Inktober & Nanovember

Its nearly September and I am already eagerly awaiting October and November. Not because I'm in love with pumpkin spice... in fact, I am firmly on the apple cider side of this debate. Back to my apparent love of fall though. In addition to November being my favourite writing event of the year, NaNoWriMo (more on that in another post, but its basically a month-long writing event every November) I also take part in a few other yearly events. One is MerMay, where you try to try to draw mermaids every day in May. The other is Inktober, which is what I'm talking about today! 

 

Inktober, as you can probably guess, has to do with ink and the month of October. Started up by Jake Parker a few years ago, it's mainly a month-long challenge to simplify your art tools and work on your craft. As per the rule, you are supposed to try using only ink to draw with for the month. If you're an absolute purist, Jake Parker suggests using only black to do your work. Personally, I use the full rank of colours that P.H. Martins Bombay India Ink, makes (24 in all), plus another 5 to 10 in different blacks, golds, silvers, whites and even inks that sparkle. I also use a pencil to sketch in my design and much like I would never put out something without an editor looking at it, I also prefer to have some idea of what I'm drawing before I start putting down permanent lines.

Of course, it couldn't stay in its purist form forever, which is why you'll now find all sorts of creatives re-purposing Inktober for their own needs. You really need to work on your watercolour? You can use it for the month. What about pencil crayons? Go for it. There are even a few who turn it into a writing event, writing flash fiction and short stories every day. Some even work digitally all month, drawing up incredible works on their computer.

My thoughts on different forms of art being made under the Inktober name? As you've probably guessed, I'm fine with it. Last year I followed Lyfe Illustrations on Youtube (and on Instagram) and she did some of the most gorgeous artwork I've ever seen with ink and watercolour. You do you, Boo.

I would like to mention that all of the above pictures are mine, done during last years Inktober. 

So, will you be doing Inktober with me? I'll try to add my pictures each week at the bottom of my posts, but for daily art follow me on FB and Instagram and use the hashtags #Inktober and #Inktober2019 to see everyone else's art each day.

These two of the pictures are not mine. These are two of Lyfe Illustrations Inktober pictures that I was able to get from the Kickstarter campaign.

Doing the Work

Sometimes all of the well-intentioned planning in the world can't fix a novel. That is what I'm going through with the sequel to Hunter's Gambit. Before I go any further in, I want all of you to know that I'm not saying Lord's Curse is unfixable; in fact, I think I've already got a new plan for it that will make it way better. But that doesn't stop that in all of my original writing, my first edit through and then all of the plotting and planning for this edit didn't work out. And this time I got to the end part and was annoyed that I couldn't think of how to fix the problem I was seeing. I worked on just adding a single chapter, but it felt tacked on, like a badly added box in the game Forts. 

Screencap from the game Forts. Copyright belongs to Forts... I just enjoy the game.

Finally, I had to admit that simply tacking on a chapter wasn't the answer. Instead, I looked at it and decided to take the more difficult route. The entire end needed to be changed and then a new 6,000 to 8,000 words added, with 6k being removed and perhaps moved to the beginning of book 3 instead. 

I've already gotten started on the work and I've got over 1k of the rough draft part of this new 6k already finished, so it won't take me a horribly long time to finish it. The nice part is that even if this is the path that took the most work, I am 100% sure that it is the correct route to take and that makes the writing come easier, if not easily. 

Post-Convention Post!

Hello!!!! I am so glad to be back! Not that I really went anywhere, but it feels like it. Last week was magical; a term I don’t use often, let me tell you. But it really was. I’ve been going to When Words Collide for years now… if I remember correctly this was my fifth year. Year two and three, I was on panels, but I didn’t have any books out. It meant that in addition to me occasionally feeling like I was unworthy of being up there with published authors, I also had to deal with looking at people earnestly excited to meet me and read my books and not have anything to give them. So finally being able to have my book to show at the panels and being able to direct people where it was selling was wonderful.

First, let’s talk about the panels. I was on four panels, as I mentioned last week. All four went wonderfully. I felt a little unworthy and fan-girly about being on the East vs West panel, which came through in a slight inability to pronounce Japanese/Mandarin words correctly. Other than that, I feel that I did really well, showing my knowledge, talking with the other panellists and discussing the topic. We took questions and everyone left excited to have listened to us.

The two about social awareness went really well, too. I was intelligent and able to discuss my positions easily and intelligently. Being on the panel with Adam Dreece was as fun as I thought it was going to be. He may have stole the show, but he still made sure that all of us got a chance to talk, to discuss our positions and that we got to have discussions across the board. My favourite panel was actually on the bad guys though. It was a wonderful panel with a lot of energy and a great crew with me. We talked about monologuing, about the different classifications of bad guys, what we liked seeing, what we didn’t like seeing, what annoyed us and what interesting things you could do with your bad guys. It was awesome.

I got to have dinner with Laura VanArendonk Baugh and Rhonda Parrish (you’ll remember that I was part of her Giftmas last December) and a few other people. We had great conversations about everything from the food we eat, to religious beliefs, to what panels we’d been on and what we’d been doing all weekend thus far. It was wonderful and the dinner was very tasty. I really enjoyed it.

At the signing, I left Laura and Rhonda and found a seat at a table with two wonderful writers. I was fully expecting to talk to two or three people who stopped off to see the other two at my table, maybe show them my book and tell them where they could pick it up later if they wanted, and that was it. Instead, I was lucky enough to sell most of my copies and talk to a whole lot of people. I got to catch up with a few people I hadn’t gotten to see yet that year and had four people ask for my autograph. I was over the moon!

My table mates were awesome as well. Amanda Witow had some of the best swag I’ve ever seen; book lights, tote bags, bookmarks, pens… she had something for everyone. She was nice enough to give me a pen and sign one of her tote bags for me. Nicole Bross was super friendly as well and had the coolest prop I’ve ever seen; a working purple typewriter; a Remington Portable #3 from 1929! Apparently, she collects them and fixes them up, which I think is pretty darn amazing. She said she has 20-30 already, which is just an incredibly awesome thing to collect!

This is the Remington #3 in orchid that I mentioned above. Isn't it gorgeous?
Picture attributed to Nicole Bross

And that was my weekend! If I have any regrets, its that I had no extra money and wasn’t able to come home with any extra books for myself to read. It means I’ll be looking forward to next year all the more. Were any of you at WWC? Let me know how your weekend went? What panels did you go to and what books did you come home with?

When Words Collide - Itinerary

You may have noticed that my post is up early this week! That is not a mistake, but very deliberate. I wanted to let you you know where I'll be officially at WWC and what I'll be talking about, so you can plan your weekend and hopefully attend a few of my panels as well.

Friday 9am - 12pm
Social Media and Online Marketing Your Book with instructor Kat Flannery
This class is one that of the masterclasses that I am attending. while I'm good at social media, my online marketing sucks, so saying I'm looking forward to this class is an understatement.

Friday 1pm - 2pm
I will be volunteering at the ARWA booth in the Merchant's Corner. Take a look on the map, in addition to my novel, Hunter's Gambit, I will also have some jewelry pieces for sale. We will also have the books of everyone else in ARWA there too; a very fine selection of romances, mysteries and other genres, if I do say so myself. I've included the map, highlighting in purple where the table is located in the hall.

Friday 6pm - 7pm
Volunteering at the ARWA booth again!

Saturday 10am - 11am
Awakening to Social Sensitivity 
Brandy Ackerley, Diane Terrana, Erin Weir, Jay Martin 
This panel looked really interesting and I had to get in on it. We'll be talking about writing about other genders, races, classes, cultures with honesty and sensitivity, along with tips of how to be inclusive without appropriating or creating token characters.

Saturday 11am - 12pm
Writing a Character Who Could Never Be You
Adam Dreece, Brandy Ackerley, Colleen Anderson, Halli Lilburn 
Similar to the last panel, this one will discuss the benefits and pitfalls of creating characters that differ from us, as well as discussing that question of 'is anyone off-limits?' I'm really looking forward to being on a panel with Adam Dreece as well. I've met him a few times and I've got to say, the guy has one hell of a personality.

Saturday 2pm - 3pm 
Villains, Antagonists and Other Baddies 
Arlene F. Marks, Brandy Ackerley, Kevin Weir, Susan Calder 
I love writing villains; those people that you want to hate, and that you have no sympathy for. However, I also know that while all stories need an antagonist, not all of them need a villain. Specifically, look at my novel, Hunter's Gambit. You'd be hard-pressed to find a villain in there, although it's rife with antagonists. Having been on both sides of the wheel, I figured I could really contribute to this discussion.

Saturday 8pm - 10pm
Autograph Session 
Me and 70+ other authors will be signing your books! This session is open to the public, so tell your friends.

Sunday 10am - 11pm
East and West: How Our Mindset Changes the Way We Tell Stories 
Calvin Jim, Brandy Ackerley, Jennie Bennett, Laura VanArendonk Baugh
This panel is my little baby this time around. I get to be on a panel with some of my fav people and talk about the differences between eastern and western storytelling. Need I say more to get you excited?

Now, I haven't specified exactly where I'll be in between these times, mainly because I don't know yet. I will try to update Instagram and/or Twitter as often as I can during the weekend to keep you guys updated though. Also, keep your eyes open for me while you're walking the halls. I am almost always willing to stop and chat in the hallway or before a panel, so stop by and say hi! 

Rules for Conventions

I was going to talk about the religion in my novels this week, but I think I'm too excited about my convention happening next weekend to even think about it. Yes, that's right. For all of you out there who will be in Calgary next weekend, I will be at When Words Collide! While I understand that the actual convention is sold out, you can still see me for free during the signing on Saturday evening to get your book signed. Check here for the full list of authors and bring all of your books to get signed by not just me. Or you can check out the sale area (which I believe is open for everyone and not just attendees) and pick up books from your fav authors to get signed.  

I do feel the need to remind everyone that will be attending on proper etiquette during the con. First, the most important rule of any convention for any type of event is the rule of 1,2,3. That is no less than 1 shower a day, 2 meals, and 3 hours of sleep. More is encouraged, but you cannot have less than what is listed here (no matter how awesome the parties may be, or good the shows are to try and stop you from leaving to eat... and no less than one shower a day should be obvious as well). 

The second rule, good for any convention but most especially for conventions where you hope to learn something, is to have a really good notebook and a decent selection of pens, pencils, and 1-3 highlighters. I prefer moleskins that are around the 5"x7" size, but whatever is your preference, use it for a few weeks first so that you know you like it. Also, find a way to carry your said pens/pencils easily so they are all easily grabbable. I suggest mechanical pencils (pre-loaded with extra lead so you never need to worry about sharpening them), with full (nearly) unused erasers on top.  I suggest at least two pens. Use your pens in advance so you'll know if they tend to blob, run, and how long it will take the ink to dry, so you won't be running your hands through wet ink smudging all your notes into an incomprehensible mess. The highlighter is less important, but I do suggest one if only to highlight your preferred courses and super important information during the panels. 

The third rule is to remember to order anything you need from a business standpoint a full month or more in advance. This includes any business cards, books, bookmarks, posters, etc - anything that you may need. Since you aren't just counting on yourself, but on other people and their schedules; try to give yourself more than enough time to order everything you need. 

Other suggestions are to wear layers. Its easier to put on a sweater or take one off than it is to suffer sweating or freezing all day. Find out if the venue provides water at an easily refilled place. For instance, the hotel for WWC provides pitchers of water in every room for all attendees and glasses for the water. I still suggest bringing your own water bottle though, as the glasses are rather small and you won't have a table to actually keep your glass on. 

And those are my rules for conventions. Do you guys have any other rules that I may not have listed here? Will you be at the con next week? I'll let you know when and where I'll be at the con in my post next week!