Friday Funnies - Mommas and Poppas

Being the family man that I am, the badge I proudly wear is that of Daddy (though of course my 16 year old hasn't called me that for some time now;  "Can I just call you Dad now?").  So this video cracked me up big time.



For all you other Dads out there, feel free to replay it and sing along (or rap along, as the case may be).

Now, I know the majority of my followers are women and a great deal of you are Moms.  Don't worry, there's a new anthem for you as well:



I have to hand it to these people.  They did a pretty good job of turning these popular songs into hilarious alternate versions.  Made me laugh a bunch, anyway.

Have a nice weekend everyone!

Feeling a little better

Thanks everyone for hoping I would begin feeling better.  It must be helping because I actually am.  Or possibly it's because I'm nuking this damn thing with killer medicine.  I usually avoid taking any medicine at all, so when I do take any, it's pretty potent.

I'm a big fan of not taking medicine.  I'm a believer in the idea that our bodies have a great capacity for healing themselves.  Yeah, sometimes I have to suffer through a few aches and pains, but I do believe I'm healthier for it.  I don't take flu shots and the fact that they have to keep updating them for virus mutations tends to support my beliefs.  In fact, the worst case of sickness I ever had was after I got a flu shot once.  It might be coincidence, but I don't think so.

What does all this have to do with writing?  You know I always have to tie everything here into a writing post (since I haven't had any good writings of my own to share for a while).  As I ramble on here, I am thinking about beliefs.  I have pretty strong beliefs in general, and I tend to stick to them like glue.  What about the characters that I write?

I was going to say that all main characters need to have a belief system, but I deleted it.  That's not an accurate statement.  There are some characters that do have strong beliefs.  Their journey in the story might therefore involve figuring out how to fit in the larger world beyond themselves, given their belief systems.

Then there are characters who really aren't sure what they believe in.  These are actually my preference.  Their journey will most likely involve figuring out what to believe in and why.  This might not even be a conscious journey, but one they make without knowing it, until they find themselves changed at the end.

Do you think about the belief systems of your characters?  And how do you show that in your writing?

Blog Chain - Exploring The Genres

Not even illness can keep me from posting a blogchain entry. I'm committed, dangit (or at least I should be).

This round's question comes from the ever-talented Margie who asks:

How did you come to write your YA genre (e.g. contemp, fantasy, etc.)? AND (yep, it’s a 2 parter), if you weren’t writing that, what genre would you be interested in exploring?

Like my predecessor Sandra, I don't think I write YA (nor do I think I could).  The biggest problem for me is that I don't really know what genre a particular tale might be in.  If it's obviously sci-fi or fantasy or horror, I'd probably be able to tell.  But despite reading many posts by other bloggers on the subject of genres, I still don't have a clue.

To answer the question however, it's probably safest to say I like to write thrillers with a paranormal twist set inside a horror background.  Oh, and throw in a few mythological creatures for good measure.  Okay, I have no idea what genre I am writing in, but I know what it isn't.  I don't write romance or historical fiction.  I don't think I have what it takes to write the former effectively (without it becoming sappy or turning into softcore porn), and the latter would scare the crap out of me because of all the required research.   One of the best benefits of being a storyteller in a made up world is I get to make all the rules, make up all the background, and ignore reality (to some extent anyway).

As for the second part, I've gotten some really good ideas from some of the other chainers.  I could see myself writing something in a Western setting, though like the Dark Tower style.  I don't know if I could write it as a straight Western though - gotta have something out of the ordinary.  I could also see myself composing a tale in a Steampunk reality, though the research devil rears its ugly head there.  I haven't written any fantasy stories since I was much younger, so that would be fun too.

If you haven't checked out what the incredible Sandra has to say on the subject, get on over there.  And the awesome Michelle Hickman will be presenting her thoughts tomorrow.

Ten Word Tuesday - Illness

Illness is God's way of saying, "Hey, slow down dude."

Missing On Monday - Feeling Sick

I know I said I would be posting more often, but unfortunately my loving wife has seen fit to share her nasty cold with me. Yeah, nothin' better than second-hand cold between loved ones.

Anyway, I will be posting tomorrow (since it'll be my turn on the blog chain), and I need to do a Ten Word Tuesday as well. I haven't done one of those in a while either. Since I don't have a bottle of Jack Daniels, I'm going to go find some cold medicine somewhere 'round here and go to bed early. Thanks all for stopping by.

While you all have your pens poised, can anybody write me a new ending to this tale of illness? I'd be most grateful :)

Thursday Thoughts - Sunrise, Sunset

If you've never seen or heard this song from the musical The Fiddler On The Roof, you've been missing out.



This video is from the film version, and the entire movie is easily comparable to any stage performance of this same story that I've ever seen.  In fact, The Fiddler On The Roof is one of best performed musicals on film ever IMHO.  Okay, stage performances have their own type of intensity, but this film is one that I regard just as highly.

If you listen to the words of this particular song however, you'll understand how I'm feeling lately.  No, I don't have any adult children getting married, but I do feel like the days, weeks, months, and years are flying by.  This is further emphasized by the fact that it's been a week since my last post and I hadn't even realized I'd let the time slip past.

I was thinking about this concept of time flowing past quickly, and I realized it would be great if I could continually capture that idea in my writing.  I don't mean that stories need to rush the reader along, but I think we can all agree that stalling the movement of a story is bad.  And since our lives generally keep moving along (whether we notice the passage of time or not), our stories should probably do the same thing.  This is not to say that there aren't moments in our writing where the pace should slow for a bit to savor a scene, but on the whole we need to keep things moving.

It's funny that we often try to create these worlds that are completely different from our own (especially those of us writing fantasy or sci-fi) and yet it's absolutely necessary that we include the same basic framework from our own realities.  I guess there actually are some universal truths, one of them being the unstoppable passage of time.

On that note, I'm going to get back to working on things.  But when was the last time you noticed the passage of time (either in your own life or your writing)?  And how do you deal with it?

Back In Town

The title is a bit misleading, since I really haven't traveled anywhere.   But I was on a leave of absence of sorts from blogging.  I don't know exactly how much I got accomplished, but do we ever get everything done we'd like to?   Probably not.

In any event, you can expect regular posts from me once more.  Thanks to Cassandra Jade, I had the opportunity yesterday to be a guest on her blog and she on mine.  That's a first for me, and to be honest it was both fun and daunting.  Let's face it - blogging on the page of a published author is awesome, but it also left me hoping that my words would be good enough.  Cassandra has a pretty big following (for good reason), and I was hoping to do her page justice.  Judging from the comments though, I guess I didn't do too bad.

I have a four day weekend coming up, and I'm hoping to take at least one of those days and spend it working on revising my short story.   It actually felt good to do some revisions a little while back, because I could see the story becoming clearer.  It's pretty cool when I feel like I'm making good progress on my skills as writer as opposed to feeling completely lost (like how the classes in my Masters degree program have me feeling lately LOL).

This is a short post, but I'll try to put up something more fun tomorrow in celebration of Friday.  As Michelle McLean shows each week, each Friday should be filled with fun.

What writerly things are you going to do this weekend?  Think you can squeeze in a paragraph or two, revise a passage here or there?

Guest Blogger - The Characters Inside by Cassandra Jade

Note from Eric:   I've had the lucky opportunity to be a part of Cassandra Jade's blog tour (the first person, no less).  I can't tell you how cool this is for me, not to mention the honor of having a writer like Cassandra gracing my blog.  She even allowed me to put up a post on her blog, so you can check out my post here.  Without further ado, heeereeeeee's the talented and awesome Cassandra!

I want to firstly thank Eric for hosting me today and officially launching my blog tour. I’ve been reading Eric’s blog for some time and really love his candid nature as he discusses his writing journey.

As the title suggests, today I am writing about the characters that dwell inside all of us, whether we write them in to life or let them languish in forgotten corners of our minds. I know there are many writers that dispute the idea of characters creating themselves but it often feels like characters find us.

Where do they come from? Probably from hours upon hours of subconscious thought, putting together attributes and ideas before our conscious mind pays any attention and so the character creation process is probably still taking place but without really thinking about it. But these characters spring to life and then they want us to tell their story.

And they all have a story.

I think that’s what I like about characters that seem to simply appear rather than the ones I laboriously construct. These characters have depth and layers that if I was creating a character from scratch on paper, my creation just wouldn’t have. They have backgrounds and likes and dislikes and motivations that I wouldn’t consciously have thought of but these characters come along and just want their story told.

Maybe these are left over imaginary friends from childhood, but somehow I doubt it.

The problems really begin after these characters have been floating around inside your head for awhile. Getting all of the many attributes that you know and love about these characters onto paper becomes difficult and no matter how you write it, they never seem as alive as they did when they were inside your head. The other problem, is after you’ve been writing them for awhile, they seem to exist outside of you and aren’t really bouncing around anymore, clamouring for your undivided attention. And I am all too easily distracted by the next character that comes along.

Other problems arise when you create a character that you don’t personally like. While these characters are sometimes fun, when they are bouncing around your head they can really make you want to delete them.

There were definitely moments when writing Death’s Daughter that I really disliked my protagonist – and mostly I was supposed to dislike her – but sometimes it made writing a scene hard as I would have her say something and then flinch, wondering why I would have her say something that horrible.

So the question for the writers out there is this: Do you have characters inside of you? If yes, what do you do with them?

Cassandra Jade is a fantasy writer from Australia. You can visit her blog at: http://cassandrajade.wordpress.com

Her first novel, Death’s Daughter, is available from Lyrical Press.

Blog Chain - Challenge Yourself

It's blog chain time and guess who is starting off this round?  You'll never guess.  That's right, writer fans.  It's your friendly neighborhood Spider...er...I mean little ol' me.  So jump on the crazy train (queue Ozzy Osbourne music) and ponder these questions:

What do you find to be the most challenging aspect of being a writer?  What is your greatest reward from writing?

For me, the most challenging aspect is finding time to write and actually starting to write.  Once I get going and my fingers are typing away, I get lost in the story and everything flows pretty well.  But at the moment I'm juggling about a thousand different balls and writing is but one small part of that.  I haven't yet figured out a good way to balance them perfectly yet, but my life is a work in progress.  Hopefully with a happily ever after ending.

The greatest reward I get is when I'm in the groove, the words are just flowing along, and I feel like a writer.  Like when I look back at a particular phrase or scene and I can honestly say "Oh man, that's awesome."  That's when I really feel good about being a writer, when the words are dripping from my virtual pen like sweet honey straight off the comb - or like acid dripping from the fangs of a xenomorph.  It just depends on what I'm writing, though the latter is more fun.  Yeah baby, that's when all the planets are aligned and everything is good in my universe.

Now I'll pass the torch to the ever-awesome Michelle H., who should have her answer up tomorrow.  But feel free to tell me your thoughts in the comments.  What are your challenges and rewards where writing is concerned?

Blog Chain - What The Heck Am I Doing?

As you can tell from the lack of posts this week, school is demanding the greatest portion of my time right now.  With that in mind, I'll be mostly unplugged this month as I try to catch up.  Sorry, but working my way through this current class has me feeling really thick-headed and slow, and I don't have much mental energy for anything else.  I'll be back in Sept though, starting with a guest appearance on the 1st by the talented Cassandra Jade (and I'll be posting on her blog that same day).

Today's blog chain query however, comes from the funny, the inspirational, the awesome writer Cole.  She asks:

Are you querying? Gearing up to go on submission? Writing? Revising? I'd love to hear what's new with you. And if you'd like to share a snippet of your WIP, even better!

I'm nowhere near ready to query or submit anything, and I've stopped writing new things due to time constraints.  So that leaves only revising (which you can tell how much I love it from previous posts).  It's a fairly slow process for me, both because of how little time I have to spend these days on writing as well as how hard it is for me to revise.  I see all the things I need to fix when I'm looking at a piece, but figuring out what fixes it is always a long process.  Still, I do enjoy when I have trimmed off excess or changed wording and the sentence comes out better.  The end result is worth the headache.

Below is my snippet, and for anyone who wants to give feedback here, my goal during these revisions is characterization, characterization, characterization.  One of the resounding themes during the critiques was the lack of description and characterization in my writing, so I'm attempting to combat that as best I can.  Enjoy, and don't feel like you have to say fuzzy bunny comments if you don't like it;  I got the flame suit on ;)


“This can’t be it”, Jeremy said as he looked around. The street was empty, other than a rusted orange Volkswagen on blocks. Hairs on the back of his neck stood out as he felt someone watching. Jeremy examined the building’s covered windows, sheets of plywood and scraps nailed up haphazardly across them. The front door was grimy, the dirt-brown paint peeling, but it was accessible. Shrugging off his uneasy feelings, Jeremy knocked on the door. It opened a moment later without a sound.


He looked in, feeling very uncertain. Beyond the entryway was a front desk of sorts, reminiscent of an old hotel. The ceiling and stained walls were engulfed in cobwebs and a thick layer of dust lay over everything.

“He..hellooo?”

“Come in and have a seat.” The dulcet tones contrasted against the dingy interior before him.

Jeremy couldn’t see who spoke, but the voice compelled obedience. He took a step in, grimacing at the dust swirling around his badly-shined shoes. Jeremy didn’t want to make a bad first impression, but there was no way he was going to sit down here.

“Ahh, there you are.”

A woman entering the room captured his attention immediately, and he couldn’t help but stare. She had long dark tresses that fell past her waist, caressing an hourglass figure. Her sky-blue eyes mirrored the iridescent dress she wore, and the hue of her skin was like a barely ripened peach. The neckline plunged dangerously low, threatening to spill its contents at any moment. Jeremy tried unsuccessfully to keep the flush from his face, hoping the woman wasn’t a mind reader.

“Uh…yeah…I...I’m here to apply for the…a…the job”, Jeremy said. “I mean, the IT position.”

“Of course you are. Follow me please.” Spinning on high heels, she turned and led Jeremy through a door. A cheap folding table dominated the center, with three chairs positioned behind it. Jeremy stumbled as he noticed all three women. They must all be related, he thought; the resemblance between them was unmistakable. The woman in the middle identically mirrored the first blue-eyed beauty, but one generation older. And the matronly woman on the end continued the trend. He nearly fell into the chair.

“Anything wrong, Mr. Franklin?” The coarse voice reminded him of an elementary school lunch lady.  How appropriate, he thought.


So that's a glimmer of what I'm working on.  If you didn't get the chance to read Sandra's post, head on over there.   Tomorrow we'll all get to see what Michelle H. is up to.

Friday Fun - The Right Word

One thing I mentioned yesterday was that I hate revising because it bugs me when I can't find the right word.  When you find the right word, everything flows and you feel it.  It's like an electric current running up your hands and arms from the tip of your pen.  Today's Friday though, so I'm not going to dive into a deep discussion about this.  Instead I'm going to share a song and video with you that completely personifies the idea of choosing the right word.



Can you imagine how much work had to go into crafting the lyrics for that song?  That would have seriously driven me crazy.  It's one of my favorite all time songs though.  If you've got any other examples of something like this, feel free to share in the comments.  And have a great weekend everyone.

Blog Chain - The Revisionist

Before I plunge into today's blog chain, I owe Abby Annis an apology.  She is holding her 200 Followers contest and I didn't post about it.  And it ends soon.   I'm sorry Abby, but here's me making up for it.  Don't take me off the Christmas card list.  I really am an avid follower of your blog.  Almost stalker-like even.  Oh, and thanks for changing the color of the drapes.  The old ones were really horrendous.

So for the rest of you, if you haven't popped in to Abby's blog lately, you need to hustle on over.  She has over 200 followers for a good reason, and she's celebrating by giving away some awesome stuff.  The winner will receive books, some awesome pens, and a journal to use them in.  Does it get much better than this?  Well okay, a publishing contract worth 2 million would be nice too, but let's not get greedy.  Get over there and enter the contest right this second.  The contest ends on the 31st, so you don't want to miss out.

Today's blog chain question is brought to us by the incredibly talented (and recently agented for her book Revenant) Sarah who asks:

How do you handle revisions? Do you revise as you're writing, or do you wait until you've gone through beta readers and crit partners to revise? How soon after you finish do you begin your revisions?

Okay, this is a question I have been dreading, as I watch all the others on the chain explain how they do it.  This is one of the problems with being the newbie.  It just sucks because everyone else seems so cool by comparison.  Sigh.  Yeah, I know I shouldn't do comparisons.  Hard habit to break, but I'm workin' on it.

Revisions are the devil.  They're a demonic gatekeeper, laughing as they toss the key to publication from hand to hand, knowing full well you'll never pass their test and be allowed into the light.  Wow, that's dark.  Sorry.

So how do I handle revisions?  As I write, I struggle with word after word, my brain refusing to acknowledge which one might be right.  I have really had to work hard to turn off my internal revisor (and sometimes I'm even successful at it) so that I don't revise on the fly.  When I catch myself going back over a sentence, I have to mentally smack myself.  Leave it alone for now, I tell myself.  Yes, it sucks right now, but leave it alone.  I'm not always able to shut it down, but I'm getting better.  The electro-shock therapy works wonders.  And no I haven't noticed any side effects.  Side effects.  Side effects.

Oh, where was I?  Revisions.  Right.  I recently took a short story class and I was the first person to submit my story for critique.  This was when I really got a taste of why revisions are necessary.  The class tore my story to shreds (virtually, not literally) and well they should have.  Let's face it.  My story was a first draft and it sucked.  Well, it didn't suck, but it was definitely not good.  I took everyone's advice though and put it (and the critique comments) to the side for a while.  I then helped critique everyone else's, learning all the while how the things I were finding in other people's story could help me improve my own.

Now I'm revising the short story and I'm glad I took the pause and let it sit for a few weeks.  I am seeing not only things I can do better, but I'm also seeing where I can add to the story to help flesh it out properly.  My revision process is still a work-in-progress, but I have learned alot just from the answers everyone else has given on the chain.  Like the practice of laying all the critiques out side by side as I revise.  Great idea.  I still have a bit of work to do before I can say I have a concrete revision process, but the one thing I can admit is that this question has given me some really good ideas (from the other blog chainers).

Wow, I made it through this one.  Why was I dreading answering it?  Who knows.  You should probably go check out how Kat handled it.  And make a note on your calendar to stop by Margie's blog for her take on the subject.

Dungeons And Dragons - Character Traits

Before I jump into today's topic, there's a bit of housekeeping stuff I need to attend to.  Alex J. Cavanaugh is celebrating 200 followers and he's holding a contest for it.  I only recently started following Alex, but I'm a big fan.  Check out this trailer for his book CassaStar:



If that doesn't get you excited about the book, I don't know what will.  I'm seriously hyped to pick this one up.

The reason for today's title isn't to show off my geek card (though I do have one, in solid gold no less).  One of the blogs I follow had a post a while back that got me thinking about character traits.  I tried to remember who it was, but I honestly don't know (so if it's you, please accept my most humble apology for not giving credit where credit is due).

Now for the uninitiated, here's a quick glimpse into what DnD involves. The Gamemaster (GM) is a storyteller, and he tells how the player characters got where they are. Each player has a character they have created (on paper), and they are usually focused in a specific direction. For example, there may be a party composed of a warrior, a bard, a priest, a mage, and a monk. The player characters (all sitting around a table) then listen as the GM unfolds the story and they walk their characters through the GM's world, fighting, saving people, obtaining treasure, and making choices. This is an extremely simplified view of things, but hopefully you get the idea. If you're a DnD vet or just interested in learning more, my friend Matt Conlon has a great DnD blog you should check out.


Back when I was an avid DnD gamer, I was part of a group that had an extremely talented (GM).  He was very creative, and he would challenge us to make the characters we played more realistic.  So before one session, he wrote random character traits (faults, actually) on note cards and had us pick one.  They were things like drug addiction, alcoholic, uncontrollable temper, easily seduced by women, etc.  We were then expected to incorporate these traits in how we managed and played our character.  Some of the players didn't like the change, probably because they just wanted to go kill stuff and loot treasure holds.  Looking back though, this was one of the most fun sessions I experienced.
 
I believe my particular character got the fault of being an alcoholic.  This meant I had to make sure he always had alcohol on him and that he was always drinking.  It also meant minor to severe negatives during combat, depending on his level of inebriation.  It was a lot more difficult to play, but it made my character that much more real.  And it challenged me to literally step into his shoes for a bit.
 
I am in the process of fixing a short story, and the biggest thing I have to fix is characterization.  On my first draft, my characters were flat.  I was using amateurish tricks to liven them up, but I recognize now (thanks to my critique partners in the short story class) how flat they are.  Thankfully a friend has offered to help me out a bit, since some of the characters are mythological and I need more knowledge in that area.
 
Remembering that DnD session though, has put me in the right frame of mind for this.  One thing that does make a character more real is quirks, traits, or faults.  Now I'm not saying I'm going to randomly assign my character to be a drunk, but I am trying to once more step into someone else's shoes.  Is my character rich?  Are they poor?  How does that affect their psyche?  What about my mythological immortals?  How does living forever change their outlook, and what habits have they picked up?  All of these questions (and more) are running through my mind, and I'm hoping my previous DnD experience will help me answer them. 
 
In your writing, are you asking questions about your characters?  Do they have traits you haven't yet identified?  And how will you include hints of them without stalling the story?

Ten Word Tuesday - Expectation of Brilliance

Waiting for brilliance leaves you staring at an empty page.

An Opportunity - Stepping Outside The Writing Circle

My 16 year old was sitting around Friday afternoon when his friend texted him and asked if he wanted to go to the mountains.  His first reaction was to say no, but it was mostly because he was occupied with playing a video game.  I poked and prodded him into going anyway though, because it turned out that his friend was going to be helping a grandma with burro races.  Yes, you read that right.  In the Colorado mountains, they hold lama and burro racing annually, for 13 and 26 miles respectively.

In any event, it was an entirely new experience for him and (despite sunburns) he had a great time.  He got up around 8 a.m., went down to the race grounds, and opened gates for the racers.  This continued over the course of three days, and by the time my son came home, he was beat.  But he had a smile on his face and stories to tell.

I thought about how happy I was to have forced my son to go because he had such a good time and got to experience something he would otherwise never have seen.  For one thing, I doubt he had ever seen a lama up close before, let alone seeing them racing.  There is also something great to be said about being away from your parents and hanging out with your friends.  While we missed him a bunch, this is the stuff memories are made of.  He'll hopefully not forget this anytime soon.

Tonight I was thinking over it again, and I realized how similar this situation is to writing.  We sit down every time to write and take ourselves down familiar paths.  Sure, we're writing different stories but how different are they?  Looking at my own writing, I can see places I haven't gone.  I have never challenged myself with romance, for example.  I've never written a western.  But I can envision how attempting such projects would help me become a better writer, even if it's nothing more than an exercise.

I'm going to try to do this more often, write something that is outside of my comfort zone.  A small romantic scene, a gunfight at the O.K. Corral, or maybe a steampunk adventure.  Something new and challenging.  When was the last time you wrote something like that?  Were you glad you stepped outside the comfort circle?

Friday Food For Thought - Celebrating Authors, Stealin' Links and Bad Writing

Yep, you read that right.  I'm being a thief today.  That's because Michelle McLean has all the links I need to properly celebrate my new favorite author - Shaun Hutchinson.  Her post today is timely, because I just finished reading The Deathday Letter myself last night and I knew I had to talk about it today.  It's just that good.

If you haven't picked up a copy of this book, you're doing yourself a huge disservice.  Shaun captures the tone and character of a 16 year old boy effortlessly.  The book is funny, it's heartwarming, and it should appeal to just about anyone even though it's in the YA genre.  I just can't say enough about this incredible book.  Okay, I better stop here or Shaun's going to worry that I'll start stalking him (which I won't do Shaun, even if a trip to Florida does sound nice).  And here are all the stolen links, may you visit them all (sorry Michelle, heh heh).

The DeathDay Letter

Shaun's Site

Twitter page (yeah, I know I'm not twittering yet, but anyway)

Facebook page (yep, I'm not doing this either, but Shaun is)

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Borders

Powell's Books

Simon & Schuster

Over at Holy Terrors, Michelle Scott linked to an award winning short story written by Kij Johnson.  Being the responsible writer-in-training that I am, I clicked over to read it.  Before you go there, understand that this story is not for the faint of heart.  Nor is it for anyone who is offended even a little bit by certain types of adult subject matter.  What I did learn from this story is what kind of story I know I would NEVER write.  It amazes me though that this thing was given awards.  This is a celebrated and published author, and yet this writing is (at least in my mind) a pile of unadulterated crap.  With lots of cuss words.  And kinky sex themes.  Hmmm, sounds like the crap Hollywood is putting out these days too.  A recurring theme maybe?

This made me stop and think about what stories are being published these days and what stories don't make the cut.  Is the publishing process really that subjective?  Does my writing need to be shocking in order to get awards?  God, I hope not.  I know I don't have it in me to write like that.  How do the rest of you feel about this (particularly for those of you brave enough to go read the story)?

Lastly, I started the story Butterfly's Curse and planned to continue it on Wednesday.  Unfortunately, my mind has imagined so many different ways for the story to go and I haven't decided yet which one is right.  Yes, I'm trying to do some rough plotting so I don't lose everyone.  Long story short, I'm working on the next section and should have it up next Wednesday.  For those of you who enjoyed the beginning, hang tight for me just a little longer.  I will do my best to make the wait worthwhile.

That's all I have for your Friday.  I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend, and make sure you go pick up The Deathday Letter.   That way you'll have an excuse for why the chores aren't getting done, because you'll be too wrapped up in Shaun's awesome story.

Ten Word Tuesday - Bridges And Trolls

If there are bridges, there must be trolls.  Union rules.

Story Ideas - Dreams And Nightmares

I woke this morning from a rather horrific nightmare.  It involved myself and my family, and it was so vivid that I couldn't shake the unnerving feelings for some time.  Being the writer that I am, I added it to the document I keep called "Story Ideas".  I figure if it creeped me out enough to leave me shaken long after I launched out of bed, I probably should write the story (but use somebody else's name and family, heh heh).

Ironically, I was sitting in the bathroom trying to shake off the intense feeling of dread from my dream and I had another idea.  What's funny is it starts out with a man in his bathroom at home.  Odd place to start perhaps, but it really does make sense.  I'll share it with anyone who wants to know what I'm thinking, but I'm just not going to post it here.  It's too good to waste on my blog, heh heh.  It deserves better than that.

This got me to thinking about dreams and nightmares.  I don't usually remember my dreams, so the times when I do are because the images were so vivid or affected myself and/or my family directly.  Dreams about my family are usually not the comforting type.  I find this odd too, because I'm very much a family man and love my family dearly.  I think the reason why though is because I consider myself the protector of my family and the dreams I have usually involve something that threatens them.

I do have other dreams though, bizarre things that leave me wondering "What the heck?"  Call it bad chicken the night before or whatever, but these can be great fodder for writing stories.  I didn't have the habit of writing things down until I started writing.  I would laugh at the absurdity of whatever I had dreamed and then let it slip away.  Nowadays however, I try to make sure I write down every insane dream or idea that pops into my head.  Because I don't usually write "normal" stories (i.e. I like the creepy or paranormal stuff), these opportunities are something I need to grab onto whenever they appear.

If you're interested in hearing what ideas I came up with, drop me a comment with an email address.  I love chatting story ideas with people (whether I'm telling mine or hearing others).   My question to you is whether you track your dreams and allow them to influence your story ideas?  Do you write them down right away or are you letting these opportunities pass you by?

Friday Fun - A Few Cool Things

First thing I ran into this morning was a neat post by the awesome Cole.  She talked about this website that will analyze your writing and tell you which successful writer your style is most like.  This is completely appropriate for a Friday, because it's silly, doesn't really mean anything, and is fun to do anyway.  I took a snippit of the short story I'm working on and out came this result:

I write like
Edgar Allan Poe

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

This is too cool for a couple reasons.  For one, I am trying to learn to write creepy passages.  That's fun for me.  Yeah, I'm weird.  Secondly, I LOVE Edgar Allan Poe.  He was the master of "creep you out" writing.  Okay, Stephen King is too, but that's beside the point.   Anyway, thanks Cole.  This is awesome.

On another note, I've decided to join the fun of WriteOnCon.  Elana's post today convinced me that even though I am not a kidlit writer, I can learn a bunch from all the other great writers who will be in attendance.  If you haven't registered yet, I encourage you all to do so.  It's a FREE conference.  And there is already a ton of awesome people involved.  What are you waiting for?

Have a great Friday.  I hope everyone's weekend is filled with fun, writing, and laughs.

Note:  Did anyone notice that I managed to put up a post almost every day this week?  Woohoo.  This could be a disturbing trend  :)

The Little Things

Today is a moment for celebration.  Not for me, but for my oldest son.  After a few years of torture, he is getting his braces off this morning.  The poor boy has had to go without peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  As I said, torture.

It's funny that though he is definitely enjoying this moment, so am I.  This is one of those little moments in my family's life that I'll remember.  And these are the moments that make me smile big time.  With all the rest of the things on my shoulders, these little moments are what make it all worthwhile.

So what will this moment  mean for him?  Well, I imagine he will feel a bit more confident because he doesn't have the metal train tracks running over his teeth.  And when he looks in the mirror, he'll get to see just how his now perfectly straight teeth enhances things.  He's already a good looking boy, but hopefully he'll see a little more of it (since so many of us hate how we look as teenagers).  All-in-all, this is going to be really good for him.

To bring this discussion around to writing, it occurred to me this morning that little moments like this are what make my family real and recognizable.  As I relate this story to everyone, enough of you out there can relate to it and maybe chuckle a bit.  This is a perfect opportunity to realize that our characters need little things like this to make them more realistic as well.

Obviously we don't want to derail the main storyline or go off on a tangent, but I do believe we can use little things to help round out the characterization and make our characters more real.  For example, if our main character smiles as he watches his own children accomplishing something, it shows a warmth of heart.  It may include a very small scene (and hopefully it doesn't derail the action), but it can give a deeper glimpse into the lives of our characters.

I'm blanking on some better examples, so I'm going to toss the question out to all of you.  What little things can you think of that enhance your character without detracting from the story?  Am I off here or is this a valid thing to think about as we write?

Ten Word Tuesday - Mantras

Chanting a mantra isn't enough...

...we also need to write.

Blog Chain - Where's My Special Place?

For those keeping count, I've been unplugged from the blog for a while again.  I'm deep in the throes of my Master's degree classes, and I've decided I must be a glutton for punishment - or seriously unhinged.  Only a crazy person would voluntarily subject themselves to this stuff!

Well, it's blog chain time and today's question is brought to us by the ever-impressive B.J. Anderson.  She asks:

Is there a place you like to write that's extra special? Have you carved out a writing niche? Is there a certain time of day (or night) when the words fall into place, and your brain is focused on nothing but writing?

This has been a fun question chain, particularly since we get a glimpse into the chainer's worlds.  I hope you'll forgive me a bit then, since I want to show off my own little world.  Gaze longingly (or with disgust) at your screen...

As you can see here, this (our dining room table) is laptop central.  During the school year, it's homework central.  It's not exactly peaceful nor easy to find focus here, but I do what I can.  A set of earphones and some appropriate music in the background (Thanks to Amanda for mentioning Pandora btw;  I really love it and it is so helpful) makes things a bit easier.  This is usually where I am writing though.  If you'll forgive me a bit of geek pride, here's a closeup of my writing implement.

For the uninitiated, this is an Alienware laptop.  It's a high performance (a.k.a. gaming) laptop that can handle just about anything I throw at it.  My loving wife lavished me with this gift a little while ago, and I absolutely love it.  Besides the obvious gaming fun I get out of it, I love typing on this thing.  I never thought I'd enjoy a laptop keyboard, but this one is truly responsive and can easily keep up with my speedy fingers.

The dining room table doesn't always cut it however (especially since it's next to the living room and a 55" LCD distraction masquerading as a TV), so if I find myself really struggling to concentrate, I can always go here:

Honesty Is The Best Policy...Especially To Ourselves

If it hasn't been obvious to everyone, I've been struggling with my writing lately.  Okay, the honest truth is I haven't been writing at all.  I've allowed too many excuses and the imagined lack of time to keep me from doing what I know I really want to do - be a writer.

It's sad sometimes how easily we deceive ourselves.  How easily we can create an imagined reality to cover up the truths that should be so evident.  Why haven't I been writing?  This has been a question that has been bugging me for some time, though I really didn't admit the truth to myself until today.

We bought a treadmill the other day and I was really excited to get back into shape.  I know so many of you would be screaming bloody murder at me if you saw the relatively decent shape I'm in, but I got tired of my waistline expanding and my wife wanting me to buy jeans in the next size up.  Yes, I only weigh 180, but I don't really want to start buying jeans that are larger than size 36.  Hell, I want to get back to my size 34 or even 32.

So once I had the treadmill set up, I jumped on it yesterday and exercised my butt off for a while.  I'm looking forward to the next opportunity (Wed or Thurs) when I can get on it again.  What does all this have to do with writing?  Well, in my case, both activities are very similar.

You see, I used every excuse under the sun to keep from exercising.  The gym was too far away.  I didn't want to drive for 10 minutes to get there.  Too much homework.  Yada yada yada.  All excuses, no real concrete reasons why I couldn't have just started walking around the block or doing pushups.

As for my writing, I have been using similar excuses (not enough time, no good ideas, etc) as a way to not write.  Today I realized how intentionally blind I've been about my own problem.  The real truth is that I've had the wind knocked out of my sails and I just didn't want to face the problems head on.  My dwindling time spent writing began right after I submitted my short story for critique in the writing class.  At that time, I used the excuse of setting it aside as a way to not deal with the revisions.  I told myself that this is how you do things.  You let it sit for a while, then you get back to it.  When the time came to launch back in though, I balked.  First I justified things by saying it wasn't long enough yet.  Then I just tried ignoring that the story was there, waiting to be finished.  Finally, I used all the excuses in the world to keep myself from dealing with "fixing" my story.

Enough is enough though.  Just like my excitement for getting back on the treadmill, I will pull out my short story and get to work.  While I am still sure it's a pile of crap, I know that's just self doubt talking.  The writing can be improved, the doubt can be conquered.  But lying to myself about why I'm not writing isn't going to cut it.

How many of you out there are allowing yourself to not write because of doubt?  If you've overcome it, what did do to get over the hump?

Ten Word Tuesday - The Right Word

Writing one word can be harder than a whole book!

Wednesday Wrant - Custer Is A Sex Fiend? Really?

Normally I try not to be too...grumpy...with regards to books.  Every author has their own style, and when I don't really like a particular style, I at least try to find something good, something to appreciate.

Currently I'm reading a book called Black Hills by Dan Simmons.  I've never read any of his books before, nor do I know really much about the author.  The premise however, sounded very interesting so I picked it up.  If you haven't read this book and/or are going to, you may wish to avoid the rest of this post since I will probably spoil parts of it for you.

This story (at least so far) is about an American Indian (or is it more PC to say Native American?) who was at Custer's Last Stand as a young brave.  He comes upon Custer's dead body and (after touching it) feels invaded by Custer's ghost.

From here, the story bounces back and forth from the character's young life to much later moments in his life as well as different points in between.  For the most part, the inclusion of Lakota (Sioux) culture, language, and background is well written.  While I can't vouch for the accuracy of the transliteration of the language, I assume it's correct - and there's plenty of it throughout the book.

What do I have to rant about then?  Well, for some reason the author portrays Custer (and his wife) as extreme sexual deviants, for one.  The story will break from time to time and become a letter from Custer to his wife, in which he talks about various things.  By today's standards (depending on who you are of course), their sexual proclivities might not be deviant at all.  But for a celebrated general just after the Civil War, the open discussion of oral sex (while his regiment marches by, no less) seems a bit of a stretch.  In fact, the author goes to great lengths to describe how often and varied Custer's sexual romps are with his spouse.

One thing I've said many times is no matter who you are or what genre you write in, you have to keep the writing real.  You have to keep it honest.  I'm also not naive enough to think that sexual discovery wasn't invented until the 1960's.  But I find it highly doubtful that such things were discussed openly during the "Wild West" among individuals who were at the higher end of the social scale.

The author has just about lost me as a reader, thanks to these sexual diversions that add nothing to the main story.  I've found myself skimming (or even skipping) whole sections where Custer's letters appear just because I have no interest in participating in such idiotic notions.  The worst part is that there is so many interesting things about Custer the author could have included rather than making up crap like this.  It's too bad really, because it's obvious that alot of effort was put into immersing the reader in the culture of the time from an American Indian's perspective.

I pose the question to you, my faithful followers.  I've kept from getting too descriptive about what's going on (mostly because it's rude and I don't wish to offend anyone), but what do you think about books that do this kind of thing?  If anyone knows more about Custer's personal life, am I wrong here?  Were people more open during this period of time than I am giving them credit for?  The comment box is now open.

Ten Word Tuesday - Solace Through Writing

The solace of writing well feeds my soul beyond explanation.

Blog Chain - You're My Inspiration

Today's question is brought to us by Shaun Hutchinson, the awesome PUBLISHED author among us. That's right people, his debut novel The Deathday Letter is out and available for purchase. Put down the mouse, get your butt to the nearest book store, pick up a copy, and then rush back. Or go here and get it ordered. I'll wait.

Got it?

Okay, I know you're dying to peel open the cover and get to reading it, but please continue reading this post first.  Or come back after you've made it all the way through the book (because you won't be able to put it down).

Now then, on to the question:

From where do you get your inspiration for stories? Give me the oddest, coolest, things that have inspired you.


For me, inspiration comes from all sorts of sources.  I get inspired by the usual things, like music or movies.  But sometimes my inspiration comes from odd moments or even out of nothing.  The movie Stranger Than Fiction was what inspired me to begin writing again, after not being a writer since high school.  I was just sitting there hearing the author narrate the story and it resonated with me.  I thought, "I could do that.  I could write stories like that."
 
My first attempt at a story involved a homeless woman.  The inspiration for it came from all the homeless people I saw on street corners and my thoughts about how much I'd like to help just one of them - assuming they were the type to want to be helped, of course.  Although I have yet to do the story justice, it's still there waiting for my writing ability to be up to the task.
 
Sometimes my ideas just come from thin air.  I have another WiP that popped into my head while I was driving with my wife and kids.  It involves a future where all genetics are streamlined and predetermined so that pharmaceutical companies can give humanity the medications they think everyone should have.  They control society through genetic manipulation, but one of their own geneticists alters his son's genes before he's born.  The result is Trevor, the first genetically normal human being born since the cataclysm that brought humanity to their current state of existence.  The resulting story sprung from nothing, but it's been fun to explore.
 
The oddest inspiration I ever had though was while driving to work early one morning.  There's a bowling alley near our home and their parking lot was empty except for one lone car.  The street lights were casting pools of amber, and my mind began to build the story of someone sitting in that car.  The car wouldn't start and everything around them was shrouded in darkness, except for these pools of light.  Suddenly there was a strange fog spreading across the parking lot and an electricity in the air that the character could feel in their bones.  They knew they had to get out of there.  The story has morphed into something very different from where it began, involving otherworldly dimensions, god-like powers, and an indifferent hero.  It's still percolating in the back of my mind and I honestly am not sure where it's going to end.  But this was by far the oddest source of inspiration I've had.
 
My predecessor Sandra had a great answer to this question, and Michelle Hickman is all set to follow me tomorrow.  Check 'em out; both are great sources of inspiration themselves.

Helllooo.....

Yep, I've been absent for a while. I'm sure nobody noticed. For those that did, I apologize. I took a vacation, from everything. I was off from my day job for a week, and I spent a bunch of time with my kids and wife. We didn't really do anything, just spent time. It was really nice and relaxing. I realize I left everyone and everything here in a lurch, and for that I apologize. I should have at least left notice.

In any event, I'm back and will be getting back to regular posts. I'm currently beginning my Masters degree program, which I am sure will prove to be fairly difficult. I've also applied for a new job, so we'll see how that goes. If I'm lucky, I'll get the opportunity to join a new team and start new adventures in a slightly different direction. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and my hopes up anyway.

I have to admit though, it's fairly energizing to take a vacation like that. No appointments, no demands on my time. Just waking up when I wake up, walking around in the pj's, breathing in and out. If you get the opportunity to do something similar, I highly recommend it. It's amazing how much we miss while we're working away like busy little bees, frantic in our lives to get things done. There's nothing wrong with being productive of course, but taking breaks and relaxing is important too. For example, one evening the wife and I found shapes in the clouds with our kids, marveling at their imaginations and the beautiful shades of color streaking across the sky. Small moments like these can have great impact.

Okay, enough reminiscing about my past vacation. Time to get back to work. Thanks for stopping by.

Promised Post - Answers To The Lies

If you haven't read yesterday's post, you should probably go there first. Otherwise, this is a spoiler and you'll miss out on all the fun. For those who read through yesterday's post, here is the list of questions and whether they were true or a lie.

1. While I was in Basic Training for the U.S. Army, I received an Article 15 (a form of discipline) for conspiracy to sell photographs from a Polaroid instant camera.

This is actually the truth. My bunkmate suckered me (and two others) into this, and we made a tidy profit for a while. We were taking pictures of our fellow soldiers and selling the pics to them for a buck a piece. Memoral Day came and we were out of film. Rather than wait the one day until the PX (military version of a store) was open, we decided to go to the main PX on base, which we were forbidden to do. Two of us were lookouts while the other two bought the film. You can guess who got caught by his own drill sgt - yep, me and one other person. Luckily for us, he talked to the Captain and convinced him that we were two otherwise decent soldiers who had just made a stupid mistake. Our punishment was fairly minimal, which was good since it could have been really bad.



2. Ten of the most prominent DC and Marvel comic book characters are emblazoned across my chest in the form of tattoos, including Superman, the Hulk, and Wonder Woman.

This is a lie. There is truth in it though; I actually do have a tattoo on my chest of Superman and The Incredible Hulk - they are the favorite comic book characters of my two sons.



3. During my adult life, I've worked in a multitude of occupations. The jobs have included an amateur race car driver, a professional bowler, a prominent musician, and even a costumed mascot.

While it would be great to have experienced all these things, this is a lie. All these professions were very liberally taken from various video games I've played.



4. The first girl I kissed set up a menage a trois for me with her best friend, in her bedroom, while her father sat in the next room watching television.

This one is interesting, and almost true. At the time, I had no idea this was really what this paticular girl wanted but looking back on the memory, I have since realized that she really did want something like this between the three of us. I was 16 and fairly naive. Alas, I missed out. Probably for the best though lol.



5. I am well-trained in nine martial art forms, including Wu Shu, Ninjitsu, Kempo, Aikido, and Jeet Kune Do. I've been a practicing martical artist since I was six.

While I did formally train in Karate starting at the age of 9, I have only minimal knowledge of the rest of these martial art forms.



6. My favorite snack is chocolate donuts and pickles. At the same time. I've been known to make a midnight trip to 7-11 when the craving strikes.

This is actually a craving my wife had while pregnant with our oldest son. I did have to make the midnight trips to go get her this weird combination though. I got to know the convenience store clerk on that shift fairly well lol.



7. I once totalled a 1991 Geo Metro by jumping a 3 foot high median. Once my tires touched the pavement, I found myself facing oncoming traffic during rush hour. I scraped along the driver side of another compact car, played a quick game of chicken with the Maverick behind them, and finally slammed head on into a pickup truck. The front end of my car crumpled like a tin can and broke both my legs.

There is a bit of truth in this story. I actually did have the Geo Metro and it did get totalled. I was not the one who jumped the median though. A lady in a 73 Maverick was the culprit. She was a drunk driver (a 4 time loser), chasing her ex-husband from bar to bar. She jumped the median, slid along the driver side of my Geo (totalling it), played drunken chicken with the person behind me, and slammed into the truck behind that. She was so drunk, she didn't even feel it when both her legs were snapped in two by the dashboard. I'd like to say she got what she deserved when the case went to court, but that would be a fairy tale. She got away with no charges filed and a waived fine. I'm not kidding. My mom and my wife had to drag me out of the courtroom so I wouldn't call the judge a few choice names.



I hope everyone had as much fun guessing with these as I did writing them. This was really fun. Thanks a bunch Michelle and Brian. You brought a big smile to my face and hopefully to a few others.

I Cannot Tell A Lie...Or Can I?

I've been meaning to put up this post for some time now. Brian over at The New Author tagged me for this badge a while ago. Then Michelle Hickman tagged me with it recently as well. Since I consider them both to be very talented friends, I figure I better get around to joining the party. I owe them at least that much. The rules for this award are:

- thank the person who gave you the award
- copy the logo and place it on your blog
- link to the person who nominated you
- tell up to six outrageous lies about yourself and at least one outrageous truth, or vice-versa
- nominate seven "creative" writers
- post links to the blogs you nominate
- leave a comment on each blog letting them know they've won the award

Thanks go out to both Michelle and Brian. I know I'm a bit late, but I really do appreciate it. I've linked to them both. Now comes the fun part - deciding whether to write some serious whoppers or reveal a great deal about myself. You'll have to judge for yourself which is which.

1. While I was in Basic Training for the U.S. Army, I received an Article 15 (a form of discipline) for conspiracy to sell photographs from a Polaroid instant camera.

2. Ten of the most prominent DC and Marvel comic book characters are emblazoned across my chest in the form of tattoos, including Superman, the Hulk, and Wonder Woman.

3. During my adult life, I've worked in a multitude of occupations. The jobs have included an amateur race car driver, a professional bowler, a prominent musician, and even a costumed mascot.

4. The first girl I kissed set up a menage a trois for me with her best friend, in her bedroom, while her father sat in the next room watching television.

5. I am well-trained in nine martial art forms, including Wu Shu, Ninjitsu, Kempo, Aikido, and Jeet Kune Do. I've been a practicing martical artist since I was six.

6. My favorite snack is chocolate donuts and pickles. At the same time. I've been known to make a midnight trip to 7-11 when the craving strikes.

7. I once totalled a 1991 Geo Metro by jumping a 3 foot high median. Once my tires touched the pavement, I found myself facing oncoming traffic during rush hour. I scraped along the driver side of another compact car, played a quick game of chicken with the Maverick behind them, and finally slammed head on into a pickup truck. The front end of my car crumpled like a tin can and broke both my legs.

There you go, ladies and gents. Now you get to decide which of these are true and which are merely figments of my imagination. Good luck. And thanks once more to Michelle and Brian. This was really fun.

I'm going to take a cue from Michelle though and break the rules. Since this badge has made the rounds, I'm only going to pick three others to hoist this on.

Tim Riley had fun with the last time I picked on him. Guess what Tim, you're it again :)

Clarissa Draper is another new follower of mine, so she gets tagged as well.

Lastly, I'd like to hear from Julie Dao. She has a great blog, so I'm hoping she'll join in this fun too.

I can't wait to see who guesses right on this stuff. Let me hear about it in the comments. Tomorrow I'll put up a special post and let you all know what is what.

Blog Chain - What's My Motivation?

The blogchainers are at it again, and I guess my name came up early in the list. Amanda is posing the question this time around:

What do you do to keep yourself motivated when you feel like you're not making any progress in your writing career?

This question is incredibly timely for me because - as you can see by my lack of regular posts - I'm not exactly that motivated lately. This is the question that has been driving me mad every waking moment. How do I get back on track and motivate myself?

It doesn't help that everyone around me (at least here in blogland) is picking up an agent or multi-book deal. Don't get me wrong. I am incredibly happy for Elana, Shaun, Cole, Beth, Amanda...I could go on and on, because there are so many of you enjoying success right now (and I apologize if I didn't mention or congratulate anyone else). I really do wish you all great success. But I do get down when I think about how far away I am from being "that good". Of course, one post on here and all you wonderful people come forward to prop me back up, kick me in the behind, and tell me to keep at it.

As far as what I do to keep motivated is concerned though, I guess I just keep imagining how I'm going to feel when I get that email or phone call. You know, the one from an agent, where I'm finally rewarded for all this hard work. I read the words from all of you who are achieving this and I can imagine just how incredible that must feel. It's not the idea of publication nor the glory of having an agent that drives me - it's the feeling of success I'll have when I am writing that well.

It's kind of funny. When I first started this journey, I think I was more interested in being able to walk into Barnes & Nobles and see my book on the shelf than anything else. After writing this long though, my goal has changed. I still do want to take a picture of my book on the retailer shelf of course, but I'm really more interested in being able to say I'm a successful writer. I want to feel confident in my writing and have a reason to jump up and down in my living room after hearing from an agent. The promise of what will come if I keep at this is enough to motivate me, even on the days when I'm not feeling particularly talented. Especially on those days, in fact.

I don't know if I've provided a very concrete answer, but there it is. If you didn't get a chance to read what Sandra had to say, bop on over there. Michelle H. is scheduled to follow me tomorrow, so check that out too.

Blog Chain - Are You Under The Influence?

This chain question is my favorite so far. Brought to us by Christine, she asks:

Which author or authors have most influenced your writing and how?

Reading through everyone else's answer has given me a huge list of authors I need to check out. There are some talented writers on this chain, and it's been truly interesting seeing who influenced them.

I was a reader way before I was ever a writer (much like you all, I'm sure). And I can't say that everything I ever read was necessarily good writing. From as early as I can remember, I consumed books by the pound. I remember fun books like the Encyclopedia Brown series. I read alot of sci-fi and fantasy. Piers Anthony was one of the most influential authors for me, with respect to his imagination and creativity. On A Pale Horse is still one of my all time favorites. Of course, his descent into mediocrity with continuing the Xanth crap has been hard to take. Okay, so I abandoned him because of it. Sue me.

Like so many of the rest of you, I have always read Stephen King. There may be one or two books of his I haven't read, but that's about it. He has been a significant influence on me, because I would love to write "creepy" the way he does. In fact, I'd say it's my goal to capture that essence in my writing every time. I love when I get the chills from a truly creepy passage.

Tom Clancy is another influence, probably due to my Army/Military Intelligence background. While I'll be the first to admit he sometimes puts in too much detail, I admire the amount of research it must take to write the way he does. He's another author that I've read almost everything from.

My parents introduced me to alot of things outside my "norm", handing me James Michener books (among others). He is a great storyteller, and his amount of detail is staggering as well. Sometimes he seems to stall the action (compared to today's mainstream authors), but I have always enjoyed it nonetheless. They also gave me Russka by James Rutherford, which I still remember vividly. And my dad let me read through all his Edgar Rice Burroughs paperbacks. Now granted, he is probably not counted on the greats of literature, but I enjoyed the stories.

And probably the great influence (besides King) was Tolkien. Trudging through The Silmarillion was an adventure all in itself, and understanding the concepts in it was a true challenge. Why was this good? It taught me to NOT write a story that your reader has to struggle through a few times before they understand what you're trying to say. Simplicity can be a good thing sometimes.

Fast forward to today and you'll find my influences are all of you. Reading through excerpts from Cole, Shaun, or Michelle H. help me improve all the time. Elana's sense of humor reminds me to have fun in my writing. The writers of The Literary Lab teach me something new every day. I could go on and on, but I am significantly influenced by each and every one of you as I try to hone my craft. Published or not, you all have something you do well. This may be outside the realm of Christine's requirements (since some of you aren't published authors), but it's worth mentioning anyway. I am also picking up new authors to check out all the time, so my list of influencers continues to grow.

Well, I've rambled long enough on this one, so I'll pass the torch to Michelle H. If you didn't get a chance to read my predecessor Sandra's post, head on over there. And thanks Christine for this really fun and interesting question. It's been awesome reading everyone's answer.

Tagged By A Friend

Just when you think you're feeling down, people reach down and pick you up. Thanks to Cassandra, I have been tagged. I promised her I'd join in the fun and (although I'm late) this post is about keeping that promise. So without further ado, I hope you enjoy this peek into little ol' me.

Question 1 - Where were you 5 years ago?

Let's see. My wife and I were just getting over a rough patch. Though most of our years have been awesome, we've had our issues from time to time. I hadn't yet started going to school online; I was on a break. I was still at the same job I'm at now, doing network administration. I was not writing at all.

Question 2 - Where would you like to be in 5 years?

I hope to be working from home as a student mentor for my college. I will have obtained my Masters degree. My wife will be healthy. My oldest son will be in college or figuring out what direction he wants to go. I will have published something, even if it's just a short story. I hope to have a new, bigger motorcycle.

Question 3 - What is on your to-do list today?

Finish critiques of two of my classmates' short stories. Start writing article for Brighthub.com. Spend time with my wife. Put up posts on my blog.

Question 4 - What snacks do you enjoy?

Reeses Peanut Butter Cups (white chocolate). Skittles. Beef Jerky, almost any flavor. Any kind of crackers. Frozen grapes. Chocolate-covered raisins.

Question 5 - What five things would you do if you were a billionaire?

Set up all my family members so they could truly enjoy life without concerns. Travel all over the United States, to every state possible. Start a foundation or non-profit where I could help the homeless get back on their feet, one person at a time if necessary. Buy my wife the red Corvette she has always wanted. Build my ultimate writing room, a cabin with a mountain view, where I can walk out every once in a while and see a deer in my front yard.

The lucky 5 I am going to pass this on to are some of my newer followers:

Matt Betts

Hilary Wagner

Tim Riley

Michelle Scott

Alex J. Cavanaugh

I hope you all have fun with this and put up a post too. And thanks Cassandra, for making me smile. You're one of the many cool people have really helped make me feel better about my writing and remember to stay optimistic about what I can do if I try.

Ten Word Tuesday - Friendship

Hands helping you up when you really need it.

Feeling a little...uncertain

I apologize for the long gap between posts. I guess I'm just feeling a little...uncertain.

My last post was really fun. And judging from the comments, it was well received. The problem is that when I sit down to do it again - you know, catch that same electricity - it just isn't happening. I really like when something comes out halfway decent, but man do I hate the seemingly vast periods when things are just rough.

Anyway, this is a short post. I will do my best to get over this ugly feeling I have about my writing, so bear with me. I'll do a longer post tomorrow. I have some comments to share about Galen Kindley's book Hearts Of The Morning Calm and coming soon I may even have an interview with the author.

Thanks everybody.

Ten Word Tuesday - Procrastination

Procrastination is a poison,

destroying our creativity minute by minute.