writers

Clarion West Write-A-Thon 2018: Sprint #1

/ LH Moore / Leave a comment

twitter-profile-headCW2017WaTSooo…I’m participating in the Clarion West Write-A-Thon again this year! My goals? Get. Stories. DONE. Let’s get this show going…

10:06 PM: I’m doing the first of my hour-long Clarion West Write-A-Thon sprints…now! Word count is zero. I have a story in mind. I am a total pantser writing-wise tonight. As in, totally flying by the seat of ’em.

10:12 PM: Hm. Thing is…I know the very last words of this story’s end. That part I’m certain of.

10:50 PM: Well, I need more info about how birds communicate and the mechanics/physics of how they fly. Things you realize…

11:15 PM: OK! It’s been an hour! That went by fast! Word count is 994 and I’m pretty excited about this one actually. Working title is “Spire.”

11:20 PM: Things (OK…tangents) I thought about:

  • Are worms tasty?
  • Are some birds scared of heights?
  • Hostess CupCakes are delicious and I love them, but I have none and I’m supposed to be good, but ohhh…I want some SO badly.
  • I can’t wait to write more of this one!

Follow my sprint craziness on Saturdays and feel free to sponsor me (and other writers) so that we can keep this great workshop going!

Post-Panel Thoughts: Balticon 2018

/ LH Moore / Leave a comment

balticon
Ooo, I just love going to cons. It’s always nice being surrounded by folks who love scifi, fantasy and horror as much as I do, so when our Diverse Writers and Artists of Speculative Fiction (DWASF) group was invited to participate, I was more than happy to go. Some of our members (B. Sharise Moore, K. Ceres Wright and Chad Eric Smith) were on an “Afrofuturism 101” panel (along with Stephanie Burke and Nicky Drayden) that was standing room only!2018-05-26 12.11.26We also had a readings event where DWASF members John Edward Lawson, Stafford Battle, Chad, K. Ceres & I read selections from our works. I read an excerpt of “With These Hands,” that was published in FIYAH Magazine.

2018-05-26 13.56.08We love telling others about our group and had a really fun meet and greet event. We’re talking food, trivia, giveaways and fun. I know I had a great time chatting with attendees about how to submit and where to find markets and about representation in specfic.

Lisa Adler-Golden, who is head of programming for Balticon, stopped through. She shared with us how important to her it was to have these events going forward. “It is not just about straight, white males,” she said. “Our membership is graying and the future of our organization depends upon recognizing the diversity and concerns of our younger members.”  Hearing that so many attendees were happy to know our group existed was fantastic!2018-05-26 17.35.16Thank you for having us Balticon! I know that I had a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to returning next year!

Small Victories

/ LH Moore / Leave a comment

I talk a lot about rejections. Won’t be the first time. Won’t be the last. They’re both a writer’s rite of passage and the bane of our writing existence. It wouldn’t be realistic if I only told you about acceptances. Both happen, but it’s pushing through those rejections that keeps you going.

I think that we’re often so inundated with seeing other people’s successes in a way that can make you feel like “Damn, I must be doing something wrong.” While you’re glad and hyped for your colleagues, a little part of you screams inside sometimes. After you get over yourself, you realize anew that you love what you do, so you keep on with all sorts of hope in your heart that you’ll get to that point too.

Thing is, you take your small victories where you can. Did you write a few words, a sentence, a paragraph, whole pages? That’s something. More than what you had before! Keep going.

And write some more. And if the rejections still have you down, here are some bunnies who were like “This is MY driveway!” to me this morning…

See ya next time…

~L.

Be About This Writer Life

/ LH Moore / Leave a comment

“I’m a 46-year old writer who can remember being a 10-year old writer and who expects someday to be an 80-year old writer…” ~Octavia Butler

“I have no ability nor desire to be other than a writer…though the fact is I whistle beautifully.” ~Dorothy West

20170918_112441I loved to write as a kid and here is an excerpt from a story that I wrote in the 4th grade. There are sorcerers, dragons, and even a “flute of dance!” I mean, you just have to include a flute of dance, right?? We’re talking ADVENTURE! Thing is…I kept doing it. I never stopped writing. And I can tell you: It’s never too late.

If you are thinking, I’d like to try my hand at this writing thing, go for it! I am so not a hater. There’s room for us all. There is no one definitive way to be a writer, but there are some basic truths:

Read the works of others and hone your own skills. Take workshops. Join groups. Read books or sites about writing. Talk to other writers. Be nice to other writers! Don’t be that person. Find colleagues. Find your peeps. Get a sense of it all. But most of all? Write! Pen to paper, fingers to keyboard. Pay attention to asked-for formats and guidelines. And when you feel ready, take that plunge and submit! Put yourself out there. You will get rejections. You will have moments of “Why the hell am I doing this?” or “I. SUCK.” I know it’s rough and feels a li’l hellish, but get out of your feelings and keep going because you love what you do. Keep at it. You will get published. Be about this writer life!

What are you waiting for?

See ya next time!

~L.

Walk Down the Path

/ LH Moore / Leave a comment

I’ve been struggling with what to write in these posts, so I think that I am going to just go ahead and get personal with it. Let’s talk about perseverance.

This past year has been one of the hardest of my life. My husband needing a double lung transplant. Caregiving. Moving. Helping my son with autism transition through these changes. Feeling financially nervous (who doesn’t?). Finishing my thesis and graduating from grad school. A sick mom. Now needing to move yet again.

Yet, through it all I have been positive as an writer and now I’ve been recognized as a poet as well. Had a story come out in an anthology (Sycorax’s Daughters) and a poem published in Apex. And then there’s a project that I can’t even discuss yet. These are exciting, encouraging times for me right now. I see this momentum. I’m gonna walk right on down the path it’s taking me on. It might seem hokey, but writing has been my constant in the face of upheaval.

There have been times I have doubted my existence. There have been times that I wanted to close my eyes and just be done. We all have these moments of crisis when we are overwhelmed, when we are confused, scared, or want to give up. But that is just it. Please don’t.

The Ancestors are looking out for you. The Creator/Universal Energy that we are all a part of has a path for you to follow–and there is room along the way for your dreams. For writers and other creatives out there who are struggling: I know that it feels hard, but don’t give up.

Make it happen.

It will.

Until next time…
~L

Clarion West Write-a-Thon: Sprint #2

/ LH Moore / Leave a comment

Today was the second Clarion West Write-a-Thon writing sprint. The goal today? An article rough draft. Word count minimum of 500 words. Again, I journaled my spree…

8:15 PM: So, the two Short Dudes are gone. Time to get my writing on. I want to work on a rough draft of an article about speculative fiction for the first issue of Diverse Writers and Artists of Speculative Fiction (DWASF) Magazine. The catch? My computer’s dead.

8:39 PM: I don’t know how many words I have so far. I’m just flowing. Words down. Get this draft as far as possible. Edit later.

9:00 PM: I just made a Chrissy Teigen face about how often I’ve used a certain word.
9:15 PM: Whew! Made the minimum word count. That’s a nice start and I have a decent rough draft. Not bad for banging it out on my phone! Thanks Word app!

Wanna sponsor me? You can if you want. You can also find out more about Clarion West and the Write-A-thon and how it helps authors to be their best.

Clarion West Write-A-Thon: Journaling the Frenzy

/ LH Moore / Leave a comment

2017-06-21 20.46.59So tonight was the first writing sprint or as I like to think of it: “My Hour Of Writing Frenzy.” I decided I’d keep a journal of my crazy thoughts…

9:00 PM: WRITING SPRINT BEGINS! Annnnd we’re off! Soexcitedsoexcitedsoexcited!

9:02 PM: Crap…what story do I want to work on? What do I want to work on? What am I feeling tonight? Goddammit…I’ve wasted two minutes already?! Planning ahead is everything? Is it really already 9:04???

9:04 PM: So I decided to go with a fantasy novel WIP called “Between the Mountains and the Sea” (working title) that I’ve been really digging lately and wanting to work on. It already has 476 words. Okaaay…I can roll with that.

9:30 PM: I’ve been kind of obsessed with this for a while and wanted to work on it. I’m at least trying to add to it? 711 words so far. Alright, alright, alright.

9:45: I need a bio break SO BAD. No, no…I don’t yet. Peeing is for the weak! I can power through this. I NEED TO WRITE.

10: And that’s a wrap! Went from 479 words to 1150. My fingers were flying. I’m going to look at a lot of it tomorrow like “WTF?!” but it felt good to get words down like that.

Wanna sponsor me? You can if you want. You can also find out more about Clarion West and the Write-A-thon and how it helps authors to be their best.

 

Dusting Off the Cobwebs…

/ LH Moore / Leave a comment

My buddy Chesya told me that my essay “Citizen of Dork Nation” is going to be in an upcoming anthology that she is co-editing entitled Miseducation of the Writer. Comprised of non-fiction essays by genre writers “of color” like myself about the industry and art of writing, I think it will be a really insightful read once it’s out. I know I’m excited about it. While roaming through the Internet jungle that is Google, I found a bright, shiny new cover for Dark Dreams II and a reissue date of October 2012. I kind of did a doubletake. A reissue? Well, OK! It has my favorite story (“Breath of Life”) of the ones that I have in the three anthologies and I hope it’s true as it means folks get to enjoy it all over again.

It also means I need to get cracking, so I started writing again. Having a one-year old crawling everywhere and into everything could distract even dedicated folks. Add to that the fact that I am starting grad school this summer and there’s a lot going on. Even so, I’ve been sitting down writing again anyway. I think every writer suffers from a bit of “Can I do this? Why am I doing this to myself?” and hearing this news and reading other things in regards to my writing just reminded me of what I know I can do.

And it feels good.