Friday, January 11, 2013

School and Writing


School has started again and I’ve been swamped. Classes actually don’t begin until Monday but there are many, many things teachers have to do before that first class period.  That’s why I haven’t been visiting blogs for a couple of days. I got around to some this morning since it’s been relatively quiet.  

The Fiction Techniques Freebies are over now. I gave away 255 copies of Fiction Techniques #1: Creating Suspense, and 297 copies of #2: Characters Wanted. Sold 9 copies of #3: The Twist Ending. I did notice that someone bought Write With Fire also. At least, the numbers improved on it for a while. I hope people find the articles useful.  For those of you who checked the “Techniques” articles out, tell me honestly what you thought of the covers.  I know they aren’t highly salient but I wanted to make the connection to the ebook publishing revolution so that’s why I used screen shots. I hope they don’t look too cheesy.

I have been writing since the start of the New Year. Most of this has actually been revision of earlier materials, though I have produced a couple of new flash fictions. In the next month or so I’m going to publish a collection of twisted flash fictions and my working title for that is “Micro Weird: Tiny Tales of the Strange.” After that I will turn my attention back to some short westerns, and then begin work on a longer project. I have at least two long projects in various stages of completion, although who knows where inspiration will take me.

Here’s hoping everyone’s New Year is off to a good start!
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29 comments:

  1. Glad you had some good numbers for your books!
    And I might actually have a writing idea...

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  2. Now that I have kindlized I want to do many more. Thx for showing the way, Charles.
    Aloha

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  3. I love your collections. I'm reading Harmland Tales now. I will be buying Write With Fire as soon as I can. For the covers of the articles, they threw me off at first, but when I thought about it, I thought they were kinda clever. :)

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  4. Alex, ideas are fun to get!

    Cloudia, glad you've got it out.

    Tom, thanks, man. I wondered a lot about the covers. I went back and forth but decided to give it a try.

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  5. Glad to hear you're writing again! And me' great start of the year. At longlast i begun to write a sword & planet story and, if all goes well, ithis summer i'll pubish my first book ;)

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  6. Deka, cool. I'm looking forward to hearing more about that book!

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  7. I hope the giveaways boost your sales numbers. I think you did it in the right way for marketing. Giving away novels I don't think works at all, and it kills sales afterward. Plus, the tips will be invaluable for anyone messing around in this goofy business. :)

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  8. Cheers for your writing! Hope it keeps going well.

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  9. Our classes don't start until Wednesday, but I've been swamped for the past few days as well. Glad you've gotten some writing done. It's more than I've managed for several days.

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  10. You're off and running again! How you get time for writing is beyond me.

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  11. Good to hear you've gotten some writing in!

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  12. Gotta love a blogger who can work in the word "salient." Write on, my friend. As for course prep, I found that setting up the online stuff (Blackboard) seemed to double the workload. Glad that's over.

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  13. Sounds like you got some good publicity out of your freebies and also helped some folks. January is a busy month for me, too.

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  14. Charles, I hope the sales outweigh the giveaways. I thought the screen-shot covers of "Fiction Techniques" suited the subject-matter. I am still to read all of it. I am glad you are into the writing groove, Charles. When is the best time for you to write?

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  15. from the good ol hippie dippy days: keep on keepin on :)

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  16. Bernard, yeah, I think you have to give away appetizers, not the main meal.

    Riot Kitty, thanks!

    Keith, I tried to get most of my syllabi done earlier so I wouldn't be too overwhelmed now.

    Oscar, I worked some long hours yesterday I will admit.

    Golden Eagle, I'm glad too.

    Ron Scheer, yes, the electronics just adds another layer, but there are some ways it's nice. I like getting stuff electronically from students so I can process it mre at my leisure.

    Sage, the start of the year keeps me hopping for sure.

    Prashant, Thanks. I write mostly in the evenings. sometimes at school I work on nonfiction if I get a chance, but the fiction happens at night and on weekends primarily.

    Laughinwolf, or "keep on truckin'"

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  17. happy new year to you, too - and i'm sure it started well for those lucky ones who got a hand on the free kindle version of your collection of advice :)
    school has started here as well, so the kids are away - i've got more time to write.
    actually, i edit some of my fellow writers' work.

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  18. Szelsofa, good to have time. Happy editing!

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  19. Nope. Not off to a good start. Too much of this and not enough of that.

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  20. Hoo-hah.

    Ya want inspiration?

    Pick up a new fiancee, realize with the new relationship you can't go off at the other end,your brain; take out a room somewhere so you can have the peace to write, meet the landlord who pipes up and says, a' propos of nothing,"Crown me, I've always wanted to be a queen," look up at the attic ceiling where there are crudely drawn penises, snap on the black-and-white TV,watch an old Alfred Hitchcock rerun, and voila--you write a tale of murder and mystery.

    Oh where was Deepak Chopra?

    But damn. Somehow synchronicity worked in l966.
    I sold the story, but almost lost the girl, who was wondering what in hell I was doing up in that attic loft....Losing my male virginity?

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  21. And the same back at ya Charles...just remember don't let the GPA hounds drag you down.

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  22. Patti, sorry to hear that. Hope it improves soon.

    Ivan, gotta feed your head. I might prefer a different kind of feeding but whatever works. :)

    Mark, I'm trying. It gets harder each year, I think, but I shall hold strong. :)

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  23. Thanks for stopping by the blog! Happy New Year to you, too!

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  24. Charles, your motivation and planning is amazing.

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  25. Sounds like you're off to a good start for your 2013 writing goals. Good for you!

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  26. Gabby, the first one I couldn't comment on. Not sure why.

    Jodi, eh, not so much, but thanks for thinking so. :)

    Travis Cody, I'm not unhappy at present.

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