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.

Contest Results - Time Again To Celebrate

I have been running a contest for a couple weeks now to celebrate my 200th post. I had planned on choosing the winner this morning, but what can I say. My day job had me busy - on a weekend no less - and I honestly forgot all about it until now.

Thank you for all of the people who stopped by to comment or add their own story of celebration. The stories and poems were fun to read, and I'm happy you all honored me with your entries.

To make things fair, I had my youngest son do the work for me. I typed the names on a page. He then cut the names out, folded them, put them in a hat, and drew out the winner at random.








Before I announce WHO the lucky recipient is, I'll mention the prizes. These prizes come care of the awesome Elana Johnson, who graciously agreed to help me out. They are:

1. A critique of the first 10 pages of a work in progess/final draft/whatever.
2. A critique of your query letter.
3. A free copy of Elana's magnificent e-book From The Query To The Call.

Now if those aren't awesome prizes, I don't know what is.

Are you waiting on the edge of your seat? Can you feel the tense anticipation? Okay, I've made every wait long enough. The lucky winner is:

B.J. Anderson

Woohoo, congratulations B.J.!! I'm pretty sure you already have Elana's email address, but if not, let me know and I'll get you in touch.

Thank you once more to Elana for being so awesome. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your support of newbie writers like myself. And thank you everyone else for being a part of this. Maybe I'll do another one of these sometime soon.

Friday Fun - Contest Reminder

It's the last day of the contest folks. If you haven't put in your comment or (better yet) sent me a copy of some celebratory story, poem, etc, then you need to get on the ball. Click here and do your part. Then I can do my part, meaning randomly drawing your name. And then Elana will do her part, namely awarding the prize. Thank you again Elana, for contributing so much to my celebration of 200 posts.

I will perform the random drawing of a name sometime tomorrow morning, so join in on the fun before it's too late. Actually, I'm thinking I will have my youngest son pick the name randomly, and I'll maybe post some photos of said selection process.

On another note, I do plan on discussing how my critique session went with my short story class very soon. Unfortunately it's the end of the month, and that means I have articles due at Brighthub.com and possibly articles to edit as well. My post on the critique may have to wait until tomorrow.

Have a great Friday everyone, and good luck to those who have entered the contest.

Writerly Wednesdays - Consequences

There should always be consequences for our characters' choices. There's a movie I love to hate that really illustrates what happens when we DON'T keep this in mind.

The movie The Family Man (starring Nicholas Cage) is a tragic example of characters lacking consequences. Allow me to explain. Cage plays a single, rich, successful president of a huge corporation. He's insanely rich. An angel (played by Don Cheadle) decides to give Cage a glimpse into how his life would have been different had he made different choices, and Cage wakes up the next morning with a wife and kids. The wife is his old girlfriend from college, whom (in his real life) he didn't stay with because he was pursuing his career. The resulting scenes while he is in this glimpse are actually hilarious and fun.

The ending is where the story fails however. Cage wakes up from his experience back in his old luxury apartment, rich once more. He rushes off to get in touch with his old girlfriend and (after a dramatic speech) they are together again.

The problem with this ending is that he is still rich, his girlfriend is a rich lawyer, and all the choices that brought them (and kept them) together as a family during the glimpse don't exist. They are able to ride off in the sunset and have an even better life together. There are no consequences though, because they are able to have their cake and eat it too. They've attained success in their various careers, and it is assumed that now their marriage (after the end of the movie) will also be successful, full of romance, etc. Every bit of the movie that made it entertaining up to this point has just been completely invalidated.

To take this discussion into the realm of writing, if we make the same mistake in our own story, we will invalidate our own characters and maybe even infuriate our reader. Consequences are a necessary part of writing. Every choice we make in our lives has a consequence. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad. Our characters have to be exposed to this as well - even if they are unaware of the consequences or blatantly ignore them. This is a reality of life, and including it in our stories keeps the writing honest and authentic.

If we're writing a murder mystery for example, there has to be a consequence for the killings. If our MC chooses to marry Beth instead of Susie, there should be something given up (or lost out on) as well as something they attain. Becoming a bricklayer instead of a politician for example, means a difference in salary and social echelon. All of these are consequences our MC must experience and face up to if we want our writing to resonate with truth.

What are you thoughts on consequences in writing? Do you consider them as you create your characters?

Edit: Don't forget ladies and gents - only a couple more days to enter the contest. C'mon, you don't want to miss out on these awesome prizes, do you? Get your butt over here and drop off a comment. There's not much time left and you'll be kicking yourself if you don't.

Ten Word Tuesday - Careful Anticipation

The revisions are coming!

The revisions are coming!

Um...Yay?

Monday - I've Finally Decided

I don't remember if I've mentioned this before (primarily because it's not completely writing related) but I've been pondering where I want to go with my professional life. You see, I'm currently a govt IT worker and while I get paid decently enough, I find it no longer fulfilling like it used to be.

The problem with making good money is that switching jobs might mean making less - something that can be difficult when you're supporting a family. I have spent the many weeks since graduation examining where I am, where I'd like to be, and figuring out what it would take to get there. I take my role as my family's provider very seriously, and I have included my wife in all my thoughts and musings.

I decided on basically three possible courses of action. I could remain where I am and retire in another 16 years. I've worked there 16 already, but because of my age, I can't start receiving retirement for some time to come (age 55). This is a sobering thought, because I'm fairly certain I don't want to do this type of work for another 16 years and there really isn't anywhere to advance to.

Another option I have been considering is going back for my Masters degree. I could either go for a Masters in IT - Security or choose a degree in an entirely new direction. The IT degree has some great benefits, one of which is that the program fulfills the basic certifications required for employment by the National Security Agency (as well as other comparable security employers). Such a degree might open significant doors for me.

A third option I have been weighing is working towards becoming a full time writer. This is what we'd all like to do, isn't it. Be able to sit at home and just write all day, in our pajamas no less. There are significant drawbacks to this choice however, most importantly the lack of benefits of any kind (i.e. medical, 401K, etc). I know there are plenty of you out there who do it all the time (and probably make a decent enough living), but this one scares me more than any other.

Last but not least, I have been considering a mentor position working for Western Governors University - the college I recently graduated from. You see, every student at WGU is assigned a mentor that guides them through their degree and helps keep them focused, all the way through to graduation. I was extremely impressed by my own mentor, and I have thought for some time now how much fun that would be. I have also thought how fulfilling it could be, helping people make it through college. The kicker of course is that the entire school is online, so (after a 4-6 month training period at WGU) I would be able to work from home. They also have great benefits, which satisfies the provider in me.

In the end, I've decided I am going back to get my Masters degree after all. I haven't decided WHICH one I will go for, but I'm scheduled to talk to an enrollment councillor soon. I have also decided that I will keep my options open, but I will either be using my degree to go somewhere security related in IT or become a mentor. It will just depend on what opportunities present themselves when I am done.

Don't worry though, fellow writers. Despite the fact that currently I am discounting becoming a full-time writer, I have no intention of stopping. I am just not ready to bet my family's farm (so-to-speak) on it. If I do manage to write a best seller (that sells millions of course), you can rest assured that my plans will change once more. I will continue to write every day, and I will probably still take a writing class here and there where I can.

I feel much better now that I've made a decision - now that I know where I want to go. Kind of ironic, isn't it? In my real life, I like to know where I'm headed. I like to know that my world is safe and secure. In my writing however, I'm content to let the story go where it will, no matter what dangers it holds for my characters. Kind of funny, actually.

Friday - Criticisms and Class Notes

Today I'd like to talk about my thoughts regarding my short story class session this past Wednesday. Jody Hedlund is responsible for getting me going on this though, since she put up a great post on handling feedback on our writing. This particular topic is important to me because (as I've mentioned previously) I just handed my short story to everyone to workshop it.

This is an interesting feeling, putting my work out there to a group of relative strangers and waiting for their feedback. On the one hand, I like to think I enjoy sharing what I write whether it's first draft quality or revised a bit. I know how good (or bad) a writer I am, and I don't have a problem facing up to the mistakes I make.

On the other hand, this is the first thing I have written where I am actively hoping to work it up to publishable quality. What I mean by this is that with the WiPs I've written before, I would like to publish them but that destination is a long way off. With this short story, I can actually see the glow at the end of publication tunnel (and I'm hoping it's not a train). With this thought in mind, I guess I'm a bit more nervous about what these other people might say. I'm trying to remain positive, trying to remember that whatever criticisms they have will only improve my writing. I won't deny however, that part of me hopes they aren't cringing or feeling frustrated at having to workshop a story that (in their viewpoint) obviously isn't ready.

No matter how it turns out, posts like Jody's helps me keep in mind the positive things that can come out of criticism.

Besides turning in my story, class was really fun. We had a few people read off their flash fiction exercises (I didn't do any since I was getting my story ready). I was extremely impressed by the quality of the writing that my fellow students displayed. If I can capture even a little bit of what these people do so well, it'll be awesome.

We also had some on-demand, timed writing exercises that really challenged me. I liked it alot though, because the pressure of time made me just write and not think. That's not to say I didn't pause a couple times, but for the most part I just kept my fingers typing away and it was fun. The exercises involved being given a single word and using that as a launching point for writing something creative. If you've never done this before, I highly recommend it. Just pick a noun or a verb at random, set yourself a short time frame (like 5 - 10 minutes) and write. It was really cool and it was probably the first time I've ever felt like I was writing almost nonstop.

I will pick things up again probably on Monday, since I have alot of reading and class exercises to do this weekend. I also want to mention that I received my copy of Hearts Of The Morning Calm by Galen Kindley a couple days ago. I'm a few chapters in and I am blown away. His writing is phenomenal and I am so happy to be the recipient of this book. I will say that I'm not exactly thrilled by the cover though. Pink is not a color I spend much time with (okay, I actually avoid getting anywhere near pink), and this book has lots of pink on it. The words within the pages however, are more than worth dealing with the barrage of pink.

Sir Kindley has been gracious enough to agree to an interview, which I will conduct once I'm through reading his wonderful tome. Keep your eyes peeled for that coming up soon. And if you haven't entered my contest, get on it. There is only one more week to go, since it ends on April 30th. The prizes to choose from are awesome folks; you'll be kicking yourself if you miss out.

In closing, remember this:

You can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose.

But you can't pick your friend's nose.

Ba dum dum dum!

Happy Friday, everyone.

Hit 39...Turn The Page

I have been toying with the idea of this post and I almost wasn't going to put it up until I read something Sandra wrote. It's an interesting post you should read.

People mention the 40th birthday as a significant event, but I'm sitting here at 39 (as of Monday the 19th) and thinking it has more of an impact. It's the silent breath before the battle, the toes extending out over the cliff. Okay, that's a little melodramatic, but hitting 39 does make you think about things.

For starters, my birthday is not as fun as it used to be. I live in Denver, so my birthday is too close to the tragedy at Columbine High School. I even have a cousin who was a teacher there. Then of course there's the Oklahoma City Bombing, another terrible tragedy. And of course, having your birthday right next to Hitler's isn't exactly cool either.

I was not personally affected by these things, but they weigh on my mind nonetheless. When I think about these events, I am saddened by the loss of life for no real purpose.

Turn the page...

Time to get back to more optimistic things. I finished my short story (tentatively titled "The Job") for my writing class. I even managed to do a bit of editing on it. I changed the first section because I felt it didn't catch attention quick enough. The ending is a little abrupt, but I think that's how it has to be.

Since I'm turning it over to the workshop crew this evening, I'm feeling more anxious than a cat in a room full of rocking chairs. To make matters worse, I had a co-worker read it this morning and I typed the wrong word in a sentence halfway through. But they're already printed and I really don't want to re-print 10 new copies. Grrrrr.

Oh well, at least I know the error is there and it's not a HUGE error, just a wrong word. Here's hoping there aren't ten million more.

Last but not least, if you haven't entered my contest, get your butt over here. The prizes are awesome, folks. You don't want to miss out on this, and entering is as easy as commenting on a post. Get to it!

Ten Word Tuesday - Criticism

Which is worse...

Preparing for criticism or actually receiving it?

Blog Chain - Different Characters And Exercises

Before I launch into the blog chain question, I want to make sure everyone knows about the contest in progress. If you haven't stopped by this post, you need to. The contest is fun and the prizes are awesome (care of Elana Johnson, writer extraordinaire). Get your butt over there and enter today. I'll wait.

Okay, now that the housekeeping is out of the way, let's get to it. The amazing and talented Sandra has started off this round with two questions. She gave the option to answer one or the other, but I'll do em both. Sandra asks:

Have you ever created a character different from yourself in some significant way, such as (but not limited to) different gender, race, ethnic group, religion, or sexual orientation? If so, what, if any, research did you do to portray these differences? Was this character a main character, secondary character, or walk-on? Did these differences have an impact on the story?

And:

Have you ever written writing exercises? If so, did you find the experience useful? What type of writing exercises were they, and did you do them on your own or as part of a writing class or workshop?

My first attempt at a novel (before I really knew anything at all) had a young Hispanic woman as one of the main characters. Other than being married to a wonderful Hispanic woman who is eternally young (that's right baby, I won't put your age in here. You're 29 and holding, right?), I had no background to pull from. This woman is also homeless, which is another aspect of life I thankfully have not had to deal with. Did I panic? I think not.

I searched around and was able to interview a woman who was working at a place that assists homeless women. She was a young Hispanic woman who had been homeless herself at one point. I wish I could relate her story to the world because it was so amazing. I will say however, that she had a profound effect on how I viewed my main character from that point on. Although I have put the story on hold for now, I will go back to it someday when my writing is significantly improved.

As for the second question, I am currently embroiled in a short story writing workshop. Although we're only a few classes in, we've already been doing some really cool exercises. The first one involved writing an entire story in only 550 words. That was pure torture for me. I guess I'm a masochist though; I didn't quit the class and I can actually say I'm glad I worked through the exercise.

We've also done writing-on-demand, where the teacher gives us a sentence and tell us to go from there. We're dealing with flash fiction currently, something I've never worked on before. Oh, and of course we're writing our own short story, to be workshopped by the group. Did I mention that I get the honor of turning mine in first tomorrow? Can you say stressed out? I'm more than a little nervous.

In any event, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Michelle Hickman is following me tomorrow, so make sure you stop by and read what she has to say.

More Contests

If it's not enough to enter my contest, you can always head over to Sarah With A Chance. She's holding a contest that makes mine look positively weak by comparison. Still, if one of you manage to win it, that'd still be cool. If I do, you know I'll be shouting to the rafters. So head on over, fill out the form, comment on her blog, put up a post about it. Oh, and if you do manage to announce it (successfully) to Oprah, I definitely want to know you have those kind of connections.

Good luck!

Friday Celebrations - Contest Alert!

Since I recently put up my 200th post, it's time to celebrate. And what better way to celebrate than with a contest?

What are the details of this contest? It took me a few days to decide how I wanted to do this, but I've come up with something I think will be really fun. I love reading what others write, so I'd like you to write something for the contest. The topic is a celebration. You can relate a funny story involving a real celebration or you can make up something completely fictional. It can be short or long, any genre. If you don't want to put it into the comments section (because you don't want anyone else reading it), email it to me at estallsworth@comcast.net. Just make sure you put in a comment mentioning that you did that. I will then randomly select a winner.

Just to make this clear, I will NOT be judging the quality of your writing. I just enjoy reading how different people handle the same topic. And I am learning how important it is that we keep writing all the time, so this is a great excuse to motivate you all.

Now, I can hear some of you out there groaning. You don't really want to share your writing, you hate writing exercises, whatever it is. I'm not about to be an ogre, so if you just want to be entered in the contest without being forced to write, that's fine. Just get me a note from your mother (just kidding). All commentors will be included in the drawing regardless of whether they actively participate or not. I'm of course hoping that alot of you WILL write, but I'm not going to require it. This is about fun and celebrating, after all.

The closing date for this contest will be in two weeks on April 30th. That will (hopefully) give everyone plenty of time to write something (if they so desire).

The prize for this contest is awesome. Somehow I have managed to convince the extremely talented Elana Johnson to pony up her services. Whoever wins this contest get their choice of one of the following:

1. A critique of the first 10 pages of a work in progess/final draft/whatever.
2. A critique of your query letter.
3. A free copy of Elana's magnificent e-book From The Query To The Call.

Don't ask how I managed to obtain the prizes from Elana. I offered up my soul, but Elana replied she'd rather have cash. Kidding people, kidding. She was actually okay with a soul contract.

In closing, enjoy the following video. Feel free to dance along in your office/cubicle/living room.

Bare Bones Homework

Here is what I finally ended up with, though it's not completely finished.

Peter grabbed the rough wooden rail with a calloused hand. He exhaled and straightened with effort. Today marked his third attempt at impressing Cynthia, to no avail. His complete lack of agility made Peter nothing more than a practice dummy for the real knights. He wished there were an easier way to win Cynthia’s heart than combat on the practice field, but gallantry seemed to be the only thing she cared about.

With these thoughts in mind, Peter ignored the pain and puffed his chest out. He nodded at the man who’d sent him sprawling and strutted off the field. Peter kept up the pretense until he was out of sight of the castle, even though every step reminded him of the bruises he’d sport tomorrow.

No matter how often Peter practiced with sword and shield however, his skill never improved. Peter refused to give up. Every afternoon he swung a rough wooden sword at a makeshift target. His daydreams were filled with the sounds of steel upon steel, his body encased in brilliant armor, and Cynthia cheering him on. Every evening however, Peter faced the grim reality of his destitute life. There was no beautiful, wealthy woman to admire his prowess – only barren farmlands and a crumbling home.

Then one evening as Peter was rubbing sore arm muscles and cursing his luck, a knock came at the door. Nobody ventured out here, he thought. Maybe it’s a bandit. He shrugged and headed for the door. He had nothing to steal, and killing him was probably not worth anyone’s time. The well-dressed man at his door was not what Peter had expected. The man caught him off guard, so much so that Peter didn’t even object when the man strode in without so much as a word.

“You are in need of help, young man. And I can provide it…for a price, of course.” The man’s deep voice sent chills down Peter’s spine.

“Sir, I don’t know what you’re selling, but I ain’t got a single coin to hold in muh hand.”

The man touched a finger on the dusty table, clucking his tongue. “Oh, I think we can come to an agreement, my young friend.” He turned to face Peter. “You wish to win the girl’s heart, don’t you? I can provide you with a sword that rivals all others. And all I need is your signature.”

None of this made sense to Peter, but any chance to win Cynthia’s heart was worthwhile no matter how odd. He signed the paper with an odd quill the man provided, and then the odd man folded the document carefully.

“You don’t have a seal, do you?” the man asked. Peter shook his head, so the man said, “Don’t worry, a drop of your blood will do in place of wax. I will seal it myself.” A prick from the man’s long fingernail, and the agreement was sealed. Then the man pulled forth a magnificent sword that gleamed in the faint light. “With this sword, you will never lose.”


Feel free to comment. I've got thick enough skin so don't worry about hurting my feelings.

Week Two Of Class - Almosts and Uh Oh's

This week's session in my short story class was...interesting. For starters, I arrived a few minutes early rather than stumbling in late like last week. That helped a bunch, since I don't enjoy the embarrassment I feel whenever I arrive late somewhere.

We had a writing assignment to create a bare bones story. We were supposed to write something very short that adhered to a basic framework. Somebody wants something. They are striving to obtain it. Something blocks their way. They overcome this with the help of something supernatural. Tada, The End. Note, I'm keeping this very general because my teacher asked me to not re-iterate the workings of the class. But this is the general idea of our homework.

Those of you who remember I'm a pantster, raise your hands. Can you imagine how much I struggled to plot out the story? I fought against my natural writing instincts, I wrote passages and abandoned them as either inept or not following instructions. I even wrote the entire thing before realizing that while it was a decent story, it didn't really fit the proposed exercise. I started over too many times to count. And in the end, I wasn't able to completely finish the story (though I did come extremely close). I just ran out of time, to be honest.

I will post an excerpt of this final version of my story in the next post. Then you can all point, giggle behind your hands (the ladies, that is. I'm hoping none of you men out there would giggle behind your hands), and see what happens when I am out of my comfort zone. It's not my best work, I fully admit.

The one good thing I got out of this however, was a clear understanding of why I need to do something similar to this when I am writing. While I might not want to plot everything out, I do need to answer the basic questions. Why is my character here? What do they want? What is keeping them from it? So the exercise did help me, even if I didn't quite finish it successfully.

One other thing I noticed during the class was how much it reminded me of a group meeting. The only thing missing was each of us standing up to say "Hi, my name is Eric and I'm a writer." I've never been involved in this type of atmosphere, and I honestly can't say whether I really like it or really hate it. Sometimes I feel like I talk too much, and then other times I feel like I should speak up and I don't. I have this war going on inside my head, pride fighting against my lack of self confidence. Or maybe it's the idea that what I have to say will sound incredibly idiotic, as if everyone else views the sky as blue and for some reason I'm seeing purple.

The 'Uh Oh' hit at the end of class when we had to pick workshop dates for our short stories (the ones we will be receiving direct feedback on). The teacher started the signup sheet going the other way around the circle, so of course by the time it got to me, the only spot left was to be the first one to submit. So yeah, I have to have my story ready to go by next Wednesday. I'm so glad I started messing around with this thing a month ago or I'd really be stressing. I'm still stressing a bit because I know how rough it is. It's a first draft still. And I still have the last quarter of it to write. Keep your fingers crossed for me. I should have the results on it in two weeks.

A question for you all as I wrap this up. Have you been in a writing class or something like this before? If so, how did you deal with feeling comfortable about speaking up, being a part of the discussion?

Ten Word Tuesday - It's Good To Be The...Writer

What other industry allows you to commit murder with impunity?

Monday Moments

There are a couple of things I've been meaning to mention, just in case you haven't stumbled upon them yourself. These are posts by others that have piqued my interest and are noteworthy for one reason or another.

For starters, if you haven't heard about Shaun's book The Deathday Letter, you're missing out. If you want to see what all the fuss is about though, Shaun is offering a glimpse at his work in the form of the first chapter (and the second as well, if you become a fan of the Facebook page). I have read excerpts of what Shaun can do, but this view into his book is awesome.

Once you come back from reading Shaun's chapter, you need to dance your way over to a post by The Surly Writer. Michelle takes a simple idea like walking around and turns it into an incredible experience. She depicts those around her with an unnerving accuracy - would that I could grab even a sliver of that skill. Her post left me visibly shaken, because of how wonderful it is to see the world through her literary eyes for a moment.

Finally, I wanted to talk about a story from another medium that I recently re-watched. I sat down with my sons yesterday to watch Soylent Green. If you've never had the pleasure of watching this one, I highly recommend it. It's understandably an older flick, but I think it has still aged well. In fact, my 16 year old and 11 year old sons enjoyed it as well. The big stars you may recognize are Charlton Heston and Edward G. Robinson. I won't spoil the story for you either, other than to say it's apolyptic sci-fi fun.

In ending this post, I just realized this is post# 199. Wow, where did the time go? I am going to have to think of what to do for my 200th post.

Blog Chain - Marketing For 100, Alex

That's right sports...er...literary fans, its blog chain time. The question this time around comes care of our own wonderful Michelle Mclean (yeah, we have two Michelles on the blog chain now, so I gotta specify). She poses the following question:

Do you write for the market or for yourself? Why? Are there times you do both? Or times when you've written something specifically because it was "hot" at the moment? If so, how did it turn out?

This is a fairly easy question for me to answer because I'm the resident newbie on the blog chain (or at least I feel like one most times). You see, I am not yet at the level where I am ready to market my works, put myself out there, etc. So when I write, it's for me and me alone. Now this is not to say that I don't wonder if what I am writing will ever be marketable, but I don't feel educated enough yet to worry too much about it.

For just a moment however, I will expand my thoughts and answer the question as if I WERE ready to market my writing. Knowing myself, I think I'd still have to write what I write because it's in my head at the time. I've never been very good at writing what others expect me to write. I don't think it helps my creativity at all, and in the end the writing just comes out forced. The times when I feel like I've written something well confirm this; the writing is good because I lose myself in the words, not because I am writing something I think will sell.

I'm an eternal optimist I guess. I truly do believe that if the writing is good, it'll sell no matter what. A perfect example of this is Hotel On The Corner Of Bitter And Sweet by Jamie Ford. Yes, I'm a vocal champion of his work, but that's beside the point. The story involves the time period right after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. While there may be older generations who can directly identify with this time period, there are a ton of us who can't. For many people these days, the bombing of Pearl Harbor is something that happened in the history books, not something they identify with. Regardless of this fact however, it is my belief that the writing on the page is incredible enough that any generation could get happily lost in the story. I also believe (after interviewing the author himself) that he just wrote the story because it was a good story, not because he thought he could sell it.

My heart tells me this is true. The part of me who believes that good writing is marketable, no matter what the subject matter. Optimistic to the extreme perhaps, but it keeps me working at my craft so that I can improve.

Someday I hope to be ready to put my works out there, to be querying alongside all the rest of you. I'm quite certain however, that whatever I put out there will be whatever I manage to scrawl on a page. It may not be part of the current trend, and then again it might. What I hope it will always be is my best work.

If you haven't had a chance to read my predecessor Sandra's answer, you really should stop by. And tomorrow, you can read an answer from one of our newest members of the blog chain, Michelle Hickman a.k.a. The Surly Writer(she's not really that surly, btw).

What are your thoughts on this question? Do you write for the market or yourself? And no, your answer doesn't have to be in the form of a question.

Class Writing Prompt #1

Henry’s gift to Clara was a cruise to the Arctic, just for her. He’d been planning this for months. The day he was ready to present it however, Clara was late coming home from work. 5 PM came by. 6 PM. Where the heck could she be? Her law firm was known for late hours, but he didn’t know of any pending cases she was working on.

“Yes, I’m looking for my wife. Is she in a meeting?”

“I’ll have to check, Mr. Robbins.” The hold music dragged on. “I’m sorry Mr. Robbins, Mrs. Robbins has left for the day.”

Too many unspoken questions waited on his lips. He didn’t want to cause a scene , but he was getting worried. Clara was too well known by the city’s underbelly. Death threats were almost becoming commonplace, despite her assurance that they amounted to nothing. Truth be told, he was the timid one. Clara was a bulldog with a law degree.

“Thank you for checking. I’ll call her on her cell.”

He hung up and dialed again, knowing that she wouldn’t answer. Clara was a stickler for turning off her cell phone while driving. The fact that she should already be home didn’t escape him, but Henry was ignoring the warnings pounding in his head.

There was a knock on the door. Clara wouldn’t knock. He jumped towards the door and yanked it open, but he wasn’t surprised by the badge and the gun. Henry just leaned against the doorframe and closed his eyes. Too late.

Where Have I Been? Man, Let Me Tell You...

I hadn't planned on being unplugged from 'Da Muse for an entire week. But like my writing, life rarely works out as planned.

Today is the beginning of a new series of posts. I am currently enrolled in a class about writing short stories, and I intend to chronicle my thoughts on each Thursday (for the next 8 weeks, anyway). I promised my teacher I would not discuss the details about the class, I wouldn't post the work of others, and I would make this just about me. If you get anything out of this (even if it's laughter at my feeble attempts), the posts are worthwhile.

I arrived barely on time (maybe even a minute or two late), which is not a good thing for me. Arriving fifteen minutes early was burned into my brain before I even left the womb. Being late made me a tad bit nervous, which I didn't need since my stomach was already doing flips.

The class was already involved in an exercise to get to know one another, and ironically that helped make me feel better. It was fun, I got to see how similar and different we all are, and I didn't feel THAT different. There are some people in the class who are very experienced (maybe) and there are those like me who need more guidance. The range of personalities is across the spectrum too, which is cool. Me, I'm not the quietest of the bunch but I don't think I'm the most vocal either. Another guy holds that title.

After we got to know one another, we read a short story and discussed it. I like and yet don't like this type of thing. I like the fact that I get to hear so many different perspectives. There were things I didn't notice when I read the story that others did. That was interesting. What I don't like however, is trying to discuss why the author wrote one thing as opposed to another. That type of discussion just bugs me, primarily because I don't think that's a question anyone else can answer. But overall, it was still fun and useful.

The last thing we did was a writing prompt. We were given one sentence and told to write the rest. I'm going to post what I wrote on the next entry (since this one has dragged on a bit), but I'd like to say this was the most enjoyable part of yesterday's class. It challenged me to write without thinking. I did a very good job of not editing, and I kept typing the whole time (pretty much anyway). And despite the first draft nature of the writing, I like what I churned out. It has potential anyway. I now have some homework to work on, which involves some reading AND some writing. I'm really excited and looking forward to next week.

Do Your Characters Order You Around?

For most writers, I can guess the answer to that question. I was talking to some friend's last night though and the conversation cracked me up inside. My friend's daughter was talking about Stephanie Meyers and a quote that she said. She basically stated that the characters in the Twilight series made her write the books a certain way, that she had no choice in the matter.

The daughter thought that idea was crazy. I explained to her that I didn't think that was all that bizarre and that alot of writers feel that way about their characters. She gave me a weird look, but didn't really say anything.

This morning though, I was thinking about this again and I had to laugh. If you had told me a year ago about something like this, I would have thought the idea was a little crazy too. It's funny how I don't think that's too weird now. I can hear all you plotters out there siding with my friend's daughter though. If I planned my novel out, I'd be in control, right? Yeah, that particular habit is something I doubt I'll ever adopt in any big way. For one thing, I get a thrill out of seeing where my characters are taking me. It's that bit of unknown that makes me chuckle and keep writing.

On the other hand, I can see how being in control might make it easier for me to guide the story. I'd be telling the character what to say and where to go. But in the end, they wouldn't be themselves; they'd be mirrors of me, walking through the storyline. By letting them work their own way through the story, I believe it lets me envision them in clearer detail and with more realism.

What about all of you out there? Do your characters order you around? Do they tell you how the story needs to be? And how often do you listen?