Nathan Lowell (he/him) 📎

Are you able to communicate in sign language? Sadly, no. So many languages I don't know, can't speak. So many modes lost on me. I'm not even sure I can communicate effectively verbally. At least written communication gives me time to change my mind about what I might say before I actually - you know - say it. #ScribesAndMakers

How do you choose a title for your book? No single path. Since I write novels in a series, they all relate to the series title somehow. Most often they come before the story, shaping the narrative. "Oh, that's a cool title. Wonder what book is behind it!" Occasionally, like this next one, I know it'll be The Wizard's Something but the final title? I have contenders but the finalist will have to wait until I'm further along in the writing. #ScribesAndMakers

Do you abandon creative projects? If so, how do you determine when to abandon them? I've abandoned a few. Usually because I lost interest. They disappear behind me. Some I've set aside for a time because I wasn't ready to take them on. Either because I lacked the skill to do it credit or because I lacked sufficient clarity on the goal. I don't have any on hiatus at the moment but I've gotten better at not starting projects that aren't sufficiently defined. At least, that's what I tell myself. #ScribesAndMakers

Would you stream your creative process/the creation of your work? Why or why not? Depends on what you mean by streaming. On video? Watching me write would be pretty boring. I once wrote a novel "in public" with a Google Doc that anybody could read as the story unfolded. Not quite Harlan Ellison writing in shop windows, but same energy. I've thought about doing it again. Like NaNo, there's a kind of pressure to get it done. Knowing that it's not only possible but, in a sense, almost inevitable that a story will grow from tiny seeds if properly tended. But my process is scattered. Binging into the night sometimes. Waking too early to pound keys. Then losing myself in reading for hours before returning. Eventually. Might be interesting to have a twitch stream where I sit on camera when I'm writing and viewers have a view of my word processing document. Only seeing the story that unfolds a sentence at a time, only the last paragraph on display. Gimmick, but might be fun. #ScribesAndMakers

Have you ever or would you ever do your own cover?

I did in the beginning. In spite of (or perhaps because of) some training in the practice, I realized that even an inexpensive, pre-made cover worked better.

I've had some good ones. Some that are only so so, but the bad ones were all the ones I made myself.

Now that I have revenue to support the writing, I pay an editor and cover artist to make my work better than I can do alone.

#DailyHaikuPrompt

Do you have a favorite decade of music? Which one(s)?

Not really. Every decade seems to have some favorite songs, favorite performers. My favorites have shifted over time.

Beatles, Stones, Clapton, Bowie. A waltz with Captain Beefheart and a line dance with Commander Cody mixed with Dylan, Baez, Mitchell, and Collins. Janis, man. Janis.

Then Pink Floyd, Steely Dan, and the Eagles. Joan Jett, Pat Benatar, Melanie.

Through it all, throw backs to Dave Brubeck who changed my life, Leonard Cohen who made me cry. A Last Dance with Mary Jane.

Delving into Madness with a visit to the Caravan Palace. Enigma. Delirium. Growing more esoteric with each iteration.

I kinda lost track when the century changed. Buried in grad school and academe until my day job left me in 2012.

So, no. I don't think in decades. Only the music that has moved me over so many of them.

#ScribesAndMakers

How are things going for you this month, creatively or otherwise?

I opened a new document file while I let the mental boiler come up to speed.

It's started generating a little pressure in the pipes but hasn't enough umph to spin the turbine yet.

#ScribesAndMakers

How well do you sing? If you don't consider yourself a good singer, do you sing anyway?

I used to be pretty good, I think.

I sang sea shanties when bathing my kids when they were babies. I only remember a few verses of "Drunken Sailor" these days.

I still sing to myself sometimes. Usually only scattered phrases that rise at the moment and make me homesick for the sea.

#ScribesAndMakers

**How do you define a book? Do audiobooks and graphic novels fit your definition?**

In one sense, a book is a collection of pages bound together with a protective cover. This differentiates them from other forms like scrolls and clay tablets.

They come in various sizes and shapes with subcategories like pamphlets, chapbooks, magazines, texts, references, workbooks, and effing tomes.

In another sense, they're words recorded for later consumption. Generally those pages hold stories - some true, some fiction, some simply flights of fancy. Some are diaries and journals. Some are blank, waiting for someone to fill them.

People, being people, prefer various forms. Some through necessity. Some merely because of availability. Others because, well, people are going to be people.

And yes, they do, but - this being the internet - your mileage may vary.

#ScribesAndMakers

You now have the same occupation as the main character of your current WIP (or book you are reading/last read) What job are you doing? Butler to an eccentric mage. #ScribesAndMakers

Annual traditions not tied to holidays? Nothing really. I'm so old that all the touchstones have worn smooth. Each day slides easily to the next and I celebrate them as they arrive. #ScribesAndMakers

What's one creative thing you'd like to get done this month? Finally wrap up the paperback release of the latest book. Snafu on author proofs have delayed it by weeks. And it's my own fault, dammit. :D Stretch goal: Open a new file and begin again. #ScribesAndMakers

Share something about your creative work this month. I'm coming to the end of a fallow season. I think. #ScribesAndMakers

@gahlearner@sunny.garden Yeah. This. Much as I hate to admit it, I get a little thrill every time I open a box of paperbacks and see the physical instantiation.

What is the most rewarding thing about your creativity? Hearing from readers. Learning that my books helped them in some small way, if only for a few hours of entertainment. #ScribesAndMakers