I will not grow up to be Sinistar.: seanan

I will not grow up to be Sinistar.

I, Seanan McGuire, having now survived the release of my first novel without bludgeoning anyone to death with a copy of Child's Traditional Ballads of England and Scotland, have once again started pondering resolutions. After all, I've posted my personal resolutions (see also "Flowers, Chocolates, and Promises You Don't Intend to Keep"), and I've posted my "don't be an asshole" resolutions (see also "A Vague Disclaimer Is Nobody's Friend"), I figure it's time to post the third set of resolutions. The ones that keep me from destroying the universe in a fit of pique.

I. I will acknowledge that no matter how fast I write, I still have a limit to how many books I can finish in a year, and while I will continue to pursue however many projects I feel like pursuing, I will not commit to delivering more than I can actually deliver. Biting off more than you can chew is a good way to end up like that python that tried to eat an alligator. No fun.

II. I will prioritize the things that I have committed to delivering over the things I haven't committed to delivering, even when I'm working well ahead of my deadlines, because deadlines make me crazy. (I'm a little worried that I'm committed to writing a book called Deadline, because deadlines make me crazy. On the plus side, Kate will beat me if I get out of control.)

III. I will continue to make sure everyone knows what I'm working on, because that reduces the number of people asking "but when is _____ going to be done?" I will also continue to remember that having ten people asking "but when is _____ going to be done?" doesn't mean I have to prioritize that project, or that it's okay to set them on fire. Everyone has their limits.

IV. I will do my best not to snap at people for asking questions which have been answered, in detail, on my website FAQs. Sometimes you just want to have an answer that's yours, rather than going to the author's website and poking around. The answers won't change, mind you, but I'll still try to be polite while giving them. (I do not, however, promise not to cut-and-paste from the FAQs when faced with questions I've answered ninety times already.)

V. While I may find discussions of the contents of Toby's cupboards endlessly fascinating, I will remember that other humans don't, necessarily, and will try to refrain from dominating dinner table conversation by explaining which brands of soup she prefers. (Vegetable barley and Spaghetti-Os, if you were wondering. Which you probably weren't.)

VI. I will continue to work as far ahead of my deadlines as possible. This has the twin benefits of not causing things to become completely uncontrollable if something comes up that can't be avoided, like last month's bout of Martian Death Flu, and of keeping me from totally scrapping a book and starting over when I get a review that upsets me. Too late! The sequel's already turned in!

VII. I will not allow myself to fall into the comfortable trap of "oh, this is what worked last time, let's just do it again, only moreso." Yes, series books and sequels will always have a tendency to be "more of the same, but moreso." That's natural. At the same time, if you hike the stakes too high, you actually run out of places to go. I'd rather do new things, and enjoy them.

VIII. I will, however, keep doing the old things that are awesome, rather than going "oh, you liked that? Well, I won't do that anymore." While that might make every book an exciting adventure, it would also make hiding from my readers an exciting adventure, and that's one exciting adventure more than I can take.

IX. I will absolutely continue to get spun-up and faintly crazy every time I have a book coming out, because I have met me. I will, however, also make it a point to thoroughly document each book release, which will have the double benefit of telling me what to expect, and telling the people who help me organize launch events what to expect. When they see checked-off to-do lists that include "wax the cat," they may realize that I mean it.

X. I will not wax the cat.

XI. I will internalize valid critique, and attempt to incorporate it into whatever I'm working on, even if my tendency to work ahead of my deadlines means that it may take a while for anyone outside my head to see the change.

XII. I will occasionally take my own advice, put down the keyboard, and go out into the big blue room where all the nature lives. I like the nature. The nature likes me, too. The nature stings and bites and generally does its best to destroy me, and I really appreciate that. Good things happen when I go out into nature. Sometimes the good things include antivenin, and I'm cool with that, too.

XIII. I will write.

archangelbeth

September 17 2009, 18:14:51 UTC 7 years ago

New comment

Question I did not find on the website FAQ! Fanfic and You (or at least Toby) -- don't ask, don't tell; or just please don't?

seanan_mcguire

September 17 2009, 18:23:47 UTC 7 years ago

Honey, you REALLY cannot ask me that. REALLY REALLY REALLY. US Copyright law is an incredible mess, as you can quickly see from looking around the Internets, and any answer to this question is a bad one. Don't ask me about fanfic. There is no such thing as fanfic. I disbelieve it.

7 years ago

wendyzski

a_r_williams

grey_lady

September 17 2009, 18:19:14 UTC 7 years ago

X. I will not wax the cat.
Not even if the cat asks nicely?

September 17 2009, 18:24:42 UTC 7 years ago

Not even then. Cat has a lot of hair.

autographedcat

maniakes

spectralbovine

September 17 2009, 18:20:20 UTC 7 years ago

I will remember that other humans don't, necessarily, and will try to refrain from dominating dinner table conversation by explaining which brands of soup she prefers. (Vegetable barley and Spaghetti-Os, if you were wondering. Which you probably weren't.)
Shit, you just totally McGuired this fic I was writing about Toby and her favorite soup (chicken noodle with a hint of rosemary).

September 17 2009, 18:24:50 UTC 7 years ago

Sucks to be you, dude.

phillip2637

September 17 2009, 18:26:56 UTC 7 years ago

I trust you will continue to wax poetic *about* cats however.

September 17 2009, 18:42:31 UTC 7 years ago

Of course!

semy_of_pearls

September 17 2009, 18:31:03 UTC 7 years ago

Speaking of possibilities, I know your schedule is ridiculously full, but I believe you are right and that I (and Vincent) should meet Lily and Alice. What weekend might work for you?

September 17 2009, 18:43:33 UTC 7 years ago

I currently have nothing formally (IE, "in the planner") scheduled for either of the first two weekends in October. Time could be made.

aiglet

Deleted comment

September 17 2009, 18:44:00 UTC 7 years ago

She was not married! Toby promised Devin she wouldn't marry Cliff until after Gilly was past the age of the Changeling's Choice.

snowcoma

ladyqkat

September 17 2009, 18:39:47 UTC 7 years ago

XI. I will internalize valid critique, and attempt to incorporate it into whatever I'm working on, even if my tendency to work ahead of my deadlines means that it may take a while for anyone outside my head to see the change.

How do you get people (readers/beta readers) to give you valid and useful critique? I would like to get some, but those who have said they would read my stuff and critique just seem to have dropped it into a black hole or something.

I have tried to explain that I want and need more than "Squee!", or "There should be a comma at this spot, not a period", or "You misspelled FITB". I would like a little more of "MarySue came to this conclusion but you never indicated why or how."

I am probably whining to the wrong person, but these are some of the reasons I never really tried to pursue writing before and it is driving me nuts.

ladymondegreen

September 17 2009, 18:46:18 UTC 7 years ago

Spaghetti-Os are a soup?

This changes my entire worldview.

September 17 2009, 20:06:46 UTC 7 years ago

Mmmmm, small bits of pasta in a francomato[1] base. Now that's soupy goodness.

[1] A unique flavour that is almost, but not quite, tomato.

mskauri

September 17 2009, 19:18:53 UTC 7 years ago

On not waxing the cat...does that mean you're limiting the application of ALL depilatories/depilatory processes to the feline, or just wax? I just need to know what to do if you post a call for clippers and acknowledge you have a deadline looming and the cat shut in the bathroom....

September 18 2009, 00:29:33 UTC 7 years ago

I'm limiting the application of all depilatory processes to my cat. Have you seen Alice? If you shaved her, she'd be gone.

mariadkins

September 17 2009, 19:40:54 UTC 7 years ago

I hear you on that cat waxing. I do entirely too much of it lately and Must. Stop.

September 18 2009, 00:29:44 UTC 7 years ago

It's addictive, it's true.

la_marquise_de_

September 17 2009, 19:44:43 UTC 7 years ago

Indeed, do not wax the cat (or, indeed, set the cat on fire...)
And take fresh air and exercise regularly, lest you harm yourself.

September 18 2009, 00:30:10 UTC 7 years ago

I need to make time to walk more. I've bused home twice this week, out of Too Much To Do. I need to not do that.

twfarlan

September 17 2009, 20:01:22 UTC 7 years ago

While I don't necessarily concern myself with the contents of Toby's pantry, I do find significance that you do. That's a mark of intensive world-building.

September 18 2009, 00:31:07 UTC 7 years ago

Also a mark of getting bored and writing her shopping lists.

jongibbs

September 17 2009, 20:10:56 UTC 7 years ago

Good list. i'm sure the cat is particularly glad about #X :)

September 18 2009, 00:31:15 UTC 7 years ago

Definitely so.

martianmooncrab

September 17 2009, 20:44:14 UTC 7 years ago

last month's bout of Martian Death Flu

uh, its more like assimilation, since that invasion strategy doesnt seem to work very well... grin.

Mars Needs Writers!

September 18 2009, 00:32:22 UTC 7 years ago

Mars cannot have me, I have cats to feed!

miintikwa

September 17 2009, 21:42:34 UTC 7 years ago

Spaghetti-O's for the win!

September 18 2009, 00:32:32 UTC 7 years ago

Mmmmmmmmmmmm, fake pasta.

sysrae

September 18 2009, 00:13:00 UTC 7 years ago

It is tremendously comforting to know that I am not the only crazy lady in existence, and also that the kind of crazy I am, however writerly, is not the kind which requires antivenom. My first novel is coming out next March (YA urban fantasy - yay!), and I've been driving myself nuts with the sequel. We're on a 5 month overseas holiday at the moment, and my husband observed that, while he has been out befriending the natives (other philosophical logicians, lord help me), I have been sitting at an Ikea laptop desk writing about fictional dimensions. I would contend that, given his thesis is on possible worlds, the two are not all that distinct, but only internally, because otherwise we'd get into that argument about how after he explained the cardinal version of Cantor's Theorem to me, I went out and used it as a basis for the magic of parallel worlds. The point being, I have taken note. Big blue room where the nature lives: got it :)

http://fozmeadows.wordpress.com

September 18 2009, 00:34:00 UTC 7 years ago

Hey, congratulations! I read a lot of YA urban fantasy—what's the premise/title/all that jazz?

I actually spent the bulk of a trip to England writing two novels (the second Toby book, and a romantic comedy/Whitehall farce). You're crazy, but it's not the kind of crazy that gets you a rubber room, I promise. :)

September 18 2009, 15:47:48 UTC 7 years ago

Yeah, but...what if I damage it? Those things are spendy!

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I will not grow up to be Sinistar.

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