PRIORITIZE!

Yes... it's been a few months (months!) since I've posted anything.  No chapters, no commentaries about writing, nothing.

And, of course, this is what I feared would happen.  I created this blog in order to keep myself on a schedule, to keep myself accountable... and I let the cares and problems of my life overwhelm me.

Okay, overwhelm is a bit strong.  It's more like I allowed the cares and problems of my life to shove my writing out of the way for a while.

I allowed it to happen.  And now I'm correcting the problem.  I'm prioritizing, making my writing at least as important as my everyday responsibilities, and more important than the problems that present themselves from time to time.

I'm a writer.  It's what I'm supposed to do with my life.  It's my passion, and, occasionally, my joy.

Passion can lead to joy.  I have to focus on this craft that I'm so passionate about in order to experience more joy in my life.

Onward to joy...

Sick, and Sad, and Missing a Friend

In the past month, I've had a very debilitating illness.  And today, after a 24-hour nightmare of sorrow, my 20-year-old cat died.  I buried her in a peaceful place on our property.

I don't think there are any people I've maintained relationships with for twenty years.  I'll miss my cat terribly -- more than I can put into words.

And I think -- when I finally return to my computer keyboard and the novel at hand -- a crafty feline character will make its way into this novel.

My First Missed Deadline

Yes, I missed a deadline.  I've been publishing chapters each Friday, and here it is, Sunday night, and I still haven't published Chapter Seven.  I'm working on  it, and I'm doing a bit more nuanced work with this chapter than with the earlier ones, but I'm  really frustrated.  After all, achieving these deadlines is the point of this blog, right?

I'm so frustrated, I've stooped to using a meme (see above), something I swore to myself I would never do.  (By the way, there are LOTS of memes about missed deadlines.  Thousands of them.  Who knew?)

I'll post Chapter Seven as soon as I can, and I'll try to get back on track with Chapter Eight.  Yes, I plan to post Chapter Eight this coming Friday.

I'm afraid if I don't get back into the groove of things, I'll fall behind in a serious way.

I don't want to fall behind (well, any more behind than I already am).

I'll be back on track this Friday; no more creepy Gene Wilder/Willy Wonka memes.

Literary Unfaithfulness

It's an old story.  Just as you're getting comfortable with the idea that the love of your life is indeed your soul mate -- your constant companion 'til death do you part -- someone else catches your eye.  Someone fresh and new and exciting enters your life and begins to draw you away from your forever love.

You tell yourself it's innocent... it's just a friendship.  But this other person is so refreshing, and so much fun to be with, that soon you're smitten.  And suddenly, you're in love with someone you're not married to -- the "other woman," or the "other man."

Neither relationship is going to last, of course.  Your marriage won't survive the new person, and you and the new person will most likely get bored with each another once the new wears off.

This, my friends, is exactly what it feels like when, in the midst of writing a novel, a brand new idea presents itself.  The new idea is so exciting, you feel you have to pursue it right away.  Before you know it, you've spent several days researching your new project -- days which should've been devoted to writing your current novel.

This phenomenon almost always happens to me when I'm deeply involved in a project.  A great deal of the pre-writing "heavy lifting" is done, the writing is going really well, chapters seem to be flying by... and another project suddenly emerges from its hiding place in my mind.

David Mamet says that working on two plays at the same time is like dating two women at once -- neither will receive the attention they deserve, and both relationships will end in disaster.  On the other hand, Ray Bradbury believed the secret to producing as much literature as possible was to work on several projects at once.  Stephen King seems to work this way as well.

I'm going to stay on schedule with my novel -- that's what this blog is all about.

But there is this other exciting project... one that showed up in my imagination just a couple of days ago... a project that seems to be taking up all of my spare time...

I'm still enjoying writing the novel... but I'm really enjoying this new project...

Why am I like this?  Not just with writing projects, but seemingly with everything?

Perhaps Maimonides, the old rabbi, was right:  "He... who begins with Metaphysics, will not only become confused in matters of religion, but will fall into complete infidelity."

Weekly Installments

Well... I did the math, and it's obvious that I can't finish this book in a year's time if I only post a chapter every other week... so I need to move to weekly installments.

Here's the math:

A commercial novel should be at least 60,000 words.  Since a standard page is 250 words long, that translates into 240 pages.  So... at least 60,000 words, at least 240 pages.  My chapters average 6 pages, or 1500 words.  That would mean my novel needs at least 40 chapters (40 x 1500 = 60,000).

Of course, my output isn't really dictated by the muse of mathematics (if such a non-romantic goddess sister ever existed, and I don't think she did).  My muse lives more in the right-brained universe, a muse of storytelling and imagination, quite untethered from any practical metrics.

But the "practical metrics" are, in a very real way, the purpose of this blog.  I need deadlines and measurements.  So... you will now read a new chapter of my novel every Friday.

Starting today.

Can two muses peacefully coexist in the same mind?

Probably not.

But we'll see.

The Value of Contests

Not to brag or anything, but... I won an award this year (well, technically the production of my script won the award) for a script I didn't even know would be entered into competition.  Every year the Mark Time Awards are given for the best audio theater productions in the world (yes indeed, it's an international award).  The Golden Ogle Award is given for the best horror or fantasy production of the year.  Pocket Universe's production of my adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's Masque of the Red Death won the Golden Ogle this year (If you'd like to listen to it, just click on the link you'll find to the right under "Audio Drama's I've Written," and you can listen for free!)

I received my crystal trophy commemorating the event in the mail the other day.  The producer, Bill Dufris, took home the trophy given at the awards ceremony (how dare he!), but I got one a month later with my name on it.

It's my first writing award, and I'm very grateful for it.  Right now I'm keeping the award packed away in its beautiful case until I have an appropriate shelf or mantle or whatever to properly display it.

But this post isn't really about awards; it's about contests.

I entered a novella-writing contest about three years ago, and created a "world" populated with characters I liked.

I didn't win the contest.

But I was left with these intriguing characters, and this well-developed world.  Those creations of my imagination were the trophies I won in that contest.

Earlier this year, I entered a contest sponsored by James Patterson to become his newest co-author.  It was an interesting contest, because in order to enter, I had to take an online class taught by James Patterson.  I learned an amazing amount of stuff about commercial fiction writing (especially about outlining).

I didn't win that contest either.

But I took the characters and fictional world from my novella, and turned them into an extensive outline for a novel.  The knowledge I gained from the world's most popular novelist, and the outline I created for the contest, were my trophies from that adventure in writing.

And now, I'm turning that outline into an actual novel -- a novel you will be able to read on this blog, chapter at a time.

I'm toying with the idea of entering the finished book into the 2017 Mystery Writers of America Best First Crime Novel Contest.  The winner gets a nice advance, and a book deal with St. Martin's Press!

But that wonderful prize isn't necessarily the reason for entering the contest.   Because I know...

even if I don't win the contest...

I'll collect a lot of trophies.

To Curse, or Not To Curse

I never curse.  Well, almost never.  Maybe when I'm cut off in traffic, or if I hit my thumb with a hammer... but as a rule, I don't curse.

Also, as a rule, I don't spend much time with people who are routinely vulgar in their conversations.  I don't like the atmosphere such language creates.  Unfortunately, I've had situations in my life in which I was forced to live with people who were constantly crass, vulgar, and insulting with their language, and I've had enough of that to last a lifetime.

However... when I'm writing fiction... some of my characters curse -- often, quite colorfully.

Why?  If I don't curse (and I don't), and I don't like to be around people who curse (and I don't), why do some of my characters curse?

My short answer is:  realism.  I'm trying to create believable situations in my writing, and some of the characters I create curse, depending upon the circumstances.  Mark Twain once said, "Under certain circumstances, urgent circumstances, desperate circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer."

Some of my characters will only curse when placed in difficult and stressful situations.  Others use vulgar language for intimidation, or for the expression of anger.  Still others, because of the way they were socialized, are the every-other-word sort of offenders.

I know that sounds like a lot of "cussing" -- and I suppose it is.  This current project seems especially ripe for vulgar talk -- a novel populated with convicts, low-lifes, and law enforcement officers.  I don't use vulgar language gratuitously, but I also don't try to hide the moral weaknesses of the characters.

Is cursing a sign of moral weakness?  Sometimes, I think.  At the very least it often signifies a lack of decorum, or absence of social conscience.  Sometimes, however,  it merely reveals the fact that a person feels comfortable enough to "be himself" around someone.  As with most things, it all depends on the circumstances.

And the circumstances in a modern murder mystery -- at least one I would write (or read) -- often require cursing.

Years ago, I toyed around with the technique used by Frank Peretti (arguably the father of modern Christian fiction), in which the reader is told when characters curse, but the dialogue isn't included.  For example, "He spat out a curse at the woman."  It accomplishes part of the goal -- it lets the reader know someone is cursing.  However, we as readers can never feel the shock or outrage the listener in the story feels, because we don't know what words are being used.

Forgive me for getting biblical here for a moment, but Jesus once said, "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. "

According to the Lord, the more good you have in your heart, the more good things come out of your mouth, and the more evil you have in your heart, the more evil things pour out of your mouth.  For me, that principle needs to be reflected in fiction in order for it to be believable.

Hmmm... doesn't the fact that I need to express vulgarity at all, even through fictional characters, reveal some sort of... moral inconsistency in me?

Probably.

I'm reminded of a story about David Lynch, the avant garde film director.  Lynch, whose films often include very vulgar language and imagery, once kicked a crew member off the set of one of his movies because the crew member was cursing.  For Lynch, it was acceptable for actors to say vulgar words as part of the art that was being created, but it was unacceptable for someone to use the same sort of language in real life.  Inconsistent?  Sure.  Hypocritical?  Probably.

But somehow... his reaction made perfect sense to me.

So... if you don't like vulgarity in your fiction, be warned:  you're about to encounter a bit of it.  Hopefully, it won't be too much.

Just enough to seem real.

What Writing Tools Do I Use?

There are all sorts of shiny, high-tech tools and toys for writers today, and I've tried several of these software packages, thinking they might actually make me more creative, or more efficient, or more organized.  Sadly, most of them are complicated enough to require tutorials and classes.  More importantly, they also require a change in writing practices; new software requires a commitment to the program's idiosyncrasies.  I want a software program that adapts to me, one that's powerful and intuitive.

Oh, I also want it to be free.

I'm a thrifty sort of writer (some might translate "thrifty" as "cheap" -- so be it).

So... here's the "suite" of free (but valuable) programs I use for all my writing projects.

For all my planning, organizing, outlining, and pre-writing, I use a wonderful program called Gingko.  For the actual writing, I use Google Docs.  If a particular publisher requires submissions to be in one of the Word formats, I'm able to download any file from Google Docs as a Word .doc file.  You can also download files from Google Docs as OpenOffice files, or as PDF files.  If  I want to add details like headers, footnotes, and page numbers, I use the free OpenOffice word processor, since I sometimes have trouble getting Google Docs to do these things consistently.  And if I need to do any detailed storyboarding or "mind-mapping," for larger projects (like a book series), I use Coggle.

Below, you'll find more detailed descriptions of these free and valuable writer's tools, along with links to the sites where you can download or subscribe to them.

Gingko (yes, I know it's a misspelling of the actual word, but the creator of this program thought the misspelled name would make it memorable) -- this is an incredible, easy-to-use, super-intuitive writing and organizing tool.  The free version lets you create 100 virtual index cards per month.  If you need more than that, you'll get unlimited cards and support for the subscription price of $4.99 per month, or $49 per year.

Google Docs -- You probably use this already, but if you don't, it's well worth a try.  It's a free web-based word processor that has nearly all of the features you will need (headers, footers, and auto-numbering are difficult propositions in this program), and it's a great way to collaborate with co-authors and editors.

Apache OpenOffice -- This is a wonderful free open source software suite, very similar to that "other" commercial office suite.  It is free to download and use, easy to learn, and it has wonderful support.  (Did I mention it's free?)

Coggle -- This is a freeware mind-mapping application that allows you to structure your ideas like a branching tree.  It is easy to use, and you can add collaborators to your projects if you desire.

And now, of course, Blogger has been added to my suite of tools, as I cut text from Google Docs and Gingko to paste into these blog posts.

This combination of tools works for me.  It may sound complicated, but it's really not.  These applications built on my knowledge base; they all adapted to me, not the other way around.