The Quiet of the Day!

The Quiet of the Day:

While trying to write, do you ever find yourself out of ideas? Or you’ve worked your way into a corner of your story and you can’t get out? You’ve put on your favorite music, you’ve grabbed a drink of choice, you’ve taken some time out to watch a movie, or read a book, but nothing seems to get you out of this funk.

Try silence. In the mornings while showering I’d come up with some of my best ideas for stories. One morning while showering I came up with an awesome idea for a story and on my way to work, (which used to be a 30 minute drive) I came up with the rest of an outline for the story. Plus, not to get to personal I get some good ideas while on the pot. 

But why, I thought were these the few times I got my really good ideas? It dawned on me… that these were the only times that I sat in silence long enough for my imagination to run wild. So, if you are locked in a corner with a story, the characters lost, and have no hope of seeing the light of day. Lock yourself in a corner, or somewhere quiet long enough for the ideas to start flowing out.

In an age when Angry Birds, Pandora, Facebook, and Twitter are all vying for your time, turn it all off, don’t take your phone into the crapper, leave the music off, and just listen. Of course, at first you may not get anything great, but if and when you do, when you return to your desk, or while driving pull up to a red light, record your ideas. This quiet time, may pay you back a hundred fold.

Also in prayer, people often ask, “How come I never hear God?” I think it’s because all of our time is so wrapped up in entertaining ourselves that we don’t make time to listen. This is something I struggle with, but it’s also where I’ve learned that if I turn everything off, and spend time with God, I’ll have a heck of a better chance to know Him.

Now, I know some people work well with distractions, with music blaring, and people all around them. To a certain degree I do too. I like to have the idea formed, throw in some music, and just let it rip. Sometimes when I want to write action, I write with Metal music blaring, when I want something more dramatic, or maybe slightly romantic, I throw on some Adele. Whatever works for you, is the best. But trying out what other people use, may open some doors for you.

Good luck, and God Bless!

Wolf Head the movie screening

What a thrill!

Last year I was involved as the First AD (Assistant Director) for the making of the film Wolf Head. This was an all Oklahoma venture besides one guy from Dallas. I was involved in some of the preplanning, casting, and then the actually production of shooting the movie, but, once the shoot was completed that’s where I stopped. So I hadn’t got to see the finished version. Last night, I got to see the completed film at Harkin’s Theater downtown for the first time. I was amazed, at how great it turned out and how well the editing worked, considering we had multiple locations needed: parking garage, jail, hospital, and a seriously windy bridge, with very little budget.

Director Ryan “Staples” Scott and Director of Photography Josh McKamie pulled off an amazing feat. Of course there were a small handful of crew members that worked hard to make it happen and I don’t want to forget them, but the film turned out amazing, it was fun, there were a lot of laughs, and a huge crowd got to enjoy it with several of us for the first time. How cool is that?

Film making is hard work, but for anyone who wants to make a film, I encourage you, to write a script, get a camera, and go for it. Or… be a part of a crew. It’s not too hard to find people who need help making movies; it’s actually very hard to find people who want to put in the effort. So, do some research, talk to some friends, read websites that feature local film makers, and get involved. Who knows, you might end up watching a film in a theater that you were a part of, what a great sense of accomplishment.

*Applauding cast and crew and the families that missed their loved ones for the months it took to make the movie*

I spoke with the writer/director about doing an interview for my blog, he totally agreed, so look forward to that.

What keeps you reading? It'll help with writing!

One thing I took notice of while reading a little bit more, one vital thing that keeps me reading is the on-coming potential life change, threat, or decision that is looming.

Let me give you a couple quick examples.

(Great Example) In the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, I thought, what kept me so enticed into turning pages? What made the book so special that I couldn’t put it down? Simple, the looming threat of the actual Hunger Games kept me reading. The first story in the trilogy was driven by finding out what the hunger games were, and were these kids really going to have to face death. There was a build up like the Olympics that led to the event that held you over, and two potential relationships for the main character, but the real clincher was the Hunger Games themselves, and they did not disappoint.

(Not so great)The Stand, by Steven King is my second example. The villain and the hero are well defined, and there was a leading up to a final climax, but it was so soaked down in description, and back story that by the time I got to the end, which I forced myself to do, I just begged for it to be over. The book itself had a great secondary story which featured the gun slinger at an early age. The character was tormented by his master trainer, which he would one day have to face on his right of passage to become a man. This was way more compelling, and the fight that took pace was excellently written. If the whole book, feature this story I would have loved it, and maybe I would have been compelled to read further.

Think of it like this, if you have a clear defined “reveal” like at the end of a mystery novel, the reader keeps reading because they’ve got to know who killed who and why. But if it’s lacking, non-existent, or bogged down in needless details, back-story, or ramblings of some crazy ol’ kook, you might as well forget it. Plus, don’t give some lame ending that doesn’t live up to your hype, because like me with The Stand, you’ll never get that reader to read another thing you write.

April 6th Guest Blogger and update!

As you all know (my vast array of readers), that my search for a literary agent is kind of on hold. I believe I still have some work to do, like cut 20,000 words from my manuscript. Turns out your first YA novel shouldn’t be more than 80,000 words and I got a little over 100,000. But, I’m still working on bettering myself as a writer, by reading a lot more, continuing to collect ideas, learning from other sources, and promote myself all in the attempt at one day getting published.

               

  My goal though is to hopefully bring you all more tips I’ve learned, so you don’t have to make the same mistakes. 

Also, I’m going to have a guest blogger on April 6^th. Julie A Lindsay, a mother of three, wife to a sane person and a Ring Master at the Lindsay Circus is how she describes herself. She also a soon to be published author of her debut novella entitled Bloom, which will launch Turquoise Morning Press’s new line of Honey Creek books in February of this year. Plus, she sold another manuscript in her Killer Confections Saga, the first called Death by Chocolate. She scored a three book deal, with the first arriving in March of this year.  She’ll be my first guest blogger, and hopefully I’ll have more after her. I’ve read a number of her blogs, she’s quite helpful, and I encourage any or my readers to check out her regularly scheduled blog.  http://blog.juliealindsay.com Julie’s a romance writer of sorts, and I’m probably furthest from Romance, with me somewhere between horror, action, and fantasy. That doesn’t mean though that we (including myself) can’t learn a bunch of good information about writing. This is a thrill to have a publish author guest on my blog, so please come back and read, every day I write, but PLEASE come back on April 6^th.

2 Posts in one day. What gives?

Seeing how it’s the New Year you’d think I’d be motivated to rock out a few blogs, get started back on my stories… I would be, but my new goal right now is to read more, and when you’re reading more, you might not be able to write as much.

I did send out a total of (I think) six Query Letters from September to November, but surprisingly every agents said, we’ll get back to each query, but only three did. I don’t hold resentment; it just doesn’t help a writer to get closer to your goals. However because I took part in NaNoWriMo, I learned valuable lessons that told me to… guess what?

 READ MORE!

My book list is full, but for me because I’m a slow reader that means like 4 books. So any new books that you guys may love, feel free to send me a note. I have a co-worker that read over 300 books, I looked at my list last year, and I’m too embarrassed to mention how many I read, but it was more than last year.

I’m getting ready to start reading Divergent, I hear great things. I'm finishing a fantastic book called Geek, a Fantasy Novel. It's got some hilarious narration, if you love young teen fantasy you'll love this book.

Happy Old Year 2011

Something different for my blog, because I don't really have updates for my agent search.

Okay, so everyone and their mother is probably going to be writing, or have already written a blog, article, or post about 2011 passing. Who died, who excelled, who fell on their face, wore the worst dress, and blah, blah, blah… So what will I write about… the things I loved about 2011, in my completely 100% biased opinion. (I got tired of reading the hipster picks of the year.)

Biggest thrill of the 2011: I found out I’m going to be a daddy… yeah I’m sure most of you won’t care about that, but hey it’s a new one for me.

Best Album of 2011: Times of Grace. If you haven’t heard of them and love metal, these guys are the founders of KillSwitch Engage. The former singer, and current ax-man teamed up to write a very powerful disc that emotionally kicks you in the heart, all the while encouraging you to stay strong, and pounding your head with pummeling drums, barrages of heavy riffs, and beautifully powerful vocals. The album has many fantastic tracks, but the hauntingly Until the End of Days is a masterpiece that starts slow and mellow but grows into a brutal onslaught of sludgy riffs, and some of the most intense screams of the last 20 years of metal.

My movie of the year: There were some very awesome movies this year, and I’m sure there were a handful of great ones I missed. I’m still looking for to Dale and Tucker Vs Evil, but I digress. Even though Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2 was an awesome movie, and The Help was a huge surprise I’d have to go with Super 8. I went in thinking I was getting one kind of movie, but the two kids, Joel Courtney and Elle Fanning, stole the show giving me another kind of movie all together. The scenes between the two of them were extremely touching for a couple of kids. But the great thing is this movie not only had a story of kids growing up in the seventies, but it had an adult story that gave the movie more depth, and… it had a Sci-Fi monster running around destroying their town. The movie took a turn in the third act and reminded me of a classic monster movie where the army rolls in, and uses heavy artillery to bring the beast down. That’s not the end though, the kids are making a zombie movie to enter into a kid’s film competition and at the end of the movie… wait for it… stay put, you get to see their creation. It was my favorite part, and such a treat to film makers in waiting.

Book of the year: Okay so I’m a little behind the times, but not too late. I was given the Hunger Games book a little over a year ago, but hadn’t picked it up, because I’d spent most of my time writing. But looking to become a better writer, I asked another avid reader, what books she’d suggest, low and behold, she mentioned the Hunger Games. I pulled it out, read the entire thing in like two days, and for me being a slow reader, that was fast. I got the second book and devoured it, and then the third, although not the direction I would have like to have seen it go, still an amazing work. So yes the Hunger Games Trilogy.

Accomplishments of the Year: I got to work on the film Wolf Head, with director Ryan “Staples” Scott, and actors Jonathan Grant, Tyler Roberds, Michael Scott Gordon, Jennifer Ehrlich, and Lucas Ross. It was a lot of hard work, by the whole crew, and an experience I will never forget as long as I live. My poor kid to come will have to hear about the day I actually got to make a movie, over and over again.

Also… I took part in NaNoWriMo a writing challenge where you write 50,000 words in November. It was a lot of fun, and I succeeded. Now I just need to rewrite the whole thing. Hehe!

I thought about finishing this blog with the dumbest things said of the year… I thought you know what; instead I want to end with something positive, loving, and kind.

In the New Year remember, you are all loved, you are all smart, and you are all beautiful. God doesn’t make mistakes, and you are all creations of God.

I don’t believe everyone can do anything they put their mind too, maybe I’m a little bit of a pessimist, but there’s no way I’ll ever be a astronaut, or a rocket scientist, but I want to encourage you to find your passion, find what you love, and work towards it. Find books on the subject, talk to people, (believe it or not most people actually like to help you succeed in your dreams), research the subject on the internet, and watch YouTube clips. My Dad who’s almost seventy picked up the harmonica two years ago, and now plays. It’s not too late to learn to do something new, to be somebody new, and to love your fellow man. I always thought if I could read music I’d be a better musician, so guess what this year after playing guitar for over twenty five years I decided to learn. Not there yet, but still learning. Also I’m planning on learning on how to play the piano, but don’t think I’m the kind of person that just picks something up quick. It takes me about ten years before I can play with any real proficiency. 

Well there you go, from my family to yours… Happy New Year!