Thoughts on a bad day of writing

I had kind of a bad day, writing. I was up a lot in the middle of the night, and then when I did get back to sleep I had trouble getting up. So it was a slow start. And then, for whatever reason, I just couldn't get my word count flowing. By lunch I had around 180 words. So I ate some quinoa chili, watched a little television, and came back to it in about half an hour.

Then I wrote 2500 words. I only stopped because my scene was over and my battery was low. I might go back after dinner and finish the chapter, or I might save it for tomorrow. No worries, either way.

But here's the point. I do this all the time. And because I have bad mornings, and bad afternoons, and entire bad days, I've stopped letting it get to me. Every time I've had one of those days, the next day is fine. Or the day after that. Or that afternoon. Or an hour later. I always come back. I just have to keep at it, keep pushing, and finally the words come. My output is not the result of any particular talent. It is the end result of failing a thousand times, and pushing through every time. When I have trouble I know it will pass. When the words don't work, I know that the next one might.

Anyway. This works for me.

A Worldly time in Chicago

Right after I promised to post more (Hi, Griff) I got my revision notes on Heretic Blade back from my agent. They are... extensive. So I've been head down trying to figure out exactly how I'm going to tackle them and in what order. It looks like a lot of what I've written for this book will end up in a second book, and I'll essentially be re-writing this book from scratch. So there's that.

But in other news, I have my pretty much final schedule for Worldcon this year. It's in Chicago this year, and this will be my first Worldcon with panels. It's kind of intimidating. But, anyway, here's my schedule. If you want to see me and hear me talk about things I know about, rather than my usual practice of just blathering until someone changes the subject, find me here:

Thu Aug 30 4:30:pm	Thu Aug 30 6:00:pm	Faith in Fiction
Crystal A		Faith -- or even the considered rejection of faith -- is an area often overlooked in world-building for speculative fiction in spite of the impact it's had on our world (for good and bad). How does faith affect the world view and formation of a fictional world?
Isabel Schechter Laurel Anne Hill Paul Genesse Shanna Swendson Tim Akers

Fri Aug 31 3:00:pm	Fri Aug 31 4:30:pm	Turning Ideas Into Stories
Columbus IJ		Many people ask authors where they get their ideas. This panel asks: "How do you develop your ideas into stories?"
Alec Nevala-Lee Jamie Todd Rubin Louise Marley Roland Green Tim Akers

Sat Sep 1 3:00:pm	Sat Sep 1 4:30:pm	Autograph Session 10
Autograph Tables
Daniel Abraham Deirdre Murphy Elizabeth Moon James S. Dorr Karin Rita Gastreich Sheila Williams Stina Leicht Tim Akers Ty Franck

Sun Sep 2 9:30:am	Sun Sep 2 10:00:am	Reading: Tim Akers
Dusable