Inspire Them Early

My nephew started falling behind on schoolwork in one class and I caught him, thanks to the school's online progress site. I addressed a solution on the way home, after getting in touch with the teacher and despite my usual diplomatic approach, being caught never feels good and he was pretty dejected.

I had gone outside, talked with my neighbor for a while. I've known this woman forever, babysat her daughter who now has a toddler of her own, so it ate away at the time before I headed back in to make sure my nephews' homework was done and caught one nephew (the culprit) crying in the corner of his brother's room. He's not one of those kids that calms down right away when he's hurt so I cajoled him and sat there until he could tell me what was wrong and it turns out his brother had called him a failure and it hurt.

Number one, I don't allow that kind of talk. Name-calling when you're angry is one thing, impulsive and not pre-meditated, but you don't kick someone down like that. Especially not since last quarter, HE was the one that wasn't living up to his potential and it was extremely hypocritical. So I popped a squat on the floor and had a talk.

On this blog, I often post motivational and critical exercises in thinking. It gets some response, but I think a lot of adults have heard some version of it before and it's reinforcement. For my nephew, it was new and something he needed to hear when said thoughtfully.

I told him no one can make you feel like a failure but you. I'm not at all a stranger to failure and certainly not a stranger to doubt, uncertainty and critics that enjoy the misery of tearing people down. One very valuable thing I learned in college was how to help someone improve far more than a 'you suck' or 'this is perfect.' I talked to him about many things; the advantages of tailoring your education to your interests, the importance of failure to your definition of success and how you're never too old to start over if your path crumbles away. As I spoke, he stopped physically curling into his fetal position on the floor and his eyes actually started to sparkle with possibility. I opened him up to hope by confessing that sometimes even I cry or get angry when I face the harder blows that make me vulnerable, that those moments make the joy even sweeter.

In the eyes of a child, we get to see the purity of our strengths and weaknesses, get to test the possibilities and opportunities. I didn't just help him see that consequences of risk have their ups and downs, I reaffirmed it for myself and learned from his response and recognition. I have never been a teacher without being a student and that conversation made it abundantly clear that supporting those who struggle like you is SO important (even to an introvert like me) towards gaining the tools you need to succeed when things don't go as well as you'd hoped.

Let's face it; most of us did this when growing up, tested just how much we could coast or even outright cheated just to see what it felt like. Did we keep doing it? Most of us didn't. For me, nothing could replace hard work, knowing the true results of our own skills, untainted by the doubt of being found fraudulent and losing credibility. Maybe there are some golden children reading this, but I'm sure their hard knocks might have hit in other ways and maybe harder, either through being less resilient or just sheltered against the possibility.

To be honest, I'm glad my nephews aren't in a perfect bubble and that they do learn from failure. I also hope that when someone deigns to call them a failure, they start to brush it off with confidence because what I said revives in their mind, a powerful mantra that only pushes them.

Even once we gain experience, learn from the resilience of a child. Be childish in all the best ways. Remember the power of inspiration and let it empower you throughout your life. You'll need it for the rough patches. Not everything is adrenaline even after an epiphany, but it is completely in your power what you do with pain. Just like the string of insanity that deaths wracked me with did not make me give up, keep an impenetrable piece of yourself, cold as it may seem, to find and fulfill your purpose. You may not enjoy anything when life kicks you down, but there's a place for steely logic. If you can't create, edit or self-improve. You don't have to love it to do it. You just have to realize that you're still worth the pain of trying. And you are. No matter what asshole lives in your head at the moment, you are still the only one who can do what you do.

It's entirely acceptable to call your self-critic a failure and keep going. I've got your back so even if your support system is a big fat zero, consider me your +1.

Quick Update

Still a bit congested and weak, but I got back to drawing, enough to finish out the covers for the fifth and sixth books in the series and get about halfway through the seventh. Keep in mind I'm working on them simultaneously, so they still took several days worth of time a piece, I just happened to narrow a few of them down to being closer to the finish line and knocked them out within the past couple days.

I still have to do the trilogy covers but if you've seen the cover for the first trilogy, I used a lot of photographic elements and I'm going to keep with the same theme, only changing the background color, the blurb section, the main graphic imprint and the title.

It's exciting seeing each one go from a rough sketch to a beautiful cover image. Once each one publishes, I'll keep updating the cover art post with the original image.

Ah, that being said, these are my current projected release dates:

A World Reborn: Higher Reasoning (Book 2): May 11

A World Reborn: Deicide (Book 3)/ A World Reborn: Complete Trilogy Edition: June 1

Each Endless Universe: Close Encounters (Book 1): June 15

Each Endless Universe: Dual Decisions (Book 2): June 29

Each Endless Universe: Original Sin (Book 3)/ Each Endless Universe: Complete Trilogy Edition: July 11

No, not avoiding Friday the 13th as a release date out of superstition. July 11th is my birthday and the perfect day for a crowning achievement!

How about some cover art hints and a look at some characters you'll meet in future books?

Cover 5: On the continent of Wheryf, a panther Felisfolk lives his daily life unaware of the change his life is about to take.

Cover 6: The circumstances of their birth were never thought possible. This brother and sister were once inseparable but grew apart.

Cover 7: A young engineer (and impromptu car mechanic) is in for a big surprise.

Cover 8: An impulsive anthropology student, her grandfather and a bartender with a secret make for an unlikely team.

Cover 9: A blind assassin you'd be a fool to underestimate.

I think I might drop these hints on my website in the Fun Facts section. I've been looking for a fun way to draw people into my stories, which can be difficult to do since I'd hate to give anything away. Off to dreamland for me, but I hope you enjoyed this look into my plans. 

For the writers, keep at it. Remember that for the better part of ten years, I let these stories live in my head, barely having the courage to write them. Within the past three, I penned them almost obsessively, editing and stepping away, outlining and editing, rinse, repeat. Of course it was difficult. Because I had no experience to draw on and had never publicly shared anything outside of poetry, I was afraid I wouldn't have the courage to tell the story I needed them to be, that I'd be too persuaded to make them 'acceptable.' Just like in our world, terrible and intimate things happen. I didn't go out of my way to always play out the absolute worst case scenario (it's not grimdark fantasy, after all). I didn't hedge at what Dragon Age fans would like, or my D&D crowd, or strive to write only romance. For me, fantasy can be a great opportunity to combine many concepts, to not be so obsessed with making it parallel to our world, to stop being a fan girl and show off my chops as an observer.

As I said, just keep at it. If you're experiencing blocks, it's a good sign you've turned a harmonious compulsion into an obsession. Some obsessions take on the form of addiction, and like addiction, you can become paralyzed with how to proceed when you get stuck. You've unknowingly made it into 'work' when the creative process can be stifled by such a simple unconscious directive. We're not all cut from the 'just write' cloth and it might be your cue to gracefully step away until you know exactly what you want to say. Even in my crochet and craft groups, there are people that lose their 'mojo', swamped with no shortage of patterns or projects and hit with paralysis. At that point, I have to ask them if maybe it's time for a different adventure until looking at the task brings pure joy rather than dread. Even professional writers give themselves generous deadlines to allow for time to step back and look at their work with fresh eyes.

Annnnd, cold medicine decided 'quick' is a lie... Oh well, such is life!

Looking Ahead

Haven't caught a cold in three years and BOOM! Friday night hit me with one that ate up the next three days. No writing, no drawing, and some pretty weird ideas of how sickness worked.

Like I told my friend, Joe, I actually mentally put my cold symptoms on Photoshop layers and felt frustration when I couldn't delete them. Before you think I'm dangerously close to thinking myself weird or quirky, this isn't the first time cold + obsession = impossible invention. I used to play this game called Puzzle Quest until my dreams became disturbingly occupied with rows of colorful gems and skulls. Colds tend to form these pockets of yearning for all of the things I physically can't do.

In any case, pre cold, I started running a blog draft of my illustration process. It's basically just a run through of what each layer entails rather than what tools I used. I plan to publish that sometime in the next couple weeks. It uses the design of my upcoming cover so I'm trying to get it close to that book's release.

I wrote down a rough idea of when I want to release the books and the last of them is scheduled to be released on July 11 (my 37th birthday). So yeah, they're coming quick, but with things piling up the way they are, I don't want to neglect my first series when I get caught up in newer ideas. The UnQuadrilogy continues and there's also the DreamPunk Chronicles and Piscine that are queued up. I've played with the idea of doing some prequels of my first series, visiting an event in the distant past and one that occurs in one of the time periods between trilogies.

When I could keep my eyes open long enough over the weekend, I did read some writing articles and I'm getting the impression that none of them are actually offering any new insight. It's just the same top posters trying to make more bank on redundant platitudes. From the more passive but motivational 'your time will come' to the aggressive guarantees that ' I can make you a top poster.'

Only pinching a small fortune writing redundant articles isn't where I want to place my focus. I wouldn't say that my path is better, but it's certainly better for me. If you read between the lines on these articles, you start to gather that these people went into bankruptcy, lived with family with no job, spending every waking moment building an audience. Yeah, I'm actually in a position where this is possible, but playing the self-help guru has always been a quick side venture, not my entire focus. Also, it's not feasible advice for most people and it's incredibly niche-y, the exception not the rule. In my eyes, advice aimed at a general audience should be something they can tailor to their needs, not be a treasure map that might've been looted dry before they get there.

I love writing fantasy. I love building characters, letting them grow organically, exploring the world around and inside of them. It's a process that's calming like sitting in a bay window on a rainy spring day, opened just a crack to let in the smells of cut grass, new flowers, and thirsty soil. If I'm going to hunker down in front of a computer to escape into creation, it should be a place that I want to share beyond a mundane weather report. I labor to tell a story that can activate your senses and emotions and curiosity.

No matter what genre you write, it's something you feel passionate about. I tinker with non-fiction even, the idea of writing a book that can teach you why you 'can't' draw and how to change that. I have been through a great deal of drawing books in my life but all of them assume you are unwavering in motivation and laser-focused. If you know me, I'm about as focused as a laser in a room full of mirrors. There are approaches to drawing that I believe have become lost on a lot of people as they grow older and I feel like I am uniquely attuned to that, that I can teach the unteachable.

That would be another thing. Although it does take research to make a cohesive article, most of my ideas benefit from at least an entire novel. There are so many layers to be carefully considered. I have enjoyed writing short stories here and there, but I feel as if they are clipped in comparison. 

Still a little sick so the effort of typing has worn me out. A sick nap is in order before I attempt to do some long missed cover work. Also, my fish seem displeased with my decorating skills and are currently spraying mouthfuls of gravel at the glass in protest. They've toppled a couple of their rocks that I need to set right...

Keep writing though... Unless you catch sick, then take a break!

Read Me

Old enough to remember when we used to write that on neatly folded notes in class, as if we'd actually mistake it for a gum wrapper or some other inconsequential piece of garbage? I'm not going to tell you it was the 'good old days' because I don't miss high school, but I will say that my best friend and I used to get a little MORE old-school and draw a carrier pigeon on the outside too.

But no, nostalgia isn't where this is headed.

How can we as authors get readers to take a chance on us? Do we lure them with humorous carrier pigeons or abbreviate our names because gendered names are too damning?

For authors, there are a myriad of frustrations that can be disillusioning when it comes to pitching our books. Things I've heard said (and in some cases, I've said personally):

1. What should include in my bio?

2. If I write about _____, will people read it?

3. How can I convince people I'm serious?

4. Does my gender/genre/voice matter?

5. If my story isn't 'good', does it invalidate me?

Personally, I'm neither of the party that sterilizes my stories into trendy bestsellers nor the party that writes only for passion. Like most things, I aim for balance. Am I a talented writer? I don't know. I've heard people remark that I am but in some ways, feedback is about as frequent as Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons coming to my door (but feedback is actually welcome). I think some people fear I'll either be too wordy and intellectual or too 'girlie'. And ffs, what would be wrong with either in regular doses? It's disheartening that women can feel comfortable reading books in a male voice but there is also an entire subset of men and uncomfortable women who peg all females in the same wishy-washy light, like we're all pumping out vapid romances and words are hard. I've beat that horse before and won't flip it and cook the other side now.

I suppose you could call the sexual scenes that crop up in my books 'smut' but do you know what that means for an asexual to explore that? It is rarely just about the sex. I'm calculating the actions of my characters on a level that complements their roles in the story. Yes, it is detailed and even a bit gratuitous but what's the point of drawing you into the heads of my characters if I kick you out at their most vulnerable?

Ohhhh, I see it now. Again, it sounds too complex. Here's the thing-- as a writer, I do see it as my duty to simplify the complex. I don't have a strict set of rules. I'm not going to talk down to you, but I'm not going to assume you know all of the unique rules of my fantasy world. And I'm not one of those people who will spew out endless lengths of fantasy names. I tend to use unique names but not ones too complicated to follow. There are three main continents in my first series-- Vieres, Stoneweld, and Wheryf. There are a lot of characters for you to meet but they are written in compact pieces, more a collection of short stories. I sometimes jump to different points in their lives to justify an action in their present.

I realize my work won't be everyone's cup of tea, but it can be tough for me to sum it up when people want to know what 'my book' is about. It's never been 'a book' and people seem to forget that my memory is very spotty (irony). I can discuss the decisions I made if you read it but trying to sum it up or package it is a lost cause.

Let's be honest-- even among writers, there are many who see self-publishers as people too chicken shit to query and wait in line to be accepted or too greedy to hire 'professionals' to make a quality product. In case they missed the memo, I AM a professional. Not only a writer and an artist but across multiple media. I was a comic book artist first, spending countless hours combining story-telling and art. Artists are often polymaths. It waters down nothing.

Ah, I wish I could remember her name but one girl in a group I'm in wanted to learn how to get better at cover design. A frustrating number of 'Hire a pro' comments flooded the post. I'm not sure when disposable income became a thing, nor being so eager to dismiss people from learning new skills but her reaction was priceless. Something to the tune of: so because I'm a writer, I can have the confidence to write but have to outsource my vision of the cover? So if the shoe is on the other foot and I've made a beautiful picture, I should hire a writer because I can't be trusted to write the story I see with it?

Some artists are lucky enough to dodge this hypocrisy. If they manage to have an acceptable level of talent, humility and are safe/non-threatening enough anyway... There are a lot of insecurities in large writing communities and sometimes having a 'fall-back' plan is met with the accusation that you aren't serious enough to have a single discipline. I once remarked that I would love to have a Master's degree so I could fall back on teaching when I couldn't meet the demands of a full time artist and, despite the fact that I'm actually a passionate person that would make a great teacher, all my detractor could focus on was that teaching was not a fall-back plan and should be a first choice. I can't agree with that. Many people find their passions AFTER they follow the curiosity to try it. In fact, it's often the over-zealous that dive headfirst with enthusiasm and realize they're not cut out for it. None of us are under any obligation to stick with something we are not measuring up to. Why not try to be a teacher, a guru, a muse? My muse is certainly a temp sometimes and one that whines about vacations while beating me into submission.

Here's the thing. I can't convince you of anything, no matter what I tell you. Many of you have your own ideas of what I am and what I write and if I deserve a reward for my hard work or whether my misery is important for your 'I told you so' philosophy. Most of the people who reach out to me love what I do, love my sense of humor, think I'm sweet, etc.  It's certainly a matter of quality rather than quantity.  To answer the five questions above, I don't know what to put in my bio, I write fantasy that speaks to my psyche, I can't possibly prove I'm more serious, being a woman writing fantasy in a woman's voice is not going to enlighten you to my abilities, and no one can invalidate me if I didn't seek their approval to begin with.

You aren't wrong that any artist wants their work to be looked at and even loved, but the world can't come crashing down if it isn't. It's not as simple as being a livelihood and mostly it's not even a choice. I can't tell you how many days I woke up and begged my brain to give my hands and eyes a break but ended up working exhausted anyway. Creativity can be downright parasitic and just as deadly if we try to detach from it. There's a reason the suicidal artist is an eye-rolling generalization. It is so built into some of us that trying to suppress it makes us horrible to be around.

You may have also noticed that artists often have to bleed on the paper. It's in these vulnerable moments where people want to latch on. Bestsellers can be safe but if you want a story to stick, it has to get its claws in you and leave a trace in your blood.

The younger writers want you to fall in love with their characters. I have almost never even cared a little. I can't tell you how many times these characters are so generically laden with flaws and strengths designed to be likable or repellent. Real characters, raw characters, are not like that. I fall in love with the weathered characters, the ones that never wanted to be heroes or villains. Take out 'heroes and villains'. How about liberals and conservatives? Artists and coal miners? Introverts and extroverts? Where's the right or wrong in the opposites? Because of that, I don't beg you to like my characters. If I'm doing it right, they're your annoying best friend or your rival you secretly admire. I write stories that you let you feel any damn way you want and possibly ask yourself if that's how you really feel and none of that hurts the story. Did you sympathize with the sadistic psychopath? Does that makes you feel like a monster or merciful? Will you keep reading to learn more about yourself?

How's that for a pitch?

Working with the Window Open...

I keep saying I'm going to take a break from drawing, like one 24 hour period without it, but coming up on the 6th day in a row just proves I'm a shameless liar. How can I stop though? I have one book cover done and another the other four in various stages of completion and already they are looking amazing.

And today? Cool air, sunlight, perfect weather for drawing so I couldn't pass it up. I worked on the clothes and shoes for one cover, started the outline on the next, and did most of a background for another (gasp, yes, background-- the one thing I will usually troll through stock photos to avoid doing). A great day and now I'm get ready to force myself to stop and give my hands and eyes a rest. Will I take a break tomorrow? Probably not. I'm already mentally plotting what I want to draw next.

Although, I should probably stop calling it drawing. Drawing gives off the wrong impression. It's digital painting. No one take four hours just drawing shoes. Also I paint on multiple layers. I shade skin that will get hidden by clothes on the finished product. I'm scribbling guidelines and palettes that will be hidden later too. Digital painting is not really like drawing or traditional painting at all and the stunning visuals and effects sometimes need special brushes (some I have to customize using a source photo or a vector image I've drawn).

How about a visual? This is my layer window and I haven't even done more than outlines and skin layers for the characters yet (and the character folders are closed or I would have need a fourth screen shot).

And yeah, I can't condense any of it. Each layer represents both a separate visual element and the order it needs to be to be visible. The background alone is occupying two and a half of the screenshots. Of course they're all in a folder that I can close to navigate easier once I'm done manipulating it. You can absolutely paint without labeling and organizing. It's also a pain in the ass to find everything if you do. I was a little lazy here, but I can remember what some of the default numbered layers are just by the labels around them.

I probably mentioned it before but I've been taking screenshots of my progress with all of them to share later so I can take people through my process. It won't be as detailed as a tutorial, mostly shots involving wherever I stopped or certain milestones. Mostly I've nailed some of the details by studying photographs and color-picking areas to attempt to recreate. What makes it challenging is that I'm NOT aiming for realism. I'm attempting to inject my style into even reference photos. I'm using 3D and physical models to figure out poses. It's an amalgamation of many sources, but still what I originally envisioned.

I'll cut out so I can get some rest though. Plenty of fun for the next week or two where the digital painting is concerned. I'm hoping to jump back into writing once I get through that. I've certainly been playing with UnSung enough in my head that I will beat my muse if she hides behind a blinking cursor. Hell, I've even been playing with ideas for UnHeard and that's not even a bridge I've come to yet. All this practice can only help the web comic though. I'm creaky and achy but it's the work I love.

Share Time!

On my pursuit towards constant self-improvement, I did a painting that didn't end up working with the cover I intended it for, so alas, it is SHARE TIME! We can't just let these things collect dust!

So here's my latest painting...

Want to buy a print? Check it out on DeviantArt

I did actually finish the 5th cover today, but I'm giving it a couple weeks before lining it up for release. I did mention that I want to pick up the speed on releasing the first series. Holding onto the finished books feels like so much backed-up work so I think it will be cleansing to get those out as soon as possible.

There are some tentative plans involved here. I want to keep improving my painting skills. Someday, I might slow down on the passion projects and decide to take on commissions. The ambitious cover projects are certainly helping. I hope that my personal style is still shining through on these. I love my comic book style, but I feel like there's a whole other level I could bring to it by bringing a different discipline along. Can I do more realistic versions of my characters? Well, clearly I can. Do I want to? Right now, it doesn't hurt. I certainly intend to do a simpler style for my web comic idea. So why not enjoy a bit of challenge? There's nothing like studying anatomy just to beautifully annihilate it with exaggerated proportion! I talk all the time about how important it is to be uncomfortable as a writer and the same is true as an artist. 

Feel free to hit me up on professional questions any time. I know some of my readers might be shier than me about getting feedback, but I do offer critiques on work, be it art or short writing pieces. It would be hard to tempt me to collaborate or commission short of a juicy price tag. Passion and exposure projects, I'm booked up. My channels are public and open so you can always ask. If you do see any of my work that you might want altered, (color or some other detail), I can arrange that. It doesn't take much to alter an existing painting. I only ask that you do a little research on pricing before you make an offer.

And this concludes share time!

Smoking!

Not really; I don't want to be stopped...

Crazy. Here I thought I'd never get going until this weather picked a non-Apocalyptic range. Physically, I'm still a hot mess but mentally, I'm insatiable.

I was supposed to take a break today, but yet again, I crept back to my passion projects. I want to share so bad but I'm waiting until I release the covers. I'll have a ton of progression screenshots to share too.

Surreal, really. Once I give into the curiosity and start poking at the paintings, I start feeling like they're part of the space around me. I'm flying through the toolbox without consciously choosing anything but somehow it's always the right tool. I'm connecting with the characters all over again, remembering why I fell in love with writing them to begin with. Beyond all the worries, I remember that I'm not a novice. That I've been at this my whole life, got two degrees in design, rocked an internship and paid my dues. I made the choice to design intuitively, to chose vision over what is most effective for the market. 

Let's face it-- the most distributed advice is to emulate success, that authors in your genre before you paved the way to give you the guidelines. Future writers are supposed to build on that. Bullshit. My favorites are my favorites because they followed their story. They were dedicated to their craft. Let's not forget that this IS a new age and self-publishing, for better or worse, ushered in the courage for polymaths to shine. We get to research cover design, formatting, the craft of writing and storytelling, all in a way that makes us agents, publishers and marketers on a new level. We get to blog from our tablets and put our computers, scanners, printers and social media to the test. It's a wonderful time indeed.

So as impatient as I am to share, I'm also in a workhorse state of achieving. Writing, drawing, formatting, editing, planning and, more importantly, doing. Imagining success but humbled to the task of just enjoying the process. It's both in my hands and completely out of them. I read my stories over and over and never get sick of them. Someday, I hope you will too.

Find your passion and revisit it whenever you can. Your story awaits.

Tools of the Trade - Personal Preferences

I've been wanting to cover this for a while, but this is something that will really help the visual artists among my readers (or maybe those curious to start trying to draw their characters).

This also goes for people who wonder what my favorite tools are. This won't be super-comprehensive since I don't work in every media both traditional and digital.

To start, yes, you can draw with anything. "All I need is something that makes a mark and something to make a mark on." Sure. There are professional artist that can work magic with ballpoint pens or Sharpies on regular printer paper. These mediums are what they want for their style and results, but if you're not happy with the results, if you want things more aligned to developing your own unique style, this is why those more expensive options exist. It's not just for bragging rights and it's not just frivolous brand recognition. I can say this for certain.

Let's start with traditional tools.

Pencils- This is one place where I'm mostly okay with using any brand of mechanical pencil with a variety of lead thicknesses. I rarely do pencil-only work and I learned to do pencil shading with my fingers. If you're afraid the oils on your fingers may leave prints, invest in tortillons (which I will bring up again). I have a nifty tin full of Faber-Castell drawing pencils that does get light use and I highly recommend them. They sharpen well, no splitting wood or broken lead, and the lead doesn't leave fairy dust. These are the top of their line for a reason and if pencils are your passion, you'll have a set of these.

Pens- Phew, this is a big one. I went on a wild goose chase for the perfect archival ink pens. These specifically because they don't wick and they dry instantly (if you've ever use regular ball point pens, you know they tend to blob and smear and leave evidence where your hand rests on the paper). I have a lot of favorites here. Pigma Sensei (both Micron and Sakura) were my first and these are consistently great. The thinnest tip is like drawing with the tip of an eyelash and perfect for fine work. The thickest isn't just a marker, leaving those trails where you can see where you scribbled. They go on solid like paint. Generic archival ink pens are not lower quality ink, but the tips will not hold up if you go the cheaper route. Copic is the leader of the pen/marker set. A lot of artists choose to shell out the big bucks for the replaceable nibs but for my pen work, I stick to the cheaper one-use pens and they last. Go with Pigma or Copic here. Sharpies aren't bad but they will wick bad on certain kinds of paper.

Charcoals, pastels, markers, colored pencil, paints? Sorry, I'm no expert here. I've used them on occasion but not with any frequency that I can vouch for the best. The industry leaders are usually your best best-- Copic, Staedtler, Faber-Castell, Prismacolor, Windsor & Newton. Today, there is no shortage of user reviews to help you find the right tools for your projects.

Paper- this is tougher than you think. I use many different weights-- some for traditional, some for print quality with my printer. There are a ton of thicknesses, toothiness, and brightness factors to consider. It will determine the quality of line, what tools work best (wet and dry has very different tooth requirements), how it scans. There is a reason why there are so many kinds of paper grades. Some are just decorative, texture that is visually pleasing but impractical for handwriting or drawing. Craft papers have a bit of a learning curve. For a beginner, just consider your medium. For wet medium (like pens, watercolor, etc.) get a watercolor sketchbook. For dry medium (pencil, charcoal, chalk), go for a standard drawing paper. I find that comics are a whole other breed of medium though. I prefer smooth medium since I do pencil work first then use a wet medium like ink. Thick smooth paper is optimal for most of my work but I do keep thin, toothy paper for quick sketches or textured doodles.

Tortillons/blenders- I told you I'd revisit! These are dry blenders. I wanted to note separately that there is more than one kind. I have one that is rolled paper that peels away for a clean tip, but one is just compressed pulp. The rolled paper is looser and silkier for light blending. If I want to get down and dirty, the compressed paper is the way to go. Not many people realized this, but the white colored pencil is actually considered a blender rather than just the odd-one-out until you feel like using it on dark paper. For wet medium, there are colorless blender pens available, although watercolor pencils can benefit from water and a brush or a wet tissue. Fine tips are self-explanatory but you can also get brush and chisel tip blenders for variety.

Now for digital...

This one is pretty diverse too and you can make this work on any budget, I assure you, but you will get a more efficient workload and more fine-tuned results if you can shell out the cash.

Mac, PC, not a big issue. Mac does tend to have the edge on quality of digital program options. Macs are essentially geared to be design workhorses. Again, you can absolutely make either one work. I like to utilize both Windows and Mac OS, but I haven't bothered with Linux. I'm always told about how personalized you can go with Linux, but not all of us can prioritize the learning curve it takes to access those benefits. As a designer, you will always develop a more personalized sense of what you need to be versatile. If you're just starting, don't sweat it. You can find a ton of options for any platform. Use what you've got or invest in your optimal needs.

Tablets- Wacom, all the way. They have super cheap options like Bamboo. I currently use their middle grade Intuos 4 and I would love to shell out for a Cintiq or a Mobile Studio Pro, but the price jumps are solid benchmarks. A Bamboo can run you $30, Intuos cost me $400, the Cintiq starts at about $1800, and the MSP? $3000. Something to work for...

Programs- Tough one. If you can shell out for it, grab an older version of Photoshop. I have CS6, one of the last suites before they started the asinine subscription crap with CC. I consistently use PhotoShop, Illustrator and InDesign, but I do work with Flash and DreamWeaver on rare occasion. They have some great software for video editing, but I don't use all of the programs. Still handy if you're curious. Need a cheaper option? Go with Clip Studio Paint. I'm personally in love with the blenders on it. They beat PhotoShop hands down although I tend to love PS's custom brush capabilities more. PS and CSP are my interchangeable favorites, but I do get Illustrator involved when I need some vector work. I hear good things about free programs like Gimp or Inkscape, but I would still advise the precision and option power of the paid programs if you're a heavy duty designer/artist. Using the free programs does prepare you though, since the terminology is pretty consistent across programs. You can do great work with any program, but you can really up your efficiency and workflow with the better programs. You do get what you pay for.

I'm always available if you want to contact me and discuss the pros and con more specifically. One of the reasons why I keep a blog and a social media presence is to pay it forward. I've never been interested in collecting likes or seeking approval in that sense, but helping other people achieve their ambitions is still near and dear to me.

I hope this helps some of my writer friends branch into a new hobby or just improve on drawing if they already are. Don't be afraid to get curious! There's a whole other way to pull your muse if you need one. Get it going!

This Life in Paper

This morning, I had a paper sitting on my desk needing filing. I didn't do it yesterday because it belonged in a blue or purple folder in one of three drawers and I wasn't up for a game of Adulting Clue. So after a large cup of coffee that was three sips blazing hot and then chugged arctic cold in the finale, I went to sit down to do something productive but my organizational Imp had something else in mind. He yanked my eyes to the misplaced paper and played the over-eager puppy in the space between until I relented to the task. Wanna go for a walk, wanna go for a walk? No, I don't want to go for a walk but it wasn't really a question, was it?

I'm not exactly a neat freak, mind you, but Imps are equal parts saboteur and procrastinator. I don't have this adamantium level of self confidence that makes me immune to distraction and in truth, I relent more often than not BECAUSE I just spent three days straight doing work on many cover simultaneously. Sometimes it's because I spent two weeks straight writing and editing for 14 hours a day. The Imps aren't full-fledged demons in my life because more often than not, I win. This morning was not that sort of victory.

Or maybe it was. I found the folder pretty quickly and in the first drawer I looked in, but I also paid attention to the other inhabitants of the drawer and found the Imp-proof armor my Muse planted when she must have known my Imp would work his mischief. Don't get me wrong; I love my Imp too. Like my nephews, he's creative and humorous and he's no more a pain in the ass than my slave-driver of a Muse. (Sorry, feminists and MRA-- no psychological victories today.)

First thing I found:

 

 

 

Not the first sideways picture. Won't be the last.

8th grade Zoology folder. I know it's 8th grade because I took Biology in 7th. Final Fantasy VI characters to confirm (it was called 3 back then). (When Gau has a bright idea, it's not a light bulb, but a flickering candle-- I recall these things and laugh all over again.) The Zoology notes from class are still in there, equally competing with drawings. My science teacher all throughout middle school and high school was Mr. Koehler and most students hated his class. I loved it and he never told me not to draw in my notebooks. Got a kick out of my comics, at that. It was also the only class that I passed when I started being truant. I'd actually show up for his 1st bell class then ditch until 7th bell Band.

Next thing I found:

Oh gods, make it stop...

The Legend of Nibichi, Part 2. This was a story that my bff Liz and I worked on. We didn't have many of the same classes, so we'd make a point to pass each other in the hallway and swap notebooks. Sometimes we had three or four at once, some stories (written like radio plays, as you can see), some comics. Most of them were thrown away, embarrassingly bad, but I still have a couple of these floating around because I do have a sentimental streak. Also, Liz and I feed off of each other so it was amusing even when it was bad. That's how we met. 6th grade, both of us being bullied and the teacher sat us together at the desks in front of his so he could keep it in check. We were both to ourselves, drawing over the printed pictures in the Weekly Reader and I heard her laugh at the diaper I was drawing on the man and I look over and she was drawing some rather impressive ear hair. Instant friendship. Her daughters and my nephews go to the same school and we're still the kind of friends that draw weird looks because we really only make sense to each other. Twinning, or some shit.

That's not all! The drawer has more tales!

VOILA!

The magic is usually sideways.

Jewelry counter at Meijer's. Cheese and rice, that was a boring job unless you love cleaning oily face marks off of glass most of the day. Or spelling 'suck my balls' with the monogrammed bras in the intimates section behind Jewelry. I kept a little notebook on the counter and... well, I drew. If you've happened on my social media, you've already seen that I am no stranger to drawing at work (the Petco logo gives those away) but this was before the more recent ones. These are stapled stacks, the bottom one being just sketches, the top was a comic idea I never did. When I was working all the time, I was always beat once I got home. Drawing at work was the only time it happened. I wondered back then if I would ever do anything with it. I'm relieved that I am doing that now. Starving artist or not, even when it hurts, I don't wonder anymore. This is the dream, come hell or high water.

There was no 'day job and creative hustle on the side'. I was never blessed with that kind of energy. If not for my atypical circumstances, it might have been no more than a dream. I regret nothing.

Let's not get somber here.

My wonky memory is notorious and sometimes hilarious.

My nephews are polite but ultimately impatient.

I like to keep reminders:

"Take Marcus and Dameon's money to the bank." Yes, masters, to read is to obey.

I can remember this day, oddly enough. Not in the 'I could pass a history test' kind of memory for the exact date, but I remember the day Marcus came up to me coyly asking for a piece of paper and I've got my pink Hello Kitty notebook within reach. It didn't matter what kind of paper it was. Then he asks me for a marker. I then ask if he needs me to write it too. The kid is literal and just answers me with a very serious 'no' before disappearing for a couple minutes. He comes back with the marker and the paper folded into this weird strip and tells me he's just leaving it on my dresser. Uh-huh. I know what fish smells like. He runs out of the room when I reach for it and... yeah, I'm cracking up. Subtle, real subtle. I always take them to the bank with me-- I deposit their money so they can buy games. They have to count the tax too. They did their end of the bargain, but the weather was pretty awful for a few days. I had a distinct feeling he was angling for this when he asked me what the weather was like beforehand. I raised these kids-- they're little Imps and I'm the one to blame.

So after rummaging through one drawer, I managed to set off a time capsule into the past. The good kind where the full-fledged Demons don't get to play. So, thank you, Imp and Muse, and don't forget to team up from time to time. I like to see my life in paper.

And there--

is a WHOLE--

lot of paper--

floating around here...

In the Life of an Illustrator

One of the blessings of not putting all of your eggs in one basket is a very spoiled muse. Spoiled muses aren't a foolproof way to keep busy, but it's pretty close. Writing books became a passion for me in the past five years especially, but sometimes the words wander off and take on a different shape.

Over the past few days, I got saddled with a strange itch and suddenly I started doing all of my queued book covers at the same time. Specifically, the covers for UnSung and four of the five remaining books in the HWU Chronicles (the odd one out is one I'm still unsure of how I'm approaching). I don't know what I owe the credit to, but something changed, something surreal, and once more I started seeing this vivid map of what I needed to make. Whenever this happens, my usual style takes some drastic leaps-- sometimes it's a surreal style, sometimes it's a foray into realism. This time, it's right in between, what I see as my ideal state. Colors and forms are coming to me with a rare clarity.

Passion is one thing people understand but maybe it's the erraticism of a scattered focus that isn't so common. It's not unusual to jump around, not for me, but it can be so effective. These pieces often boost the quality of the other. For example, I'll draw an eye. I lay the colors in but something about it seems flat. Jumping to another cover, I'll do the eyes of the models once more, only this time, my scribbling adds a new dimension. Suddenly I'm spending the next two hours sinking into a frenzy of soulful eyes. In this way, I feel like I'm not only making more breakthroughs but I'm taking more risks. It can feel as if everything is moving at a snail's pace and there is more experimenting than finished work yet ultimately it becomes more productive.

Reference photos are priceless as well. In an erratic workflow, I tend to use my Mac's Exposé (multiple desktops) to plaster reference photos behind each open project. If it seems like I learn fast, it's because I'm a sucker for tools. If I don't have what I need, I find out how to work around it. It's not just my programs or my drawing tablet or my touchscreen tablets. I set up each one to carry out very specific tasks. I download or customize specific brushes, use posing apps to compose where my characters will occupy space.

Ultimately, an adept illustrator is a visual problem solver. When I first started publishing, I would see the same backwards sentiment repeated in writing groups-- hire a pro, never do your own cover. While I certainly encourage people with no design knowledge to hire a cover artist, what people don't realize is that sometimes the shoe is on the other foot. Sometimes the experienced artist comes first-- do we outsource the writing of our stories because we shouldn't fill our own covers? Now admittedly, I don't want my covers to be the industry standard at this point. It's important that my first editions follow the vision. Beyond that, I may use more specifically marketed covers in the future.

Anyways, friends, long day, long week in general and the coffee is wearing off. I may do a post later this week on my favorite tools and workflows. Keep writing!

Blog It to Me!

I enjoy reading a lot of Medium articles (the freebies because I'm still a starving artist) in the Writing category. I've thought about contributing my own experiences but since I enjoy the freedom of unplanned prose in blogs, I end up rambling over here. Needless to say, I've been on a blogging rampage because of some empowering advice between a Medium article on keeping a writer's blog and the almost insane level of creativity in some rare Quora articles. If I had the time, I might frequent both but my social media visits are brief, sometimes days apart and I utilize most of my time in the big projects lined up in my queue.

That being said, what was the magic article about? The Medium writer said that a blog is somewhere in between professional and personal. While keeping in mind that it is public, it should still maintain the honesty of a diary entry. To censor your experiences for fear of offense will not only inhibit you as a writer but it will wall you off from the person your audience is looking for. As I've said in my previous entry, no one is entitled to your life story but don't be afraid to offer real pieces of what moves and repels you. Those visceral things are where your words become most passionate. Don't treat your words like low hanging fruit. If they are petty, don't sweep them off apologetically or with passive aggression, dig at why it made you vulnerable or why it doesn't work for you. Don't fear offending other writers when you have already considered your words.

Publishing my first book was a crushing lesson there. I had edited that book several times over in the span of many years-- it wasn't an emotional response to say that it is a great and well-planned story. I'm not a person given to acting on emotion and I'm no different creatively. I was well aware it wasn't for everyone but somehow just making it official created a huge chink in the armor that I hadn't prepared for. I wanted everyone to read it but it was met with jaded reviews and criticisms that made me suspect they hadn't even given it a chance. I questioned my gender, my ability, my worth and once I knocked some sense back into myself, I found clarity. I needed to be told I wasn't a one-hit wonder. I needed the motivation to keep going to prove I would only get better. 

This blog is not just a portal towards understanding myself or saying all the right things. Just like my writing, I aim for visceral examples to practice what I preach. How can I tell people to go for it when I'm too obsessed with holding back? 

So I won't. Like it or not, I want to be honest. If you think I'm pulling punches, set me straight. My challenge is to always be diplomatic about it, never calling an approach stupid but just as well calling out what isn't working and why. Don't tell me to ease up though. My advice is only going to be worth a damn if I'm using the business end of the shovel.

You mad, bro? Good. Now write.

Writer vs. Stockholm Syndrome

As writers, our passions are double-edged. We are often hostage to our muses and it is always our burden to attempt to describe it. We are warring egos struggling to be unique. There are also behaviors that border on mass hysteria that I... Avoid like the plague. I use that phrase a lot but when I wade through writers' communities populated by the thousands, there are some attitudes that make me quick to retreat to the villages and wash the city stink off. Might as well get some things out of the way.

1) most writers are depressed and/or disabled

I don't make this statement lightly because I'm not excluded. I don't however use it to try to win arguments or garner sympathy. I stumbled onto a conversation where the guy was clearly being elitist about why people should write and he was firmly put into place but didn't continue to argue, just explain what he meant. It didn't exactly strengthen his argument but it was clearly an opinion, unpopular or not, and harmless to have. The girl continued to argue and even insult him, all the while reiterating over and over that she was mentally ill and insinuating that he was insensitive if he hurt her feelings. Writers' support groups are full of people working out mental health challenges and this girl turned hers into a hypocritical argument using the very elitism she was supposedly against. May it be said now and over and over again; if you use your perceived disadvantages as a way to silence others, you are no longer the oppressed but the oppressor. You are not unique among writers to have some such issue and it is quite possible he has his own demons but he also wasn't required to defend himself by telling a hostile stranger his life story.

There's an article I've been meaning to read on Medium that says just that-- no one is entitled to your life story.

2) sometimes the fruit is just a fruit

Among novelists, you will always find people who should have warned you that they are really writing epic poems. Oy, the purple prose. If you know me you know I don't have the patience to sit through four pages of describing the beauty of a rose. I've been personally accused of even being telling. There are certainly times were I don't want to waste chapters telling backstories that will never ever become relevant again.

Don't get me wrong-- I enjoy a good back story but I'm also able to recognize when my character's back story wouldn't be that interesting. Most first person story telling is already tedious because the ego of the character assumes that every sensation they have is something you haven't properly considered until they've described it in painstaking detail.

I don't mind a smidgeon of creative writing but I draw the line at a colorful scene that does absolutely nothing to move a story. B-b-but it fleshes out the character! Does it though? Or is it just the narration of a writer that desperately begs you to love everything about how they see the character? What makes reading a piece so captivating isn't the bias of the writer, it's the strength of the story. Your beloved MC may be widely hated so if you, as the writer, are constantly insisting that they are the most loved, you only force the reader out of your story with insecurities on why they would prefer a different character. Belabor a scene with too much flowery detail and your pacing goes with it.

Sean Penn is getting a lot of heat from his novel Bob Honey Who Just Do Stuff (a title that always makes me giggle with genuine glee). He uses a lot of large flowery words that come out to so much garbled nonsense. When you use those big money words, be damned sure it's making the scene crystal clear. He could take a page from from friend Antonio, who uses descriptive words with the perfect amount of context. Describe the quirks of a scene but don't linger too long. I promise, if done well, those vivid adjectives in small doses are still lingering in their vision and you don't need to constantly remind them. Even the most clueless people are better at understanding context than you think.

Let's assume a character blushes after taking a bite after someone. If you're not aware that the cultural upbringing of this character means that this is considered a second hand kiss, how do you convey it quickly without coming straight out with 'she blushes because her upbringing means this act is considered a second hand kiss. How would you write it? I might approach it like this.

He sees the color of her skin rise to the challenge of matching the skin of the fruit.

"You're not allergic, are you?"

Her eyes widen but a flash of understanding cuts through on a nervous giggle.

"I told you where I'm from, right? We don't share food unless..."

"Unless?" He urges her to finish, no sign of teasing in that curious tone.

She sighs heavily, frustration making the task less daunting.

"Unless you're very close. Family. Lovers. Children."

She shifts the cool fruit between her hands, feeling the juices turn dry in her mouth. She tosses it back with more force than necessary. He catches it and the slow smile on his face smacks her with the realization that he had teased that confession out of her. He takes a triumphant bite directly over the spot he had taken a more conservative nibble. A traitorous smile pulls at her lips, but she makes a show of pretending to wipe at her mouth.

-----

Keep in mind, this is skeletal, but it does pull in the fruit and the psychological components of the character development. This isn't a deep scene and it's even cliche. We see a blushing girl and a seemingly oblivious guy. He urges her to say a thing that she realizes he already knows and in her humiliation she lashes out. She does like him and at this point probably doesn't want to. It's a short scene but it uses simple dialogue and gestures to both shed some light on her past and develop their relationship.

But does this scene become relevant again? If I write a scene like this, I would make a note. At some point later in the story, there could come a point where he has to betray her and they become enemies. There's a storm brewing and the sky is black but they stand next to a tree bobbing with the weight of overripe blood red apples. He takes one, his eyes cold as he takes a bite and tosses it at her. She catches it on instinct but makes a show of letting it fall from her hands and kicking it away. Or maybe his eyes are sad and when he tosses the apple, her heart still holds some hope and her bite covers his this time. This is the beauty of storytelling. Simple subtleties change everything.

Don't keep a scene because it's sweet and sentimental. What made my short scene useful was how loaded it became later. If the fruit is just a fruit, let it be eaten and forgotten. You can use objects to color a scene but don't make it the star. Maybe the apple feels cold and hard because the character is bitter. Maybe it's bright and shining because the character is hopeful. Just like you don't describe every bite, remember it is a tool and not a feature.

3.) My characters don't do whatever they want

Back to the gripes, a necessary evil. Many writers will claim they are in distress because their characters are hiding things from them or not cooperating. I went through this same stingy inclusionary thinking as a doll enthusiast and I'm going to say the same thing here that comedians say about identity politics: how far are outside observers supposed to go to protect your identity? Hey, I can relate in a sense. I dream about my characters, have a place in my head where they seem to develop on their own, but ultimately I am not a vessel for people far more interesting than me. I am not the whisperer of jealous ghosts begging me to give them a platform to be liked in this world. These characters are pieces of my experiences and observations and they are mine to command.

As a personal example, I'll bring up UnNamed again. When I was consciously planning the characters I had a very specific relationship in mind and one I was rather set on. I had a vivid dream that night that made them very very different from that idea and it heavily conflicted with a rather huge main plot. I was heavily conflicted but I didn't think it was particularly cute to hop on the 'my character is being stubborn' bandwagon. Even when I was younger and laden with quirks, this thinking was repulsive to me. I should explain that this isn't an exaggeration since we writers are prone to those. By way of comparison, I've met quite a few religious zealots in my life, people who have made me feel less than dirt for being a faithless doubter (to understate what was really being said). These are people who never accept blame or guilt because their god is a forgiving god. These are people that pretend they don't feel pride or vanity because it was their god that did it, not them. All glory goes to God, after all.

One such person was even convinced that their god gave them a sign that they were meant to have an expensive Coach bag.

I don't deny people their beliefs or even their delusions, but when you use different vocabulary or attempt to assert your point of view, they often counter with a personal attack-- that you aren't imaginative, compassionate or even moral. The real problem is only when you can see an underlying arrogance and the person is actually avoiding any real virtue, be it humility, guilt, etc. there is a lack of ownership for one's actions to the tune of 'the devil made me do it.' As with the personal attack, when they attempt to make it about them and their worlds, they virtue signal but fall short, deciding to attack on their assumptions of your flawed logic, not theirs. As you can see there are general parallels with zealots of all kinds, but I'm not pretending to have all of the answers nor am I smug with superiority.

It's never really worth the confrontation. It's precisely why I don't ever bring up I'm an atheist unless someone assumes I'm going to play into their belief system. I'm really okay with people playing hostage to their imaginary friends when it's harmless and inspiring, but just like with religion, I'm also not going to play along. One thing I did learn from the Bible was in the story of the deniers where Jesus told his disciple that he would deny him x amount of times before they met again and the great guilt that disciple felt when the prediction came true. To me, there is no amount of acceptance worth denying my own ideas and logic. Unpopular or not, I'm going to be the anti-denier. I can also understand why the denier would lack the faith to speak up. He was asked to operate on blind faith and even intelligent people are led astray by false prophets. The lessons there at least hold logic. I'm not going to argue schizophrenia with stubborn writers because, well, see point 1. It's par for the course.

------

A few points I had to get off of my chest. I'm often immersed in my ambitions so when I scour social media, it's imperative that I analyze what I'm getting out of it. I can admit, I've always been stubborn, bossy and that's off-putting to a lot of people, but this is largely BECAUSE I've humbled myself to learning from others, not because I'm shouting endlessly from the same high ground. I've wavered on labels, my own identity, my own mental and physical health challenges. I've pissed people off and made some amazing friends. Ive been pegged as a bimbo and shamed as a nerd. If I took too much time being offended, I'd never get anything done.

 And yes, I've had my writing kicked in the dirt. My blog is about my tastes, not about what should be mainstream or hailed as absolute. I consider it a blessing that everyone who reads my work is not a yes-man. I don't intend to be hostage to an echo chamber or a hug box.

I want you to be offended, or not, and keep writing regardless. Make your own standards and set out to break a few. We're all in a craft that no one masters after all.

How to Be an Awesome (Professional) Reviewer

Up to this point, I have usually focused my blogs on personal anecdotes, updates and tips for writers. However, writers are also readers, sometimes even exchanging stories with other writers; a beta reading swap, for any who are unfamiliar. You may also be picked as an ARC reader (Advance Review/Reading Copy). Now, ARCs were traditionally sent out prior to a release, but these copies are also used by self-pubbers to pass out to reviewers-- a free copy and crossing your fingers that they won't just run off, basically. The reason a lot of self-pubbers do this is because they don't have the money to shell out for copyright protection and there is automatic protection once published. Some don't shell out for professional editors or cover designers so they use other resources to try to get their work up to speed and noticed.

I won't go into the ongoing controversy that led to the inspiration for this post (I've brought it up in prior posts-- the tendency for bisexual women to be attacked for writing male/male romance), only that a fellow writer and published author, Sarah Beth James, ran into a legitimate concern with an ARC reader and it brought up some great points.

Writers are certainly not excluded from being diplomatic. When we seek out ARC/beta readers or reviewers, editors or cover designers, we certainly must observe simple rules of professionalism. We cannot demand performance, whether we pay or not. Before you go up in arms (but I paid to get these results!) understand that you do have a duty to research prior to this. You can't tie up a designer's time, scrapping all of their ideas just because their style doesn't match your vision. You have to look at the work or recommendations from former customers to see what you're getting into. There are reasonable expectations of professionalism on both sides.

I would be happy to go into the relationship for other writer/professional relationships, but for today. We're aiming at reviewers.

So how can you be an awesome reviewer?

1) You are a professional.

I don't care if you're a housewife from Vermont, you are a professional. If you are in any way an influencer or prolific reviewer, you are a professional. Don't use the excuse that you only do it on your free time or your spouse is the breadwinner. Even published writers have the tendency to downgrade their importance-- 'I'm just a writer, not a best seller.' I will not fault anyone for humility, but I don't ever want to hear it as a defense when you're challenged to explain quality. If you put yourself out there as a reviewer, you are expected to be professional. If not, you may get blacklisted by writers who see your work as damaging and unprofessional and the requests will stop coming in.

2) Don't make it about you.

When someone asks you to review their work, be careful that you aren't using their platform to self-promote. Don't go on and on about how you are the expert in a genre. In the reading/writing world, that's called gatekeeping. In fiction, you should understand that facts are often skewed to explore new ideas. Writers often delve into unexplored areas and are not making an attempt to tackle real-world issues. Fiction is largely the territory of escapism. You may very well find hidden agendas but I can assure you that there are just as many unconscious biases or intentional straying that is done as well. When in doubt, ask the writer. That being said, nonfiction writers ARE expecting to be challenged on their facts or opinions. Feel free to do so, but take it outside of a review. Give them the opportunity to elaborate and you may improve future editions.

Absolutely do NOT inject your political, social or religious agendas or virtue-signal that you are the righteous and the author is wrong. It is a guaranteed way to get yourself blacklisted. Authors talk to each other, share screenshots, provide proof and discuss. We generally know to avoid engaging with reviewers on review sites (at least publicly), but it doesn't mean we don't warn each other away from unprofessional betas/ARCs. You are also entitled to screenshot author harassment if you feel they are not being professional. Usually, it's better to move on, but there are exceptions, especially with multi-platform offenders.

Feel free to brag about your ARC experiences on your blog or website. That is certainly your platform and a good place to elaborate.

3) Offer a clear distinction between taste and technicality

I have mentioned before that my friend Joe Maley is extremely adept at this in his movie reviews. Not only is he able to tell you what he liked and didn't like, but he can compare it to other work and even recommend similar movies if you did like it and he didn't. What makes him so successful is the language he uses. Facts are often worded appropriately-- 'this is a movie about this and this.' Opinions are not disguised as fact 'I liked this character because...' It sounds simple but deceptively so because novices will often slip into unhelpful language, going so far as to assuming no one will like something because of their strong aversion to it, or even that it shouldn't exist at all. Those opinions are important but your feelings are not central to the intended audience and you must be aware of that. Once you've stated your tastes, remember to go back to reviewing the quality of the story, making it clear what audience it might appeal to. Even if you have to struggle with that part, it will make you a more intuitive reviewer if you offer that information.

4) Size matters

... and bigger is not always better. Yup, I said it. A well-thought out review shouldn't be a five paragraph essay and too much information may be tantamount to spoiling the content. Instead, start with a synopsis that states the facts. Help the audience find it-- genre, a couple of the main characters, the main plot and the tone/mood (dark, happy, etc). Follow it up with your strongest impressions, good and bad (I'm going into this more on the next point). Again, steer clear of spoilers like "I didn't like when the main villain turned out to be an ally." The same goes for trigger warnings. Take care that you aren't vague enough to create a bias or detailed enough to spoil. When in doubt, leave it out. As an ARC reader, you are invited to connect with the writer on these concerns before posting your review. Use the privilege.

5) Bullet point pros and cons

Formatting can be tricky on review sites so, as a reviewer, take the time to see what options are available to maximize the presentation. Gain basic knowledge of HTML, to start. Most form boxes on review sites use some variation of HTML. If at all possible, use the bullet point format to clean up your pros/cons section. If you don't already, you may want to develop an order or system. Your first point in pros and cons is for the characters, the second point is for the style, etc. There's no right format here, but this is a good way to offer a fair assessment on taste and technicality. 'This character was too whiny for me, but not for lack of being well-written' or 'I might have liked this character if the author had used them more like this.' Again, steer clear of spoilers.

6) Don't include remarks on errors

This goes double if you're reviewing an indie author. This isn't because you should let lower standards slide. Most indie authors want to be held to the same (or better) standards than traditional publishing. (Better, because you can't tell me Twilight, 50 Shades of Grey, or anything by Dan Brown was professionally edited.) The point here is that self-pubbers have full control at all times and they can correct grammatical or continuity errors any time they damn well please. Again, if you have the privilege to correspond with them privately, do it. As an ARC reader, you may not have time to point out every error or how you would fix it. Whether you can or will or not, you can be as vague as 'if you fix the grammatical errors in these stories/chapters, it would improve the star rating by one star.' That might sound like an ultimatum by itself, so maybe add that you can withhold the review as a courtesy until contacted about the change. A professional writer will not pitch a fit.

I'll give the reviewers this much-- some authors will not take criticism or pushback at all, but if you considered your position carefully and observed diplomacy, you don't lose points as an awesome reviewer. Being an awesome reviewer does not mean that you are passing out 4 and 5 star reviews. While that certainly helps, ARC reading is a good opportunity for both author and reviewer to educate the other and build a rapport. Become a valuable ARC and it may put you first on their list for secret promotions, future copies and other perks.

7) Your copy is for your use only

I've seen that there are people who believe that since they volunteered their precious time towards the task, they are entitled to give away or even sell hard copies to whoever they want. No. Just no. Not only is an ARC not the same as the final version in many cases, you are violating the confidence of the role and profiting from that. But it's the same as selling it to a used book store or giving it as a gift! Then why won't bookstores accept ARCs? Go ahead and try. And yes, internet piracy happens, but it's also highly frowned upon, especially for new authors. Being trusted with a free copy IS the reward, whether you like it or not. You can't eat free ice cream then return to the counter and say you didn't like it and you wanted a different flavor instead. You consumed and now you either delete it or destroy the copy. An ARC is a step above the average reader, given access to the author as well as the privilege. I don't say this from a position of entitlement; I don't feel as if an author's work, my own included, is above reproach. However, it is certainly my work and there are proper channels and expectations. As a side note, I have seen several groups on FB closed for violation of ARC use. If you are profiting on a large scale, you can incur much heavier legal penalties.

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I have to reiterate at this point that these ARE NOT RULES. You can be as blunt as you like, but you are going to lose opportunities to connect if you eschew diplomacy in order to sound 'real.' Don't know if you've noticed, but people are getting sick of 'real.' Value your opinions enough to communicate them well. Anyone can lay down a rant, so take the time to be the rebel that maximizes the efficacy of communication. You don't have to use big words (I know I tend to do that, but I have certain feelings about dumbing down, just as surely as thesaurus-hugging), just use plain language that shows a consideration for what you actually read. You may use your own voice, but how you do it will separate you from being a respected reviewer or a blow-hard.

Keep these things in mind and it will certainly benefit everyone's experience. Yes, you and the author are important cogs in the wheel, but the audience, the zeitgeist is tricky enough without interference. Be honest, be involved, but above all, be professional. You ARE a professional, even if it's your first ARC. Every résumé starts somewhere. 

For the writers in the audience, keep it up and take precautions. Above all, enjoy your work. I hope readers and writers (and those who are both) build valuable relationships. As always, I'm here to help!

Death to the Humble Brag

I know it works so as long as it does, it will never die, but let's be honest-- most of us are sick of it.

It's one thing when you are able to see the good and bad in your work. Sometimes I will post something I am proud of and will say so, but add what I'd like to improve. I feel like it gives people permission to say what they like or don't like about it.

That's not what irritates me.

I'm referring to the tendency for people to downgrade their abilities, post a passive positive comment someone else told them, or some other attempt to avoid just directly avoiding putting a spotlight on their massive ego but still constantly needing people to stroke it. Writers, we all have it. Creatives in general. If you didn't love what you do, you wouldn't do it. I'll be real with you though-- if I catch someone doing it, especially on the regular, I will avoid their work like the plague. If there's one thing I don't like, it's being manipulated. I like GoT because a good friend who knows what I'm into recommended it and they were right. I also can't stand The Hunger Games because Battle Royale did it better. I sometimes agree with the bandwagon, I sometimes take the long route to avoid it. There are a lot of reasons I'll try something, neither of them involve internet Like Whoring.

One thing I can agree with in current news is the intense feeling of freedom I get from cutting out social media for chunks at a time. I used to enjoy it more when it was jokes and sharing interests, but it has since become ad spamming, constant debating, passive aggression, and public masturbation. I love using it as a tool, but it's really lost its flavor otherwise. All the better that I'm not dumping time into it recreationally.

My only real point here is that I would love to see more honesty in people's work. You don't have to trick me into being interested in you or if you're really that interesting. Writing as really helped me meet some amazing people, but there's a downside too. Then again, I'm not the biggest people person. I could make a nice long curmudgeonly list that gets longer by the day.

In the spirit of honesty, I'm glad to say I have the ball rolling on my own projects again. If you haven't already, give my excerpts a readthrough on my site HERE. Keep in mind that these are adult stories (or at least late teen-- I've been reading this sort of thing since I was 12 so that's where my compass is). Feel free to give feedback. The first series is set in stone, but I love to interact and know what parts are working for people for future projects.

Pick up the fourth book in my first series, A World Reborn: Children of Heroes, or start from The Truth about Heroes and work your way up. If you're looking for a darker read, check out the UnQuadrilogy. Keep in mind that purchasing the print copy guarantees the ebook copy for free. I know print is pricy for PoD so I like to make things as affordable as possible.