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My Top Five Fan Girl Moments at a Con

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Here is my recent post for Nerds Against the World. Follow on Twitter @NerdsvsWorld

S.E. Doster's avatarNerds Against The World

DragonCon is my favorite time of the year so I usually attend every year (until the last two years I haven’t been able to go) and I’ve met some of my favorite actors, writers, & artists there. Sometimes it’s disappointing when a guest comes and it seems like they really aren’t interested or they seem like a shallow douchebag. Then sometimes one pleasantly surprises you. So today I will countdown my five most awesome meetings at DragonCon and if you ever have a chance to meet any of the people I’ve mentioned then I hope you take it!

5. Brandon Routh: I love Superman (despite how disappointing Superman Returns was) & Scott Pilgrim so naturally I had a huge fan girl moment when meeting Brandon Routh. I lined up for his autograph session early one morning and was of course super nervous. (Note: I’m ridiculously shy & awkward) He was…

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Get Nerdy at DragonCon 2013

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S.E. Doster's avatarNerds Against The World

Unless you’ve been hiding out in a bunker somewhere prepping for an apocalypse, then you’ve probably heard about San Diego Comic Con and New York Comic Con. Today I’m here to school you on a lesser known con with just as much heart and a huge line up of guests. Today nerds and nerdettes, I introduce you all to DragonCon which is Atlanta, Georgia’s multi-media pop-culture convention that covers sci-fi, fantasy, gaming, anime, film, literature, & more!

Are you located in the south or planning on taking a trip down south? Need Labor Day weekend plans of the geeky variety? You haven’t missed DragonCon 2013! The con will take place August 30th through September 2nd and a four day pass will cost you $130. The four day weekend pass is generally much cheaper if you order it earlier in the year and increases in price as the date gets closer…

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Project Updates

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Hi everyone! I’ve been slow to give updates, but I wanted to assure everyone that I am hard at work. I’ve been experiencing technical difficulties because it seems that I am an internet killer. Everywhere I go, the internet just randomly stops working. You can just call me Galactus, Destroyer of Internets.

I’ve spent my abundance of offline time working on my new novel which is currently untitled, but I hope to have more info to give in the next two months. I dedicate time to work  every night/morning before bed. I find that my brain creates the best ideas in the very late night hours leading in to early mornings. I won’t elaborate on the details, but I will say that it is an urban fantasy YA novel that focuses on a very diverse group that includes gay and lesbian characters.

The Alliance:Bloodlines novel is in a holding pattern while I get a few things in order before taking the route of self publication. I’ve also been creating digital portraits of many Alliance characters and I hope to share those with everyone soon. I’d like to be able to post one portrait a week, but they are taking quite a while to complete. I am new to digital painting so I am probably doing things the hard way, but also learning different techniques and progress is going a little faster now.

I’m still working on a few comic book projects which are now going into the art stages. One is my own creator owned project, which is a zombie horror/survival genre mixed with a little fantasy.  I hope to have some art work to show you soon!

So please stay tuned for more information and if you have any questions please feel free to ask!

Writing Tip: Push Through the Awkward Stage

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Photo credit goes to jjpacers

Photo credit goes to jjpacers

I used to think that revisions were the hardest part of writing, but honestly just finishing the first draft is the real challenge. Fight through and don’t try to edit or re-writing anything until you get to the end of the story. Editing during a first draft will only slow you down and you want to stay motivated to push through to finish the story. Once you finished the first draft then you’ve done the hard part. Relax and pat yourself on the back because you’ve already done what many never accomplish. I hear so many people say “I have this great idea for a story.” or “I want to write a book someday.” And often those people never accomplish that. So set your manuscript to the side and take a break. Read some books or take a vacation. If you want to keep writing other material, then feel free to do so. Just don’t touch your first draft for a few weeks and then come back with fresh eyes and start your revisions.

In the past I would get frustrated with my art or writing because I felt like what I was creating just wasn’t good enough. A really helpful artist (acrylic painter Brandon Schaefer) gave a great piece of advice to “push through the awkward stage” because after you get your foundation down, you can go back and make corrections and add detail with a fresh pair of eyes. The same is true with writing. You take your idea and you lay out the ground work with the first draft. The first draft is the foundation of your creation and the revisions are making the corrections and adding detail to make it better.

Think about all the great books you’ve read, you can’t assume that what you read was a first or even second draft of a novel. Lots of great books will go through a tedious revision process so don’t be so hard on yourself if things don’t seem to flow perfect in a first draft. So stay motivated and always try to push through that awkward stage.

Hope you found this tip helpful. Please feel free to comment and let me know what topics you’d like to see discussed here!

Let Music Spawn Creativity

/ S.E. Doster / 3 Comments

Brain_Waves

Whenever I sit down to write, I pick a playlist or album that fits the mood of what I plan to write. I always have music going in the background to motivate and inspire me.

Some people believe that classical music provides great creativity for the brain, but I tend to lean towards rock music. I personally think rock music makes great inspirational tunes for action and/or fight scenes. I turn to slow powerful ballads for the dramatic moments. I even have a whole playlist of mixed genres set up for those times when I need something more on the mushy side.

Not every song is right for every story so you may want to give it some thought first. There are some songs you might want to avoid while trying to convey a certain mood in your story. If you are writing an intense shootout or car chase, then you probably don’t want to hear a slow song that reminds you of your ex and breathes life back into those old memories.

My recommendation would be to set up several playlists filled with songs you enjoy and let each one have a specific mood. A friend recently convinced me to try Spotify and I can’t imagine how I ever lived without it. It is so easy to set up playlists and after you listen to enough music, the site will start suggesting music based off what you’ve selected so far.

Hopefully you have found this information helpful and I’d love to hear what music you enjoy listening to while you write.  Now grab a pen, turn on some music, and start writing!