An Old Writing Tip!

Sometimes you have to go back to go forward.  While searching for my muse one night I started thinking of things I've learned over the years and remembered something I learned in writing class way back when I was in College.    This tip I am about to share with you is one I have heard countless times since that class and to this day it makes great sense!  It’s also an easy one to live with.  It will only cost you some time and it’s one I’m sure everyone will enjoy.   And that tip is that if you want to be a good writer then you should read a lot of books.

Yes that’s it, READ!  But not just Authors you like or genres that you enjoy, but read everything!  You need to expose yourself to a wide variety of writing styles.  You would be surprised how much you absorb by reading things that may be out of your comfort zone.  It may not be something you use now but a month from now, maybe 6 months down the road you might need some mechanism or plot twist for your story and it may come to you  thanks to something you read.  I’m not speaking of Plagiarism, I’m speaking of ideas and suggestions.

Wait a minute, that’s the secret to learning to write?  No of course not,there is no secret to learning to write.  You need to just do it.  Of course there are some Rules of English that you will need to master.  But writing a good story comes down to imagination and communication.

These are traits and skills that can be nurtured and developed.

So get out there and buy a book.  Try some of the self published books out today.  There are a lot of good authors going this “New “ non traditional route.  Let me know how it goes.

    

Some Updates

I'm going to use this entry in my Blog to give you a some updates.  First off my novel Voodoo Street.  I am in the second rewrite on this.  It's going slow but we are moving forward with it.  Some of you may know that I began writing this book last year.  When I finished it I had a couple of proofs made up and gave it to some friends and family that I trust.  I have since received back their comments and I am now working through them.  More to come on this in the future.

My Google Chromebook has accomplished what I wanted it to.  I was hoping that a small very portable laptop would give me NO excuses not to write.  So far so good, the Chromebook comes with me every where.  When I have some time I have my tools with me.  The Chrome equivalents of Microsoft work just fine for me.  They are fairly compatible with existing Microsoft programs and they allow me to move back and forth between my Chrome Book and my laptop.  This was one of the best investments I have ever made in my writing career.

If you remember back a few weeks ago I had decided that "Writing More" was going to be one of my New Years Resolutions.  I'm proud to say that as we are poised to begin February I have been writing more.  I know, I know it s still early in the year but to paraphrase an old saying that says, "Every long journey begins with a single step."  You have to start small and build it on it.  That's my plan!

One of the projects I'm working on currently is a memoir.  Now a lot of people think a memoir is something only a famous person would write.  And that's probably true if you are looking for book sales.  But that's not why I'm writing this.  This is being written for both my parents and and my wife's parents.  This will only be circulated within the family.  I want to preserve the history of our families. The stories of the successes as well as the failures.  I want my kids and maybe someday my grand kids to know where they came from.  I believe you cannot look to the future without having a solid foundation in the past.

Well that's my updates for early 2014.  How are you doing with your New Year so far?  Let us know.

Keep writing!

New Years Resolutions

This is the time of year when people stop what they are doing so as to be able to look back on the year that was.  Was it a good year?  Have I accomplished everything I wanted to?  What could I have done differently?  These and other questions pop in  to the minds of everyone.  And then thoughts of the future.  What can I do to ensure the new year will be a good one for me and my family?  What can I do to achieve my goals?

The answer after much thought is usually a long list of “Resolutions”.  Traditionally everyone uses New Years as a time to make these resolutions.  Unfortunately most people break them within a few weeks of making them.  The trick is to not make them so tough that they cannot be kept.  There is a balance that must be kept between what we want to accomplish and what we can accomplish.  

So rather than make grandiose promises that cannot be kept,make smaller ones that help you build towards your ultimate goal.  Let me give you an example of what I mean.  Last month I wrote about myself and how I had not taken my writing seriously.  Now that in itself is not terrible if writing is just something you do as a hobby or a pass time.  But if you have hopes of being a successful writer well then you need to treat your writing as a profession.  I finally came to realize that back in November.  At that time I decided that I wanted to take my writing to the next level, but how?  

I decided that I had to make some changes, some resolutions for what was left of this year and to carry into next year.  But which ones?  My first was a simple and easy one for anyone to fulfill.  That is to just write more.  I did not choose one that would be difficult like write a new novel every month.  No I set my sights much lower.  It is to just write more.  I set my sights on writing just a few hours every week.  I have found this one to be a good one as every time I sit down to write for even a short time it invariably becomes a major writing event.  I can’t help it.   For me the act of writing begets more writing.  

I think New Years resolutions can be very helpful if we take the time to think them out and and use them more as   a reminder of we want to accomplish as opposed to a set of rules we need to adhere to.

Keep writing!

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!

 

Thanksgiving

By the time this gets posted the Thanksgiving Holiday will have passed.  Once we have all recovered from all the Turkey, alcohol and football its time to go shopping.  Now let me say up front while I'm not the biggest fan of turkey, ( my wife always makes Lasagna too) I will have my fair share of it.  I will wash it down with a few beers and we definitely will have the games.  I'm sure my wife and daughter as well as countless others will head out shopping on Black Friday.  But is that rally what the holiday season means to us all.
The commercial aspect of this season is not lost on me, I understand that the profits (or losses) made this time of year are very important to business.  But lets take a step back, lets enjoy being with our friends and loved ones.  Buying gifts at a great price is not the end goal.  Giving something to the recipients that they will like and use, the look on their faces when they receive the gift.  That's the ultimate reward, not the great price we got it for!
So enjoy the people you are with.  Enjoy the food too, but don't over eat and drink in moderation.  (Jeez I sound like my mother)

I want to wish everyone a great holiday season!

NaNoWriMo

It occurred to me as I was preparing for NaNoWriMo this year that I should have mentioned this event in one of last month’s postings.  For those of you who have never heard of it let me give you their definition of the event as it appears on their website.

“National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to creative writing. On November 1, participants begin working towards the goal of writing a 50,000-word novel by 11:59 p.m. on November 30.”

That my friends, is the challenge in a nutshell.  And it is a challenge, a gauntlet thrown in the face of every writer and would be writer.  To begin a novel on November 1 and to have it completed in only 30 days.  50,000 words in 30 days!  Not the most difficult thing to do you say, hah, try it and then let me know how you feel.

There are things you can do to make it easier.  You can start thinking of plot lines and plot twists as well as characters and their personalities.  You can begin planning where the story will go but if you are taking up the challenge then you do not want to start the actual writing until the 1^st.

I have been a participant since 2009, I have not finished a novel every year but it gets me writing and thinking.  I believe it to be a great exercise to help build both writing skills and more importantly it helps me to build discipline.    I can get lazy some times when it comes to my writing.  This exercise forces me to write almost every day.  If you don’t the chances of finishing in 30 days becomes nearly impossible.  The discipline of sitting down and writing on a consistent basis is a hard one.  It’s too easy to make excuses and then go and do something else.

My soon to be released book, “Voodoo Street”, started life as a NaNoWriMo project a few years ago.  A little proofing and polishing later and we have what I hope will be a finished novel for all to enjoy.

Why not give NaNoWriMo a try.   You might like it!

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.

Research

 

Today there are no excuses for a novel or short story to have inaccurate information or settings.  At one time research meant hours upon hours in the local library looking through the card catalog for any books or magazines that pertained to the subject matter we were writing about.  Depending on the city you lived in the books and periodicals on hand could be quite sparse.  Trips to neighboring cities’ libraries and University libraries were not uncommon as we searched for additional research material.

Research has certainly become easier in the year 2013!  Now we walk over to our laptops and desk top computers and flip a switch.  That one action opens the world before us.  One can Google almost any topic and get back 1000s upon of 1000s of hits.  Not all great hits to be sure but a little weeding will solve that.  And if the net doesn’t offer up enough answers one can then find many periodicals and books on the subject that one can purchase.  In some cases for a pretty good price!  Articles, websites, pictures, there is no end to what is available on the net.  Of course we still have the libraries, but the card catalogs have been replaced by computers, and in many cases if your branch doesn’t have what you need you can order it from another.  I personally still enjoy going to the library to do some of my research.  Many times I go there with my laptop and sit for hours doing my online research as most are now wired with wifi.

When I was writing “Voodoo Street” I needed to get some history on Voodoo as a religion.  While I still spent hours on the research it certainly was easier doing it from the comfort of my home office with a fresh cup of coffee at hand.  A few keystrokes and a whole new world of knowledge opened up before me.  In addition while I had a good working knowledge of the area in Brooklyn where my story takes place, my descriptions were made that much easier by pulling up some pictures of the area using Google and Flickr.

One caveat, just because it’s in print doesn’t mean it’s true.  Many times people will start a website or blog with a personal agenda.  Not necessarily to confuse an issue but sometimes to persuade others to come over to their way of thinking.  There is a wealth of research material available but one has to be careful and use common sense.

 So here’s to accuracy and the ease of research.

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.