Writing Update?

Over the last few Blogs I’ve talked about various topics, the most recent was about Slow Burn Books if you haven’t read it check it out here.  Anyway, I thought today I would provide an update on all my writing endeavors and surprisingly there are quite a few.

To start, I was recently asked to work on a training video project ‘Know Your Rights’ for the nonprofit I work for. It was a series of vignettes about what to do when ICE confronts you.  Each video would be a different scenario.  First, ICE comes to your home. Second, ICE comes to your work. Third, a police stop. And, fourth, how an agency is to respond when ICE comes to investigate clients.  We did an English and Spanish version.

Know Your Rights!

We spent a few weeks working on the script and in rehearsals.  The thing to point out here is none of the people were professionals.  So, they were relying on my limited experience.  Regardless, I spent whatever time I had with them running lines, rewriting and changing the script and working on blocking and preparing them for taping day.

The day of the video shoot came, and we spent a full day in studio with a crew of five.  I had designed the sets and costuming as well as handled make-up (I was wearing a lot of hats that day including directing).  With the shoot finished the next week I worked with the editor to pull it all together.  The finished product is something I’m exceedingly proud of, and the videos already hit over 600 views (in just a week).  Click here to go to their channel.

I’ve been asked to work with the Editor and take the vignettes and turn them into an actual DVD that other agencies can purchase.  So, that will be cool.

Channel trailer for Tall Tale TV.

My second update is if you follow me on Facebook and Twitter (which I hope you do), you should’ve seen my interactions with Chris over at Tall Tale TV. Chris takes short stories and converts them to audiobooks that you can listen to on his channel.  It's a great way to hear about new and upcoming authors. The channel is new so there isn’t a lot of content yet, but he’s growing it.  Anyway, he had a call for short story submissions and he selected one of mine.  I recently, the last few days, got word that my story ‘The Reunion’ will be airing in the next couple of weeks.  Once, I’m given the date you can be sure I’ll be letting you know.

My next major announcement is that I have a new work in progress underway, ‘T.A.D.’  This new story is set to be a novella and much shorter than my other works.  I don’t want to give away too much because things may change, but this story has elements of time travel and focuses on angles.  I’ve gotten some positive feedback from the first chapter so I’m excited to bring the outline to life. 

My final update is about my other works in progress.  ‘A New World – Contact’ is back with a couple of Beta Readers.  ‘A New World – Conspiracy’ is still in the writing process however, I’m happy to report that Act Two is now complete, which means I’m on to the final act; Act Three.  Yay!

This leaves me with an update for ‘The Calling’ it is complete and has gone through edits.  The rest I’m going to be a little cagey about because I’m hoping to have a big announcement about ‘The Calling’ in the next few months.

Those are my updates for now.  I'd love to hear what questions you have for me ask them in the comments and I'll answer.  Feel free to share this blog with others who will find it interesting.

See you next time.

Are Slow Burn Books Dead?

I’ve been wondering lately what people think of slow burn (slow paced) novels.  I don’t mean novels that go on-and-on about a rope unwinding, or describe every single item in a room to a reader.  What I’m talking about are stories that start off slow, allow readers to become familiar with the characters and their surrounding situations.  The reader actually gets to care about these people and their lives before all holy hell breaks loose.

This was a big topic of discussion on the writers group I belong to.  Most people agree there should be an inciting incident happening pretty quick (as soon as the first couple of paragraphs and no later than chapter five for all books). If you don’t know what an ‘inciting incident’ is it’s an episode, plot point or event that hooks the reader into the story. This particular moment is when an event thrusts the protagonist into the main action of the story.

Anyway, I agree with the need for an inciting incident I don’t see the need to be so fast.  I find in a lot of books/novels these days’ authors drop the reader right into the action, normally within the first few paragraphs. If not, the first paragraph.

So people love this.  It reminds them of movies and it gets their heart beating and, for them, it’s the best way for a novel to begin.

For me, I’ve hardly gotten to learn anything about these people, so why do I care if some monster, explosion or whatever is chasing them.

It’s only chapter two and their mother died in their arms.  The house they lived in blew up and aliens (or vampires or zombies or whatever) are rounding up the survivors.  Well lovely, but hey, could I maybe get the characters last name first.  Perhaps, find out that they have brown hair and green eyes.  I need to connect with these people.  I need to relate to them.

Is that too much to ask? 

Am I expecting too much?

Or worse yet, I’m I the only one who cares about this stuff? Clearly I’m not, because there are tons of books out there that move at a slower pace.

Still, is fast passed action, action, action all that people want?  Look at our movies and TV shows, you barely get any character information before you’re thrust into the action sequence.

Ugh, it gives me whiplash.

So, I continue to wonder are slow burn books dead? I hope not. Because if that’s the case, as a wannabe author, I’m screwed.  Two of my works in progress are what I would consider longish stories.  One ‘The Calling’ hovers around 100k words.  The other ‘A New World – Contact’ is around 169k words.  Currently, I’ve been trimming them both down, trying to cut the fat and leave the flavor.  It’s a slow process.

So, I’m asking, what do you all think? Do you care about these things or do you want a good story that you can sink your teeth in and enjoy?  I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Remember, you can always like and share this blog post.  It lets me know what you all want to talk about.  What are your thoughts on this topic?

See ya soon.

Religion in non-Religious Books

To begin, in general I love religion. Belief in God plays such a strong role in our society that to ignore it as a writer is a mistake.  You’re doing a disservice to the reader and the story.  Now, I’m not saying to go in and make fun of religion (unless that is the point of your novel, article or short), or bash people over the head with your religious view.  Writers need to treat faith like they would treat any other topic.

It’s important so why ignore it.

The reason I bring this up is that as a writer all my stories hold some link to faith and a belief system of some kind.  I try to be fair with how I present the subject, and I don’t get preachy with beliefs in a Higher Power, and I steer clear of making fun of it. That said, I will point out hypocrisy because all faiths have it.

Regardless, I truly love religion (at one point I wanted to study World Religions) and I love how it affect us, who we are as a people and what we believe as a collective human culture.  Not to mention how we consider our fellow man.  Its saddens me when we attack each other for our religious beliefs. Because when you boil all beliefs in a High Power down to the basic ideal they are all pretty much the same.  There is so much that is wrong in the world today. Do we have to bring out the religious drums and beat them and attack each other over it?

I don’t think so.

Back to my point about religion in stories and as a fact in the lives of the character’s.  For me the subject of belief adds another layer to the character and their development.  When I create a character, I make a point to know what faith they are.  Even if it never comes up, because it will affect the decisions they make, for good and for bad.  Having that character knowledge helps with the details in the story.  Example:

A Jewish or Muslim character won’t typically eat pork;
A Mormon character won’t drink alcohol, caffeine (well some do) or curse;
A Catholic character may tend to be lax about some Catholic teachings; (divorce, contraception, fish on Fridays, church on Sundays, etc.) while being anti-abortion;
A Baptist character can be extremely religious (church every Sunday, bible study, heavy church involvement, etc.).

These are some general examples. How religion affects our characters, how they choose to believe, and how they practice their faith can be different for each one.  Faith in a Higher Power is different for each person. So, as writers we need to know this about our characters.

You may not want to have your Jewish main character eating a BLT on the Sabbath, or your Muslim main character having a huge meal at lunch during Ramadan, or your Mormon main character having a double espresso with a shot of bourbon at a party, or your Catholic main character having a fat juice steak on a Friday night during Lent, or your Baptist main character watching the big game on Sunday.

Again, these are just examples and I’m not saying it’s a rule (there are no rules in crafting your characters).

Once you know your character’s faith, you can play with it in the stories.  It can be a little flavor or spice thrown into the mix.

In ‘A New World - Contact’ I have a Catholic main character married to a Mormon secondary character, and I play with that dynamic.  I also, have a Baptist character who is good friends with a Russian Orthodox character, again you don’t know this as a reader because I don’t tell you in the story but it affects all the character motivations.

In ‘A Calling’ the main character was born Catholic, but his family wasn’t religious so he wasn’t religious. This was kind of fun to play with during the story.  It eventually becomes a major plot point in the work.

The other thing about religion in stories is faith helps with character motivations especially when those beliefs are called into question.  It allows the writer to add another layer of drama to why the character acts the way they do.  Imagine having all your beliefs suddenly called into question.  Stop and think about that for a moment.  How would you react?  How would that affect your life?  What would you have to change?  Would you be able to change, or would it be too much for you to cope with?

Interesting thought. Right? 

Faith in non-religious books, what do you think?  Yay, or Nay?  Feel free to share your thoughts below.  Remember you can always ‘like’ and ‘share’ this blog post.  It lets me know what you want to talk about. What you find interesting. What you would rather not see.  I’d love to hear from folks on this topic. 

See ya soon.

Writing Ideas. Where do they come from, and how do I process them?

About a month or so ago I sat down and began editing ‘A New World - Conspiracy’. There was nothing special about editing that day. I was using the time to rework a couple of chapters.  Anyway, as I sat at my computer I started thinking about recent world events, fate and that sort of stuff.  As I edited, I heard a voice in the back of my mind.

I’ve been told hearing voices is normal for writers - it’s also a sign of madness so, you know, both could apply in my case.

Moving on. Voices and all.

This voice started telling me about himself and started telling me his story.

Me trying to listen to the Voice in my head.

Me trying to listen to the Voice in my head.

I stopped what I was doing and began taking notes because what he was telling me was pretty interesting.  Once he finished his introduction and telling me a bit of his story, he was gone.  I was left with a page of notes and several questions.

Over the next few weeks I started putting together an outline and a basic prologue.  Then I opened my trunk of characters (I keep about fifty or so various stock characters sitting around for development in my novels should one of them fit). I found a character I’ve always loved and thought would be appropriate for this new story.

So, now with some notes, a very basic outline, and a few characters I started putting things together.  I came up with a premise for the story and I started tossing the idea around my writers group.  I received some constructive feedback and a few suggestions.  These notes and remarks helped me to focus on what I wanted to say. Also, I got a feel for what would be important to the tale. Now the story is starting to come together and I’m putting together a plan for it.

Oh, and I’ve gotten the buy in by my new main character.  He seems happy with the ideas so far.

But how does this affect the other stories that are waiting in the cue to be written?  That’s an interesting question. I suppose, I work in the way of the ‘squeaky wheel’ this particular story idea is one that keeps coming up.  So, I know that I really want to work on this new idea, which means a few of my other stories are left on the stove to simmer.

What brings this story to the forefront of my writing list is how different it is from anything else I have planned out.  And different is good. The other way I realize my new story needs attention is right now my new tale is geared to be a short story, which excites me. I want to see if I can write a short.

Also, the other interesting bit I’ve noticed about this new idea and new main character is that all my other main characters have stepped out of the way.  They’ve kind of cleared the decks to make way for the new kid, which is nice of them.  

I love when all my characters play nice with each other.

Anyway, that is how I work with my writing ideas and that is one example of how a new story idea comes to me.  If you have specific questions, feel free to ask.  I love hearing from folks.  I normally get back to questions within a few hours

Main Character Portraits

This was some character concept art that was started but never finished.  The drawings are rough and the characters changed, but the artist did a nice job, just wish he could have finished the project.

This was some character concept art that was started but never finished.  The drawings are rough and the characters changed, but the artist did a nice job, just wish he could have finished the project.

Over the past few months I’ve been considering, again, having characters portraits created for several of my characters in my different WIPs. I’ve tried this before, but the projects never got completed and I’ve shared some of the drafts on my Facebook page, which people seemed to like.

For me the purpose of this would be two-fold.  If I decide to self-publish, I’m going to need amazing book covers. So, character portraits would be a good way to try out some artists and see how well we work together. I would also be able to get feedback from you on how you like the style and quality of work.

Style wise, I prefer things a little darker and more moody.  Keeping a nice balance of lights and darks.  With character portraits I would be able to gage reaction and see if that works. I, also, thought they would be a fun way for people to visualize the characters.  I’ve heard of different writers doing the same thing.  So, I’m curious at what you all think?  Would you be interesting in portraits of the main characters?  Or, is that something you don’t think is necessary? Or, worse, is that something that you think would take away from the story?

Anyway, please let me know and if you’re another author please feel free to share your experience with me if you’ve done character portraits or any other visual type representation of your stories.  I’d love to learn about your experiences.

Have a great week and drop me a line I love hearing from folks

To Tweet or Not to Tweet…

Twitter is the question.

I just don’t know Twitter.  I’ve spoken with a bunch of folks (writers and bloggers) and they all say the same thing.  Open a Twitter account, it’s easy, fun and a great way to get connected with your fans and followers.  Not to mention a good way to get out there.  All of that sounds good, but I believe in connect. I’m not saying I have great connect, or that it will change the world, but I do have things to share with my Blog.  It’s only once a week to not bombard people, and to date the feedback has been positive.

The idea of a Twitter feed.  Do I have enough to say?  Am I that interesting (I don’t think I am)? Would people really fallow me?

I don’t know.  It all sounds so “me, me, me” and there is so much noise out there already.  Do I really need to add my voice to the masses? Granted I all have, with the Blog, but somehow that feels different to me.

There are pros and cons to everything, including tweeting.  It does seem like the next logical step in connecting with people, building a brand and creating a following.  The purpose of the Blog, the Facebook page, the website, and a potential Twitter account is so that I can show publishers that people are interested in my writing.  So, that eventually, one lucky publishers will pick up my manuscripts and help me get my novels out there.

Another purpose of the Blog, the Facebook page, the website, and a potential Twitter account is that it will make things much easier if I self-publish, because I will be published one way or the other.

Look how happy you all are that I get to interact with you.

Look how happy you all are that I get to interact with you.

The big bonus for me is reaching out to my followers and fans.  I would get to interact more with you, but is that something you really want?  You poor things.  You must have more interesting things to do then listen to me, don’t you?  Isn’t Dancing with the Stars starting up soon?  

All teasing aside, I’m interested in hearing what you have to say.  So, Twitter or no Twitter? Let me know in the comments below.

Edit Down or Break the Book into Two?

That is the question.

As I’ve mentioned in past blogs, I’m to the editing point on both my stories (well more editing and trimming down) and I’m running into an authorly dilemma with one of my novels. Do I edit down my novel, or do I break the story into two books?

I’m really not a fan of breaking the book into two.  The story was written as a single novel and I want to keep it that way. Call it pride or being stubborn. I’ll admit to both. That said, if all I do is edit the story down, the book will be between 150k and165k words which is a long novel. I know this, I’ve always pictured it as an epic story. Still, it’s a size agents and publishers tend to bock at (for a variety of reason and I’m not devaluing their valuable advice). If I cut the book into two, I would need to write an ending for the first book and write a new beginning for the second book. I could do it as painful as may be for my ego, it could be done and I’m pretty sure I have a place that I can make it work. 

But, this, to me, seems like a cheat.  I’ve read books that do this, and I can tell.  It’s like the author saw 80k words as the stopping point and rushed to give the reader a half assed ending.  Then they pick up the story at a false beginning and continue on for another 80k–100k words and end the story.  When what they should’ve done, in my mind, is offer one book at 160k–180k words and given the reader something wonderful.

Now, I’m not saying cutting the book in two is wrong.  I’m saying I don’t personally like the idea.  Does this mean it hasn’t been done well? Of course it has.  I’m sure you can find a great editor, or story doctor, to help you accomplish a perfect cut that no one will ever notice. Expect for the author. Which is fine. After all a book is a product, you need to be able to market and sell.

I’m intentionally taking out the ‘art’ and ‘creative’ nature of the book/story so as not to involve emotion.

Some of you may be saying, “You’re too close to the work.  You’re not seeing all the fat to be trimmed. There is plenty to cut.”

You would be 100% correct. I am too close to the work.  But I’m still editing the beast down now.  I’m also going to put the book through another round of beta reads for feedback. Find out what people think and ask them to mark up where they believe the story can either be trimmed or cut.  With luck this will help me remove enough bits from the book to make it palatable for an agent and publisher.

If that still doesn’t work there is the idea of self-publishing. And it has appeal, because I can keep all the emotional connection to the book and treat it the way I want it treated.  Like a fine glass of wine enjoyed slowly on a quiet night in front of a warm fire.

Too much?

Writing Villains

Bad Boys and Bad Girls, every story has them, but writing them can be tough.  Some people love the villain and I can understand why.  Right now we see a lot of ambiguous characters.  Is the good guy really a good guy?  Is the villain really a villain? Or is it all perspective?  Sure that can be interesting, but I don’t count them as villains, they are dark characters for sure, but are they really villains?

I don’t think so.

Maybe, they are just misunderstood and are in need of a hug.

For me the villain is someone who you should never have anything in common with.  You should never understand their point of view.  These characters should be flat-out-evil and we should hate everything about them.

Michael Myers (the original), Jason (the original), even Freddy Kruger (the original) they are true villains. I would even go so far as to call them monsters. Although, monsters to me are something a little different.

Anyway, I write my villains in the same vain (not the murdering campers or teenagers having sex or kids in their dreams sort of way) but still, you should be afraid of these villains.  You should fear them and never want to meet them. That is how I write my villains.  Is that a stereotype?  Probably, but it’s my story and I’ll write the characters I want.

So, if wearing a black top hat and twirling a black handle bar mustache is in order than expect to run into that.

To actually write the villain, for me, is hard.  It puts me in a dark place.  I get moody and grumpy.  I don’t like writing them, because for a short period of time I have to become them, to act like them, and to believe that what they’re doing is absolutely right. Which means there’s a part of me, no matter how small, that could actually become the monster I’ve created. And who wants to admit to that?  Who wants to ever consider that kind of villainess inside them?

Not me.

I hope when you read my books, and you realize what my villains are up to, you understand that it’s not me.  It’s them.  Well, perhaps, it’s a little bit me, but only a small part. One you’ll never meet.  At least I hope you won’t.  However, there is a woman at a fabric store and several cashiers at a computer electronics store that might disagree.

Killing off Characters and Characters Deaths

How I feel when I have to write a character's death.

How I feel when I have to write a character's death.

Ugh!  This is a nightmare.  Having a character in your story die is akin to cutting off a finger or scoping out a favorite memory in your brain, never to have it again.  How do you handle this? What do you do?  Do you George R. R. Martin and kill with abandon and giggle while you do it (I’m not saying he does that, but I kind of am)? Do you kill the character and surprise! They weren’t really dead and it was all dream (ala Dallas – If you don’t know the TV Show Dallas or what I’m talking about, then Google it)? Do you go in writing a story like Stephen King and know you’re gonna kill a lot of people and not worry about it?

Character deaths are difficult and painful.  People will ask, does it serve the plot?  Why would I kill a character if it doesn’t serve the plot?  Of course it serves the plot.  Are you doing it for shock value?  Um… I don’t think so.  Cause, let me tell you it’s painful to write. So, if all I want to do is shock the reader, then I could have my characters run around naked and describe it in full detail… now that would be shocking.

The death of a character sucks!  I hate the idea of killing a character I love, and one that has potential. A character that I could do so much more with later on in the book or series, why do they need to die? – pounds fits on desk.

Perhaps, that is the point.  It’s like real life, when people die before their time.  When they have so much more to do, and poof, for whatever reason they die leaving all those things left undone.

death 1.png

As a writer, I have to think about these things.  Do I quiet a voice?  Do I bring a young life to a bitter end?  Do I leave the character alive and suffer the consequences with the other characters?  There is so much to figure out, and so much to consider.  It’s never an easy choice. When I’ve had to do it, I won’t lie there have been tears.

I wish I could sit down with the character, talk to them and explain why what I’m planning is for the best of the story.  Would it make it easier?  Probably not.  Would I feel better about it? Nope.

Ugh!

Paranormal Fiction vs. Urban Fantasy

I was chatting with some writer friends and we were talking about our various works in progress and the differences between Paranormal Fiction and Urban Fantasy as a genre type.  None of us could really agree on what qualifies fit our stories.  We all have elements of each.  For example, my novel, ‘The Calling’ is set in a modern urban area with elements of the supernatural, which is the definition of Urban Fantasy. However, ‘The Calling’ also revolves around the paranormal, which is the definition of Paranormal Fiction. So, where does that leave ‘The Calling’?

I wasn’t sure.

Digging into both genres, which are a sub-genre of Fiction, the question I posed to my writers group became how picky does the author, publisher, or agent want to be? For me, either genre works fine.  If I had to pull hairs, I’d probably go with Urban Fantasy because novels that are similar to mine are in that category and it sounds cooler. But is this choice mine to make?

As our conversation continued and with the novel still in the editing phase does the genre really matter? Yes, it does.  When you’re trying to query the novel to agents and publishers you have to tell them the genre your book is in.  And from everything I read and learned from other people you should limit your choice to one genre. So, back to my writers group I went.  After speaking with them ad nauseam the group consensus was that my novel should go into Urban Fantasy.

Great, ‘The Calling’ is a modern day Urban Fantasy.

Yay!  Problem solved.

Or is it?

Because in the back of my mind I always pictured ‘The Calling’ as a Paranormal Fiction story with dark elements to it. That was how I wrote the story, at least I thought I did. I suppose as I move the book along the process, people much smarter than me will pat me on top of my head and tell me that ‘The Calling’ is actually a ‘Ghost Story’ and I was foolish for thinking it was anything else.

Oh, didn’t I mention there are bits of a Ghost Story to ‘The Calling’, yep, there are.

New Year Update

First Off.  Happy 2017.  I hope you all have a wonderful new year.

A lot is happening on the writing front.  I have a short story coming out this year.  ‘The Reunion’ is a dark short story about ten friends reuniting in their old home town. Stay tuned.  Also, ‘A New World – Contact’ is fishing up it’s editing cycle and will be moved on to Beta Reads in the next few weeks. I’m excited to share that book two ‘A New World – Conspiracy’, is in process and moving along faster than I thought.  Initial feedback has been positive so more information will be released on ‘Conspiracy’ later this year.  Lastly, ‘The Calling – Book One’ is going through its editing cycle and feedback and comments have been extremely positive.

So, with the end of 2016 I’m jumping right into 2017 with plenty of iron in the fire, as they say.

One final update, as some of you has been asking, I plan to release some new poetry in January.  Keep your eyes open

Christmas and Other Holidays

Why do I include the holidays in my stories?

I get this question a lot and some people are really venomous about it, which surprises me.  I don’t understand the question, well I do, but I don’t.  The holidays, any holiday, in my case I focus on American cultural celebrations, are a large part of our social world. Be it, Christmas, Hanukkah, Diwali, Ramadan, Lunar New Year, etc. these are important events and to exclude them on purpose is doing a disservice to our novels and the worlds we are creating.

To be clear, I’m not saying all books need them or should have them.

Why do we decorate Christmas Trees?

Why do we decorate Christmas Trees?

However, for my stories I intentionally include holiday celebrations because, for me, it completes the world I’m creating.  In ‘A New World – Contact’ aliens from another planet arrive on Earth. The story focuses on how both races relate to each other and how they learn from each other.  How could I not include scenes that involve American cultural events?  It gives me the opportunity to show these celebrations through alien eyes.  I’m able to poke fun at us and our traditions. Why do we have Christmas Trees?  Why do some people cut down living trees and others have artificial ones?  How would you explain this to an Alien?  I would expect any alien race to be fascinated with our social customs, why we do them and how we celebrate them.

In ‘The Calling’ an average human guy is called to become an Immortal (Vampire). I don’t focus as much on the Holidays in ‘The Calling’, but I do include them, because, again how do Immortals celebrate a holiday that is as old, or in a few cases younger, then they are?  For me that is interesting and I hope it will be for the reader.

I’m not saying holidays should be the focus of every story, but when you’re writing a story, perhaps include a little holiday cheer.  It can be used as a moment of calm before the storm or as a moment to poke fun at some of our more unique cultural events that we all share.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

What about Writing Inspiration

Sometimes I get asked about my writing inspiration.  It’s an odd thing.  In most cases, I know what I want to write and when I want to write it.  Other times, I’ll be out-and-about and something or someone interesting will strike me, those are the best times.  I can jot down a few notes and move on with my day.

What I feel like when inspiration hits in the middle of the night

What I feel like when inspiration hits in the middle of the night

The worst time when inspiration strikes is when I’m sleeping and I’ll have a dream about the characters in one of my works-in-progress.  Most of the time I can deal with it, I wake up the next morning and, again, jot down a few notes and move on.  But then there are the times when I’m trying to sleep and the characters talk to me. They won’t shut up.  Crazy, I know, but it happens.

When this happens, it’s normally the main character who won’t shut-up telling me about themselves and what they want.  On rare occasions it’ll be a secondary character who will push aside everything, and everyone, to grab my attention.  They will normally address themselves, however once in a while they’ll address the plot or something happening in the story and give me their opinion and their take on the situation.

Overall, this can be helpful. So I don’t tend to mind too much as long as they let me sleep. Normally after I get up and jot a few notes down.

Recently, on vacation, I was having a massage and one of my characters popped into my head and started talking.  Telling me what they wanted and what they thought would help the story move a long.  So, there I was having a wonderful eighty minutes massage with one of my characters chatting away.  I was stuck, so I had to listen.  What I got out of it, was not only some really great plot points, but help to flush out his character.

More importantly, I was still able to enjoy my massage.

Additionally on vacation, a different character, from another story decided the setting where I was on vacation, would be a perfect place for him and several characters from his story to have a ‘major’ event happen.  I wasn’t planning on this to happen in that story but, the more he talked, the more I liked the idea.  So, when I got back to the resort, I made notes and came up with additional outlines for that story.

Inspiration for me, comes from anywhere and anyone.  I would like to say that I can sit down and get inspired and then shut it off when I want to.  But that isn’t always the case. I suppose I wouldn’t want it any other way. Well except when I want to sleep or relax.  Or like right now.  I should be working on my next chapter, however, I’m writing this instead

Writing Updates

What my writing space should look like.

What my writing space should look like.

I wanted to spend a little time talking about my current works in progress.  ‘A New World – Contact’ is the first book in a planned three book series.  It’s exciting to write an epic Science Fiction story that takes place over three books.  It gives me the flexibility to tell a complete story with all the details and characters I want bring out.  Each of the three novels is its own story with a beginning, middle and end.  The novels will tie into the greater universe and give people the chance to really get to know the characters and the world.

As it stands right now, ‘A New World – Contact’ has been through a round of Beta Readers and is being edited. The second book in the Series has been outlined and is being written.  The third book of the series has been outlined.  So, the story is there and all its parts are laid out.  I, also plan on keeping the door open for additional stories should the series go in that direction. 

‘The Calling’, my dark Urban Fantasy/Vampire story, is the first book in a two book series.  ‘The Calling’ has gone through Beta Readers and is also being edited.  This adult dark story has been fun to write letting me play around with my darker side. Also, it’s allowed me to explore one of my personal favorite genres, vampires, in a dark setting.  The story doesn’t begin dark, but we travel away from the light at a slow steady pace, which I find fun to write. Unlike my other work, the status on book two of ‘The Calling’ is that there is only a rough outline, but it’s a start.

One final update on the writing front, coming soon is my short story ‘The Reunion’ which I’ve been working on and is getting ready to be posted to this site.  ‘The Reunion’ takes place in a small Midwest town where a group of friends gather for a reunion.  The characters are colorful but they are set against a bleak backdrop.  There is more news coming about ‘The Reunion’ that will be announced in the New Year, so stay tuned.

Doesn't it look easy?

Doesn't it look easy?

As you can see a lot is going on and I have several balls in the air right now. I encourage you to sign up for my “Update on Scribbles” to get announcements and news on ‘A New World – Contact’, ‘The Calling’ and ‘The Reunion’. Also, if you have questions feel free to drop me a note.

Writing when you have Dyslexia

I’ve been asked how do I find writing with dyslexia a lot and there isn’t an easy answer, because, in general, writing can be a challenge for anyone. It doesn’t matter if you’re dyslexic. It’s still scary stuff. Putting out a story that I’ve written terrifies me, just like every other writer.

What makes writing a bit more of a challenge is putting into words what I want to say. Using the correct word, spelling it right, and ensuring the grammar is correct (which most of the time it’s not). At least I don’t have to physically write (pen and paper) the words anymore. Thank goodness for technology.

Still, I’ve always been a creative person, even as a kid I remember telling stories and talking… a lot. So, when I was in the First Grade, about age 6, I was diagnosed with Dyslexia. At the time I didn’t understand what it meant. What I learned was that I would need to repeat the First Grade and go into special classes so I could be retaught how to read, spell and write.  I would need to take these classes for the rest of my time in grade school. The hope was to have me ready for Junior High.

Overall, the classes weren’t too bad. They allowed me to explore more creative ways to learn, which was what I needed. I learned how to read, and I grew to actually enjoy reading (not until high school, but still).  For me, reading became movies in my mind, so the more details the author put into their story the clearer the image, and by default the clearer the story.

This also meant that I remembered the stories better. I found then, and now, that once I read a story I can pretty much tell you everything about it, even years later.  I don’t have an identic memory, but usually when I read something it sticks.

As you can imagine, this affected my writing greatly. I love details. I love descriptions. The more that I put into my story, the better I believe the novel is. Sadly, this isn’t quite true. I’ve been spanked for too much detail and too many descriptions, so I’ve had to learn to find a happy medium.  Easier said than done.

Despite this I write for all the senses; sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch. I want my readers to see the stories the way I do, so ensuring I hit on all five senses is my way of ensuring this. Calling on all the senses is what I need from my reading it was one of the tools I was given to help me with my reading and I find that it works well for my writing.

Since I’ve grown up with Dyslexia, I don’t have any other reality when it comes to writing and reading. I look for details, I create the movie in my mind and go from there. When I’m asked what’s it like writing with dyslexia. I shrug and say, “I don’t know any other way. So, it’s fine."

Well that is all for this week. I hope you have a great day. Remember to click on the little heart below to let me know you stopped by.  If you have any questions leave them in the comments, I promise to respond.  Until next time take care.

Welcome to my Blog

Welcome to my blog.  I plan on sharing my thoughts, ideas and things I find interesting here.  Some days it’ll be about my writing. Some days it’ll be about the places I’ve traveled to or plan on traveling to. Some days it’ll be political in nature (as this affects some of my writing). Some days it’ll be something that I find humorous.  Basically, this blog will be a mix bag of my crazy random thoughts.

I want to start with something simple. So let me tell you about my writing.  I’ve always had a passion for telling stories, but because of my dyslexia I never thought I could write. I avoided writing like the plague.  It still makes me nervous to post and share my writing because I’m sure there are grammar and/or spelling mistakes. But what changed for me was reading.  I loved to read, but I never saw characters I could relate too.  Sure there were some amazing heroes, but none that reflected me (and not the bald sexy me with smoldering eyes).  I never saw strong male or female gay protagonists, sure there might be a quirky side character or two out there.  Or a brief mention of a passing character, but not one that the whole story was based on.  Yes, there are a number of very good gay themed books out there but none that I thought reflected me and the world I’m from.

With that in mind I started writing.

In 2004 I started writing silly online game narratives. It was great practice, and I learned a lot.  I worked with an excellent group of friends and we had a lot of fun.  As I continued to work on my craft, I came up with ideas for my two current works in progress.  One an epic Science Fiction story (A New World – Contact Book 1), which I started back in the early 1990s and the other a darker Paranormal/Urban Fantasy (The Calling – Book 1) involving Vampires (or Immortals as they are referred to in the story).  Once the stories were crafted and after some difficult feedback from my Beta Readers I found a writing group where I’ve been polishing the novels and getting them ready to publish.

These aren’t the only stories I have to tell. There are two other novels that I’m working on and of course the Books 2 and 3 of A New World and Book 2 of The Calling.

It is my hope to tell good stories that anyone can relate to.  I hope you’ll see a little of yourself in the characters and more importantly enjoy their journey.