The Journal of Michael Merriam

The steampunk spy-thriller novella is delivered to the publisher, so there is a big load off my mind. Dark Water Blues, has been rewritten and resubmitted to my editor, so another project down. I've been working on rewrites of Dead Brew and finishing the first draft of my still untitled contemporary coming of age novella (can you tell I've fallen in love with the novella length work?). Plans are still afoot to try my hand a screenwriting.

I've also started finalizing and lining up my programming at various conventions for 2012, and I'm looking at doing a few out-of-state readings and signings later this year. Website updates are in the works.

Over on a message board I frequent, we've been talking about Plot vs. Story vs. Characterization, though it is not the epic battle royale it sounds from that description. No one is being bashed over the head with adverbs and tossed out with a form rejection stapled to their foreheads or anything like that.

I've found it interesting watching the folks who only write short fiction and the folks who are writing novels discuss their different perspectives concerning plot. The general consensus is that in short fiction a single plot is preferable, while longer works such as novels, novellas, feature scripts, and long plays, should (and frankly, these days are expected to) have subplots. Of course I could point out examples of short stories with two or even three plots running, and I can point to successful novels that only have the main plot and nothing else, the general consensus stated about does seem to be the norm.

In genre fiction (SF/F/H/M/W/R/Thr and others) plot tends to be the emphasis, with characters and setting next in importance, while in what critics call contemporary, literary, or mainstream fiction, character and story tends to rule over plot. This is also a generalization, and of course some "genre" writers focus more on characterization or world-building, while I've seen some lovely plots in post-modern contemporary novels.

From a personal perspective as a writer, I like to write deep characterization first, plot and sub-plot second (grown from the character's desires and conflicts), and deal with world-building very little, hence I tend to write contemporary and urban fantasy with a smattering of magical realism and steampunk/supernatural westerns/supernatural Victoriana where I can use a "real world" setting and short hand the world-building.

I think that in short fiction everything, from paragraph to punctuation, has to advance the story in some way, either moving the plot or developing the characters, hopefully while deepening the sense of scene and place. I think you have more room to digress and get away with long descriptions in novels, though it should be used sparingly.

As always, your mileage may vary.

I’m still writing the sequel to a novel I haven’t sold yet.

Dead Brew II: Vampires and Werewolves


I have put together the submission pack for Dead Brew. I plan to send it out next week. Sent out a couple of things this week, but it feels weird to have so few things circulating right now. Once I finish this novel, I might write a few short stories. I have three in progress, all of them stalled and one threatening to go novel on me, like they sometimes do. I’ve also had the Spear of Destiny novel simmering in the back of my head again, enough that I’ve made a few notes.

I have finished my marketing materials for my book release, I just need to send it all off to Carina Press.

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Last Car to Annwn Station. Releases on June 27th. Pre-Order at Carina Press, Amazon U.S., and Amazon U.K.

I have been writing on Dead Brew II (title pending). I’m about to the middle of the book and finally have the shape of the thing clear in my head. What I need to focus in now is writing the synopsis for Dead Brew and get it sent out.

Speaking of sent out, I submitted three new pieces to Anthology Builder. I have more pieces to submit to them, but I thought I would start with these three and once a decision was made, submit three more. If I can get all the stories on Anthology builder I would like, that would be 12 pieces. I also sent out a query on a small short fiction collection of my space opera pieces. The publisher in question has told me he is looking for more SF and space opera, so I have high hopes.

Attempts to integrate Belyn—aka Temp-to-Perm Kitty—with the Reverend Selena have been mixed. It would help if Belyn would read her signals (which are pretty obvious, considering how vocal she is) and back off when she’s angry. I wonder if the male inability to read signals a female is sending is a universal thing.

He is still very cute and we are patient. Belyn really wants to make friends with Selena. She is not all that interested right now. I think she might be willing to ignore him, if he would stop getting in her face.

Snippet four of Last Car to Annwn Station is more character and relationship development, with an indication that Jill is about to be drawn into the metaphysical mystery that Mae is dealing with.

I received my postcards and 8x10 prints from Carina Press for Last Car to Annwn Station. They are lovely, and I will have them to give away at 4TH Street Fantasy Convention, Convergence, and Diversicon if I attend.

( Snippet #4 Behind the Cut )
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Last Car to Annwn Station. Releases on June 27th. Pre-Order at Carina Press, Amazon U.S., and Amazon U.K.

Should We Drown in Feathered Sleep. Available in ebook format at Carina Press, Amazon, B&N, and in audio format at Audible.com

Writing continues at Merriam Manor. I have started taking Dark Water Blues apart one last time, this time to bring it inline with the continuity I am building in my Twin Cities urban fantasy setting. I’ve made the continuity fit, and now I need to go over it one more time to make sure I didn’t break something.

Most of my writing focus has been on the second novel in the monster-hunting barista series. In the last few days I’ve pounded out 3600 words, all of it in a vampire scene, which finished with vampires feeding and then a squicky sex scene. It was an uncomfortable scene to write, but I think that’s a good thing. You really need to be able to write scenes that make you uncomfortable, that leave you feeling out of sorts and a little unhappy. The next scene should be easier for me to deal with, though I do have to come up with the exact wording of a curse that is pivotal to the plot.

And speaking of vampires, it seems that all I need to do now is write a “Little Magic Shop” story and I can stand up and yell, “BINGO!” I’ve done zombies, elves, unicorns, talking cats, helpful animals, etc. I might have missed one or two, but if I have, I’d be surprised. ETA: timprov hit me with one I missed on the first comment. What have the rest of you got?

I’m still a little disbelieving about Last Car to Annwn Station and I suspect I will be until I get the author copies. Carina / Harlequin has promised me postcards, which I should have by CONvergence, maybe even by 4th Street Fantasy Convention.

In non-writing news, I had an interview last week for a part-time, mostly work from home position as a grant writer, with some copywriting, proofreading, and social networking tossed in for good measure. I think I’m a pretty good fit for the position. They told me they would be doing second interviews this week, so I’m hoping to get the call.

I’m going to try to be more active here on LJ again. I’ve let Facebook seduce me for awhile, but I’ve missed the more substantive posts and conversations you can have here on LJ.

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Last Car to Annwn Station. Releases on June 27th.

Should We Drown in Feathered Sleep. Available in ebook format at Carina Press, Amazon, B&N, and in audio format at Audible.com

This is something new for me. I've never written a sequel before (and am still a bit concerned that I'm writing the sequel to a novel I haven't sold yet).

It seems the vampire novel I was poking at earlier is really the second book in the Monster-Hunting Barista series of novels (remember: I said it was the most commercial novel I had written). On the one hand, this is not unexpected. I knew when I finished Dead Brew I would probably be writing more novels featuring Sharisha Zajicova. I didn't expect to be jumping into the next one right away, but you write the thing you've got.

Which means I'm learning a new skill: recapping the incidents in the previous novel. I need to do this so that when they sell, readers won't be totally out to sea if they accidentally pick up the second book first. But it has to be subtle, concise, and small enough not to annoy anyone who read the first book. All that those readers would need is small refresher.

This writing gig really is a never-ending quest to learn the next valuable skill-set to add to your toolbox.