It’s been about two weeks now since I started the writing every day project. It’s been going very well although on some days, the blank page can really be a scary sight and sometimes I’ll toil and fret for a good forty minutes with only a paragraph as a result.

But … on the other hand, there has been some good stuff coming out of the daily grind. For instance, I’m working on a story now about these massive worms that penetrate the surface of the earth and pretty much eat everyone. The story deals with a group of survivors trapped in a raw food restaurant. It’s been one of the first stories where my characters have actually taken over the story from me. And I’m not talking about main characters, but rather the minor ones. And it made me sad to think had I not been writing, I would never have met them.

The other fun thing about this exercise has been the actual writing. Last week, when Lizzie and I returned from Maine, I turned on my computer to discover it had yet gone belly up. Lizzie (my wife) offered me her computer, but I thought it would be fun to use the old Royal.

(A little side note — for the last two years, every person I’ve met has had an old Royal typewriter, all of them for decorative purposes. This made me envious and angry, being Royals are really really cool but also, nothing makes me sadder than seeing something really really cool being used as a house prop. This one artist had three! Royals in his house for ornaments. When he visited our house this past summer, I wanted to put a few random easels and painting supplies in some decorative corners, but I don’t think he would have got it. Well — long story short - for my birthday last year, Lizzie found a Royal in tip top shape. It was the best birthday present ever!)

So, for the past week, I’ve been writing my daily thousand words on the Royal. Every night around eleven, Lizzie goes to sleep to music of click and clack coming from the writing room. Working on a typewriter has been great. Granted, I’d never do revision on it, but first drafts are a blast. I never have to worry about power or hard drives failing. Sure, the ribbon might get gummed up, but on the whole, the Royal has been pumping out pages like a champ. If you get a chance to do a little typing the old fashioned way, I recommend you try it. If anything, you get to feel like a writer in the movies. I mean - even in contemporary films, writers use typewriters when in fact, most writer would not let you pry their word processor from their cold dead - you get the idea.

The only problem with the Royal is typing the damned thing back into the computer after the first draft. That’s not fun. At all. Not matter what the movies tell you.

Well, normally I have a point or something on my mind, but I was just blabbing. It’s time for sleep and when I wake up again, it’s back to the writing room for another thousand.

Technorati Tags: creative writing, Royal, writing every day, typewriters, word processor, blank pages eat me for breakfast

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First off, thank you all for the advice on my last posting. I’m glad to let you know that I’ve been successful keeping up the daily write-a-thon and I’ve found it quite rewarding. Still, for the most part, the writing itself is sub par, and the stories that have been spawned have really resembled deformed little headless beasts instead of beautiful fiction golden boys as I hoped. But I’m okay with that. Art Plotnik once said, “Good writing is just bad writing edited to death.”. So at some point down the road, I’ll put those creatures on the operating table, and start the revising process (without anesthetic, of course).

My biggest issue at the moment is that my day job sucks. I used to love going into work, building online games but these days, I find myself looking forward to long weekends without email. I won’t go into the specifics of the situation because nothing is as boring as listening office politics other than tax seminars, but I will say this about my situation, I am very anxious, stressed, and on really bad days, just outright nasty.

So I’m finding myself using fiction as a therapist. I haven’t been writing about the office per say but I have been writing about the emotions of my situation. So far two of my stories have been about travelers to worlds being trapped in openly hostile environments.  In one story, the main character is on the run the entire time while the various wildlife and vegetation view him as a morsel. (How does one tell a venus fly trap that it is an oxy moron)  The other story concerns itself with a space ship, out of control and plunging into a gas giant without any chance of recovery.  Both stories echo the despair that I feel, but seeing a far worse situation on the page, makes me feel better.

Hell, I think.  Work sucks.  But at least I’m not in free fall to certain death.  

Then again, I have heard rumors that the division is moving to Jupiter.  Hmmm ….

Technorati Tags: working and writing, creative writing, writing in the office, office pwns the soul

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I got to say, being a parent, working every day, being caught up in the great hub-bub of life, it is so damn easy to put writing off until another day.  Writing is hard.  Writing is time consuming.  It maws at my heart, scribbling word after word, knowing that my sentences suck, my description is cliche, and all my efforts result in paper thin plots with flat characters.  Yes, I am writing first drafts and this is to be expected, but still, it would be so much easier to just … well, put it off until tomorrow.  You know, that ever elusive day just over the horizon where all our dreams will come to fruition.

I’ve been doing a lot of creative writing reading, and the one thing that seems to be repeated over and over is that tomorrow will never come.  Today must be the day.  And here’s a weird confession for you … I’ve lived my entire life expecting tomorrow.  I felt entitled that it would come by the mere wish of wanting it to happen.

So, I’m putting together a short writing program designed by Mr. Stephen King.   He is the greatest influence in all my work.  I wish I could say I’m a Hemmingway believer, or an apostle of Bradbudy.  But King is the top dog in my book.  And so, to be like the top dog, I must emulate the top dog.  And that means writing every damn day whether I like it or not.  Whether the kid is sick or the house burning down or even if the terrorists actually win (whatever that means), I’m making the pledge to live the life instead of wishing I’m living the life.

It’s a small pledge for sure.  One thousand new words a day.   I’ve done it in chunks when I’ve written both my books (still in really bad first draft states, btw) but I’m gonna try and keep it up.

So far … three days have been counted.  I’m aiming for four.  Wish me luck.

Technorati Tags: writing, creative writing, writing every day, Stephen King

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For the past few months, I have been listening to Writer’s on Writing on my way to work. This past weekend, I listened to author-agent Noah Lukeman talk about both the craft of writing and the business of finding an agent. I’ve read many a book on writing. None of them were as detailed and as applicable as this interview. I think the most important fact I managed to glean from this text is as follows:

“A writer is valuable to the market insomuch as his perceived ability to create a profit.”

Everything else is all subjective. The point being - a rejection is but a rejection is but a rejection. There’s no point looking deeper into the notice unless one plans to enter the recycling business.

Here’s the link: http://writersonwriting.blogspot.com/search?q=noah+lukeman

Technorati Tags: creative writing, publishing industry, literary agents, how to find an agent, writing advice

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It’s been a long time since my last post … almost a month. In that time, life seemed to have picked me up, and smacked me hard against the wall. Yet, my pain is trivial compared to grief being felt by my sis, her husband, and my nephew. After a long year of struggle, their little baby Jenna finally succumbed to cancer. Yet, in her fifteen month stay with us, that little girl managed to touch the lives of so many people. She bestowed her grace from her smiles, and she bestowed them to all she encountered.

It has a hard holiday season so please, when you have a moment of peace and introspection, please some prayers to my big sis Zanna, her husband Jamie, and my nephew Jordan. They have a long walk ahead. One that no parent should ever traverse.

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I love this poem … I used to hang alongside my monitor when I was unhappy and trapped in Los Angeles.  It was a constant reminder that although I might have the ability to uproot myself, I still carry the ingredients of my own happiness and/or sadness.

The City
by C.P. Cavafy

You said, “I will go to another land, I will go to another sea.
Another city will be found, a better one that this.
Every effort  of mine is a condemnation of fate;
and my heart  is — like a corpse — buried.
How long will my mind remain in this wasteland.
Wherever I turn my eyes, wherever I may look
I see black ruins of my life here,
where I spent so many years destroying and wasting.”

You will find no news lands.  You will find no other seas.
The city will follow you.  You will roam the same
streets.  And you will age in the same neigherborhoods;
and you will grow gray in these same houses.
Always you will arrive in this city.  Do not hope for any other–
There is no ship for you,  this is no road.
As you have destroyed your life here
in this little corner, you have ruined it in the entire world.

(translated from Greek by Rae Dalven)

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I meant to post the second part of this article a couple of days ago, but I’ve been finding it very difficult to maintain any sense of consistency with a newborn in the house. Whereas a month ago, I could do any activity at my leisure. These days, I have to make a priority list. Most of the days I’m lucky before I manage to knock off a couple of items before sleep wrestles me to the floor. And when I sleep, I sleep hard. Until Fiora says otherwise. Well … here’s the second part of the article. Here’s the first part in case you missed it.

7. Write to Entertain

Does this mean you can’t write “serious fiction”?  It does not.  Somewhere along the line pernicious critics have invested the American reading and writing public with the idea that entertaining fiction and serious ideas do not overlap.  This would have surprised Charles Dickens, not to mention Jane Austen, John Steinbeck, William Faulkner, Bernard Malamud and hundreds of others.  But your serious ideas must always serve your story, not the other way around.  I repeat: If you want to preach, get a soapbox.

8. Ask Yourself Frequently, ‘Am I Having Fun?’

The answer needn’t always be yes.  But if it’s always no, it’s time for a new project or a new career.

9. How to Evaluate Criticism

Show your piece to a number of people — ten, let us say.  Listen carefully to what they tell you.  Smile and nod a lot.  Then review what was said very carefully.  If your critics are all telling you the same thing about some facet of your story — a plot twist that doesn’t work, a character who rings false, stilted narrative, or half a dozen other possibles — change it.  It doesn’t matter if you really like that twist or that character; if a lot of people are telling you something is wrong with your piece, it is. …   But, if everyone — or even most everyone — is criticizing something different, you can safely disregard what all of them say.

10. Observe All Rules for Proper Submission

Return postage, self-addressed stamp envelope, etc.

11. An Agent?  Forget It, for Now

Agents get ten to fifteen percent of monies earned by their clients.  Fifteen percent of nothing is nothing.  Agents also have to pay the rent.  Beginning writers do not contribute to that or any other necessity of life.  Flog your stories around yourself.  If you’ve done a novel, send around query letters to publishers, one by one and follow up with sample chapter and/or the complete manuscript.   And remember Stephen King’s First Rule of Writers and Agents, learned  by bitter experience:  You don’t need one until you’re making enough for someone to steal … and if you’re making that much, you’ll be able to take your pick of good agents.

12. If It’s Bad, Kill It

When it comes to people, mercy killing is against the law.  When it comes to fiction, it is the law.

Technorati Tags: writing tips, Stephen King, creative writing, how to get published

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Here’s a confession for you: I like to play video games. Half Life, BioShock, Tony Hawk — these titles are for me. So being a gamer, I like to keep abreast of any new developments from the industry. So, you can imagine my surprise when my favorite online game reviewing company ended up making the news instead of reporting it. This past weekend, the internet was abuzz over the past events that happened at GameSpot, yet, when you visited the site, it looked like a normal day for them. No big stories to report. Business as usual.

Except for one thing … the site sold out its lead writer/editorial director in the name of advertising.

Here’s the story in case you missed it … Gamespot was involved with the heavy promotion of the game “Kane and Lynch”. (On a quick aside, can we writers please — I mean pretty pretty please, stop using the name Kane in our stories? When I see the name Kane, I want to smash my head against the wall. I want to swallow a box full of tacks and dip my eyeballs in jalapeño juice. The name is soooo cliche at this point that it makes me projectile vomit on sight, so please, can we show a little restraint in naming our villains / anti-heroes / misunderstood loaners?) Prior to the promotion, GameSpot met with their editorial staff and asked them to be better judges of high profile games. Better judges translated into -wink wink - better scores. Well needless to say, lead editor Jeff Gerstmann found the game to be lacking, and he rated it a six out of ten. Eidios, the publisher of “Kane and Lynch” was not impressed with the review. They informed GameSpot that they would cease their advertising with GameSpot, costing the company two hundred thousand dollars. A few days later, Gerstmann was given his walking papers.

News travels fast. Bad news even faster. The internet was aflame with the story. GameStop went tight lipped and when they did decide to speak on the issue, the rumors had been long perceived as fact which seems to have made the gaming community angrier.

Here’s what drives me nuts … GameStop pissed me off not because they sold out their writer. Granted, it was a wrong thing to do if the events happennend exactly as I described them. No one knows for sure since no one is talking except the people outside of the situation. What pisses me off is the way GameSpot handled the mess and the subtext of their actions. They basically sat still for the storm to pass over, thinking that the public’s short term memory would absolve their transgressions.

What they didn’t see was that their credibility took a direct hit. And once you lose trust in your users, it takes a whole lot work to get it back. By sitting on their hands and refusing to address the problem, they were trying to absorb the problem with their marketshare which is like putting out a fire with a whole lot of gasoline. The problem enlarged, and now, GameSpot is in a major crisis. By the time this affair comes to a halt, the lost two hundred thousand dollars will seem like chump change. That is, if the site survives the exodus of users.

Being this is a writing site, hows does this apply? In the world of the web, we can’t afford to take our audience for granted. The web requires quick communication and in the case of GameSpot, if you refuse to communicate, you still are communicating and your audience will resent you for your lack of tact. GameSpot tried to dictate when they should have dialogued which is the first step in a beautiful swan dive into the mouth of serrated rock. As writers, I think we can all do better than that. Just my two pennies.

Technorati Tags: gamespot, video games, Kane and Lynch, Jeff  Gerstmann

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A few years ago, I picked up a copy of “The Writer’s Survival Guide” at the local Barnes and Noble.  The magazine proported to provide, “essential tools for success” for the working writer.  The subtext of the statement saying, “you’ll always be an unpublished nobody if you don’t buy this magazine”.  Great.  Real great.  Even magazine’s title is a little over the top.  Writer’s Survival Guide?  I mean, imagine my situation if I found myself trapped in a locked library, pinned to the floor by a toppled Dan Brown display.  Would I need to saw of my arm from pages of my unfinished manuscript, or should I signal calls of help by reading outloud the poetry of Sylvia Plath?

Pathetic attempts at humor aside, the guide does contain some well written articles.  My favorite is the one by Stephen King titled, “All the Writing Advice You Need in Ten Minutes”.  It’s a great read whatever you think of the guy.  Here’s the first portion of what King has to say with the fat trimmed from it.  If you have the means and gumption, I recommend you find the full article, and give it a read.

1. Be Talented

For the purposes of the beginning writer,  talent may be as well defined as eventual success — publication and money.  If you wrote something for which someone wrote you a check, if you cashed the check and it didn’t bounce, and if you then paid the light bill with the money, I consider you talented … And if you are not succeeding, you should know when to quit.  When is that?  I don’t know.  It’s different for each writer.  Not after six rejection slips.  Certainly not sixty.  But after six hundred?  Maybe.  After six thousand?  My friend, after six thousand pinks, it’s time you tried painting or computer programming. …

2. Be Neat

Type.  Double-space.   Use a nice white heavy paper.  If you’ve marked your manuscript a lot, do another draft.

3. Be Self-Critical

If you haven’t marked up your manuscript a lot, you did a lazy job.  Only God gets things right the first time.  Don’t be a slob.

4. Remove Every Extraneous Word

You want to write for money?  Get to the point.  And if you remove the excess garbage and find you don’t have a point, tear up what you wrote, and start all over again.  Or try something new.

5. Never Look at a Reference Book During the First Draft

You want to write a story?  Fine.  Put away your dictionary, your enyclopedia, your World Almanac, and your theasarus. … You think you might have misspelled a word?  OK, here is your choice: either look it up in the dictionary thereby making sure you have it right and breaking your train of thought and the writer’s trance in the bargain, or just spell it phoenitcally and correct it later.  … When you sit down to write, write.  Don’t do anything else except go to the bathroom, and only do that if it absolutely cannot be put off.

 6. Know the Markets

Only a dimwit would send a story about giant vampire bats surrounding a high school to McCalls. … If you want to write a good story, why send it out in a ignorant fashion?  … If you like science fiction, read science fiction novels and magazines … It isn’t just a matter of knowing what’s right for the present story; you can begin to catch on, after a while to overall rythmns, editorial likes and dislikes, a magazine’s slant.  Sometimes your reading can influence the next story or create a sale.

Note … counterpoint to tip number one by award winning Ursula K. Le  Guin: “Never quit.  Ever”

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Greatness is a transitory experience.  It is never consistent.  It depends upon the myth-making imagination of humankind.  The person who experiences greatness must have a feeling for the myth he is in.  He must reflect what is projected upon him.  And he he must have a strong sense for the sardonic.  This is what uncouples him from belief in his own pretensions.  The sardonic is all that permits him to move within himself.  Without this quality, even occasional greatness destroys a man.
- Dune, Frank Hebert

It’s kind of an insightful quote when you think of positioning yourself as a writer.   The one thing you don’t want to do is believe your own press releases, but you should show attributes that project a certain value and your audience will provide the rest.  In creating a brand for yourself, you are creating a set of expectations in your audience.  Once those expectations release a certain mindshare, all that it requires is gentle prodding to keep those ideas fresh and relevant.

Creating a writing brand is key because at the end of the day, you need to be known in this business to be successful.

Listening to my writing interviews, it seems that more and more publishing houses are putting their marketing muscle behind well established brands (Stephen King, J. K. Rowling, etc) whereas unpublished writers are getting minimal promotion.  Meaning, as first time  published writers, we need to establish our core audience so that our books will sell.   One agent - I forget her name right now - said that if you publish a book that did not sell, you’re a greater liability compared to the unpublished writer.

This is insane when you think about it, but its seems to becoming the norm.  Publishers are doing the printing and distributing, leaving the market and promotion to the people who have spent the past year writing.  Most writers I have met are almost clinical, but hey, it’s make us great writers but horrible marketers.  Yet, it is becoming an increasing reality that we face.  It’s not enough to simply write, we have to sell.  And sell hard, so the suits will continue to fund our creative endeavors.  Full time.

Depressing, isn’t it?  Look on the bright side.  At least it’s not accounting.

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