it's not that great. Go write another one. #sffwrtcht
2:25 amsffwrtcht:a@jay_lake You grew up the son of a diplomat. How much did your exposure to "other" effect your writing? #sffwrtcht
2:25 amSpiceBites:@jay_lake @AndrewMayer book sounds rt up my alley: steampunk, historical setting, superheroes. Wow. #sffwrtcht
2:25 amjay_lake:Also why I shoot a lot of photographs and seek out new people and experiences IRL. #sffwrtcht
2:25 amJ_GriffinB:@jay_lake Indeed. And I have selected one that I will play, but only after putting in the time on the WIP. #sffwrtcht
2:25 amleira_carola:RT @jay_lake: You would expect to practice a martial art or a new instrument or a foreign language. Why wouldn't you practice writing? #sffwrtcht
2:25 amtriptych:RT @jay_lake: You would expect to practice a martial art or a new instrument or a foreign language. Why wouldn't you practice writing? #sffwrtcht
2:26 amjay_lake:I think growing up overseas in a diplomatic family is a huge part of why I became interested in writing the other. #sffwrtcht
2:26 amtriptych:RT @jay_lake: And write new stuff. Don't spend years laboring over your Great Work. Trust me, it's not that great. Go write another one. #sffwrtcht
2:26 amkrishumphreys:RT @jay_lake: And write new stuff. Don't spend years laboring over your Great Work. Trust me, it's not that great. Go write another one. #sffwrtcht
2:26 amSooGuy68:RT @YasmineGalenorn: Author @jay_lake is handing out some very good, useful advice on writing right now in #sffwrtcht I recommend paying attention.
2:26 amjakedfw:@jay_lake Jay, do you ever write outside the SF genre? Ever have the itch to write a thriller or mystery? #sffwrtcht
2:26 amjay_lake:My entire childhood was made of 'other'. The world is fractally, gloriously complex. Genre fiction re-opens those doors for me. #sffwrtcht
2:27 amchooseareality:RT @jay_lake: And write new stuff. Don't spend years laboring over your Great Work. Trust me, it's not that great. Go write another one. #sffwrtcht
2:27 amjay_lake:@jakedfw - Wrote a mainstream short this past weekend. In novels, my next two projects after SUNSPIN are marketable as mainstream #sffwrtcht
2:27 amSpiceBites:@jay_lake i think its the other in your stories why i like them. #sffwrtcht
2:27 amBryanThomasS:Do you use those cultural lessons to create characters, world build? Ever wnt to write something in those cultures u experienced? #sffwrtcht
2:27 amjay_lake:As to the cultures, I use them all the time in my work. My experiences in China and Africa infuse ESCAPEMENT and PINION #sffwrtcht
2:27 amBryanThomasS:RT @AndrewMayer: @BryanThomasS @jay_lake Thanks! I was just try sneak in subtly before I got down to work... See what happens? #sffwrtcht
2:27 amBryanThomasS:@AndrewMayer #sffwrtcht Glad to have you.
2:28 amjay_lake:But I don't often write about it directly, in naturalistic fiction, no. Couldn't tell you why not. #sffwrtcht
2:28 amklagor:@jay_lake When you get a seed for an idea, do you pursue it immediately or let it sit and mature a bit? #sffwrtcht
2:28 amtalekyn:@jay_lake GRAVITY affected me. Knowing how your cancer has progressed, is there anything you'd do differently with the book? #sffwrtcht
2:28 amjenniferbrozek:I'm lurking, watching @jay_lake in #sffwrtcht
2:28 amJESilverstein:@jay_lake For a while you were doing quite a bit of anthology editing. Any more of that on the horizon? #sffwrtcht
2:29 amjay_lake:Bear in mind I have some good time cheats. I work at home, no commute. I only sleep 6 hours a night. Etc. Time is key. #sffwrtcht
2:29 amjay_lake:@JEsilverstein :: waves :: Maybe another anthology or 2 on the horizon. Mostly I need to find publishers who want to work with me #sffwrtcht
2:29 amtwilight2000:RT @JESilverstein: Author @jay_lake is talking about writing on the #sffwrtcht right now. Drop by and see what he has to say. #writing
2:30 amcjbahr:RT @jay_lake: And write new stuff. Don't spend years laboring over your Great Work. Trust me, it's not that great. Go write another one. #sffwrtcht
2:30 amjay_lake:I love editing anthos. Great fun. But the administrative side of it is tedious. And I don't want to fund any more. #sffwrtcht
2:30 amWriterCLKelly:RT @jay_lake: And write new stuff. Don't spend years laboring over your Great Work. Trust me, it's not that great. Go write another one. #sffwrtcht
2:30 amBryanThomasS:@jay_lake I'm sure finding people to work with is not much problem. :) #sffwrtcht
2:30 amSpiceBites:@jay_lake have u ever considered giving up the day job? #sffwrtcht
2:30 amjay_lake:Re SUNSPIN, three books in this arc. I'm writing them as one large project. Universe is very open ended, though. #sffwrtcht
2:31 amjay_lake:re day job, I need the steady income and the benefits. Cancer means I can never be a full time free lancer. #sffwrtcht
2:31 amshadowflame1974:@jay_lake How has cancer affected your writing, if at all? #sffwrtcht
2:32 amJ_GriffinB:@jay_lake You also do a lot of linking on your blog, more than I have seen elsewhere. What influenced you to do that. #sffwrtcht
2:32 amjay_lake:@talekyn - No, I don't think I'd approach GRIEF any differently. If anything, the book has been oddly prophetic, to my sadness #sffwrtcht
2:32 amBryanThomasS:@jay_lake One of your departures lately was SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF GRIEF a novella about a man going through cancer #sffwrtcht
2:32 amtheodoragoss:RT @jay_lake: The question is: do you want to be a producer or a consumer? #sffwrtcht
2:32 amBryanThomasS:@jay_lake Tell us a little about that. When did you first get diagnosed? #sffwrtcht
2:32 amjay_lake:@shadowflame1974 - Cancer is everywhere in my writing, directly and indirectly, but I don't think it has dominated #sffwrtcht
2:33 amjay_lake:SUNSPIN is much concerned with loss and mortality, but also with love and redemption. Cancer? Or life? Or both? #sffwrtcht
2:33 amshadowflame1974:@jay_lake was it there before the diagnosis? #sffwrtcht
2:34 amjay_lake:Primary colon cancer was first diagnosed in April, 2008. Lung metastasis in April, 2009. #sffwrtcht
2:34 amtalekyn:@jay_lake Do you see yourself writing any more "non-genre" fiction like SPECIFIC GRAVITY, in among the Sunspin & Green epics? #sffwrtcht
2:34 amjay_lake:Mistaken diagnosis of liver metastasis in July, 2010. #sffwrtcht
2:34 amjesshartley:RT @mlvalentine: Author @jay_lake is talking about writing and space opera on the #sffwrtcht. Go say "Hello!" :)
2:34 amjay_lake:Re linking on my blog, I read a lot of blogs every morning, to amuse and inform myself. Link salad is just a 'best of' #sffwrtcht
2:35 amjay_lake:@talekyn - Probably more non-genre to come. Novel after SUNSPIN is ORIGINAL DESTINY, MANIFEST SIN #sffwrtcht
2:35 amlouisbshalako:@jay_lake Do you write the books you would like to see written? Or wish someone had written? #sffwrtcht
2:36 amjay_lake:ORIGINAL DESTINY is a fantastic history of the American West. Fantasy, but could also be mainstream. #sffwrtcht
2:36 amjay_lake:Likely project after that is BLACK TULIP, set in 17th century Netherlands. Historical thriller. #sffwrtcht
2:36 amjenniferbrozek:@jay_lake What made you want to get into Westerns? #sffwrtcht
2:37 amjay_lake:@luisbshalako I write the books I want to read... :) #sffwrtcht
2:37 amWyld_Dandelyon:@jay_lake #sffwrtcht I find that the more I write, the less I have time to read. I envy you the at-home day job!
2:38 amjay_lake:@jenniferbrozek - Westerns are the foundation myths of American culture. Manichaean dualism, conflicts between man and nature #sffwrtcht
2:38 amjdhancock:RT @jay_lake: People complain they don't have time to write, but they're in WOW every night, or watching House. Or whatever. That's a *choice* #sffwrtcht
2:38 amlauriedtmann:@jay_lake "Cancer means I can never be a full-time free lancer" Unless you become the next JK Rowling... #sffwrtcht
2:38 amjay_lake:Westerns have it all, in spades. An ur-language of archetypes of the Garden and the Fall and the spirits of the land. #sffwrtcht
2:39 amjay_lake:And yes, if my work got big enough, I could afford to be a sick man. But not until then... #sffwrtcht
2:39 amBryanThomasS:@jay_lake You remain very open about your cancer struggles on Fb and the blog. Has that been hard for you? #sffwrtcht
2:39 amtalekyn:@cparagraphs Jay Lake is the guest on #sffwrtcht here on Twitter and I'm asking questions.
2:40 amjay_lake:@Wykd_Dandelyon - Writing has really intefered with my reading career. #sffwrtcht
2:40 amJ_GriffinB:RT @jay_lake: @Wykd_Dandelyon - Writing has really intefered with my reading career. #sffwrtcht
2:40 amlouisbshalako:RT @jay_lake @jenniferbrozek - Westerns...foundation myths...American culture. Manichaean dualism, conflicts between man/nature #sffwrtcht
2:40 amjay_lake:I talk openly about the cancer because so many people don't. I get more fan letters off my cancer blogging than off my fiction. #sffwrtcht
2:41 amJ_GriffinB:@jay_lake Do you have mixed feelings on that, on occasion? #sffwrtcht
2:41 amtwilight2000:RT @jay_lake: @Wykd_Dandelyon - Writing has really intefered with my reading career. #sffwrtcht
2:41 amBryanThomasS:@jay_lake It's not surprising you get fan mail like that. It's very helpful to others. #sffwrtcht
2:41 amjay_lake:It's difficult to talk about it sometimes, but it's also something I can give back/pay forward for all those who have loved me. #sffwrtcht
2:42 amBryanThomasS:@jay_lake Do you work from outlines or let the story unfold as it comes? #sffwrtcht
2:42 amjay_lake:@j_grifiinB Yes, sometimes I have mixed feelings. Makes some things harder. I am still proud to make something good of it #sffwrtcht
2:43 amjay_lake:Re outlines, for short fiction, never. I 'follow the headlights' For novels, always. But the process changes every time. #sffwrtcht
2:43 amjay_lake:Asking me who my favorite character is, that's like asking me who my favorite child is. Heh. #sffwrtcht
2:44 amsffwrtcht:@jay_lake I think I saw you blog about that recently. Doing much more detailed outlines for SUNSPIN than you have before? #sffwrtcht
2:44 amjay_lake:Al-Wazir. Green. Onesiphorous. My books are full of people I love. #sffwrtcht
2:44 amtalekyn:@matt36512 Hey, if you're around check out #sffwrtcht. Author Jay Lake is the guest. Good stuff re: writing.
2:44 amSooGuy68:RT @jay_lake: Re outlines, for short fiction, never. I 'follow the headlights' For novels, always. But the process changes every time. #sffwrtcht
2:44 amWyld_Dandelyon:@jay_lake @Wykd_Dandelyon Writing has intefered with my reading career. #sffwrtcht LOL Me too! But I love telling stories too, so it's OK.
2:44 amBryanThomasS:@jay_lake Who was the most challenging character to write and why? #sffwrtcht
2:44 ampfanderson:RT @jay_lake: Asking me who my favorite character is, that's like asking me who my favorite child is. Heh. #sffwrtcht
2:45 amjay_lake:Yes, outlines for SUNSPIN are fantastically more detailed than ever before. TRIAL OF FLOWERS outline was 5 paragraphs. #sffwrtcht
2:45 amjay_lake:My most challenging character is whoever I'm working on now. But looking back, probably Green. #sffwrtcht
2:46 amklagor:@jay_lake Your prose is so dense and tight, how many edits does it take to get your sentences throw so much weight around? #sffwrtcht
2:46 amsffwrtcht:@jay_lake You know that I'm a big fan of "Death of A Starship" with its priest-agent. Where'd that idea come from? #sffwrtcht
2:47 amjay_lake:"Death of a Starship" characters came from, well, wherever. Menard wasn't anyone in particular. #sffwrtcht
2:47 amjay_lake:Fr. Megiddo Vasiliev in SUNSPIN is close kin to Menard, though. #sffwrtcht
2:47 amsffwrtcht:@jay_lake How many years did you write and submit before making your first sale? #sffwrtcht
2:48 amjay_lake:Re sentence density, believe it or not, a lot of that happens in the initial draft. Though a novel will have 4-5 passes. #sffwrtcht
2:48 amsffwrtcht:These days it almost seems like you have a story out every week. #sffwrtcht
2:48 ameliyannakaiser:Tune into fascinating interview ongoing now with the amazing @jay_lake (author of "Green") by viewing #sffwrtcht
2:49 amjay_lake:I wrote and submitted regularly from 1990 to 2001 before making my first sale. #sffwrtcht
2:49 ameliyannakaiser:RT @jay_lake: @Wykd_Dandelyon - Writing has really intefered with my reading career. #sffwrtcht
2:49 amjay_lake:Probably about 800,000 words of first draft before I broke in #sffwrtcht
2:49 amBryanThomasS:@jay_lake Amazing perserverence. Did you ever want to quit? #sffwrtcht
2:49 amjay_lake:At this point, I've probably written close to 3,000,000 words of first draft #sffwrtcht
2:50 amJ_GriffinB:@jay_lake What is that line about 1 million words before some quality shows? #sffwrtcht
2:50 amjay_lake:Sold over 2,000,000 of those words. #sffwrtcht
2:50 amjay_lake:DId I ever want to quit? Lots of times. But I kept going. Because, well, this is what I wanted. #sffwrtcht
2:50 amshadowflame1974:@jay_lake and that is why you tell writers to write more. Without all of those drafts you wouldn't be where you are now. #sffwrtcht
2:50 amjay_lake:It's been years since the last time I wanted to quit, though. Success is its own reward. #sffwrtcht
2:51 amsffwrtcht:@jay_lake Congrats. Quite a number! #sffwrtcht
2:51 amklagor:@jay_lake what did you do to celebrate your first sale? #sffwrtcht
2:51 amjay_lake:Takes an inordinate amount of self-motivation to get this far, though. #sffwrtcht
2:51 ammbranesf:Word. RT @jay_lake: DId I ever want to quit? Lots of times. But I kept going. Because, well, this is what I wanted. #sffwrtcht
2:51 amsffwrtcht:@jay_lake But even a writer as prolific and successful as you still gets those rejection slips, right? #sffwrtcht
2:51 amjay_lake:@J_GriffinB - Yeah, the million bad words theory. Closely related to the ten years of practice theory. See earlier comment. ;) #sffwrtcht
2:52 amsffwrtcht:10 minutes left. Get those final questions for @jay_lake in please! #sffwrtcht
2:52 amjay_lake:@klagor - I think I went out to dinner. "The Courtesy of Guests" is the first story I ever sold. #sffwrtcht
2:52 amBryanThomasS:@mbranesf Chris, nice to see you with us. :) #sffwrtcht
2:53 amBryanThomasS:@SpiceBites @klagor Great questions. Thanks for joining us tonight. #sffwrtcht
2:53 amPManion:@jay_lake I saw you at Worldcon in Melbourne, Australia last year. What was memorable about that con? #sffwrtcht
2:53 amJ_GriffinB:@jay_lake Yes, that's it. lI have that experience, just in nonfiction. Not sure how much translates. #sffwrtcht
2:53 amjay_lake:I apologize, HootSuite is giving me some serious message lag. #sffwrtcht
2:53 amklagor:@jay_lake At the time, did you know that was the story that was going to do it for you? #sffwrtcht
2:54 amshadowflame1974:@jay_lake No worries Jay, I think Twitter has gotten a bit fussy the past 15 minutes #sffwrtcht
2:54 amjay_lake:@PManion - What was memorable about WorldCon last year is that I made it there. Could still barely walk post-chemo. #sffwrtcht
2:54 amtalekyn:@jay_lake Are any of the Sunspin-related shorts incorporated into the upcoming novel or do they all stand separate? #sffwrtcht
2:55 amjay_lake:And yes, I still get rejected all the time. More often than I get accepted, I think. #sffwrtcht
2:55 amjay_lake:Submitting fiction is kind of like dating. It helps to be cheerful and bullet-resistant. #sffwrtcht
2:55 amshadowflame1974:@jay_lake do you think some editors expect more out of you than some of the newer writers? #sffwrtcht
2:55 amJ_GriffinB:RT @jay_lake: And yes, I still get rejected all the time. More often than I get accepted, I think. #sffwrtcht
2:56 amjay_lake:None of the SUNSPIN shorts are embedded in the novel, but they all feed into it somehow. Fred is clever that way. #sffwrtcht
2:56 amjay_lake:@klagor - No, I did not. Honestly, I was surprised. Remember, I'd been failing for years at that point. Was quite good at it. #sffwrtcht
2:57 amjay_lake:@shadowflame1974 - That's a really good question. The answer is yes and no. Ultimately, the story *has* to speak for itself. #sffwrtcht
2:57 amJ_GriffinB:@jay_lake What does your writing space look like? #sffwrtcht
2:57 amsffwrtcht:When can we expect to see SUNSPIN out? 2012? 2013? #sffwrtcht
2:58 amjay_lake:My writing space looks like a MacBook Pro. I can and do write almost anywhere. #sffwrtcht
2:58 amFuelforwriters:RT @jay_lake: People complain they don't have time to write, but they're in WOW every night, or watching House. Or whatever. That's a *choice* #sffwrtcht
2:58 amjay_lake:SUNSPIN is being written entirely on spec, so I don't know when we'll see it out. When I sell it, you'll hear the whoop. #sffwrtcht
2:59 amsffwrtcht:@jay_lake Awesome. We look forward to it. Jay, remind us where we can find you on the web? #sffwrtcht
3:00 amJ_GriffinB:@jay_lake Ditto that. Any software preferences? #sffwrtcht
3:00 amjay_lake:On the Web I am at jlake.com and jaylake.livejournal.com, also Facebook and (duh) Twitter #sffwrtcht
3:00 amWyld_Dandelyon:@jay_lake #sffwrtcht What do you think about the many changes publishing is undergoing right now?
3:00 amBryanThomasS:Next week GUD editor @kaolinfire joins us. Kevin Anderson will be on 3/9 then @brendacooper#sffwrtcht
3:01 amjay_lake:I'm a dinosaur. Been using Microsoft word since it fit on the same floppy as the Mac OS, back in 1985/1986... #sffwrtcht
3:01 amjay_lake:Or maybe I was using MacWrite back then. But it's been Word since forever. #sffwrtcht
3:02 amjay_lake:@wyld_dandelyon - I couldn't even begin to give you an intelligent response to that in 140,000 characters... #sffwrtcht
3:02 amlouisbshalako:@jay_lake Thank you for the insights. (Awesome interview. Thanks Bryan.) #sffwrtcht
3:02 amjay_lake:This has been a lot of fun, guys. Any late-breaking questions before I go? #sffwrtcht
3:02 amklagor:@jay_lake what do you like best about teaching workshops like Viable Paradise? #sffwrtcht
3:03 amBryanThomasS:Jay, thanks so much for taking the time to be here tonight. What a great chat. So informative. #sffwrtcht
3:03 amsffwrtcht:Next week GUD editor @kaolinfire joins us. Kevin Anderson will be on 3/9 then @brendacooper#sffwrtcht
3:03 amjay_lake:You guys know where to find me online. I'm pretty responsive. Write more, everybody. Good night. #sffwrtcht
3:03 amshadowflame1974:Thank you so much for the chat tonight #sffwrtcht
3:03 amSooGuy68:RT @jay_lake: I wrote and submitted regularly from 1990 to 2001 before making my first sale. #sffwrtcht
3:03 amBryanThomasS:@jay_lake Night. #sffwrtcht
3:04 amjay_lake:@klagor - I love teaching writing because I learn so much from students. #sffwrtcht
3:04 amsffwrtcht:A transcript will be up later tonight. Thanks all for joining us! #sffwrtcht
3:04 amsffwrtcht:Off to Best Buy to try and get a power cable to save my laptop. #sffwrtcht which dies in 5 min
3:05 amWyld_Dandelyon:@jay_lake #sffwrtcht I'm glad I caught you here!
3:05 amSpiceBites:Good night! Loved the chat! TY for all the wisdom :) #sffwrtcht
3:06 amBryanThomasS:@Wyld_Dandelyon Thanks for being with us. New guest every week #sffwrtcht
3:06 amtalekyn:@jay_lake Thanks, Jay, for the great #sffwrtcht and for answering my questions!
3:31 amannascanlon:RT @jay_lake: And write new stuff. Don't spend years laboring over your Great Work. Trust me, it's not that great. Go write another one. #sffwrtcht
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