Take 5 with Warren Kensington IV

Matt: Another Take 5 to share with you today. Joining me on the blog, Warren Kensington IV. Thanks for being here.

Warren IV: Whatever.

Matt: You're sometimes referred to as the "Once and Future Crusading Comet." What does that mean?

Warren IV: You tell me. It's a stupid epithet. What does it mean...that I'm King Arthur? It doesn't make any sense.

Matt: I hear you're quite the technological marvel. Show me something that will wow me.

Warren IV: (takes phone from pocket, makes a series of quick button presses) Check out your Twitter stream.

Matt: (pulls out phone, checks Twitter) "I'm a Nancy boy who loves the Patriots and that one Selena Gomez song." That's very mature.

Note: The following Twitter mini-war then erupted:

Matt: You promise you'll stop with the Twitter hacking?

Warren IV: If you'll stop calling me the "Once and Future Crusading Comet."

Matt: You haven't read the sequel, have you? (Warren shakes his head) Sure. I'll stop calling you that.

Warren IV: Next question.

Matt: When did this turn into a Drew Rosenhaus press conference?

Warren IV: What?

Matt: Never mind. Third question. What can you tell me about Mortimer P. Willoughby?

Warren IV: Mortimer's been like a second father to me. Well, maybe a first father; it's hard to say. Dad says Mortimer's been with me since the day I was born. It certainly feels like it, anyway. He's a great teacher and mentor, although sometimes I can't stand to be around him. He gets all...uptight sometimes. He's always talking about rules and etiquette and protocol. Like a living Threepio...with sarcasm.

Matt: You just compared your father figure to a droid from Star Wars. What are you, kid? Like fifteen?

Warren IV: I'm seventeen years old.

Matt: That's pretty young.

Warren IV: You keep up this interview style, I'll outlive you.

Matt: Point...taken. We've touched on Morty and your knack for computer wizardry. Let's talk a little bit about Crimsonstreak. You guys didn't get off to a good start, did you?

Warren IV: Hmmmm...let's see. The guy left my father at the Clermont Institution for the Criminally Insane. His father took over the world and started a war on superheroes. My father never thought too highly of him and neither did Mortimer. I was skeptical of his motives and his methods, but a funny thing happened on the way to saving the world. It turned out he was one of the good guys after all.

Matt: It seems like you guys eventually became friends, which is pretty cool. Last question. What was it like going through the Comet Accelerator?

Warren IV: (Smiles...yes, actually smiles) Oh, man. That was one wild, righteous ride. It was like being squeezed through a tube while simultaneously being wrapped in a warm blanket of your memories. I saw kids I hadn't seen since kindergarten, communed with cartoon characters, and re-watched every movie I'd ever seen. The experience lasted an eternity, but it was no more than a blink of an eye.

Matt: Thanks for joining me today, Warren. Do you want to wrap up with the book plug?

Warren IV: Why would I want to do that?

Matt: Mortimer did it. So did Colonel Chaos.

Warren IV: I'm not them.

Matt: All righty, then. I, Crimsonstreak is available in a variety of formats from these fine retailers:

Candlemark & Gleam Website
Amazon Paperback
Amazon Kindle Edition
Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble NOOK Book

BACK TO CRIMSONSTREAK CENTRAL!

That Time Chuck Wendig Tweeted Stuff

The Bearded One, Chuck Wendig, tweeted a few writing tips today. He admitted they were "stupidly obvious" pieces of advice that are "probably worthless." Thing is...Mr. Wendig is kind of a big deal these days. And then he was, somehow, a big deal again.

So without further commentary, five writing tips he tweeted today:

1. Write a lot. Can’t edit until you’ve written something. Can’t submit or publish something until you’ve edited it. So: write a lot.

2. When writing, try not to suck balls. Some of what you think sucks will be great. Some of what seems great will really suck. Write anyway.

3. If you wanna do this thing full-time, stop giving priority to stuff that isn’t writing. Can’t make it your priority? Do something else.

4. Even 500 words a day or one script page is two or three novels/scripts a year. How awesome is that?

5. Take multiple shots at the goal. A writing career is a lot about luck but luck is a thing you can maximize w/ productivity & diversity.

He then proceeded to go into the woods and frolic after imparting this writing wisdom.

You can follow Chuck on Twitter.

His latest release, Blackbirds, is available from Angry Robot wherever exceptional books are sold.

Conquering Your Productivity El Guapos

"In a way, all of us has an El Guapo to face. For some, shyness might be their El Guapo. For others, a lack of education might be their El Guapo. For us, El Guapo is a big, dangerous man who wants to kill us. But as sure as my name is Lucky Day, the people of Santa Poco can conquer their own personal El Guapo, who also happens to be the actual El Guapo!"

Such were the words of Steve Martin in the awesome (and underappreciated) flick "Three Amigos."

After sleeping in today and then flipping between the Pacers game and the Reds game, I started to think about my personal productivity El Guapos. I realize I can't write every single minute of every single day, but there are certain things that prevent me from getting as much done as I should.

You must find a way to defeat this man.
My primary El Guapo happens to be sports. There are many out there who care nothing for sweaty men and their (base, basket, and foot) balls, but I grew up in a household of die-hard sports fans. I root passionately for my teams, but my love for sports sometimes supercedes other, more productive ventures. You know...things like writing, revising, outlining, reading, etc.

If I kept a chart of my writing productivity during the college & NFL football season, it would basically flatline. Ditto the NCAA Tournament. In fact, I may be the only person in the world who would benefit positively from the NFL lockout. If they don't get the silly thing sorted out and miss significant time during the season, I earn a full Sunday to write. Isn't that ridiculous?

I love them, I need them...but they're a distraction.
I would count sports as a personal El Guapo.

I am not Captain Technology, but I do love my gadgets. Like many of you, I've spent too much time browsing Facebook, looking for iPhone apps, enjoying a DVD player with Netflix capabilities, getting on The Twitter (via Tweetdeck), or simply using the internet as an excuse not to write.

I'm blogging right now. I should probably work on a book or short story, yet I blog instead. It gives me an excuse to use Firefox, Blogger, and Corel PaintShop Photo Pro.

Does technology revolve around me or do I revolve around technology?
I would count technology as a personal El Guapo.

General fatigue ("I don't wanna write right now"); that's an El Guapo.

Movies and DVDs are an El Guapo.

But as sure as my name is Matt Adams, we can conquer our own personal El Guapo.

Defeating him isn't easy--this isn't "Amigos, Amigos, Amigos"--but it IS possible.

Recognize El Guapo. He's not hard to miss. He has a beard, likes cigars and tequila and guns, will probably try to steal the girl (or guy) you like, sometimes wears a sombrero, and really, really likes sweaters. In the desert.

I think the German pilot is jealous.
Set a time. This is a time-honored, very effective bit of strategery. Even if you miss your writing time once or twice a week, as long as you nail it 80% of the time, your productivity will stay high.

Get Away. Maybe the distractions around the home are too much. Make it simple: get away. Grab a notebook or your laptop and find a park, library, or other cozy place that allows you to focus. If it works, make that place your All-Time Writing Place.

Unplug. If the internet distracts you as much as it distracts me (Internet Movie Database, Netflix, Tweetdeck, Facebook, ESPN.com, Wikipedia, etc., etc., etc.), unplug it. In my case it's easy; my PC has a wireless dongle (in high school that would've been a funny word). If I realize I'm spending too much time browsing the web, I can simply unplug it and lock it away. Similarly, I usually put my phone on vibrate and stash it in another room.

Set limits. Going cold turkey on a personal El Guapo will kill you with real bullets. There's no way I'm giving up sports; it's simply not going to happen. My strategy is fairly simple: one game a day. This is a guideline...not a rule. After all, I follow IU, Notre Dame, and Purdue in college football. I'll watch just about any NFL game. Multiple March Madness games are meant to be shared and enjoyed. However, I try to limit it to my favorites. That means skipping the early game if the Colts play late and using that time to write.

Treat Yourself. If you've had a particularly productive span, take a day off. Watch a movie, catch a ballgame, go out to dinner...whatever makes you happy. Some will say you have to write, write, write, write, write every single day. And while we should write as much as we can as often as we can, sometimes our brains just need a break. I have a day job...and it includes vacation time because we're simply not meant to work ALL THE TIME. Even if writing is your job, you have to step away sometimes and treat yourself.

Make the Most of the Time You Have. You have 30 free minutes in which to do nothing. Do you: 1) Stream an episode of "The Larry Sanders Show" on Netflix, 2) Fire up "Batman: Brave and the Bold" on your DVR, 3) Play a Game of NBA Jam, or 4) Get behind the keyboard and start Microsoft Word (or any equivalent software used for writing)?

Yoda says: "Option #4 you should choose."
If you choose Option #4, you may only end up with just a few hundred words. But those "Larry Sanders" episodes can wait. If you use those bite-size bits of time effectively throughout the week, your overall word count shoots way up.

So what about you? What Personal El Guapo keeps you from being as productive as you should be?

You Are What you Tweet

I used to hate Twitter.

A lot.

I'm serious about this.

I once said if Twitter were a person, I'd punch it in the face. And then I'd kick it 17 times while it's down. After that, I'd locate the nearest burlap sack, stuff Twitter inside, weigh it down with bricks, and throw it into the Laurentian Abyss.

The concepts of "tweet" and "retweet" and allowing stupid 140-character messages to replace, oh I don't know, actual thought and discourse alarmed me.

Text messages on steroids.

Despicable. Distasteful.

But you know what? I was wrong about Twitter. If it were a person, I'd take it out for lunch...my treat.

I don't have many followers...I'm working on it...but Twitter is an incredible tool for writers. You can reach hundreds of people with a simple, short message. New blog post? Share it. Read a great blog post? Share it. Story accepted? Share it. Story rejected? Share it.

I know, I know. This is 2008-era stuff that people a lot smarter than me learned a long time ago. What I have to say is nothing revolutionary, least of all to those who are already on "the Twitter."

But if you know a writer who isn't taking advantage of Twitter, hit them.

Hit them hard.

If they're too shy to tweet, Twitter is still too valuable to overlook or stubbornly ignore. Writers can get a feel for individual agents, discover valuable blog posts from other writers struggling in this crazy business, and find outlets for their work.

Twitter will grow on them...maybe like a festive moss, but it will grow on them. Pretty soon, they'll discover things like hashtags and Writers Wednesday. They'll overcome that shyness and begin to make connections and build a sense of community.

So don't punch Twitter in the face.

Embrace it...and encourage others to do the same.

Awesome co-workers come through

I have great co-workers. How do I know this? One of my buddies won a Jim Irsay contest and gave me one of the two Colts division champs hats he won. In the background, you can see my work keycard and the new Colts lanyard that another co-worker gave me (it's relevant because of this).

How awesome is that?