Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

No matter who you are; friend, family, twittermate, bloggermate, new blog reader, what ever; I wish you a Merry Christmas and a wonderful start to the new year. I hope you spent the last year enjoying life as much as possible.

My prayer and hope for all is that you make time for friends, family and those around you.

Be happy.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Time to rest and recharge???

It's that time of year.

I can feel the Universe winding slowly down, it's taut spring finally relaxing, all that frenetic energy spent at last. The knots in my shoulder are starting to melt back into muscle.

That's just the way I am. I go full steam ahead all year. I don't pace myself like I should (and like I advise others to do, so sue me ;-). I can't. If it needs to be done, I want to do it and get it done NOW. That goes for writing, fixing the faucet, writing, getting the oil changed, writing, ... well, you get it.

But about this time, every year, I feel the steam pressure dropping at last. I stop obsessing about everything. The fog of war starts to clear and I can see the stars again. I realize I don't have to meet some self imposed deadline for anything.

It can all just wait till next year.

I hope you get a chance to stop and smell the rum balls, taste the fudge and enjoy a cup of eggnog.

Life is precious, my friends, so very precious. Stop for awhile and soak it in. Let the season enrich you. Listen to the sound of children laughing. Watch your favorite Christmas movie with the lights out and mug of hot chocolate. Call your family and tell them how much you love them and miss them.

Relax.

The world can spin for awhile without us.

Furl the sails and drop anchor, Arlo, we're heading for the nearest tavern for a round of grog and song.

God bless you all.



Sunday, December 8, 2013

Brrrrr what the heck???

OK, just a quick 'what the heck' is going on here in North Texas.... or should I say the frozen North! ;-)

Just for the record, Texas does get snow and ice occasionally. It's not all dust storms and tumbleweeds here, no matter what you read. And it does get cold. Not Idaho cold, or New England bitter cold but, you know, chilly.

But this is insane! I haven't been this cold since I moved down from Boulder, Colorado, ten years ago! It's been a frozen landscape since Thursday! Incredible.

On the positive side, I've been writing and reading and really enjoying the fireplace. I'm keeping a cup of hot cider or coffee on the table while I enjoy 'Inferno'. What a wonderful ride through Venice history, full visuals, excitement and great twists.

I hope you are snug, warm and cranking away on your current story.

Be cool, er, warm!

Monday, December 2, 2013

What are YOU planning next???

You've just finished that novel or short story or poem and you're sitting back with a silly smile on your face.

It was a bitc., I mean a bugger, but you did it. Great concept; great plot arc; great dialog; wonderful end game. Wow, what could be better than resting after finally putting the last polish on it and releasing it?

How about this. Pick up your pen, grab a cup of tea or coffee and go to your daydreaming place. Sit your sorry butt down in your thinking chair and outline 3 books.

Don't stop until each one has a strong beginning, a couple of arcs and a solid finale. Throw in as much or as little dialog as you like. If the characters aren't talking to you, don't worry, maybe they'll join the party later.

I don't care if ANY of these stories are worth a pig's ear. Just write them. Let your imagination go, don't hold back anything. Just finish each one. Today. Nobody is going to see them right now.

It's your chance to play, to experiment, to be silly or grim or adventurous or mysterious or poetic.

Why?

There's no pressure. No deadlines. No preconceived plot or story concept. No time to second guess yourself. You're free to sling words at will (look out Will!) and have some fun.

I keep these little outlines in a folder for future reference. A couple have become decent ideas for books. Most are just a chance to explore my imagination and HAVE FUN!

Let me know if you do anything like this when you're writing, my readers and would love to know!

Keep writing!

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

It's time again to give thanks...

I'm going to devote the next few days to my family, giving thanks for all the blessings we receive on a daily basis. Though I'm sure I'll sneak in a few minutes on my outlines and notes ;-)

I want to thank you, dear Reader, for your support as well. When you leave a kind note (or even a critique!) on a writer's blog, you engage him/her and make them better writers. Talking to my readers helps me understand what I'm doing well and where I'm dropping the ball.

I want to thank those who take a chance on a new writer and buy my books. I know every buck counts these days. All you have to go by are my blogs/tweets and a short blurb on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords or Goodreads. And there are lots of other writers vying for your attention.

I want to thank those vendors I've mentioned for providing the chance for someone with no agent or experience to get exposure to millions of readers around the world. I know they get a portion of the sales but it's a fair portion in my estimation.

I want to thank my day job company for employing a 'mature' worker and treating me as well as any of the young whipper-snappers there. I am truly blessed to work with some exceptional people.

So, before I get maudlin, I'll finish this and say I thank God for all the blessings of my life. My wife, daughters, granddaughters and the rest of the family.

I  hope your Thanksgiving is blessed and happy.

Be cool.

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Support is essential...

In the past few months, I've had an incredible amount of support from members of  the Season Short Story Group, Twitter Mates I've found online, family and friends. It's been amazing.

When I released 'Arlo and Jake: Galactic Boot Camp' last month, I was pretty skeptical that my SciFi series was going to go anywhere. Sales of Book #1, 'Arlo and Jake Enlist' have been slow, to be generous. 'Genome' seems a distant forgotten cousin.

I know, I know. I'm not a known author. I don't have a hit on Amazon or Barnes and Noble to put me up in the ranks. My books are not about vampires, werewolves, dragons or the seemingly infinite varieties of fantasy sex. And my writing is still at the 'getting better' stage.

Really, I haven't expected my works to gain instant worldwide recognition and push me to fame and fortune. I'm a pretty pragmatic guy, overall. I do this because I enjoy it.

But I was honestly getting pretty down. Like all of you writers, I work a day job and write as much as possible every night and on weekends. Lately, it seems like a lot of blood, sweat and tears for very little return.

In spite of all this, my support group continues to urge me on, to push me and encourage me. Without them I probably would have lost steam long ago and went back to dreaming about raising pigs with my brother in Colorado to support me in my old age. (Inside joke. Larry's place was originally a pig farm. He hates pigs. ;-)

So I want to thank everyone for all the simple 'good job' and 'keep plugging' tweets, emails and comments. Each time I get one of these little pep pills, it puts things back into perspective and gives me an adrenalin boost. It keeps me going, trying to get better and smarter.

So. I lift a glass of Rodeo Red in all your directions and say, "Thanks".

I mean it. Thank you.

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Arlo and Jake Book 2 is out!!!

Yep, the 'series' actually has two, count 'em, TWO books now! 'Arlo and Jake Galactic Boot Camp' has been released on Amazon! Here's a convenient link: http://amzn.to/1aqKu3I I've published on Barnes and Noble but it's still in 'processing'.

You can read my previous posts on how hard this book was to write and get out the door. Trying to get better with each book takes more time. Go figure! ;-)

I'm really pleased with book two; more characters to mess with, more bad guys to foil, more chances for Jake to put his foot in his mouth.

I hope you enjoy this installment. Now, on to book three!



The adventure continues! 'Arlo and Jake: Galactic Boot Camp'.

Monday, October 21, 2013

It's almost here.... yes!

After a bazillion rewrites, corrections, agonizing over how much to say or how much not to say in this paragraph or that sentence; it's done!

I've uploaded the manuscript and started the publishing process. All I have left is the cover and that will be done this week! Whoo Hooo!

It took months longer than I thought it would. Good grief, how could I have underestimated so badly? See if you can learn from my mistakes:
1. Enthusiasm. I really enjoyed writing this book, it made me feel like I could do anything. I can't. I can do what I can do, I'm not Superman. Nuts.
2. Rigidity. At first I stuck to the outline I created. That was OK up to a point, but it kept me from trying alternatives, new characters, new paths. Once I tossed the idea of using the outline verbatim I had fun again.
3. Professional pride. I just had to make this book better than the last one. I spent way too much time trying to be someone I'm not yet; a professional writer. This book is a step above book one. That's enough. I'll take what I learned here and the next one will be better still.
4. Life. Full time job. Family responsibilities. Friends who want to play cards. Yard work. Car repairs. A whole day on the porch just snoozing. Ahh. Life is more than writing. Sorry you had to hear that but for me, it's true. Life is for living. Writing makes life more meaningful but it's not all there is.

So. Get the cover done. Finish the publishing steps for Nook, Kindle and on Createspace for the paperback copy.

Remember to have fun. I'm going to try.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Just to be clear... NEVER GIVE UP!

I've had several conversations, over twitter, this blog and face-to-face (remember when we did everything in person? ;-) about how frustrating and hard writing can be. How the urge to just give it up grows stronger and stronger every day that you don't get a sale. Or maybe it's sitting down to face a rewrite you really don't want to do but you know you must. Arrrggghhh, why can't it just flow like water from my imagination! Why aren't people buying my book?

The biggest obstacle you must get past is the urge to quit. The wall. The dark pit of 'one more edit'. The fifth rewrite of that stupid scene that just won't gel.

You cannot stop. You cannot quit. The wall can be climbed, the pit hurdled. You know you can, because you've done it before. A couple of times or a thousand times; it doesn't matter. You've done it before and your story is much better because of your effort.

Everyone has ideas on how to push past writers' block or the urge to give up. Sure, go ahead and search for some ideas online. Talk to authors and writing groups. Lots of good ideas out there.

The simplest one is: You Cannot Quit.

It's like these concepts:
You cannot stop breathing. (Please don't try this at home ;-)
You cannot go 100 hours without sleep.
You cannot jump 100 feet into the air.
You cannot grow wings and fly. (Except in dreams, of course.)

You cannot ...well, you get the idea. There are things that you truly cannot do. But giving up on your story is not one of those things.

The personal reward for finishing a good story is worth it. You know it is. You are rewarded for a story well done. I'm rewarded if I get to read your story. The world is rewarded because an author has made his imagination available to us all.

Don't quit.