Writing About Dreams.

Have you ever been so frustrated because someone else didn't do their job and then it all just landed in your lap, behind schedule and with the same deadline? Not only do you have to make up for last time, but you also have to go back and correct the things that were done incorrectly or not at all. This puts you even further behind schedule.
Yep, that was me at 3:30 PM, just an hour an a half before I got off work. I'm off now, of course, but I'm still working. The task that was just assigned to me is stalled, I can't connect to the servers but the users have gone home for the day and had already done so by the time I was told that I had to pick up the slack. What a day.
When things like this happen I definitely don't feel like writing. Too many distractions, too much stress. I can't use that as an excuse though, can I?

Have you ever had a dream that was so vivid it was like watching a movie? Not just any movie, definitely not an old one, but a new movie filmed in 'High Def'. I did this weekend. It was so interesting and complex that I may have no choice but to write a story, using it for the theme and plot idea. When I was young my father told me that he heard that Stephen King got the ideas for some of his books from dreams. I remember him telling me this had something to do with the devil. A lot of other things had to do with the devil too, such as The Nightmare Before Christmas, and most of the music on the radio. But this is about dreams.
My dream this weekend was about aliens assuming the forms of humans. It was all very coy and intricate. I think it would make for a delicious story. Just for clarification: I'm not a devil worshiper. (And I don't wear Magic Underpants.)

Tips for writing about (from) dreams:

Keep a notebook by your bed.
Dreams are slippery little beasts! Don't allow them to escape. Keep a notebook on your nightstand to jot down those bizarre night visions!

Avoid alcohol as a sleep aid.
Check out The Effects of Alcohol on Sleep. Take note of this key part of the article:

...alcohol is metabolized rapidly and blood concentrations are negligible by the middle of the night for most individuals who have a few drinks prior to bedtime, often resulting in withdrawal symptoms thereafter. These may include shallow sleep and multiple awakenings, REM rebound associated with nightmares or vivid dreams, sweating, and general activation.

This would be a dangerous way to attempt a vivid dream-state. I have used alcohol as a sleep aid before and while it does help you "fall asleep" quicker, you don't wake up feeling rested. It would be best to consult a doctor to find a more suitable sleep aid.

Don't snore.
If your snoring wakes your spouse or bed-partner, you may not realize it but they are probably beating you with their pillow. This can be bad for dreaming as it would interrupt the deep stages of R.E.M. sleep. This is my professional opinion, of course.


Don't force it.
You can't make dreams happen. There are periods in our lives where we can't remember a single dream. That's just the way it is. It could be a symptom of deeper sleep issues, if you have cause for concern you may want to consult your doctor. You could have sleep apnea or another sleep disorder. There are tests that can be performed that can identify these conditions.


Creative Writing Exercise:
Write about one of your dreams! (No, you don't get extra points for actually being a devil worshiper...)

Short Story: "An Apple in the Rain"

Sam lowered his head and focused on the tiny splashes of raindrops that fell tirelessly about his ruined sneakers. The gray hood of his sock poked through the duct tape seams, it was as soaked as the rest of his clothing. There was no hiding from the cold wetness in this storm. Not this one. Not today. A deep sigh shuddered through his body and he looked back at the throng of people in the square.

A woman stopped a few paces away and smiled. She was heaven beautiful to his street ugly. The floating machine above her head kept her dry and warm. Her clean white trench coat seemed to serve more for fashion than utility.

He felt her gaze wax over his unkempt hair and tattered clothes. Her smile warmed the cold inside of him and he smiled back. He couldn't help but take in her delicious brown hair and glimmering green eyes. They spoke to him, promised love and devotion, a warm bed and a hot meal, and a million kisses throughout the night.

"Right," she said. "I love you too."

His brow furrowed, and he shielded his eyes from the downpour.

At once she reached up to the blue orb beside her ear and with a gentle touch the light died and she jumped with a start, as if seeing him now for the first time.

"Ugh!" She gasped as she lurched backwards. Once the gap between them had increased by several paces she reached into a pocket and tossed a few credits onto the ground between his feet as she might throw a steak to a hungry alley dog in order to make her escape. And escape she did, back into the conversing, twisting, and turning crowd of city dwellers and street commuters.

Sam reached down and scraped up the credits and, as if by instinct, shoved them into his own pocket. He watched her vanish back into the throng and the warmth of her gaze soured and festered in his mind. Again he sighed.



=============


I started this post back in August and it has just been sitting in my drafts. It was never intended to be a flash fiction piece, and the end leaves you in the rut right along with Sam. I think I owe this story a little more work.

Feeling Glum

I missed my post last night, almost tonight as well. I'm feeling a bit down. I'll try to keep this light-hearted though, no sense in spreading it. :)
I guess there are a lot of things on my mind right now. Some of it has to do with the blog, some not. I've got a lot to sort through, that's for sure. My plan for that is to sit down and come up with a list of my expectations and what I'm going to do to meet those expectations. It's going to take some time, but as long as I stay on top of it I think I'll do okay.
My wife likes to knit. She started a few years ago and she's gotten quite good at it. We've been talking about her taking some time to create some patterns and putting together a knitting site. I'm excited for her. She's really quite talented, though she'll never admit it. My goal is to help her get started after the summer, once the basement is finished and my computer room has been successfully relocated.
I've come up with a couple more projects I would like to tie into my writing as well. I'm not really the type of writer that can pump out freelance articles for various magazines. I mean, assign me a topic and I can do it for you, but I really just don't see myself anticipating demand. I've already got enough on my mind as it is. So, I need to come up with creative ways to start making money with my writing. Obviously, as far as the blog is concerned I'm not looking at it as a future source of income. That would be a mistake, I think. My reasoning? From my experience with this blog and looking at other blogs of similar content, I've met people who I see as more of friends than income sources. Maybe if my blog had thousands of visitors that were looking for something my adsense ads could give them, but I don't think my content supports that. To be honest, I'm not ready to put together a blog that drives that sort of traffic just yet.
My experience with Entrecard has been mostly good. But as I understand and have also read on a few blogs that have quit using the service, a vast majority of the traffic is from users that sort of cheat the system by only loading the Entrecard widget, allowing for quick card drops before they head to the next drop. I've been introduced to a lot of good bloggers, though, so I guess I'll stick with it for a while. But I definitely see an end of our relationship in the future.
My blog is only a month and a half old, so I can't really expect a lot in the way of traffic just yet. I understand that. Sometimes it's easy to look past our successes and focus on our obstacles. At least for me. I'll try to keep my chin up and we'll just have to see where the future takes us.

-Brady

Creative Writing Exercise:
Write about what makes you happy.

This is Ground Control

I had my first Speculative Fiction Writing Group meeting tonight. We did a little exercise that I will share with you this evening and then we passed out our pieces to be critiqued. I ran some errands afterwards and when I got home I wondered what it would be like to be reading my story for the first time as it might be being read at that exact moment. I pulled out a spare copy I had printed. Much to my dismay I found about 5 or 6 corrections! Oh no! It looks like someone needs to follow their own advice... You know what's worse? This is the very same story I submitted to the Bebo Author competition. Don't I feel like a dummy!
The sad thing is that I read it over three times and then even read it aloud to my wife with a pen in my hand. This just stresses the point that you need some time to build separation so your mind doesn't expect the words and pre-form them as you read. You end up skipping over some of your mistakes and then you feel like a goof just like I do now. The problem was that I finished it one day before the deadline, not much time for a separation there, eh? The corrections have been made now, better late than never?
Anyway, here is the exercise we did this evening. If you can spare the time, take out a notebook or a open up a word processing program and do it as well. Angela, our group leader, will be emailing me the 2nd part of it and I will post that in a couple days so you can see how it works out. It's actually pretty neat. Some of you may have seen this before, but I suspect it will be new to the majority of you.

Creative Writing Exercise:

Answer the following questions in paragraph format. Be as creative as you wish.

1. You're in a forest, describe it. (What kind is it? the trees, the light, the atmosphere, and so on.)

2. You follow a path. Describe it. (As above.)

3. You see an object.(whatever you decide.) What is it, and what do you do with it?

4. As you follow your way through the forest, you suddenly see an obstacle. What is it? Describe it again.

5. How do you overcome the obstacle? (Is it hard to do, easy, tricky, requires no effort at all, or what?)

6. As you walk again deeper into the woods, you see a lake. Describe it.

7. What do you do? How do you react to the lake?

8. If you travel even further, what do you finally meet or see?

Do this exercise and keep it handy. I will post up the second half when I get it and I'll even share what I wrote with you as well!

Writing in the Dark

Tonight's one of those nights, working late, burning the midnight oil; that sort of thing. At the moment I'm also writing my blog post (obviously) in a notebook and watching a movie with my wife.
Multitasking, right? Right.
There's been a bit of a renewed interest in the Coffeeshop Confessionals these past few days, that's got me pretty excited! I'll have to do another this weekend so I can link to the posts people have made on their own blogs. You know what that means, don't you? If you've been thinking it might be fun or if you've been meaning to do it, try to get your post in on your blog and send me a note or leave me a comment. I'll post a link to your blog post on Monday or Tuesday when I make my next Confessional post.
So far it looks like I'll be up for a while. The re-indexing is taking forever and there's still a bit more to do after it finally finishes. Some days working from home can be very convenient but there are those days like today where you just wish you could hang up the hat when 5:00 PM rolls around.
The shed in the backyard is really coming together. It's strange to look at it and think about how much of a transition phase it's in right now. Where the skeleton stands there was once nothing but grass, and yet when it's finished we will soon forget about these few days that it lingered in an unfinished state. I guess that isn't too different from writing, is it? We struggle a bit to get our stories through the transition phase and then they become something so much more. After enough time goes by we forget about the grand struggle and look back warmly at our brainchild.
No, that's not right, is it? It's a bit more complicated than a shed. Our stories hold our emotions and the feelings linger long after they've come into their own. We look at parts and fondly remember their skeletal origins. We remember the plot twists we wrote out, or the way the sentence looked before we tweaked it just so.
I have my first Speculative Fiction Writing Group meeting tomorrow at the library. I'm pretty stoked. I'll have to let you know how it goes.

Creative Writing Exercise:

Ramblings Unlimited

I think I will use tonight as a bit of a free night. I've got a lot going on in my head so I figure some controlled rambling might help smooth things over a bit.
We went and picked up the five trees we bought the other day. Once I get these new ones planted we'll have a total of 15 in our yard. I like trees, a lot. I guess in that respect it's good that they help clean up the air, heavens know we pollute it enough. You would think people would go green these days as a result of direct shock from the gas prices but I guess things aren't that simple. I don't know, I just keep thinking about the kind of people that are currently empowered by international oil sales and then I look at the damage we're doing and I can't help but wonder how things work out this way. I honestly don't care if some scientist or even a group of scientists try to tell us that global warming is a ruse. In all actuality, it doesn't matter. Look at the air outside as you drive toward or away from any major city and just think of how much you end up breathing in. Yeah, that yellow smog cloud has your name all over it.
I guess that's one thing that living in Alaska did for me. It opened up just how clean fresh air can smell. Sure, around Anchorage there was as much smog as anywhere else, but once you drove out of the 'bowl' and into the wilderness, you could roll down your windows and smell the clean, crisp air. The difference was unbelievable. It was like camping.
We're also building a shed in the backyard, it's turning out to be a pretty decent size. It will be nice to get it finished and finally have something to store our lawn tools and other odds and ends in. My Father-in-Law has been nice enough to come over and help. I say help but so far he's pretty much done just about all the work. My job as a Technical Project Manager has been keeping me rather swamped lately. I know he is getting a kick out of doing it, but I wish I could help more during the day. By the time I get off work he's about ready to pack up and head for home. He's got a one up on me since he's off work this week. I know there are funner things that I could think of to do with a week off so I really appreciate his help.
What else is going on? I'm currently sifting through ideas for my next short story. I just finished up the one for the Bebo Author contest that I've been talking about. I got it through the draft process and read it aloud to find any mistakes I might have missed. Once I had it polished I turned it in and made the deadline. I'm really very proud of it. Obviously I hope it wins, but even if it doesn't I will still be happy I took the time to write it. It definitely makes me feel something when I read it and that is a very integral part of my writing lately. If it wins Claire will post it on her site and if it doesn't then I will definitely post it here. It's 4000 words so it is a bit long for the blog format but until I get my own hosted space I don't have a whole lot of options.
I have come up with a few ideas that could help my blog generate a little more money. So far I've got a whopping 15 bucks from Adsense. Of course, you can't get a payout until you reach $100 though. I've been very excited about some of the layouts I've seen as I drop by other blogs.
I rather like a few and can think of a few ways to tweak them to my liking:

• Saphrym.com
• Figpress.com

Besides, they're good blogs that I like to visit anyway. ;)

So yeah, my goal is for this blog to be on a hosted server and I'll make the switch to wordpress formatting. The only catch is that the blog has to make enough money to pay for the hosting first. My hobby is writing and blogging is definitely a new interest, and it's nice to combine the two. But, and I really mean it, I'm not ready to start throwing money at it. There are other things my money needs to go towards right now, like a shed, and then finishing the basement. These are important things for my whole family, so the blog will have to wait. I mean, I'm the guy that doesn't have a cell phone. Yeah, the one guy on the face of the planet. That's me.

Anyway, those were my ramblings tonight, and yes, I do feel much better. Thanks for listening!

Creative Writing Exercise:

Show, Don't Tell

Hello guys and gals! Welcome back from an excellent holiday weekend! I'm happy to be back and I've decided that today would be a great day to post about the ever present advice: show, don't tell.
There are certain phrases and tidbits of advice you'll come across in your quest to become a better writer. If you hear nothing else about character development, plot structure and twists, or even basic grammar, you'll undoubtedly hear the term 'show, don't tell'. But what does that mean, exactly? Could there be occasions when handing your readers the details is better than going through the painstaking process of showing them? At what juncture do we tell too much and show too little or tell too little and show too much?
Can I be honest with you? (Haha, of course!) This is one of those subjects that, I honestly feel, has become so cliché that it offers almost no help at all to beginning writers. There is so much to be said about this topic and yet it's often thrown out in passing, which annoys me to no end. It's almost the cop out of writing advice because generally the people who tell you this don't bother to elaborate.
Okay, someone just told you that you should show, not tell - and that's the key to successful writing. You quickly accost your children (or someone else's) and manage to wrest a coloring book and 3 and a half crayons from their sticky little fingers. You're finally ready to conduct your greatest symphony; the greatest symphony. You sing your little mantra to yourself, encouraging words that pronounce your dedication to showing and your seething hatred of all things telling. Like a boyscout you are prepared, like a mountain you are strong, you're a freakin' army of one.
You show that it's morning with the way the shadows hang delicately towards the west.
You show that the neighbor's cat has an attitude by the way it struts on top of the fence.
You show that the kitchen is dirty with nose-turning detail.
You show everything there is to see with excruciating accuracy.
And then if comes time to actually write the story but you're so tired from writing all that detail and you've only just begun, what a chore!

What they don't tell you is that 'show, don't tell' isn't the end all be all to your story. There are some things that can be best told by allowing the reader to figure out what's going on through actions or dialogue. There are other things that have so much more impact by putting it out there with as much blunt force as possible. Sometimes combining these approaches can be very effective.

Jonathon frowned. The girl came closer, her eyes were wide with delight.
"Oh Jonathon! You came."
It was too late now, he'd been spotted.
"Hi Cindy, just stopped by, I can't stay long," he said through a forced smile.
"Please come in, make yourself at home," she said.
One quick look about the room seemed to scream that he didn't belong. Everyone wore their expensive sweaters and ironed slacks. He suddenly felt very out of place in his worn flannel shirt and faded jeans. He was not happy to be here.

The thing is, don't get so caught up in showing and not telling that you miss out on writing what's really going on. Sometimes you'll want to be direct and to the point, other times you'll want to play with the scene a little, build tension or set up suspense. The real test is to write it out and then go back and read it aloud. Some of us can be real talkers (I'm raising my hand) , but even then it's easy to tell when you've lingered too long on a minor scene. Not everything has to be described in stunning detail. It's too much for readers to take in everything and distinguish what's important from what's just scenery. Think about individual pixels in a high resolution picture. If our eyes could appreciate every single dot of color we would miss out on the bigger picture that forms when they all meld into one another. Don't let your story become over pixelated, but remember, too much generalization and bluntness will cause the image to become too fuzzy for comfort. The trick is finding the balance in your story, each one will be different and will require a different tone. Sometimes we don't find the voice until we've worked through a few drafts. Be patient. Spend time reading aloud and you'll find what works for you.

Creative Writing Exercise:

Be Back Soon!

I will be taking a break for the holiday and plan on taking some extra time to work on my novel project once I finish my submission for the Bebo Author Writing Contest.
I hope you all enjoy your holiday and try to spend at least a little time on yourself to recharge your batteries!
See you again on Monday!

-Brady

Writing Exercise:

A Great Dilemna.

I'm having a bit of a hard time this evening. I am nearly finished with my bebo story but I'm stuck on the title. For obvious reasons, I can't ask for help until after the judging is complete, but I have to have a title before then! I would hate to disqualify myself because a judge came across my post and recognized my entry, though.
It is very rare for me to have a problem choosing a title for a story. It either comes to me right away or it doesn't. I don't think I've ever experienced a case such as this, where I have two beautiful titles for the same piece. Both are amazing for very different reasons. There are two themes that intertwine throughout the story, neither of them is stronger, neither is more or less important than the other.
I've mentioned in an earlier post that some might find the story to be a bit sad. I set out in the beginning determined to avoid allowing it to turn into a dark story like "Intuition" was. I started with a single image in my mind and from that a beautiful story blossomed and took on a life of its own. I look forward to posting it for you guys. It may not win the writing competition, but it's a story that I feel I can be proud of. If you've read my writing and find it suits your taste then I would wager that you will likely be equally fond of what I've written in this story.
Once I get it typed up tomorrow and have it on the screen, rather than the notebook, I may be in a better position to decide on the title. As for now, I will just have to mull it over and hope something comes to me that will help in making the decision.

Writing Exercise:

Something Deep and Touching.

"My story will make your heart flutter. But if by chance it doesn't: burn it, throw it away, never again let it see the light of day."

Those are powerful words. Maybe not to just anyone, but to a writer they are. Could you ever say something like that about what you've written? "If it doesn't move you, please destroy my only copy." That takes a lot of guts. Or is it confidence? Arrogance? What would it take to write a story that would be so compelling that you could be sure it would make someone feel? There are good reads and then there are stories that can change your life. I don't think I've written one of those yet. By far, the best story I've ever written would have to be "Intuition" - I don't think there's any contesting that. I've heard nothing but good things from the people who read it, but powerful? Maybe. Not to all, but perhaps to some. I don't have a whole lot of dedicated readers of this blog, all things considered, and even of the ones I do have I don't believe many got the chance to read that short story while I had it posted. I know it had a very big impact on me, but then again I wrote it.
So what does it take to write a story that can touch the hearts of your readers? Is there some universal recipe for a great tale? I don't think so. As people we tend to get tired of repeat patterns, so that in itself nixes that idea. Does something need to be innovative to be touching? I don't think that's the case either. Some touching stories revolve around previous ideas and notions... so what is it about them that makes them stand out from the endless sea of stories out there?
These are questions that I didn't really ask myself when I first began to write. I think I've recognized part of the answer but it isn't really something that I can describe. Sounds horrible doesn't it? The best way I could put it is that your best shot of creating a touching story is to feel it when you're writing it. Allow it to take over and just seize the muse as she whispers into your ear. Listen to her soft, angelic voice, allow her sharpened nails rend the flesh of your heart and bleed a little into the words you write. Yeah, I know. That sounds retarded. But I suppose it also sounds a little magical. Regardless, do you know what's important? It isn't the answer. We'll each have our own opinion of how to create touching prose or poetry, but the thing that makes us stand out from the crowd is the simple fact that we've asked the question. When you care about your audience you're already one step ahead. When you put yourself in the shoes of the reader and ask yourself how you feel about what you've written you transcend the author and become the reader. If you can maintain a balance of these two roles while you craft your magic, you stand a much better chance of writing something that will leave a lasting impact on your reader.
Isn't that at least part of what we want as authors?

Writing Exercise:

Family Night!

Fun -
It was stamped to my hand as of to remind me that this was a Fun Family Activity, as if to persuade me that a little devil-child on a scooter didn't just try to take me out at the knees.
I was surrounded by demonic children on wheels. They flew twenty feet to fall in front of me, suddenly turned into traffic for a one in a million shot of decapitating me or some other unfortunate adult type who would do nearly anything to keep from running them over. It's just bad form, even if the little bastages deserve it.
I got the phone call late last week, the monotone voice told me that the kids' school was hosting a skating party at one of the local fun centers. I don't usually go for those types of things but I knew I was fully booked today with work and the event started at 5:30. That would pretty much guarantee that I wouldn't work late and that I would enjoy some time with my family. (Nevermind that while I write this post I keep glancing over at my work laptop to see how my migration is going.)
It was fun, but let me tell you, kids don't know how to skate like they did when I was younger. These little baboons were all over the place, they threw things on the floor, and it all sort of reminded me of the game "Frogger" how they all liked to dart out from the sidelines and head straight for the middle. To hell with the onslaught of wheels rolling in their general direction, time waits for no child!
The rules have changed too. It used to be strictly roller skates or "inline skates". It might be a copyright no-no but who called them that? They were always rollerblades to us. Now kids can ride scooters and they even had a sock race. Yeah, they took off their skates or shoes and ran around the rink. That's another thing that's changed I suppose, those games were stupid and there were more of them than there was just plain skating. Maybe it was because it was a school event?
All in all I had fun. I know it doesn't sound like it, but it was good to get out of the house, even if I was thinking about writing this post half the time I was there. The other half? I was trying to stay alive!
It looks like my migration just completed as well, my work here is done!

Writing Exercise:

Coffeeshop Confessional 2

I would like to share with you another of my Coffeeshop Confessionals that I did this evening, but before I do I must make mention of another Confessional that was submitted by Haley Hughes. Please stop by her blog, The Beacon, and take a look! (This link will open in a new window or tab.) I was very impressed, she did wonderful for her first go!

Now, here's mine:



I did a little editing to clear up some of the text for the picture. It can be hard to write on a napkin sometimes, haha! The fun thing about this was that even though it was a bit rushed (Barnes&Noble closes early on Sunday, surprise!) the inspiration for it came rather quickly. I was standing in line behind a couple that were still clearly in the courtship phase of their relationship. This guy was pulling all the stops and trying to look cool at every turn, she seemed impressed by the attention. I couldn't help but think that his winning smile must be hiding other, less glamorous intentions.
After I finished it up I noticed there was a paperclip that had been left on the table by one of the previous patrons so I clipped the napkin to the plastic drink advertisement and turned it to face the railing that bordered the book section. There was an older gentleman that seemed to be lurking around like a vulture ready to dive in on a dying animal as he wheeled around his big plastic garbage can. I'm pretty sure that the napkin met a rather horrible fate, snatched from its hiding place and tossed into the waste receptacle, likely with a muttered, "Damn kids and their trash."

Not familiar with Coffeeshop Confessionals? Well come on down, the price is right! Tell them what they've won, Bob!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got an overdue journal entry to write!

Writing Exercise:

Oh the Insanity!

I just walked downstairs, hiding two things behind my back, and asked my wife to pick a hand. In the left was The Writer Magazine from January 2008 and in the right was The Courage to Write by Ralph Keyes. Once she selected my left hand I held out the magazine and told her to pick a page with both eyes closed. (She doesn't do this very well and tends to try to peek... naughty, naughty.) After she opened up a page I told her to point to a spot, any spot she liked. (I had to remind her here that there would be NO peeking!) I figured I would write about whatever she pointed to.
So guess what I'm writing about this evening. Go ahead, guess.

That's right! I will be writing about My Magical Underwear! Wait... wha!? Who said that?
Well, Mr. Underwear-Dude.. I will not be writing about magic underpants, but since you seem so interested I will share this video with you, if only to keep you quiet while the rest of us grownups chat.



The funny thing about this video is that I grew up in Utah being, and still am, non-mormon. It would be safe to say that at times the LDS culture has been a little too in-your-face for my liking, but even I find the 'mormon critic' a bit goofy. This was a hilarious look at the culture of where I live as an outsider from an outside perspective. Enjoy your underpants video, weirdo! By the way, the best part is the very end.

Sometimes we can get so caught up in our stories that we can't see them from the outside perspective. Whenever I leave the state for training or vacation and someone finds out that I'm from Utah the next thing out of their mouth usually has something to do with, "Oh, so where are your other wives!?" Of course, now that I expect what's coming, I lean in close and tell them very secretively that they're buried in my backyard, talked back too much you see. Every now and then I get asked if I do freelance work. I've considered it, but only briefly. (No, "briefly" was not a reference to magic underpants... okay.. it was!)

The point is that sometimes you have to look at your story through someone else's eyes. Not literally, trust me - that doesn't work as well as you might think. Put your work down for a while, enough to create a separation. Some people can do this in a matter of days, some weeks, some months. If we're talking about a novel length manuscript this step is important.
As writers we must envelop ourselves with our story's environment. As such, we already know how everything fits together. In our excitement it can be easy to leave out those little breadcrumbs that string together to form our masterpiece. If our readers are left trying to figure out how a certain event or time-line came together, we haven't done our jobs. A lot of people seem to believe that polygamy still abounds throughout Utah, it might be safe to mention in a story centralized in Utah culture.
"So, do people, you know, have multiple wives?" He asked.
"Haha, no, that fad died out long ago. Now we keep elephants in our garages!" I replied.
"Really!?" he asked, a certain tone of disbelief in his voice.
"No, not really."

Rereading and putting things together from another perspective is a crucial approach to fine writing. This ties into so many other processes: are you presenting information overload with excessive details that don't pertain to the story as a whole? Are your characters consistent with the way the reader will view them?
(The book I'm reading now has one of the main characters described as an iron-gut who will saddle up to the autopsy table and dive right in to assist with the operation, she even walks another main character through the gruesome crime scene where a body has been dismembered and scattered across the house in the first chapter of the book. When the body is on the table and she comes to see the autopsy performed she's suddenly super-squeamish. This was the same body she nonchalantly pointed out at the scene. Nothing changed with the body, so what changed in her?)

Ask yourselves these questions because someone out there who's just like me is paying attention. Some other guy is still wondering when you'll be talking about magic underwear...

What did my wife point at on the magazine page? The white space between two advertisements! What a great help she was.... :D

For those of you who may have missed my Coffeeshop Confessional post, I'm still looking for responses! It's a fun little writing exercise and it'll earn you a link on my blog!

Writing Exercise:

Obtaining Cosmic Power!

Alternate Title 1: The Vacuum's on the Fritz!
Alternate Title 2: Haha! I Told You So!

Let me share with you a conversation I had with my wife a few minutes ago.

"I think I'll order that vacuum cleaner now," She stated as she entered the room.

"Oh yeah?" I asked, still staring at my dual monitors.

"Well, being as the other one won't even turn on anymore. I just tried for the last two minutes and nothing."

I was looking up from my work now, smiling as I watched her navigate the maze of the computer room. I slapped her on the tushie as she walked around the playpen.

"So now you're aware of my cosmic powers?" I asked.

"What cosmic powers?"

"I told you that you should have ordered it this morning, right?"

"Yeah." She was scowling now.

"Well, don't you find it odd that now it doesn't work?"

"So, you willed it to break on me?" She smiled.

"Either that or I shoved a screwdriver into it." I laughed. She wasn't smiling anymore.

I didn't really stab the vacuum with a screwdriver, that would be dangerous. No, I used a drill. Haha, I kid, I kid. In honest truth, it really was my cosmic powers that did it, but don't tell my wife! So far I've done a good job at keeping her fooled. I'd hate for something as simple as a blog post to break my cover... wait a second... doh! (Let's hope she doesn't read this.)
What's the point? Oh my gosh! What's the point?! The point is that I can command little goblins to do my bidding with sheer brainpower! Oh, wait, you mean... I gotcha. The point is that I was right and she should have listened to me. (Oh? Okay, okay. Out with it.) d=(O.o)=b

Using tools such as foreshadowing can strengthen your creative writing. There, I said it, the secret is out! What is foreshadowing exactly? Well, Dictionary.com says: Foreshadow - To present an indication or a suggestion of beforehand; presage.

What does that mean? It means you add little clues for your readers about what may or may not happen in the future. Foreshadowing can add multiple layers to your writing and there are multiple facets to the principle itself. Think of foreshadowing as leaving little breadcrumbs for your readers to follow as they navigate the adventure that is your story, nothing more. You shouldn't make your breadcrumbs in-your-face obvious or they aren't any fun. Effective foreshadowing will elicit such comments as:

• "You idiot! Don't open the closet!!!"
• "Oh man, the business proposal, why did you leave it on the counter!?!?"
• "That's RIGHT! I remember the wall being cracked. So that's what that was all about."

Another good use of foreshadowing is the Red Herring - this is a plot device used to throw off the scent, mixing in false assumptions with real clues so that the reader is unsure of future events.

• There's nothing in the closet after all.
• It's just the outside cover of the business proposal, the documents are safe in the briefcase.
• The protagonist thinks there is something with the crack in the wall but it ends up being nothing. (Maybe while frustrated the protagonist kicks the bookshelf and notices something important...)

For really big plot twists foreshadowing can be your friend. If the reader is left thinking, "Yeah right, and how exactly did they just so happen to come across that?" then you haven't done your job. The truth is that life isn't easy for the majority of us, why should it be easy for your characters? One of my biggest disappointments regarding this was Prison Break Season 2. Agent Mahone was always figuring out what Michael Scofield's next move was at the last possible second and arriving just in time to be a nuisance. That's just lazy writing in my opinion. If your readers/viewers wouldn't have figured it out with the available information your characters shouldn't be able to either, but if they just so happen to be that smart, don't throw them the bone at every twist it gets annoying. If you want to create suspense you're going to have to put a little elbow grease into it.
I stopped watching Prison Break about halfway through. I don't watch a whole lot of television but that was one show I watched regularly. Correct use of foreshadowing and suspense can keep your readers interested and begging to find out what comes next.

Unfortunately, the vacuum really is broken. And yes, that conversation really did take place. Be careful with those red herrings, there's nothing funnier than slapping someone in the face with a smelly fish, but slap someone too many times and they probably won't be laughing. Sure it's funny to you but you know what they say about the only person laughing in a room full of people? They say that person must have passed gas. (read: farted.) Don't be that guy.

Writing Exercise:

(the angry dollmaker)

Fighting Insomnia

So, some of you may have noticed that I've been a busy little bee with my blog design. That's sort of what happens when I can't sleep, little gremlins come out and work me like a slave! All joking aside, I like this new layout much better, don't you? I've moved my Entrecard widget up above the fold, changed my adsense around, and I'm really enjoying the three column design.
Other than that, each time I blink it feels like my eyeballs are sticking to my eyelids. That's an altogether unpleasant feeling after my PRK surgery back in January. I'm not sure why I haven't been sleeping very well lately to be honest. It's not that I'm not sleepy, I'm actually very tired, but my mind just doesn't seem to want to turn off. I'm really looking forward to the weekend! It will be nice to lounge out for a while and then work more on my writing. At least I've been keeping up with my blog posts, that's very important to me. Even if I don't get the time to put as much effort into my projects as I would like, I still get some writing done and that's important.

Since my mind is feeling a bit sluggish this evening I'll share with you a little gem of information. I used to play World of Warcraft, a massively multiplayer online role playing game. This took up a lot of my time, but my two younger brothers played as well and we had quite a bit of fun with it. One day while we were testing out the new expansion before release I decided to put together a video of one of our player versus player matches. It was a lot of fun doing it, I could have made the video a bit better, true, but I think it turned out decent, and every other week or so I still get comments on it to this day.



Writing Exercise:

Coffeeshop Confessional

Are you ready for a fun and easy creative writing exercise? I call this one Coffeeshop Confessional. It started back when I was in High School as something I did on a whim but I quickly realized how fun it was. Tonight I was a little pressed on time and couldn't head out to my favorite spot. Instead, I had to settle for the local Starbucks. Let me tell you, from my experience, they can't make a White Chocolate Hot Chai worth beans. But for the sake of creativity I have chosen to endure, to press on, to suffer in quiet solitude, not once mentioning how very hard this whole experience was for me... never letting on to the world that my White Chocolate Hot Chai (which is heaven on earth if made correctly) tastes roughly like someone opened a can of nasty and topped it with fake sugar made from saccharine (which is known to cause cancer in cows and small children in California - or so I've heard).
So anyway, this is how it works. You walk into your favorite coffee shop (see, this is where I went wrong). You nonchalantly stroll up to the counter, look the friendly coffee-person in the eye and say, "Hello there chum I'd like a pack of gum and if you have the time I'd like to kick you in the bum!"
Okay, okay, I was kidding about that part. I just made that up. Just order something that you enjoy, if you can't think of anything then start off with a Chai perhaps or maybe a nice cup of tea. If that doesn't work for you there's always the standard cuppa-joe. (coffee.) Make your way over to a table and make sure you have a napkin or two. If the coffee shop is a decent one they should have some music playing and the ambient atmosphere should be quite relaxing. The Starbucks I went to tonight was about as hip as hospital waiting room, but that's just what I'll go through for you guys.
Now that you're sitting down with your beverage of choice, relaxing, take one of your napkins and start doodling on it with a pen. After a minute if you've somehow stolen my brain and hijacked my thoughts your napkin should look something like this:



So, there you can see I've got my cup of yuck, my trusty pen of awesomeness, the notebook with my bebo story I'm working on, a straw wrapper, and my doodled napkin! If you can't tell what the doodle is, it's a tree thank-you-very-much!

So now that our totally linked brains are to this point you've drawn yourself a fantastic looking tree, great work! What to do now? (What? You say you haven't drawn a tree? You doodled something else? Well fine then, Sport, you do what you gotta do.) Now comes the fun part. You make up something. Just write whatever comes to mind. My clones and I have written a short little poem and doodled a little more. It doesn't have to be your best work, just write whatever comes into your mind. Don't spend too much time on it.

Done? Great! My clones and I have created this:



Nothing too extravagant tonight, like I said, I was pressed on time and drinking radioactive sludge. I don't know what excuse my clones have for themselves. Bad clones, bad!

So, there you are, sitting in your wonderful ambient atmosphere at your favorite coffee shop, gloating over how your White Chocolate Hot Chai is a hell of a lot better than mine was, thinking to yourself that your napkin is utterly and completely awesome... well, you ready for it? Here's the clincher. It isn't called "I've got an awesome looking napkin, I'm going to take it home and put it on my fridge!!!!" It's called Coffeeshop Confessional. You have to leave your napkin behind! (I think the people from Europe might be a little concerned about my use of the word 'napkin' by this point, uhh paper handkerchief? Yeah, whatever, it's a napkin!!!)

Depending on the place, I usually leave mine on the table and take care of my cup myself. I imagine some person unwittingly strolling by and throwing my little piece of work in the trash or blowing their nose on it. But one time I returned to a coffee shop I'd done this in after a couple of weeks and much to my surprise my napkin was posted proudly on the bulletin board. It was a mighty fine napkin too if I remember correctly. I've also tucked a one or two into the side of a lounge chair with the hint of a corner poking out, folded in such a way that the text is clearly showing.

Writing Exercise:
Oh come on, give me a break!!!! I want to see your Coffeeshop Confessionals! Email me a link to your post on your blog and I will collect the links and post them in a separate post here on mine. Just think of all the bonus points you'll get with the search engines.... (Yes, I will use bribery if I have to!)
If you don't like coffee shops I'll allow you to cheat. Just go to a restaurant or something.
Remember, you have to leave the napkin there so take a picture or just write about your experience.

Just Another Update

Today is Tuesday, and what a day of blegh it's been.
For those of you that don't know, I'm a Technical Project Manager by day and only moonlight as a blogger by night. My record for work in a 24 hour period for this job was just a few weeks ago when I started at 8:00AM and didn't quit until 4:00AM. I ate lunch and dinner at my desk, the works. That said, I've only missed one daily blog post since I started this blog.
I spent six years in the military and during that time I picked up these nasty little tension headaches. The thing is, there's nothing little about them! In fact, the reason I missed the one post I did was because I ended up falling asleep in my computer chair. That's the only way I know how to get rid of them, but my body can be a little forceful about it at times.
It just so happens that I feel another one coming on, so rather than waiting for an hour to post and taking my chances, I figured I would post before it gets too bad.

For those of you without psyche degrees, that's my disclaimer, if the post sucks I'm not responsible!

So far today I have visited 109 blogs, clicked on about 40 adsense ads, and left a few comments here and there. I didn't get a chance to work on my Bebo Author Short Story because someone at work took an unexpected day off and I got handed the mangled mess of the migration job they'd been working on. I had the pleasure of uninstalling and reinstalling the whole program and then updating it to the point I could kick off the data restore. I had promised myself I wouldn't work late on this one tonight because it was someone else's emergency, but I ended up spending another 15 minutes so I could get the restore procedure started. It should be done by now but I am purposely refusing to check because I'm half expecting it to have failed and I'm just not in the mood to deal with that right now. Definitely not a good way to take care of this tension headache, that's for sure. After a day like that I need a bit of time to cool off before I can start writing, now would normally be the perfect time to start but that just isn't happening. Haha!
This is one of those nights where I would love to write but I know it would do more harm than it would do good. I just need to go to sleep early and let my body recuperate so I can be refreshed tomorrow. I'm thinking about taking the camping chairs outside to the backyard and writing in the fresh air. I've got a great writing exercise that I've been wanting to share with you guys so if I'm feeling up to it after I write on my story I'll take a short drive and get it started.

Good news, though! My Speculative Writing Writer's Group is having its first meeting on the 27th! I'm excited, that will be after the deadline for the Bebo Author Contest so maybe I'll take that story for my required writing to share.

Check back tomorrow, I should have a much better post and a fun writing exercise if everything goes well!

Writing Exercise:

The Great 'What if'

Alright! I'm stoked. This post is going to follow a slightly different structure so pay attention. Today I won't be rambling on about what creative writing means to me. Oh no, today is group participation day! That's right!

First, take a good look at this:



So, what do we have here? It's just a picture. Okay, okay it's some trees with a building. Yep, some kind of processing plant. It could be for gravel or sand or wheat or potatoes (I'm leaning more toward sand and gravel)... it doesn't matter. Just look at the picture. Do you see anything interesting? (No, it's not one of those cool pictures where you cross your eyes and a whale spits at you...)

Alright, I admit it, this is actually my Summer home. There's a nice lake out back and I fish for 3-eyed trout and let my toes soak in the radioactive ooze. No, not really, but EXACTLY!!!! If you're stuck and you have the ol' thinker constipation going on, this is the perfect trick! If you're in the writing mood, great! Pick the first thought that comes to your mind and start writing. If not, hold on a bit, we'll get there.

("I bet a lot of men work there, it'd be dirty work. But what if the employees were all women? What if this isn't really an industrial plant at all? What if it's an elaborate cover for miles and miles of secret underground tunnels where a colony of fugitive women are hiding, fighting for their survival? Why would they be hiding?")

("What if a young man joins the Army and goes to war, during an intense mortar exchange he's injured and later sent home on a medical discharge. No longer able to pursue his dreams due to his new physical deformity, he takes a job as a night janitor at the old gravel refinery. What if the foreman for the ground crew is none other than his old school rival, no longer able to escape the events of his past the young man must now face the same bullies he'd tried to leave behind.")

("Ten years ago those trees had been planted by the neighborhood watch. They were meant to deter crime in what was considered the 'bad part of town'. After a year they all just died, leaving the street scarred by their shadowy, skeletal fingers.")

("A twig snapped as the detective stared intently at the crime scene before him. "Coffee?" She asked. Her eyes were piercing in the dark. She'd been his partner for six months now, damn good one at that, but if there was one person Detective John Delane didn't want sneaking up on him in the middle of the night, it was her.")

These are all different approaches for using the picture as a writing prompt. Notice the last one didn't mention the trees or the building at all. It's just something that popped out. Don't focus so hard on the picture that you lose the image that flitters across your mind. None of those starts are even that good, but you know what, they don't have to be! The point is to write and to keep writing. You are excavating an idea that you can later mold and shape, but you have to uncover it first.

Now, what if you really aren't in the mood to write something serious? You have the block and it's giving you a headache "this big!" Well, we have some options! We do? Of course we do! If you don't feel like writing a poem about global warming, what about a fake ad copy? The sillier the better!

("Here at Henderson's Dirt we pride ourselves in providing the best soil around. In fact, not only do we love it, but the worms do too! They're so delicious and nutritious that we just couldn't keep them secret any longer! So the next time you're at the store, pick up a box of Earthworm O's! Your kids'll love you for it!")

The point is that if you're writing something just to be silly you won't be concerned about it being good or not, or at least you shouldn't be. The trick is to make simple writing exercises like these fun for you. If you're in the mood to write serious, do it! If you look at a picture and you're suddenly struck by a memory that seems completely unrelated, go for the memory. Every now and then you'll find you uncover a lot more than you expected when you follow those random tangents.

So take out a notebook or open up your word processing program and get to work. You've got a writing exercise to do! Get that creativity flowing! Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a nice hot bowl of Nightcrawler Noodles waiting at the table.

Kat's Writing Exercise Submission!

Poetikat from Poetikat's Invisible Keepsakes www.hyggedigter.blogspot.com

I enjoyed this piece of Brady's because it awakened a slumbering dream of living in the country. I would love one day to be, not necessarily in the woods, but farther away from civilization, in a little cottage, with a few indoor animals and a few farm animals. If I ever had the opportunity to care for a deer, I would. It would never be cultivated for venison, only kept as my companion.

I'm an animal lover and the photograph writing prompt recalled to mind a poem I wrote last year after a young deer somehow found itself in the Legislative Building in Fredericton, New Brunswick. The Daily Gleaner of Fredericton, published the poem on their Opinion Page.

I feel compelled to submit it in response to the Hunting the Muse call.

Inspired by "My Cabin in the Woods"

Morning of a Fawn

What must have possessed him

Climbing steps of stone

Ent’ring hallowed halls where

Only man has gone

Pointed stars directing

On his lonely quest

Eyes to front, he’s charging

Which way out is best?

Up and over desktop

Papers fill the air

Crashing heavy objects

Flying tufts of hair

Over in the distance

Streaming on the floor

Sunlight from a window--

Should have used the door!

Slack jaws hanging open

Beast is gone, pell-mell

Speculating’s rampant

Home to park Odell?

Harshness of the winters

Population dropped

Numbers on the rise now

Time the harts were stopped.

©2007-Kathleen Mortensen

__________________________________

Would you like to see your writing on HuntingtheMuse? Check out Call for Submissions for the requirements.

Call for Submissions!

With the exception of the toothpick picture (originally from wikipedia) in my first post , all the pictures included in the Writing Exercises on my blog have come from my own collection. Some of them I already had, some I've captured while trying to come up with new things to share as creative prompts for you.
It occurred to me today, while taking more pictures for future exercises, that I really have no way of knowing whether anyone is getting any use out of them. So I've decided it's time to do something about that!

If you write a story or poem or anything else you feel artistic and creative that has been inspired by one of my exercises, I would like you to email me. In return I will read your submission and if I determine it to be appropriate for this blog I will post it with full credit prominently displayed and I will also include a link back to your site or blog. This will give you some exposure and will give you a venue to show off some of your writing. (I will also consider youtube videos as long as they fit the theme.)

Your email should include:

• 'Writing Exercise Submission' in the subject field of the email.
  
• The name of the post the writing prompt was on (link preferable).
• Your name.
• Your website or blog address you would like me to link back to.
  
• The poem or short story that you have written.
• Any comments about how the prompt influenced the writing of this particular piece.
• If a youtube video, provide the link, not the video itself.
  

Limits:

• The work you have submitted MUST be your own.
• If previously published you must still retain the rights to said submission.
  
• No sexually explicit content.
• No extreme violence (nothing outside the realm of general taste).
• Swearing is allowed but not to the point where it overruns the content or distracts from the writing.
• Submissions will be accepted by email only, do not submit via comments.
  

I reserve the right to refuse publication of any content on this blog at my discretion. All rights will remain the author's upon publication on this blog. The Author has the right to request that his, her, or its work be removed from HuntingtheMuse at any time and the request will be fulfilled at my earliest convenience. All content is the responsibility of the submitter, if it is determined that the work you have submitted belongs to someone else I will be very cooperative with any authorities that contact me about the matter. I do not take copyright infringement lightly. Write your own material! :)
These guidelines are subject to change, please check back occasionally if you haven't read them in a while.

Happy hunting and may you find the Muse at every turn!

Writing Exercise:

Don't Read This!

So, it's about time, isn't it? Tonight I will tell you what my goals are for this blog. This will also cover the topics of why I have a donate option and google adsense on here in the first place.

As of this moment I have spent around 50 dollars for a 2 year domain name registration and email for the blog. I really wanted to throw in hosting but at this point Blogger is free and it covers all the basics. I would like to eventually move everything over to a hosted site but only at the point where the blog can support itself. I don't expect this to happen soon, by any means, but it's always a possibility. That said, I don't keep this blog for money or the prospect of making money off it. I write this blog because I enjoy writing and reading and I love everything about creative writing.

I recently signed up for Entrecard and while it does drive a lot of new traffic to the blog, most of that traffic doesn't stick around, according to the site statistics I perform anyway. At first I thought this might be a bad thing, but the more I thought about it the more it made sense. In the past two days my daily traffic has nearly doubled. Even if most of those visits are very short in nature, it piggybacks on my Blogrush traffic stats. That means I get more syndications for my posts, that's not bad at all considering those syndications will be showing up on like-minded blogs that participate in the Blogrush program. This could definitely end up helping in the long run.

You get credits by visiting other blogs and 'dropping your card'. You basically just find their widget on the page and click the button that says "drop" - that's it. I usually poke around and see if it's a blog I might like to visit frequently and I've already found quite a few that have impressed me. It makes finding like-blogs in my genre much easier. If I like the content on the site and they have adsense on their page I normally click on an ad and then go on about my business. I've got their card in my Entrecard inbox so I can visit the blog daily for updates and drop my card each day I stop by. I guess in my own way this is my idea of supporting the site, but please don't take that as a bid for you to click on my ads, it's just what I do. Anyway, the credits you earn can be used to apply for advertising space on other blogs of your choosing. If you like their content and want to try to appeal to their readership, you can apply for an ad spot. They choose the blogs they want to advertise. The cost is credits you've earned by dropping your cards and selling advertising space on your own blog. The cost is the average daily drops the site gets from other Entrecard users.

This post is going to be labeled under 'blog promotion' and doesn't count as my post for the day. I just wanted you guys to know why there are ads on my blog and what I've been doing to try to promote it. If you set up an Entrecard account let me know! I'll be sure to stop by and give you some credits by dropping my card and possibly purchasing an ad slot from you. :)

Writing Exercise:

Attempting the Impossible

So, I've pegged it. I have the idea for my Bebo Author story! Ok, I won't lie to you... I was toying around with the first version of the idea last night, but even before fully fleshing it out I realized how ambitious it was. The idea is so intricate that there are a million ways I can mess it up and really only one way I can do it right. I'm not quite sure I'm up to the task, but I have no choice but to try and hope for the best.
I'm not sure how many words I've written on it so far today because it's all been by hand. That's the only way I can prevent myself from over-editing during the rough draft process. I've got an idea for a future post about writing drafts, but I'll tell you right now, I hate them and love them at the same time. There are certain eureka moments when I'm writing that everything comes out pre-polished and only requires a re-reading and quick edit here and there to be complete. "Intuition" was one of those stories. But we can't rely on those moments to sustain our writing! We have to write even when it seems like we're not up to the task. That's where the draft shines. It allows us to write without expecting everything to be perfect. Since I've forced myself to find ways to fight my perfectionist mentality when it comes to writing, I've found that it's easier to write and I don't feel as bad about what comes out on the first go.
I won't talk about it too much right now, since drafting really should have it's own post, maybe even two or three if given enough attention and time. So, I'll save it for another day.
At first I feared this story was going to gravitate to the darker side at some point, and while it will have a touch of sadness to it, I think it has the potential to be quite beautiful. We'll have to see what the judges think.
The inspiration for this story was a picture I took when I was about 3 years old. I remember the event with extreme clarity. I found my mother's camera, a really heavy one with an attached flash. I wanted to take a picture of myself but I wasn't quite sure how it worked. I was barely tall enough to see over the bathroom counter so I stretched up on my tip-toes and snapped a picture while looking at the mirror in the viewfinder. I remember thinking that the picture would be a picture of me and I was a little surprised when my mother had them developed and found my attempt, much to her delight. When she showed me I was confused as to why it was a picture of me holding a camera and not just a picture of me. It's funny how the minds of children work, isn't it?

Here's to attempting at the impossible and the sometimes surprising results we find from our efforts.

Writing Exercise:

Tonight's Special Feature!

Woo Woo!!! It's Friday! I'm so happy! I have determined that this weekend I will finish the rough draft of the story I'll be submitting to the Bebo Author Short Story Competition. So far I have no idea what it's about. All I know is that it includes a small boy looking through a window. It's decidedly not going to be dark and gruesome, I hope.
The rough draft of the beginning of a story I started working on a few months ago that I will include in this post, however, is. But I must admit, I love it. It's a wonderful beginning, even if a bit colorful and perhaps a little graphic. Okay, it's absolutely demonic, proceed with extreme caution. Some of you may wish to avert your eyes. What I like about it so far is that it has it's own voice. Jacob's voice. It's the world as he sees it. I close my eyes and I can see it too.
Anyway, there's still a long way to go, but I thought I would share this part with you. It's the story in it's entirety at this point, I have a few more projects to do before I can take the time to finish it, but I can tell now... it will be a grand adventure. It will be magical.

Jacob's Tale:

Jacob fumbled with the Colt .45 tucked into the front pocket of his over sized, hooded sweatshirt. Somewhere around the corner three government agents were in hot pursuit, the thunderous echoes of their shiny black shoes told him they were getting closer. Finally freeing the cold steel of the pistol, he planted his feet firmly and prepared to kill. It wouldn’t be the first time, if he got lucky it also wouldn’t be the last.

As the first shadow fell on the tiles in his view he braced for the recoil that would send the first bullet on its path toward his relentless pursuers. He managed a smile at the thought of Agent Roberts rounding the corner first, taking the bullet square in his puffy, condescending chest. These weren’t the type of agents that wore bulletproof vests; they were the spooks, the ones that operated out of an office without a name. They were the type of agents that questioned their detainees via ‘alternate methods’ which might mean the dunk tank or electrical connecters attached to your nut sack, depending on the mood of dear Mr. Roberts.

“Say goodnight, Agent.” Jacob whispered as the first suit rounded the corner, gun held aloof.

The first shot was deafening in the tight corridor, each following reverberation shook his vision and left his ears ringing in pain, but he couldn’t stop the hatred that had built within him during his three weeks of captivity. The first agent crumpled to the floor like a shredded paper doll. The second caught a bullet to the shoulder but managed to get off a shot of his own. Jacob barely noticed the projectile tearing through the flesh of his left thigh; the man’s weapon flew backwards in burst of red that had once occupied the space of the clenched fist of his trigger hand. The next round found its place between his eyes which were now wide with shock, staring at the stump, undoubtedly still trying to squeeze the trigger with the finger that now fell to the floor with a stunning sort of grace.

Writing Exercise:

Spread the Word!

Okay, it's finally come, the day that I've been dreading and yet almost eagerly anticipating at the same time. Today is the day that I ask for your help. I've been working on this blog for a while now, but all in all it's still quite new. I've tried my best to provide valuable content that might help other writers and aspiring writers alike. I love creative writing so it's been a lot of fun!
I've visited quite a few very interesting blogs and I've met some wonderfully talented people along the way, some have even dropped by to visit. I really appreciate that!
So, what's so dreadful about this post? I suppose it has something to do with admitting that I can't do this alone. And the part that I was eagerly anticipating? There is actually a handful of people that will actually read this post, that means we have a good starting point. How painful would this be if no one was visiting at all? I shudder at the thought.
Sure, I can keep posting, keep coming up with new things to write about, and I can do my best to make it interesting and worth your time... but I'm also spending a lot of time trying to get people to drop in and take a look at everything I've been working on. So here it is, if you've enjoyed my posts, found solace in my words of encouragement, or even been entertained by my writing exercise prompts, please spread the word. Recommend this site to any of your friends who enjoy writing. If you have a blog and would like to discuss link exchanges, please let me know! If you are looking to add more content to your site and have a specific topic you would like me to guest blog for you just send me an email!
One person who's been a continual inspiration to me and, with exception of my wonderful wife, probably my biggest fan is Kat at Poetikat's Invisible Keepsakes. She's taught me a lot about the blogging world in these past few weeks.
If you are just starting out with your blog, I highly suggest that you create an account at www.technorati.com, once you do that make sure you add me to your favorites (The green and white Favorites icon in the navigation pane and at the bottom of the page) and drop me an email, I'll do the same for you as well. This will increase your blog score and eventually drive more traffic to your site.
Another thing you can do is check out the Blogrush widget I have on the navigation pane(From the Blogosphere) . If you have at least 15 posts on your blog you should click the link at the bottom to sign up. This will syndicate your future posts and they'll show up in the widget box on other blogs around the world! It's actually a very neat utility and very simple to set up. What do I get if you sign up from my blog? A little extra syndication credits. Every time someone visits your blog you'll get a credit, and since I referred you I'll get a credit too. It isn't a money making scheme, it's a traffic generating tool and it's absolutely free. There's a spectacular video available on the site that explains the whole process. (Or, if you have some time, check out this great review by Andy Beard! -Opens in new window-)

If you have any other ideas please be sure to either drop me an email or leave a comment. I would love to hear from you!

Writing Exercise:

I'm Naked!

Yep, that's right! I'm naked. Utterly and completely naked... every time I put my writing out on the table I sit and wait and feel like I'm bare to the world. It's like those dreams where you're running around either in your birthday suit or in your underwear and everything seems normal until that one point in time when you realize that something isn't quite right. The rest of your dream usually involves running around looking for clothes, and you're always inexplicably late for one event or the other for some reason.
As writers, I'm sure we all feel that way to some degree when we display our writing to the world. When you send your work off to be inspected and prodded, you hope for the best but prepare for the worst. That is, if you're in tune with reality. There are some people out there who take to writing and feel a natural sense of how easy it is. They send off that manuscript with self confidence and are so sure it will be welcomed with open arms. Unfortunately, statistics aren't in their favor. Am I saying it can't happen? That you won't be accepted on the first try? Not at all, just don't count on it.
So what are some things you can do to avoid feeling quite so apprehensive?

Try a Critique Group

Before sending out your writing, try having it critiqued by fellow writers. Obviously you won't need to cater to all of the suggestions they give you, but it could provide valuable insight into the comments you might get back from an editor or agent. If there are repeat suggestions about a certain aspect of your writing I highly suggest you take a closer look at the potential problem. Don't feel overwhelmed! If you're told your character dialogue doesn't seem genuine, try reading it out loud like a script. Take a look at your characters and make sure they are consistent. Remember, you should treat your characters like real people. They should have consistent mannerisms, natural growth within story confines, and unless they have some kind of emotional problems they shouldn't experience unnatural fluctuations of emotion. Don't try to tell too much story through dialogue.

"Hi Jane. Can you believe we're in this really creepy old house that seems to be falling apart?" Bob asked
"Why, no, Bob. I can't believe it at all. Why did you take that dare from Fred anyway?"
"You know me, Jane. I never back down from a good dare." Bob replied.
"What was that!?" Jane exclaimed as she jumped in fright.

Sorry, that just doesn't interest me in the story. There are certain conversations that are fun to eavesdrop on, this one just doesn't do it for me. There are so many things that could be said from artful description alone. The hairs prickling on their arms and neck in response to the creaks and moans of the of the aging timbers, the sudden flash of movement and the clang of a tin can falling from a pile of trash stacked at the end of the long hallway.

When I was in High School, I did a self-imposed stint at a private school. When I say stint I mean like 2 weeks. Anyway, before I decided to head back to public school, my English teacher told a story about one of the pieces she had written. It was about a real event in her life and consisted of a conversation she had with her husband. She let someone read the story and they told her that the conversation just didn't fit, "Real people don't talk like that," they had said. "But that was our exact conversation!" She exclaimed to the class.
Apparently the reader felt that the dialogue didn't match up with the version of the characters she had written. While it may have been her and her husband in real life, they could very well have translated to totally different people on the page. After all, she wasn't writing about her and her husband, was she? She was really writing about her perception of herself and that of her husband.

I'll stop belaboring the point, just note that there are some things other people will see that you might not, simply because you are far too close to it.

Move On To the Next Project

Don't just sit around waiting! Get working on that next story or article. Get started on the next book in the series! Whatever it is, get on it. It will help take your mind off the piece you just sent out and you'll have more going for you by the time you get your reply. Some people say the publishing industry is slower than snail snot, if you wait on a response you are wasting valuable writing time. The more you write the more experience you get. The more experience you have the more likely you are to become better at writing. (I make no promises! :) )

Be Successful!

Haha, some people will try to tell you that being a successfully published author will make you feel more confident about your writing. I may be accused of being an idiot here, but can you imagine the extreme pressure to produce high quality material as a previously published author? What if your agent tells you that your new manuscript is utter crap? What if you've misquoted someone on an article? Your reputation will be ruined!!! There is so much at stake!!!!!
Listen, it isn't going to get any easier if you're famous. That's why it's important to learn good stress mitigation techniques. Put your best foot forward and move on. Life is a journey so get your butt movin'! Consider this your official kick in the pants. You'll thank me later.

Writing Exercise:

Use Life to Fuel Your Writing

There are those who would say that on some level we're all very much alike. We run around, living our lives, completely sure that no one out there knows our pain or what we've been through. When we're upset we generally don't like to hear that someone thinks they know how we feel. But there always seems to be someone out there who feels like they can match or trump what we're going through. That's definitely one way of looking at it. I suppose.
In truth, it isn't really what I subscribe to. For some strange reason I think we're all some kind of something special. We may have certain traits in common but each new and unique situation changes us, molds us, takes us from who we were to who we will someday be. In essence, we've all got a different way of looking at things. Our experiences and our reactions make us who we are. It's what gives us an edge as writers. Drawing on our uniqueness gives us strength, it allows us to bring something to the table that no one else can replicate.
More often than not I tend to write what some would consider to be 'dark' material. Would I say that I have been through a few things and have seen sides of people that would fuel those tendencies? Definitely. Do I ever feel like writing about those things in particular? Not really. That doesn't mean that I don't use my experiences in my writing, it just means I don't wear my heart on my sleeve and flaunt my heartaches. You don't need to pour your heart out in your stories to write with passion and capture the essence of your experiences.
Have you ever seen someone do something horrible to another person or group of people without feeling that they were doing something wrong? Have you ever done something with the best intentions only to have it blow up in your face? How did that make you feel?
As writers we can learn a great deal from life and from others around us. I've talked to more people than I can count over the years who have said something to the effect of, "Man, I could write a book about this place, it would be a best seller for sure." That's because we're all interesting characters. I don't think many of those 'books' would do as well because real people don't make very good story fodder and they often get upset if they feel you wrote them wrong.
Like mad scientists we have to take those interesting characters and the awkward situations and distill them down to their base ingredients. We have to ask, what makes a character like this tick? Why would this man suddenly decide to veer from the path of the work-place evangelist and tread into the sinful ways of the miscreant who decides to add a little yellow coloring to the coffee pot? What could make a 'good man' go bad? Further yet, what would it take to bring a character to the point where a sudden change of principles is acceptable to them? The truly diabolical writer asks, "What can I do to this character to make them do something they wouldn't normally do?" Treating your characters as real people will help you to bring them to life for your readers. Why would a character guard a secret for half a book and then suddenly decide to spill the beans? If the answer is plot twist then you haven't done your job. The reason has to be from within the character, the plot twist is bonus. If you haven't given your character a reason then your readers won't swallow the pill. If you want me to drink the koolaid you better hide the rat poison.
A good way to learn about people and situations in life is to observe them and then write down your observations. Over time you will gain a better understanding of why people do the things they do. You may never fully understand why someone might urinate into the coffee pot, but you will understand that people have limits, and what happens when those limits are broken isn't always pretty.

Check out my earlier post about keeping a Journal. If you aspire to be a writer and you don't have a journal or diary yet, I highly suggest you start the habit!

Writing Exercise: