The Whimsical Ramblings of a Confused Michiganian

Live From Rising Confusion, It's Friday Night!

1/20/2022

Rising Confusion is here! The Con is ON! So far we managed to brave the cold and the traffic, check into the Sheraton Novi, check into the convention, attend one panel, and reconnect with three old friends and many more familiar faces.

The panel, Speculative Visions of Trauma Recovery, was an excellent open discussion regarding the many faces and experiences of trauma and how to honestly and authentically deal with it in speculative fiction. Very informative and well done.

So strange to be at a con again, and not a little bit scary, but also hopefully a glimpse into the new "normal" to come.

Tomorrow I'll be attending an author meet and greet and moderating a panel on how to turn a single novel into a series entitled The Story Continues. I'm pretty excited because this panel is part of the "Pro Track" and Guest of Honor Jim C. Hines's panels are also part of the Pro Track!

In honor of this being my first in-person con in 2 years, I'm doing a promotion for my post-apocalyptic, sick-kid novel, The Christmas Plague.

THE CHRISTMAS PLAGUE BY JEN HAEGER
FREE KINDLE VERSION ON AMAZON!
JANUARY 22ND- JANUARY 26TH, 2022

Keep Writing and Edit On
I Write, I Edit, I Write Again. Witness!
We're Making Better Words, All of Them, Better Words.
I Write to Burn Off the Crazy.
A Good Day Writing is a Day Writing.
It Puts the Words on the Page or It Gets the Hose Again.
Just Keep Writing...Just Keep Writing...Writing, Writing, Writing!
Writing is Magic!
The First Rule of Write Club is You Talk About Write Club.
If You Aren't Writing, You Aren't a Writer.

2022 Preview

1/7/2022

Welcome to 2022! It's going to be a busy year.

First up is Rising Confusion January 21st-23rd where I will be moderating, The Story Continues, a panel on how to turn a standalone novel into a series. This is a science fiction and fantasy convention held in Novi, MI.

Next, I'm hoping to attend Michigan's premier science fiction and open source convention, Penguicon 2022, April 22nd-24th in Southfield, MI.

All the while I will be working on books 5 and 6 of my WHISPS series, editing my vet school memoir, and attempting to put together a self-published compilation of my short stories including now four stories which have received honorable mentions in the Writers of the Future Contest.

I should also probably try to finish my two half-written novels...Ahem, well, anyways, that's what I'll be up to writing-wise.

Wishing you a productive 2022!

Keep Writing and Edit On
I Write, I Edit, I Write Again. Witness!
We're Making Better Words, All of Them, Better Words.
I Write to Burn Off the Crazy.
A Good Day Writing is a Day Writing.
It Puts the Words on the Page or It Gets the Hose Again.
Just Keep Writing...Just Keep Writing...Writing, Writing, Writing!
Writing is Magic!
The First Rule of Write Club is You Talk About Write Club.
If You Aren't Writing, You Aren't a Writer.

Santa Watch 2021

12/10/2021

Well, it's that time of the year again! The Holidaze is upon us! But I know just the thing to get you into the Christmas spirit. How about some true holiday tales from me and my fellow Scarsdale authors? Check out Santa Watch 2021 and look for my seasonal story "Waifs and Strays." You might just win a free book. Cheers!

Keep Writing and Edit On
I Write, I Edit, I Write Again. Witness!
We're Making Better Words, All of Them, Better Words.
I Write to Burn Off the Crazy.
A Good Day Writing is a Day Writing.
It Puts the Words on the Page or It Gets the Hose Again.
Just Keep Writing...Just Keep Writing...Writing, Writing, Writing!
Writing is Magic!
The First Rule of Write Club is You Talk About Write Club.
If You Aren't Writing, You Aren't a Writer.

Coming Cons

11/22/2021

Image Copyrighted Rising ConFusion 2022

In the rush and craziness of NaNoWriMo and the coming holidays, don't forget to book your badge and hotel for the upcoming cons.

ConFusion is a science fiction and fantasy convention in Novi, MI that will take place this year at the Sheraton Detroit Novi Hotel from January 21st through January 23rd, 2022. I expect this convention to sell out due to everyone being super excited to get out and do things again. That being said, all attendees must be fully vaccinated or provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of attending the event. Also, a mask mandate is in place regardless of vaccination status.

Capricon is a science fiction and fantasy convention in Chicago, IL that will take place this year at the Sheraton Grand in Chicago from February 3rd through February 6th, 2022. Proof of COVID-19 vaccination is mandatory to attend, as is wearing an approved mask at all times.

Hopefully we can all safely enjoy reconnecting this year!

Keep Writing and Edit On
I Write, I Edit, I Write Again. Witness!
We're Making Better Words, All of Them, Better Words.
I Write to Burn Off the Crazy.
A Good Day Writing is a Day Writing.
It Puts the Words on the Page or It Gets the Hose Again.
Just Keep Writing...Just Keep Writing...Writing, Writing, Writing!
Writing is Magic!
The First Rule of Write Club is You Talk About Write Club.
If You Aren't Writing, You Aren't a Writer.

And We're Off....To a Great Stop

11/6/2021

Well, it's NaNoWriMo again, and as usual, I'm off to a great stop and 5,000 words behind already. Jeesh. But unlike most years, I'm not going to beat myself up about it. I'm just going to keep on keeping on. The most important thing during NaNo is not to get 50,000 words, but to have no 0 word days. No matter how far behind you fall, don't give up and don't give in. Some words are better than no words. And yeah, yeah, I know I sound like a broken record, but the lesson is repeated until the lesson is learned.

Happy Nano & Good Luck!

Keep Writing and Edit On
I Write, I Edit, I Write Again. Witness!
We're Making Better Words, All of Them, Better Words.
I Write to Burn Off the Crazy.
A Good Day Writing is a Day Writing.
It Puts the Words on the Page or It Gets the Hose Again.
Just Keep Writing...Just Keep Writing...Writing, Writing, Writing!
Writing is Magic!
The First Rule of Write Club is You Talk About Write Club.
If You Aren't Writing, You Aren't a Writer.

Touchdown!

10/15/2021

I'm pleased to report that I've finally completed the rough draft of WHISPs Book 4! This was a difficult one, and at times I didn't think I'd ever get there. But this process has reinforced for me to never give up, especially on yourself. The plan is to NaNoWriMo book 5, but we'll see how that goes. Another lesson I learned this time around was that sometimes you have to cut yourself some slack.

In other news, I've also finally completed edits on the Moonlight Medicine: Inoculation reprint, so that should be coming out soon from Dragon's Roost Press. Many thanks to Michael on his patience with me through the republishing process!

For now, I'm taking just a short October breather before buckling down for a run at 50,000 words is November. Wish me luck!

Awesome Author Update: Awesome author Alex Kourvo has a new how-to book on editing out! The Big-Picture Revision Checklist "makes revision so easy, a cat could do it." Available now on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Keep Writing and Edit On
I Write, I Edit, I Write Again. Witness!
We're Making Better Words, All of Them, Better Words.
I Write to Burn Off the Crazy.
A Good Day Writing is a Day Writing.
It Puts the Words on the Page or It Gets the Hose Again.
Just Keep Writing...Just Keep Writing...Writing, Writing, Writing!
Writing is Magic!
The First Rule of Write Club is You Talk About Write Club.
If You Aren't Writing, You Aren't a Writer.

What to say?

9/24/2021

Today I thought I'd give a few tips about writing dialogue based on mistakes I've made in the past.

1. Listen to people when they're talking. Most people use contractions unless they are giving a presentation or are particularly scholarly or proper.

2. Make sure the voice of your characters doesn't change over time unless there is a reason for it changing over time. For example, if someone doesn't use a lot of profanity or slang, they shouldn't suddenly start using it for no reason, but they could start using it if they are hanging around a bad crowd for example.

3. Make sure to use enough speech tags that your readers don't lose track of who's speaking, but don't use too many and don't make them too unique. What I mean to say is that he said, she said are usually fine. When you get into, she exclaimed, he trumpeted, this is going to take your reader out of the conversation. It should be clear from context whether your character is whispering or shouting.

4. Make sure to keep a character's speech with their action. For example, Miri came and sat down next to me. "So what are we doing today?" she asked.: Yes. Miri is sitting and speaking in the same paragraph. But, Miri came and sat down next to me. "So what are we doing today?" I asked.: No. The question now needs to be in a separate paragraph because Miri is performing an action, but someone else is speaking.

Hope these pointers are helpful.

Keep Writing and Edit On
I Write, I Edit, I Write Again. Witness!
We're Making Better Words, All of Them, Better Words.
I Write to Burn Off the Crazy.
A Good Day Writing is a Day Writing.
It Puts the Words on the Page or It Gets the Hose Again.
Just Keep Writing...Just Keep Writing...Writing, Writing, Writing!
Writing is Magic!
The First Rule of Write Club is You Talk About Write Club.
If You Aren't Writing, You Aren't a Writer.

Back to Writing

8/27/2021

So, this summer I haven't been a writer. I've had to take a massive sojourn in order to complete my Master Beekeeper certificate, but now that I am a Master Beekeeper, it's back to writing. While I love being a beekeeper and honing my knowledge and skills, I am thrilled to be back on a writing schedule and getting work done again. Hopefully this fall will find me happily plunking away at the keyboard with honey in my tea.

Keep Writing and Edit On
I Write, I Edit, I Write Again. Witness!
We're Making Better Words, All of Them, Better Words.
I Write to Burn Off the Crazy.
A Good Day Writing is a Day Writing.
It Puts the Words on the Page or It Gets the Hose Again.
Just Keep Writing...Just Keep Writing...Writing, Writing, Writing!
Writing is Magic!
The First Rule of Write Club is You Talk About Write Club.
If You Aren't Writing, You Aren't a Writer.

MME Now Available!

7/23/2021

Thank you so much to Dragon's Roost Press! The Moonlight Medicine: Epidemic reprint is now available at Amazon in both Kindle and Paperback.

Keep Writing and Edit On.
I Write, I Edit, I Write Again. Witness!
We're Making Better Words, All of Them, Better Words.
I Write to Burn Off the Crazy.
A Good Day Writing is a Day Writing.
It Puts the Words on the Page or It Gets the Hose Again.
Just Keep Writing...Just Keep Writing....Writing, Writing, Writing!
Writing is Magic!
The First Rule of Write Club is You Talk About Write Club.
If You Aren't Writing, You Aren't a Writer.

Sneak Peek!

7/9/2021

Here's a sneak peek of the new Dragon's Roost Press MME cover by K. Koehler. Hope you like it!

Keep Writing and Edit On.
I Write, I Edit, I Write Again. Witness!
We're Making Better Words, All of Them, Better Words.
I Write to Burn Off the Crazy.
A Good Day Writing is a Day Writing.
It Puts the Words on the Page or it Gets the Hose Again.
Just keep writing...just keep writing...writing, writing, writing!
Writing is Magic.
The First Rule of Write Club is You Talk About Write Club.
If You Aren't Writing, You Aren't a Writer.