The Scribbler

Critiques

So, I was on David Brin's website today reading his "Advice for New Writers" - which is funny because I'm not actually new...just primarily unpublished. Still, the advice was good stuff. One piece of advice that I have decided to implement (on that could be good for lots of us...) is a Critique Workshop. I have never used this enough as I am egotistical and usually disdain other opinions, which could be poison to a writer trying to improve. So, I made the commitment to try this out. Mr. Brin recommended thi site - Critters .

I read through it and it is free (always key to the starving artist), all you have to do is provide critiques for other writers. Reading other stuff is extremely important to writers. I think we should digest more than we produce when it comes to writing/reading, so it seems like a good idea.  Thought I would post it in case others might need the same sort of "creative examination".

I'll keep ya posted.

Who says Hobbies can't pay off!

So this is a great story! P.G Holyfield is a fan of the computer game NeverWinter Nights. I have a similar addiction to World of Warcraft and City of Heroes. The difference, Mr. Holyfield wrote a long and well-crafted serial story involving characters inspired by the game (and also by his long time love of fantasy). Due to a following for the story on the fan fiction site of NWN and a wonderfully timed interview by Bioware (the makers of the game) - Mr. Holyfield is poised to self-publish his serial story in novel form, restructured of course for novel format, but with an already-interested reader base. By the way, the original story is quite good and I expect the novel to be as well. You can read about it on Holyfield's site:Murder at Avedon Hill

Before you take off though, let's ask - "How did this happen?"

Well, on this site, we have talked before about finding a way to make your passion pay and live by what you love. Well, look at this...P.G Holyfield started this serial story as a labor of love for the genre and the characters. He had no intent to publish, then, a good while later, a measure of fame comes knocking. A wonderful story  and what should be an inspiration to us all. Follow your passion first...worry about "market value" later.

Now, go read P.G.'s story.

JG

Hill House

This extraordinary gent posted a comment on the blog a few days back and I am now just intrigued with his life.

http://hillhousewriters.com/

Also, read his comments on my post entitled “Does Anyone Else Feel Like This”. Great stuff. It puts me in the mind of a book called “Think and Grow Rich” By Napoleon Hill, but in this case, the advice is from someone who I can clearly see “Walking the Walk”.

Am I the only one that feels like this?

I don’t like becoming this guy. I just got back from a business trip. I look around and see little clones of me all around in the airport. You know those guys. The business guys. In my case, dressed well (but not too well). I look around at work and on these trips and I see oceans of people, but most are just…existing.

I want to do what I want to do. Something that is filled with passion. Something that leaves a legacy. Something that doesn’t feel so much like work (but it does have to pay well).

Is that asking too much? Maybe, but this is my fantasy.

I can make lists and plans all day long, but in the end it all comes down to a single step. What prevents that step? Nothing…except a paralyzing fear.

So what do I want?

I want to live on the ocean (Atlantic)

I want to meet people

I want to write something that people want to read

I want to speak to groups (and be invited to do so)

I want to throw parties that people want to attend

I want to be able to hire friends and family

I want to travel, but on my terms, so my family can go with me.

I want a schedule that allows me to be flexible, skip work occasionally and fit in a workout

I want to involve history or the study of history

I want to help people or at least provide a welcome service

I want to be able to take my kids to work

I want to do something that I can pass on to my kids

I want my work and life to be surrounded by music

I want to be able to help (really help) charities and schools

I want this to be something that would involve or impact education

So how do I get all of that in one package? I don’t know and even if I did know, would I be too afraid to go out and get it?

The big "But"

What keeps you from writing?

Let me put that another way…what do you do instead of writing?

I want to write every night. Hell, I INTEND to write every night. But, there is always the but. You know what I mean…”I meant to write tonight, but the game was on” (I am so good at that one) Or, “I meant to write tonight, but the wife wanted us to spend time together” (That one is genius, because we blame someone else for our own failure to carry out our intentions.

It all boils down to a bullshit excuse, no matter how we cut it. Looking at it from that view, then it really doesn’t matter what your excuse is, any excuse will do. Just pick one, use it, and never write your novel.

So, what do you do instead of writing? Send me a comment…let me know. We may compile one hell of a list and then we will exorcize our demons together!

Me…I

•     Play Xbox

•     Watch Football

•     Play computer games online till the wee hours

•     Rearrange my family room

•     Read books (nothing wrong with reading, but should it exclude everything else)

•     Drink heavily as pass out feeling sorry for myself

•     Download inappropriate internet content

•     Take a nap

•     Play with the kids (nothing wrong with this either, but we should keep our hobbies alive as well. Your sanity, and your kids, will appreciate it in the long term).

•     Doodle on a sketch pad

•     Plan other stories that I want to write (and then don’t write them)

Revenge of the Unknown Author

Wow,

What a position to be in. This story blows me away.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/books/04/05/books.starwars.ap/index.html

I would like to trade places with this cat! I just bought his book yesterday. I’ll post a review when I get through it. Right now, I am enthralled with the world of Brian Lumley http://www.brianlumley.com 

(a relatively new discovery for me)

Inspiration

So, for the last week, I sank out of the ranks of the inspired and I couldn’t seem to make myself write a single thing. A good friend had a great suggestion. He reminded me of authors that we used to read that were always inspiring. David Gemmel, Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman, Ed Greenwood, Brian Lumley. He then went on to gently remind me that those authors had written books that I had not read. I picked up a few of those books, and I rented some good escapist movies (Aliens Vs. Predator and Dawn of the Dead) and rather than beating myself up for not writing, I reveled in my lack of productivity and inundated myself with media that I enjoy. The result? A wonderfully inspired Sunday in which I completed one chapter, started another and feel back on the motivation train again. Maybe being a lazy sloth is okay every now and again (of course cerveza always helps as well)

JG

The last writing advice you'll ever need! (sort of)

  Well, here it is! The answer at last for those of us struggling to write the next fantasy novel! I have often said that fantasy writing was formulaic, and for the same reason westerns are...the formula works. For good description of all that's needed, check out this link!

http://members.ozemail.com.au/~imcfadyen/notthenet/fantasy.htm

Cool exercise

This is a fun and cool exercise in writing. This is a link to a website maintained by Theresa Nielsen Hayden. She runs various workshops for writers and this is one of her exercises. She has these lists, called The Evil Overlord Devises a Plot, which are really funny to any fan of fantasy or to anyone who has ever tried to come up with that "original idea" for sci-fi/fantasy.

http://sff.net/paradise/plottricks.htm

So, she maintains (and I love her for it) that cliches are cliches for a reason...that being that they work! (When used correctly). So this list presents a bajillion cliches that amuse, but the exercise is to randomly generate five cliches and two plot twists from a separate list (same link) and then craft a story out of them. Big fun. Here is mine, just for giggles.

Advice for the Evil Overlord:

I will not employ robots as agents of destruction if there is any possible way that they can be re-programmed or if their battery packs are externally mounted and easily removable.

Advice for the Hero:

My guards will be instructed so that when a voice around the corner says "come here," they will assume the speaker to be an intruder and respond accordingly.

Advice for the Bad Auxiliary Character (Legion of Doom Troops):

If your unit's name contains words like "Imperial", "Elite", "Supreme", "Tactical", "Storm" or "Special", request a transfer as soon as possible. These guys always get clobbered first when the Heroes attack.

Advice for the Good Auxiliary Character (Innocent Bystander):

If your child has an adult friend who frequently urges your child to clear his/her mind, or tells you that your child has "a rare gift," set your affairs in order. Your days are numbered.

Further Evil (Miscellaneous Evil Resolution):

I will exploit my subjects, but not to the point of destitution, decrepitude, or desperation. I'm Evil, not Stupid.

Murphy's Laws of Combat : (These are the plot twists)

• Interchangable parts aren't.
• Odd or conspicuous objects attract fire. Never lurk behind one.

OKAY - here's my stab at a plotline using the randomly-generated elements above....I'll give myself a time limit of 15 minutes! (tick tock tick tock)

So, my Evil Overlord crafts a NEW Imperial Legion of Androids. The OLD Legion, which has been meeting stiff resistance by the rebels is shocked, but glad to have these bad ass robots to take their place on the front lines. The robots infiltrate the rebel base and kidnap the child of the hero's love interest. The hero and his advisor find this out and the mysterious advisor tells the love interest that her kidnapped child has a rare gift that the evil overlord wants to exploit. The child is a cyberkinetic and can talkto computers with his/her brain! The next evolution of mankind is underway!

The overlord now exploits his minions to the point of misery and the heroes use this to foment a rebellion. They attempt, using their new rebel recruits to replace a vital part in the Overlord's mainframe and thus gain control of the robot army and free the child. The replaceable part fries the mainframe and the robot army goes amuck. The Army sees the Overlord as a God figure, but the robot leader, whose mind is gradually awakening, attacks the Overlord's massive floating throne, and kills the Overlord. The robot army and proceeds on a rampage of genocide against humanity.

The Overlords OLD Imperial Legion tries to save the day, but basically becomes cannon fodder for the bad ass robots.

When all is at its worst, the heroes love in interest is killed. Seeing the death of his/her mother, the child's power fully awakens and he/she seizes control of the robot army and sets himself up as the new Overlord. The "boy king"  (ala King Arthur). The story hero and his advisor become right hand men and all seems right withthe world.

Ok - End of randomly generated plotline - that was fun!...Thoughts? Do your own now!...make it silly or make it serious...just practice plot development and then write, write, write.

JG

work +write = guilt

Currently sitting on a conference call for work.

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Obviously not acting as a pivotal part of the conversation.

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In fact, I have suffered a bit of guilt lately as I am working to meet an editorial rewrite deadline for Mundania, I am forced to do a good deal of that on “company time”. There is no doubt that being a writer and having a “real job” sometimes overlap. One thing I have learned in the last few years is that the  one-time novelist or the beginning writer rarely makes enough $$ to immediately quit their job and live like Hemingway. So, most of us have to exist with a foot in two worlds.

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I wonder if others have to do the same thing and steal snippets of time from work, or if people find a way to devote themselves 100% of the day to work and then keep their writing 100% separate (and still have time for friends, family, etc). That sounds great and I’m sure my employer would appreciate the added productivity, but unfortunately my duality as a person bleeds over to work so  my days take on a surreal duality as well. Normal? Or maybe I am a lazy nob who can barely function in the real world.

JG