March 22, 2007
Do You RSS?
I just read something that said coffee is good for you. I must be really healthy then because I am addicted to the steamy goodness.
Meantime, I wanted to post something for the RSS novices. What's RSS? Apparently, it stands for Really Simple Syndication. Or something.
See this symbol?
If you look to the right-hand sidebar, you can find it.
If you click it, you'll have a way to make sure you can keep up with this blog through syndication. Sometimes, on your IE or Firefox browser, the symbol is up in the top right-hand area next to the little house for your home page.
If you click it, you essentially subscribe to this "feed," which is this blog.
I have about 40 blogs I check out during the week, and I'm subscribed to all of them. It makes finding new entries easier than typing in URLs. Also, with Windows Vista (which apparently some people hate, but I love) there's a great way to put a blog headline feed up on the right-hand side of the Desktop.
Anyway, just wanted to point it out to you. Also check out the widget, too.
Douglas Clegg
New Book, By the Sea
What are you doing this spring? (Leave a comment to leave me know. Thanks!)
I've been working on a new novel -- I'm keeping it secret for now -- but it's not in the fantasy genre, more toward horror and thriller, set here where I live (but with an alternate place name and none of the same people, of course.)
I live right next to the sea -- well, a Sound -- across from a beautiful island called Fisher's Island (NY), and from the nearby harbor, you can get to Block Island, Martha's Vineyard, and Fisher's Island by ferry. I think we're going to spend some time this spring exploring these islands for book research.
Spring is a very small window in New England -- it's only just happening now, and even so, it's very cold out. So, April will probably be the month for these explorations. After Memorial Day, forget it -- the islands get packed, and I hate packed -- particularly when the peninsula I live on is practically an island in terms of very slight isolation from any town.
Well, it's a ten minute drive to town, but in the summer, we have a sandwich/ice cream place here, as well as our own post office, year-round.
I don't leave this little peninsula much in the winter, because of writing and cold. Also, I love being isolated by the sea in winter.
Now that it's spring, or almost-spring, I'm looking forward to getting out and exploring the coastline a bit more.
I'm also researching pre-20th century ships -- not for the current novel, but the next one. So my desk is covered with a ton of books about ships and shipbuilding, and I'll probably head over to Mystic this spring to ask some ship-experts some questions.
Who knows? Maybe I can convince somebody to take us out on an old sloop.
It is very strange to be done with The Vampyricon after spending so many years working on it. But, it's good to get right back into another novel right after one book's done -- it takes away the sting of loss of the previous novel.
Douglas Clegg
March 20, 2007
The Secret
Now that The Secret apparently is making everyone millionaires and granting wishes, I just want to tell you the real secret:
1. Find out what you most want to accomplish, and do it.
Wait, there's no number 2.
March 19, 2007
New Writer, Killer Year, ITW
I just read a great short story by a relatively new writer named Derek Nikitas. I read it before writing a brief introduction to it for the Killer Year Anthology. The story, called "Runaway," came alive for me, and it's been a long time since a story by a relatively new writer has done that.
Fiction like this is a gift to readers. And as a writer, reading this new writer's work, well, it's like Christmas and birthdays and everything wrapped up in one.
I read too many competent first novels and early stories. They're fine, but there's nothing that makes me believe I should keep reading. But not so with Derek Nikitas.
Derek chose me as mentor for the KillerYear.com concept that is brilliantly being run in conjunction with the International Thriller Writers. I am honored he chose me, but had no idea what to expect from his fiction.
To be honest, I dreaded having to deal with it because I'm so used to disappointment when a new writer asks me to look at his or her work (in fact, I rarely do this anymore because I hate delivering bad news to new writers, and I also won't lie to them.)
But Derek Nikitas' fiction is different. It's alive. It's wonderful.
Now, I'm more than honored -- I'm excited by fiction because of writers like this.
Find out more about Derek Nikitas here.
Find out about the Killer Year concept and its writers and their mentors here.
And if you're a professional novelist, I really want you to find out about the International Thriller Writers right here.
Douglas Clegg
March 17, 2007
Question: Most Important Element in a Novel?
In one word, what do you think is the most important element in any novel?
Please leave your answers and comments in the "comments" area below. Thank you!
Douglas Clegg
March 11, 2007
A Question
I have been reading various debates about free ebooks (mainly in email I've received.) I firmly believe that on the internet, with fiction (but not nonfiction) the free ebook is the way to go if a novelist wants to draw readers to his or her print books.
There are various reasons for my belief in this, not the least of which is the experience of my writing career from having begun doing this in 1999 with my e-serial, Naomi, followed a year later by my e-serial, Nightmare House, as well as several free ebooks of novellas I've offered.
Do me a favor -- answer this one question. I'd love to get your take on it. If you're not sure, subscribe to my free newsletter (click here to find out about it) read one of the ebook novellas I offer soon after you've subscribed, and then come back and answer this question. Thank you!
THE QUESTION:
When a novelist offers a free ebook or e-serial, does it make you -- a reader -- consider seeking out that writer's work when you're in the bookstore?
My belief is that if you read something by a writer and enjoy it, you're more likely to seek out that writer's fiction than you would be if you had never read the writer's fiction before.
So, whether at the library, a book loan from a friend, or an ebook or online story or novella or novel, I believe most of us discovered the writers we enjoy from reading something free first (or from such incredible word of mouth about the book that we had to go grab a copy and read it to see what all the hoopla was about.)
The free book gave me the opportunity to decide if I wanted to keep reading the writer's work. Most of the writers whose work I buy religiously I first discovered in the public library, and of those others, I've usually read work online or in books passed to me by others that got me interested.
But maybe this is me. What do you think? Let me know (comment here, please) -- thank you!
March 10, 2007
Comments on News Items
Just a quick note: There are times when I turn off comments here, simply because of the amount of spam that I get.
The comment function will be back up soon. Thanks for the notes sent in private about the posts here. I appreciate hearing from all of you.
Douglas Clegg
http://www.DouglasClegg.com
The Queen of Wolves
I turned the third Vampyricon novel, The Queen of Wolves, in to my agent and editor. This one took just about 12 months of constant revising and writing, and turned out to be the longest of the Vampyricon books.
Despite the fact that this is the third novel of the Vampyricon Trilogy, I could very easily continue this saga. I'm not sure that I will, but I get a lot out of these books as I'm writing them and I loved exploring the world of this one, in particular.
I should have a cover for the book fairly soon, and when I do, I'll post it here.
March 06, 2007
Vision of the Whole
Got a question from a reader: Doug, what's the hardest part about writing a novel?
Here's my answer:
Keeping the vision of the whole novel in your head as you write it.
This usually only drives you crazy in revisions, although, frankly, it drives me crazy while I'm writing the first draft, as well.
Imagine any novel you find that is fairly complex, and think about the person who sat and imagined it, constructed it, deconstructed it, revised it, and at some point, held its entire world in his or her head and made sure that each element, each detail, was the right one.
You, too, would go a little crazy. Do not attempt to operate heavy machinery while doing this.
March 03, 2007
Goat Dance Extended Excerpt
For those who missed it, there's a special extended (175 manuscript page) excerpt from my first novel, Goat Dance, right here.
It's nearly a third of the novel itself.
You can also grab an ebook version at that page as well.