Updates from Monica Valentinelli for 04/28/2016

Weekly Update from M. Valentinelli

This week's news and posts from Monica's website includes:

In the 04/28/2016 edition:
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Come Steampunk With Me. SteamCraft RPG Now on Kickstarter!

By Monica Valentinelli on Apr 27, 2016 09:54 am

In the spirit of Gibson and Sterling’s The Difference Engine, SteamCraft takes you to an alternate, dystopian world where gears, goggles, and airships dominate life. The Industrial Age is joined by an early Information Age, combining into a gritty world where corporations use technological advances to amass hordes of wealth and power at the expense of the working class. Meanwhile, technomages’ ability to create by mixing magic with machine lurches ahead of their wisdom to control their creations and where scientific exploration is best done in coal powered airships venturing beyond the charted world maps. Just as Shadowrun mixes cyberpunk and fantasy, SteamCraft mixes steampunk and fantasy. The scientific wonders of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells mix with fantasy elements like dwarves and elves. The result is a world filled with ancient horrors as well as man-made beasts.

Now, you can back the SteamCraft RPG Player’s Guide on Kickstarter and ensure that my worldbuilding skills are put to good use! That can’t happen, however, unless we fund… So what are you waiting for?

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Debts I’ve Paid to Be a Writer

By Monica Valentinelli on Apr 27, 2016 09:44 am

On David McDonald‘s blog, I wrote a post about the debts I’ve paid to become a writer. I hope that by sharing my story, it will help other writers who have experienced something similar, understand and take comfort in the fact that you are not alone. Paying for My Passion (Valentinelli) is the kind of post that’s both personal and cathartic to write, but I feel that it was an important exercise for both me and you. You see, the one thing I’ve learned throughout all of my experiences, is that there’s a difference between feeling alone and being alone. Abusers in any form, whether they be domestic or not, focus on isolation as a means of control.

For writers like myself, who are naturally introverted to varying degrees, this can be disastrous to our psyches. I need to recharge my creative batteries by spending time by myself, but at the same time, it was hugely important for me to understand I wasn’t alone in my experiences. They are two, very different things, and I fear that sometimes the nuances are conflated simply because when you’re an introvert you’re already told spending time by yourself, whether that’s going it alone to a movie or a coffee shop, is “anti-social”.

If my post resonates with your experiences on any level, I want you to know that I support you. I do. Being a writer is both a curse and a blessing, especially in this society; the ability to tell stories and use words to relay information is a gift we have, but at the same time? We all need to eat.

• Mood: Focused
  Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: I cannot admit the amount of caffeine in my system
  Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Well, I thought about it
  In My Ears: Soundtrack for Star Wars. No, not THAT Star Wars, the other… Never mind.
  Game Last Played: Final Fantasy X
  Book Last Read: Reading like a crazy woman… I should really track these better.
  Movie/TV Show Last Viewed: Lucifer
  Latest Artistic Project: Pain-in-the-butt ombre earrings.
  Latest Fiction/Comic Release: Gods, Memes, and Monsters and Firefly: The Gorramn Shiniest Language Guide and Dictionary in the ‘Verse.
  Latest Game Release: Codex Infernus: The Savage Guide to Hell.
  Current State of Projects: Read my latest (woefully outdated) project update and My Departure from the Conan RPG.

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On Writing and Bad Stress

By Monica Valentinelli on Apr 19, 2016 12:47 pm

Today I want to talk about stress. So, here’s a funny thing: I think there’s good stress and bad stress. Good stress for me is an exciting new deadline! Revisions that have to be done right now! Feedback that has to be incorporated! Bad stress, on the other hand, deals with everything that isn’t related to writing. It either originates from a non-person related outside source (e.g. like a shortage of funds or not having enough dark chocolate) OR… OR… OR… it comes from me either seeking or listening to other people’s opinions/drama–and there is no shortage of either. Not all of them (opinions) are valuable, and most of them aren’t related to “me” at all. Typically, they fall into one of two categories in my experience: “This methodology worked for me (or for a writer I met), so I assume it’ll work for everybody else.” And “I’m not sure what full-time writers do, but here’s a bunch of opinions about that based on my romanticized views of [insert famous author here].”

I realize this may come as a shock, but writing is work. Like any other job, writing can be a calling and, in my case, it definitely is. But, how to move forward, how to take on/find more mini-jobs, how to build a career… That is where my head needs to be, and where it’s always been when I’m not suffering from bad stress. I realize this line of thinking, to treat writing like work and an actual job, is unsexy. It’s plain. It’s vanilla. It’s yet another cat picture, and not a good one at that. But, if I don’t take it seriously and treat writing as a job, I don’t write, because then it’s not a priority for me. Then it’s a hobby that I do whenever I feel like it, and that is hugely damaging to my career.

What I do about Bad Stress

Realization time! Every rotten moment I have had as a writer originates from bad stress, and the vast majority of those moments come from what I couldn’t control. Why am I not beating myself up over it? 1) That’s in the past. 2) I can only manage what I can control, but the number one thing I need to do is write. Period. And 3) Encountering bad stressors is normal, because it happens to everybody. What matters, then, is what I do next. How do I use those moments to inspire me to keep at it?

To this end, I use the K.I.S.S. system which I am quite fond of. I use K.I.S.S. as a motivational tool, rather than as an excuse to sacrifice quality or take shortcuts, etc. Here’s what I do. Ready? It’s so simple, I probably sound like an idiot who mixed anchovies and oranges and peanut butter together with vinegar. Ew! Anyway, here goes: I come up with slogans to cheer myself on.

• Real artists ship

• Writers write

• Can’t get paid unless I hit Send!

• Want to be a novelist? Finish my novels.

• Want to be hired for comics/novels/etc.? Finish my comics/novels/etc. on spec.

• Create > consume.

Or, alternatively, I come up with a zillion mini-goals I can sneak in throughout the day that I know I can achieve. This helps reduce bad stress related to feeling like I’m not getting the non-writing bits done, provided my priorities are in place. Notice, none of these goals are meant to take longer than an hour. I am a mini-tasking self-proselytizing evangelist, as breaking up larger goals into smaller chunks really helps me get through the day.

• Clean my desk

• Free write up to 3 pages

• Read a short story by somebody else

• Spend 30 minutes re-organizing my computer files

• Spend 30 minutes cutting down my e-mails to less than 50

• Spend 30 minutes researching new markets

• Spend 30 minutes e-mailing folks I haven’t talked to in a while

• Spend 60 minutes on a word sprint!

Notice how all of this is to ensure I stay on task and write? A focus on word count and production doesn’t mean I don’t care about building relationships or forming networks, etc. This is all about reducing bad stress by ensuring I don’t get distracted, as words are my stock and trade. ‘Cause when I don’t write? That is the worst possible stress of all. That’s when I don’t have any reason to plan for a career, because I have nothing without dem words.

• Mood: BOO-YAH!
  Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: Ummmm… More than I should, but not enough to float.
  Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: GAH
  In My Ears: Soundtrack for The Hobbit
  Game Last Played: Battle Nations
  Book Last Read: Reading like a crazy woman… I should really track these better.
  Movie/TV Show Last Viewed: Once: Upon a Time
  Latest Artistic Project: Pain-in-the-butt ombre earrings.
  Latest Fiction/Comic Release: Gods, Memes, and Monsters and Firefly: The Gorramn Shiniest Language Guide and Dictionary in the ‘Verse.
  Latest Game Release: Codex Infernus: The Savage Guide to Hell.
  Current State of Projects: Read my latest (woefully outdated) project update and My Departure from the Conan RPG.

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Help RPG Creators Directly! Donate to the RPG Creators Relief Fund

By Monica Valentinelli on Apr 19, 2016 10:25 am

Did you know there’s a charity for RPG creators? It’s called the RPG Creators Relief Fund, and it’s mission is:

“The Roleplaying Game Creators Relief Fund (RCRF) is a charitable organization founded to provide financial assistance to tabletop roleplaying game creators suffering hardship due to medical emergencies, natural disasters, and other catastrophic situations.”

Now you do! You can donate via DriveThruRPG.com, through the website directly, or become a sponsor.

Many of the disasters that hit RPG creators range from medical emergencies to house fires to the loss of a child, and these dire situations impact all of us differently–especially since everyone’s support network of friends and family, as well as ability to receive public assistance or fall back on savings, varies greatly. This is a way to say “Thank you!” for all the hard work RPG creators do to ensure that there’s a bit of fun in this world despite all its ills.

I hope you’ll consider donating* to this charity, for without funds it’s challenging to help those in need.

* In the effort of full disclosure, I am on the Advisory Board.

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Looking Ahead for Media/Tie-In! [My Book Launch Week]

By Monica Valentinelli on Apr 15, 2016 11:11 am

All this week, I’ve been celebrating the release of Firefly: The Gorramn Shiniest Dictionary and Phrasebook in the ‘Verse from Titan Books. And, today’s the last day! Each day, I’ve been posting about an aspect of working as a media/tie-in writer. I hope you enjoy this series of posts! Interested in the dictionary, but are still on the fence? Be sure to read Take Five with Monica Valentinelli on Suvudu.com for some interesting tidbits about the book and my process. If you’re keen on learning more about me, then check out my interview with GeekDad, too!

Since today is the last (exciting) day in a series of posts about media/tie-in, I want to talk about my thoughts on the future of this style of storytelling and production. The interesting thing about media/tie-in, is that the stories come “after the fact” in a lot of cases, because they’re driven by a game or a movie in a lot of cases. Comics, on the other hand, could be painted with a broader brush since they intersect with movies and existing storylines, but they could also simply be based on existing characters. Though that is true for all media/tie-ins to some degree, it’s especially true with comics in my experience.

Anyway, what I’m trying to note here is that the point of origin for a story will heavily influence where media/tie-in is going. Where I think/hope it’s going, is to address multiculturism and gender balance to line up with the fact that original fiction is also heading in that direction as well. This, I feel, is very exciting–more voices is a good thing. But, in some ways, media/tie-in will have a bit of a catch up depending upon the casting for films or video game character representation or what-have-you. There appears to be a fear that the general public will not embrace a female superhero or a minority/underrepresented character in a movie, as that’s the only explanation that I can come up with for the recent rash of whitewashed characters and the Oscars So White controversy. Ghost in the Shell and the Sorcerer Supreme in the new Doctor Strange movie are two of the most recent examples of this. Since there are so few minority/underrepresented actors featured on blockbuster films to begin with, I see this as having an impact across all media/tie-in–much like the fact that many actresses over 40 can no longer find work or roles for their age brackets.

Mind you, this entire conversation is scary for a lot of people, because this is about change. Change is frightening, especially if there’s a perception that this change is reductive and it will mean the new stories suck. I view this approach to be about adding and enhancing to an existing rich tapestry of stories, about making more art, about making better art, about giving readers more choices. It’s a big ocean out there; not a pond–you never know what will happen! Look at Valiant Comics’ runaway (and surprise) hit Faith, just as one example. Here’s a plus-sized superheroine who is not your usual fare, who nailed an existing need: for plus-sized women to see themselves in a positive light. Fantastic, right? New stories, new characters, and experimenting with storytelling mediums should thrill fans, not terrify them. What’s not to love about every kid or adult being about to look up at that big screen, or at a comic book, or dive into a novel with a huge smile on their face to say “They’re just like me! They’re the hero/heroine and they’re just like me!”?

Now the thing is: I may be a writer, because this is my calling, but it is my job to find ways for publishers, agents, etc. to say “Yes!” to my work and to working with me. It is my conscious choice to recognize that there are problems, but seek solutions through the aspects I can control on the projects I’m attached to. I lose so much (time, money, etc.) if I don’t spend the bulk of my time creating, and being a writer means I have to write. Period. Multiculturism, however, is important to me because it’s reflective not only of the world we live in, but the world I live in. Sometimes, this means I buy books or comics from lesser-known authors and artists. Sometimes, I might suggest other writers who specialize in subjects or cultures to bring on board. Sometimes, I might add more characters or sub-plots so the minorities aren’t always the villains. (e.g. A common solution to the need for more diverse casting is to make the antags a minority that are then defeated.) Sometimes, I might look for positive representations in the art, when art notes fall under my purview. These are small things, sure, but that is all I can do. Again, this entire conversation circles back to doing what I can in my role while still finishing, shipping, and publishing projects on time as much as possible. Talking about a thing isn’t the same as doing it, at least for me, and I’m aware that my focus needs to be on my work instead of getting pissed off on the Internet. Meeting deadlines, making my word count, exceeding expectations, delivering quality–these are all the other reasons I need people to say “Yes!” to my work as well.

Anyway, I hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s series of posts to celebrate the release of Firefly: The Gorramn Shiniest Dictionary and Phrasebook in the ‘Verse. Thanks for reading this week and supporting my work. Have a fantastic day!

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Recent Articles:

Canon, Characters, Continuity, Fans, and Creators [My Book Launch Week]
How Writing Media/Tie-In Has Impacted My Original Works [My Book Launch Week]
[New Release] Firefly: The Gorramn Shiniest Language Guide and Phrasebook in the ‘Verse
What is “Media/Tie-In” Anyway? [My Book Launch Week!]
[New Games Release] Codex Infernus: The Savage Guide to Hell