People often complain about the lack of free time in their lives.  They burn through days running on the hamster wheel of modern living all the while bemoaning; If only I had more time I could finally <learn that language/write that book/take that trip> I always wanted to.  For most it’s the daily unease which permeates their existence, an irksome white noise constantly in the background.

I’m guilty of this as much as the next person, but I fall into another camp struggling with this issue.  I’m making the commitment to change my approach and use the hours I have at my disposal to meet the goals I want out of life.  As it has been said many times in aspiring writer circles, all it takes is an hour a day to accomplish any of your writing goals.

I decided that instead of having a nebulous "hour" which needed to be met every day that I would turn it into something more tangible.  The picture at the beginning of this post is my "hour".  I can touch it, look at it and I know what it sounds like.  When I pull the hour out of my book bag I know my mindset will begin to shift and the writing wheels will screech to life.  As I turn the dial it begins the ritual I have now committed myself to, the ritual of stealing back an hour from the day so I can use it to move my dreams forward.  Building this habit will be hard at first, excuses piling up as Resistance kicks my ass, but hopefully it will soon transform from a chore into an addiction. 

No related posts.

Once again I signed up for NYC Midnight’s Short Story Challenge.  I find having skin in the game (entry fee), a looming deadline and subject matter outside my comfort zone makes for a stimulating exercise.  Last year I placed third in my heat (Genre: Spy; Subject: Newscaster) which wasn’t too bad for my first writing contest ever.  This time my heat assignment was a little trickier:

• Genre: Suspense
• Subject: Internet Dating

Suspense as a genre isn’t something I’ve read a lot of.  I’ve seen tons of films, some I didn’t even realize fell into the suspense camp, but what works visually doesn’t always jive with the written word.  The subject was straightforward enough, so I had to make sure to pump it up in any way I could.  For the curious, my synopsis was: Two men on a first date realize they have much more in common than they thought and why that’s a very, very bad thing.

The story I wrote was meatier (word count-wise) than my first attempt.  I think I was able to put a little spin on the Internet Dating angle.  Where I feel it fell flat was in the suspense department.  Not only was I not familiar with the method, but I pulled another write it 4 hours before it’s due routine.  It’s a shame because I was able to sketch out most of the tale on the second day into the contest, I just failed to transfer those notes into a complete narrative.  What really put salt in my wound was finding a multi-part series on SFWA’s website about bringing suspense into your stories AFTER I had already submitted it.

Eh, you win some, you lose some.  At least I have a new resource to dive into for my suspense training.  Overall I’m satisfied with my submission.  Handing it in at 11:55pm on the last day of the contest wasn’t too hot, but I’m a work in progress.

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Ever since I went to my first Stokers Award weekend  (2009, Burbank, CA) I’ve been interested in the Horror Writers Association.  I’ve loved horror for as long as I can remember and when I write fiction it likes to veer into the dark and horrific (the first stories I ever wrote were horror), so the HWA was right up my alley.  That alone was enough to make me a fan, but it was my time at their writers convention which made me want to become a member

Artistic industries tend to be tricky to maneuver.  With certain branches of the industry the competition is extremely fierce and typically devoid of morals (Acting, Theatre, Modeling, Dance).  In other branches the work can be lonely and very isolated.  Writing, by virtue of its process, is a solitary endeavor.  The successful writers tend to keep to themselves while the aspiring writers usually only gather to commiserate over their lack of publication. 

When I was at the Stokers I saw an amazing mix of writers from all points of the spectrum getting along and actually supporting each other.  The entire weekend was a constant mélange of writers, editors, publishers, agents, directors and actors; all having a good time and sharing their love of the genre.  For someone used to the backstabbing shenanigans of the theatre world this was a breath of fresh air (and unheard of).

With A Little Help From My Friends

I met some fantastic people during the course of those panels and workshops.  Folks who’s love of horror, in all its different flavors, was felt in the excitement in their voices and the energy they exuded.   They included me in their conversations, with no judgment on my opinion, even though I was not a published author.  The sense of togetherness was completely new to me.

I remember having in depth conversations with Hal Bodner (author of Bite Club) about character development and Mary Sues.  Vince Liaguno and Chad Helder (editors of the award winning Unspeakable Horror anthology) had one of the smartest panels at the convention as they discussed LGBT roles in horror.  I also met Maria Alexander at that panel and fell in love with her Where the Wild Things Are book bag and sharp opinions on the interpretation of horror.  My kaffeeklatsch with Stephen Jones was a fantastic and informal discussion about what was currently getting published in horror.  All these people are published and accomplished writers and never once did it feel like there was a separation between myself and them.  Every moment was inclusive and supportive.

Now It’s My Turn

The older I get the more I realize you must support the things you believe in or else they can go away.  Independent artists need you to buy their albums so they can continue making amazing music (Hi Zoe Keating!) and organizations need members to continue doing their good work.  I’m not yet a published author, but I understand the importance of the Horror Writers Association and what it does to foster the love of the genre. 

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Over a year and half ago I discovered Mark McGuinness and his site, Lateral Action.  I’ve spoken about them many times on this blog because he has consistently helped me to grow.  As a writer I’ve taken his numerous lessons on creativity to heart, leveraging both his experience as a writer and a creative coach to further refine my ability with words.  As an underachiever his articles on productivity and removing roadblocks to success have been invaluable.  Many times it felt as if he were describing my own struggles to an uncanny degree.

My previous post—where I demanded of myself to “make it happen or STFU“—was tinged with anger, but mostly fueled by frustration.  The desire to change the direction of my life has been eating away at me for over 3 years now and as much as I say I want it, I haven’t taken the steps necessary to start the process.  I’ve been caught in a loop of dissatisfaction which has often times felt unbreakable.  The pressures of adult responsibility and the uncertainty of a world gripped in financial chaos have made it impossible to muster the courage needed to take a leap of faith.

For all the hours spent reading Mark’s creative tips, I wasn’t really paying attention to his entrepreneurial advice.  Here was a man, prolific in several realms (writing, public speaking, coaching), living a creatively fueled life and I wasn’t absorbing how he accomplished it even though he was laying it out article by article.  That’s a mistake I’m no longer willing to make.

I just read Mark’s new free e-book Freedom, Money, Time and the Key to Creative Success (affiliate link) and it couldn’t have appeared at a better time. Download a copy and see for yourself.  He nailed it perfectly when he wrote:

Creative people need three things to be happy:

1. Freedom – to do what you want, when you want and how you want it. Not just in holidays and spare time – but also doing meaningful work, in your own way.
2. Money – to maintain your independence and fund your creative projects. Of course you want a nice place to live, but you’re not so worried about a bigger car than the guy next door. You’d rather spend money on experiences than status symbols.
3. Time – to spend as you please, exploring the world and allowing your mind to wander in search of new ideas.

Usually, you’re lucky if you get two out of the three. But if one of them is missing, it compromises the other two.

Without money, you don’t have much freedom, because you have to spend your time chasing cash.

Without time off, money doesn’t buy you a lot of freedom.

And if you’re doing something you hate for a living, it doesn’t matter how big your salary is, or how much holiday you get. You still feel trapped.

If that doesn’t sum up my experiences for the last 3 years I don’t know what will.  I’ve constantly been juggling the three and never finding the balance to enjoy any of them.

The one thing I’ve lacked in my quest for a better direction is the commitment to see it all the way through.  Half starts are littered all around me adding to the ever looming mountain of frustration.  It’s as if I’m drowning in a pile of my own dreams because none of them have taken flight.  I can’t keep treading these waters, so I’ll have to do the one thing I know I’m not; commit myself to my creative success.  Not false starts and abandoned hopes, but real elbow grease with real results.

Downloading and devouring Freedom, Money, Time and the Key to Creative Success (affiliate link) was my first step.  Putting in the serious effort I know it deserves is my next step.  It’s going to be a long run, but I think I’m finally ready.  Who’s coming with me?

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Writing is traditionally a solitary venture.  The artist is locked in a room left wrestling with the muse in an epic struggle to bring forth the truth they know is deep inside them.  Well… if you’re into a romantic idealization of the writing profession then yes, that description fits perfectly.  In reality, the writer is wrestling with blogs, Twitter, and all other manner of distraction pulling him away from the work he knows needs to be done if he’s ever going to submit that damn story.  No matter how you slice it, writing can get quite lonely and banging your head against the wall only to hear an echo in the room loses its charm real quick.  This is where creative collaboration can help you wade through the crap and get you closer to the gold. 

In The Beginning

When I first decided to launch Cuban Nomad it was a a decision fueled by frustration and hope.  Frustration with how my creative outlets had withered away and hope that focusing on a blog would help me get my writing back on track.  Coincidentally, by throwing myself into the void that is the Internet I inspired a good friend of mine to get serious with his side projects.  Ed Fisher was dissatisfied with working remotely from a different time zone and felt the stress was dulling his razor sharp skills.  With a little help from yours truly we rebooted his old Blogger digs into the new WordPress hotness that is RetroHack.com.  Collaborating with Ed to produce technology focused content pulled me out of a creative funk by forcing me to flex my mental muscles in other arenas.  Switching my style to meet the needs of geek copy has also helped me start developing other writing voices.

There once was a man from Nantucket

I met Mike Elrod through his work on Multi-Hyphenate and his personal site Blog O’ Bones.  A post comment here and another comment there led to a connection through Facebook.  One night we were riffing on a particular status update and BAM! a new project was born.  A seed of an idea turned into several projects we could both sink our teeth into, letting us stretch as writers in ways we couldn’t with our current work.  Now Mike and I are putting together a geekalicous new site that will have everyone who’s ever wanted to make their own comic book squeal like catholic school girls.  All these spinning plates have appealed to the ADD in me, but will definitely be a test of my ability to complete projects, which has been an Achilles heel of mine.  I’m usually all gung-ho, let’s do this, in the beginning and then the new car smell fades leaving me with real work to be done.  That’s when the "oh shiny!" kicks in and I’m off to the next thing.  When someone else is counting on you the stakes change which helps keep you focused.

With a little help from my friends

There are also the quick collaborations driven by a search for an answer or a need to brainstorm.  Twitter has been absolutely amazing in this respect.  If it weren’t for the low pressure nature of a tweet and the accessibility of those on Twitter, I wouldn’t have stumbled upon so many incredible connections. 

When the nuts and bolts of a blog post are driving me mad I reach out to Dave Doolin from Website in a Weekend for a sanity check.  His Blog Post Engineering has become an indispensible reference book for all that is blogging.

When it comes to creative conundrums I’ve been fortunate enough to chat with Mark McGuinness of Lateral Action.  The man defeats creative resistance on a daily basis and is nice enough to share his knowledge with us in a totally free e-course called The Creative Pathfinder.

One of Us! One of Us!

Often we forget we’re part of a larger group of people striving to create something, anything, that we can call our own.  Just knowing you’re not alone can make an incredible difference on your creative output.  In reaching out to my friends for support or bouncing ideas off those who blazed trails before me, I have kept myself in the game.  Collaborating with others is one of the many tools I’m using to keep my work out of the half-finished pile in my desk drawer.

Has creative collaboration helped you stay true to your goals or has it become another form of distraction?  Share your experiences in the comments.

Links to Website in a Weekend and Blog Post Engineering are affiliate links.  Check out my FTC disclosure for more info.

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As you can tell from the tumbleweeds around here I’ve been incommunicado for some time now.  People usually say "life gets in the way", but that’s not the case for me.  It feels like I’ve run out of steam and all my words have just disappeared.  Instead of being frustrated it has been a relief because, in all honesty, I haven’t had much to say.  With no energy and no words I landed square inside the doldrums. 

Resistance reared its ugly head in many forms as well from late night revelry in Ybor City to "just one more episode of this Law & Order: SVU marathon."  Coupled with a heavy and ever increasing workload I’ve had plenty of excuses to slack off which is much easier to justify when there’s no fuel for the fire.  Consumption didn’t work (turned into distraction), change in focus didn’t work (turned into multi-tasking quicksand) and staring at the blank page didn’t work (turned into frustration).  At this point all roads led to the same miserable spot.

Despite this swirling mess of inertia I stuck to the few creative commitments I had.  I hammered out a long overdue post for RetroHack.  My Monday meetings with my new writing partner Mike Elrod continued as scheduled.   I jotted down spurts of words whenever a fleeting moment of inspiration struck.  All of these activities, minor in themselves, slowly built back the momentum I had been sorely missing. 

Now I have writing goals for September that are ambitious yet feel achievable, new stories to develop both offline and online, websites to build into digital homesteads and even creative partnerships which are already fruitful.  I’ve proven to myself that the old adage of "just keep at it" really does work.  It may not have been churning out 1000 words a day, but continuing with any creative pursuit has chipped away at the wall like a prisoner with a spoon. 

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Writing this blog has introduced me to many incredible people, from indie film makers and reality TV producers to aspiring authors and creative trailblazers.  Each of these relationships started online and, even though they’re geographically diverse, continue to strengthen and grow.

Thersa Matsuura is one of those amazing people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting (in cyberspace).  We first connected in the Absolute Write forums when discussing the upcoming Bram Stoker Awards (recap here) in Burbank, CA.  With a little gentle prodding on my part, I convinced Terrie to join the HWA and we’ve been fast friends ever since. 

For those who don’t know, Terrie is the author of the dark fantasy short story collection A Robe of Feathers: And Other Stories.  It’s a mixture of Japanese mythology and modern day stories that are far from your usual horror fare.  You can read one of her tales "Yaichiro’s Battle" online (I highly recommend it) and she was just reviewed in Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine (fourth review down) by Charles de Lint.

Not only has Terrie always been super cool and supportive, but she recently sent me an incredible package all the way from Japan… a signed copy of her killer book.  For as long as I’ve been collecting books this is the first author signed book I’ve ever had.  I was giddy as a Catholic schoolgirl.

The first thing I noticed (other than how neatly she wrapped the package) was that a little stowaway snuck onto the package (the pic at the top of this post).  I have no idea who he is, but he appears to be riding a pickle.  Different strokes for different folks.  Now this package wasn’t your standard issue "here’s a signature kid, you bother me", but an explosion of awesome.  Bundled in with the book were a hand painted bookmark (by Terrie) and promotional postcards for A Robe of Feathers also displaying Terrie’s great artwork.  Inside the book was a sweet inscription and another one of Terrie’s great watercolors (I’m keeping that one to myself).

I’ve been devouring this book since the moment it arrived.  Like a delicious box of assorted chocolates these vignettes provide many different flavors of Japanese culture.  The stories alternate in tone and style showing off Terrie’s deft way with words while giving a layered richness to the entire book.  Each tale is steeped in emotion interwoven beautifully with the narrative: In "Sand Walls, Paper Doors" the bittersweet nostalgia for a way of life being destroyed in the name of progress; "Her Favorite" is filled with the pain and heartbreak of old age; Anger—from shame or embarrassment—is at the heart of "The Bean Washer" and "Hate and Where It Breeds".  That’s just scratching the surface of this great book.  The last time I read a short story collection with such textures and emotions was Clive Barker’s Books of Blood. 

Hopefully this post will introduce one more person to her book because writing like this needs to be shared.  I consider myself lucky to call Terrie a friend and can’t thank her enough for this touching gift.

Here are some close up pictures:

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Earlier this year I participated in the NYC Midnight Short Story Challenge, which pits writers from all over the world against each other to write the best (up to 2,500 words) short story they can.  They supply the topics and you supply the imagination.

The competition is broken up into two rounds.  The 1st round was divided into 30 Heats each with their own genre and subject matter. I was in Heat 30 (Genre: Spy, Subject: A News Anchor). which—as I mentioned in my original post—was an "oh shit" moment for me.  At 12:25am on March 10th I received an email stating the results were in.  I shot over to their site and this is what I found (emphasis mine)…

Out of 22 contestants I made it in the top 5 and not only that, I achieved 3rd place as well.  I missed making it to the next round by a hair, but for my first writing contest—EVER—this was a fantastic result.  In the next couple of weeks they’ll start sending out feedback for all the 1st round entries which is one part of the contest I especially like.

After such a solid placing I’m definitely going to polish this story further and submit it for publication.  The really cool part is that I get to submit to markets I never would have normally contacted (ie. Mystery).  Expanding my horizons will only further strengthen my writing and hopefully round me out better.  It’s been a while since I’ve had such positive results with my fiction, so I’m hoping to capitalize on this opportunity and really crank out some good stuff.

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NYC Midnight is an organization that runs competitions geared toward discovering talented new filmmakers and storytellers.  I first learned of them from the dynamic film making duo of Julie & Jessica [King is a Fink] (follow them on Twitter for awesome indie tips).  They had entered the Screenwriter’s Challenge (here’s their post about it) and had very good things to say about the competitions in general.

What peaked my interest was their Short Story Challenge.  A 2 round competition, the first lasting 8 days to write about a randomly assigned genre and subject.  If you made it to the second round you’d have 24 hours to complete another assignment (same for everyone), then the top four places win cash prizes.

As much as I enjoy writing I had never entered a contest before. With solid feedback from King is a Fink and the allure of an unyielding deadline, I decided to take the plunge.

When the 1st Round assignment rolled into my inbox my first words were "OH SHIT".  Here’s what it was:

• Genre:    Spy
• Subject:  A news anchor

Crap on toast.  I’ve NEVER read a single spy book (even though I’ve seen TONS of films) and the only thing that came to mind with the subject was Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.  I was totally screwed.  On top of that Life™ did its I’m going to eat up all the free time you thought you had routine, so stop me if you’ve heard this one before….

4 hours before the deadline I’m hunched over my computer furiously banging away at the keyboard (with my elbows of course) hoping to spin gold out of turds.  Surprisingly the story didn’t totally suck. Unsurprisingly I submitted it with 5 minutes to spare before the deadline. 

Whether or not it gets me to the 2nd Round my little tale deserves a couple more drafts and eventually will be sent out to markets.  I expect to get a confirmation email on my submission within the next day or two and after that, who knows when they’ll pick the winners of the first round.  So until then all fingers and toes are crossed (damn near braided).

ANYONE ELSE ENTER THIS CONTEST OR HAVE WRITING CONTEST STORIES TO SHARE?

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If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you’ll know I’m a big fan of Mark McGuinness and Lateral Action.  Honestly, how could you not love an entire site dedicated to creativity and its effective uses?  None of this crunchy hippie kumbaya crap, Lateral Action is all about leveraging your inner creative talents to succeed in business, productivity and achieving your goals.

Chock full of solid articles, you’ll find fantastic case studies (How to Succeed in Hollywood; The Kurt Cobain Guide to Startup Success), engaging interviews/talks (Is Everyone Creative?;  An Interview with Hugh MacLeod, Cartoonist) and incredibly useful resources (The Top 10 Social Networks for Creative People; The Seven Samurai Guide to Team Building).

Mark just recently started a new series called Break Through Your Creative Blocks where he solicits from his readers their creative conundrums and devotes an entire blog post to the answer.  With his first entry Creative Block #1 – “I’m Not Creative” he’s off to a roaring start.  Breaking down the common stereotypes as to why people are considered creative, Mark does away with the crap and gets into the nitty gritty of what one needs to CREATE.  Diving into mindset shifts, fundamental processes, and the unglamorous reality of all, he lays bare the fact that anyone can be creative.

I’m looking forward to future entries in this series, especially if they all contain the boatload of resource links he provided in the first article.  Not just content with sharing solid advice from his years as a creative coach, Mark put together a thorough collection of resources from leading creative entrepreneurs.

What sites do you go to for creative inspiration or knowledge expansion?

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NaNoWriMo is a siege against the stronghold known as “Novel Writing”.  With any long protracted war it’s a matter of perseverance and tenacity.  Each encounter is a battle of inches (or word count in this case), slowly getting you closer to your end goal, a completed 50,000 word manuscript.  The proper supplies are essential in order to endure the grueling task ahead.  To prepare myself, here are some of the tomes I look to for inspiration when things are bleak.

For Story

When it comes to breaking down story elements, plot “moments” and the three act structure, this book does it incredibly well.  Written in a conversational tone with plenty of asides, I found it to be the easiest story structure book I’ve ever read.  Yes it focuses on screenplays, but every single tip, hint and suggestion applies just as well to short stories and novels. 

The terms used are far from academic with Monster in the House, Dude with a Problem and Buddy Love as examples of movie genre definitions.  At first you may turn your head wondering why the standards wouldn’t apply (Western, Comedy, etc), but as Snyder reveals the method behind his madness, they make perfect sense and force you to reanalyze some of your favorite flicks.

There are two sections of this book that make the entire purchase worth every cent, The Board and The Blake Snyder Beat Sheet.  The Beat Sheet is an outline based on the structure elements discussed in the book.  In essence, it’s an emotional road map for any good story, highlighting the “beats” that need to be hit in order to keep the story cohesive, engaging and flowing.  The first time I read the beat sheet I immediately saw the glaring holes in a novel idea I was working on, finally explaining why it had stalled halfway thru.  

The Board is a visual representation of the three act structure tied into the aforementioned Beat Sheet sequence.  For the visually inclined its a fantastic way to outline the scenes in your tale while allowing you to manipulate the story flow from another perspective.  If you’re struggling with story structure this book is a lifesaver.

For Character

Political and religious views aside, Orson Scott Card is a fantastic creator of characters.  This book was written for the “Elements of Fiction Writing” series by Writer’s Digest Books.  One of the better books in the series (they’re NOT all winners), it is a step by step manual on every aspect of character creation and the different viewpoints with which to tell their tales. 

The character portion of the book is an in-depth study into the thorough development of characters.  From internal motivations to different methods of revealing them to the reader, he covers every manner in which they can be crafted.  He also goes into how they best can be used depending on the type of story told; 1 dimensional characters to guide us through a setting which is a character in itself (i.e. Lord of the Rings), how a villain should be the “hero” of his own story leading to a richer portrayal and how understanding the character hierarchy will let you know who is needed to move the story forward.  The viewpoint section weighs the pros and cons of the various approaches, helping you understand what limitations are inherent to each along with how to leverage them correctly.

Orson Scott Card runs a boot camp, personally taught by him, that has helped produce some rock solid authors, such as Mary Robinette Kowal.  I scoured the ‘Net for feedback on this boot camp from previous attendees and from what I could gather, the core teachings are the same as the material covered in this book.  Which means if you don’t have the scratch to make it out to his neck of the woods, this little book will give you much of that same wisdom for under 15 dollars.

For Everything Else

This is one of my favorite writing books.  A compilation of Block’s writing column for Writer’s Digest, he’s woven them nicely into a solid little book.  I find myself constantly re-reading it, pulling yet another nugget of wisdom from its pages with each time. 

It’s a soup to nuts “manual” for those wanting to become fiction writers.  All topics are covered; short stories vs. novels, collaborations, pen names, a writer’s schedule and much, much more.  It’s all over the place, going into subjects you might have never even thought of when considering writing as a career.  Just enough substance is given to each segment, smoothly moving onto the next piece while you’re still chewing on the last one.

His style is very easy to read without coming across as dry or lecturing.  What I especially like is that his main type of fiction writing is mystery, something I’ve never even gone near, which gives a different perspective on advice you might have seen in other books.

This book is always within arm’s reach for me.  There’s just something about it that gives me inspiration whenever I crack it open. 

When the writing gets tough what books do you reach for?  Are their other ways you prefer to stay motivated? 

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With my fiction at a complete standstill there’s isn’t much to share these days.  The only thing I find myself checking on a regular basis are my submissions statistics.  Thanks to the amazing Duotrope, I have an online submission tracker that keeps everything nice and tidy.  It also helps other aspiring writers get a better idea of what to expect from publishers through the aggregated statistics Duotrope provides for free.

Here’s a peak at my remaining subbed stories.

The first column are my story titles followed by the market they were submitted to (hyperlink leading to their respective pages).  The third column lets me know when the story was submitted.  The response column can be changed depending on the status.  Since all of mine are currently subbed, they show pending.  Some of my other entries show Rejection which is then further qualified by Form.  Sometimes you get lucky with a Personalized one, but it’s been all Form for me.

The last three columns are the killers.  How many days out your story has been, the average response time from the market and then the maximum response time based on the aggregated statistics from all author submissions.  For a free tool, this is quite snazzy and I highly recommend it.

So far I’m not doing too shabby, but it’s always a nail biting affair when waiting for responses.  Hopefully in the near future this will be filled with more than just two pieces.

What tools are you using to track your subs (Excel, Sonar, etc)?  Anyone else using Duotrope who knows a cool trick or two?

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On my own little slice of the Internet, I like to consider myself an aspiring author.  I’m already a writer (I’m doing it as we speak), but since nothing of mine has been published, I cannot truthfully wear the title of author.  Wearing the badge of an "aspiring author" is actually a lot cooler than people might think.  First of all, there are a metric assload of "aspiring authors" out on the web.  All shapes, colors and creeds chasing the brass ring known as publication, banded together in online enclaves, providing support, feedback and commiseration.

Rubbing elbows with the unwashed masses, you begin to gravitate toward like minded folk.  They might be the fan you never knew you had, a nighttime writing partner helping you burn the midnight oil or someone spouting out ideas and thoughts at the same wavelength as you.  I want to take this opportunity to share some of my online tribe, fellow writers fighting the good fight, who I make a habit of visiting their Internet fiefdom’s on a regular basis.

Brad R. Torgersen

Brad is a science fiction & fantasy writer.  He’s had multiple honorable mentions and was a finalist in Writers of the Future, so it’s only a matter of time before I see a hardcover with his name on it.  I first came across him in the comments section of Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s "Freelancer’s Survival Guide" (an essential read for anyone wanting to write for a living) and thoroughly enjoyed his Writer’s Bathtub Analogy (even writing a post about it).  Goes to show, if you write intelligent, sincere comments on blogs, people will take notice.

I like his straight forward writing style and articulate discussions when debating topics, especially ones where emotions tend to obscure any attempt at logic.  He maintains his level headedness and argues the point without devolving into the monkey poo flinging a lot of these imbroglios epitomize.  Also, dude loves The Maxx and that’s always an A+ in my book.  He’s currently doing the third phase of his Warrant Officer school, so wish him luck.

Jarrett Rush

Jarrett’s blog, Jarrett Writes, is about a newly married man in his 30′s finally making the push into fiction writing.  Who can’t empathize with that situation?  We’ve all wanted to pursue that dream we’ve had since being a kid.  Here’s Jarrett, not only trying to make good on that childhood dream, but sharing his trials and tribulations along the way.  His writing frustrations, his struggle with productivity and examples of his work in progress are laid bare on the Internet, inviting you to follow along on his journey. 

He was one of the very first people to comment on my blog (still not sure how he found me) and for some reason keeps coming back.  His writing reminds me a lot of Wil Wheaton, who’s easy going style and naked honesty just pull you into the stories.  Jarrett recently joined a writer’s group and is documenting the experience.  I’ve never been to one conducted in real life, so I’m living vicariously through his posts.

Terry Atkison

Terry is a nerd just like me, scribbling away late into the night because "not writing" would drive him mad.  I first met him in a flash fiction writing group my friend Thersa Matsuura invited me to.  ***Quick aside: Go buy Thersa’s short story collection "A Robe of Feathers" RIGHT NOW! It’s dark, mythical realism steeped in Japanese folklore, what more could you want? Don’t believe me, then have a little taste for yourself.***

I really dug his flash fiction tale which put an interesting spin on a common Sci-Fi trope.  His WordPress plugin recommendation (see, I told you he was nerdy) has already prevented over 850 SPAM comment attempts on my blog, stemming the crushing wave of bloodsuckers.  On top of all that, he scored a solid interview with the always awesome Thersa Matsuura.  Terry’s diving headfirst into a new novel project titled "Higher Ceilings", so send him good writer vibes to keep the dreaded "Internal Editor" away.

Where can I find rocking people like these?

If you’re having a hard time finding writers on your frequency, then I highly recommend checking out the Absolute Write Water Cooler.   This forum is chock full of cool, aspiring writers and approachable, established authors.  You might even find an agent or two lurking around.  I tend to frequent the Horror and Blogging sections, but you’ll find a smorgasbord of topics to whet your appetite.  A majority of the folks populating this board are nice, respectful people who are very welcoming of newbies and first-timers.   Treat them right and you might find yourself forging lasting relationships.

Any cool cats you want to give a shout out to?  Sites you like where writers talk shop?  Drop them in the comments for the rest of the class.

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Writing is my favorite method of creation, weaving entire realities that exist solely in your mind until pen is put to paper and the words are allowed to escape.  The physical sensation of being in the midst of a furious writing session is felt from head to toe, supercharging your fingers as they hammer away at the keys.  I would equate it to the feeling you get when someone you like first returns those sentiments, a kind of heart skipping, skin tingling wave radiating from your very center.  As much as I love writing—its process, completion and subsequent consumption—there is one major drawback, its extremely solitary nature.  Being alone with one’s thoughts is a occupational necessity and quite calming from time to time, but for me personally, it is the least appealing aspect.  I (by my very nature) am a social creature, not just in the normal human tribe sense, but in a way where I actually thrive when immersed in it.  It’s my love of social interaction that makes many people question how I can be in the Information Technology field.  Their assumptions always veer toward the awkward, introverted stereotype which contradicts my comfortable, extroverted manner.  As much as I relish the joy of creation via written word, my natural tendencies to seek out human contact can cause friction with the process. 

I’ve been thinking a lot about this inner dichotomy of mine, trying to analyze my internal workings in the hopes I can find a suitable compromise.  Using writing as the creative foundation, I investigated other possibilities.  Some involved writing, but in an office setting where the ebb and flow of corporate America would satisfy my needs.  Others focused more heavily on the human aspect, but dealt with shilling wares or selling goods, neither a very appealing prospect.  Finally, I began comparing my other passions which were equal to writing.  That’s when I had a minor epiphany (and major *facepalm* moment).  Film is a passion that I consume as fervently as literature, if not more so in recent years.  I looked back at my experiences with Script Frenzy or the short lived film project my brother and I were going to undertake.  In both cases I truly enjoyed script writing, finding the format new and invigorating, yet the brainstorming with others, hashing out different aspects of the concept, and debating who would handle each filming duty, electrified me as well.

As luck would have it Lateral Action (one of my favorite blogs) recently published an article about film making.  Titled “How to Succeed in Hollywood”, it was guest authored by a husband and wife team.  Joke and Biagio (with an equally named blog) have produced several popular shows such as Scream Queens and Beauty & the Geek through their Joke Productions company.  Their article dispelled the “creativity = success” myth of Hollywood fame, instead detailing how creativity coupled with the ability to execute those ideas is what will lead you to true success.  My appetite was whetted by this post so I promptly dove into their website, which I found down to earth and brutally honest.  They weren’t bitching about running out of Evian at remote tropical locations or only flying business class when doing press junkets in Europe, but revealing war stories from deep in the trenches, steeped with battle tested tips.  From their 4 year labor of love documentary “Dying to do Letterman” to the Do’s & Don’ts of Working with Celebrities, I found all their articles deeply informative and missing the fluff you usually find with Hollywood blogs.  If you took what they were sharing you could easily build a step-by-step guide to producing your own project, navigating the Hollywood maze and building a successful career.  I was stoked after devouring this wealth of knowledge.  Finally, I had a real world picture of what production truly entailed, with all its ups and downs. 

Wearing creative blinders is something I always want to avoid and without variety my passions fizzle out quickly.  I will continue writing short stories (eventually graduating to novels), but having another avenue in which to funnel my creativity is exciting.  The satisfaction of writing a solid script then the pleasure of collaborating with others to make it come to fruition, is the kind of balance I could use.  Hollywood isn’t my goal, just the joy of the process.  I don’t want to stop there either, possibly diving into other outlets like graphic novels.  My plan is to use the tools I already have, pick up a couple more (through books, blogs or people) and aim for a multi-faceted approach (à la Neil Gaiman).  The one trick pony method has been leading me into a rut, but I feel that diversifying will help me continue my momentum.

I’d love to hear what methods you use to keep from going creatively stagnant? 

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In an attempt to keep focused on my writing goals, I’ve started tracking the time spent on different types or phases of my writing, from blog posts to new pieces to re-writes.  Looking back at the collected data (roughly a month) I can honestly say I suck at keeping on task.  In spite of this, I’m still gaining useful information. 

Take my most recent piece “Light” as an example.  It took me 2 hours and 35 minutes to hammer out the initial draft (roughly 1,100 words).  Afterward, I sank an additional 5 hours and 18 minutes into re-writes, expanding it to 1,600 words.  That’s a total of 7 hours and 53 minutes invested into this story before I felt it was ready to send out. I wish I had tracked my last two pieces to use as a comparison, but this is a good baseline.  Being the first metric I’ve taken, hopefully it’ll only improve from here.

With a healthy word count injection and solid feedback from the Beta Readers I decided to submit “Light”.  Since it fell outside what I usually write (genre-wise), I had to do some digging in Duotrope.  My search criteria was Mainstream/Literary genre, pro-rate payments (at least .05 cents/word) and the acceptance of simultaneous subs.  Having never submitted something like this before, I couldn’t let it sit somewhere for 90+ days before kicking it to the next spot.  I needed as big a response as possible to know whether or not this is a genre I should continue pursuing.  Here are the markets I ended up submitting to:

• Electric Literature
• Pedestal Magazine
• Crazyhorse
• West Branch
• Boston Review

The average response time for the five publications range from 20 to 150 days, so at the very least I should be receiving rejection letters pretty soon

Speaking of which, OSC’s Intergalactic Medicine Show sent me a lovely form rejection for “Moonlit Faith”.  That’ll be the second rejection for this piece.  I reviewed it again and taking into account feedback from some of my author pals, have decided to trunk the story.  The effort necessary to fix it (which would be a complete rip/replace) is more than I want to spend on an older piece.  Pressing forward in creating new material is more beneficial to me at this stage.  I know some elements of it will appear elsewhere, but as it stands now it isn’t good enough for publication. 

“Light” is a stronger piece, dealing more with emotional elements and real situations, which was a welcome change of pace.  Hopefully this new direction will yield publishable results.

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