2015 WORD COUNT = 3076
words
The end of 2014 and the beginning of 2015 have been very good
to me. I recently managed two wins in three weeks at Angry Hourglass. I’ve
already got several Runners-Up and Honourable Mention nods gifted to several of
the 50+ stories I’ve written over the last twelve months. And let’s not forget
the Kindle
and paperback
version of a certain anthology that is, to date, my crowning glory.
Yet I still don’t think I’ve got the ‘full steam ahead’
approach that I’ve been yearning for since last February.
It’s early days yet but I think something changed in me
yesterday. It’s no easy solution, no quick fix but it has opened my eyes to
something I didn’t even realise was hidden from me.
Let me explain.
EPISODIC STORY
TELLING
Back in November 2013 I began to write another NaNoWriMo
draft. I’d come up with, what I thought at the time, was a pretty cool idea.
The story was MIGHTY GRAY and the
plan was to write a series of novellas that were laid out like a DVD box set.
I had spent two months creating main characters and chucking
down a few plot ideas (some borrowed heavily from the stories greatest influence:
Buffy). I had five ‘seasons’ laid out, each running for 10 ‘episodes’. Like all
the great American television that I feast upon, I wanted each novella to
contain its own story but with a larger game at play in the background that led
to an epic climax.
I hit the NaNo word target with just five and a half episodes
under my belt and never wrote anymore.
A few months later I came across the manuscript again and
dusted it off. Before I got stuck in I decided to check the web, something I couldn’t
believe I hadn’t done while working on it. It’s amazing what the writer’s ego
can do sometimes and I genuinely thought for a split second that I might be a
pioneer in this style of writing.
I guess that’s what writing in a cave will do to you.
SELF PUBLISHING
PODCAST
Image taken from www.johnnybtruant.com
It took me less than five minutes to find a group of guys
already doing it. It took another thirty minutes grazing through their website to
find out that they were doing it really well. It took a final twenty minutes
before I’d downloaded a couple of their books because they sounded awesome.
The guys I’m referring to are Johnny B Truant, Sean Platt and
David Wright. Under the banner of Stirling
& Stone (which includes several distinct imprints) these guys had taken
on the world of self-publishing to become an indie juggernaut.
These guys between them write an unholy amount of words a
year. More importantly, a lot of it is episodic, designed to resemble a DVD box
set of a TV show.
So I was beaten. In style.
But instead of taking my ‘original idea’ of a manuscript out
to the back garden and setting it on fire I instead made the better decision. I
started listening to the SPP podcast, I devoured what was available on their
websites and I began reading their stuff. I wasn’t giving up on the episodic idea
so I might as well learn from the best.
Despite this, I moved away from episodic at the time as other
ideas flooded in (you know what I’m like). But it was always there, always at
the back of mind. And I never walked away from the guys at SSP. I’m glad of
that because, last June, I witnessed them accomplish something kind of awesome.
FICTION UNBOXED
I won’t go
into too much detail, mainly because there is a book available that will do it
in much better form. Instead, I’ll give you the gist.
The guys at
Stirling & Stone decided that a way to help authors who were perhaps
struggling with their own works, a way to answer questions and dispel myths, was
to let the world see them write a
novel, from scratch, warts and all.
In just 30
days. (Spoiler: they succeeded).
That book is
‘The
Dream Machine’, the story of a girl name Eila Doyle who discovers a dark
secret about the world she lives in, a world where dreams are stolen and ideas
are made real.
The book is
good and, while it won’t quite hit my all-time top ten (which one day I will
release onto this blog) it is miles away from the failure its conception could
have made it. It doesn’t feel written in 30 days. It doesn’t feel broken or
rushed.
But, if you’re
an indie author trying to work out why you can’t finish your work then the real
gold is in the book about the book.
‘Fiction
Unboxed’ details the before, during and after of the epic June event. It
talks about the planning, the Kickstarter event and the reason for doing it. It
goes through the writing process as Johnny and Sean write themselves into
corners, lose the ending and add stuff in that will need plenty of
foreshadowing. It even goes on with the process of world building, of planned
sequels and creating rules for others to follow (like author gifted fan-fiction
notes).
But most
importantly it opened my eyes to the little things that were still holding me
back. While it never expresses that it will fix your problems, it does tell you
that you’re not alone. Other authors struggle. Other authors mess up. But being
stuck doesn’t mean walk away, put it off or get angry. Because, no matter where
these guys got lost they always seemed to find a solution, even if it was cavalry
style (like the ending that I think is the best part of the novel).
And they did
it in thirty days. From nothing to finished, a real life published book (cover
and everything).
So what’s my
excuse? Why do I get scared and jump ship to the next idea that floats past
because I think it save me instead? I just don’t know.
What I do
know is that I won’t let it happen again.
It’s time I finished
something, anything. I have so much on the back burner I could almost cover my
eyes and play lucky dip. I couldn’t be disappointed because I still want to
write every idea I’ve ever come up with.
And sure,
people might hate it. But so what? I wouldn’t care because at least that meant
I’d taken the next step and put something out there for them to hate in the
first place. Enough small talk. I’m a writer, dammit. No more excuses.
(Lets out
breath). Much better.
Now, onto other things.
FLASH FICTION RESULTS
My Flash Fiction writing is going well. The ‘wall’ I
encountered last week seems to have run off like a lily-livered coward (good
riddance) and my ideas are once again coming to me 80% formed and ready to go.
For Micro Bookends we were given a picture of a graveyard
along with the words ‘Club’ (first word) and ‘Foot’ (last word). I used the 100
word limit to concoct a story of two friends, one on medication to control his
delusions, who visit a graveyard to fight zombies.
CHRIS AND MIKE vs THE WORLD
“Club,” said Chris.
Mike handed his friend the club which was actually a
baseball bat with ‘extras’ stuck on. “Are you sure?”
“Of course,” said Chris. “I received a message that the dead
will rise tonight. And where do dead people rise from?”
“Their graves.” Mike gazed out at the sea of gravestones and
sighed. It was cold, it was dark and it was clear that the therapy and
medication wasn’t helping his friend.
“Now let’s save the world.” Weapon raised, Chris marched off
towards the church.
Mike went to follow but couldn’t. He looked down to find a
decomposed hand holding onto his foot.
The story got an Honourable Mention in Sunday’s results and
these kind words by judge Meg Kovalik.
The interplay between the characters here is
priceless as Chris’s clearly long-suffering friend gets dragged into some hare-brained
delusion – that just so happens to be correct this time. I can totally imagine
the final sentence being read by Vincent Price. It left me wanting the story to
continue.
After Thursday came Flash! Friday and the writer’s block was
still in hiding, fearing my wrath. With things back to normal I followed the
link, saved the picture and smiled as two ideas popped straight into my head.
The first, WAITING,
received an Honourable Mention (I’m collecting them it would seem). This is
what judges Carlos Orozco and Eric Martell had to say.
This
story shared a similar theme with many of the others, but the open ending
really sets it apart. Is Edith going crazy, is her husband really coming back
after being gone so long, or is death finally coming to reunite her in the
afterlife with her husband? This piece does a great job of storytelling with
the negative spaces, letting the reader fill in all the blanks.
Sadly there was nothing for my second story, INTO THE
WATER, but a comment by a fellow FlashDog, made me realise that I may
not be done with the world in which the story is set. Watch this space.
ROUND UP
And that’s all for now. I feel recharged and I feel like this
year is just going to keep getting better.
Next week I talk about a few format changes as well as
updates on my Zombie short story, HUMBUG,
as well as the impending release of FALLEN
SWORDS.
See you in seven.
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