Positive Thinking

echoes of old words
nascent shapes of words unborn
mix on the threshold

---

When Dalida sings "Paroles," that is beauty. When Miriam Makeba sings "Pata pata," that is beauty. When Cesaria Evora sings anything, "Sodade," for example, that is beauty.


Is it wrong that when I feel particularly low as regards my own progress towards darn goodness (I really don't aspire towards greatness or anything like that) at the craft, I remind myself that even those three pearls of music making had to practice as well?

TWICE DEAD Available on Kindle! and A CONTEST!

(This post x-posted from www.kalayna.com)
Well, the kindle version of books usually takes longer than the print version to become available, but in a strange turn of events, the kindle version for Twice Dead has shown up first. So, if you have a kindle, you can read Twice Dead HERE.

To celebrate the release, I'm running a week long contest here on the blog. Here is what I'll be giving away:

Three lucky winners will get your choice of one (1) of the following items. (I only have one of each available, so this will be a first picked, first choice kind of deal)

-$15 Amazon OR Barnes and Noble Gift Card.
-Twice Dead Promotional Mug

-Twice Dead Promotional Notebook




To enter, simply write a review for the first Haven novel, Once Bitten, and publish it somewhere on the web. Then leave a comment in this post linking to the review. You can review the book on your blog, on Amazon/B&N/BAM/Borders, Goodreads, Library thing, etc. If you have previously reviewed the book, feel free to link to that review. (If you are reading this at a remote location, you'll need to visit my blogger blog to enter.) Each review linked will give you one entry in the contest. If you also mention the release of Twice Dead, you will get one additional entry.

The contest is open until Sunday, February 14th at 11:59 pm. I will use a random number generator to choose three winners, who will be announced Monday. I am willing to ship internationally, so this contest is open to anyone.

Have a great weekend everyone!

_{(**note: this is the first time I've had mugs or notebooks printed, and they have not yet arrived. When they do, if the quality is sub-par, I will offer an alternate prize.)}

Multitasking

First off, where did January go? Did someone borrow several days (weeks?) of January from my calendar? I could really use them back--I'm not ready for February. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like I have a choice. We are already five days into February. Hard to believe, but true.

Why do I feel the need to beg for a longer January? Mostly because I have deadline looming in the not too far future, and I'm not ready for it. Most of this is due to the fact that I've been doing a lot of multitasking lately. A whole lot.

All of the Tri Mu have our own preferred ways to work on projects (perhaps we should discuss that in a mailbag monday one of these days), and a couple of the Tri Mu actually like to have several projects running at once. (Weird, I know.) Me? I'm most definitely not one of them. I prefer to focus on one project and knock it out fast in huge chunks.

That is apparently no longer an option for me.

Revisions for one book, first draft of another, and promo for a third? Can I run and hide now? Apparently not.

So, *lifts wine glass* (wait, it's only noon) ahem *lifts water bottle* here's to multitasking. May I conquer this many-headed beast.

Happy Friday everyone!

Pass the Plot 3: Scene 5

Nara stood behind the security console in the secondary shuttle bay, an old-fashioned Earth shotgun braced against her left shoulder and trained on her target. "Whoa there, Colonist. Where do you think you're headed?"

"Nara? I thought you went over with the first boarding party?" Darrew leaned against the side of the shuttle craft, hiding his weapon behind the curve of the deflector shielding.

If Nara hadn't caught a glimpse of the cannon when he'd first come into the room, he might still have retained the element of surprise. She shifted her finger from the guard to the trigger. A click rattled around the shuttle bay, announcing that her weapon was pumped and ready to fire.

"Yes, that was the plan, but then Ellie sent me to make sure you were safe in your cryo unit before we left. She worries, you know." And she'll use just about any excuse she can find to keep me off an away mission. Still, it was just as well that Nara had gone looking for him. She wouldn't have overheard his transmission to the raider if she hadn't.

Darrew laughed, the teasing hint of rebelliousness Ellie had found so charming lighting up his expression. "I guess you found me out. I was going to try to sneak over to that other ship with the second boarding party once you guys cleared it." He shifted his weight -- probably looking for a better grip on the rocket launcher he was still trying to hide. "Is it really a Garidan raider?"

Nara stepped around the console, making sure her feet were firmly planted with each step. The gravity in this section of the ship was still holding steady, but if they took another knock . . . She didn't want to risk missing when it came time to shoot.

"Yes, it is." Nara measured the distance between them in her head. Too close and the buckshot wouldn't spread enough to do enough damage. Too far, and he'd be able to move before it hit him. This would be easier if Garid drones didn't move so damn fast. "I imagine they're busy converting the boarding party as we speak."

Another two steps ought to do it.

"Converting?" Darrew looked around, his eyes lingering on the shuttle bay doors and the airlock. "Come on now, Nara, you don't really believe those silly old wives' tales, do you? I mean, they can't really still be out there, converting people into drones." Incredulity tinged his tone. He focused on a point on the wall just over her left shoulder, his gaze turning a little glassy. "Earth has recorded no evidence of Garidan activity in this sector in 106.73 years."

He shifted his weight again, and this time she felt the weapon in his hand hum to life, a subtle change in the vibration of the air. If she hadn't had her sensory nodes turned all the way up in preparation for boarding the raider, she would have missed it.

A spray of antique buckshot mixed with a few super burn pellets and two drops of laser acid exploded from the barrel of Nara's gun. Darrew dropped like a stone, wiring and metal plating exposed and melting now that the pretty face the drone had hidden under had been ripped to shreds.

Nara rushed over to the security console, engaging a max level containment field around what was left of the body. "That's because we keep destroying the evidence whenever we find you."

Brandon Sanderson Giveaway Winner!

The wise and powerful random number picker has slated commentor #3 as our winner for January's Free Fic Friday.

And that means.......congrats are in order to RKCharron!

Please send an e-mail over to contests (AT) themodernmythmakers (DOT) com with your mailing information so I can drop your copy of the wonderfulness that is Warbreaker off at the post office this week! :D

Thank you all for entering our first giveaway. We hope to see more of your comments as you stick around for more blog posts, our weekly story arc, and additional free stuff!

The Dark Side of a Rewards System

Rewarding yourself for meeting goals is a great concept for a writer. Your muse will be tickled by goodies you shower upon him or her, your inner editor will be smarmy with "I told you we could do this", and your self-image will shoot up as you relax with whatever pasttime you have chosen to gift yourself. However, if you don't meet your goals, you don't get the reward. *gasp!* You wouldn't want that, so you push yourself to succeed. It's a great concept.

But is it working?

Most of the time the rewards system is broken, flawed. I was crazy guilty of taking advantage of my rewards last year, but I suspect I'm not the only one who has fallen prey to temptation. In 2009, I rewarded myself for a job poorly done, for goals half-accomplished, for alternative goals, for goals met far beyond the deadline I'd set, and prematurely for goals "to be accomplished". And all I did was reinforce negative behavior.

So what's wrong? Aside from "good enough"-itis and "the real world ate my week and my mood is foul so I need something to pull me out of my funk" excuses, we could be setting the wrong rewards:

"I'll buy it anyway": If you have the money set aside for something that you intend to purchase anyway, this is not the right kind of reward. For example, if you're an avid reader and there are books you intend to purchase, and you pre-make that purchase, you can say "I won't read this until I meet my goal" all you want. But you ARE going to break down and read it before you've accomplished that goal in its entirety.

"I'll play this game/read this book for [set time here]": If you are obsessed with video games, this is not the right kind of reward. For example, if you're addicted to Facebook games and allow yourself 15 minutes to play for every hour of writing time, but you DON'T set a timer or you habitually state "Just 5 more minutes!", this is a bad, bad, bad, bad reward. You will lose hours into games, miss out on valuable writing time, and feel guilty over succumbing to the lure of the game. Likewise if you are an avid reader and a good book will suck you inside its pages and steal the rest of the day.

"I'll go to this movie with friends": If you schedule a movie theater timeslot (or any other event) and have no intention of cancelling that appointment, this is not the right kind of reward. For example, if you've already purchased tickets, it's almost impossible to back out of the arrangement, especially if it's a costly event. No one likes to say to their friends, "I'm sorry I can't go see X-Men 15,021 with you this weekend even though we've been planning it for months: I only spent 18 hours on writing this week and I'm 10 pages short of my goal." So we don't, especially if said friends are non-writing friends, and especially if the non-writing friends don't "get it".

"I'll clean the bathroom": If you don't get real enjoyment out of cleaning, this is not the right kind of reward. This is an obligation, same as your movie-date. For example, if you look at your office and the idea of ripping through mounds of unkempt paper is enough to give you hives, you'll be more likely to throw the goals in the trash than a single wad of misplaced tissue paper.

What are good rewards, then?

*Things you will feel real disappointment in missing out on or real excitement in the act of working toward, but not feel tempted to reward yourself with "because I've worked hard and deserve it". Accomplish your goals as stated, or let the reward shift back to the next time you have a goal to meet.

*Stepped rewards that require multiple elements in order to really enjoy the "big picture" reward. Right now, I have a stepped reward that allows me to buy new costume pieces for the Steampunk World's Fair in May. I have 4 major goals and money set aside. If I miss one of my goals, I still have a closet of clothes to rummage through, but I might not get the spiffy lace ruffled Victorian jacket I've been ogling since last summer. And I reeeeally want that jacket, because without it, and the skirt, and the boots, and the belt - I'll just be cool. Not SUPER cool.

*Things people (friends and family) hold hostage and refuse to reliquish, no matter how piteously you beg. ("But I got through 5 pages today, that's more than zero! You can let me have my PS3 controller back...please?" "Is 5, 10? I don't think so. *whip crack* No goals met, no rewards, sucka!")

*Time spent with friends that isn't premeditated. Meet your goal, THEN schedule your reward meetup time.

*Timed rewards. If you can train yourself to use the timer truthfully (and not effectively "snoozing" on your allowance of reward time) this can be a fabulous way to make yourself stick to your rewards.

*Mini-rewards for those incomplete goals. If you must reward yourself for effort instead of endgame, promise yourself a smaller reward. This then becomes the "if I almost make it, and I'm happy with my achievements, I get this instead of the big thing over there" and leaves the big shiny reward for your major accomplishments. Just make sure that you don't make the small rewards more appealing than the big ones!

This whole spiel doesn't apply to everyone. Some of us are rockstars in the self-discipline department. The rest of us have to work harder, set more meaningful rewards, and keep those goals of ours manageable in order to allay frustration.

The moral of the story?

Don't go to the dark side. You won't be taking out Alderaan - you'll only be hurting yourself, your self-esteem, and your willingness to meet your goals in the first place.

Don't reward yourself for a job poorly done, for goals half-accomplished, for alternative goals, for goals met far beyond the deadlines you set, or prematurely for goals "to be accomplished". Don't reinforce negative behavior. Be tougher on yourself. If you don't meet your goals regularly, make them more realistic. If you meet your goals far in advance, step them up to give yourself more of a challenge. And perhaps most important of all: Be honest with yourself.

First and Goals: February 2010

At the beginning of each month, we Modern Myth Makers will be posting our writerly goals for the coming month, in an effort to motivate ourselves through the threat of shaming in a public forum by giving each other, and all of you, the opportunity to encourage our progress.

NL Berger's Goals: Well, my January goals were a total bust. A classic case of that whole "Man plans, God laughs" thing. So I'm setting a much lighter goal for February. At this point I'll just be happy to get back to writing a little bit every day. So that's it for me. No target word counts, no revised pages plans. Just some kind of progress, every day for the next 28 days.

Darlene C. Goodman's Goals: I didn't get my timeline in, but I did break through the chapter 13 jinx and start a series arc narrative summary document. For February, I want to finish my series arc.

Kalayna Price's Goals: Well, I knew last month's goal of writing 90k in a month was ambitious. Unfortunately, I didn't meet it. (Next time. Next time) So, February's goal is to finish my WIP and start on the second draft.

Tori Pryer's Goals: Well, I finished the first draft of my WIP. That was the biggest goal. I think I accomplished it even though I wound up combining my new draft with the second half of my old draft to do it. I finished the new ending last night. For the month of February, my goal is to write a World War II short. If I can, I will begin editing the WIP that I just finished.

Sarah Templeton's Goals: My muse is exhausted. She and my internal editor (who's still hopped up on caffeine and poking away at the intriguing gray squishy bits inside my skull) had a busy, busy month. Together they accomplished and then swarmed past my goals. Page 200? Try 1 and 3/4 full revisions, 2 new chapters, and a major revamp of motivation. This month I'm swinging my focus around to agent submissions--synopsis and query letter time!--and revisions for the first half of a steampunk short I drafted out last year.

Haricot Vert's Goals: Right then. So I had plans to expand the scene list completed in January (yay for achieving a goal!), however now that February is staring me impudently in the face, I am backing down from those plans. Instead, my goal for this short, stumpy, month is to write each day. *fist bump with NL*

What about you guys? What are your writing goals for this month?