My thoughts on tragedy

I vowed myself I'd stay out of this, but as a writer I found out I couldn't.  So much as been said already, no matter what side of the 2nd Amendment you sit on or the effects of video games on our youth or even the entire mental health issue.  I won't muddy the waters here with any of the rhetoric, as all that will happen is push everyone even further apart.  And that's not my intentions here.

In the quiet little community of Sandy Hook village, of Newtown CT, tragedy befell them in a big way--the last notable crime to have occurred there was in 1986, a crime known as the Woodchipper Murder.

Tragedy can--and will--fall upon everyone.  Even tragedy of yesterday's magnitude (and even larger, when you think of the 9/11 terrorist attacks).  My deepest prayers go out to everyone involved.  Mourn the loss of your loved ones.  Then, prepare to heal.

Since the beginning of Man, tragedy (large and small) has occurred.  And then people moved on to buidl stronger lives.  And it will in this case too.  You may not know it yet, but there will be someone--or many someones--who will emerge from this tragedy stronger than ever because of their involvement.  How many stories from 9/11 are out there, the individual stories of heros and heroines who fought the tragedy and won?  Just wait and see.

Less than a month ago, tragedy befell our small community: two houses away from mine, a madman entered a woman's home and tried to kill her.  She fought off the attacker and ran to the neighbor's house, where they called 9-1-1.  In the meantime, the cowardice killer took his own life.  I can honestly say that I'm proud of the neighborhood, and community, I live in that one would feel comfortable to go to the neighbor's house for help.

How's your neighborhood?

Do you know any of your neighbors?

Maybe what needs to be done in light of this tragedy is to mourn where it sees fit, then move to glueing this society back together.  Get to know your neighbors.  Then, when tragedy comes crawling into your life, you will have people who can help.  There isn't a day that goes by of how thankful I am for this community to pitch together when my wife was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

Instead of pointing fingers and playing the blame game, mourn and pray for those involved.  Then move on.  Emerge stronger than ever.

It can be done.

Happenings In The Outhouse 14-Dec-2012 / The agent search revisited

My literary agent search is an interesting one.  With social media nowadays, how I've done agent searches several years ago is far different.  My research has even increased as I've come to the realization this time around that I need to spend some time finding out what agents want, whether or not they're open for submissions, and overall what their "platform" looks like.

One day, after I've signed with an agent and Beholder's Eye is published, I'll share the history of "how I found an agent."  Now, I'll just tell you that it's an interesting world and far more connected with the use of social media.

Before I go, I must share a literary agent database I stumbled upon while listening to a podcast.  It's called Agent Query.  It seems to be another resource one can use for finding an agent.

What else have I been up to?  Brainstorming and writing.

Not only do I have my ambitious 2013 goals set, I'm using my strategic strengths to plan for the immediate future.  First up are 10 short stories, all of which have been written and edited, but now they need a thorough polish and then . . . well, let's cross that bridge when we come to it.  I may decide to self-publish them or tack them into another self-publishing project I'm working on.

After that I have at least three more short stories I need to write, two science fiction short stories I need to edit, and then work on a novella--at least I think it's a novella.  It's called "Guest of Honor," something inspired by my recent viewing of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
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Before I forget, I said before that I was possibly going to do NaNoWriMo in the early part of 2013.  I still might do that, as November is typically a busy month for me.  I will keep you posted.

NaNoWriMo isn't just for November

I know, I know, the month of November is over and you're still hearing the throngs of NaNoWriMo--the National Novel Writing Month.  I promise, only a little more and then that's it . . . maybe.

What did you learn?

Did you accomplish your goal?

There are pros and cons to participating in NaNoWriMo, none which I will rehash here.  Instead, take what you've learned into the other eleven months of the year.  Keep writing.  Think as a professional and treat the end of the month as the deadline from your editor.

There are many lessons learned while participating in NaNoWriMo.  What did you uncover?  How will you use it to enhance your writing in the future?

Unusual writing styles. Do what works best for you.

In as about as many writers out there in the world, there are as many writing styles.  When I mean styles, I'm talking about the manner in which their stories are written.  Now, most probably are similar in which they involve sitting down at a desk or table and putting words into a computer or on paper.

Two such fantasy/science fiction writers I know of are different--well, one is but the other has a work schedule that needs some attention here.  They are Kevin J. Anderson and Peter Orullian.

Kevin J. Anderson, for the most part, dictates his stories while hiking along the trails near his Colorado home.  Then, when he arrives home, he takes the dictation and has them entered onto the computer--I want to say either his wife or an assistant does this but don't quote me on that one.  It's possible he does it himself.  If he happens to find this blog, I'm sure he can comment below and clear the water for us.  Otherwise, if I run into him, I'll ask.

Kevin J. Anderson has had a long career in the fantasy/science fiction genre.  I first ran across him while reading one of his many Star Wars novels, which are truly awesome.

Peter Orullian is a fantasy author who lives up in Washington state and has a full-time job at Microsoft.  When does he have time to write?  At 3am!  Yes, kiddies, he gets up at three o'clock in the morning and writes.  He has one published book out now and is working on a second one.  And all the while he holds down a full-time gig at Microsoft--I believe in their Xbox division.

There are several more I could mention here, but both Kevin's and Peter's writing style is so unusual yet impressive.

What is your writing style like?  What sacrifices could you make in order to become a published author?

Happenings In The Outhouse 07-Dec-2012 / Goal setting

My 2013 goals have been written.  It's quite an impressive list too.  I've written some bold goals before but somehow I have a feeling that 2013 will be different.

In my research, experts say goals should be broken down into seven categories.  This is something different for me.  They are (in no particular order):

Career

Financial

Spiritual

Intellectual

Physical

Social

Family

How are your goals coming along?

My literary agent search for Beholder's Eye is going well.  I've narrowed the list down and am engaging them via social media to find ones to query.  It's a far different world than what I've done even a few years ago.

Different . . . yet better.

An interesting conversation with my niece

A few weeks ago on Thanksgiving I had a very interesting conversation with my niece.  It involved writing.  (insert smiley face emoticon here)

"Will you read my book?" she asked me, the notebook poised in her hands.

"Of course!"

At this point, it had been passed around to a few other people, who all said "it was good."  Honestly though, as a writer, you love to hear that kind of praise but you also want to know "how can I make it better?"

Hence, that's where I stepped in because she knew I was a writer and could help her.

The opening line was gripping, something that could be the opening line to any number of bestsellers, and she had sentences that made me all the more impressed.  Her dialogue was engaging as well, and you could almost hear the teenagers talking to each other.

Afterwards, I curled my finger and we talked about what she had written.  She was thrilled at the constructive criticism I was able to offer, talking about what worked and what didn't.  I suggested areas where she could cut, and then she said something about "the story's point of view."

I smiled.  "Now you sound like a writer," I said.

She understood that it takes long hours (10,000 to use Malcolm Gladwell's analysis) to build up the craft of writing.  They say an overnight success takes 10-20 years.  No one sees that hard work that goes into publishing a book except those that live it.

And she's well on her way . . .

Was this movie ahead of its time?

Probably not one of Christian Slater's best movies, but Pump Up The Volume could be a movie ahead of its time--if only when compared to the advances in technology nowadays.

 

 



The premise of the movie is a teenage boy (one Christian Slater) who is a loner and finds a way to break into an unauthorized radio station.  The movie may be worth watching on Netflix, and sorry to say the movie trailer doesn't do it justice.

Fast forward roughly twenty years--this movie came out in 1990--and instead of an unauthorized radio station, the main character would probably be the star of his own podcast.  He would have revolutionized it by doing what he did to the radio station.

And it would not have been illegal.

Interesting food for thought . . .