Rik learns Blender - the chuff-chuff model

This tutorial came as a 300+ page pdf file - luckily it was mostly pretty piccies, and was very easy to follow ... at the second attempt.

Rik learns Blender: Yellow sub

... from lesson 1 of the online tutorial, though my sub's prettier than theirs ...

Rik the Unproductive?

It's amazing what happens when Rik manages to distract himself from the writing.

First there was the whole publishing stuff to Kindle thing (publishing the Tome (UKians go here) was easy; working out how to publish poetry was a right bugger).

Then there was the idea of doing a booktrailer to promote the Tome - well, lotsa people are getting a Kindle for crimbo, so why not get them to read the Tome in the new year? Which led Rik to downloading a whole host of new software for making the booktrailer: FotoMorph for mucking around with photos, OpenMPT for composing a soundtrack to the potential video (hollow logs and blowing-over-milk-bottles stuff, if you're asking), MS Expression Encoder 4 for capturing video of a spinning (GoogleEarth) globe of Rik's constructed world - because it's cool, 'kay, etc, etc, etc. Which all needs to be learned and mastered before Rik getsdown to the actual building the booktrailer thing.

Is that enough distraction-from-writing-books to be getting on with? Of course not! Rik's latest idea is to have a stunning booktrailer showing people some of the story ... which, as Rik doesn't have money for actors and the like, means doing it in animation. But not any old animation, oh no. Rik has to do it in proper 3D raytraced animation, which means he's downloaded that granddaddy of bastard software packages to learn - Blender - and he's already 3 days into learning how to model like an old pro.

So Rik apologises for not writing and editing more of the work-in-progress. He cannot resist the shiny.

The RikVerse on Kindle

Hot on the heels of my first Kindle eChap, I'm releasing the other four chaps as a single book. This is possibly silly, as maybe people would prefer to download 22 poems rather than have to wade through 88. And apparently (according to some) the more books you have for sale on Amazon, the more sales you're likely to make. But what the heck.

The RikVerse Volume 1 for US Kindlians ($4.99ish, hopefully cheaper)

The RikVerse Volume 1 for UK Kindlians (£3.67)

'To Posterity' and the Kindle

Kindle is shit for poetry, but I've been experimenting and may have come up with a way of showing linebreaks and strophe breaks that doesn't make the eyes bleed (too much).

Painting
|
| Walls are not blank. They soak in lives, each pore
| in the mortar a pit to house outbursts and tears.
|—
| We chose the scheme together: a brush of faint cream;
| a slice of simnel; a feather of fresh-hatched chick.
|—
| And so we paint: this emulsion stroke shall cover
| the time we argued the length of a bottle of whisky.
|—
| I texture the colour with cobwebs, old nets to catch
| forgotten meals, parties; the husks of anniversaries.
|—
| As the room grows in its new coat I follow your lines:
| dab wet gloss on the skirting, wipe spats from my hair.
|—
| When it is done, we make a good memory - a kiss -
| for the walls to record. A cat-hair glides in the fume.

To Posterity for US Kindlians ($2.99ish)

To Posterity for UK Kindlians (£2.21)

Buying 'The Gods in the Jungle' for your Kindle:

USA - this page, or paste the following into your address bar and press return:
http://www.amazon.com/Gods-Jungle-ebook/dp/B004GB1666

UK - this page, or paste the following into your address bar and press return:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Gods-in-the-Jungle/dp/B004GB1666

Ireland - I assume you need to use the UK store

Canada - not yet listed, may be able to get it from the US

Australia/New Zealand - apparently you use the US store

Germany/France - not listed

Rest of the world - ???

A Crimbo Prezzie for Both Readers of this Blog

It is the time for being un-grinchy and stuff, so I thought it would be a nice gesture for the season if I offered you both a present, as a way of saying thank you for sticking with this blog during its intermittent postings and occasional tantrums. Also, the lack of kitten photos.

So I've decided to give you both a copy of my book The Gods in the Jungle. For free. Happy Crimbotide!

All you have to do to get your crimbo prezzie is pop over to the book's homepage on Smashwords and press the buy button. When you get to the checkout, enter this coupon code ...

MC59R

... and the complete book shall be yours, gratis, forever more.

Coupons need to be redeemed on or before 24 December 2010.

Good reading, my friends, and the blessings of the season to you and yours!

All quiet on the quiet front?

Indeed no. I wish it were quieter but, since the last post, I have:

- almost completed all of my crimbotide shopping, and put up decorations and stuff
- got my teeth fixed, and a new pair of glasses
- struggled manfully through a bout of manflu (which wasn't swineflu)
- started learning about how to write stage plays for my OU creative writing course
- submitted lots of applications for lots of jobs

But the most important bits of news are that I have started investigating the possibilities of becoming self-employed, because I have been signing on for 6 months now and it's becoming obvious that there's no Rik-shaped jobs out there (I'm either overqualified or lacking a degree) ... more news on this as and when it develops.

And, most exciting of all, I'm reworking my second novel - SpinTrap. This is taking what I've done before, massively improving the writing and generally getting it back on track (I've discovered the plot! Huzzah!). The work to date can be viewed on Authonomy; comments, crits and feedback are all very generously welcomed.

I write like ...

I write like
H. P. Lovecraft

I Write Like by Mémoires, journal software. Analyze your writing!

Why does Rik write?

Rachelle Gardner, Literary Agent extraordinaire, has been asking questions about what motivates people to write. I enjoy answering questions, so I thought I'd give this one a go.

But before starting, I think I need to clarify what my main work-related life goals are, and how writing fits in with those life goals. They're pretty simple, really - my main aims for my working life are to:

A) have enough money to keep a roof over my head and put food on the table;

B) minimise work-related stress, principally by avoiding the need to commute to work; and

C) write stories and poems well enough so that I don't automatically cringe when people ask me about my latest book or poem.

Now then, onto Ms Gardner's questions.

Rachelle asked: if you had to choose, what would you rather be?

(1) An author publishing steadily to positive reviews and strong critical acclaim, but selling low numbers of books and therefore unable to support yourself with your writing...

or

(2) An author publishing frequently (maybe two books a year) to average reviews and sometimes even being called unflattering names like "hack" yet making an extremely comfortable living and never having to take on other work.

I've worked in jobs with significant writing duties, producing copy on demand with minimal interest in the subject matter. I hated it. I can't see the difference between writing 2-3 reports a week for the boss and writing 2-3 commercial fiction books for the publisher.

So I think I'll be a #1 writer, please. I don't need that much money to live on; I'd be happy doing menial work part time (waiting tables, stacking shelves, etc - as long as there's minimal commuting) and using the rest of my time to write what I want to write.

Rachelle also asked: What is success? What would it look like to "arrive" as a writer? What are you striving toward? What is the definition of success?

Do I want name recognition? Do I hanker for literary celebrity? Do I want to be the star guest at conventions and festivals?

No. The mere thought of these things scares me. I am, genetically, a reclusive sort of person. Also, as a sufferer of prosopagnosia, I spend much of my social day wandering from stranger to stranger, struggling to remember if I've met them before, or if I like them - it freaks me out when people who know me approach me and say hello, and I can't recognise them. To extend that out to being recognised by people I've never met? No. I don't want that. I don't want that life.

But the recognition of the quality of my work by my peers? Yes, I do want that. Complements from strangers on stuff I've written is something I crave. I don't need awards, but having the respect of other writers - that, to me, is the definition of "arriving", of "success".

Now Rachelle is asking: Are you torn?

I’ve noticed lately that there seem to be two general kinds of posts amongst the publishing blogs:

1. The ones that talk about writing a commercial, saleable book, and how to make yourself marketable through building a platform; and

2. The ones that tell you to forget all considerations of publishing and marketing, and simply write. Write your truth, write your heart, write the best you can and don’t be sullied by considerations of what will sell.

So what then? Do we advise people to either give up their publishing dreams—or change what they write? I don’t know. Again, this completely depends on the goal of the individual writer. Is mass publication important to you, or is it secondary?

Or are you torn between the two?

And, having been led through the previous questions, I can honestly say that no, I'm not torn. I want to be published, but I'm not willing to write whatever the market demands in order to be published. I know my work is not currently commercial and while, in an ideal world, the Great Reading Public would be clamouring for the sort of stories and poems I write, the fact that reality and imagination do not (currently) overlap does not worry me.

Thanks to the miracles of modern technology I can publish myself. I can hold my books in my hand and share them with people who enjoy my writing. And while I can't walk into a bookshop and see my work on the shelves, well I'm learning to live with that and I'm becoming comfortable with the fact.

I know this makes me sound like a 'loser', but I don't care. There's more to life than rat races: in my world, integrity and honesty, and pride in the work you do, really are greater than success.