Making An Office Away From the Office

I don't always have the opportunity write from home, and I do have my favorite places to write from in those cases. I've had to settle for spotty internet from places like Starbucks and Panera, which I know you've read about from me both here and on my Facebook page.

My number one favorite out-of-the-office office is in a data center in downtown Los Angeles. Whether or not I can work there depends on whether or not I can find street parking, which isn't always a given. This is downtown Los Angeles, after all!

While I'm here, I put on a set of comfortable headphones and play music as I write, as it helps to put me in the right frame of mind to write. I try to use music that's appropriate to whatever it is that I'm writing.

For this blog post, it's Cat Stevens.

In this office, which is about 400 square feet in size, I've got a gigabit wired connection and a quiet room all to myself on a rarely visited floor. I even have a locking cabinet in here with me (I have the only key) I can use to store the things that are good to have with me, but that I don't want to have to haul all over the damned place. It makes life so much easier, as I haul enough heavy crap around with me all the time without having to add to the burden.

I've still got to get the proper wiring to connect my Microsoft Surface Pro 3 (my workhorse computer) to the currently unused monitor that sits atop the upper level of the glass and metal desk I use here. Of course, that wiring would hit the cabinet when I wasn't around. It would stand too much of a chance of being appropriated by someone else.

As this office is also periodically (though very rarely) used by data center employees for working on computers and servers, it's cluttered and full of boxes and equipment, both working and dead. It's sort of a peripheral computer graveyard, if you're familiar with the concept. I've seen the main graveyard, and it's much more cluttered than this small room.

I've done my best to clear the area I want to work in, although periodically I'll walk in and discover that some asshole has been in here to work and strewn their discarded crap across the workspace I use. Then I remember and practice at least a few of the bad words my father so thoughtfully taught me and proceed to tidy up the electronic and cardboard carnage.

I'm considering putting up some simple artwork on the walls to quietly suggest to those people that they aren't the only ones using this space for something. I clean up after myself well enough that they might not realize that someone else makes use of the space, but you'd think they'd have noticed that the open desk surfaces aren't covered in greasy black dust anymore.

That might be expecting too much of them, I suppose. If you have any suggestions for simple artwork that can be printed up, please let me know. I'm open to new ideas.

The Dreaded IRS Scam Call

This scam has been going on for years now, but I only just got my dose of it a little bit ago. I was in an irritable mood at the time, so this lightened it considerably. Yes, I have an odd sense of humor that way. If you know me, you already know this.

I didn't hang up, because I wanted to see where it went. Sadly, it wasn't a real live human on the other end of the call, which was sort of sad-making. It would have been fun to play before I dropped the anvil.

It was a robotic call featuring a "male" voice, threatening me with arrest and a lawsuit over supposed irregularities in my tax return. I noted that the script the robot was using was missing words and using incorrect words, so the scammers are likely not native English speakers.

First, let's deal with the bare facts.

The Infernal Revenue Service isn't going to call you or email you about supposed financial irregularities. They will contact you via snail mail. You now, snail mail. The kind the nice man or woman puts in your physical mailbox, wherever that may be. I know this from personal experience.

Don't worry, it turned out that everything was fine on my end. A previous employer was playing fast and loose with State money and mixing my name and tax information in that ball of shit. I called the IRS when I got that letter and they were very interested in what I had to tell them.

Their next letter said that they had recomputed my tax debt and determined that I owed "$".  It was a very satisfying letter, I must say!

Second, there is a whole bevy of things they do before Court, much less arrest, is even an issue. They don't want to spend any more money than they have to in order to resolve tax issues. Suing someone costs real money. They're like you in that regard. Why spend money when you don't have to?

A friend was recently targeted by these assholes, and I got angry. I decided that when the time came that I got one of these calls, I'd take steps.

Well, ladles and germs, I've put the number that called me today, and that I was instructed to call back by the robotic voice, in the hands of the proper authorities. 

I hope they enjoy the attention. I just wish I could watch the entertainment.

In conclusion, I recommend that if and when you get this call, instead of freaking out, make note of any phone number you are directed to call (the calling number is probably fake) and report it to the Internal Revenue Service as soon as possible.

We need to take these asshats down as quickly as possible, and they go through phone numbers like toddlers through cotton candy.

Writing Differing Genres

As some of you may know, I write in more than one genre.

I started with vampire fiction, which I began writing after I was unable to find the kind of vampire fiction I'd like to read. I'm not a fan of romances at all, so those kind of supernatural bodice rippers weren't on my list, and I was tired of so-called "monk" vampires who hate who and what they are, so they hide away from everyone. Ultimately, some human comes along and "cures" them of their condition and everyone goes off to live happily ever after.

I could never understand how a vampire could reach the age of one hundred or more, hating him or herself. Why didn't they just end themselves in the way dictated by their particular mythos and just stop being so bloody boring?

Yes, I said it. Boring.

Since I couldn't find what I wanted to read, and I figured others were in the same boat, I decided to write a vampire story about the Irish vampire, SIOFRA, who, although turned against her will in the mid-1600's, is now over four hundred years old and enjoys who and what she is. No emotional bullshit. No self-hatred. No monkish garbage. No, my Siofra really likes herself, and that, to me, is cool. 

As there is no actual romance in my Sumaire Web stories, I've found that the fans of that series seem to come from both females and males, where usually this is a genre that is mostly popular with females.

And then, recently, after much prodding from an old and very good friend, I started writing about a young girl and the dragon she so desperately wants. Her family situation is abusive, which, I am sure, is a bit of a trope, but it's my story, so there.

The result was AYA'S DRAGON, a longish short story that has gone over very well with my readers, which pleases me to no end. I made sure that it was available in both e-book and softcover versions, as some people really like to have the feeling of holding a book in their hands when they read.

I'm currently working on SARA'S FIRE, the sequel to Aya's Dragon. It continues the Tales of the Dragonguard series that this will all be a part of, eventually. At some time in the future, I plan to combine the stories, three or four at a time, into single volumes.

I considered writing the latter series under a different name, as some readers don't like it when an author takes a step in another direction. I get that, but then I also decided that it would be fun to do. I hope you, the reader, can accept my writing in multiple genres, and that you consider reading whatever series I create.

Creative Spaces -- Thoughts

Out again in the world, writing from a Panera in downtown Burbank, CA. This one, at least, has a reliable internet connection, which doesn't suck for a change. Being a reasonably thoughtful and polite person, I'm sitting at a tiny one-person table, instead of using a larger table that could be used by multiple people.

When I do something like this, I bring along a larger power strip (IKEA sells a pair of 3-prong 3-outlet power strips called KOPPLA for an inexpensive $3.99 -- thanks for the recommendation, John!) so that others can have access to power if the wall outlet is already taken up. It's the polite thing to do, wouldn't you agree?

It's interesting, sitting here and watching people go about their lives. Some are here solo for a quick bite, others have mini-meetings, and still others are like me and have set up their workspace for the day.

I don't focus on their conversations, so the sounds they make are more of a babbling jumble, mixed with the noise of dishes and pans being moved about in the front and rear parts of the place. Sometimes, a word or phrase will push itself out of the melting pot of sound, but never in a way that offers context.

I haven't decided if these out of the office locations are a boon or a bane to my writing. It's not as though I am writing "real life", so I can't use any of these things for "slice of life" bits in my novels and stories. I just don't think Siofra or Nathaniel is going to be stopping by Panera for a soup and sandwich combo, and Aya doesn't live in a world where coffee shops exist at all.

Do you work away from wherever your dedicated "office" is, and if so, how well do those alternative office locations work for you?

On Writing...

People out there say that anyone can write, and that's true, but it's not true that anyone can write well.

That's not a criticism. It's a fact.

Authors don't just sit down and figuratively spew forth words onto the page or screen. They agonize over every word that is chosen, and agonize when those words don't want to come, even though they know they have a story to tell.

You can usually tell when an author has pretty much phoned it in. When you read what they've published, you find multitudes of spelling/grammar/punctuation errors, and it's clear that they edited their own work.

I've found that to be a mistake. You must have an outside editor. You can't just rely on yourself to get it right the first or even the second or third time around.

But multiple drafts of your work are a subject for another time.

Most writers can find beta readers who will read over what has been written and then give feedback. I recommend asking those beta readers to be hard in their response, and to give an honest opinion and feedback. You don't want kudos, you want brutal honesty, so having a thick skin for criticism is a necessity.

I also recommend reading your work aloud. It's much easier to find those inadvertent mistakes that way. Wouldn't you much rather be embarrassed discovering those errors yourself and then fixing them, rather than having screenshots posted by readers who want to poke public fun at your efforts?

When you write something, you aren't necessarily going to notice the mistakes you make, and you can't rely on Spellcheck, either, as if you've used a homonym for a word and spelled it correctly, it's not going to alert you to the issue. There, their, and they're are prime examples of that. I'm sure you've seen your and you're used incorrectly all the time.

I know someone who writes too instead of to all the time. The day he tried to convince me he was a mutual friend, I knew it was him from the moment he made that error. (I've never confronted him about the attempted deception, as I don't know what that would accomplish.)

In regard to beta readers, if you'd like to be considered as a beta reader for my works in progress, please let me know!