CM Simpson: Writer & Gamer

Writers have to practice their craft. This is more than just writing every day on one project, or even writing every day on lots of different projects: ·          It’s going out of your way to hone your craft. ·          It’s finding honest critiques, or feedback in from sources other than those inclined to be kind to you. ·          It’s admitting you don’t know everything there is to know about your writing or your publishing or your art and actively seeking out opportunities to improve. So, when I read Chuck Wendig’s rules on becoming a successful writer I laughed and agreed and knew I wasn’t alone because what he said encompassed what I felt but hadn’t been able to give words to. And one of those things was the challenge to finish what I’d started (and that’s a lot) and to try not to suck too much – it’s advice available to everyone who reads his blo...

This morning I sat down and surfed through all the blogs I subscribe to that had over 20 entries. Here are the ones that made me stop: The Passive Voice reporting literary agent John Ashlocke’s interview: http://www.thepassivevoice.com/09/2012/big-book-publishers-not-innovating-fast-enough/ John Ashlocke’s interview: http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2012/09/literary-agent-jason-ashlock-big-book-publishers-not-innovating-fast-enough264.html The Passive Voice reporting a Legal Geek’s blog article: http://www.thepassivevoice.com/09/2012/firefly-lessons-in-contract-law/ Legal Geeks on contract law: http://thelegalgeeks.com/blog/2012/09/27/firefly-lessons-in-contract-law/ The Passive Voice reporting Holly Lisle’s article on her attitude towards John Locke: http://www.thepassivevoice.com/09/2012/do-i-still-recommend-john-locke-no/ Holly Lisle on why she’s changed her attitude towards John Locke: http://hollylisle.com/do-i-still-recommend-john-locke-no/ The Passive Voice on the Pub...

Thoughts on the Randomly Rolled Challenge Elements Okay, so I nearly gave up when I rolled for this week’s challenge. I rolled 20 for ‘Sub-Genre’ which resulted in ‘fan fiction’. I have never written fan fiction in my life before, so my mind went a total blank and I didn’t think I could do it. I just about gave up then and there. As you can see I didn’t, just couldn’t help rolling that dice twice more and receiving a 16 and a 3 for my efforts. At first, I was going to use them for an alternative Sub-Genres response, but that felt too much like cheating so I just went with the results, in order for the next two categories: 16 = ‘Family Thrown Apart!’ as a Conflict/Problem and 3 = Sea Monster for the Element to Include. Work Time I started writing my first draft and researching at 12:39, 1 October 2012, Australian Eastern Standard Time. I finished the first draft 13:42, 3 October 2012. I spent four hours on it on the 1 st and three-and-a-half hours on the 3 rd . I just coul...

Well, this was one very difficult piece to write. I very nearly gave up on it, but I didn’t. It got to 1,300-and-a-bit words and I took a pruning saw to it, but it seems to have come out okay. This thousand-word limit teaches a lot about what can be trimmed and what can’t. Good lessons to apply when writing longer pieces, too. This story is a result of the latest Chuck Wendig terribleminds blog flash fiction challenge: Epic Game of Aspects Redux . Sub-genre randomly rolled was 'fan fiction'; problem was 'family torn apart'; element to include ended up being 'sea monster'. So, like all fanfics, this piece is not endorsed, recognized or sanctioned by the creator of the game on which it's based. Because of my total discomfort about writing something not a hundred percent my own, the only trademarked name used is 'zuleps' and the rest can be tweaked so that it resides wholly in my own world. This story is exactly 1,000 words long, and was ...