CM Simpson: Writer & Gamer

Okay, I’ve had a look at the data, and I’ve gone over the stories in my cupboard, and I’ve made a few decisions: 1.       I’m going to give this writing thing a red-hot roaring go. 2.       I’m not going to differentiate my genres, beyond splitting my romance away from everything else. 3.       I will pay for professional covers, until I learn to make my own, and even then, because my time is finite and it takes time to truly develop art skills, I will probably still pay for professional covers. 4.       Even though I have been an editor, I will still need beta readers I can trust, to help me pick up the editing points I miss. I am undecided on hiring an editor as well. 5.       I will systematically work my way through the stories in my cupboard, while working on the new stories I am now itching to write. 6.       As eac...

I’m not going to go into too many details with this one—can’t, the stories aren’t written and are subject to change, but the ones I wanted to focus on are those I originally planned for existing settings. Each of these settings has its own set of rules, creatures peculiar to it, and cultures that exist only within its bounds. Because of this, any stories written for them are tied to only one possible publisher, and, if refused, must die stillborn. I don’t want to let this happen. I want my stories to live and entertain for a long, long time to come. With this in mind, I took a look at the work I’ve done over the last ten years, comparing the older work, which I wrote because I had a story I wanted to tell,   with the more recent stuff, which I had been started with a particular market in mind. While I was doing this, along came the news that a new rules edition was in the works, and this meant that the worlds I was writing for would change, since they change with every ...

“Don’t just put your nose against the grindstone: rub your entire naked body against the grindstone . And then film it. And put it on Youtube.” (17 January 2012; Terrible Minds Blog; Chuck Wendig, novelist, screenwriter, freelance pen monkey) I laughed out loud. Yes, it has context for writers and in that context, this says it all. If you don’t like swearing, don’t read this post… or the blog, for that matter, but, if you can cope with a little cussing out for some good writerly advice, go read this blog. It’s a timely kick in the pants.

For a long time now, I’ve been toying with the idea of writing a novel for a couple of roleplaying companies. I’ve completed a couple of overviews and started chapter outlines and drafts, but I hesitated. Why? It wasn’t because cracking those markets is hard—which it is, by the way. Cracking the traditional market for any kind of fiction is hard, with the chance of rejection high even if you are ‘good enough’. This rejection is something everyone has to face, no matter how well established they are in the industry, so, if rejection wasn’t it, why hesitate? I had to think about that, but I guess it’s because anything I write for a specific already-published setting isn’t really mine. Yes, it’s a market with prestige; yes, it might draw readers to my other fantasy work; and, yes, there’s already a market out there so I wouldn’t have to work as hard to build the initial readership (maintaining and developing it, is another question entirely)… BUT, on the flip-side, the work would ...

“It’s working!” “I know it’s working. Run!” Merry and Pippin (played by Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd), Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, 2002 There is something about this scene that always grabs at my heart. Even having watched it more times than I care to admit, I still feel that familiar constriction as these two hobbits draw harm away from their friend. As reckless as they are, if it had been anyone other than Frodo, or perhaps, Sam, would have they made this sacrifice? It’s hard to say, but watching them forgo their chance to accompany their friend, or even bid him goodbye, pulls at my emotions. It’s a memorable scene, and one that makes me laugh, even as I gasp at the risk they take to enable Frodo’s escape. It’s also balanced by the high tension and drama of the scenes that follow. Boromir’s sacrifice and redemption, and the sadness of his passing, the poignancy of his oath to Strider and Strider’s oath in return. This i...

I have three writer names. This is the only one I share, and I’m even uncertain about that. As you know, I’ve been looking at the changes in publishing and weighing up how I’m going to approach my writing career. It’s not an easy set of choices, for all the reasons in my previous post ( Changes, Changes, Changes ), and even now it’s not set in stone. I’ve decided to keep my currently published writing name with the publisher it’s with now. I like them as a publisher, and I’m happy to keep that writing name with them. I hope they feel the same way about me as I’ve been on hiatus until now. No doubt my other writing name will blog about it. My other writing name has placed in a writing competition run by the publisher for which her work was originally pitched, and she was asked to submit it to the editor of that line. I’m still working on my decision with that. On the up-side, if they publish that writer name, I garner ‘respect’ from writers who value such things, and gain th...