I've Got Issues.

I'm not talking about the whole fear of clowns or other things only to be addressed by licensed professionals. I'm talking about the views and causes that manage to creep into the things we write.

I'm not a fan bait and switch. If the dust jacket says I get to read about laser-blasting alien hordes, I don't want to be beaten over the head about anti-industrial policies. I just want to blast aliens! If I want serious, I'll read serious.

Most of the time, I make a conscious effort to leave the politics at the door of my theoretical office. I think I tend to do a good job. The main thing that ends up in the stories I write is the universal idea of being a decent human being for the sake of being decent. Mainly because I can't stand douchebags, and I need an outlet for the irritation that won't require a trip through the legal system. :)

The book that I'm editing and second-drafting, however, has taken my usual habit of "no politics" and run like it's being chased by a pack of wild dogs. I have weird religious themes (that may or may not inspire picketers). The government doesn't fare too well in the piece (which I hope doesn't get my taxes raised). And society goes to hell in a handbasket (oops).

It's probably the muse getting back at me for starting the project from a snarky place.

I think that my main concern is becoming heavy-handed with the opinions that do make it into my work. I want to tell a story, not condescend to my readers. I want to be fair, even with things I don't particularly hold in a favorable view.

Is that weird?

Serial Buzz.

So I can't get the whole self-promotion concept out of my head.

All the cool kids I know are doing serials. Really damn fantastic serials. It makes a girl jealous. ;) I really like the idea, too. What's not to like? You have to write regularly. You can keep the fun going as long as you like. It gets your style "out there." And it's something for the fans (crosses fingers, knocks on wood, etc). All around cool stuff.

I've been playing around with some concepts, and frankly, I think I may need to up the meds a bit. My two best are a zombie western and space pirate redux of a story I wrote when I was sixteen. Yeah, I know, I have issues.

Passive Aggressive.

I went over a short story that I'm prepping to submit again, and I think figured out my problem. And I didn't even need to call in Scoob and the gang for any help.

We did a worksheet in my writer's group last week. Lovely, lovely information about naughty little things called passive verbs. Things that end up telling your reader what is, was, or been instead of showing them the interesting actions. All around, good info to keep in mind. I was tired vs My extremities seemed to drag against me like weights. Better visualization and higher word count. Win, win. Yay!

Unfortunately, a dark reality lurks. All those short stories and novels sitting in the hard drive or piles of paper waiting for transcription, yeah, probably FULL of those little nasties. It makes a girl want to cry. Or curl into a fetal position. Or both.

I wound up getting an extra 250 words out of my short story once I cut all the passives out. I know that should make me happy, but the added word count makes me wonder how much more I'm going to get on my other pieces. *sigh* I'll keep you posted.

Setting Sites.

So I'm thinking about setting up a website. An additional platform to widen my online presence and give a place for future readers and employers to look to for what makes me tick (crosses fingers). Something that wows and draws people in would be awesome. At least, I think that's what the goal should be.

I've studied content and layouts, blurbs and bios, and I have a pretty good idea what I want. Then I realized something: when I set up my stuff, all that content has to be about me. ME! (Contemplates curling up in the fetal position).

But Lynn, you may ask, isn't that the whole point to your authorship endeavor?

Yes and no.

You see, I began my daydreaming about publishing before the mainstream media saturation of the current day. (Dons beret and scarf). I thought that I could "get people" for that while I concentrated on my art. Yeah, yeah, I know. But hey, in all fairness, it was a long time ago. The public relations stuff doesn't bother me, per se. Handling all the p.r. until you can get people strikes me as a little weird. The idea of marketing myself is a bit awkward. Too much and you look like you're trying too hard. Too little and you look uninteresting.

So I've decided to take the baby step approach. A blog here, a Twitter there, and so on and so on. :) I'm sure that I'm over analyzing again, and I'm going to feel like a dork when everything turns out easy peasy.

*Speaking of online presence, I'm going to be guest blogging on Frances Pauli's Speculative Friction on February 13th. Stop by, have fun. :)