The disapproving llama

You know those "you should be writing" memes with the scowling celebrities? As wonderful as those are, it occurred to me that they're not as effective as they're meant to be. When I first started writing I definitely needed the encouragement of others. That's why I asked Brandon Sanderson to sign my writing folder. Every time I opened it I would see this and be reminded that I really could do it.

I still need the occasional encouragement of others (one can never get enough) but since I don't use that folder anymore, I've switched to another method. The disapproving llama. You see, I know that I can finish writing a novel, I just need a reminder to actually sit down and do it. The llama's glare reminds me that I can't sell it if I don't finish it. In short, that I should be writing. This brings us back to the memes. It occurred to me that if a picture of a Hollywood celebrity can motivate people to write, why not one of their favorite authors? 

With that in mind, I took pictures of a few of my well known friends and favorites, looking disapprovingly, in the hope that others can find the motivation that they need to keep going -- especially since it's NaNoWriMo. And because I also have faith in you, I've included the disapproving llama in each shot. Feel free save these to your computer, send them to your writing group, tape a copy to your writing desk, or wherever it needs to be to remind you. I'll continue to take these pictures as I travel about and post them but this is the first set.

                                                    John A. Pitts says you should be writing.

                                                 Ken Scholes says you should be writing.

                                                    Jay Lake says you should be writing.

                                                Brent Weeks says you should be writing.

                                         Diana Pharoah Francis says you should be writing.

                                            David D. Levine says you should be writing.

                                               Devon Monk says you should be writing.

                                      Bryan Thomas Schmidt says you should be writing.

                                                Irene Radford says you should be writing.

JayWake

I know there were many people who wanted to go to the wake and couldn't for one reason or another and I count myself fortunate to be a local. There's no way I could have afforded it if I wasn't. Heck, even then I still debated because of the time I'd have to take off of work in the midst of the bookstore's big move. The reason for the wake is a sad one and I'm not close to Jay however, it was one of those rare occasions that I knew I would regret passing up. Besides, I've never been to a wake, let alone a wake/roast and I don't know when or if the chance will come again. I realize it's a strange reason to go, and I'm not eager to see anyone die but there it is.

I expected to only know a couple people there from the local community and there were a lot of people I didn't know. Friends and fans of Jay's came from all over the world to attend. However, there were quite a few people that I did know including Howard Taylor from Utah and Ruth Nestvold from Germany. The event itself began with Jay's casket being carried in by a dozen strapping men. In true Jay style, he promptly popped out of his own casket. Apparently it was hot and stuffy in there.

After an amazing meal the love fest and jibes commenced. A friend from New Zealand sent a hilarious video sharing some embarrassing memories of Jay (beware the Japanese cat poo candy) and because he's an evil opportunist, he Rick rolled us. Another friend asked the female attendees to raise their hands if we hadn't slept with Jay. He then pointed at each of us and told Jay that he couldn't die yet.

The night progressed in this fashion. More jokes at Jay's expense followed by a hearty laugh from all. Occasionally Jay would fire back a witty retort. The Merry Mourners sang songs, recited poems, and told a lot of bad puns. Then another friend would step up to roast Jay. A couple times Team E shared a piece of pilfered writing from Jay's basement, including "How to Buy Toilet Paper". A piece that Ken Scholes wrote for a past JayCon was read aloud by a friend since Ken wasn't able to be there in person. The final speaker of the night was Jay himself who gave his heartfelt thanks to everyone. He also shared the wonderful news that he may have more time left than originally thought.

I spent far more than I should have on merchandise but Jay is worth it. Oh yeah, I also did this:

I'm a part-time vampire. How could I resist the chance to lie in another man's casket? (It's really comfy and I wish I'd brought my fangs.)

Despite the fact that I was very fatigued from work I'm really glad I went. There was so much love and joy and mirth in the room that the solemn moments couldn't overshadow it. If anything can be taken from this night it's that one should always live life to the fullest because we don't know how much time any of us have left.

Hi ho, hi ho...

Today's post is going to be quick since I have to leave for work soon. It's kind of weird, this whole working on a Monday thing. I think the last time I tried it was back in 2004 and I didn't like it very much. Oh well. At least today is a one time thing (I swapped shifts so I could have Gaiman day off). But do not fear dear reader, there is still a post for you. It's a bit more scholarly than my usual posts and I mean that in a good way. I discuss how ancient myths and legends have influenced sci-fi. It's a good post, if I do say so myself, and if you haven't read it already (it went up on Friday) I encourage you to do so. This post even has Ken Scholes' stamp of approval (which made me squee a little).

You'll find it here on The Fictorian Era.

In other news, Harrison Paul (one of my writing group members) recently put his novel, Kaybree Versus the Angels up for sale on Amazon and Smashwords. It's only an e-book at the moment but I encourage you to check it out. It's a YA fantasy and the first in a seven book series. I really like it and if you like it you won't have to wait long for book two. (It's just as good. I'm beta reading it right now.)

Dona eis Requiem

This weekend I finished reading Requiem by Ken Scholes. The book comes out tomorrow (6/18) and it's the fourth book in The Psalms of Isaac series. I love this series, I love Ken's writing, and this book doesn't disappoint. It's hard for me to gush about someone else's work without going into Spoilerland but I'll do my best.

It continually amazes me how much better Ken gets with each book. The Psalms of Isaac isn't a simple tale, it's a Whymer Maze that spans millennia. Each installment shows us a portion of that maze while giving us tantalizing hints of what is yet to come. In Requiem, Ken brought together the events of the previous books in delightful, heart wrenching, and surprising ways. There were a couple parts that creeped the hell out of me but again, that was because Ken did his job really, really well.

One thing that this book has that the others didn't is a handy, dandy glossary. If you're one of those people who skims glossaries before reading the book, I strongly suggest that you don't do it on this one.  Some things shouldn't be learned too early. Trust me on this. However, do refer to it while reading. As I said, it's very handy. I even referred to it a few times while finishing Antiphon. If you want a bit of extra insight into Requiem and the Psalms of Isaac as a whole, read AWeeping Czars Beholds the Fallen Moon and The Second Gift Given. These two short stories will bring a lot of things to light.

I will confess that I have one teensy problem. Now that I've finished Requiem, I have to wait for the next book. Wah! Ok, reading the first four back to back to back may have spoiled me a bit. I guess that'll give me lots of time to commit Requiem to memory.

Changing positions

First up, I have some news. Remember a few weeks ago when I mentioned that I hate writing poetry? Well...I'm reconsidering my position on that.

Shortly after that post went up the oft' talked about Tracy talked me into entering Ken Scholes' The Named Lands Poetry Contest. I had originally decided no to do it because well, it's poetry and with my insane self-imposed deadline I really need to focus on finishing the Cyberfunk. However, knowing that Tracy wouldn't let me live it down if I didn't submit something, forced my hand. I wrote a quick collection of haiku and sent it off. (Don't look at me like that. It was just six poems and haiku only take a few minutes to compose.) Last Sunday the winner was announced.

Me.

Fraking A.

I've never entered a poetry contest before. Heck, my writing period hasn't won any accolades yet so to find out my first was for a medium I only do under duress kinda really weirded me out. Add to that Ken's comment that he and the judge were "blown away" by the best of my six and you can guess how much my mind was blown. I was in a state of disbelief for a couple days.

So, yeah. Because of this (and something Greg Manchess teased me about the night before my win) I'm reconsidering my long standing hatred of poetry writing. I don't know if I'll start entering more poetry contests because of this. We'll see. For now I'm just going to try to ease into a more positive position so I'll feel more comfortable dabbling with the form. Baby steps are important. Especially when I have an imminent novel deadline. Speaking of which, I need to get to work.

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I have another guest post on the Fictorian Era coming up on Tuesday, May 14th. You won't want to miss this one. I laughed so hard when I wrote it.