Award Season!

Once again, award season is rolling around.  For your consideration when nominating, my eligible works include:

Long Form Fiction

Destiny's Fall, Dragon Moon Press, April 2012

Short Form Fiction

Happily Ever After, from When the Villain Comes Homes (ed. by Gabrielle Harbowy and Ed Greenwood), July 2012

Gabrielle Harbowy, who was the wonderful editor for both works, offered to provide copies to interested parties.  You can contact her at eic @ dragonmoonpress.com (without the spaces).

Check out her blog post, as well.

In case you didn't know, the Aurora Awards are Canadian and fan voted, and made of win.  Nominations are now open, and any Canadian can nominate a work of science-fiction or fantasy, by going here. You have to become a member of the CSFFA, but it's quick, cheap and painless. With your $10 membership, you get an e-copy of all the nominated works.  It's pretty awesome.

I hope you'll consider my works, and the many other fine works by Canadian authors.  I encourage you to check out the full list.

Nominations are open until April 15, 2013. I hope you'll give my pieces a chance and review them, and any support is, as always, appreciated!

G-Anime Schedule

One of my favourite cons is this weekend - G-Anime in Gatineau, QC.  It's just on the other side of the bridge from me, and Roomy and I enjoy our various panels there.  Roomy's doing a slew of stuff on ponies, of course. If you're interested in customizing, toy restoration or talking ponies, you'll want to check out this con.

I'll be talking writing, creativity, and some collecting, as Roomy's new mission in life is outing me of the collection closet. I have a quaint collection of He-Man and She-Ra figures, which anyone who follows me on Facebook knows.

Battlecat is not amused.

Check out the fun:

Collecting 101 - Friday at 1800 in Panel 1  (with Roomy and Mary Stormy Pletsch)

Writers: Writing Sf And Fantasy - Friday at 1900 in Panel 2 (with Jay Odjick and Derek Künsken)

Characters And Plot - Friday at 2100 in Panel 2 (with Jay Odjick)

Keeping The Words Flowing - Saturday at 1100 in Panel 2  (with Jay Odjick)

Living The Creative Life - Saturday at 1200 in Panel 3 (with Jay Odjick and Roomy)

Collecting 102 - Saturday at 1600 in Panel 1(with Roomy and Mary Stormy Pletsch)

Writing Original Stuff - Saturday at 2000 in Panel 2 (with Jay Odjick and Derek Künsken)

Writers: Resources In Ottawa - Saturday at 2100 in Panel 2  (with Jay Odjick and Derek Künsken)

Editing your Fiction Workshop!

I've gone workshop crazy!  There's the social media workshop next week, and there's also an Editing your Fiction workshop on February 10. All proceeds from this workshop are going to help fund CAN-CON, the local Ottawa SF lit con.  And the workshop will be high amounts of fun, guaranteed (despite what my co-presenter might say). 
 

EDITING YOUR FICTION

Have you got a novel or short story drafted? Dreaming of selling your novel to a publishing house? Already published and wanting to reach the next level? Revising, restructuring and editing your work to a professional level is crucial.

... In support of CAN-CON 2013, Ottawa's science fiction, fantasy and horror literature convention, 4-6 October, 2013, authors Marie Bilodeau and Derek Künsken will be offering a 1-day seminar on "Editing Your Fiction."

Join this seminar to learn how to:
• Tighten your plot and structure
• Make your fiction shine like a professional product
• Avoid common pitfalls like weak verbs and lack of tension

Seminar moderators Derek Künsken and Marie Bilodeau are both professional SFF authors. Derek is a member of the Science Fiction Writers of America and his short stories have been picked up in “year’s best” anthologies and been nominated for the Aurora Awards. Marie won the Foreword Book Award for her novel, Destiny’s Blood, and was nominated in both the short and long fiction categories of the Aurora Awards.

The seminar will run from 10-5 on Sunday, 10 February, 2013, on the campus of the University of Ottawa (70 Laurier Ave E, Room 509, Ottawa) and is targeting writers who have a novel or short stories written and are looking to turn an early draft into a final draft.

The workshop will be limited to 20 participants, so reserve a spot early by sending your payment by Paypal to can.spec.lit@gmail.com. The cost for attending the workshop   will be $40 and all proceeds go to support CAN-CON 2013, a meeting place of fans as well as pro and semi-pro writers, editors and publishers. Check out CAN-CON 2012/2013 at www.can-con.org.   

Once the seminar is full, we will keep a waiting list. If there is enough interest, a second session could be set up, or if there are cancellations, wait-listed persons could be invited.

Workshop on Social Media

On January 24, I'll be giving a workshop on effective social media for writers, hosted by the Ottawa Independent Writers.  I actually went to some of their workshops before being published, and they're brimming with good information. I'll aim for the same...  with some bad jokes, of course!  

We'll be chatting Facebook, Twitter, GoodReads, blogs, websites... the whole shebang!

Check it out here, sign up, join the fun!  

Resolutions vs. Goals

I used to be a fan of resolutions. The beginning of a new year is just so exciting, and I liked to imagine that, as the calendar was tossed in the recycling and replaced by a new shiny model, I too would emerge into the new year blazing like the mythical phoenix.

So, thirty-some new years have taught me that just doesn't happen.  Very disappointing, but I've moved on.  Now, instead of resolutions, I like to set goals for a year.  Those, I can keep. Goals help me map work to a deadline.  Goals keep me focused on things that would otherwise slip entirely too easily off my plate.  And they help me move forward in my life.  Especially when it comes to writing. 

The trick, however, is to make those goals realistic.  For example, this year I plan to draft eight short stories and have them all circulating by end of year.  I'm not saying they will be published.  That's out of my hands. All I can control is how much I produce, how good it is, and how I present it to potential buyers (a.k.a. editors).  

That way, my goals are achievable.  I can control their success or failure. Oh sure, life gets in the way, but failure is now further at bay. And isn't it sometimes nice to know that failure isn't breathing down your neck?

Writing is a tough profession, there's not doubt about that.  Successes are great, failures are painful. So make your goals, keep on typing, but be realistic.  If you can't type 1000 words a day, don't say you will.  Say you'll do 200 a day, or 1000 a week. 

Make your goals work for you, especially in artistic pursuits. Too often I hear of new writers not sticking with it because their goals were too lofty.  Don't fall prey to that trap in 2013!

Merry writing!