Holiday Cheer 2019

This week I’m celebrating the holidays with a give away! But first…

Progress Report

I’m almost complete the second draft of my current novel project called [dis]Connection. I’ve posted about it a bunch on here (previously called Some Assembly Required):

I’ve been working through my 2nd draft. I’m taking a bit more time than I thought I would because I want to make sure I’ve thought through everything. The characters need to be people we know. The mysteries need to linger with the audience. The emotions need to be felt. And I’m pretty happy to say, I think I’m getting there.

[dis]Connection is currently in the hands of some beta readers who are providing good feedback. Interesting to see how “The Curse of Knowledge” (as we call it at work) has manifested in my writing. The Curse of Knowledge is the inability to remember what it is like NOT to know something. So once you know what a 3d model is on a computer, you forget to mention things like it is on a computer not a physical thing. My beta readers are awesome and have pointed out some slow spots, some confusing spots, and some good spots.

Next week I’m focusing on prepping my query/submission packages. I’ve been dragging my feet a bit while I read The Weekend Book Proposal by Ryan G. Van Cleave. In an effort to maximize my proposal/query/submission I wanted to get some guidance on how people are doing it. This book has been a good model for some different approaches. As I post and get feedback, I’ll be sure to share here.

The Giveaway

Okay, the holiday season for many is upon us. In that spirit, I want to give away a give away. I’ll be providing two options. If you win, you tell me which prize you want and I’ll send it to you. Everyone who enters will be given a number based on the order you join. The winner will be selected at random using Excel’s RANDBETWEEN formula where I’ll enter 1 - N (number of people who join). The number spit out will be the record that wins. I’ll contact you by email and get the details about what prize you want and where to send it.

The winner will be announced next Friday!

Prize #1: A book on writing

I am giving away one of my two favorite books on writing. You can pick from:

  • Stephen King’s On Writing: An excellent read on the art, practice and craft of writing. I’ve learned a ton about discovering my own creative processes from this book and highly recommend it to everyone. I love reading the stories in this book about his books and the examples provided are rich with learning.

  • Philip Athans’s Writing Monsters: This book is an exceptional exploration into how to build all things that go bump in the night. I used this book for the monsters in [dis]Connection and highly recommend you check it out. His format and worksheet for monster design is easy to follow, inspiring and fun. Using this book, you can make monsters ranging from the slimy, fanged or furry to more realistic beasts like bullies, brutes and gossips. This is a great read!

Prize #2: Story Cubes

The feedback I got from my Story Cube video was overwhelmingly positive. I heard lots of people talking about what they could do with them so now, I’m giving you a chance! I’m giving away the Story Cube starter set. As a refresher, here’s how to use story cubes to tell your own tales. Remember, I posted the poem that came out of this on Projects & Processes.

To Enter

All you need to do is sign up for my newsletter AND follow me on Twitter. You can stop following me next week if you want. I’m hoping I will give you enough good content to keep you interested but if I don’t, ditch me! So, follow me on Twitter here:

And, sign up for my newsletter here:

Why am I doing this?

As I prepare to build my submission package for agents and editors, I want to get a shot of growth in my blog & social media reach. Thinking about metrics like Reach, Views and Interactions all starts with the Reach. You’ve got to get in front of the eye balls to get people to look at and perhaps interact with you stuff. So, the give away’s focus is to increase my reach.

Christmas decorations at Washington Union Station

Christmas decorations at Washington Union Station

Christmas: Too Many, Too Little

Christmas 1 with extended family
great gifts from many
good food
good fun.

Christmas 2 with Grandma
more gifts
more time with family we love seeing
more food
more fun.

Christmas 3 with Grandpa
more gifts
more time with family we don’t see enough
more food and treats and toys
more cousins
more fun.

Christmas 4 with Nanan & Pop Pop
more gifts
more food
more family we see all the time
even more food (Nanan’s Italian after all)
more fun.

Christmas 5 with Mommy & Daddy
at home
over in moments
wrapping paper strewn floor
Dad’s cooking
Mom’s building
each wondering
where did the special day go?

Did we spread Christmas too thin?
Too far over too long
to keep the magic of the day.

Why didn’t I see the magic of the season?

Why didn’t I find the magic in all the time with everyone?

Because
I’m afraid
the magic is in their youth
their joy and wonder
trickling away each year
and I want all I can have
for as long as I can have
until they have kids of their own.

But then
they’ll miss everyone else
I’ll miss everyone else
too little food
too little family
too little fun
and everyone else will be gone
too soon.

Maybe the magic
isn’t in their youth
or everyone else
but the time that ticks away.

Magic coming alive
in sharing that time
from youth
to death
together.

Thank you to Buffy Silverman for hosting this week’s Poetry Friday. Make sure to check out her blog and support the Poetry Friday team!

creative process, poetry fridaytim kulpgive away, poem, poetry, poetryfriday, year in review8 Comments