LTUE presentations

ByJohn Brown

Life, the Universe & Everything is coming up in a little over a month on Feb 12-14, 2015. It will be held at the Provo Marriott Hotel & Conference Center. Some reasons to go.

Number one. Toni Weisskopf, the editor and publisher of Baen Books, is the guest of honor.

Number two. LTUE and LDStorymakers are the best two cons in Utah for learning how to write, but LTUE is lots cheaper.

Number three. Lots of local authors will be there. It’s a great forum for hearing their insights and finding out what they’re doing.

I will be giving three presentations.

  • Plotting Secrets: Action. In this one, Larry Correia and I team up to share a model of plotting that should make developing your action story much easier. Attendees will be able to use the methods on a novel idea Larry, Joe (Larry’s son), and I came up with called Mech Runners. Basically, Larry turned to Joe and said, “What’s awesome?” Joe said, “Giant robots, bandits, and murderers.” We took it from there.
  • Plotting Secrets: Romance. In this one, I team up with romance author LL Muir to share a model of plotting that should make developing your romance plot or subplot much easier. Attendees will be able to use the methods on a story idea Lesli and I came up based on The Hobbit. It’s called My Precious.
  • The Story Setup: A Powerful Tool You’re Probably Overlooking. The story setup is a fabulous tool that’s not only helped me drastically cut down the time it takes me to develop my ideas, but it has also helped me develop better ideas. In this presentation, I will explain what the story setup is and how you can use it to help you nail your novel.

I hope to see you there.

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    brendanovakThe Utah chapter of the Romance Writers Association is holding a writing conference on October 7th and 8th at the Davis Conference Center in Layton, Utah where FIVE New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors will sharing key insights into writing stories. I’m talking about:

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    If you write stories and want an opportunity to learn from some major pros, then you will want to be at this event.

    If you’re not a romance writer, you might be tempted to think that the topics won’t apply to you. Don’t be fooled. Story is story. And these storytellers are pleasing huge numbers of readers.

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    I hope to see you there.

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  • John’s appearance at American Fork writing conference cancelled

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    Folks, just wanted to update any who might be planning on attending my sessions at the American Fork Arts Council writing conference. I’ve had to cancel. There’s been a death in the family. My brother-in-law’s three week old son died yesterday. His name was Landry. I’ll be at the funeral up in Cokeville, Wyoming on Saturday. What a very, very hard thing for them. I was so looking forward to participating in the conference, but these folks need solace and support. I’m sure you understand. I hope to attend next year. And I will be presenting at CONduit in May, although the organizers haven’t gotten back yet with details. I’m sure you’ll still have a great time–there are so many other interesting presenters coming. Happiness.

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  • Release Dates for the Novels

    ByJohn Brown

    BTW, I talked to Stacy Hague-Hill today and got the release and due dates.

    Book 1
    Revisions due May 15th, 2008
    Final due July 1, 2008
    Hardcover release Sept 2009
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    She said because it’s my first novel and because it’s a trilogy they want to make sure they properly lay the groundwork, getting cover quotes, working up excitement, etc. And that’s why there’s such a space between the contract, final delivery date, and HC release. Although the schedule repeats for every book. On the one hand, I wish they were coming out on a 9 month schedule. On the other hand, I think my focus should be making these three books the very best they can be. And this gives me the time. Besides, there will be a HC release and then a paperback and so each book will get two pulses each year. Although the paperback is released usually right before the second book comes out.

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    Draft due Feb 2009
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    Paperback release Aug 2011

    Book 3
    Draft due Feb 2010
    Final due July 1, 2010
    Hardcover release Sep 2011
    Paperback release Aug 2012? Not sure.

    That’s a ways out there. Holy cow.

    2011?

    I haven’t planned anything out that far into the future since college and that wasn’t really planning but a lifestyle (grin).

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  • Wear the Dark God!

    ByJohn Brown

    Yeah, Baby! We’ve got Dark God Tees! And all thanks to Fiction Addictions. You get to choose from two designs which you can see below. Please note: The Dark God got his fans some SPECIAL HOLIDAY PRICING! Through December 2010: $13.99 for standard style, $15.99 for the ladies fit.

    ORDER NOW FROM
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    P.S. If you desire, you can post pictures of yourself displaying your great sense of fashion (or the burnt crisp of your thunderstruck remains) on http://www.facebook.com/authorjohnbrown

    Servant of a Dark God – In Yo Face

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    Servant of a Dark God – Book Fan

    For those who aren’t quite ready to commit to the dark side, we provide a more conservative front that will still raise eyebrows, but all in the good cause of literacy.

    Book Fan – Standard T Style

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    Colors & Styles

    Standard tee shirt style: for men or women, comes in dark brown, black, or navy with crème lettering.

    The ladies tee shirt style (fitted cut and thinner fabric): comes in purple, black, or dark brown with crème lettering.

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  • Near Death Experiences With A Great Bunch of Young Men

    ByJohn Brown

    TopoMapSawtoothAlpineBaronRedFishJust got back from taking a small troop of 12 and 13 year old young men on a scouting hiking and camping trip in the Sawtooth Mountains in Idaho with two other leaders.

    Here’s the checklist.

    Watch a boy think it’s a good idea to stand with his back three feet from the edge of an 80-foot drop and begin pulling on a two-hundred pound hunk of granite while three other boys on the other side push on it with their feet in an attempt to send said large object over the edge.

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    (Eventually their frontal cortexes will develop; until then it’s up to leaders to say, “Hey, um, make sure you pull really hard.”)

    Sleep under stars in sleeping bag I don’t quite fit in with my serial killer ski mask on backwards because my eyeballs are freezing and wake up at 5 am to 27 degrees.

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    Check.

    Watch in rear view mirror in the middle of nowhere Idaho as the other scout leader in the pickup with the four boys tries to pass two rabbit farmer pickups at a T intersection (yeah, passing at an intersection is against the law even if the trucks have hazards on and are waving people around), each with a single ton round bale in the bed; see the first rabbit farmer truck start to turn, and then the scout transportation vehicle swerve, miss a traffic sign by 14 inches, go flying off the road at 60 mph, bounce a number of times in the field and come to a halt. Upon flying off the road, spiritual and hippy scout leader shouts, “Oh, s**t!” When the truck comes to rest, the one scout whose father lent us the truck exclaims, “THAT WAS AWESOME!”

    Check.

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    So, all in all, a great trip.

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