If You Can Do It Better, Do It / Happenings In The Outhouse 27-May-2022

Critics.

People love to criticize the artistic works of others.

Love 'em or hate 'em, there have been critics for as long as humans have walked the Earth.  But some criticize far more than others.

I was listening to a podcast about the upcoming Lord of the Rings series coming to Amazon Prime later this year, and I was struck by how critical the folks were about the process and what story they were using to tell.  It reminded me of the criticism George R. R. Martin has received in regards to finishing his fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire.

The same goes with other successful people, like Rowling and the new fantasy world she has created, and many others.

It drives me crazy when I hear about all the people speculating about this and that about a new series in the Marvel universe or Star Wars universe or whatever.

Me?  I just sit back and enjoy the show when it comes out.  No speculating.  Why?  It's a waste of my time.

I would rather spend my time creating my own worlds than speculating about others outside of my control.  Think about it for a moment.  Would you rather watch the movie unfold or actually be a part of it?

I go with the latter if my money is on the line.  I control my own creations.

Also, and here is the crux of what I'm getting at: if you think you can do better, then go ahead and do it.

Not everything needs an explanation / Happenings In The Outhouse 12-June-2020

Writing a decent story means, at times, that you may be walking a fine line between a well-paced story and one that drags.  Well-paced doesn't necessarily mean fast-paced.  Have you ever read a book or watched a movie/TV show where you found it difficult to stop?

That's good pacing.  And the best ones blends fast and slow pacing very well.  It would do you well to study how it was done.

A few weeks ago, I decided to watch all eleven Star Wars movies back-to-back, in chronological order by the events in the movies, not the release dates.  I started with the three prequels, then Solo and Rogue One, and of course the original trilogy and finished off with the sequel trilogy  Now, before you ask, I didn't watch them straight through without any sleep.  Lord no!  But it was interesting how quickly I moved through the first movies--including the prequels--and by the time I got to the final sequel movies, I found it difficult to watch for too long.  In fact, it took longer to watch the final trilogy than the others.

Then I discovered why.  Pacing.

Even Rogue One and Solo didn't suffer from a pacing problem.

If you view the sequel trilogy, there is a problem with the characters having to explain EVERYTHING.  True, there was some explanation in Phantom with the whole midichlorian thing when it came to the Jedi and Sith, but it was done quickly, in passing, and then we moved along--well, some were upset by it and still are to this day.

Remember.  Not everything needs to be explained.  And mindless banter just for the sake of banter only drags the story along.  Not that dialogue needs to be eliminated.  If you want a lesson on dialogue, read anything by J. D. Salinger.  Especially his other stories.

Watch one of your favorite movies or read one of your favorite books.  I can almost guarantee you that the pace of the story doesn't suffer.  Events don't always have to be explained in great detail.  Even Tolkien didn't explain a lot of the events in Lord of the Rings.  Neither does Rowling and George R. R. Martin, when it comes to their worlds.

Please leave something for the imagination.

Stop trying to be clever and tell the story / Happenings In The Outhouse 10-April-2020

For those who know me, I don't trash any of the Star Wars prequels and sequels.  I take them for what they're worth as pure entertainment.  Obviously, the original three are my favorites--and Empire being my favorite of those three.

But as I watched the last movie this past weekend, there were a few times I shook my head and urged the story to just move along . . . move along.

This seems to be the case with all three sequel movies.  Clunky dialogue that doesn't serve any purpose except some cheap thrills, endless bickering about nothing, overexplaining, and the list goes on.

Take the first Star Wars movie: A New Hope.  Did it have clunky dialogue?  Sure, like Han explaining to Luke that flying through hyperspace isn't like dusting crops.  But it flowed.  In the first thirty minutes of the final movie, there were five to ten minutes of overexplaining and bickering and weird dialogue that could've (should've) just been cut.

Back to A New Hope.  Luke asked Ben/Obi Wan if he fought in the Clone Wars.  He said he did.  And that was it.  No explaining WHAT the Clone Wars was or anything.

All of these things on the sequel movies took away a bit from the overall story, and with that I am sad.  I still loved them, but they could've been better.  And with that, our lesson for today.  When telling a story, don't feel the need to explain every little thing.  Rowling didn't do that in the first Harry Potter book.  She showed us the canvas and left it for us to wonder, to use our imagination.

Do that with your story.

Tell the story.

And leave it at that.

Write until it's done / Happenings In The Outhouse 29-Sept-2017

A few weeks ago, during our tri-weekly writers' group meeting, one of our members shared a piece of writing advice that we all thought was golden.
It's very simple.

Write.

And keep writing until it's done.

No more, no less.

With all the writing advice out there, this one goes to the heart of much of most writing.  Some writers try to push a short story idea to something longer just for the sake of making it longer.  Some writers even try to squeeze a longer piece into something shorter.  Again, just for the sake of making it shorter.

One of my recent publications titled Bruce is an example of this.  When the story was originally conceived, it was a short story.  A few thousand words at best.  By the time it was complete, it was just shy of 11,000 words.  Not a short story at all.  A novelette.  But I wrote the story that needed to be told.  I didn't cram anything in that didn't pertain to the story and I didn't leave anything out for the sake of keeping it short.

I wrote.

I wrote until it was done.

Try it.  Write a story without any notion of length.  There are a number of epic fantasy novels, many published a few decades ago, that were bloated just to fit the genre.  Stephen King has even written a few door stops--although we can argue if the door stops worked or not.  People have argued that the last 2-3 Harry Potter books could've been cut down too.

Entitlement vs. The Cursed Child / Happenings In The Outhouse 05-Aug-2016

J. K. Rowling's eight Harry Potter book has been released into the world.  As of this writing, I am roughly halfway through it and loving it--and yes I knew it was a script book LONG before it came out.

My thirteen-year-old daughter read it in one night, in about six hours.  And she LOVED it!  Here's the proof, if you don't believe me - here's a cute note she wrote to me:

I was disappointed in the reviews I read on Amazon.  One such review said something to the fact that THIS ISN'T THE BOOK ROWLING OWED ME.

Sorry?  J. K. Rowling doesn't owe you at all.  She can do whatever she wants.  All writers can do whatever they want with their art.  Fans are owed nothing.  So what if the new Harry Potter book is a script book.  I agree it was a little difficult to read at first, simply because I don't read that many script books (I can probably count the number of script books on one hand and have enough fingers left to pick my nose and possibly even flip someone the bird).

But I have still enjoyed it.

I clearly remembered when the news broke regarding the new book.  I did read the fine print, which said it was a script book.  I told my daughter--the one who read it in six hours and even read the entire series last summer--and she shrugged.  "So what?  I'll still love it."

And she did.

And so have I.

"We'll never see this again in our lifetime" / Happenings In The Outhouse 25-Dec-2015

 

"We'll never see this again in our lifetime."

 

I heard this mantra last week when it was predicted that Star Wars: The Force Awakens would smash box office records in a way that will never be seen again in our lifetimes.  Funny thing is, I've heard this before.  Several times, in fact.

I'm in my early 40s and have lived through several of these so-called "never see again" eras.

"Oh, we'll never see as prolific a writer as Stephen King."

"There will never be as prolific a writer as J. K. Rowling."

"The success of Harry Potter will never be matched.  Ever."

"(Fill in the blank) will be the biggest Marvel movie ever."

I am utterly disgusted by the notion that there will never, EVER, be something better than what has currently been created.  Here is a list, from Wikipedia, on the highest grossing films of all time.  It's impressive how many were created within the last few years.

Do not get sucked into the mantra that there will never be anything as good as what has already been created.  I remember reading an article about this concerning the massive success Stephen King in the early 1990s.  Then, a scribbler from Mississippi had his second novel made into a movie . . . starring Tom Cruise.  The Firm was the name of the book and movie.  The author?  John Grisham.

And let's not forget J. K. Rowling and her "tiny" book series called Harry Potter.

I could go on and on.  Brandon Sanderson.  Andy Weir.  The Hunger Games.

Are we forgetting about Peter Jackson's theatrical trilogy version of The Hobbit?

Every time I hear the "never again" mantra I shake my head.  And so should you.  Because the "next big thing" is always right around the corner.

Happenings In The Outhouse 16-May-2014 / Another author's path is not the same as yours

Earlier this month, Seth Godin wrote a post in regards to the origin stories of successful people/companies.  It really struck home for me.  I love to read the biographies of successful people like Stephen King or J. K. Rowling, and how their humble beginnings fueled the fire that launched their careers.

But no one would be able to duplicate their success by following in their exact footsteps.  It's ridiculous.  Create your own success.  Create your own origin story.

And then yesterday, I was listening to the Rocking Self Publishing Podcast when the host Simon interviewed bestselling author Mark Dawson, about how he can write to prolifically while maintaining a full-time job and raising small children.  It struck me that he could've been interviewing me--not only do I have a full-time job, I'm raising three children and being a caregiver for my wife who is recovering from beginning ill three years ago with leukemia.

It's good to know what steps an author--or anyone else who's successful--to become a success.  But choose your own path.  Don't make the same mistakes they made.  Make your own mistakes.

And one day, far down the road, someone will hear about your origin story and will be inspired to pursue their own dreams.

Rome wasn't built in a day. So don't treat your writing career like it should be.

Stephen King didn't stop with The Shining, his first hard cover bestseller.

J. K. Rowling didn't stop with the first Harry Potter books.

John Grisham didn't stop with The Firm.

Brandon Sanderson didn't stop with the Mistborn trilogy.

George R. R. Martin didn't stop with Game of Thrones.

All of these bestselling authors (and many more) did one thing in common: they wrote more books.

Of course, there are runaways successes like Harper Lee, William Peter Blatty, and J. D. Salinger who wrote one book (or two in the case of Blatty and four for Salinger) and quit.  These are not the norm for most authors who want to have a successful writing career.

Write more books.

Rome wasn't built in a day.  I look back at my blog and am astonished at how long I've been doing this.  I also look back at when I wrote some of my previous (unpublished) books and wonder what in the world I've been doing.

I am in this for the long haul.  I will be writing, and publishing, more books.

Don't treat your writing career anything less than the building of Rome.  It may be slow, but keep writing.

The world needs you.

Why don't we hear about the failed stories?

Carrie wasn't the first book Stephen King published.  It was, in fact, his third--that is, if you don't count all of the others.

Because I'm sure there were.

How about all of the stories Tom Clancy wrote before Hunt for Red October?  Or the stories J. K. Rowling wrote before she came upon Harry Potter?  A Time to Kill I'm sure wasn't John Grisham's very first attempt at a book.

Why is it we never hear about the trunks of failed stories our favorite writer has stored in their attic?  The ones they wrote before they were published?

We only hear about the successes.  And, because of it, everyone thinks you need just one book to put you on the map to publication.  I don't know how many times I've heard, "If I can just write this one book, I'll be set for life."  Not true.

Brandon Sanderson, acclaimed bestselling fantasy author, has publically stated that he wrote 12 novels before he was ever published--that's impressive, dude!  And do you know what he was doing with those 12 novels?  Learning.

Learning the craft of writing by . . . well, writing.

And that's what all of the other writers were doing too.

So write and fail.  And keep failing.  Because at least you're doing something.  Then, one day, when your skills are honed like a razor-sharp knife, you will be ready . . . and published.

Don't Compare Yourself To Others

Don't compare yourself to others.

This is simple advice, and on the surface may seem stupid.  Hell, just take a look at the New York Times Bestselling List.  How are you going to compete with them?

Simple.  Don't focus on them.  Concentrate all of your energy on one person: YOU.

If you're in a sales organization, don't look at who is number 1.  Look at yourself and make improvements on your own success, not anyone elses.  Look at your writing.  Have you improved?  Is the quality growing better and better over time?  Chances are, if you've worked hard and smart, it has.  Congratulations.  You're leaving your old self behind and transforming you into a new you.

As a writer, it's easy to compare yourself to the powerhouse writers of Stephen King, John Grisham, or J. K. Rowling.  Quit doing that.  You can use their success to fuel your own desires for success.  But don't compare your writing to theirs.  Make your own writing better by, quite frankly, crafting it better and making it unique.

Should you write for the market . . . or from your heart?

Over the past few decades, I've studied best-selling authors.  These are the ones who are super-successful, most becoming everyday household names.  Ask anyone if they know who these authors are: Stephen King, John Grisham, J. K. Rowling, J. R. R. Tolkien, Tom Clancy, James Patterson, Danielle Steel, Dr. Seuss.  In fact, here's a Wikipedia link to a list of the best-selling fiction authors and quite a number of them will jump out at you.

But what separates these authors from all of the others, the ones who also may earn a living writing?

I believe what the superstars do is write completely from the heart, iregardless of what the market is doing.  Not that I don't believe all of the others are also writing from the heart, but deep down they may be riding whatever trend is out there.

Take Stephanie Meyer.  There were plenty of vampire stories out there (i.e. Anne Rice), but she took it to another level and went somewhere vampire stories never had a home before: in the hearts of millions of teenage girls.  It didn't take long before grown women (and men) were reading Meyer's stories.  You could even say the same thing about Rowling and her successful Harry Potter series.  Harry Potter is a children's story . . . except that they're well-written and just plain fun to read.  Nowadays, walk around any book store and you will see tons of book covers that look like either Meyer's or Rowling's stories, because the publishing industry wants to capitalize on the other original idea.

At the genesis of Stephen King's writing career, when he was churning out stories for the . . . what he called the "titty magazines", he came up with the idea for Carrie.  Now, he did throw his first attempt in the trash and his wife Tabitha retrieved it, but he went back to it, not even knowing if it could sell.  He just wrote.  Then, it sold.  And he's been writing ever since.

I know, I know, I'm probably not painting a very good picture of the hundreds of other successful writers out there, am I?  But, I have to admit, in listening to tons of other podcasts by these other writers, this is what they seem to talk about.  They talk about writing for the market instead of just plain writing for the love of writing.  It's possible with the advent of ebooks and self-publishing methods, these writers will stretch their wings and be daring, writing whatever is in their hearts.

I hope so.  Because there's plenty of room at the top next to King, Grisham, and Rowling.

To use a flashback . . . or not. That is the question.

Much debate has been used on the use of flashbacks.

Flashbacks, for the most part, are seen as amateurish, the mark of a beginning writer trying to be clever in his/her storytelling.

But can it be of use?

The short answer is yes.  Flashbacks, in one form or another, is seen in most books.  Even the mere mention of something in the past could be considered a flashback of sorts--okay, many will think of a flashback as the world around you growing wobbly, swirling, twirling, transforming from the now to the world of then.  Mostly, it's used to establish a past of something.  Could we really read about Harry Potter, knowing he's an orphan, and not wonder what happened to his parents?  Rowling is a genius, though, for not delving too much into Harry's past.  She establishes that they're dead, it was tragic, and moves on.

If a flashback is really needed to tell about one's past, try this method: tell the story at the beginning, chronologically, and then we'll see it for ourselves.  If that doesn't work, insert slices of it throughout your book to pull the reader along.

What if "writing what you know" doesn't get you anywhere

Let's face it, writing what you know is only short-sighting your writing career.

Sure, John Grisham was a lawyer, so it seems natural that most of his novels are in the legal thriller arena.  But not all of them.

Stephen King was, at one time, an English teacher.  Many of his characters are also.  But not all.

Anne Rice spends many of her weekends hanging around vampires and swapping stories--okay, that one's a little far-fetched, but you get what I mean.

I'm almost positive John Sanford--who is a pseudonym, besides--never worked as a hard-charging police investigator.

What about J. R. R. Tolkien, J. K. Rowling, Robert Jordan, and Brandon Sanderson?  Their fiction is largely in the fantasy world.  Can't use any of their "write what you know" there.

I think it should be rephrased to be "Write what you want to know" or even better yet is "Write what you love."  There's nothing with writing what you love to read.  In fact, it's strongly encouraged.

Dream Team

In Napoleon Hill's classic book Think And Grow Rich one of his chapters is devoted to what is called the Mastermind Group.

A Mastermind Group is synonymous with a Dream Team.

These are a group of people, that although they may individually exhibit great talent, together they can form an unstoppable force.  Napoleon Hill said to create, in your own mind, a Mastermind Group and use that group when making decisions.  For example, one of his members was Abraham Lincoln.  Pretty hard for him to attend in person, since he's been dead a little while (even in Napoleon Hill's time), but if you've read enough about a person, it's almost like channeling their creativity or talent.

Dan Miller and Dave Ramsey have been part of group of thirteen men they call the Eagles Club, which is the same concept of the Mastermind Group with other members of the business community that they trust and are great friends with.  You can have more than one Mastermind Group--possibly one in person and the other in your mind.  One could be your writers' group and the other be a group of famous authors you wish to "channel."

Who would be on your own dream team?  Mine would possibly be:

Stephen King

George Lucas

Steven Spielberg

J. R. R. Tolkien

J. K. Rowling

John Grisham

Brandon Sanderson

J. D. Salinger

John Gardner



Am I dreaming?  Yeah, I probably am.

Simplicity

Stephen King writes horror novels.

John Grisham writes legal thrillers.

Tom Clancy writes military/political thrillers.

Isaac Asimov wrote science fiction.

J. K. Rowling writes YA fantasy novels.

Robert Jordan and J. R. R. Tolkien wrote in the fantasy genre.

Terry Brooks writes fantasy novels.

Danielle Steel writes romance novels.

Agatha Christie wrote mystery novels.

John Sandford writes thrillers.

Funny how when one works and perfects their craft, they become known for it.  Now, some of these writers (and countless others I haven't named) do write in other genres.  I love Stephen King's stories, yet some of his best ones in my opinion are not horror (The Green Mile, On Writing).  The same with John Grisham (A Painted House, Bleechers, Playing For Pizza).

Jim Collins in his book Good To Great talks about simplicity: getting good, being the best, at one thing.  Do something well enough, with excellence, and you will define that genre or that segment of business.

"What if I can't think of a good ending?"

In light of the previous post about creating dramatic endings, one question that could be asked is: what if you can't think of a good ending?

That could be what was in Bram Stoker's mind when he ended Dracula how he did, even though I seriously doubt he didn't really know how to end it.

One answer that comes to mind is: it doesn't have to end . . . with that one novel.  Could it be a sequel or a trilogy or even a long series?  Then your monster wouldn't have to die or end, it could live and grow stronger.  Need an example?  Lord Voldemort in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter is one.  He keeps growing more powerful with each book.

Another answer would be to write three or four alternative endings, have a group of trusted friends read them (ones that can give you an honest opinion, not a sure-this-is-good-but-only-because-we're-friends-and-I-can't-tell-you-the-truth).  You need the truth here.

If you can't even do that, skip the ending (for now) and go on to something else.  Then, after a week or a month, come back to it.  If you still can't think of one, then maybe your story isn't as good as it should be.  And if that's the case, write another story.

A final word of advice on this could be: what books or movies are similar to your story?  How did they end?

Welcome rejections

This pill might be a little hard to swallow, but as a writer you need to be ready for rejections.  If you're not ready, then write and keep your writings within the confines of your own little world--ok, J. D. Salinger did this for the remainder of his life after his tremendous success with Catcher in the Rye but that had nothing to do with rejection.  But if you've ever dreamed of publication, you have to be ready for the onslaught of rejections.

If you're ready, you are in great company: Stephen King, J. K. Rowling, John Grisham, and the list goes on.  Because each and every writer has been rejected at one time.

Don't take it personally.  Rejections can range from an overworked editor or literary agent to the quality or layout of your work.  But plow ahead fellow writer.  Perseverance is the key to winning in life, including being a published author.

Why did I name this blog "Welcome rejections"?

If you get in the mindset to welcome rejections, you won't be surprised when it happens, and then you can move on to someone who will accept your work.

For those who have read Stephen King's On Writing (and for those who haven't, I strongly suggest you pick up a copy of this book immediately), you'll note a time in Mr. King's life when he would tack his rejection letters on a nail in his bedroom.  And when those rejections became too numerous, he replaced the nail with a spike.  And King is one of the most bestselling authors in the world.  Remember that next time you get a rejection from a literary agent or an editor.  Welcome it, and move on.  Persevere, fellow writer.

A Call To Action, Part 2

The fictional world J. K. Rowling created has done some fantastic things to the real world.  Especially the writing world.  Simply put, she's revived it.  With her well-crafted stories, she made it fun to read again.  She made it fun for others who haven't read a novel in their life enjoy the magical world of Harry Potter.

I have met countless people who I never took for readers, but who've read the Harry Potter novels, only to fall in love (metaphorically) with Rowling's world she's created.  And you know what else happened?  Those non-readers started reading other stories.

I will be the first to admit there's a lot of junk that's published nowadays.  Especially now when it's so easy to actually publish something in the way of self-publishing.  But us true writers, lovers of the written word and the story, have to push forward, honing our skills to create our own masterpieces.  And we will continue what J. K. Rowling started, by issuing into the world more and more readers.  Because readers are sorely needed.

Readers . . . are leaders.

But that's for another blog.  And another time.

Smashing through the boundaries

I've heard countless people say, "I want to be the next J. K. Rowling" or "I want to be the next Stephen King" or John Grisham or . . . (fill in the blank)

What's wrong with this?

Simply put: there is only one J. K. Rowling, Stephen King, John Grisham, etc. and they did not create their own success by duplicating the efforts of someone else. They put in the hours. And a great many hours it is too, to write a novel. Most people see the finished product and have no idea what it takes to put one together, from getting the idea to putting it together into a first draft and then the multiple editing sessions.

If one wants to be the best they can be, one has to stop comparing themselves to one who is already published. Everyone's circumstances are different. J. K. Rowling was a single mother who wrote much of her first Harry Potter book in a cafe while her child was sleeping. She didn't do it because her favorite writer did it and thought this was a good idea. She did it because she had to, because she loved to write.

Years ago, I read that Jack London was the first millionaire writer. I thought this was very interesting, and at that moment set a goal of being the first billionaire writer. Now, whether or not she believes it, J. K. Rowling beat me to it. But that doesn't mean I still can't be one because I don't write just to make a huge pile of dough. I'm also not comparing myself to her. My life is different from her's and that's okay. I will be published one day soon . . . in my own time . . . with my own goals, not someone else's.

Instead of telling yourself that you want to be the next (fill in the blank of your favorite writer), be yourself and be the absolute best writer you can be . . . in your own time . . . in your own way. Write today.

Right now . . .