Author: Audra Edmonson

Flash Fiction Course: Overview

Audra Edmonson2 Comments

Well, friends and readers and sundry (who are you, sundry? WHO?), I am embarking on a new mission in my journey to becoming a Published Author.

A while ago I ran across Holly Lisle’s writing courses. I have no idea where I came across it (deeply trawling the internets will send you to some crazy, but this time, amazing places). However I ended up there, it was a blessing. Holly has some amazing courses, and I fully intend to invest in some of the heftier ones later on. To start with though, I signed up for the How to Write Flash Fiction That Doesn’t Suck class. Yes, the name is amazing.

I signed up for two reasons; 1) it was free, and 2), I’ve never written a short story, let alone a flash piece.

To clarify, flash fiction is a story generally under 2,000 words. In Holly’s class, we’re aiming for stories of around 500. That’s SO LITTLE. I mean, it’s hard, really hard, to write short fiction. Everything must be tighter. You can’t meander around the plot or the purpose. Characters are short and punchy and TO THE POINT. That might be one reason why I’ve never tried to write short fiction. I didn’t have the courage.

This class, being free, inspired me to try. In three weeks, write 10-11 short pieces for publication. I liked the sound of it.

So I signed up.

Friends, and readers, and sundry, and my knobbly yellow muse…I am writing short fiction.

Soon you will read it here. Soon you will see my first full story on the internet.

I’ll post each story after it’s been written and edited. The writing part, while hard, is lemon cake next to the editing. Either way, expect the first piece within a week, and yell at me in loud capitals if I fail to follow up after that.

Thank you.

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The New Morality: Be Positive (TED Talk Review)

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I watched this and nodded along as Susan David described what has been so toxic in my own life; the attitude that emotions are either good or bad and the judgment placed on them. The idea that sadness, anger, and grief are not welcome, and must be either ignored, repressed, or apologized for.

The idea that a positive mindset and go-getter attitude is what you need to be successful and healthy. That can be very dangerous. It can lead us to a culture of shoving aside any mention of grief or anger, and shaming our students, our children, and our spouses for showing those emotions.

Susan David invites us to dig deeper. She asks us to ask why to ourselves; why we are feeling the anger. If we get enraged when we read the news, why? Is it hitting something we feel very strongly about and wish to amend, or are we redirecting some other anger onto an easy and socially accepted outlet? Emotions are data. They tell us about what we’re seeing and doing, and what we’re reacting to or repressing. Always keep asking why.

She also stresses the importance of accuracy. When we’re not okay, we most often answer with “I’m just stressed out.” But that’s too vague. That can cover anything from a bad hair day to having no idea whether you’re in the right career or the financial debt that’s stacking up. Being specific helps us to identify it, and that makes it easier to articulate to others and to get help.

Finally, she reminds us that while emotions are data, they are not directives. We learn from them, but they don’t own us. They don’t control us. We choose whether to act out of our emotions or not. We get angry at our children, but we refrain from shouting at them. We are saddened by the loss of a friend, but we don’t let ourselves sink into isolation and depression. We are stressed out because of work, but we don’t add more work or watch hours of TV to cope.

It’s a fascinating watch. David wrote a book called Emotional Agility. I haven’t read it yet, but after watching her Ted Talk, it’s on my list.

Have you read it?

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I Want to Be An Author

Audra Edmonson4 Comments

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I am a writer. I write. I want to be an Author. A published writer. I don’t know if everyone would agree with the distinction, but I like it.

I didn’t always seriously want to be one. I mean, I dabbled in wanting to be one, all the while feverishly writing something every year, whether it was a story, a blog, or a journal, but I only decided a couple of years ago.

In fact, it was just after I finished my first NaNo month in 2015. I’d just moved to Korea, had no hobbies or friends, and decided to use all my spare time that November to see if I could finish a story. I’d never done that before. My computers and notebooks were full of scenes and half-finished stories, but I had never finished one. So I tried, and did it.

After that, it was a short jog from realizing I could finish a story to deciding I’d like to keep finishing stories for the rest of my life.

After I realized I was a multipotentialite, the dream expanded a bit to allow for other things around it, but writing has always been my main passion.

Then began the real work. In the two years since deciding, I’ve written one more book and started countless others, I’ve gotten a LOT better at it, I’ve read books on writing and books about writers, and I’ve kept up a journal and this blog to keep me writing even when I’m not working on a story.

I hope to publish soon, some kind of small fantasy story that won’t be extremely good but will be PUBLISHED. Then that hurdle will be over and I can move on to the next story, which will be better, and so on and forever.

I’m declaring it now. I want to be an Author. I don’t care about being famous, or making lots of money. I am putting my bar low. I want to be published on Amazon and have my name on a website under a book title. I want to be able to tell people, “Yeah, I’ve published a book. Yeah, it’s called…”

What’s your declaration?

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Starting Out: Game Master Series

Audra Edmonson4 Comments

 

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The art from the Dungeon Master’s screen for Dungeons and Dragons. Image cred.

 

It’s theater/radio/improv/imagination/story-telling in an oral tradition that goes back millennia. It’s D&D y’all.

I’ve decided to become a DM (Dungeon Master). This is not an altogether well-thought-out decision, as being a good DM or GM (Game Master) means an awful lot of time alone spent creating and planning and memorizing rules for a few hours of fun that WILL be derailed and will NOT go as planned and MAY make friends hate each other afterward…or not.

I’m still going to do it. It’s a bit like saying you’ve decided to be a poisonous frog catcher in the Amazon or a tornado-chaser in Oklahoma. Everyone’s like, “yeah, that’s super cool, you should totally do that!” and everyone is also thinking “that’s cool yeah, but also insane, and I’m so glad I have a normal hell like customer service or nursing. I’m definitely the smart one here.”

I’m not bitter. I’m insane. Probably.

My brother put down world-building as one of his skills. He’s also a DM. A far better one than I will ever be, also being a voice actor. I can put world-building down as one of my skills as well because apparently, that’s the kind of thing to run through families, or over them, and I’m a writer, so there’s….that. Which may or may not make me a good DM. It may mean I wax eloquent in my descriptions and my NPCs will say “er…um…great!” a lot because I’m not so good at the improv or actual real life conversations.

I don’t know yet. I’m just starting out. I haven’t even finished reading the Dungeon Master’s Guide. I think I need to sleep with it. Okay, not with it, obviously, but like, under my pillow so I can memorize rules by osmosis. Dream about it. Some people put pictures of loved ones under their pillows to dream of them. Ha, amateurs. I’ll be over here dreaming of monsters and people staring at me waiting for me to deliver an awesome story. Wayyyy less embarrassing/awful. Play me a tiny violin. *tears*

I’m not a complete noob at this point though, if I have to be honest (and everyone’s honest on the internet). I did run my aforementioned amazing DM brother through the opening of Curse of Strahd, which took like eight hours. It gave me a pounding headache and a sore throat for a few days, but it was so awesome. He was in America and I was in Korea, so we had to Skype, and I called him when I was ready wearing a black paper raven mask and playing creepy vampire music. Oh yeah, it was epic. I even lit a candle labeled “Dark Woods” or something, but of course, the smell was only metaphoric for him.

I decided to blog about this because I think it would be cool to see how it was starting out after I’m a very good DM who is semi-famous somehow. I will definitely have my own website with a picture of me holding the tips of my fingers together and one eyebrow up as I look over my DM screen.

Step 1: Learn to raise one eyebrow.

I’m going to be so great at this.

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