Everything's Coming Up Clark

So after secretly laughing at me for having two separate blogs, my wife finally caved and created her own outlet on the internet: Everything's Coming Up Clark.

This will be the go-to source for all things Clark family related--baby pictures, news and ramblings when the time comes, notes on the remodel, dog-thoughts, and whatever else Amber feels like jotting down. If you like keeping up on that type of thing, it's the place to be!

And as an added bonus, my wife is freaking hilarious! Check it out.

Clean, new space

This post has been a long time coming--I bookmarked Jonathan Carroll's comments back in October about what it's like to start a new novel. He compares it to sitting in an empty apartment before moving in:

That is what it is like for me to begin a new novel. You've chosen a place to live for the next year or more but it has nothing inside it yet. Only the walls, the floors and the windows. Because you have created this space, only you can furnish it. But you're really looking forward to the task, no matter how long it takes.

It's been almost seven years since I started my last big project, Dreams of a Shaper. With that winging it's way to agents, the time has come to move on and get working on something else. Tonight I finished the last character sketches, lists and notes before I start actually putting new words down on blank pages.

I'm thrilled, I'm scared, I'm champing at the bit to go. Hope it doesn't take another seven years, but if it does then so be it.

Traction

As my prior note probably indicates, life has been busy at the Clark household. I know this isn't a valid excuse for not writing, but it's been tough period to find time to buckle down. We've been remodeling the house before our daughter arrives, Amber's was laid out sick for the first four or five months of our pregnancy, and at the end of the summer I finished my final draft of Dreams of a Shaper before submitting it to agents. I had good intentions of writing short fiction, and I have churned out a few stories, but the short stuff just doesn't hold my attention like a bigger project.

The remodel isn't done, but things are winding down a little, so I'm getting back into action. First order of business is another batch of agent submissions. Haven't heard back from everyone in the first go around, but that's no reason to wait. Those should be in the mail by the end of the weekend.

Next is editing a couple of the stories I've drafted for critique group. It's been nice to have something new to present there recently with a few revived stories, and I'm looking forward to trotting out new material for them soon.

Last and certainly not least, there's the next book. I've got a good bit of planning slated before I truly put pen to paper--world building, plotting, character studies, probably even some "before the book starts" scenes just to get my footing. I'm shifting gears to fantasy this go around, and I'm thrilled with how the ideas are gelling.

I know, it sounds crazy to start writing a novel just months before a new baby arrives, but I figure 1) I'll get some work done if I start now and 2) I don't want the writing to wait until our daughter's sleeping through the night. This period of partial hiatus has re-enforced exactly how much the writing soothes and settles me, how much I enjoy and crave it. Even if it's less frequent, even if it's interrupted by crying and diaper changes, I'll be a happier man if I've got blank pages in front of me and ideas in my head when the baby arrives.

And the answer is....

When last I posted about the upcoming birth of our first child, we hadn't found out yet whether it was a boy or a girl. So for the record it's (drumroll)....

A girl!

We're so delighted, not least given my family history. There have been only a handful of girls born in the Clark family in the past century, so neither of us thought it particularly likely that we would have one. But whether it was the fertility drugs or just meant to be, we are so looking forward to welcoming our little daughter into the world.

I'll be honest and say that pregnancy has not been what either of us expected. The physical wear and tear, the months of constant nausea ("morning sickness", yeah right), along with Amber recently turning up with gestational diabetes have all made it a rough road. But when I think back to the day we found out it was a little girl on the way, I feel certain it will all be worth it.

Questions to ask when the offer comes

An agent recently offered a friend of mine representation. I heard about this first thing when my friend pinged out critique group with a frantic message about what he should ask before inking the deal.

It was eye-opening for me, since I've got material out and if I got the call today I would be wondering the same thing. Luckily, shortly thereafter a couple of agent blogs made excellent posts on the subject.

First Jenny Rappaport gave a thorough list, and not long after Nathan Bransford invited a guest blogger, Ginger Clark, to chime in on what you should cover. There's a lot of overlap between the two, and the bottom line seems to be about setting expectations (like any good relationship!)

I still plan to sit down and write up my personal list distilled out of these sources, but these give a great starting place for that moment of truth.

Books: Cat's Cradle

This the third of the late, great Kurt Vonnegut's books that I've read. The first I read was the one he's best known for, Slaughterhouse-Five, and the second was Galápagos, which my friend Brian got me started on reading aloud on a road-trip along the Oregon coast.

Most people know about Slaughterhouse-Five if they're familiar with Vonnegut at all, but Cat's Cradle comes a close second. It was the first novel of his to get much attention in 1963, and I can see why. Cat's Cradle is trademark Vonnegut, with crisp writing, an engaging conversational voice, and a pervasively off-kilter point of view that leaves you constantly guessing what will happen next.

In contrast with Slaughterhouse-Five, which is defined by it's non-linear story, Cat's Cradle follows a more standard narrative arc. That does not, however, make the story straightforward. The book's jam-packed with odd side-lines, quotes from the made-up religion of Bokononism, and stunningly original concepts. Vonnegut mixes these up in such a way that you never quite know whether something is crucial to the plot or tossed in as a bonus, but it all makes you want to keep reading.

I highly recommend Cat's Cradle, especially to anyone who hasn't read Vonnegut before. It'll definitely tell you whether he's an author you'd like to read more of, and if you do there are many other treats in store.

Anticipation

I haven't mentioned it on the blog yet, so I guess this qualifies as the first world-wide announcement... Amber and I are expecting!

The due date is March 30, and that puts a significant milestone on Wednesday of this week--the ultrasound. We had two other ultrasounds in the early going, but those revealed only a thumping jelly-bean. I've glad to have seen and heard it, but it doesn't give a lot of personal detail. Wednesday will (hopefully) change that.

Everyone asks whether we're going to find out if it's a boy or a girl. If you know Amber, the answer probably won't surprise you. She has a hard time keeping birthday gifts secret :) It'll be public knowledge as soon as we leave.

Anyway, anticipation is running high. Amber's been quite sick for a lot of the time, but that 's starting to lighten up and now the big ultrasound is on the way. Exciting times.

PS -- To all the folks who would remind me that not everyone finds out, that the baby might not cooperate, etc. I know. Gotta keep optimistic, though, and if not the eventual surprise will be all the bigger and better.

Pitch Workshop with Agent Kristin

Just a quick post to call out Agent Kristin's currently running Blog Pitch Workshop. She's breaking down jacket copy line by line, telling what works and what doesn't across the literary spectrum. As I'm in the process of sending out query letters, this advice couldn't be more timely!

Writing Series

Excellent post the other day from Nathan Bransford on writing series. He's already covered before how to mention sequels in your query letter (and it doesn't read like "This is the first in a seven-volume epic"), but now he's weighed in on writing the series at all:

...I haven't actually blogged about whether an unpublished author should set out to write a series in the first place. My opinion? You shouldn't.

I completely agree with him, and that's based on some hard-won experience.

Throughout college, I wrote a fantasy trilogy. Now, if there's any genre that you might manage to publish a series straight off, it's fantasy. Fans do love the door-stops, and the more to stack up the better!

As a writer, the series is alluring--expanded scope, no new world to create every time, more space to work events and subplots into. Plus, a lot of my favorite authors at the time were writing expansive, multi-volume series. I set off to write my trilogy, front to back over the course of a couple years.

But the truth is that the greater length introduced more problems than it solved. As a developing writer, my craft grew over the course of the series. By the time the third book, my writing was much better than when I started. But so many of the problems in the first book were deep structural issues, and my best efforts to rescue it came to naught. And that's the rub--no matter how great the series may get, you have to sell it off that first book. No publisher will wait for book two, three, or five for the big payoff.

I made a half-hearted effort to sell the first book, but I knew it wouldn't cut it. A complete rewrite would have been necessary, and although I loved it dearly, the whole series went in the drawer. I haven't regretted it since.

Nathan's spot on about this. If you're a first-time author, the deck's already stacked against you. You can't afford to save cool stuff for later. This book has to snap, crackle, and pop all on its own. If there's potential for a sequel (like my current WIP), that's good, but don't let the series drag your first book down.

Of Pens and Gel

I normally follow Rands in Repose for his humorous, insightful commentary on software development and managing programmers. However, the other day he posted on a topic which, I daresay, is as close to my heart as writing code: gel pens.

I avoided a total pen breakdown for a few months simply by looking for this pen in my home and work environments, as I was sure I’d find remnants of the six boxes of pens that had mysteriously liberated themselves from my office over the past four years. In a week, I’d built a small stockpile of reclaimed, partially used pens, but it is a fundamental law of office supplies that a pen wants to be free. Despite my best efforts, my stockpile was slowly depleted.

From there he proceeds through an insanely detailed testing of several pens, with checkbox grids laying out the various factors considered. It reads like the sort of thing I've considered, but narrowly avoided doing myself. "I'm nuts," I'd say. "It's just a pen." I have, however, probably spent days worth of time pacing the pen aisles at various office stores, searching for that perfect pen.

My own criteria have a lot in common with Rands':

• Gel ink is the absolutely a must. Smooth, less likely to bleed, lasts longer (in my unscientific observations)
• Clicking pens annoy me... and that's just when I'm clicking them obsessively myself. Capped pens are the word of the day since I carry one in my pocket.
  
• A narrow body is preferred to the more chunky varieties. I don't need lots of padding or jumbo grips.

Since I'm going to be writing more new material in the near future, it might be time to start hunting for a new pen myself. Hurray!