Becoming an author has some odd quirks to it – things I didn’t expect. Maybe some of it is being an author in small-town North Dakota, where few people do big or unexpected things. (And believe me, writing not one but two books, particularly in scifi/fantasy, is rather unexpected.)

I’ve been asked to talk to a high school Creative Writing class.

Now, granted, it was my wife who asked me directly, but some of the other area teachers have expressed at least moderate interest in having me speak, and I’ve had several suggestions that I should do so at area libraries as well.

One of the oddest things about indie writing is publicity. I’m responsible for all of it. If I want my name in the paper, I need to make phone calls, write emails, send press releases, and so forth. So, when I get a chance for publicity, I jump at it–including talking to high school classes.

This particular class is going to be tackling a month-long novel-writing assignment. (Hence, bringing in the novelist.) It’s inspired by NaNoWriMo, though it’ll be taking place in March this year. The students will have 31 days to write 30,000 words of cohesive story, and I’m being brought in to tell them how to do it. Sort of.

This would be easier if I had figured out how to do it myself!