When they asked me what vampire movie I wanted to write about, I initially chose FRIGHT NIGHT as my first pick. When they had mentioned that they needed someone to write about BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA, I was interested because I’ve often considered the film to be a “paranormal romance.”

In the novel, Mina does not return the Count’s love. In the film, she not only returns his love, she pities him and fights for him. This is an important difference between the two because this version of Dracula does eventually find forgiveness from the same God he turned his back on centuries ago. The phrase “the blood is the life” holds layers of significance here as well: the blood of God and the vampires’ primary sustenance. — SOURCE: Love, Blood and Fangs: Bram Stoker’s Dracula at Crackle.com

If you’re interested, I invite you to check out my post on Crackle.com’s blog. Remember, you can then watch BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA for free, too. Enjoy!

Halloween and White Wolf

As project manager for FlamesRising.com, every year we do something special for Halloween. Last year, we offered Halloween flash fiction from several authors including E.E. Knight, Matt Forbeck and Jess Hartley. This year, we decided to pitch a gaming-related idea to White Wolf Publishing. After some “tough” negotiations (*sarcastic*), I wrote and designed DEVIL’S NIGHT: a free Storytelling Adventure System Scene for the World of Darkness, which was released today. This type of release is “huge” for FlamesRising.com, because this is the first time we have partnered with a publisher to offer free gaming material on the site for fans. If you’re interested in reading more about the design process, check out this post entitled, “Devil’s Night: White Wolf, FlamesRising.com and your Free One-Scene.”

Today, Matt is going to be flying down to Atlanta for the International Camarilla Convention (ICC). This was a spur-of-the-moment trip that was made possible by White Wolf. With our trip to Las Vegas only a week away, we did some scrambling to ensure we had some great content for you on the site for Halloween. Special thanks to Jess Hartley who also pitched in this year. She wrote a great guest post entitled 13 Etiquette Tips for Halloween as part of her One Geek to Another series.

Upcoming Appearance at NeonCon in Las Vegas

Next week Thursday, I’ll be flying out to Las Vegas for NeonCon and…well…Vegas. I have been confirmed as a guest with Jess Hartley on the Women in Gaming panel. Even though I’m going to enjoy some time away from the computer, this will be a fun trip to reconnect with some of my friends in the industry.

Novel Revisions and Original Fiction

After I got back from GenCon, I had a panic moment. You see, I definitely want to continue writing for the gaming industry and pursue some media tie-in fiction opportunities, but I also want to leverage that with my original fiction. I have some breakthroughs on that front, and have gone back to start revising ARGENTUM. The novel isn’t coming along as well as I had hoped, and some last-minute projects have kind of taken over my brain. I know I need a vacation, which is why this trip to Vegas will be well-deserved.

Guest Posts on SFWA, Writing Groups and Crackle.com

I’ve started to expand my non-fiction guest blogging, so be sure to hop on over and read my guest posts by Monica Valentinelli on SFWA.org if you haven’t already. The folks over at SFWA.org are really doing some great things by keeping up on current events, so definitely bookmark the site and follow-up when you can. Also, I have a guest post going up on the Crackle.com site soon. I’m really excited about it, because it offered me the chance to get really detailed about a horror film, which is part of the reason why I started the Girls of Gore series on FlamesRising.com. If you enjoy that sort of detailed criticism, I recommend checking out some of Mary Robinette Kowal’s or Ken Hite’s non-fiction works.

In addition to guest blogging, I’ve been attending some local events for writers, too.

So That’s Life in Crazytown

So that’s what’s been going on in my neck of the woods. There’s a lot I can’t talk about, but let’s just say that I’m very excited about the next, few months for many reasons. First, “the day job” at my wonderful employer Musicnotes.com sheet music picks up as we head into the holiday season. It’s going to be frantic-but-fun as we ensure that we fulfill song requests for our customers and provide them with a great experience. Outside of work, I’m looking forward to the snow and cold weather. There are some long, wintry nights ahead and I’m definitely ready to sit in my writer’s cave and get some projects done.

The Favor I Need to Ask

Because I need to focus on paying gigs, I have to be more selective about my non-paying opportunities and time spent on social media. Please, please, please keep me updated with what you’re all up to. I enjoy reading about my fellow authors and game designers, and I hope that you have wonderful news to share as well.

Well, that’s it for me. Back to making brownies in the shape of ghosts and getting reading for another music-filled day. Take care!

From Quiet Riot to Muse, here’s my pick for songs that represent key moments in my life as a writer.

When You’ve Been Rejected: I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor really says it best for me.

When You’ve Got a Check in the Mail: Big Spender from the musical SWEET CHARITY. Because that’s how fast the money goes!

Why I Can’t Work for Free: I Work Hard For The Money by Donna Summers. Seriously.

When You Need to Re-Write Your Manuscript: Here I Go Again by Whitesnake. ‘Cause it won’t be the first time, and it won’t be the last.

When You’ve Been Plagiarized: Play The Unforgiven by Metallica and you’ll feel a helluva lot better.

When You’re Finally Making a Living as a Writer: At Last by Etta James and, of course, Take This Job and Shove It by Johnny Paycheck.

When You Have to go Back and get a Day Job: 9 to 5 by Dolly Parton. These Boots Were Made For Walkin’ by Jessica Simpson is a lot of fun, too. Definitely a song about that “one day” scenario.

When Your InBox is Too Full: Yes, I know you might want to Beat It by Michael Jackson, but remember –> There’s either Somethin’ In The Swamp by Shel Silverstein or a piece of Sunken Treasure by Wilco. (In other words, you never know what you’re going to find, so DIG IN!)

When You Want to Give Up: Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey is an obvious choice, but I also like It’s My Life by Bon Jovi. Because really, it’s now or never!

When You’re On Deadline: Final Countdown by Europe or Rock Around the Clock by Bill Haley.

When You’re Celebrating or Hit Goal: Dance Magic Dance by David Bowie and 1999 by Prince. For me, I like anything by Queen. We are the Champions is especially good.

When You’re Depressed: Anything by Type O Negative will keep you depressed. Anything by They Might Be Giants will remind you you’re sane. Of course, there’s fun songs like Funkytown by Lipps, Inc. or Kung Fu Fighting by Carl Douglas that will make you giggle, too.

When You’ve Gotten a Bad Review: The Show Must Go On by Queen. Yes, bad reviews suck. But guess what? You just gotta keep going!

When You’ve Got Writer’s Block: My writer’s group tells me that writer’s block is really writer’s “avoidance” behavior. To help boost my creativity, I usually default to music I normally don’t listen to, so I can get out of my normal mode. (E.G. Musicals or Disney-related.) If I’m really, really, really stuck I’ll listen to very annoying high-energy dance music to psych myself up. Pump Up The Volume by MAARS is a good one for that. Otherwise, I’d definitely go with Bang Your Head by Quiet Riot.

When You Screwed Up: Sing For Absolution by Muse. (I heart MUSE!)

When You’re Writing: Anything instrumental works for me, especially music by Nox Arcana or movie soundtrack scores. Of course, sometimes I need absolute silence, too.

When You’re Working with a Great Editor: I don’t know about you, but great editors are my heroes/heroines. So [insert superhero theme of choice] here.

When You’re Not Working with a Great Editor: Hate To Say I Told You So by The Hives and No More Lies by Iron Maiden.

When You’re Being Pulled in Too Many Directions: Wanted Dead or Alive by Bon Jovi.

Well, that’s all the songs in my head right now. I’m sure if I thought about it, I could come up with more songs that represent different aspects in the publishing cycle. For now though, these are the moments that really sing to me. Literally.

Happy writing!

Coming out of that meeting, I was so energized that I thought about how cool it might be to create this random horror plot generator for FlamesRising.com, to share with other authors and game designers.

So that’s exactly what we did. Here’s an example:

A centaur with the ability to manipulate pheromones, whose home base is in a state-of-the-art gymnasium, wants to build a time machine. Supported by bees, the centaur appears to have one weakness – friendly puppies. Interestingly enough, the centaur can write hieroglyphics.–SOURCE: Horror Plot Generator

Over several hours of interesting word choices and some fancy hours of programming from our PHP god, FlamesRising.com now has a random horror plot generator that people can enjoy. When I was working on this, I kind of went a little nutso with some of the word choices, so the generated plots range from paranormal romance to modern horror and every possible permutation in between. There are some pretty silly ideas that will generate, but there’s also some nuggets of inspiration there, too.

I’d like to invite you to check out the horror plot generator on FlamesRising.com when you need a little pick-me-up. It was a lot of fun to work on, and I hope that it inspires you like it did me.

There’s been a lot of chatter the past few days about the FTC’s “new” ruling regarding a website’s or blog’s disclosure about endorsements and testimonials. Unfortunately, there has also been a lot of misinformation circulating as well. I’d like to point out that as of October 5, 2009, the FTC hasn’t published the Guides concerning this issue. In their recent release, FTC Publishes Final Guides Governing Endorsements, Testimonials, the FTC states that:

The notice incorporates several changes to the FTC’s Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising, which address endorsements by consumers, experts, organizations, and celebrities, as well as the disclosure of important connections between advertisers and endorsers. The Guides were last updated in 1980.–SOURCE: FTC.gov

If you notice, the guides were last updated in 1980, which was well before the internet or advanced cell phone technology even existed. As I’ve mentioned many times before, we’re still in the wild, wild west days of the internet. The technology has been changing so rapidly, that the government and the law haven’t had the chance to get caught up yet. I’m sure we’ll see more enhancements to existing guidelines and new laws develop within the next, few years.

When the FTC does publish their new Guide, I’ll be sure to offer a link here on my blog. The ruling goes into effect December 1st, but please don’t panic. The reason why the FTC started working on this was because of fake testimonials from the weight loss industry. Chances are, if you have a personal blog, you wouldn’t be effected by this. If you do review a restaurant or a product, I’d simply state where you bought it from or if you got it for a review.

Hope that helps!

First, here are the links to the first and second part:

• Tips On How To Be A Professional: Part One of Three
• Tips On How To Be A Pro: Part Two of Three

To finish with a bang, let’s here from some other pros first. This first tip is from Cam Banks, author and managing editor at Margaret Weiss Productions.

Don’t edit your book while you write. It will only take a hundred times longer to finish.–Cam Banks, Author of the Dragonlance novel, The Sellsword.

Many of you are either working on your next novel or are trying to work on/sell your first one. I’m pleased to offer you a few tips from Gary, the co-founder of Bubblecow. Bubblecow is a business that specializes in helping writers to get their book into print by offering editorial feedback, one-on-one mentoring, and publishing advice. Gary was kind enough to offer these tips on how to get published:

Three Tips For Getting Published from BubbleCow

1. Don’t be rubbish – Books get rejected from publishers for many reasons but by far the most common is that the writing is not of a publishable quality. It is true that all publishers are prepared to work with a writer to improve their book but this can only go so far. A book must arrive at the publishers being good enough to go into print as it is, if they feel a book needs too much work it will simply be rejected. It is the responsibility of a writer to deliver a manuscript for proposal that it the best it can possibly be. Writers often get just one shot and you don’t want to be rejected simply because you have spelling mistakes on the first page.

2. Spend time on your submission package – A submission package is typically a query letter, synopsis and fifty page, double spaced, extract. I have come across many amazing writers that simply go weak at the knees at the idea of writing a query and synopsis. In many cases writers have spent years preparing their novel and then want to knock off a submission in a few hours. It is essential that a writer invests as much time and effort as is needed to write a fantastic proposal. There are loads of great resources on the internet (e.g. How To Write A Book Proposal on BubbleCow) and I suggest a writer reads as many as possible before putting pen to paper (or finger to keyboard). The trick is to see the submission package as a sales document. The publisher will view your book as a product, so you must also. It is essential that you convince a publisher why your book will be the perfect match for them, who will buy your book and why they will part with their hard earned cash.

3. Be appropriate – Publishing, like any other business, is all about making money and publishers all have their own particular niches. It is the job of a writer to find the most appropriate publisher (or agent) for their book. A writer can save a lot of wasted submissions and depressing rejection letters by making sure they are getting their book in front of the correct pair of eyes. A writer needs to research the market and find out which publishers are publishing books similar to their novel. It is no good pitching a Science Fiction novel to a publisher who specialises in romantic fiction.

Special thanks to everyone who supplied tips for this series, your thoughts are appreciated! Now, to finish up I’d like to take the floor and provide you with ten more things to consider.

21. Format Your Manuscript Appropriately – Many publishers have different guidelines for formatting your manuscript. Yes, technology has changed since the industry standards first began, but remember — publishing is a collaborative process. Often, your manuscript will need to be type set, which is just one reason why those guidelines are there in the first place. Programs like Microsoft Word often have auto-formatting features which can make your life hell (trust me on this one, curly quotes are my mortal enemy), so I recommend writing in plain text. Currently, I have a serious crush on New Courier.

22. Learn How To Self-Evaluate – Sometimes, you have to sit yourself down and ask the tough questions. Am I really a writer? Is this story something other people will want to read? Should I give up on this story and move on to something else? In order to be honest with yourself, you need to learn how to self-evaluate your work. Other people’s opinions — especially those of your friends and family — won’t help you learn how to critique your own work. Of all the things you need to learn how to do, this is (by far) the hardest one.

23. Remember, One Editor’s Rejection Is Another Editor’s Approval – Just because one editor doesn’t like your short story does not mean it sucks. Seriously. At the same time, just because an editor loves, loves, loves what you wrote doesn’t guarantee your book will sell. Writing, like artwork, is subject to people’s opinions. No, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t care whether or not you write a crappy story, because there are (or were, rather) barriers to getting a book or short story published. Now that anyone can do it through self-publishing, there’s a lot of noise out there for readers to wade through. Quality is becoming increasingly important in this saturated market.

In the end, this goes back to that whole “know how to self-evaluate” point I offered earlier. You have to know how to balance editorial feedback with the voice of your own muse inside your head. It’s definitely challenging to achieve that balance, but once you do you can make better judgments on when to revise and when to sell.

24. The Size Of The Publisher Means Different Things To Different People – A small press publisher produces books. A big publisher also produces books. While they are both structured differently, they both offer different benefits and drawbacks that are currently in flux, due to the state of the industry. Just because an author publishes through a small press doesn’t mean their book “wasn’t good enough” to get printed through the big guys. Every author makes different business decisions based on what they want to do with their career and who they know. (Of course, I’d also like to point out that big publishers aren’t evil overlords, too.) The bottom line is that the size of any business simply means they have a different structure and modus operandi.

25. Keep In Mind You May Have To Self-Promote – In a word: marketing. The days of writing for a year in a gorgeous woodsy cabin on an ancient typewriter are over. Just “how much” self-promoting you’ll end up doing will depend upon the size of the publisher, but don’t be surprised if you’re required to put in a little extra legwork. Based on everything I’m hearing, many writers are now expected to be entrepreneurs.

26. Don’t “Over” Self-Promote – Yeah…so I needed to put this follow-up tip here because there is such a thing as “too much” self-promotion. Here’s a reality check: When you engage in conversation, how much of the focus is on you? If your answer is: “Well, mostly me…” then listen up. Part of being a professional means understanding that everyone else is trying to be a successful writer, too. Seriously. Just talking about what you’re doing not only shows a lack of respect for other professionals, it also sows the seeds of mistrust in your work. If someone wants to check out you or your book — then open the door but don’t shove them through it. Several members in your audience are either a) working on a book b) have their own book to sell or c) are trying to pitch a finished book. It’s definitely something to keep in mind when you’re beating your readers to death with your sales pitch. Even in sales, people should come first.

27. Practice Getting In Front Of People – I’m terribly shy, especially when meeting people I don’t know. Often, my friends will say: “You would never know!” There’s a reason for that. I have a background in performing. When I started getting stage fright again, I worked with a great community theatre group and got my bum back on stage. I cannot stress enough the importance of learning how to be social and speak in front of other people. Yes, it is wholly counter intuitive to being a writer, but sometimes you just have to suck it up and overcome your issues.

28. Experiment, Experiment, Experiment – Hate romance? Read some, then try to write some. Loathe tie-in fiction? Pick your favorite character and try to write a story about it. Often, to get better at what I’m good at, I remove myself out of my element and write something that I’m not familiar with. (Usually its terrible poetry.) No, most of this stuff will never see the light of day, but it’s a way for me to help myself become a better writer. Also, playing with other genres or subject matters may also help you figure out what you want to write, too.

29. Master The Format, Not Just The Story – Every piece of writing has a structure or a format. Screenplays. Technical manuals. Flash fiction. Novels. That structure is often dissected, discussed, analyzed and experimented with, but there is still a structure to the writing. This goes back a little to my post about writing reviews, too. By “discovering” the structure of a work, you can not only speed up your writing process, but you’ll also help yourself understand the “product” better, too.

And last but not least, I’d like to offer this bit of advice:

30. Only You Can Tell Yourself If You’re Successful Or Not – In my experiences, I have had professionals tell me I’m not really a writer because I hadn’t sold a novel yet. A few have said that my publishing credits don’t really count because many of them are in the hobby games industry. On the flip side, I’ve had others tell me they wish they could be as “successful” as I am, too. Am I successful? To me, that’s a trick question because I look at my career as a process where I celebrate milestones. I’ve had a few milestones that have meant something to me, but I’m also looking forward to a few upcoming projects, too.

The moral of my tale, is that only you can determine whether or not you’re successful. Some authors are happy publishing the “one book.” Others enjoy self-publishing and are fine with that. Several aspiring writers will only submit to what are considered “pro”-markets, because to them a “pro” credit means they’ll be successful. Of course, you do have to know what other people regard as “professional” in order to help you figure out your goals, but deciding what you want to do is different from being happy with what you’ve already written.

No matter what anyone says, remember your success — like the quality of your work — is in the eye of the beholder.

Here’s a quote from my article:

Take a moment and think about the content you’re posting on various websites and forums. Are you comfortable with complete strangers reading what you’ve posted? What about your employer? Agent?

Online reputation management not only includes monitoring what people say about you, but also your strategy related to what, when and where you post your content. –SOURCE: SFWA.org

Be sure to read the rest of Thinking About Your Writer’s Platform? Consider Your Online Reputation First. on the SFWA blog and let me know what you think!

This first quote is from Jess Hartley, an author and game designer who is helping geeks navigate through the waters of conventions, manners, social situations and a whole lot more.

Being professional doesn’t mean being false or phony. It means handling each encounter with the thoughtfulness and respect it deserves – taking the good graciously and dealing with the bad so as to cause no more harm than absolutely necessary.–Jess Hartley, Author and Game Designer

Being genuine is a big part of being a professional, which is why it’s a good idea to leave your “ego-licious” attitude at the door. This next tip is from illustrator extraordinaire Jeff Preston, who understands all too well what being a professional means.

Keep your ego in check. Respect yourself and your work, but don’t let it be a hindrance to your business relationships. A lot of being a professional is just knuckling down and doing the job, regardless of whether you feel like it or not. –Jeff Preston, Illustrator

I’m sure some of you might have witnesses how ego can get in the way of either getting an assignment, developing relationships with other writers or editors, or even grabbing an elusive contract.

Thanks to Jess and Jeff for adding their tips for my series. Here’s ten more tips on my take for how to be a pro:

11. Act Appropriately At Cons – Showing up to a convention to meet with someone wearing a ripped t-shirt? Trying to get an interview on the busiest day of the con? Jess Hartley wrote a popular series called GenCon For The Aspiring Professional which talks about tips for finding work and scheduling meetings at a convention.

12. Don’t Get Hung Up On Minutia – Are you arguing with your editor for hours over a comma? Holding up your deadline because of a single word? While the amount of minutia that’s important to you may vary, when you’re a “pro” you’ll discover that you might have to compromise with certain things on occasion. I understand that there are things that are important to you as a writer, but keep it in the back of your mind that too much minutia may affect your ability to meet deadlines.

13. Learn How to Compromise – Don’t like a particular word choice? What about feedback on a scene that you wrote? Compromise is part and parcel to the writing process, because often it’s a collaborative one. Good editors are worth their weight in gold because their job is to make your writing even better. I’m sorry, but no writer “gets it right” on the first draft of a story. There’s always room for improvement, criticism and feedback. The question is: What will you do with that feedback once you get it?

14. Understand There’s a Time and Place for Innovation – This goes back to Jeff’s tip about “keeping your ego in check.” As a pro, you have to learn that you won’t be the superstar on every project you work on, even if it’s something you pitch. Many projects (books, games, etc.) either have a business model that will support the project, or it was designed with one in mind. When you work for a project with a tight business focus, you may not get the opportunity to put your personal touch on it. Not every project is structured in this way, but they do exist.

15. Don’t Take Criticism Personally – Remember when I said that the writing process is collaborative? There are times writers will get heavily critiqued through rejection letters or reviews. While this may be upsetting, your work is what’s drawing the criticism. This doesn’t mean you’re a shitty writer or you should just give up your dreams now; it means that someone didn’t like your work and you have to decide what to do with the feedback you’ve received. When you share your stories and your articles, accept the fact that your words will get critiqued, dissected and analyzed. Some readers are more careful than others; some books will sell even if they get bad reviews. Knowing that you will get criticized, though, is half the battle.

16. Be Gracious When Someone Doesn’t Like Your Writing – There have been way too many authors, companies, etc. getting caught deleting bad reviews from Amazon.com, arguing with reviewers via Twitter and other social media channels, etc. Here’s the thing: the people that matter are the ones reading your arguments, not the ones who are arguing with you.

No matter how many times you try, you can’t convince someone who didn’t like your book that they should like it. It’s hard not to be whiny (online or off) when someone doesn’t like a project that you’ve worked on, but there’s a time and place for it. Instead, I recommend thanking your reviewers for taking the time to read your product in the first place or simply ignore the bad reviews.

17. Be Happy For Other People’s Successes – Have you heard about the international best-selling writer who made millions off his first book? Yes, there are writers who “hit it big” right off the bat, but that is an exception rather than a rule in publishing. As you meet other authors, it’s quite possible that you might watch another writer “pass you by.” Keep in mind that becoming a successful writer is NOT a race, and one writer’s success might be another writer’s headache. Enjoy your own path and be happy for someone else’s, because no two paths are completely alike.

18. Don’t Plagiarize – It is hard to believe that plagiarism is still rearing its ugly head, especially with today’s technology, but it still exists. (This also includes taking credit for someone else’s work when you haven’t written it.) Unfortunately, not every case of plagiarism is a situation where someone stole someone else’s work; there are opportunists out there who sue because an author is wildly successful. As a result, some publishers and writers will post that they won’t read unsolicited submissions and will shred any that they receive. I recommend developing your own Writer’s Manifesto to remind yourself of your ethics as a professional writer and follow submission guidelines to the letter. In some cases, those guidelines can actually help prevent your work from being plagiarized, too.

19. Repeat After Me: Publishing is a Business – Publishing is, first and foremost, a business that sells books. As business owners, publishers make decisions based on their business model. That model may (or may not) line up with what you have to offer. In my experience, once you truly realize that publishing is a business, you will be able to set yourself apart as a professional. This mantra is not intended to be soul-sucking or a downer, it’s simply a gentle reminder that when you chase your proverbial rainbow, you’re actually looking for a contract and not that shiny pot of gold.

20. Love to Write (Or Get Out Now) – Being a writer is really, really tough, but being stuck in a profession that you can’t stand is even harder. Unfortunately, your work may suffer if you find writing is a chore, which is why I hope you do love it as much as I do. Even if you’re not as passionate about writing as I am, I hope you find the vocation that calls to you. I find that it’s much easier to be successful and professional when you’re doing something you love, rather than something you can’t stand.

Thanks for sticking with this fun series about being a professional. If you have something you’d like to share, be sure to post in the comments below!

Be sure to visit Christie and Faye online through www.WriteWithUs.net.