At first I thought Pinterest another time suck. I'm excellent at wasting time. I need no new shiny online trinkets to distract me from writing. But I may have been hasty.
There are ways to maximize your Pinterest boards, but I'm not there yet. Right now, I'm merely seeking images that serve as springboards for characters, scenes, and settings.
And speaking of settings, here are five sites loaded with world building do's:
First light and a wet moon smiles down on me from the top of the sky. When "the 'horns' of the crescent moon point up at an angle, away from the horizon . . . the moon's crescent takes on the appearance of a bowl or a smile." So it's a pleasant AM to have insomnia and continue working on my sci-fi/ fantasy young adult novel.
A word on my new method of outlining. On a blank Word screen, I wrote out 22 chapter headings. I choose the number at random as a starting point. With characters and a rough idea of where things are heading, I add stream-of-consciousness info to chapters. For example: here is Chapter 10:
"Four days later. Panic stricken Lysander despite having half
the Light Horse camped on the outskirts. A small party sent forward, including
Boris, Tambara, the sub-commander from the relief of the Dressel watch tower,
and a political operative in charge; a nice enough older man, but very
dogmatic, urging him not to antagonize the Veen under any circumstances. And to
translate exactly everything that he says.
Tambara forces her way into the treaty party. Hopes Boris
isn’t mad at her for refusing to take the honorarium and letter down to Lambert
and Holly. "
These info nuggets serve as mental markers. Often, I will experiment with different outcomes to each situation, listing two or three possibilities. Right now, I'm up to almost 30 pages of scenes, dialogue, back story, etc. When I finish, I'll sort through and see what manner of story I can whip up. Next comes:
Time line.
Map the world.
First Draft
Research
Second Draft
A lot more drafts.
Beta reads.
Polish.
Send out to publishing house.
Continue until a sale is made.
Who needs sleep?
(Note: Now the Cheshire Moon has retired from sight for the day.)
Couldn't sleep, flipped and flopped; thought about the fantasy book I'm researching; had some great ideas for backstory; got up and wrote them all down, four pages, single-spaced. Now I'm considering going back to sleep. But I thought I'd post this rare triumph over my recent writing ennui.
Haven't finished a short story in over six weeks. Not even a first draft. Zip. I have no idea what I'm waiting for. Certainly not inspiration. Or the perfect metaphor. Or a really ironic Twilight Zone ending. I'm not even pushing the cursor around the screen, filling pages with swill that I'll edit later. Can't be fear. Whatever it is, I'm not producing.
Only a single short story remains under consideration with a magazine. Maybe I should switch to Flash Fiction until this malaise passes. "Death Honk" was fun, a thousand words, and still floating about online in Microliterature. I recall writing it very quickly. Could not other tales be written equally fast?
Back running and walking again, using my new chi running techniques. This morning, a friend called during my post-run stretch. I took the call and finished tasking my hamstrings, realizing that I'd become the person I swore I'd never be: one who combed physical activity and a phone call. At least this transformation took place in Griffith Park and not a gym, where those nearby would be hostages to my infernal chattiness.
Author Aims to Place 15 Short Stories in Six Months.
And not for the first time. (That was Ten-in-Six for those who visited here back in 2009.) I haven't published a short story since 2012 and that's too stinking long. So off we go again. To date, I have one story with beta readers, one in first draft, and an writing the first draft on a third. I shall probably relay on Duotrope to help me locate markets. Updates when I place. This time out, I crave a spot in Asimov's Science Fiction. Away, away!
Yes, this horror tale cries out for fresh eyes. Eyes that read and enjoy the story of a grad school party girl who must risk a ghastly death in order to save the world. Lovecraft lovers will enjoy the many references to the "Dunwich Horror." Those indifferent to Lovecraft will enjoy the story anyway. Available in soft cover and fine eBook formats only at Amazon.
A Turn to Established Authors Aids in Battling Writer's Block
For me, writer's block does not involve a blank screen. It manifests itself in page after page of unreadable word chum. So I decided to keep open on my desk various books from a variety of successful authors. When in need of a description or character trait or fresh metaphor, I turn to these scribes for inspiration. For instance, I was trying to describe my protagonist and read this passage from Charles Bukowski's short story, "The Most Beautiful Woman in Town."
"Cass was the most beautiful girl in town. [Half] Indian with a supple and strange body, a snake-like and fiery body with eyes to go with it. Cass was fluid moving fire. She was like a spirit stuck into a form that would not hold her."
I'd probably have written, "Cass was real good looking and sexy."
In any case, I wrote nothing so poetic, but I did think of a decent description and moved on from there.
A variety of styles, themes and genres comprise the eight books I'm currently using for inspiration:
The Most Beautiful Woman in Town and Other Stories - Charles Bukowski.
Glue - Irvine Welsh
The Exorcist - William Peter Blatty
Elmore Leonard's Western Roundup # 3 Valdez is Coming and Hombre - Elmore Leonard.
I'm growing to hate the whole project, but I can't start unless I know what result a certain character sought to achieve in the realm of science and what what wrong. (Then comes the relatively easy part: how do the characters deal with disaster.)
There's a reason Stephen King's The Mist is listed a horror story and not sci-fi, even though something involving the fictional Arrowhead Project goes haywire and kicks everything off. We don't really need to know the science of popping open another dimension. All we really need to know is that it's a hazardous thing for people.
And despite the setting in 'a galaxy far away,' Star Wars is often referred to as space opera and not science fiction.
So this morning I feel much better, rejuvenated, and ready to outline. Since I'm not bucking to publish in Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, all I require is starter science to get the story rolling, then put the characters in maximum jeopardy.
Speaking of books, and that's pretty much all I'm doing these days, Hallow Mass is in pre-order for Kindle editions.
Or, if you feel fortunate, you might enter a giveaway for a free signed copy, courtesy of Goodreads.
Humor, passion, a love triangle—make that a love quadrangle—beset the heroine of this complicated hilarious tale set in the Old West. And if you own a fine e reader, feel free to download yourself a free copy between Thursday and Monday midnight Pacific Time Jan. 21 to the 25. If the spirit moves you, please leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads and beef up my algorithms.
Having just learned that my Kindle Direct membership ends in early February, I'm using up all my free promotional giveaway days and readers like you are the beneficiaries. Here's what I had to say over at Goodreads:
Gallup along with a free Kindle version of this romantic comedy in which shy dishwasher Anna Ironhead is courted by wealthy Old West railroad tycoon Lash Grey. Will young Anna fall for the passionate pleadings of her wealthy suitor and his mysterious Trap Room? Or will one of Anna's cowboy beaus win her heart? More laughs than lewd, this humorous romantic tale twists and turns as Anna struggles to learn that while passion comes in many shades, true love is a primary color.
Amazon is king, but what about Smashwords? This eBook distribution platform follows in the wake of the Big A, but still generates decent sales. If you must know, I'm on Smashwords and I find it a pleasant place.
Erica Verrillo lists the latest data crunched for last year and there are interesting bits of info for the eBook author. For example, Romance, Erotica, YA and Teen Fiction are the top three in fiction categories.
When not spotting Chinese subs for the Navy, the blimp is a common New Year's Day sight above Los Angeles.
Noteworthy Resolutions for 2016
Welcome to a new year, so bright and filled with promise; so clean and sparkling; not like that old bag 2015. Still, last year wasn't terrible. I completed and published my first soft cover, Fifty Shades of Zane Grey. And I concluded my first horror novel, Hallowmass. (Coming soon, really.)On this bright Los Angeles morning, the Goodyear Blimp circling to the northeast over the Rose Bowl, my thoughts turn toward improving this year's fiction output. Here are three fresh avenues:
Book Trailers
I've been wanting to try this for awhile. If nothing else, a decent trailer helps your author discoverability. The Creative Pennlists eleven steps for making your book trailer using Windows MovieMaker. They include writing out a script and using Google Key Words for your metadata.
Book Trailer Using iMovie is a short video by Felisha Melendez that walks Mac users through the process .
The Write Life by Henry Herz lists three free apps authors can employ to craft their visual pitch.
Keep an eye out for my efforts. This sounds like fun!
". . . the majority of audiobooks being produced are fiction. The average listener is 30+ years old, educated and affluent. [Recorded Books CEO Rich Freese] also said while people continue to primarily listen in cars, they 'are now listening to audiobooks on their portable devices while exercising, doing housework, and pretty much anything that you can imagine where this sort of multi-tasking is possible.'"
Naturally, Amazon make it easy for authors to convert the printed word to zeros and ones via ACX Audiobook Creation Exchange.
Author Verillo offers a slew of practical advice for fellow scribes. Browse around Publishing . . . and Other Forms of Insanity and you'll find a list of reviewers willing to read self-published material, free contests, agents open to clients, and much more.
So I've got my hands full launching my next book, marketing those already out, and learning some new skills. Hope your 2016 is shaping up to be a grand productive time.
