Month: July 2017

7 facts you didn’t know about me: The Versatile Blogger Award

I was nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award, and so I’m going to tell you seven things about myself that you might not know (mostly writing-related, because that’s what you asked about).

Some time back, the delightful Jessica Matteliano (@jmatteliano) nominated me for the Versatile Blogger Award. Today I am delighted to accept the award.

That means I’m going to tell you seven things about myself that you may not know. (I can’t entirely guarantee you don’t know them–internet stalking has come a long way in recent years.)

But first, the details of the award.

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Why I’ve decided to pursue trade publication

I’ve decided to pursue trade (traditional) publication. Here I try to explain the madness that led to this decision.

If you know me, you’ll know you I’m a firm supporter of all writers, whether they write for themselves or an audience, whether they’re self-published or big five-published (except for total jerks–I’m slightly less supportive of them).

I started researching how to publish in 2006 when self-publishing was still very much fringe. (Not by coincidence, this was the year I first completed a first draft. It was 200k words long.)

At the time I was a long way from being ready to publish and I knew it, but I always intended to pursue trade publication.

When I came back to writing seriously a few years ago, the publishing landscape was unrecognisable. I redid my research, and concluded that self-publishing was now a real option, but I still wasn’t sure if it was the right option for me.

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The obligatory writer’s block post

You can start open battles in the streets of writing forums by claiming that writer’s block doesn’t exist. It’s not exactly that I’m going to do that…

Everyone who blogs about writing should discuss writer’s block sooner or later. Sometimes I blog about writing, so I’ve decided this includes me.

I’ve avoided writing about writer’s block until now because I haven’t known what to say, but today I sat down to write a blog post and drew a blank, so voila!

(Okay there was the post about solutions to fantasy writer’s block, but that doesn’t count.)

If you head to certain parts of the web, you’ll see writers arguing about whether writer’s block exists at all. The arguments tend to go something like this:

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How to fail at eating better

No matter how virtuous my intentions are where it comes to eating better, I always seem to end up at pizza.

Periodically I resolve to eat better. That means less pizza and more green leafy things. I also figure I should eat more than one meal a day. (These all sound like good things, right?)

It sounds so straightforward, but I have failed at eating better in numerous ways.

Method 1: The Healthy Supermarket Trip

I resolve to clean up my diet. No more pies for lunch, eating chips when I get home from work, or muffins when I can’t be bothered making lunch.

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Strange things that might happen at a conference

At a conference last week I met two people I should have already known and ran into two people I haven’t seen in over a decade.

I spent the last three days at a conference.

Conferences are weird.

Early in your career, they’re mostly places where you hover for too long over the coffee station. You try to locate the only person you know so you don’t have to stand alone or try to make awkward conversation with the one other person no one else wants to talk to.

It doesn’t take you long to figure out why no one wants to talk to this guy: he has nothing to say about anything.

Neither do you.

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