Joel Achenbach is a reporter for the Washington Post.  He joined the paper years ago, after a successful career at the Miami Herald.  (A lot of the Post’s great feature writers and editors came from Miami; they seemed to migrate north en masse.)  Joel was (I’m pretty sure) the first Washington Post writer to have a blog, and he continues to blog regularly about topics of interest to him — creative non-fiction, science for the non-scientist reader, history as a local and national phenomenon, the writing life, and lots of other things.

Yesterday, Joel wrote about the Imposter Syndrome — that feeling that we’re not good enough for our job, that we’ll be found out at any moment, and tossed away because of our fraud.  When I practiced law, I was nearly driven mad by Imposter Syndrome.  As a librarian, though, I never suffered from the problem — librarians are *supposed* to say, “I don’t know the answer, but I know how to find it.”  As an author, well…  There are good days and bad days.

Joel’s prescription for overcoming Imposter Syndrome is right on target.  See what he has to say, and let me know if you agree (especially if you’ve suffered from Imposter Syndrome in your own life):

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/achenblog/wp/2013/06/17/the-truth-about-the-smarter-kids/

We wrapped up another good weekend here in Klaskyville, starting with a Thursday night family dinner to celebrate a cousin’s graduation from elementary school (OK – I enjoyed the family get-together, but “graduation from elementary school” feel odd to type, to this non-parent…)  On Friday, we saw THE REAL THING at Studio Theatre — a play that is as much about language as it is about the nature of love; the first act was better than the second, which is a consequence of hte writing, not the performance…  On Sunday, we saw THE WINTER’S TALE at the Shakespeare Theatre — I have a new candidate for least favorite play evah in that venue, at least the least favorite that wasn’t a farce.  The director seemed to do everything she could to make the boring parts boring and the funny parts absurd (and still dull.)  *Not* a production I’d ever view again.

But most of my weekend, and the primary topic of this blog post, was spent in Baltimore, teaching a class on the Business Of Writing, at Baltimore Science Fiction Society.  The students were great — many of them highly motivated, most of them with some publishing under their belts (short fiction, primarily, although a couple of people had self-published novels.)  I did my best to instruct, to encourage, and not to be ***too*** down about the state of modern publishing.

I love teaching.  I love sharing the information I’ve gleaned over the years.  I love being asked questions, and figuring out answers, and making new connections (both socially and intellectually) that I’ve never made before.

And I find the entire process ***EXHAUSTING***.

At heart, you see, I’m an introvert.  When I need to recharge, I need to unplug, enjoy some quiet time around the house, curl up in a chair and read, *maybe* discuss things one-one-one with a single friend or family member.

Being ***ON*** for five-plus hours is like opening up the sluices and watching the energy drain away.  I can do it — I’ve got pretty substantial batteries to store my social power.  But the experience always leaves me more fatigued — body- and brain-weary — in ways that I don’t expect.

On Saturday, for example, I drove home (making a pit-stop to buy tickets for AFIDocs documentary film festival — another event I’m excited about, but I was annoyed at needing to go to the far end of suburban DC from my home, to buy the tickets…)  I parked the car and came inside, settling in the living room at about 5:30.  After an hour spent not-watching T.V., I got up to make a sandwich for dinner.

And then I posted toothpicks beneath my eyelids, so that I could stay awake to watch the movie ENIGMA.  I was so tired, that I fell into micro-sleep moments, while I was knitting.  (A simple pattern, consisting of only knitting, with increases each row, or decreases each row, depending on the half of the diamond I was making…)  I stumbled up to bed at 8:30, and I slept until 7:30 the next morning.

Yes, I slept 11 hours.

All because I’d been *on* for a classroom full of eager, receptive students.

Saturday was an extreme reaction for me — usually, I’m not *quite* that drained from pretending to be an extrovert.  I wish that I could change things — be a bit more extroverted, conduct things like Saturday’s class without needing to recharge quite so dramatically.

But I truly believe that such behavior is ingrained.  I can learn to *present* as an extrovert, but I can’t change my basic settings.

And what’s the big deal, if I have to sleep for one long night, after I’m out and about?

::Shrug::

I *do* wonder what it would be like to be an extrovert.  To be rejuvenated by experiences like Saturday.  To feel wan and listless when I was forced to spend time alone.

Perhaps I’ll write a character who is truly extroverted…  In the next book

So, it’s all official now, so I can share my most recent career-related good news:  I am a member of Book View Cafe!

I first learned about BVC around five years ago, when I was asked to consider being a member, but I had to decline because of the craziness of my traditional publishing deadlines.  Now that I’m officially living the hybrid-author dream, I’m thrilled to finally join up with this creative group of people.

And what is Book View Cafe, you ask?  From our website:

“Book View Cafe is a cooperative publisher.  Our members are authors across all genres, from science fiction to romance to historical to mainstream. We function as editors, copyeditors, ebook formatters, cover artists, website maintainers and more. We offer both reprints and new titles, currently in ebook form, but we’re looking at expanding to print. At BVC, 95% of the cover price goes to the author. That’s more than at any other online bookseller (Amazon, B&N, iTunes).  Our most recent anthology is Beyond Grimm. Our latest releases can be found on our home page.  Our blog is updated daily with posts from member authors. Subject matter is up to the authors. There are no rules, guidelines, or speed limits.”

Sounds like fun, huh?

To celebrate, I’ve put the first volume of the Jane Madison Series, Girl’s Guide to Witchcraft, on sale in the BVC bookstore — $0.99, for a limited time!  Check out Girl’s Guide today, and then look around at all the other amazing BVC publications!

Mindy, pleased at this new career slant

This just in:  Amazon is going to start selling fanfic, with royalties to be paid to both the author and the world-creator.  Color me… bemused?  Uncertain?  Confused?

Like many authors, I have an uneasy relationship with fanfic.  Although my first serious-to-me writing effort was a sequel to The Lord of the Rings (drafted when I was thirteen years old), I’ve never been serious about fanfic, and I’ve never participated in any of the many online communities dedicated to the craft.  As far as I know (and that’s the way I’d like to keep it), no one has created fics in my worlds.

As a lawyer, I’m not as rabidly anti-fanfic as most.  I understand the difference between copyright and trademark law, and the defense of estoppel (which applies to the latter, but not the former.)  While trademark owners can lose their marks if they don’t enforce against infringement, the same standard does not apply in copyright law.

Mostly, I just don’t understand the allure of fanfic.  I invest a tremendous amount of time, effort, energy, blood, sweat, tears, angst, etc. into creating my fictitious worlds.  I don’t understand the craving the pour all of that into someone else’s world.  It feels … like a cheat?  Like a waste?  Like…  A bunch of things that sound really negative, but I don’t actually mean them that way.  What I mean is, I don’t have the resources to do my writing and fanfic writing, and I don’t understand the investment some people make.

So.  I suspect that Amazon’s program is going to open the door for a lot of public discussion about fanfic.  It’ll add a lot of pressure to authors who have publicly demanded their work not be ficced.  It’ll raise some questions about plagiarism and continuity and, and, and…

Maybe I’ll go pop some popcorn.

Last October, I attended my local science fiction convention, Capclave, where I had the good fortune of being interviewed by Jean Marie Ward, for Buzzy Magazine.

Jean Marie has now posted her interview for all the world to see:

http://buzzymag.com/morgan-keyes-interview/

It’s interesting to me, seeing how I convey on camera.  We were in a dim lounge area, with a lot of background noise; the video actually came through more clearly than I expected.  There *is* something a bit funky with the recording of my voice — I sound like I have a rather pronounced lisp, which I don’t, in real life.

In any case, take a peek at the video, if you want to know more about Morgan Keyes, DARKBEAST, and what’s coming up next for Morgan and Mindy!

I’m over at Magical Words today, talking about the details of writing a synopsis.  Essentially, I provide line by line instructions for creating a strong synopsis for agents, editors, art departments, etc.  Stop by and see what you think — and leave a comment or two!

http://www.magicalwords.net/mindy-klasky/synopses-the-nitty-and-the-gritty/

Magical Words is a website by writers for writers (and readers who want a behind-the-scenes peak at the process of writing.)  Regular posters include David B. Coe, John G. Hartness, Faith Hunter, and Misty Massey, with regular guest posts from Lucienne Diver, Diana Pharaoh Francis, and Carrie Ryan.  We’re always happy to see new faces in the crowd, so don’t be shy!