C h a z z W r i t e s . c o m

See all my books at AllThatChazz.com.

01/24/2012 • 10:13 PM 1

Another Day in The Life

Things always take longer than you expect and it’s always later than you think.

Image by mshea via Flickr

8:00 AM: I’m up and getting the kids off to school. Got to bed early last night, so I’m actually functioning on six-and-a-half hours of sleep. Bonus!

9:00 AM: Kids are delivered unto the local indoctrination centre and nobody’s crying including me. Success.

Coffee x 2. Research some information and loiter over an argument about the merits and sins of book and music piracy.

Autograph a book for a friend who stops by. (This is an event, but I pretend I’m casual about it. “And who should I make this out to?”)

Holy crap it’s 10:30! In my research, someone wrote a blog post on how regurgitating from elsewhere is bad. This strikes me as funny because said article was rescooped via Scoopit! and that’s how I found it in the first place. (I love Scoopit!) Still, I haven’t written an original post on here for a few days, so I fire off a blog post on the virtues that tie the martial art of Hapkido and writing. I wonder where Chang Man Yang, my old instructor is now. After he was terribly impaired in a horrific car accident, I don’t know what became of him or his family.

11:15 AM Post is done and twittered. I follow up with a couple of readers about reviewing my books.

Call Canada Revenue Agency about a tax filing. Despite my misgivings, they are surprisingly polite and cooperative.

Fire off an email to Smodcast about an upcoming ad I’m running.

Lunch. (Nine and a half hours later, I have no idea what I ate. Apparently it was inconsequential. Even to me.)

1:00 PM Revisions to The Novel. It’s going to be good, but my progress is slower than I’d like, though this would be true no matter my speed.

3:00 PM Come up for air. Tend the fire and then grab my script. I’ve already written most of this week’s podcast, so I take half an hour to record what I’ve got. I’m getting more efficient and less tongue-tied on the mic so the podcast is taking less time.

3:30 PM Get a reminder of a writing contest that I had ignored. Inspiration strikes and I grab a couple of old non-fiction pieces to meld together for the contest. It’s all fully formed in my mind so cobbling it together goes incredibly quick…except for the frustrations of getting the files from the old computer (that needs an enema) to the new computer. Also? The main printer is out of toner. Damn.

5:30 PM Contest entry is submitted. I generally don’t do contests anymore, but I’m excited about the possibilities this one presents. Next? Check email, triberr, Facebook, and Twitter. There’s very little I have to say or deal with. Amongst this, the kids and SHe Who Must Be Obeyed have returned with tales of the outside world. It sounds grim out there. I stoke the fire higher and congratulate them for their bravery in facing what, alas, I cannot.

6:30 PM: I’m told to eat. As soon as that’s done, I ask the children to clean up the skinny pig’s cage as I head off into the darkness to Future Shop to get toner cartridges.

6:50 PM: They don’t have all the toner cartridges and I definitely need black. I am instantly reminded why I hate dealing with The World: The couple ahead of me takes more time to complete their purchase than I took to get the sale through on my house. I’m told Future Shop has one black toner cartridge for me. At the other Future Shop. At the other end of the city. While waiting, I have three times picked up and put down a back up drive I’m been debating about for some time. It’s $139.00 but I decide I can’t afford not to have the insurance and ease of the back up. Maybe the slow couple ahead of me work for Future Shop and they’ve just been waiting for me to buy more before clearing the way to the cash register.

9:00 PM Finally back home. Traffic was a bitch, but I have the black toner!

9:10 PM I’m informed the skinny pig’s environs are now poopless. Excellent. If only we could all say that.

I check email. The most important email message is at once reassuring and baffling. Last week I asked BookBaby about getting an ITIN so the IRS won’t hold back 30% from my book earnings. I thought my message had been lost or ignored but it turned out I’m just an impatient dick because they’re very busy at BookBaby these days. I’m informed BookBaby doesn’t hold back any earnings and just gives me the whole nut. Really?! If it’s true, it’s great because it greatly simplifies my tax reporting. I just can’t believe it’s true nor can I divine how it could be true. I will have to confer with my accountant. (INSERT INVOLUNTARY SHUDDER HERE.)

Bookbaby also informs me that I can easily withdraw my books from all other outlets but KDP Select if I wish, but if I change my mind later, it will be a whole new submission and I’ll be charged again for resubmitting each book to the other platforms. Hm. Okay. My plan is to go with KDP Select for all my books soon and for the long term, so fine. Not great, but fine.

9:44 PM This blog post is done. What’s next? Another chapter to revise or go to bed early tonight? And I do have books to read… Hm.

9:45 PM Decide to throw children in bed at high velocity. Must read a chapter of Eric Walters‘ Shattered to Boy or Boy will become difficult. Will pet the skinny pig briefly and see if I can engage She Who Must Be Obeyed in a taped episode of House before returning to the screen for another go at something or other.

Projected bedtime, 1 or 2 AM, depending. (Do something fun, like writing, and it’s never really work.)

Afterthought:

The writing contest thing was an exception to my regular routine and as I write this post, it is clear to me I must spend at least twice as much time on revisions tomorrow, stopping just before my brain refuses to continue.

I need some time on the treadmill.

And absolutely zero time at Future Shop.

UPDATE: The funny thing is that, after writing today’s blog posts, I googled my old teacher. I had done this some time ago but he was nowhere to be found. The last I’d heard, he was in a terrible car accident driving home from a class with a student. I had heard he was be permanently injured. Tonight, after mentioning him in two blog posts in one day, I idly plugged his name into the search engine again. My old teacher is alive and teaching in Halifax! What a great way to end the day!

Writing like Hapkido (chazzwrites.com)
Self-help for Stoners is now available on Stitcher (plus the Christmas message of hope and gooeyness) (chazzwrites.wordpress.com)

Filed under: DIY, getting it done, My fiction, What about Chazz?, a day in the life, Canada Revenue Agency, Chang Man Yang, Eric Walters, Hapkido, printer, schedule, self-publishing, writer's schedule

01/24/2012 • 11:54 AM 6

Writing like Hapkido

My Hapkido master was Chang Man Yang. He wanted his students to integrate the lessons of the martial art into all of life. I learned a lot from him. Here’s how I integrate Hapkido into my writing life:

Hapkido students practice throws and joint man...

Image via Wikipedia

1. Discipline. Train every day. Write every day.

2. You will lose. Maybe this time, maybe next. Doesn’t matter. Keep training, keep writing.

3. You will win. Maybe this time, maybe next. Doesn’t matter. Keep training, keep writing.

4. Respect the art. Do not cheapen it by underestimating it.

5. Respect the art of others. Do not cheapen it by underestimating it.

6. Don’t show off. Fighters and writers who draw too much attention to themselves in their art, fail in their art.

7. Strike at the first opportunity. Don’t wait to solve a problem.

8. Stay flexible so one attack melds into the next. A strike becomes a throw which becomes a joint lock. An interesting fact becomes a plot point which becomes critical to solving a story problem.

9. Do not compare yourself to others in the dojang. Compare yourself to your last performance. Go for personal best each time.

10. Instead of comparing yourself to others, learn from others.

11. We bow at the end of each match. Each story has a satisfying coda.

12. You will get hurt. Don’t talk about your injuries. Recover. Come back. Continue.

13. We are a team. We help each other improve.

14. We compete, but we are friends.

15. You will feel fear. So what?

16. Sweat is good for you.

17. You will be thrown. Roll with it and let that momentum carry you back up to your feet.

18. Fighting is conflict. Writing is conflict. With the right attitude and context, conflict is fun.

19. You are a student. To be a master, you will always be a student.

20. Handle stressful situations and you will rise above your circumstance.

21. Persevere.

22. Focus. Economize your movement. Do not waste energy.

23. Use all your energy to accomplish your aim.

24. Your target is not the target. Kick and punch as if your target is behind the target. Your target is not an arbitrary word count. Completion is your target.

25. The training is the experience. The writing is the experience. Enjoy the exercise itself. Everything else is commentary.

Filed under: publishing, writing tips, Hapkido, lessons, martial art, Student, Word count, Writers Resources, writing

01/23/2012 • 5:19 PM 0

About Underground Book Reviews – Underground Book Reviews

Via Scoop.it – Writing and reading fiction
(Fresh review site. Sounds thoughtful. ~ Chazz)
Via ht.ly

Filed under: publishing

01/22/2012 • 11:41 PM 0

How To Increase Blog Traffic

Via Scoop.it – Writing and reading fiction

(Interesting to see where the traffic comes from. I’m defintely using Stumbleupon more. ~Chazz) There is not a lot of use slaving away on your blog if no one reads it. Every blogger would like to increase their readership, but where do you begin?
Via www.derekhaines.ch

Filed under: publishing

01/22/2012 • 10:52 PM 0

Nick Mamatas – Ten Bits of Advice Writers Should Stop Giving Aspiring Writers

Via Scoop.it – Writing and reading fiction

Lots of these sorts of things going around lately. Some of them are even quite good, but they do tend to be of a type.
Via nihilistic-kid.livejournal.com

Filed under: publishing

01/22/2012 • 3:00 PM 2

What’s new on my Kindle (plus a 99 cent sale update!)

This morning was a website morning. Tonight is a revision night. This afternoon? My son is building a castle for school and looks annoyed when I ask him if he needs help with all that duct tape. She Who Must be Obeyed 2.0 is studying and She Who Must Be Obeyed (The Original) is writing lecture notes for the class she teaches. And me? The coffee is poured and the snow is blowing around out there, but it’s cozy by the fire.

Here’s what I bought last night:

The Indie Journey by Scott Nicholson and the collection he edited, Write Good or Die. Also got his book, Littlefield.

Nail Your Novel by my friend Roz Morris (Sorry, Roz. I’d meant to buy your writing book earlier. In fact, I’d convinced myself I already had. Now I have it for sure.)

Post-Apocalyptic Nomadic Warriors by Benjamin Wallace. (Promises to be fun.)

Now reading: Lake on the Mountain, a Dan Sharp Mystery by my friend Jeff Round.

Sometimes we get so caught up with the writing and all the other things we have to do, we forget what a lazy Sunday afternoon is and how best to spend it: Open a book and step through to the other side.

Please, writers!

Read.

I love afternoons like this!

THE 99 CENT SALE UPDATE:

I’m having such a great afternoon of reading, I want to encourage everyone to curl up with a book by the fire or under your coziest blanket. So, in addition to giving one short story away for free, as of now, all my shorter works of fiction are marked down to only 99 cents each. If you love them, please remember to review them. The Poeticule Bay stories (Asia Unbound, Parting Shots and the novella, The Dangerous Kind) are each 99 cents now. Two stories which feature the odd psychotherapist, Dr. Circe Papua, are Vengeance is #1 and Corrective Measures. Grab it now, because Corrective Measures is free until January 31st. Have a great night!

CLICK IT TO GRAB IT

Don’t we all draw on childhood trauma for our fiction? (allthatchazz.com)
Free ebook on Goodreads blog (allthatchazz.com)
I just received my first review on Goodreads! And it’s a good’un! (chazzwrites.wordpress.com)

Filed under: Books, readers, benjamin wallace, books, lazy sunday afternoon, nomadic warriors, reading, Scott Nicholson, the reading experience

01/22/2012 • 12:25 AM 0

Richard Nash and Matt Runkle: Revaluing the Book | Richard Nash

Via Scoop.it – Writing and reading fiction
(Ebook vs paper is not about teams. Good point.~ Chazz) [Richard Nash] If people want something, why do they think it’s not going to exist? Not to get all sort of laissez-faire capitalist about this, but I’m going to have a moment of laissez-faire capitalism here and note that if people want to read the book in its printed form, then I predict there are going to be ways in which they can ensure that they will continue to get it in printed form because people are going to be willing to pay for it.
I mean the reality is that soon enough—even right now, technically—anyone will be able to get a digital version of a book and go and get it made into a physical printed book if they want. I mean right now, whether you’re using the espresso machine or—goodness gracious—3D printing, which is very, very, very much in its infancy, any kind of manufacturing over the next 10, 20, 30, 40 years is going to be able to be done as a hobby. So if you want a printed book, you will be able to get a printed book.
It has been a fascinating phenomenon in the discussion around publishing how adversarial people get around other people’s choices. So if someone says “I like an ebook,” a person will respond “Ohhh, I can’t believe—how can you do that?” It’s like that obnoxious person who you don’t want to go out to dinner with anymore because they can’t just order what they want, they have to comment on what you’re eating as well. What’s been epidemic in this discussion is that when both camps talk about their own preferences, they have to malign other people’s preferences too, and make grandiose extrapolations about the consequences of other people’s preferences for their own. If they like printed books, they should be buying the damn things instead of whining about other people’s preferred mode of reading. So I’m tremendously optimistic about the future of the book as an object. I think the worst years of the book as an object have been the last 50 years.
Via www.bostonreview.net

Filed under: publishing

01/21/2012 • 5:46 AM 0

Indie Erotica: 20 Questions with Eden Baylee – IndieReader

Via Scoop.it – Writing and reading fiction

(My friend Eden Baylee is interviewed about her erotic fiction. Enjoy! ~ Chazz) At the age of eleven, Eden Baylee, bestselling indie author of Fall into Winter, purchased a copy of Story of O by Pauline Réage. “It’s amazing what they sold to kids back then in Montreal,” she says.
Via indiereader.com

Filed under: publishing

01/20/2012 • 9:54 PM 0

VIDEO: Neil Gaiman on how piracy can good

Filed under: Publicity & Promotion, anti-piracy, Neil Gaiman, piracy, SOPA, video

01/20/2012 • 9:46 PM 0

Writing Adrift in the World | Tim Parks | The New York Review of Books

Via Scoop.it – Writing and reading fiction
(Really? Is tech killing the novel? ~ Chazz) In his polemic against the traditional novel, or rather against those who continue to write it when he believes it has lost its validity, David Shields frequently draws our attention to the fragmented character and accelerated speed of modern life, and the prominence of new media—particularly blogs, Facebook, and so on. He links this to a general eagerness to read what is both immediately contemporary and “true” or at least “documentary,” in preference to traditional fiction. “The key thing for an intellectually rigorous writer to come to grips with,” he tells us, “is the marginalization of literature by more technologically sophisticated and thus more visceral forms.” I find it hard to understand why the technologically sophisticated is necessarily more visceral. The viscera are visceral, the old primitive gut: this pain, this pleasure, now. At the same time, I share Shields’s weariness with novels that, however elegant and intelligent, appear merely to be going through the motions, to be aimed above all at creating the package that will lead to prominence on the world stage, or at least commercial success (the two are almost the same thing). If there is a problem with the novel, and I’m agreed with Shields that there is, it is not because it doesn’t participate in modern technology, can’t talk about it or isn’t involved with it; I can download in seconds on my Kindle a novel made up entirely of emails or text messages. Perhaps the problem is rather a slow weakening of our sense of being inside a society with related and competing visions of the world to which we make our own urgent narrative contributions; this being replaced by the author who takes courses to learn how to create a product with universal appeal, something that can float in the world mix, rather than feed into the immediate experience of people in his own culture. That package may work for some, as I believe my student’s account of dramatic upheavals in the Mongol empire will work for many readers; it has its intellectual ideas and universal issues: but it doesn’t engage us deeply, as I believe my other student’s work might if only he could get it right. And this is not simply an issue of setting the book at home or abroad, but of having it spring from matters that genuinely concern the writer and the culture he’s working in.
Via www.nybooks.com