Archives for January 2012

When it Rains . . .

   I know shouldn’t complain. It’s what I’ve been working towards for years. Deadlines. I’ve always envied other authors their deadlines. To me it meant progress. Now I have one, no four! Severed Press recently released in e-book my novel, Blood Lust. They’ve been working on Ice Station Zombie (New cover will be great) and I’ve been working on the first book of the Judgment Day series. At the same time, two magazines asked me to submit short stories. I don’t have the time, but you know what they say about promotion. Getting your name out there is what it takes.

  Now, Severed Press wants some changes in Ice Station Zombie, not much, just change the city! That’s okay, no panic. It’s just edits. The story takes place in Antarctica and Australia and they know more about Australia than I do. They’re based there. So now, I’m going through Ice Station Zombie and changing the mentions of Melbourne before I actually change the city to Adelaide. I jump from it to Judgment Day. I recently visited Biosphere 2 near my home in Tucson because Biosphere 2 will play an important role in the series. Research takes time away from actually writing.

  On breaks, I work on the two short stories, try to help a friend edit his pretty good first horror novel, try to keep up with my obligatory self-promotion on Facebook, You Tube, My Space, Twitter, write two blog site, update my website, Google+, Goodreads, four Yahoo groups, go to the gym 3-4 times a week, and try not to ignore my cats and wife (In that order).

  I love it! Pressure does wonders for writing. There’s no time for writer’s block or indecision. My characters have to think on their feet and make quick decisions. This energy enhances the action scenes. I do have to take a deep breath every now and then to relax for the dialogue or slower scenes, but this gives me a break.

  If I typed as fast as my wife did, I would be finished by now. She’s a whiz on the keyboard. I have to look at the keys and type with 3-4 fingers. Any more and they entangle. My words still come out looking dyslectic since I write faster than I can type. I would try a speech program, but with my Southern drawl, it would be a war of words with my computer claiming I’m making up new words. (Ya’ll is real. So is goin’)

  This writing business is hard work but I love it. The stories have to come out of me some way (Orally is much more preferable to the alternative) or I would explode. Being a chef was creative. Being a musician is creative. Writing is more than creativity. Your characters are a part of you, born from your flesh and thought. If you’re lucky, you touch someone by their thoughts or actions. It teaches the writer so much about him/herself. If you’re really lucky, your characters will touch you.

Keep writing!

 

What do you see when you look in the mirror? Do you see the person you are or the person you were – younger, more hair, thinner? Do you see your regrets or your future? Do you see a writer? Writing is easy. Writing well is not. It is a challenge fraught with pitfalls, disappointments and moments of indecision, like life in general. Like most people, I paid just enough attention in English class to pass (with an A). I knew how to write but I didn’t know how to WRITE. I’ve had to forget the rules I picked up as a child and my Southern upbringing and learn the correct pronuncation and proper use of words, punctuation and sentence structure. I didn’t know a dangling participle from a prepositional phrase. I had to mature from a storyteller to being able to convey those stories onto paper – a writer. It was not an easy journey.

Dealing with rejection. I’m not sure how many rejection letters and e-mails I received before I truly learned the difference between Show and Tell. It seems such a moot point, but makes the difference between telling the story and allowing the reader to experience it, the mark of a good novel. My friend, Jonathan Maberry, went to great lengths to set me straight during a 3-day writers retreat. I sold two short stories the next week. That’s the great thing about being a writer – friends help friends. Let’s see two car salesman do that.

Dealing with friends. Friends are the same the world over. They will love your writing whether it deserves their praise or not. They will love having a friend who is an ‘author’. Your mother will think you’re the best writer since Hemingway. She’s your mother. Don’t listen to them! False pride can kill you. I don’t know how many times I’ve read about writers arguing with publishers or agents after receiving a rejection letter, trying to prove their point. Forget it! Even if they’re wrong, they’re right. Arguing gains you nothing. Listen to what they say. learn from them. It’s their business.

Dealing with success. You sold your novel and are admiring it in your hands. It’s pretty and shiny, your Precious. Drop it. It’s time to promote yourself. Actually, it’s past time. Start promoting yourself, not your novel, before the novel’s finished and published. Social media is great for this. Make friends. Don’t inundate them with requests to ‘Buy my Book’. Get to work on your next novel.

Look in the mirror. Feel better? Better, yet, take a glance behind the mirror. With a little imagination, what you see on the other side is you with a Bram Stoker Award or Pulitzer Prize. Good luck.