Backstreet Boys (2010)

I'm throwing this week's post back to August 2010, when I attended the Backstreet Boys' This Is Us Tour at Nautica Pavilion. It was my second time seeing them live; their stop at Gund Arena in 2001 during the Black & Blue Tour was my very first live concert without adult supervision.

It was a beautiful summer day on the Cuyahoga River, and I felt terribly nostalgic. AveMarie's love of BSB had led me to join her for the concert, and a couple other members of our high school clique were present as well. Impromptu meetups with friends are the best!

I visited Nautica Pavilion for the first time in 2004 with a friend and saw Modest Mouse perform. It was very exciting to be a high school graduate, arriving to the venue by boat, and having men buy me beer. My very first beer was a Michelob. I remember it was smooth and rich and tasted like freedom. Beer is not my drink of choice, but that beer in that situation was the epitome of summer. 

BSB put on a good show (even without Kevin, who was my personal favorite of the group). I felt like they never took themselves too seriously, but obviously put forth a lot of effort for the fans, and the love they received from the crowd was fun and uplifting.

AveMarie & Aerofaux

Shoutout to AveMarie, my perpetual pal and founding member of our #concertsquad

You can see more photos from the concert in my Backstreet Boys (2010) album.

Fan Fiction

I admit, I read fanfiction. I write fanfiction. I love fanfiction!

That's easy for me to say as an author whose characters have yet to be put through the proverbial ringer. However, the one thing I note in fanfiction that I enjoy so much, is that characterizations remain consistent. The author of the source material wrote such well-developed characters, that their readers understand those characters and their personalities and are able to reliably place them in new situations. That is something I want to accomplish, as an author. I think that a reader being so invested in the world and characters an author has created, to the point of wanting to continue the adventure so badly that they are compelled to write, is fantastic.

Will there be fanfiction that doesn't meet the high criteria of stable and consistent characterizations? Yes. Will there be situations in fanfiction when characters are bandied about and abused? Yes, inevitably. And when characters I have created are eventually subjected to such treatment (please, God), I hope I will continue to view the efforts with grateful amusement.

Want to know a secret? Sometimes, I write fanfiction about my own characters. It could be a little puff piece with them in a weird situation that helps me develop some aspect of their personality. It might be an experiment with a romantic pairing not appearing in the book, unlocking some similarity in their thought processes.

The trick is to keep all that headcanon appropriately compartmentalized. I have dozens of little one-offs, but not all of them include material / situations / outcomes that I want to influence the existing characters. Consistency is always key. Sometimes a quick coffeeshop AU is just a coffeeshop AU.

Austin Lake Park & Campground (2012)

I mentioned my brother (codename: Sasquatch) in a previous post. Every summer, he and I take a trip together. It all started the year he turned sixteen...

Growing up, my parents enrolled me in all sorts of outdoor activities. I learned orienteering, trap-setting, identification of animal tracks and edible plants. You get the idea. I loved it. Every weekend we were hiking, biking, canoeing, rock climbing, visiting the zoo. It left quite an impression on me. I feel strong and capable and connected and creative when I'm outdoors, I get an adrenaline rush and feel like I'm doing something important when I try something new, and each experience helps boost my self-confidence.

My brother and I are eleven years apart. We are each other's only sibling. He didn't focus as much on the outdoorsy stuff. So when he expressed interest in camping, I leaped at the chance to be a model big sister and teach life skills. We had so much fun on that first trip that a tradition began: Adventure Siblings!

Our first summer adventure was a two-day trip to Austin Lake RV Park & Cabins in Toronto, OH. Located 2+ hours southeast of Cleveland, near Jefferson Lake State Park, it was a manageable drive and easy to navigate. Austin Lake Park has a variety of hiking trails and water activities, both of which Sasquatch and I enjoy.

He wasn't quite tall enough to have earned the nickname yet, but there were already signs...

I purchased a dome tent specifically for this trip, so Sasquatch's first assembly and overnight experience wouldn't be in the military tent I usually used. Our primitive campsite was pitched with minimal struggle. I was so proud of him!

I'm still proud whenever I look at this photo!

The true highlight of the trip was Sasquatch's first campfire. It took us over an hour to get the flame to catch. I had never had such problems getting a fire started. Burned finger pads and knuckles later, we were both frustrated and losing hope. And then...then...the tiny flame flared and decided now was its time!

And once it was lit, nothing would put out that fire. A thunderstorm raged throughout the night / threatening to flood our campsite / but our campfire burned strong and bright. We were so impressed with it and ourselves that we stayed awake in the tent watching the fire, letting it burn long overnight. He still talks about that epic campfire!

We had a great time hiking and canoeing at Austin Lake Park. Two days wasn't enough to partake in all the activities, but it was the perfect first trip to launch our adventures. I would absolutely return for a low-key, family-friendly camping experience.

You can see more photos from our hike in the Austin Lake Park (2012) album.

Managing Expectations of Writing

A friend and I (we'll call her Cole) this week were discussing our writing styles and the hurdles we're facing in making progress on our projects. Cole writes nonfiction and has an agent, whereas I write fiction and represent myself; so there are distinct situational differences. But what we found is that we have generally similar approaches to our writing, and that both of us struggle with our personal metrics.

What I mean is, writing isn't just actively writing the book. Both Cole and I tend to measure productivity and judge ourselves based upon quantifiable data such as words written, chapters completed, etc. Metrics like these are easy to point to and evaluate. Some writers and community sites give advice toward metrics such as these, to help other writers stay on track. And that can work. Holding myself to a measurable output - in terms of words written per chapter, and chapters completed each week - helped me finish Part I: Labor (Sons and Daughters of Olek).

However, I was actively trying something different while writing that story. The process I used was not / is not my norm. And now that I am writing full-time, working on my own projects and accountable only to myself, I'm learning that my 'norm' is neither great nor sustainable.

I've learned two very important things about myself and my work style:

    1) I try to do too much at once;

    2) I need to reevaluate how I measure my work output.

These two realizations are connected. Both involve setting reasonable goals.

When I launched into my new situation as full-time writer with the fervor of a childhood dream come to fruition, I was trying to set too ambitious of goals and do too much at once. That was tough to acknowledge. I am a person who prefers to work alone and do everything herself. When I was in a traditional leadership role, I had to learn to delegate and trust my team. On my own, I had to learn to prioritize and then stick to only what was on my list. I had to adjust my own thinking and believe it was okay to not work on those other tasks. Everything doesn't need to be done at once, and in fact cannot be done well when my focus is split in so many directions.

This is a tricky thing for me to manage, because I can absolutely lose motivation and let myself slide on deadlines when it's only me that I'm disappointing. A factor that muddies this further is that I was recently diagnosed with an auto-immune disease. I began experiencing symptoms in 2019; by the time I realized how serious my condition might be, I was without health care and suffering from fatigue and progressive physical damage. In the midst of my new and exciting writer!life, I was falling short of my goals and had to cut myself some slack. Now as I work to get things under control, I have to learn the difference between when I truly need rest for the disease and when I'm just not feeling particularly motivated. I love being organized, so I make color-coded lists to keep myself on-task; things to accomplish that day or that week or that month. There are definitely days when I worry I am not doing enough and not holding myself accountable. But I am trying, and I do see a difference in my behavior. It's all part of this learning experience for me.

I also had to recognize and accept that my writing process is different from others' (and all that well-intentioned advice I've read), that I don't (yet) have a template to success, and that I needed to change my own approach. This is still difficult for me. I'm actively working on retraining my thought processes and how I evaluate my work output.

There are other aspects to writing that I have realized are just as important and valid, and that I need to allow myself to perform as part of the work. For example, storyboarding. I never did this in the past. The story just evolved as I wrote it, through numerous drafts. Now that I schedule time to storyboard and collect / organize my ideas, I'm finding how useful it is to me. I notice patterns in my writing and characterizations, and I can elect to keep or adjust them. I can choose a specific story progression to influence how I present material. I can plan, without losing the magic I feel about the story. Basically, anything I accomplish toward a story 'counts' as work. Whether I need time to research space travel or peruse forums debating superpowers or study medieval textiles and cultural weaponry, all of that accumulates toward a rich story. Which is what I hope to write.

Overall, I've learned I need to give myself space to create, without putting so much pressure on myself. I've found that I have productive hours that are fairly consistent each day, but I need to change up my tasks so I'm not doing the exact same thing every day. If I cycle, work on A on Monday, B on Tuesday, etc., I'm more likely to meet the goals I set for myself that week. I also don't structure those hours so strictly anymore. I can enjoy a spontaneous moment, step away from the writing process without abandoning the creative process.

I'm still not where I want to be as far as projects completed. I'm behind schedule and struggling with a few plot points. I feel really bad about this; I feel anxiety about not producing material at a quicker, more reliable pace. It is something I want to be better about, and I'm hoping all that I am learning through this endeavor is angling me in that direction, positioning me to better manage myself.

One of the worst things I've ever done is compare myself to others. Whether it's another writer's process or a friend's life milestone, I usually feel I'm falling short of achieving something that is expected. I am constantly reminding myself that I do not need nor should I look for the approval of others to guide my path. The only way I can truly fail is if I give up creating and writing. That's a pretty empowering thought.

Free Comic Book Day

The 1st Saturday of May each year is celebrated as Free Comic Book Day. Comic shops around the country hold late night Friday and daytime Saturday events, including special giveaways and specially-produced comic books with the intention of engaging new readers.

Attending the event at my local shop has been a tradition in my family since Carol & John's Comic Book Shop in Kamm's Plaza hosted their first late night FCBD party. My daddy and I always attend, and Sasquatch often joins us. I love seeing the local cosplayers, dressing up myself, and just enjoying the atmosphere of so many dedicated fans in one place. The nights can be long and cold; my daddy and I line up early to be within the first attendees receiving each year's special gift. We stand, sit, read, play games, listen to music. There is always something to do while we wait. Food trucks visit the plaza, photo opportunities are set up, podcasters chat with attendees.

If you haven't experienced Free Comic Book Day at Carol & John's Comics, I highly recommend their events. Due to the pandemic, this year's event has been pushed from May 1st | 2nd to August 13th | 14th, making it the perfect time to join the fun on a warm summer night. Chris Claremont will even be available for autographs on Saturday!!
Check out this year's offering of free comics, and support your local comic book shop!

Shout out to everyone at CNJ Comics for making every visit fantastic, and for holding an event that my daddy and I continue to enjoy together. Thank you all so much!

2016

2017

2018

2019

You can see more photos from the events in my Free Comic Book Day collection.

WorldBuilding

I love world-building. Almost as much as I love character creation. I will spend months (months!) developing the setting for a story. Locations, climates, species, cultures, genders, histories, religions, governments, distances, measurements, sciences and magics... I love knowing all the intricacies of a world. Having all that information to reference helps me as I write. It influences character personality, can shake up a problematic scene, and keeps details consistent throughout a story.

There is a project I have been working on since high school (yes, that one; it still isn't finished) into which I have put years of worldbuilding. I thought I was finished. I even decided the fifth draft, dutifully revised and edited, was acceptable to my perfectionist self as the final draft, and I sent out the manuscript. That was nearly a decade ago.

Since then, I have experienced some truly fantastic storytelling with wholly immersive worlds. I already had templates for such things, such as Tolkien's impressive catalogue, but I've come to appreciate even more how such deep and well-thought worldbuilding affects a story.

Let's discuss tabletop role-playing games (RPGs) for a moment. I've played with groups whose Game Masters (GMs) haven't put much effort into worldbuilding, or who are following a module without getting in-depth. I must here admit that I too was guilty of this, in my early experience as a GM. I have since discovered the glory (joy, madness and heartache) of creating your own world and all it contains, and letting other people run amok in the setting.

My brother (codename: Sasquatch) asked specifically for advanced worldbuilding in our current campaign, and both of us are finding it delightful. He is literally reshaping the world I created through his characters' actions, and I am learning how to adjust such things in a way that plausibly reflects natural story progression. He's having a blast trying to start wars and hoodwink characters out of their literal thrones, and I'm refining my worldbuilding and storytelling techniques. It's a win-win.

What I'm trying to say is that I run/play a Dungeons & Dragons [3.5] and Pathfinder homebrew, it helps my writing process, and you should all give it a try. The whole point of games like this is that you as a Game Master can make up all the rules, just as you make up all the rules for your written stories. Follow templates, abandon them, make new templates, create a new race, discard that spell that no one uses because it is so convoluted and replace it with something that makes sense.

Now, go rework that scene you're struggling with; I have a sixth draft to prepare.

Episode XXXV: A New Outlook

 Hello readers,

If you are a previous visitor of From Cleveland With Love, you may have noticed some changes.
I began this blog in 2009 with no preamble, specifically to document trips I took to keep myself entertained while living in Cleveland. I was hoping to launch my writing career via reviews and recommendations, because it seemed more accessible than finishing that novel I'd been working on since high school.

It's been more than a decade since my last review (and I still haven't finished that blasted novel), but I've had a lot of experiences that I'm excited to share.

So if you're interested in what a Cleveland native with some serious wanderlust and too many fantasy ideals gets up to, stick around!

Or, if you found this blog because you've read my sci-fi short Part I: Labor (Sons and Daughters of Olek) and you're looking for behind-the-scenes, writer-y stuff, I'll have that, too!

Adventure, embarrassing stories, regrettable decisions and auto-immune disease are all in store!
These are the tales of one creative from Cleveland, with love.
Please, call me Aerofaux