Brent’s Stories Available (So Far) This Year…
So this has been an interesting year for me. I haven’t really kept a tally in previous years but I’m sure 2012 has seen more stories of mine published than in any other year. So far I’ve had six stories appear, with another slotted to be out before the end of the year (and two wildcards that should have been published earlier in the year but haven’t been yet).
The stories are:
- Nikki 2.3 (still available to read, for free, at The Journal Of Unlikely Entomology)
- Onion Farmer (Aoife’s Kiss)
- Proof in the Pudding (Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader – Flush Fiction)
- Stone Eater (Abyss and Apex, you’ll need to subscribe to read the story as it is in their archives, now)
- Summer Lover (Shroud Magazine)
- Touch the Dead (On Spec Magazine #87)
(For those keeping long-term score, I think this brings me to just under 20 published stories, since I started selling work).
I’ve also worked with a variety of editors (and types of editors). That too has been interesting. Some editors seem happy with the story and I don’t really hear back from them until right before the story goes to print (and some I don’t ever hear from!). In other circumstances I’ve worked back and forth with editors for quite a while, getting the story right. I can’t say I have a preference one way or the other (though I do like having a look at the final copy before it goes out, just in case, you know). Some days it is good on the ego just to see the story go out as it was submitted.
That said, there’s a huge benefit (to me, as an author) when an editor pushes a story back with a list of flaws. This can be humbling at times (as in when they point out obvious errors). But it is educational, not just learning to improve my writing but also learning how to work with editors. Knowing when (and why) to push back on suggestions (or when not to). I find that some of my past experience dealing with feeback back in my BioWare days comes in handy… sometimes it is enough just to be told there is a problem. Then it is up to the writer to figure out how to fix it (though, honestly, I’ve had the editors pitch some pretty fantastic solutions too).
Now that I’m writing full-time (kind of, I’m mean there’s still the kids and everything, but now that they can feed themselves, they don’t need me, right?) I’m finding it useful, experiencing different editing styles.
I’ll end with a brief status update. I’ve passed the halfway mark on the first draft of novel #5. Feeling good about this and I’ve already made significant progress on planning the sequels. I’ve also finished most of the prep work for the third book in the Lazy Designer series of game design books and hope to publish a few excerpts from that later in fall.
Anyways, back to work…
14 Comments
Doug Wolfgram
You’ve been busy. Writing well is not done quickly I’m impressed!
Claudiu Gabriel
creative ! good luck !:)
Brent Knowles
Thanks!
Brent Knowles
Thank you.
Sia Abderezai
congrats man!!! always great to be on a roll!
Greg Alder
Brent, some great advice for keen authors on working with editors. I look forward to reading each of the stories here. Cheers, Greg
SterlingDee
Hey Brent, I really enjoyed Nikki 2.3. I am a huge science fiction fan, so when your novel is released I will def purchase it! Do you have any posts on your favourite science fiction novels or short fiction (or perhaps stories that inspire you?). I would be interested in reading something like that!
Brent Knowles
Thanks, Greg!
ldrboyle
Good advice, that everyone could use working with editors.
Brent Knowles
Thanks SterlingDee! Glad you enjoyed Nikki 2.3. I don’t believe I’ve posted anything about what science fiction I’ve enjoyed, or at least not a dedicated post, though I’ve answered the question in interviews before. I’ll add it to be my blogs-to-write. Thanks, again.
– Brent
Brent Knowles
Thanks
Dan Whiteside
Hey Brent, I’m working at RDC and we’re looking at doing a teen camp for video game design. We’re still in the preliminary stages of setting it up and I was wondering if you might be interested? If you are, shoot me an email at dan.whiteside@rdc.ab.ca .
Thanks.
Mordi
Hey Brent. Thanks as always for sharing your work with us.
Say, have you even thought about getting into comic book writing. For some reason every time I read one of your stories I just get this vibe that it would be awesome as a comic book.
Food for thought.
Have a great weekend.
PS: I guess congrats are in order for your former Bioware co-worker Rich Vogel who’s going to head the new Austin based, Bethesda owned, Battlecry Studios.
Brent Knowles
I haven’t seriously considered comic book writing but I wouldn’t pass it up if an opportunity came by.
And yeah, I noticed the announcement about Rich. I don’t actually think I ever met him though, he was always just “one of those Austin guys” and I didn’t have too much involvement with them once that studio was setup. Hope he does well with the new venture.
Have a great weekend yourself!