The Myths and Realities of Doing What You Love

I read an article on Medium last week with the title listed above. I thought it was worth sharing because it offers a balanced, sensible solution to the age-old dilemma of doing what you love versus doing what will pay the bills. It suggests doing what you love as a side gig while having a good-paying job to support the side gig. I think this is especially important if you have a spouse and/or dependents. If you haven't read this article yet, feel free to go over there and read it before commenting. If you did read it already, what do you think?

Edited to Add: One point I don't the author addressed very well is time management. Even if you "only" work a 40-hour week (technically, my job is 37.5 hours a week), there's still commuting, daily tasks, and other responsibilities that take up your free time. If you have dependents, it can be very difficult finding time for yourself, let alone a side gig. That's why I write on lunch break, during my son's tae-kwon-do class, and any time I can steal for it.

Science of the Week--8/19/16

Here are some of the most interesting science news stories I read this week:

Headband detects concussions, collects data on hard hits

Genome sequencing may help avert banana Armageddon

 Brain-maching interface triggers recovery for paraplegic patients

Global warming's next surprise: saltier beaches

NASA's Fermi mission expands its search for dark matter

New technique may help detect Martian life

Study finds taller people are more politically conservative
(This study was done in Britain, so I don't know if it's also true in the US)

Diet and exercise can reduce Alzheimer's protein

Latinos age slower than other ethnicities, UCLA study shows

Transparent wood for windows is cooler than glass

Methane-eating microorganisms: a solution to climate change?

Venus-like exoplanet might have oxygen atmosphere, but no life


Have a good weekend, everyone, and see you Monday!

Writers and Words

One of the books I'm currently reading is actually a trilogy that came out over a decade ago. I read the series when it originally came out, but I don't have the paper copies any more. When I saw the ebook version of trilogy advertised at a bargain price on Bookbub, I decided to grab it. Reading a trilogy isn't going to help me make up my book count for my Goodreads challenge, especially when it's a very long trilogy, but I'm already close to halfway done. My secret? I'm skipping or skimming the description.

In the prefaces to the first and second books, the author talks about her love of words, which started in childhood. She also loves worldbuilding, which results in pages and pages of description of even unimportant people and locations. Unfortunately, I'm the kind of reader who is more interested in the story than the setting. (I have to admit I forgot about this aspect of the series, or maybe it didn't bother me back then.) I wonder how well a new author with this amount of description would be able to sell her work to a traditional publisher today--or how well her work would fare if she self-published.

It's important for writers to develop their vocabularies so they know the proper definitions and connotations of words. There are words that are appropriate for a Victorian setting but not a futuristic one, and vice versa. As a creative writer, I acknowledge that other writers are free to experiment with language--and they should. I don't believe that writers should abstain from using adverbs and adjectives. But with my background in technical writing, I also want to keep my works easy-to-follow. I don't want to write the parts that readers are going to skip. Wordcraft is only one aspect of storytelling; story structure and character development are also important. Writers and readers may prefer different proportions of description and action. Perhaps book blurbs should do a better job of conveying style along with story. (Some do, but not all of them.)

In my opinion, Patricia McKillip is the champion of writing poetic prose that doesn't detract from the story. What other authors do you admire for their writing style? Do you think they'll still be read a hundred years from now, or will changes in our language make our current works inaccessible for future generations? Please comment below.

Newsletter Relaunch with Free Book!

Although newsletters can be an invaluable part of book promotion to authors (since subscribers are most often your fans who are most likely to buy your book), I have to admit I've neglected expanding and using my newsletter. In fact, it's been so long since I last accessed my newsletter that I can no longer log into my previous MailChimp account. So I made a new one, and I'm finally starting to put new sign-up forms here (see the sidebar) and website. (I thought about doing a popup for the website, but I didn't want to do through MailChimp and didn't want to register with yet another service. Besides, popups are annoying, even though they're effective.) I'll have to update links in my books on a rolling basis when I have time.

To pique interest in my newsletter (and more importantly, my stories), I'll be giving away free copies of Scattered Seasons to all subscribers. This is Book Two in my fantasy Season Avatars series; Book One, Seasons' Beginnings, is permafree. Hopefully readers who finish the first two books will want to complete the series or try some of my other work.

I plan to use the newsletter for announcements of books available to order, sales, convention appearances, and so on. While I'll post this information on my blog as well, I may do giveaways or provide bonus stories to newsletters subscribers later on.

Do you use an author newsletter or subscribe to one? What do you like or not like about them?

Science of the Week, 8/12/16

Here are some of the most interesting science news articles I read this week:

Scientists discover light could exist in a previously unknown form

 Record-breaking logic gate "another important milestone" on the road to quantum computers

Preventing mass extinction of big mammals will require immediate action

Psychologist reveals science behind a fulfilling single life

Study reveals brain's finely tuned system of energy supply

 Let the buyer beware: here's how to gauge a study

Unsafe levels of toxic chemicals found in drinking water of 33 states

Clear link found between warming climate and risk in bacterial illnesses

Specialized life forms abound at Arctic methane seeps

NASA climate modeling suggests Venus may have been habitable

Experimental treatment for Alzheimer's disease shows promise


Have a good weekend, everyone, and see you on Monday!

Clawfoots or Clawfeet?

A couple of months ago, I posted that I was having trouble coming up with a suitable name for some animals that will appear in Fifth Season, Book Four of the Season Avatars series. These animals are based on dinosaurs; they're smart as velociraptors and physically resemble Deinonychus. My heroine, Ysabel, initially called them "mixups" since they resemble lizards mixed with birds. Since "mixup" isn't exactly a fear-inspiring name, I struggled for a long time to come up with something better. Finally, as I was editing Fifth Season last week, I went back to the description of the beasts and came up with "clawfoot" for the long sickle-shaped claw Deinonychus had on its feet. However, that leaves me with a dilemma: do I use "clawfoots" or "clawfeet" for the plural? While "clawfeet" might be technically correct, to me, the "feet" in this term seem to refer to actual feet, not the entire animal. I prefer "clawfoots" myself, but I'll have to do some research to see if there's a preferred way to handle this plural.

Would you use "clawfoots" or "clawfeet" as the plural? Or should I come up with a new name that avoids these issues?

Happy Birthday, Eugene!

Today is my husband's birthday. With it falling on a Monday, there isn't much we can do to celebrate. We did go out for dinner over the weekend and plan to go out for dessert tonight after Alex's tae-kwon-do class. Please join me in wishing Eugene a Happy Birthday!

Science of the Week, 8/5/16

Here are some of the most interesting science news posts I read this week:

English Bulldog's gene pool may be too small to heal the breed

Portable device produces biopharmaceuticals on demand

Breastfed preemies turn out smarter

Breakthrough solar cell captures CO2 and sunlight, produces burnable fuel

Compromise nearly guaranteed when a woman is involved in decision-making pairs

New evidence suggests first mass extinction was engineered by animals

Cognitive ability varies, but prejudice is universal

Meat consumption contributing to global obesity

Is Earthly life premature from a cosmic perspective?

Electronic skin patch offers new way to monitor alcohol levels

Male-harming DNA mutation reinforces "mother's curse" hypothesis

Scientists have just uncovered a major difference between RNA and DNA

Sprinkling of neural dust opens door to electroceuticals

"Red gene" in birds and turtles suggests dinosaurs had bird-like color vision


Have a good weekend, and I'll see you Monday!

IWSG: Skill and Grit

This month's Insecure Writer's Support Group Day is brought to you by Tamara Narayan, Tonja Drecker, Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor, Lauren @ Pensuasion, Stephen Tremp, and Julie Flanders. You can learn more about the IWSG on their website.

For August, we've been posed the following question: What was your very first piece of writing as an aspiring writer? Where is it now? Collecting dust or has it been published?

The first story I wrote as an aspiring writer was a fantasy novel called Let Silences Be Broken. The story was about a group of magicians who get their magic by voluntarily giving up speech. One of the main characters was an albino woman pursuing a renegade magician. Their minds are blown when they encounter people who speak a different language. I may still have a paper copy somewhere, but otherwise, it's on a floppy disk somewhere in what I hope is an unreadable format.

A few days ago, an article was published on Medium with the click-bait title "You're Not Meant to Do What You Love. You're Meant to Do What You're Good At." The author of that piece apparently thinks skills are fixed and that loving to do something isn't enough to make you good at it. She says that "If everybody did what they thought they loved, the important things wouldn’t get done. To function as a society, there are labors that are necessary. Someone has to do them. Is that person robbed of a life of passion, because they had to choose a life of skill and purpose?...There is only finding a job that suits you enough that the work doesn’t feel excruciating. There is only finding what you are skilled at, and then learning to be thankful."

While I agree that there are jobs that may not inspire passion but are still necessary for society, and I also like her later idea that we should focus on giving to others with our skills, I think settling for work that doesn't feel excruciating can still drain the life out of you. (I've had jobs like that.) None of us came into this world with skills; we had to develop them. I may have been born with an aptitude for words, but I still had to read thousands of books; study writing craft; critique other writer's work; and write, write, and rewrite some more to get to my current level of writing. I had to learn the skills for my current job when I transferred into the position as well.

How does one develop a skill? By practice and perseverance. Angela Duckworth's Grit: Passion, Perseverance, and the Science of Success not only discusses how to develop a skill, but how to develop the grit needed to follow a passion despite setbacks. Toward the end of the book, she quotes a poem about writing. I don't have time to type it out, but it talks about how when you first write something, it isn't very good, but the more you work on it the better it gets.

If you love writing, not just the idea of being an author, but the actual thinking of stories and characters, sitting in front of a computer for hours on end to bring them to life, and sharing your work with others, don't let anyone tell you you shouldn't write. Even if your first efforts aren't very good, that doesn't mean you can't improve with dedicated practice. We may not evolve into Shakespeare, we may not be able to make it our day jobs, but it's still worth doing. So persevere with what you love, no matter what anyone else tells you to do.

Back from Break

I have to admit it was nice not having to prepare blog posts for a week, especially since it gave me some more time to focus on my writing. The bad news is that I'm slightly behind where I wanted to be with Summon the Seasons: I'm only at 55,000 words instead of 60,000. However, after looking at my schedule and thinking about my goals, I decided I needed to make revising Fifth Season a priority if I want to publish it by the end of the year. I spent most of last Sunday outlining the current draft to figure out what scenes I need to add. I've also started editing/revising Fifth Season and got about three chapters into it. (Most of the changes so far as minor; I'll have to add some scenes for a subplot as the story progresses.) While I really want to finish the rough draft of Scatter the Seasons, it may take a little longer than originally planned. If I don't finish it this month, I should be able to do it by the end of September.

As for what else I've been doing, I confess I've been playing Pokemon Go. Visiting local Pokestops and gyms has been great for getting me out in the morning, but not so good for my plantar fasciitis. My son participated in his first tae-kwon-do tournament and came in third in his division for sparring, which was quite good considering he was facing bigger and more experienced students. (They were grouped by age and rank, so it wasn't a complete mismatch. Alex just happens to be on the low end for rank and middle for age.) We made our annual trip to the Bristol Renaissance Faire yesterday and met up with some friends there. Although we stayed there fairly late and shopped, watched jousting and other showed, and learned about weapons and dueling,  there was still so much we didn't get to see. It would be nice if we could make more than one trip per season.

So, what have you been up to lately? Ready to enjoy the last month of summer?

Science of the Week, 7/22/16

Here are some of the most interesting science news stories I read this week:

Scientists move closer to building an invisibility cloak

Your best diet might depend on your genetics

We are not alone: fish get arthritis, too

How MIT gave "Ghostbusters" its geek cred

Feds: First suspected female-to-male sexual transmission of Zika

Global study shows stroke largely preventable

Cinnamon may aid learning ability

Garden grass could be source of cheap renewable energy

Potential new target identified for treating itch

N. American forests unlikely to save us from climate change


I think I may take a week or two off blogging to focus on the Season Avatars series and other projects. See you sometime in August!

Moon Landing

Since today is the anniversary of the moon landing, I thought it would be appropriate to post some video of it for today's post:

Weekday vs. Weekend Writing

As a working mother, my personal time during the work week is very limited. However, I do get an hour for lunch three days a week. (The other two days I only take a half-hour lunch so I can leave early and take my son to his activities.) I use my time to write. Depending on the day of the week and the type of activity, I also write while my son is involved in whatever he's doing that day. Finally, I write late at night, between my son's bedtime and my own. I generally don't have long periods of time available, so I have to focus if I want to make progress. (For example, I might write 500 words on my lunch hour, but if I get distracted, that might drop to 300 words or so.)

One would think I'd have more writing time on the weekend, but since my schedule is more variable then, that doesn't always happen. For one thing, I don't have a guaranteed lunch hour (or even half hour). Some days (like Saturday) are so busy I don't even get any writing done in the evening. On other days (like yesterday, when Alex was at a birthday party), I am able to get a longer chunk of free time to write. It feels more laid back, so I can be more easily distracted. Sometimes it helps to write elsewhere besides home. (That was my original plan for yesterday, but since a friend kindly offered to bring Alex home from the party, I didn't have to wait for him).

Does your writing schedule change much from weekday to weekend? If so, which type of day works better for you? Feel free to comment below.

Science of the Week, 7/15/16

Here are some of the most interesting science news articles I read this week:

When red evokes mischief

Chemical "sponges" could make chemo safer

Study: gene contributes to poor speech processing and dyslexia

New clues could help science harness the power of photosynthesis

Ancient supernovae were close enough to buffer Earth biology

Countdown to a cure: the effort to finally defeat AIDS

A giant quake may lurk under Bangladesh and beyond

Manipulating gut microbes may reverse negative effect of a high fat diet

Robot would assemble modular telescope--in space

More evidence that male and female brains are wired differently

Newly discovered dinosaur had "T-rex arms" that evolved independently

Narrow sliver of light safely kills drug-resistant bacteria

Have a good weekend, everyone, and see you Monday!

Cool Collaborations

I mentioned in Monday's post that my husband and I saw the Rock Paper Scissors tour featuring Sting and Peter Gabriel on Saturday. We were in the nosebleed section side of stage, or what I think of as the clap-your-hands section after John Lennon's quip "Will the folks in the cheap seats clap your hands, and the rest of you just rattle your jewelry." Eugene and I are happy enough just being able to hear the music. It was a great show, with the two musicians exchanging songs throughout the night. My favorite part occurred during "Games without Frontiers," when Sting and Peter Gabriel strolled down the stage together. I wasn't able to get a picture of that, so here they are during "Sledgehammer."

Watching the two of them together made me think about writing partnerships. I haven't co-authored a story with anyone, and since I'm a pantser, plotting together would be difficult. Still, I think one could learn a lot from working with someone else. If I could write a story with a famous science fiction/fantasy novelist, I think I'd pick someone like Patricia McKillip or Nina Kiriki Hoffman because I like their approaches to the genre. I'd love to work with Lois McMaster Bujold or Connie Willis as well, simply because I'd learn so much from either of them.

If you could pick a famous author to write with, who would it be and why? Alternatively, which authors do you think should have worked together? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

Milwaukee Trip

My family and I took a few days off last week to go to Milwaukee. I know it's not a glamorous destination, but we didn't have enough time to go very far. Besides, there were a couple of museums Alex wanted to visit.

On our first full day, we visited both the Milwaukee Public Museum and the Pabst Mansion. We visited MPM on our first family trip, and this was one of the places we wanted to revisit. Alex particularly enjoyed the dinosaurs and the bug exhibit, and I liked the butterflies. Since we didn't spend the full day there, we headed over to the Pabst Mansion. I was there a couple of times in high school, but the house has been extensively renovated since then. For dinner, we stopped at the Milwaukee Public Market, where we happened to pick up a chocolate T-rex.

Eugene wanted to visit the Milwaukee Art Museum, as the new building offers many photographic opportunities. We spent a few hours there, but since Alex was getting bored, we headed over to Discovery World in the afternoon. Then it was back to the Milwaukee Public Market for dinner and more swimming in the hotel pool.

We had to return home Saturday so Eugene and I could see Sting and Peter Gabriel in concert at the United Center. So we literally made the trip home a little sweeter by touring the Jelly Belly Company warehouse and picking up Japanese green tea Kit Kats in Gurnee Mills. Maybe next time we head up to Milwaukee (assuming we have decent weather), we can try tracking down the Bronze Fonz. In the meantime, enjoy the pictures from our trip.

Science of the Week, 7/8/16

Here are some of the most interesting science news articles I read this week:

E coli: the ideal transport for next-gen vaccines?

Researcher ethicist Q&A: 5 questions for a transforming society

Scientists identify ways to prevent heat-related deaths from climate change

Contagious cancers are spreading among several species of shellfish

Study finds anti-anxiety drug limits rats' empathetic behavior

First fossil facial tumor found in dwarf, duck-billed dinosaur from Transylvania

Hydrogen cyanide on Titan key to possible prebiotic conditions

Artificial intelligence may aid in Alzheimer's

IWSG: Comparisons

It's time for the July edition of the Insecure Writer's Support Group. Here are the co-hosts for this month:

Yolanda Renee
Tyrean Martinson

Madeline Mora-Summonte

LK Hill

Rachna Chhabria 

Jeffrey Scott

A new feature this month is a question everyone is supposed to answer in their posts. Here's the question: What's the best thing someone has ever said about your writing?

The most memorable compliment I've received came from a reader on Goodreads. She compared my short story "Silver Rain" to an O. Henry story. Considering how I struggle with short stories, that's a huge compliment.

While it's wonderful when a reader compares you to a highly regarded author, comparing your works to other books can make you feel inadequate. For example, I read Naomi Novik's Uprooted this weekend. I found the main character quite sympathetic, the world-building details convincing, and the plot gripping enough to make me take the time to read 400+pages in less than 24 hours. (I can't always take the time to devour books like that anymore.) After reading something like that, the rough draft of my current WIP feels inadequate, with weak verbs and little description.

How do I cope with comparisons? I remind myself that it's not fair to compare a rough draft with a finished work (because for some reason, one always compares your worst against someone else's best). In a first draft, I'm still feeling out the basic plot, so actions and dialogue take priority. Once I have a better sense of the scene, I go back in and layer in description. Oddly enough, it's easier for me not to compare my finished books with someone else's. There will always be things I will think of post-publication, but I'm less tempted to revise those works (probably because I'm in the middle of another project by then.) 

If anything, one should learn from what you read, both what works and what doesn't. Every book is unique, meant to appeal to a different audience. I think that's why it's so hard for me to pick a favorite book. Enjoy them all for what they are, and don't try to force them into being something different.

If you're an author, what's the best thing someone has said about one of your books? What's the best thing you might say about someone else's work? Feel free to share in the comments below. 

Semiannual Reading Update for 2016

Happy 4th of July, all those who are celebrating today! What better way to review history with a little Schoolhouse Rock?



One of my favorite way to pursue happiness is by reading. For the past couple of years, I've challenged myself to read 200 books a year. (I track everything that has its own listing on Goodreads, which can be anything from a short story to an omnibus collection. This list doesn't include the kid's books I read to Alex, since I've neglected to track when we finish them. It also doesn't include audiobooks or even my own work, which I re-read as I revise and proofread.) We're about halfway through the year, and I've read 101 books so far. You can see my Goodreads Reading Challenge here. I'm one book ahead of schedule. I used to have more of a lead, but my reading's slowed down since my plantar fasciitis keeps me off of the treadmill, which is one of my favorite and consistent places to read. Hopefully in a couple of months I'll be able to start exercising again. In the meantime, I look for more ways to get some reading in.

Here are some of my favorite reads so far this year:

The Sixteen Burdens
Kingfisher
Indie Author Survival Guide
The Secret of Our Success


Full genre breakdown will come at the end of the year.

How's your reading coming along this year? What do you recommend? Feel fee to share below.

Science of the Week, 7/1/16

The year is officially half over! Hard to believe, isn't it?

Here are some of the most interesting science news articles I read this week:

Polar bear outlook favorable under certain scenarios

Cannabinoids remove plaque-forming Alzheimer's proteins from brain cells

Seeds of black holes could be revealed by gravitational waves in space

A shampoo bottle that empties completely--every last drop

Researchers trace Mercury's origins to rare meteorite

There were also lots of interesting articles this week on iflscience, but it's getting late and I don't feel like linking to each one individually.

Have a good weekend, everyone! I plan to post my semiannual reading report on Monday, so if you have some time while celebrating the 4th, swing by and take a look.