Gary Hurtubise

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Tweaking My Writing Routine + DIY MFA

January 23, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Happy 2019!

It’s been a while since I wrote my last post.  For good reason, though: I’ve been busy writing!

Update on my Writing

            Darksea is still getting shopped around at smaller presses, my next novel’s word count is slowly growing, I finished and submitted another short story, and I’m re-tweaking two other shorts for re-submission.

            Additionally, I’m continuing to write articles for Gay Parent Magazine, and my foray into the world of Ghostwriting is slowly producing fruit.

            All told, I couldn’t shouldn’t be happier with how things are progressing, writing-wise.  (See what I did there?)

            There’s always room for tweaking a routine.

Tiny Habits

I tried something called Tiny Habits in the fall, which resulted in a… well, tiny improvement in my daily writing schedule (tiny, but one that has had an effect on my writing habits every day since then!).  Tiny Habits, created by Stanford Professor BJ Fogg, is fun, easy, and free to try.  I highly recommend it – a ‘session’ only takes five days.  You really have nothing to lose by doing so.

Chunking Tasks Throughout the Day

            With more room for improvement, I enlisted hubby’s help to set aside chunks of my day for specific writing tasks (previous to this, our calendar simply said: “Gary – Writing”, which was far too vague for this expert procrastinator + excuse-finder).

            So now, my Monday to Sunday schedule looks a little something like:

  • 5:30 – 7:00 am             –           Fiction Writing;
  • 9:30 – 11:00 am           –           Ghost Writing;
  • 7:30 – 9:00 pm             –           Extra Writing.

(with one of my Ghost Writing sessions being set aside for “writing administration”)

            That’s been working pretty well so far…

            …which brings us to DIY MFA!

DIY MFA

I’d seen adverts for Gabriela Pereira’s program for some time, and it had caught my interest several times.  In a nutshell, this do-it-yourself Masters-of-fine-arts is a “system or framework for your writing life that will help you create a customized educational plan that works for you.”  Gabriela states that, when you boil the MFA right down, you find a universal formula consisting of three elements:

            writing + reading + community = MFA

            I’m on day 2 of the program, so I don’t have a lot to offer beyond that description at this point.  One element of the program, however, is regular prompts to write, which I will be following*, with regular posts here, over the next month or so.

*I said it, so I’d better do it now, eh?

            …Here goes!

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Music to Inspire your Writing

October 16, 2018 / / 0 Comments

So, small confession: I don’t believe in the muse.

I do, however, believe in the music.

            I wouldn’t classify myself as one of those writers who sits in front of a keyboard, waiting for an ethereal, phantasmic, inspirational visitor.  I’m a strong believer in the idea that, if you start moving your fingers, words will come out.  Move them more; you get more words.  Move them less, and, well, that’s when some folk start blaming the muse for deserting them.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m not (entirely) trying to come off as pretentious.  I have dry spells.  In fact, I’m coming off a very long dry spell, where I focused on all the wrong stuff for all the wrong reasons.  I think I’m clear of that now.  I’ve been writing consistently for the last four weeks or so, because I decided to sit down and write.  That’s it.

(Ok – that’s not quite it – there’s a bit more that goes into all ‘that’; maybe I’ll flesh that out in future posts!)

How Does Music Come into This?

Not being a neuro-scientist, I haven’t delved too deeply into the ‘why’ or ‘how’* of music’s role in my ability to write; rather, I’ve concentrated on the ‘what’.  And what I’ve observed is that music not only keeps me on task, but keeps me on topic.

Well, the right music, that is.

(*in case you are interested in the ‘why’ and ‘how’, check out this article from sparringmind.com, or just Google “Mozart Effect”)

Music for Different Stages of Writing

Occasionally, I’ll hear a new song, and it triggers an image or an idea.  Infrequently, I’m quick enough to write it down; most times, however, I forget it.  But the next time I hear that song, the image is back, often in more detail than before.

Music to Inspire

This is how Cage the Elephant’s “Shake Me Down” became the inspiration for my very first short story.  While not a genre of music I listen to very often, the lyrics wormed their way into my mind, setting the stage for a tale about a war journalist finding himself marooned on a dying world – a victim of an interstellar war waging in the heavens above.

Just this past week, as I was searching for some Hallowe’en tunes, and came across Johnny Otis’s “Castin’ My Spell”, and poof – an idea for a future novel popped into my head (yeah, sorta like magic).

Music to Keep Me ‘In the Zone’

Other times, I already have the plot and/or theme of a tale set, and I seek out songs that I can play specifically when I write that story.  These songs I play repeatedly: over-and-over-and-over-and-over-and (well, you get the idea).  The song “Fehu” by Wardruna, a Norwegian group that re-creates Norse-inspired tunes, kept me focused for the better part of a year while I wrote my novel Darksea.

Music to Keep Me ‘In the Mood’

Yet another case is where I’m writing a type of scene – say a chase, or a fight scene – and I need to stay ‘pumped’.  There just happens to be a 10-hour version of the theme song to “Inception” on Youtube that is perfect at keeping adrenaline pouring out at maximum levels.  I’ve gotten quite a lot of mileage out of that one.

What’s Next?

NaNoWriMo – just around the corner.  Now stop reading and go plan your novel (with suitable music, of course)!

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Motivation + Habit = Success at Writing!

September 12, 2018 / / 0 Comments

I’ll start my 21st post with some (more) words of wisdom from author David Farland, whose #WritingTips I always look forward to in my inbox:

Motivation vs. Habit

On the door at my gym, someone hung a sign that says, “Motivation is what gets you started. Habit keeps you going.”

I began working out regularly over 20 years ago. Since then, I’ve dropped about 75 pounds, and I’ve run or walked something in neighborhood of 22,000 miles. I can’t even imagine how much I’ve lifted in weights. But think about it, if someone had said to me, “Hey, Dave, why don’t you go run 22,000 miles?” it would have taken an awful lot of motivation to get me going.

However, it only took a tiny bit of habit.

Writing is much the same way. A lot of us try hard to get motivated to write a novel. But writing a novel is a lengthy process. Being motivated doesn’t help much, but developing good writing habits helps a lot.

I learned long ago that exercise is hard when you’re starting out. If you run three days, you’ll want to quit at the end of them. That’s when muscle aches and fatigue are the strongest. But if you run for a week, you’ll begin to notice that you feel better on the days that you’ve run. Soon, the day won’t feel complete without some exercise.

Writing is much the same. Jumping into a project is hard. Working on a novel for one day doesn’t really get you very far into it. But if you try making it a habit—if you bundle all of that motivation up and say to yourself, “I’m going to write for one hour a day this week,” you’ll find at the end of the week that you just don’t really feel that your day is complete if you haven’t spent some time engaged in creative recreation.

With my writing workshops, I generally hold them for a week. I try to motivate my students to write daily during that time, if only for a couple of hours. The goal in part is to teach the writers and get them to develop new skills, but just as importantly, I’m trying to get them into the habit of writing.

Quite often it works. I’ve gotten many letters from writers where the writer has said, “Hey, Dave, I got into the habit of writing at your workshop last year, and I’ve just finished my first/second/third/fourth novel!” Whenever I see that, I always feel as if the mission has been accomplished.

So here’s the key to become a writer: Use your motivation to create a writing habit. Long after you have run out of motivation, you’ll still be writing.

As usual with David’s words of wisdom, I find myself unable to express those ideas any better than him.

Full admission: I’ve fallen out of the *habit* of writing fiction daily.

I have plenty of motivation – heaps and heaps of it!

…Translating that into a habit, though (as David describes) is very hard, especially when you let everything else in your life take precedence. For me, this includes the other side of my quest towards authorship: ghostwriting.

I had an epiphany about this time last year.  It went something like this:

If I wanted to be a full-time writer (one who could feed himself, and his family), I’d need an alternate source of writing income. More specifically, it had to be something that I was already comfortable doing. I dallied in the realm of B2B (business-to-business) writing for a while, but realized that it induced ZERO passion for me. The switch to ghostwriting came about at the end of a course I took with Ed Gandia, who is one of the best-known B2B writers and coaches in the field. Ed got me in touch with Derek Lewis, the best-known writer in *his* field (business ghostwriting), and my goal of becoming a ghostwriter took off from there.

A year-in, and I feel like I’ve got a good amount of momentum going with my ghostwriting business (you can check it out at my other website, LiteraryGhost.com)… and now, it’s time to get back into the *habit* of writing fiction. Every Day. Even if it’s only a couple hundred words.  🙂

 

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20th Post – getting re-engaged with writing in 2018

January 9, 2018 / / 1 Comment

Hello, and Happy New Year!

Now, I’m not generally a fan of New Year’s Resolutions.  However, I’ve been in a bit of a writing lull recently, and have been looking for a way to get my butt back into it.  So what better way is there to get motivated than to find inspiration in other people’s New Year’s blogs!?

…but first:

Recap of Writing; Fall of 2017

  1. Rejections, rejections, rejections. These little messages in my inbox are becoming quite normal now – in fact, part of me gets a little thrill when I read in the preview box:  “Hello, thank you for letting us read your story.  Unfortunately…”
  2. CANCON 2017 in Ottawa. It was great to meet some local and international authors, and do some <ugh> networking.  Looking forward to next year’s convention!
  3. Working full-time. This is my excuse for not getting a lot of actual words written this fall.  Thankfully, that will all change in February, when I’m back to part time! Yay!  (well, it had better change, or Trevor will not be pleased with me…)
  4. Getting started as a ghost writer… more to follow in a future post!

Ok – onto the motivational part:

Getting Back to Writing in 2018

Two author-bloggers that I follow have done all my work for me for this post.

C. Hope Clark – ready to get writing!

First, Funds for Writers blogger and author of the Edisto Island Mystery series, C. Hope Clark, talks in her New Year’s newsletter about taking a break over the holidays, then getting back into writing – 500 words per day, as a “benchmark minimum”.

Here’s what Hope has to say about January:

This time of year excites me. The whole clean slate sort of thing. In reality the days are no different, but there’s something rejuvenating at having a new chance at making a difference. . . at becoming better. . . at making longer and more productive strides toward a goal.

Read her full post here, and subscribe to her great free newsletter here.

Second, David Farland – renown author of the Runelords series – talks about how he hates the word ‘resolute’, but finds himself always making yearly resolutions.  This year’s advice to others is to develop a new relationship with your computer.  Here’s an excerpt of his #writing tips for the new year:

            …many of your habits are subconscious. Some people teach themselves that the computer is for videogames, or it’s for checking email, or it’s for chatting on Facebook. So when they sit down to the keyboard, by force of habit they immediately begin playing.

But what if you trained yourself to make writing your habit? What if you tried something like this:

Close your eyes and think about something that excites you. Perhaps it’s the idea of getting your first novel published, or maybe it’s an award you’ve won, or just the joy that will come when you complete your novel. Think about it, and let the excitement build for 15 seconds.

Now, sit at your computer, open the file to your work in progress. Do not do anything else. Instead, open your WIP and write one paragraph.

When you’re done with that paragraph, get up from your computer and walk around the room for a moment, thinking about what you might want to do with your work in progress.

Repeat step 1, thinking about something that excites you, and letting the excitement sweep through you.

I like it!  Read David’s full post here, and subscribe to his #writing tips by clicking his banner below!

Ok – with that advice in mind, it’s back to my keyboard for another 500 words today!

 

 

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Offer of Publication: I reject you!

October 3, 2017 / / 2 Comments

(or, 5 reasons why that offer might just not <gulp> be for you)

 

So I’ve been a bit quiet for the last few months, mainly because I didn’t know how to address the topic of this post.  Let’s set the scenario, work through the list, then we’ll debrief afterwards, shall we?

Situation: your manuscript, which you’ve been shopping around for going-on two years, finally has an offer of publication!  Yay!  But what’s that you say?  You aren’t immediately sending a reply with the subject heading: “Yes, Yes, Yes!!!”?!?

Well… why not?

(now here’s the list)

5 Reasons Why You Might Reject That Offer of Publication

5.       Your book will only be available via POD (Print-On-Demand).

Whoops – you’ll be published, but not in the traditional sense.  No books to show for your work.  That being said, if your offer of publication comes from a small-press publisher, I get the sense that this is pretty much how things operate nowadays.  And considering how many people are reading their books via e-readers, it’s really no wonder.

 

4.       You’ll have to do all the marketing for your book, yourself.

If you do not already possess, like, ten thousand friends on <enter social media platform here>, and have a faithful following on Amazon or Goodreads, this could mean the death of your book before it even breathes its first papery breath.  Marketing?  Isn’t that the publisher’s responsibility?  Well… again – in today’s market, I’m learning that most publishers are expecting authors to shoulder at least a portion of their own marketing.

 

3.       No advance (what? no money up front?!)

Nope.  Yet again, unless you are offered a deal with one of the large houses, the likelihood of seeing money before your book is published is very low.  In fact, if you decide to work with a hybrid publishing agency, you’ll be giving them money, and not the other way around!

Hey – let’s say you did get with one of the big publishers.  You’re still only looking at $5000.  Yep, that’s it.  Long gone are the days of $400 000 advances (believe it or not, this is what Stephen King got for his first book, back in the 1970’s!)…

 

2.       You’re afraid that the publisher’s brand is not a good fit with how you want to be perceived as a writer.

You write country-western-actions, but the publisher is known more for cozy-mysteries.  Will that ‘typecast’ you as a cozy-mystery writer for the rest of your career?  If you’re a seasoned author already, probably not (though people might scratch their heads when reading the spine of your next book).  But as a not-yet-published author?  I think this is a very relevant concern.

 

1.        The ‘suggested’ changes to your story that are conditional upon publication make you feel: _______ (fill-in: sad, mad, uncomfortable, scared, confused, etc.).

You’ve poured your blood, sweat and tears into this baby (ie: manuscript) – whether it’s your first or your fifth.  When some stranger tells you your baby is cute, but could be much cuter if you rearrange her face, change her clothes, and re-attach her arms and legs in different positions… hmmm.  That’s hard to swallow.

 

 

And there you have it.  Five reasons why you might say: “thanks, but no thanks”.

Wait!  Before you decide to say those words, realize that the state of publishing today is very different than, say, pre-internet days.  Paper-versions of books are ever so slowly slipping away.  Authors are being asked to shoulder more and more of the burden and responsibility for their books, for less and less money.  Writing is now more a labour of love, rather than labour for cash.  And if you ain’t lovin’ it, regardless of the hassle, you’re probably wasting your time.

Ok.  So, are any of the above reasons legitimate excuses to walk away from an offer of publication?

Numbers 5, 4, and 3 are, in my opinion, simply the realities of the publishing game as of 2017.  You don’t have to like it; just suck it up (if being published is what you truly want).

Numbers 1 & 2, though, are legitimate reasons to hesitate before signing on the dotted line.  You are trying to develop your brand here (especially with your first novel!!).  If your story no longer reflects the vision you had for it, or is presented on a platform that doesn’t fit with your goals, you are doing yourself a disfavour, and could end up damaging your chances for that second book (or any books after that).

And if you haven’t guessed by now, yes – I’ve chosen to reject an offer of publication of my novel “Darksea”.

“Why,” you ask?

Well… see above.  That’s all I’m gonna say.  😛

 

Ok.  That was a bit of a heavy post.  I’ll try to keep things lighter with my next one!

Don’t dismay!  Keep submitting those queries!!

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Top 5 Highlights of the Limestone Genre Expo

June 5, 2017 / / 2 Comments

I came away from the 3rd annual Limestone Genre Expo this past weekend with plenty of inspiration (for not only writing ideas, but the business of writing too), some great new connections in the sci-fi / fantasy world, and a load of new books to boot!

Here I am, looking pensive with my arms crossed, listening to the panelists at this weekend’s Limestone Genre Expo!

Top 5 Highlights of the Weekend:

  1.   Panel on Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation in Speculative Fiction

Some interesting insight into the state of LGBTQI in science fiction and fantasy by a panel of diverse authors.  Probably the panel I appreciated the most of all the bunch.

  1.   Building Your Readership workshop, with Eve Langlois

I thought a two hour workshop would drag on – especially first thing Sunday morning, but Eve – New York Times bestselling author of ‘romance with a humorous twist’ – is a funny, engaging speaker with a lot of great advice on marketing yourself as an author.  I could have listened to her talk all day.

  1.   World Building workshop with Alyssa Cooper

Alyssa is an author from right here in Kingston, and demonstrates writing wisdom beyond her years.  She truly impressed me during the ‘Fantastic Tales’ panel on Saturday, and so I was ready for an interesting workshop with her on Sunday – she did not disappoint.  Plus I got to flesh out one of my novel ideas in the process!

  1.   Pitch Session with MLR Press Editor in Charge, Kris Jacen

My first ever pitch session, for which I was woefully under-prepared L.  However, Kris was gentle, and asked the right questions to keep me ‘pitching’ in the right direction.  And what do you know – she asked for the full manuscript of Darksea?!?!  Must have been my overwhelming charm and panache.

…and:

  1.   Meeting Tanya Huff!

CanCon 2017 here I come!

            Ok, so if you know me, you know that I don’t get celebrity crushes (except for Patrick Stewart, of course), but meeting Tanya – knowing that she’d chosen my short story to win the genre expo writing contest – had me in a bit of a state.  I quickly introduced myself to her on Saturday, but only built up enough courage to approach her again Sunday afternoon, to ask her a few things about ‘the business’ of writing.  What a relief to find that she is approachable, grounded – not to mention that she very graciously offered to introduce me to some movers-and-shakers at this fall’s Sci-fi / Fantasy convention in Ottawa, CanCon (yep – it’s already on the calendar!).

            Big props to Liz Strange, Delina MacDonald, Marlene Smith and all the volunteers for running such a fun expo.  I’m already looking forward to next year’s!

 

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Limestone Genre Expo 2017… and contest winner!

June 3, 2017 / / 0 Comments

I’m off to Kingston’s third annual 2017 Limestone Genre Expo this weekend – two days of geeking out with like-minded folk, where there’ll be over sixty authors, panel discussions, workshops, readings, pitch sessions, vendors, and chances to rub shoulders with editors and publishers (all while shipping the husband and kids up to the in-laws… what could be better! 😉 ).

This year, the Expo featured a short story contest – 1500 words in the style of either: Sherlock Holmes, Victorian Era Romance, or Steampunk (I chose the latter).  The stories were judged by authors attending the expo – Tanya Huff among them!

  …and guess who won the contest?

(it was me.)

Receiving winning certificate from Limestone Genre Expo organizers Marlene (L) and Delina (R).

I was gifted with a nice certificate during a short ceremony at Kingston City Hall, during the kick-off talk of last week’s Sherlock Holmes festival, plus my story (entitled Cataraqui Crisis) will be featured on the Expo website.

And now I get to attend the expo this weekend with a unique way of introducing myself (Trevor suggested I call myself the “Queen of the Expo”, but I think I might not).

 

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Darksea: A Winner at the 2016 Ozma Awards!

April 23, 2017 / / 8 Comments

So as it turned out, I was unable to make it out to Bellingham, Washington to attend the 2016 Ozma Awards Ceremony and Chanticleer Author’s Conference (life and stuff got in the way, sadly).  As such, I figured that my lack of attendance would negate any chance I had of winning (not being too sure how these types of awards work…).

Glumly, I watched the first weekend of April go by, waving my chance at winning goodbye.

And forgot about the whole thing…

…(Silly me!)

On a whim, I checked out the Chanticleer website tonight and came across this little bit of news:

How about that?!

The First In Category award winners are to receive a complimentary book review from Chanticleer, as well as a bunch of other promotional items.  And now I can say that my (as of yet unpublished) novel is an award winner!  Priceless.  😀

Thank you to Chanticleer Book Reviews for providing a platform for me to have my manuscript reviewed.  I’m feeling that much closer to turning Darksea into a real book – and me into a real author!   (Reject me now, literary agents!!)

Congratulations to Christopher, Elisabeth, Vijay, Raven, Nicole and Murray for their category wins, and especially to Vijay, for also winning the Ozma Grand Prize!

 

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UPDATE: Darksea Has been Shortlisted!

February 13, 2017 / / 2 Comments

When it rains it pours!

Not 48 hours after I discovered that my fantasy novel Darksea was named a finalist for the 2016 OZMA Awards, I received word that it has now made it to the shortlist!

I’m still sort of reeling from the first bit of news.  I think it’ll take a few days for this latest bit to settle in.

Regardless of what comes next, I feel like I have some real writing ‘cred’ now… guess it’s time to get back to some agent queries!

In the meantime, gotta decide if we’ll be making a trip to the Chanticleer Authors Conference and Awards Gala in Bellingham, Washington at the end of March!

 

 

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My Fantasy Novel is a Finalist for the OZMA Awards!

February 12, 2017 / / 4 Comments

You know when you’re out shopping and you come across the perfect gift for a loved one… but it’s no where close to their birthday, and Christmas is still many months away?  So what do you do?  Well, you buy it, and store it away for that special day.  And then promptly forget about it.

 

Or how about when you take time to book a winter vacation to some balmy, tropical paradise months in advance, briefly imagining the fun and the sun and the <hic>… well, whatever else you imagine might happen as your finger hovers over the ‘Purchase’ button (wincing slightly at what your VISA statement will look like next month)?  Then the cruel weight of the real world descends back onto your shoulders and the warm, gentle glow infusing you from having planned your winter getaway evaporates faster than you can say “I-don’t-want-to-work-I-just-want-to-be-a-famous-full-time-writer!!”

.

.

.

 

…and then finally, seemingly out of nowhere, the departure date for your tropical vacation arrives.  And you’re like: …oh, yeah.  Oh, YEAH!!!

Yesterday, I was perusing what I call my “Tracker” – a spreadsheet I maintain to track where and when I’ve submitted all my (written) work.  The latest entry for my novel Darksea was: “Sept 2016: submitted to Ozma Awards“.

“Oh,” I thought to myself.  “Forgot all about that one.”

I clicked over to the Ozma Awards website, to find that they had already announced the finalists for the contest.

“Ah well,” I thought, preparing to move on.  Obviously, if I’d been a finalist, I would have heard, right?  Something stopped me, though, and just out of morbid and masochistic curiosity, I scrolled down to see the list.

This is what I saw:

 

…what what what?!?!?!

Could it be?  The novel that I’d essentially forgotten about, having nearly given up on sending it out to agents, has been chosen as a finalist for the 2016 Chanticleer Book Review OZMA Awards?!?!

In all honesty, I had been having difficulty maintaining my confidence and my productivity with my fiction writing up until about Christmas; now, however, with two short stories published and this latest news about my novel Darksea, I’m feeling the muse reawakening inside of me.

Time to (really!) start writing again!

Stay tuned to see if Darksea makes it to the next round of judging for the OZMA award!

 

 

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