Blog: The Writer’s Word

Obligatory New Year’s Resolution Post

Posted on by kltownsend

So, it’s that time of year again. Time for us to make grandiose resolutions to change yourself for the better in the next year. If I could get paid for every resolution I’ve made and then broke the very next day…

But it wouldn’t be New Year’s Eve without making resolutions. So, here I go with some of my (mainly writing) goals for 2013.

  1. Blog more often.
  2. Finish rewriting my novel.
  3. Start looking for representation.
  4. Dive deeper into my hobbies.
  5. Write at least 200 words a day or 1500 a week.

I’ve decided to let go of my short story goal for now since I would rather focus more on my longer pieces. Work to your strengths, I say.

I’d also like to carve some time for my hobbies. I don’t consider writing a hobby. That is part of who I am and part of my career. That doesn’t mean I can’t spend some time getting back to my art, trying some photography, or maybe trying my hand at making some jewelry. (Of the steampunk persuasion!)

And there’s always the other me, the teacher.

I know most of these goals/resolutions are broad and general. Made to be broken, right? Yeesh, look at the blogging one. You’d think I have nothing to say! Or maybe that’s a blessing in disguise…

These are just the overarching ideas. I plan on breaking them down one by one to make them more manageable. Plus, there are the goals I haven’t mentioned that do with health and fitness.

Somehow, I will make this all happen!

But that’s another post for another day.

How about you? What are your writing (or otherwise) resolutions for 2013?

Gears and Levers 1: A Steampunk Anthology

Posted on by kltownsend

My short story, “Of Blood and Brass,” is out today as part of the Gears and Levers anthology. It tells the story of a geisha in an alternate Japan. Here is the basic description of the anthology:

A Quest for the Mind and Soul

Come, my friends, adventure and romance awaits in worlds that never were but should have been. Magic and science blend together as Gears and Levers explores the quest for all that makes up humanity. Battle pirates, travel back in time, fly in dirigibles, explore the wonders of the Orient, and walk with automatons in twenty amazing tales set in Steampunk lands by masterful storytellers such as David D. Levine, Brenda Clough, Mark Ferrari, Irene Radford, K.L. Townsend, David Lee Summers, Shannon Page, Bruce Taylor, among others.

Feel free to check it out along with all of these great authors!

Available in ebook form on Smashwords, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.

Recent Releases

Posted on by kltownsend

A couple of releases to talk about today. One is old. The other is new 🙂

 
December marked the release of my short historical novel, Song of the Swallow, by Hadley Rille Books. It’s available in paperback and hardcover, as well as an ebook for the Kindle and the Nook.
 
 
 
I have a short story in an anthology that was just released. It’s called Absolute Visions and put together by the wonderful people at Absolute Write. My contribution is “Kiss of the Jade Fox.” I was lucky enough to have an illustration for the story which is amazing. Watch this space for my impression on some of the other contributions as I read the anthology 🙂

Finally, it’s not due out yet, but as I’ve signed the contract, I’d thought I’d announce it. I have a short story due out in the steampunk anthology Gears and Levers called “Of Blood and Brass.” I’ll update as soon as I know more.

I’ll be posting some more in the coming weeks about some topics that are percolating. Have a wonderful day!

Setting Goals When Life Happens

Posted on by kltownsend

At the start of every year, many of us dream big. We have these lofty goals and high expectations whether in the form of resolutions to eat better, get to the gym, or stop worrying so much. For writers, maybe a goal is to write so many words, land an agent, finish a book.

I love having these goals. Every year I get fired up and ready to tackle the impossible. In those moments, nothing seems so impossible anymore.

The reality is that most of the time life happens. We fall behind. We don’t meet those insanely high expectations. Then it’s easy to give up. Why bother? Something else is going to happen anyway.

I’m urging you to keep pushing even if everything in you wants to quit.

The end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012 have been hard for me. A relatively healthy person, I came down with a serious infection at the end of November, then caught pneumonia, and had a relapse of the infection after. By the time I finished healing up, one of my dogs became ill. We learned he had some tumors and scheduled surgery right away since the tumors could have burst at any time and killed him. They had an 80% chance of being the worst possible kind of cancer to boot. He was 12, but in good overall health, and high in spirit. He came out of the surgery and was recovering at a rate that impressed and pleased the vets. The tumors ended up being benign. Then, unexpectedly, he died of septic shock as a complication from surgery. As we mourned the loss of a dog we’d had for 12 years, I started to deal with residual issues from having pneumonia. Next our other dog fell ill. A pipe blew in our bathroom and our dryer quit working.

That is where I am at now.

Despite being tired and having days where I don’t know why I get out of bed anymore, I had to stop and think, why quit? Why give in and take away one of the things in life that makes me happy, that helps balance out the good and the bad?

So maybe I can’t write 1000 words one day. That’s okay. I can write it the next day. Or the next. I can squeeze in 500 words on a bad day, and have a great day where I am on fire. Maybe I work slower. The important part is I’m not quitting.

If you feel like you want to quit, for whatever reason, please don’t. Hold onto what you love and just readjust your goals. It will pay off in the future.

I may never meet my lofty goals this year, but I’m writing. That’s what matters.

Release:Song of the Swallow

Posted on by kltownsend

Song of the Swallow, my historical female-centered novella about concubines in the Song Dynasty is now out on Kindle and Nook for the holiday price of $2.99. Print versions will also be available soon.

It was both exciting and challenging to work on this novella. My usual genre is fantasy. While there are some minor speculative elements to this story, it still remains a historical with extensive research done both independently and drawn from my graduate research in anthropology and history. In the coming weeks, I will finally be posting some of my research and a behind the scenes look at what went into recreating the cloistered world of women in the Imperial Court.

I enjoyed the journey and hopefully so will you.

Happy Holidays!

So about posting…

Posted on by kltownsend

Remember how I said I was going to start posting more regularly barring any crazy situation?

Crazy situation happened.

I ended up with a severe infection and as soon as I recovered, I ended up with pneumonia. I’m still struggling to get over pneumonia.

I’m not too stressed, but I am disappointed that my plans for this blog and building a web presence will have to wait until the new year. Resting is better than being a complete waste of space, though.

I should have some announcements for upcoming projects shortly, as well as sticking around more as 2012 starts. Sometimes life happens.

I hope all of you are well and have a safe and healthy holiday season!

NaNoWriMo, Health, and Progress

Posted on by kltownsend

*dusts off blog*

So it’s been awhile. All of my best intentions are out the window.

What’s been going on?

Well, over the summer my dogs both got sick and we’re still caring for them. On top of that, I’ve been sick – not the common cold style but an infection where I had to be treated at the hospital – which has made keeping a regular schedule difficult.

Nonetheless, I am attempting NaNoWriMo. I’m so far behind that there is probably no coming back, but that isn’t why I take part in NaNo every year anyway. What I love about NaNo is that extra motivation to keep a regular writing schedule. Who doesn’t need a little more discipline in their lives? So I use it to focus on a project and train myself that writing is just as important as everything else. Why keep martyring my writing if it’s what makes me happy?

(Of course, health trumps all so…)

Even if I don’t “win” this year, I’ll keep plugging away so I can get another story’s first, raw, rough draft done.

However, I do have some good news! Not only is my book, Song of the Swallow, nearing the final leg of its journey to publication, but I had a short story accepted into the Absolute Write anthology. I’m pretty happy about that. More details soon.

So that’s it! I should be posting more regularly now, barring any other new crazy situation. Life is never dull!

Getting Started with Mythology

Posted on by kltownsend

Culture and belief systems are hugely important to world building, whether it’s an urban fantasy or a jaunt across space. If you write historical or romance or mainstream, a person’s culture and customs are important in shaping who they are.

I write primarily fantasy, so mythical creatures are important to the worlds I craft. I wanted to start things off with some resources I have used and continue to use. These are general sources. I will post more specific ones that I have used for urban fantasy and historical at a later date.

Books:

World Mythology: I like this book because it gives a nice overview of different cultures and their beliefs. There are plenty of pictures of artifacts and illustrations. Included are both general mythology and some specific myths.

The Enclycopedia of Mythology: This books gives a good overview of three major mythologies in Europe – Norse, Classical (Greek and Rome), and Celtic. Again, lots of pictures to supplement the text.

Mythology: Another good general source on different cultural beliefs and mythology from around the world. It’s a big fat book 🙂

Spirits, Fairies, Leprechauns, and Goblins: An Encyclopedia: Don’t let this title fool you. This book has a massive amount of information on TONS of creatures and spirits from every culture you can imagine. They have Arabic, Persian, Chinese, Native American…many others. The pages of my copy are worn and the book itself has seen better days. That is how often I use it. I love this book. It’s helped me with everything I’ve ever worked on. This comes highly recommended. Try it out!

Now, I have quite a few other books to share, but I feel like these are a good starting place for anyone wanting to add some culture and myth into their writing. Eventually I’ll create a master post.

But before I go, I wanted to leave with a few decent links to start with in case you don’t have access to the above books.

Websites

Encyclopedia Mythica: Nice site to get the general flavor of some belief systems and stories from around the globe.

Folktexts: Excellent site that has a library of various folktales and stories from different countries, though its mainly Europe.

As always, remember to double check to make sure your sources are sound. But when it comes to folklore, it’s ever changing, like a living creature itself, so dive in and enjoy!

Writing: Rough Drafts

Posted on by kltownsend

I’m beginning my writing posts with the concept of rough draft because I think it’s the hardest for me to understand.

I’m a perfectionist and I’m inclined to want everything super perfect the moment I write it down. The reality is it’s never going to be that simple.

Now, there are many writers out there who can write fast and bang out a first draft that needs very little editing. I am amazed at their ability since that is not how I function, and I respect that.

But for many of us, we need to work hard at getting our words ready for publication. This includes realizing that our first draft might be extremely rough and that it’s going to take a few revisions to get it right.

So this is my advice to you (if you’re like me and fall into this category). It’s okay if your prose is not fantastic. It’s okay if you don’t know how to describe that foreign parallel world full of walking Twinkies. It’s okay if you haven’t mapped out each and every scene.

Your rough draft is rough. It’s meant to be.

The real magic will happen afterwards, during rewrites and revisions. The story will come together during editing.

Just get the words down on paper (or type them on screen) and worry about tweaking it into a novel once the story is done.

Writers write. Getting stuck on the first line for years on end will never get either of us anywhere.

So, lock up Mr. or Ms. Perfectionist and just lose yourself in the story. 🙂