On work and working hard:

io9 has a question up about long hours and if they are a status symbol:

80 years ago, long working hours seemed to be on the decline, with ideas like the six-hour work day being floated. Now, that trend has reversed — and so has the way we think about them.

The New Yorker has a look at the way long working hours have become more accepted, and even sometimes a point of pride

 The general question they float is whether or not long hours are good. This can be tricky for people; I've found individuals I associate with enjoy their leisure time but (typically) also want to earn the best living they can. Where is the boundary between too much and too little work?

I'm a bit of an odd case, what with working at least a few hours of overtime every week, going to school, writing and publishing with varying degrees of regularity, and still having all my little pet projects going. In between all that I understand it's important to see the ladyfriend and relax a bit when possible. Personally, I define the boundary between too much and too little work as, "too tired to answer the bell." When my body begins to demand 10 to 12 hour sleep cycles it's a sign that I need to scale back for a few days.

In my opinion, the path to success is pushing yourself to lengths you thought were impossible. I'm at my best with too much to do and too little time to do it, and I personally enjoy it when I have an excess of responsibility. Millennials (like myself) have weathered a number of worsening economic conditions over the past 15 years and the long term outlook of my peers is hardly as rosy as it was for previous generations. Most hope they will do 'okay' but few with any experience in the labor market are absolutely certain they will do better than their parents or grandparents. Developing a powerful work ethic gives someone an edge over competitors who will flame out instead of putting in the additional effort, which is critical when dealing with 6.7% - 23% Unemployment depending on who you want to believe.

When I go back and study successful people of the past or present, I find an ironclad desire to work through all obstacles. An easy example is found in writers. The most successful authors were rejected dozens (or hundreds) of times with very few exceptions. I met a children's author when I was 17, and when I asked her how to succeed in her field she told me, "You will often be turned away at the door, so that means you need to find an open window to crawl through."

How many people look at their careers or their personal aspirations the same way? My guess is there are fewer who are willing to really do the work necessary to hit their goals without saying, "Meh... good enough." And all this doesn't even begin to get into the question of focused, intense practice.

So to answer io9's question: Yes, long hours are good. People are rarely overnight sensations and it's better off that way. Money and influence can only get a lazy person so far. Hard work is a gold standard all it's own, and one that never suffers from inflation.

Paperback version of Counterfeit Souls:

Good news on the paperback book front:

Today I received the PDF of my book cover for Counterfeit Souls and successfully uploaded it to Createspace. After a review process, I should receive a proof copy (not unlike an ARC) and will then be able to start selling paper copies through Amazon and bookstores! This would be the first time I put out a paper copy, and I'm excited to see how it all turns out. 

My hope is to have the paper book available by end of January. Earlier if possible. The book will be part of Kindle's Matchbook program, and I'm going to try and get an audiobook up through Audible by the middle of the year. I understand the audiobook process is lengthy but I think it will be worth it. And I'll be doing all of this while writing new books, attending school, and working full time. 

It's a wonderful life. 

New Year:

There is a great quote attributed to Martha Washington, "I am determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may find myself. For I have learned that the greater part of our misery or unhappiness is determined not by our circumstance but by our disposition." Typically, I see this quote at the end of emails at work and sometimes in other places around the 'net. In my opinion the late Mrs. Washington is correct. Her insight does not make being 'cheerful and happy' any easier in difficult situations, but in my experience when one is determined to square his shoulders and make the best of it, that individual finds out things are not so bad as they first thought.

2013 was that kind of year for me. I recovered from a major back injury while starting a challenging new graduate program and decided to take writing seriously-- all while working full time. Later in the year, I also chose to climb a mountain and start learning Mandarin. Looking back, I think overloading myself with challenges while keeping a good attitude brought about a positive in almost every facet of my life. The number of challenges might have been a bit much, but they sure were fun.

Looking ahead, 2014 will probably be similar. I plan on continuing with school and all my other projects, but this time I'm going to be a bit more systematic about it. To accomplish this, I've created a spreadsheet and hung a white erase board/calendar on my wall. The ability to track my success or failure each day should help me avoid doing everything by the seat of my pants. At least, that's the theory.

So here's to 2014. May it be productive as well as cheerful and happy.

New ebook: Counterfeit Souls

The new ebook I promised is up! Feast your eyes on the cover for my newest ebook, Counterfeit Souls:

I've put more time and effort into this book than any other work I've ever done. It is my first attempt at humor, and I laced it with a dark edge. Think Good Omens, but a little more absurd, sci-fi styled, and more dangerous. This is a book I really think people are going to enjoy.

It follows two characters: Dr. Newton is a lazy genius and a poor human being who was handed a new Soul Forge business-- which he is running into the ground. The other is a demon named Zagan, the Demon protector of Counterfeiting. Zagan needs Dr. Newton for one of his schemes and will do anything to achieve his goals, but Dr. Newton is just looking for the path of least resistance.

I hope you will give it a try!

A NaNo loss:

Well, I didn't win NaNo this year, but I did double the size of my work in progress while working full time and studying 30+ hours a week. So it's a loss I'm willing to take :)

On the bright side, school is winding down for the semester and that means I will soon have more time to read and write. I also just got back the covers for the two new ebooks I will be releasing this month, and they look fantastic. One will be up tomorrow or the next day, and I'll blog about it at that time.

NaNoWriMo:

For years I have resisted NaNoWriMo.

I learned of the existence of National Novel Writing Month five years ago, back when I was married. My ex-wife was always an 'aspiring writer' who managed to get 30 - 40 thousand words done in November but barely any during the rest of the year. My path was different in that I wrote 3 - 5 thousand words a month consistently with some spurts up to 15 thousand when I wasn't juggling school and full time employment.

To me it is sad when someone with talent (I admit freely she is a talented writer, and I hope she decides to give writing her full attention someday) only puts in effort during a short span and only because someone told them to. After watching my ex-wife say all year how she really wanted to write for a living but only do any real work during November, I figured NaNoWriMo wasn't really all that helpful. If it worked, wouldn't she be finishing all the novels she started in November?

Of course that's not entirely accurate.

The spirit of the individual counts for much. My ex-wife used NaNoWriMo as a sort of crafts project. Sure, she wanted to be a writer but it was in much the same way I wanted to be a fighter pilot when I was in 3rd grade or the way people would love to win the lottery. It's a dream that probably won't come true, but it makes someone feel like they have something big ahead of them.

This year I began to think about things in a different way. Thousands of people have completed NaNoWriMo including authors I think are amazing. Hugh Howey and Brandon Sanderson come to mind immediately and there are many others. Many of these individuals come back to NaNo every year, even after finding success. If these ultra-successful writers find value in NaNoWriMo, what am I not seeing?

So this year I've decided to join. I'm not sure I will write 50,000 words during the month (that would be far and away a new record for me, my biggest month ever is less than half that) but I know I will learn something by the end of it. Strangely enough, I find myself looking forward to shoehorning a massive amount of work into a month where I really don't have any additional time.

If you want to follow the journey my username is VAAndrews. Feel free to send some encouragement!

Ha! Game Developers Know the Darnedest Things:

I've been a huge fan of The Elder Scrolls games since Morrowind, and probably would have been playing Daggerfall and Arena if I owned a computer at that point. Either way, it's hard not to be blown away by how much Bethesda packs into every one of those games. I always knew there were a bunch of cultural influences, but it never occurred to me to check some of the slang in the game.

For example, Dunmer (or Dark Elves) call the player's character, 'Sera' throughout the game. They will say things like, 'Hail Sera!' as the character wanders through towns. It always seemed like a unique word to the world and helped entrench the player in the epic scope of the game.

This morning, for some reason, I decided to Google the word 'Sera' and discovered a link to the Arabian word Seera. Turns out a 'seera' is an Arabic word that describes a biography (i.e. The Seera of Prophet Mohamed) but can also describe the journey through life. And of course, Morrowind is the story of the player's journey to his destiny. What a perfect way to marry a real life word many would not be familiar with to a concept in the game!

Writers tend to do this on a regular basis. A good example of this (as he is with many other interesting writing techniques) is Robert Jordan. An easy example is Jordan giving the Dark One a real name of Shai'tan, which is similar to Shaitan (or the Devil) in Islam. Jordan drew off real figures and names scores of times through the Wheel of Time, including a very interesting homage to General Robert E. Lee in The Great Captain Gareth Bryne.

Either way, I'm even more impressed with Bethesda than I was before, and wonder what other cultural Easter Eggs they've included in their worldbuilding.