Happy New Year

In another couple of days the year 2013 will end and be nothing more than a memory.  What will you remember of the year that was?  Was it a good year?  As I think back for me it was a very good year.  My wife and kids are healthy, certainly this has to be one of if not the most important thing.  All things considered it has been a good year for me and my family.  Both of my children have successful careers, one is an Attorney the other is a Music Teacher.  Both like what they do and both are making moves designed to advance their respective careers.  My wife is a Paralegal with a good job.  And myself, well I am working on finishing up my 26th year at the firm I’m with.  In addition I continue to advance and gain responsibility.  So I guess in the current America we are doing well.

One thing I will remember about this year is that this was the year I became serious about my writing.  Up until this year I would write when I felt like it.  That meant that sometimes I would write everyday for a week and then I would stop and not write again for months.  This was no way to develop my writing skills or get anything done.  I have felt as many of us have that I have a novel inside me.  Since I made up mind that I would write consistently I have written one novel and I am very much into my second.

 

Yes I will remember 2013 as the year I took my writing seriously!  No regrets, I will spend the next few years writing as a profession and see where it takes me. This time next year it will be interesting to see where I am.  What will you remember about the year that passed.  Will it be remembered for regrets or as a positive?  Its time to start planning next year.  Everyone always makes New Years Resolutions.  What are yours?  Is it to write more?  Travel More?  Maybe to spend more time with the family.  There is no right or wrong, only what's good for you!  Think about it, see what works for you and make those resolutions and try to stick to them.  Do not make them so tough that you are bound to fail.  By the same token don’t make them to easy.  But make them!

As an addendum to my last entry I did get the ChromeBook.  I have to say it is everything I was looking for.  It’s small (an 11.6 inch screen) and lightweight ( less than 3 pounds) so that I have no excuse not to take it with me everywhere I go.  Now it works for me because I do not use any specialty writing programs.  Google Docs works just like Microsoft Word though certainly not as powerful.  If you use a particular Microsoft program this will not work for you.  If all you use is Word to write then this will work for you too.  I now have a basic “laptop” that cost me just $129 (refurbished) on groupon.  This blog was typed on the Chromebook.  No excuses!

Have a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year.

Writers Block

I never truly believed in the Writers Block, but these last two weeks I have become all to familiar with the term.  I am not sure what caused it, maybe the holiday season and having to deal with Family and Friends.  Maybe it’s the pressure from my day job.  With year end coming client demands have been off the wall.  Or maybe I just needed to get away from writing for a little bit.  I’m not really sure.  What I do know is that I have gone from being prolific all through the summer and into September to almost a standstill.

 

My book Voodoo Street is screaming for me to finish the 2^nd edit.  Instead I have done everything but work on this.  The result being that now the release will be delayed until the end of January.  Not only that but a couple of other projects I am currently working on have been delayed which has caused a little grief for me with editors I am working with.

 

What is the answer?  Again I’m not sure but let me tell you what I am trying.  Firstly I am getting a new laptop.  My current laptop is over 4 years old.  A little large with a 15.6 inch screen weighing more then a couple of pounds.  On top of that the battery is pretty played out.  What does that all mean?  It means it’s a hassle to take it with me.  That cuts down on the places that I can write.  I needed more portability, so what did I get?  I ordered an Acer Chrome Book.  It’s much smaller with an 11.6 inch screen and thanks to the new Lithium battery it weighs less than 3 pounds.  Now I know what a lot of you are saying “a Chrome Book, that’s no good you can’t run windows”.  That’s right I can’t run windows, so what.  There are programs for Google Chrome that will allow me to open my windows projects and continue them on this new laptop.  I am not married to windows and Microsoft WORD.  I am counting on this new found portability to give me more opportunities to write. 

 

In addition to the new laptop which according to the shipper I should receive on December 16, I have decided to put a few challenges into my writing life.  The first is to write at least 5 hours each week.  I know this doesn’t sound like a lot but I have noticed that many times when I finally sit myself down to write a session can easily last for hours.  On top of that I have committed to writing for a couple of websites (more news on this to come), this commitment should get me going.

 

How do you handle the “BLOCK”?  I am sure there are many ways and everyone needs to know themselves and what will work for them.  I’ll keep you posted.

 

And write I will!

 

NYC Comicon

One of my major interests and a hobby that I have been involved in since High School is the Collecting and Reading nay Appreciation of the Art form commonly referred to as Comic Books.  Beginning with that first issue I collected back in 1973 (Fantasy Masterpieces # 2) which by the way was given to me by a friend and which I still have to Swamp Thing # 23.1 which I just bought last Wednesday, I love my comic books.

The big event each year for me is the New York City Comicon which is held at the Javits Center in Manhattan each year in October.  This year it runs from October 10-13.  This sold out event has become so large that it is second only to the San Diego show in size and content.  Luckily I have had my ticket for months.  It’s an opportunity for me to fill some holes in my ever growing collection.  I collect some fairly obscure old titles that my local dealers just don’t have and I’m one of those “dinosaurs” that like to see and hold the book before I buy it.  In addition the prices at the show are usually good; in fact they are VERY GOOD!

It is also an opportunity to pick up items on the periphery such as statues, models, games, posters, etc.   I will certainly use the opportunity to stock up on bags and boards.  The Con is also a chance to reconnect with friends I’ve made in the hobby and hopefully make some new ones.  Part of the allure in any hobby is the people you meet.  Certainly this is as true here as in any.

The show goes for 4 days, opens on a Thursday (Industry Only day) and runs through Sunday afternoon.  I will be there on at least three of the days.  I usually stay away on Saturday as that is “Kids day” and there always seems to be a larger number of kids and strollers on that day then any of the others.  I will try to post some pictures after the show; there are always some great costumes and interesting Authors and Artists. 

Hope to see you soon.

Research on the Web

Last month I wrote on the subject of Informational Resources in General and the Internet in particular but forgot to mention one thing that I think is widely acknowledged but ignored constantly.  And that is that not everything you read on the internet is necessarily true or accurate.  I know, hard to believe isn’t it? 

This was brought to my attention recently when I was having a conversation with one of my coworkers and she stated that she uses Wikipedia as a major source for information for everything.  I asked her if she knew what the philosophy behind it was and she had no idea but did compare it to the Encyclopedia Britannica.  She was a little shocked to learn that almost anyone can add to a wiki.  As they state on their own website, “Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone having access to the site.”  This doesn’t necessarily make it any less valuable as a resource but one must keep this in mind.  Unlike the Encyclopedia Britannica which uses experts to write all of its entries, Wikipedia uses layman.  In all fairness independent studies have shown that it is very accurate and that the people who add entries are for the most part very confidant.

But while Wikipedia is very accurate there is no way to police the hundreds of millions of websites that currently reside all over the Web.  People do have their own agendas and they will write what they want when they want to push their personnel views.  In some cases entries are erroneous but the writers believe them to be true.  Sometimes faulty research makes for faulty entries. 

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t use the web as a resource.  As a matter of fact I use quite extensively but you have to use common sense when weeding through the plethora of websites available.  So what can one do?  Compare notes and never use one site as your sole resource.  Look for sites that are written by “experts” and not just interested hobbyists.  Use the Web in conjunction with other resources such as Books and Magazines.   Multiple sites and a little common sense will take you a long way when it comes to accuracy.

As I have mentioned before I used the Web to research some points of information for my soon to be released novel entitled “Voodoo Street”.  It certainly made my life easier!  So I will continue to use the web, but I will proceed cautiously.

Write what you know!

I think I have always been interested in the paranormal. My interest certainly became more focused in my junior year of high school when I took an elective course call “Parapsychology”.  In this course we not only looked at different paranormal events and phenomena but we also looked at different ways to research and examine the events in a more scientific vein. 

From here I remember taking out every book my library had on any subject that I felt pertained to the unknown.  In truth there weren’t many and those they had were pretty outdated.  But periodic trips to Manhattan to visit the big book stores and the few occult book stores I found in the “Yellow Pages” helped to quench my thirst.

This interest in the occult also included reading any fiction that involved paranormal mysteries.  To this day this genre is still one of my favorites.  Of course today we have the internet, this is a huge help in researching any paranormal event or topic.  However the biggest problem here is separating the truth from the B.S.  Unfortunately there seems to be a lot more B.S. then truth but with a little knowledge and some common sense you can weed through the B.S.  In addition 100s of podcasts have popped up with everyone having their own opinion.

So why am I telling you all this?  Well they say when you write you should “write what you know”.  That’s what I am doing.  The project I am working on now deals with the paranormal.  The plot line on which my book Voodou Street is built revolves around the occult topic of Zombies.   Relying on the subject matter that I know I can make my book more believable.  Certainly this is every authors wish.  If the story doesn’t ring true no one will read it.  A lesson I learned very early in my writing career.  This background knowledge also makes it easier to write the story.  I spend a lot less time researching and a lot more time writing.  Not to say that I’m not double checking things, after all no one can remember everything but it certainly makes the writing go quicker.

My upcoming novel, Voodou Street is coming along nicely.  We are in the 2^nd revision stage and think it will be ready this fall for publication.  More information will be released in the coming weeks.

Why write?

Why do I write?  That’s a great question, and its one I’m not sure I can answer.  I did not grow up as some people do wanting to be a writer. As a matter of fact the thought only popped up in the last few years.   While I was a competent writer in College, I certainly was not exceptional at it.  What I did have was an idea for a story that I carried around for a long time.  But that’s probably not unusual for those of us that like to read.  When one reads a lot you come in contact with many different plot lines.  Some good, some not so good.  When you come across one that’s not so good you think of ways to improve it.  This leads to the stockpiling of many “new” plot lines.

That’s where I got the idea for my first book, “Gargoyles”.  I carried this idea around for a few years thinking ‘One day I’m going to write this book.’  I finally started that book a couple of years ago though I still have not finished it.  In November of 2011, I discovered NaNoWriMo.  What a great idea, to write a book in only 30 days.  It seemed like a terrific challenge so I picked up the gauntlet.  And lo and behold I finished my second book, or is that technically my first because I finished it.  Either way that book which is named “Voodou Street” is very close to being released.  Hopefully by the end of this year it will be available on Amazon as well as other book vendors.

So let’s get back to my original question now.  Why do I write?  I guess I do it for a one main reason.  I enjoy it.  Of course that may be because I don’t have to do it.  It’s not my job; it’s not how I make a living so there is no pressure to succeed.  It is always easier to enjoy something when you do it because you want to and not because I have to.  It also gives me a reason to read more.  I truly believe that the more you read, and the more styles you are exposed to the better your writing will be. 

Really sounds like a WIN, WIN to me!