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.

sysrae

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

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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

seanan_mcguire

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, 10:46:12 UTC 7 years ago

The book is called Solace and Grief; it's set mostly in Sydney, and the main character is a vampire girl called Solace who's been raised in the foster system. She suspects what she is but has always hidden it successfully, until a freaky encounter with a faceless man prompts her to run away. She finds other people - other Rare - like her, makes friends, has fun for the first time, and also gets caught up in a supernatural plot to capture her. First book of a trilogy. Fun times!

I'll take your word about the rubber room. My husband (whose name, incidentally, is Toby) will at least se me get out this evening for drinks with philosophers. Yay! :)

October 8 2009, 18:42:24 UTC 7 years ago

This sounds gorgeous, and I love love love "Solace" as a name. (I actually wanted to use it at a few points, but someone else always got there first.) Keep me posted, this sounds like exactly the sort of thing I adore. :)

October 8 2009, 20:46:32 UTC 7 years ago

Squee! Glad you approve - will definitely keep you posted, seeing as how I plan on keeping everyone I've *ever met* posted. Am still trying to get my hands on a copy of Rosemary and Rue, but am being thwarted by the local Borders and their deceptive 'we have the American version on order, whoopsie now we've been lying to you for two weeks and are in fact waiting until November for the UK addition' policy. May well revert to Amazon before then, but seriously cannot wait to read it, as it looks AWESOME, and also because this blog is awesome :)

October 9 2009, 22:12:15 UTC 7 years ago

Well, yes. Keeping everyone you've ever met posted is like, your job. Who's your publisher?

I really hope you get your hands on R&R soon (and more, hope you like it, but that's oddly secondary).

October 9 2009, 22:16:12 UTC 7 years ago

Publisher is a local Victorian (Australian) outfit called Ford Street, run by Paul Collins. Cannot *wait* to get my hands on R&R - my mission for the weekend is to Amazon it, as Bristol appears to be a largely dry county when it comes to new urban fantasy books. Very weird!

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I will not grow up to be Sinistar.

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