jw-johnson.com

I lost some data this week I’m afraid. Teach me to not backup my site. Shame on me. Here is the interview I had up. Unfortunately I lost the comments at the end of it.

Author Interview; Peter Hodges

Do you have any advice for an author doing his first author interview?

Relax and be funny?

How do you find time to write? Are you a denier; as in no tv or games until you’ve written, or do you steal a bit of time here and there?

I’m a husband, a dad, a chemist, an avid reader, a video gamer, and a writer. I don’t get any time to myself until after 8 PM. I usually wind down for an hour or so, then I contemplate writing. I  usually write in spurts during the week. I’ll usually pick two or three nights and bang out between 2000-2500 words per night. I try to set a goal of 6000 words per week. If I haven’t met that either in revisions, re-writes, or new material, then I feel like I haven’t accomplished anything. The nights that I’m not writing, I’m trying to read, hang out with the wife, or keep up with my PC Gaming habit.

Your Asimov and Heinlein influences are pretty obvious. Who else do you consider has a major impact on how you write?

I actually think David Drake has a large influence on the way that I write. I love the Hammer’s Slammers books; I think Northworld is one of the most underrated books in the history of science fiction. I like David’s spare style; he can say more in fewer words that anyone I know. In those few words he can convey the entire panoply of human emotion. If I don’t watch it, I find that my combat scenes read very similar to his.

I also value S. M. Stirling’s writing. He’s another author who doesn’t typically make ballots in the big-name awards, but his worlds are extremely well constructed and his plotting is usually really good. He’s not as character driven as David Drake, though, and I find myself writing very character driven stories and novels.

I know your friends with the fabulous Kate Baker. How does hearing your words coming from someone else make you feel and how much does it impact your writing? Is this something you would recommend to other writers?

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I wouldn’t be the writer I am today without Kate. She pushes me, edits me, calls me on my bullshit, and eagerly awaits anything I write. She is more than a fan–she’s become one of my best friends.

Hearing the podcasts is helpful to me as a writer. Having someone read your work shows you how they interpret it. Did you get the rhythm of a sentence right? Does your work flow like you think it does on paper or in your head? Do descriptions and dialog work within the context of the story? A podcaster can help identify all of these.

I know you have several stories that have been made into podcasts. Have you ever considered going through some of the podcasts services that sell them? You probably know enough writers to come up with a set ala John Scalzi.

I don’t know enough writers that well to set up something like that. I’ve been to cons and made contacts, but I can’t say that anyone would want to be on board the “Pete Hodges Audible Project” just yet. Eventually, it’s something I would love to do. I believe that podcasts are a large portion of the future of genre fiction. There’s too much utility to them, whether you listen to them on the subway, on the airplane, in the car, or while on the treadmill. Having a good reader and good story is fulfilling entertainment that we haven’t seen since the death of the great radio dramas.  It’s a great idea, though, to come up with a set of podcasts from lesser known authors and market it as a package.

I know you attended Viable Paradise. Do you feel it made a lot of difference in your writing and would you recommend it to others?

It made a huge difference. My class was particularly talented. There are several members that I’m surprised are not already big-name authors. Just being in their company, attending seminars and critique sessions, was worth the trip. Then, to have the one-on-one instruction that you received from people in the field was an added bonus. I learned a lot of things about my writing there. The first is that I’m too damned wordy. I overuse adjectives. I like passive verbs. I open too many paragraphs with subordinate clauses. I had point of view problems. I learned what it meant to pace a story and how to get good dialog out of the characters on the page. It wasn’t enough that I could write solid prose. It wasn’t enough that I could write and publish articles in technical journals. I had to write a story that would sell. That’s a different ball game.

Sitting in the hot seat with John Scalzi criticizing my work was rough, though. That guy will smile as he tells you the fifty million things that are wrong with your manuscript, especially with his penchant for the dramatic. It hurts, because this is public among a small group of your peers (everyone goes through it), but after you swallow your pride, you realize that he’s mostly right and he’s trying to make you better.

My novel, Alchemist (which I’m trying to market now) went through a drastic change post Viable Paradise. The language is tighter, the characterizations more deft, the point of view problems largely fixed (another beta reader thinks I still have issues in a couple of places). I would say that 30-40% went under complete re-write, while the rest of it was heavily tweaked.

I know you’re getting close to breaking through with your first sell. I’ve read your work and know that some of your short stories at least should have seen print by now. Do you think it is going to be a matter of name recognition or just finding the right editor at the right time with the right story? How close do you think you are?

A big problem is that my query letters are not grabbing attention. I’ve changed my format (you can see the one I’m working on right now on my site) in an effort to grab the attention of the editors/agents.

I do think part of my problem has been timing. Shortly after 9/11 I was trying to market a military science fiction novel–not a lot of people were buying it (and hey, to be fair, it kind of sucked). I got tons of compliments on my style or my ability as a writer, but no real interest in the story. I switched gears to a fantasy story (a genre that take second fiddle with me to military science fiction or alternate history) and wrote almost as though I were writing an alternate history. I’ve got some great elements of world building in there, and the early review I’ve had from beta readers are that the characters certainly elicit the reactions I intended them to.

I’ve made an effort to attend cons to build my name recognition. I want authors, agents, and publishers to recognize my name. “Hey! That guy was at Dragon*Con and he asked intelligent questions.” or “Hey! I know that guy. He was hanging out with the Viable Paradise group.” I generally take promotional flyers with my web address and brief descriptions of my work (available as PDFs on my site).

As to how close do I think I am? Who knows, brother? I’ve got a couple of things in the pot right now that could yield some news before Christmas (I can’t talk about them for fear of jeopardizing them), but who knows. Maybe one of these fifty query letters I’ve sent out will get a hit.

Do you have any advice on how to handle rejection?

Smile. Make jokes about it. I’m running at a little over 70 rejection letters. I haven’t counted lately. That’s 70 people that are going to *facepalm* when I win the Campbell Award. (Just kidding.)

Do you have any words of advice for the aspiring writers among us?

Write, write, write, write, write! Try, try, try! I’m going to keep trying until the world unanimously agrees that I suck or someone publishes me.

Seriously, it’s pretty similar to what other writers have said. I continually improve if I write all the time. When I stop writing, it’s closely akin to when you stop lifting weights. I personally believe that you should experiment with a wide range of styles and points of view. Find something that works for you, then try to build your story idea around it.

I guess that’s about it. Wish I had thought up some more questions now.

Thanks Pete,

JW. Johnson.

looking for a webdesigner is up at http://www.clockpunkstudios.com/ .  Jeremiah is an author who’s livejournal I read and his journal posts on writing are always top notch and get you to thinking. His photography is amazing and I have no doupts about his competency helping somone with their website.  If you are in the market for major talent that is hungry for your work, please check him out. Here is a link for his personal website. Check out the photography if you have any doupts about his talent. http://www.jeremiahtolbert.com/

Fubared  Lelee’s Treasure and it took me this long to notice. Sorry about that. Very unprofessional on my part. I’ll fix it as soon as I get the chance. Gonna try to make it to Conestoga again this year. Anybody wanna bet me something comes up and I have to miss it again this year? I will say not making a con has nothing to do with whether or not your writing.

Spirit Of The Ucanians was rejected. I don’t feel too bad though. He actually sent a short response and signed it himself. He said it just didn’t grab his attention. I cant control that (well, sort of). I’m just geeky enough to get a thrill from it. A personal rejection letter from a major publisher and not some form letter. Sad isn’t it. Funny thing is about five minutes after I read it I was surfing on the web, reading the various blogs I read, and lo and behold someone was talking about Harry Potter and how she was rejected about forty times before she sold it. Isn’t that crazy. How would you like to be one of the forty who rejected it? Oops!

I’m done rewriting it though. I’ve spent enough time on it and the charactors have all moved on anyway (if you know what I mean). I’ll just have to do some research and find some other markets to send it to. I’m going back to working on my two books unless another short story pops up in my head. Its funny to go back and read the stuff I’ve written before. Glad I never sent it to anyone. I definately knew better. I know I still have a ways to go now as well. The learning process never stops. They say you can tell a professional writer from the amatures by how much the manuscript changes when they rewrite it. A polished professional’s rough draft contains very few errors and needs little rewrite. I can’t wait until I reach that stage.

I try not to put my personal views *cough, cough* on here any more than I have to. I know I used to but after seeing other writers post their views and having it turn me off, I vowed to avoid it as much as I can. I know its hard to do when writing and I’m sure some of it comes out no matter how much I try to be just an entertainer.

On this one I have to write. A great thing happened today that I am very proud of. America has chosen character over color. I hate that it is so hard to believe. Long have I dreamed of the day when men (or women) could be just that.  No more black man or white man. Or race of any kind. Let us just be men and women. Today takes us one step closer.

Just want to update for everyone who comes and checks on me. Sprit of the Ucanians is being submitted Monday finally. I know. Thats a long time since I first wrote it. What can I say. I was trying to get it right. The guy I am sending it to is an award winning editor and I hope he looks at it like what it could be and not what it is. I’ve rewritten it three times but I know that I am an amature and need some professional help. Hopefully it’s close enough they at least look at it without  throwing it out.

On writing styles I have to admit I wish I sounded like Roger Zelazny. I just love the way he writes. The depth and breadth of his imagination had no limits as far as I could tell.  Just the shear volume of short stories and books  blow my mind.  I wish I could have actually met him and heard him speak. I guess I did in a way.

Unfortunately he was taken away from us way too early at 58 from complications from colon cancer. I’m sure those of you who knew him consider yourself blessed.

Wow. I can tell the economy must really be slow by how many spam hits I’m getting. My site is not even that active. I can just imagine what the big boys get in way of spam count.  Funny thing is most sites have automatic spam blockers that catch most of them.  Mine does. I guess there must be money to be made by spamming.Maybe it’s something I should check into. Not.  Can’t be much I’m thinking. Seems like they would be better off getting a real job. I guess in some of those countries jobs are hard to come by. But then again they can afford computers so it must not be too bad.

I do know I’ve been seeing and hearing about all kinds of scams right now before Christmas. Just remember never give out your information unless you are totally sure about who you are talking to. I.E. You called them. Also don’t take checks or even credit cards from someone who wants you to use part of the proceeds from it to pay for something else. More than likely the check has had the funds removed and the credit card stolen and the next thing you know you are out the funds from your private account.

1.You wont get much support.

2.Your friends will think you are crazy.

3.You are crazy.

4.A five thousand word short story will pay you about $300 dollars IF you sell it, but with the time it takes you to write it and Rewrite it, you could have made better money at McDonalds, times six.

5.It probably will take me a million words before I stop writing crap.

6.It is a good feeling when your rewriting something and one of those little things you have read/learned goes click and everything falls into place.

7.I do know what people are talking about when they say”the story/song wrote itself”.

8.It seems like the only time all is right with the world is when I am writing.

9.I’m afraid I’m getting that “I write because I must” feeling I’ve heard people talk about.

10.I have noticed that hard work takes you farther than mere talent will anyday.

11.Writing is work.

12.Writing has to be more than sitting down and doing it only when I feel like it.

13.This is not a race.

14.I’m OK if I don’t make it.

15.God I would love to make it.

16.I’m going to make it.

17.Write for yourself.

18.Rewrite for the reader.

19.God I like to dream. I pray that someday it’s more than just a dream.

20.I’ve got to learn to not be so temperamental. Learn to write in a storm in other words.

21. This is the closest thing to school-work that I actually enjoy doing.

22. My heart actually gets to racing when I write an action  scene and I have scared myself writing. I wont say what happens when I write a love scene.