Varieties of Writer's Block

Knox Comedy Live

 All I need are a few ideas. Usually I'll check out what's on—Gravity Falls, Wander Over Yonder, Phineas and Ferb, The 7D—then think of what might compliment, or play against, such shows. So far I have doodled the names of my neighbors, a telephone number for a physical therapist, and the word 'oakum.' Experience tells me Disney will want more.

When the going gets tough, the tough web surf. And in doing so, I stumbled across this old i09 article that not only explores writer's block but breaks it down into categories. For instance:

 "People lump several different types of creative problems into one broad category. In fact, there's no such thing as "Writer's Block," and treating a broad range of creative slowdowns as a single ailment just creates something monolithic and huge. Each type of creative slowdown has a different cause — and thus, a different solution."

And then they tell you even more. Value added? I think so.

I Podcast about Freakazoid!

Our Hen House

 Kevinn Gomez asks at length and I answer on his podcast, Friends in Hell. Make sure you give the guy a "Follow."
http://kevinn-gomez-9.podomatic.com/

John P. McCann Sizzle Page

'Twas suggested I post a few episodes of my work in a pleasant spot. I've chosen here. Sadly, not everything I've written has yet migrated to You Tube, but this is a fair sampling.


h/t: animall23


h/t: TheKingofBarbarian


h/t: Animaniac Clips 4 YOU


h/t: MYTV 


h/t: soupintern


h/t: alxnotorious

And for the literary minded, some micro fiction under a thousand words.

Fresh Ideas

Update: August 2, 2016, May 17, 2017, July 9, 2017, June 26, 2018

Also book trailers for my horror novel Hallow Mass plus my romance parody Fifty Shades of Zane Grey (both written as "JP Mac") and my non-fiction tale of prostate cancer, all fashioned with iMovie and free things from the Web.

Cornerstone Media


Cornerstone Media


Cornerstone Media


And there you have a small, but hopefully pleasing, portion of my work.

Medicine Mauls Writing

TV Trope

 Back in June I got a physical. Ever since, it's been procedure after procedure for a variety of bodily malfunctions from an MRI to physical therapy to a chiropractor to a colonoscopy to this new prostrate biopsy thing on Monday. No half measures for me.

Good progress on my H.P. Lovecraft homage, as well as the aforementioned Dark Urban Tales. But maintaining momentum is tough when you're stranded in a doctor's office. They're often run like Disneyland, where you're moved into a room, giving one the illusion of movement, but then abandoned there for long periods. Thank God for Kindle!

So far, none of the medical findings have been serious, just vexing and time consuming. Enough. Away. To the lumber yard! (Or the next draft.)

More on Dark Urban Tales

Image: taptoe

In between battling neighbors over noise issues and loading up my schedule with medical appointments, I managed to wedge in a little writing over the last few weeks. I am having a delightful time crafting new short stories for Dark Urban Tales.

Three previously published shorts will be included:

"Death Honk"
"Fresh Ideas"
"Bummed Out"

In addition, there will be narratives about:

The fate of a dietary zealot in a cineplex inhabited by strange,
junk-food loving creatures.

An actor pursuing romance as his play collapses around him.

The Office meets Locked Up: Raw in a company where the most
vital rules are not written in the corporate manual.

A job applicant at a daycare center must outwit amoral
children steeped in Machiavelli.

Young urban professionals discover you
can't militarize the police without a little collateral
damage.

As mentioned, this will be my first softcover book, in addition to eBook formats on Amazon and Smashwords. For all the labor, the excitement hasn't dimmed.

Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned Showcases Solid Writing

Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned by Wells Tower
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Nine short stories of relationships, status, and control are characterized by sharp writing and a good eye for metaphor. Tower's tales often involve change and a character's need to adjust as in "Executors of Important Energies" where a son must deal with a father's fading memory as well as the unexpected addition of a stranger to the relationship.

Other stories involve the consequences of infidelity, antagonistic brothers seeking common ground in the killing of a moose, and jaded Vikings hoping to find serenity in raiding one more island. A funny, dark, hopeful collection of well-crafted yarns.

View all my reviews

Kaiju Apocalypse Cuts Corners

Kaiju Apocalypse by Eric S. Brown
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Action for action's sake marks this eBook that draws heavily on story elements from films such as Pacific Rim and Starship Troopers. Rising seas have broken the Earth up into island nations. But Kaiju, big monsters, are destroying Mankind's redoubts one by one. With only a single refuge left, the military launch a final, desperate mission with humanities' survival at stake.

Stock characters leave you no one to root for. Contrived story elements can pop up at any time. Cliched prose included such ancient phrases as "frayed nerves," "swarmed like locusts," and something exploding "like an overripe melon."

If you don't read widely, you might not mind the various flaws. But it seemed like the book was rushed into print without benefit of copy editing or proof reading. Good cover art, but the authors might consider building a tale worthy of the image.

View all my reviews