Hello beloveds,
Well, I’ll be honest—I wasn’t. Having fun, I mean. At the beginning of the month, I wasn’t having fun at all with the writing. Which is why it was so important to find the fun elsewhere: so I could remember what brings me joy in storytelling. I had to go hunting for joy out in the world so that I could ferret it back to the page where it was feeling rough, rough, rough.
I’ll spare you the bulk of the avalanche that was the first draft of this newsletter, but I will try and keep it real with you.
I wrote before that no one is owed approbation. But that doesn’t mean anyone deserves exploitation, either, and sometimes publishing feels like that—not just for writers but everyone who came into this industry to bring good stories to the world. People say the hardest thing about publishing isn’t getting into it, but staying in it. I’ve heard many veteran authors say that, of their “debut class,” they’re one of maybe 2 or 3 still working, publishing regularly. It’s not because the other writers only had one book in them but because the industry grinds you down. It’s the same for editors, artists, publicists—every part of this great beast.
For an author on this track, every book is another branch on the fire of hope—a prayer that we can burn just a little longer. Fell Runner will be my seventh book. Warmongers will be my eighth. By that token, I’ve stuck it out pretty well. I’ll have one more novel after that, a secret IP. Nine books! Can you imagine??
But that constant burn takes a toll.
And yet everyone talks about burnout like it’s something we do to ourselves. I’m not burnt out. I love my stories and the work I’m doing. It’s not hard because I’m doing too much. It’s hard because of the system we’re mired in.
I don’t know why I’m telling even this curtailed version to all of you (it may not feel curtailed, but it is), except that you’re the ones who are here, helping to fuel that fire. You’re the ones I wanted to make something really cool for. Some of you, I know by name, others by face or a particular cartoon icon. Some of you are silent, ghostly presences. I’m grateful you’re here. I know I’m not entitled to your presence or your support, and that’s what makes it all the more meaningful.
Indeed, it was community that lit my fire this month, so I’ll get into all that now, as well as some more updates.
Critical Hit
Last weekend! Wow, what a blast. It kicked off with MCM ComicCon London. A friend of mine came all the way from Poland (yes, the DnD friend) and I did a panel on writing fighting with Christian Cameron and Emma Burnett—it involved swords, yes, my steel swords on a panel!
My friends and I also waited in some of those interminable lines to meet various members of the Critical Role cast for autographs, pics, and just to say thank you for the joy they bring us. I even gave Ashley Johnson a copy of Fate’s Bane.
I also met artists who have become friends (including our very own Annalise!), I exchanged books for comics (shoutout to Honour Carlisle for the BeauYasha comic!) (for the record, artists, I will totally exchange books for prints), and even gave readers who said hello some signed copies! (If you see me in the wild at one of these events, say hi—I might have treats!)
The weekend continued with an all-day game with my friends, wherein my paladin WON A PIT FIGHT!! At the great expense of our cleric who was very almost dead.
And then the capstone of it all was my very first Critical Role live show. I’m not ashamed to say I cried a bit when it started. I always cry when there’s a whole bunch of people all moved in one direction. Final battles, concerts, dance parties. I’m soft af.
Besides. Look at this. Just look at this!
The O2 stadium filled with Faerie Fire!
The weekend was truly a continued testament to the raw power of human storytelling, passion, and creativity.
Fortune’s Wake
Did you think we were done here? No sirree!
- The audiobook will come out November 10, released by Podium. Yes, it is an Audible exclusive. I cannot, unfortunately, change that.
- The Broken Binding Special Edition doesn’t have a release date or pre-order links, but I did sign the tip-ins, so it’s real! There will be 500 signed and numbered copies. As soon as I have a pre-order link, I’ll send a bonus email blast just so that you all have a crack at it before they’re gone.
Warmongers
Word count: 136,273/160,000
A whole 50k this month! With everything that was going on, that’s a major win.
We are in the home stretch. Hopefully, I’ll be turning this in in two weeks. I can certainly feel the story tipping into that phase of crafting that feels inevitable. Once I finish this portion, I do want to go back through the other storyline and work on some of the continuity errors I’ve created, but I may quietly work on those while my editor gets the big picture stuff.
November Writing Challenge
It’s been a long time since I’ve done NaNoWriMo, their implosion as an organization not withstanding. Still, it was always a fun time when I got my nose down to the ground to get some words out. And writing with people can be fun—and you know I’m looking for more of that.
Pacemaker, the website where I’ve been tracking my word count for the last month, has just opened up group writing challenges. I’ve set up a few teams, and if you have/make an account, we can write together!
We can do group sprints and there can even be discussion boards, though I won’t be explicitly moderating them. (I am on deadline, after all. I must trust you to behave.)
If you have a project you want to start or finish, short stories, essays, novels, fanfic to keep you and your friends company while ao3 is down, sign up to write with me. (The challenge caps out at 100 people.)
Join a team (I’m #TeamTouraine) and try to keep yours ahead of the rest.
ICYMI
A few things from this month…I just got my character building expansions from The Story Engine and did a few draws. If you’re joining me on the writing challenge, get yourself some inspiration. There’s also a breakdown of a few techniques I think TTRPG games can teach writers. Finally, the third installment of the artistVSauthor interview series has arrived, featuring BSARTSSS and a discount to her Patreon of very buff warrior women and monster women and monster warrior women.
C. L. Clark
Where else am I?
- Dragonmeet RPG Convention - Nov. 28, Excel London. I’ll be on two panels in the third track.
- 10:30 AM: License to Write: Creating Stories with IP
- 2:30 PM: A Roll of the Dice: Creating Characters Using RPGs
- For those of you who won’t be able to watch Tasha Suri and I grill Alix Harrow (separately), you can listen to all three of us shoot the shit about Lady Knights and Sword Lesbians on Reactor’s new podcast! We recorded this almost a year ago, so I ALSO need to listen to it, but I remember I had a blast.
- The Narrative Damage Blades in the Dark series is ongoing! Come listen as we get into deeper and deeper shit. We are up to episode 4, I believe.
Media???
As I might have mentioned before, I don’t really read very well when I’m in the thick of revising or drafting, especially when it’s the deep deep weeds. (I don’t really know how to describe the state of being, to be honest.) So I’m still watching/listening to the various actual plays on my docket for my own relaxation storytime, but I’m saving the mental capacity for my own work. I am very much looking forward to getting into some of the good fiction that’s been piling up on every surface of my house, including an exciting SUPER SECRET UNANNOUNCED THING.
I also have Tasha Suri’s The Lady of Thorns (April 2027) and S. J. Lee’s Convergent Fault (Jan 2027), which has undertones of “Six Deaths of the Saint” but more enemy than lover, and also sapphic; I suspect that it will share more than a little blood with Warmongers, so while you wait for that, this might be great to pre-order.
Speaking of Six Deaths, I’m currently reading Slantwise Histories to prep for my talk with Alix. It means I’m catching up on stories I missed, like Mr. Death. I don’t know if I’ve ever had such a visceral emotional reaction to a story before. I was bawling. Then I told Alix I hate her for making me cry at 8 in the morning and she said “thanks” so.
Finally, I’m hoping to play The Ritual by Questward Press, “an intentionally sapphic, drama-filled solo journaling TTRPG where you play as the Supplicant, who wants nothing more than to serve a powerful and ambitious woman with whom you have a complicated and intense relationship”—I dunno about you, but that sounds like it was made for me. If you grab a copy, let me know how you get on!
I don’t think I’ll ever stop writing. But I don’t know what the next leg looks like. At the beginning of the month, I was so exhausted that I could barely lift my head from the plow, let alone scan the horizon. But I’m looking up again. I can see new ground to till. New directions to go, new ways to play.
Thank you, as always, for being here.
Stay sharp,
C. L.
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