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What Are You Working On?


I normally use this blog to announce when I have a new song or E.P. out.  While I'm all for that type of benign narcissism, I realize that the most enjoyable and creatively fulfilling experiences that I've had over the past few years have occurred when I've participated in projects that are bigger than my little corner of the internet.  

If you're reading this blog, I'd wager that you're a creative person too.  Perhaps you're an author, blogger, podcaster, musician, songwriter, visual artist, etc.  So let me ask you this question:

What Are You Working On?

Tell me about your latest project.  Maybe you've got a new novel, blog post, podcast or song to share with the world.  

Describe what you're working on in the comments below and don't be shy about linking to it.  

You can also let me know what you're working on through Twitter, Facebook or Google+.  Use the hash tag #WorkingOn

Why do this?  I feel like some of the best artistic projects come into existence when creative people get together and start talking about what they're into.  Hopefully this little post will help to facilitate that. 

64 comments:

  1. I'm working on outlining book three of my space opera Saga Of Davi Rhii and prepping book 2 for its June release. I am writing more North Star flash fiction stories as well as doing a second draft of my steampunkesque epic fantasy SANDMAN.

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    1. Awesome Bryan. Best of luck with your series. I'm really looking forward to the Space Battles Anthology that you're releasing soon. Mike Resnick & Patrick Hester in the same book? Awesome.

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  2. Working on my second novel, currently untitled (worrying because I need to finish it by summer). A ghost family drama, kind of a departure I guess from my first novel (Zombie Iceland) but it's good to change it up!

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    1. Good luck with your second novel Nanna. And Zombie Iceland sounds awesome!

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  3. Getting a couple of stories ready to send to editors. Just put some fiction up on my blog today: http://jhstevens.wordpress.com/2012/03/15/fiction-mini-collection/ . And, of course, my weekly column at SF Signal should be live shortly (archive is here: http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/category/columns/the-bellowing-ogre/ ).

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    1. Sounds Great John! Your SFsignal columns are always excellent.

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  4. Thanks, John, for the opportunity to share. I'm working on my web site www.WorldsWithoutEnd.com. It's a fan site dedicated to the best science fiction, fantasy and horror books the genre has to offer. We cover all the major awards like Hugo, Nebula, Stoker etc. as well as the biggest "best of" lists like SF Masterworks, Classics of Science Fiction, Guardian's best SF/F etc. The whole site is built to help you find your next great read and allows you to track your reading history so you can see how many award winners you have left to read. Be sure to check out the WWEnd Grand Master Reading Challenge too: 12 books by 12 Grand Master authors in 12 months with monthly review prizes and a tracking system so you can follow along with other readers. Cheers!

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    1. Just took a look at your site and it looks fantastic! I just subscribed to the feed. I just followed Worlds Without End on Twitter too. Do you live in Dallas? I'm going to be the musical guest of honor at Fencon there in September.

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    2. Hey John, thanks for the follow and the kind words. I do live in Dallas and I'll be at Fencon for sure. How about ChiCon? We'll have a fan table there to promote the site. I hope to meet you at one of the cons. Cheers!

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    3. I'm won't be at ChiCon unfortunately. For now, my upcoming con schedule is Balticon in May and Fencon in September.

      I look forward to meeting you too! If you have anything particularly cool on your site that you'd like to promote, just shoot me a line on Twitter and I'll be sure to share it. 80% of my tweets are links to cool Sci-Fi and book reviews.

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  5. I'm starting to gathering tunes for my next album, "Pleasure to Burn." At the moment, there are only a handful of tracks that I'm really happy with, but here's my favorite, "only you behind": http://noahmclaughlin.bandcamp.com/track/only-you-behind

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    1. Hey Noah, I just took a listen to "Only You Behind". You sir, are an excellent lyricist! Those words really paint a picture. I really like the guitar/keyboard arrangement too.

      On a lighter note, my wife just walked behind me as I was listening to your song (through headphones). She saw the title on my computer screen and said: "That song title would be funnier if it was 'Only Your Behind'". She's hard to live with sometimes. :-)

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  6. I'm working on an SF-thriller novella called JEKYLLS, and in my spare time (ha!), I'm doing world-building and outlining for an epic fantasy. No name for the fantasy yet, but I think you might enjoy it when it's done; music (especially drums) plays a large part in the magic.

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    1. Hey Erin, I'm always in favor of musical magic. Have you ever read Elizabeth Haydon's RHAPSODY trilogy? It's one of my favorite fantasy series and their is musical magic in that book too. Best of luck!

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  7. Well.... I had been working on finding a job in the Seattle area (I live in Indiana). But the possibility of moving looks like it's fallen through, unless I win the lottery, or get offered a well-paying job without an interview. Beyond that... I'm working on getting off my butt, reading more, and writing reviews of what I've read.

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  8. Well, book reviews of course. (No surprise to you!)

    Also, photography. Getting to know my newish Canon 60D camera. I'm waiting for spring to make a trip up the north shore. This warm weather may accelerate my timetable on that.

    I shouldn't jinx myself, but I've an idea for a fantasy story I need to start writing...

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    1. You should definitely start writing that Paul! I read that guest post that you wrote for Mhairi Simpson. Don't let doubt hold you back. Write your story for your own gratification. I wrote and recorded songs for years and years before anyone really heard them. I just loved putting songs together. I feel super fortunate that a lot of people seem to like my music now, but even if no one listened to it, I'd still be writing and recording my songs. Like Mike Resnick says: "A writer writes".

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  9. Aside from Nerdapalooza and Nerdy Show, I'm working on starting a new nerd music primed podcast (to be a subsidiary of Nerdy Show), a community anthology comic for my local comic shop (of which I'm a writer, artist, and editor-in-chief for the anthology), as well as tinkering on writing a separate alt. history comic, being artist for a separate younger age comic involving a school for monsters, and trying to get an online radio station for nerd music working again. I guess I should get back to work on all that. :)

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    1. That all sounds great Hex, especially the alt. history comic. Oh, and shoot me a line when your nerd music podcast gets up and running. I'm definitely into that. :-)

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  10. Working on the E-zine I'm an editor for (paying market for you writers out there http://flyingislandpress.com/flagship)
    Writing 2 ongoing series: one YA, gritty sci-fi and one pulpy sci fi
    Finalizing text for a pulp monster mash illustrated children's book.
    Collaborating with an author, helping him plot out his novel series

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    1. Cool Scott. The Monster Mash Children's Book sounds interesting. I've had thoughts of doing some sort of children's project myself (kids album, kids music/book, kids music/video). I'm really interested in hearing about your experience with that.

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  11. Hi John! I'm currently working up some screens for my first iPad app - a series of simple and fun musical minigames to go along with the whole world we've created at http://magicbelles.com

    Still looking into getting some kit so me and my mate can start jamming into Garageband.

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    1. Hey Nathan, I just took a look at the Magic Belles site and it looks great. Really well done.

      If you needed some help with music for the iPad app, I'd be more than happy to help. (Provided I can find the time)

      Have fun with your GarageBand jamming!

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  12. Putting the hopefully final, 4.5-months overdue (and counting) touches on Bull Spec #7. Whew.

    Erin: DRUM MAGIC sounds awesome.

    JH: There's something to "The Wonders" that I like.

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    1. Good luck with that Sam. Who's going to be in the next Bull Spec issue anyway?

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  13. Thanks for asking :)

    I'm working on three RPGs with Creative Writing for kids through my homeschooling group, trying to get a new nerdy song done for a Nerd Singer/Songwriter show next month, planning my History through the Creative Arts summer camps, and filming a short video for GeekMom.com.

    Phew!

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  14. We've just finished 4.5 songs for the wonderful SpinTunes 4 (http://spintunes.blogspot.com), which draws to an end this week, and so are focusing on getting Every Photo Tells (http://everyphototells.com) ready for its return after our winter hiatus (May 1st is the date for your diaries).

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    1. Cool Mick! Best of luck with Spintunes. And the Every Photo Tells site looks great.

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  15. Wow, quite the sci-fi author audience. I guess that makes sense, this being the 'scifisongs' blog ;-)

    I'm afraid this will be more of a fire-and-forget comment for me (reply but never follow up), and thanks for the opportunity all the same.

    I'm working on Squishy Bugs, my game for Android. http://waggsoft.com/games/squishy-bugs/

    It's a casual ball flinging bug squishing game. Working on the alpha 3 release right now. Hopefully that's out by the end of March. Then beta soon after. Then full, polished release.

    Thanks, again, for the opportunity to share.

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    1. Cool Kyle! Please keep me up to date on Squisy Bugs. Any chance of an ios version?

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  16. Let's see - I'm going to join all the writers here. I'm in main edits for the next novel in my Infected series, Shift, and I've got a fantasy novel in progress, as well as another story in my comedy/horror series, Josh of the Damned, and a prequel to my Infected series. Ha ha! I have no free time at all. I don't know why I'm on the internet. (Because I love to procrastinate? Yes, I do.)

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    1. All those writing projects sounds great, particularly Josh of the Damned. Please keep me up to date on your progress.

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  17. I'm working on my Daily Creativity project, which for the month of march (and all of Lent) I create at least one piece of art a day and post it on my blog. I try to continue creating all year round but this is a time when I focus on art and experiment. I have experimented a lot with watercolor, digital painting on my iPad and tonight I will be inking with a quill I think. You can find this all at http://nimlas.org/blog

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  18. Thanks for asking! Mostly writing book reviews for my blog but also re-reading the beginnings of a novel I wrote for NaNoWriMo and figuring out what to do with it. And trying to get enthusiastic about photography again, after a couple of disappointing batches.

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  19. i'm still writing the Idea Lab blog for Syfy.com through this summer (when, alas, the show associated with the blog, Eureka, finishes its final season). we featured one of your songs... i'm the editor of Plazm magazine and we just launched a not-quite-ready-for-prime-time new website at plazm.org too...

    my own big art/writing/music extravaganza is the Easter Island Project, which will be online at magdalen.com next month, together with an installation at Cooley Gallery's Caseworks series in Portland, and a zine-book-thingy. eric hausmann and i made an 80-hour soundtrack to the project, which will be available on magdalen.com too (or at least links to soundcloud or wherever the hell we put it all)... what else...

    email magdalen23 =at= gmail dot com if you want to be notified when the project launches.

    plazm.com has a nice little blank space at the top where you can put in your email address and just like magic, the interwebs send you our newsletter every month or so.

    if you wanna Facebookify me, search Tiffany Lee Brown and be sure to mention you saw me here or i probably won't accept your request. i am a lazy butt at tweeting, but magdalen23 is my Twitter feed if you care.

    OK!

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    1. oh, should have noted that IDea lab is at: http://showblogs.syfy.com/eureka/idealab -- it's a very lighthearted approach to science, tech, pop culture, and general amusing geekery.

      the post with Mr Anealio in it is here --- and i'm inordinately proud of the banner illustration i made for it! look, it's eric idle and unicorn pegasus kitten and planets and stuff! (most of my banners suck, i'll admit it...) http://showblogs.syfy.com/eureka/idealab/2011/03/sounds-of-science-space-blasters.php

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  20. Well, I'm in a bit of a slump at the moment. My full-time job is keeping me busy, but I haven't had anyone tap me for any proofreading gigs in a while. I'm getting lots of reading done in my spare time, though.
    It's probably time to begin haunting some of the writer's forums to solicit some business.

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  21. My primary project at the moment is the second draft of a dark fantasy mystery called The Threads That Bind. It's pretty much a complete re-write of the first draft that I wrote across two NaNoWriMos. I'm also starting to put together a Serious Outline of a more traditional fantasy trilogy (Wait, when did it grow into a trilogy? Oh, right, when I actually started outlining the multitude of scenes in my head) that's been bouncing around my brain for years and years.

    And I'm knitting a sweater.

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  22. Mostly I'll be working on my digital journalism projects at the Cornerhouse Art House Cinema, Manchester, UK - http://www.cornerhouse.org/?s=mark+slattery

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  23. I'm in the early stages of designing a knitting pattern for the 2013 Special Olympics Scarf Project. Here's one I designed for this year's Winter State Games: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/be-a-fan

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  24. Working On My Debut Album, Just Released The First Single For It http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6aGpllooWM

    Its Kind Of A Wierd, Sad/Reggae Instrumental Album With A Few Dubstep Glitches.

    Will Be Available From http://swebsmusic.com for free on the 1/5/2012

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  25. John,

    I'm the author of a book of poems, many of which have either an historical theme or supernatural slant. Lords of Pitiless Heaven is available here: http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/geniestl. Thanks for the chance to shamelessly self-promote!

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  26. I'm doing a lot of undefined things (other than finding a new job). I'm brainstorming my next NaNoWriMo novel (for June's camp), practicing sketching, and developing a street photography portfolio

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  27. Hey John, hope things are good with you. :-) The last week and half I've been revising and editing some of my short stories, trying to get them ready for submission, and as of tonight I'll be launching into the proper first edit of my novel, Betrayal's Shadow - I say 'proper first' because I now have an editor and she's sent me her notes. :-) So, the next stretch of months will be devoted to getting the novel done and sending it back to her. :-) Hope you have a kickass weekend!

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  28. I just wrapped the second Kickstarter for my 12 for '12 project, and now that I've lined up books 4-6, I have to sit down and write book 3. I just wrapped the script on my sixth Magic: The Gathering comic for IDW, and I'm now outlining the first novel based on the Leverage TV show. I also need to polish book 1 of 12 for '12 and publish it. Busy year. :)

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  29. What a great idea, John - thanks for asking! Really interesting to read everybody's responses, quite a variety of talented readers here.

    I don't normally consider myself much of a 'creative' type - more a techie... but my current project might be relevant. I'm trying to get some musicians together to feature on my company's aural skills website. The idea being to showcase some great original songs, and use each song as the basis for explaining a musical notion or technique... More details here if anyone's interested: http://www.EasyEarTraining.com/showcase-invitation/

    So I've just put the basic application form together and now I'm busy trying to spread the word... And that's what I'm working on!

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  30. That's really a great idea! I'm amazed to see how you took the time to look into everyone's response and give positive feedback. It's good to know someone cares.

    I'm a composer and have just finished a sci-fi themed orchestral piece. I woul appreciate it a lot if you could give it a listen and comment John! I wanna know if I could capture the sci fi essence, at least a bit.

    Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ooypWJvhCw

    Hope you like it!

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    1. Hey Andre, your "Super Nova" composition is brilliant! Really great stuff. You certainly captured that Sci-Fi essence. I love how you combined traditional orchestral elements with subtle electronic textures. Awesome!

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    2. Thanks a lot, man! It really means a lot. I'm glad you liked that combination! It was hard to decide how much of those textures weren't too much.

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  31. Hey John! Here's what I'm working on.

    First, our webcomic, Not Invented Here http://notinventedhe.re

    And we have a Kickstarter for our very funny NIH IT Barrier Tape at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/657613766/it-barrier-tape

    Then I've got my 80s metal album released in digital on Bandcamp.com http://steele2.bandcamp.com

    And I'm working on a new 80s metal album to follow that one, too. Follow me on SoundCloud, message me there and I'll let you in on the private postings of progress on the songs. http://soundcloud.com/jeffzugale

    Thanks for the cool thread to post stuff! :)

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    1. Sweet Jeff! The album sounds great!

      Looking forward to hearing the new one too.

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  32. Still trying to build up a following as a monthly Pop Culture reviewer for the www.poptardsgo.com website.

    My stuff can be found all corralled together at: http://www.poptardsgo.com/?s=Grim_Noir . Please feel free to comment there and/or follow me and comment @Grim_Noir on Twitter.

    Thanks for the quick soapbox, John!

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    1. No problem Grim. Best of luck with the Pop Culture reviews.

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  33. I'm mainly looking for a full-time teaching position (elementary general music) and substitute teaching a little bit, but in the meantime I write reviews and other articles for fandomania.com and I am re-reading The Hobbit as fodder for a series of posts on my personal blog, The Geeky Squirrel (http://geekysquirrel.blogspot.com). It's where I write weekly about Christian/religious themes as illustrated in various sci fi and fantasy media, in a devotional thought-type format (it's not for everyone, I know...but anyone is welcome to check it out if that sounds like their thing).

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  34. Belatedly: thanks for asking, John. I'm trying to finish a steampunk novel before the fad is over. (That's what I said about vampires a few years ago.)

    I'm also working on putting a previously published short story on the Kindle device, and looking into how to put my Kindle collection on other devices.

    Past time I did the whole platform thing: website, blog, etc.

    "And then I'll make some long-range plans..."

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  35. Hello John,

    I seem to be the odd ball here: I am an application architect and developer. I am currently a consultant working with a customer developing public sector software. In the past, I worked mostly with the auto industry because I am located in southeast Michigan. :-)

    I found you because I took a suggestion from Tom Merit (of TWiT) that you are a good artist. He was right and I have been a fan since! :-)

    Thanks for all the great work you do and good luck to your continued success!

    bry

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    1. Excellent Bry! Good luck with your development work.

      And I'm happy to hear that you took Tom Merritt's recommendation!

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