Sometimes things take over and your daily routine gets overcome by events. Spent 8 hours in the emergency room (Not for me, everything is fine and worked out) yesterday…Bored out of my mind. I don’t spend a lot of time on social media and my phone was just about dead. So there was not a lot to do. Boredom ensues… But as I say, when life gives you lemons, make lemon drops (Martini’s). Boredom is a GOOD thing. I suggest everyone find the time to do it. I think that boredom is a catalyst for creativity, a self-defense mechanism. I had some solid boredom time racked up yesterday. my creativity gas tank is filled up I literally can wait to start creating (But I have to wait, work, and all ya know?) Patience too is another lesson boredom teaches us. I believe it was Marcus Aurelius that said “If it’s endurable, endure it. stop complaining.” Here I am enduring and embracing it.
Category: writing
The Devil is in the details
I have a clear message or idea I am trying to express in the story’s (Emergence Collective) subtext. But I am so wrapped up in the story, and all of my crazy fantasies, musings, and daydreams swirl together. Some things I wrote never made it into the book, and I honestly can’t remember which parts and thoughts it made in the final. In the sequel, I am making a more considerable effort to express the big picture concepts that I wanted to convey.
The Devil is in the details. Since I’ve got past the initial 60 thousand plus words under my belt. The sequel is going much smoother, and I have a better idea of how to get my crazy notions out.
Setting the mood
Well, it’s Monday again. Nuff said about that, amright? I had a productive weekend, got some excellent writing on the sequel, and am really happy with how things are going. (Again, if I am not excited about it, it’s probably not an exciting read, right?) I got to scratch several creative itches this weekend.
               So, the environment is important to me when I am writing, and music is part of it. I like to listen to music that gives me the “feel” of the scenes or characters I am writing about. “Emergence collective” had a lot of “Lacuna coil” and “Death” playing in the background. It may not give you, the reader, the same feels as I get from my music (that I am guessing is pretty obscure to the mainstream)
I hope that the feelings this music evokes when I write translate to the character or scene I am composing and give a similar sense to the reader.
Value added?
Out of curiosity…. Is there interest in
Monthaversary!
So it has been 1 month since I started this blog. I’m going to give myself Kudos for Sticking with it! I tend to start a lot of projects that I soon abandoned. Short attention span, ADD, get bored with it, all the good excuses to move on to the next thing. But here I am, still trying it. In retrospect, I should have started blogging years ago. I discovered that blogging is actually fun to do, and it has done a couple positive things for me. For one, I am meeting a lot of cool people. I enjoy the community and interactions I am having, reading other blogs, getting improvement tips. Also, It keeps me in a creative mindset. So far …. no haters. Wow.
I started this blog primarily to promote my Book “Emergence Collective” and other writing projects. But it is also turning into its own creative outlet. So a big thank you to everyone who has checked it out, especially those who choose to follow me. Your time is precious, and I sincerely appreciate you spending some of it here.
For those who haven’t been here before or have only read a few of my posts, I suggest you check out some of my earlier posts. May I recommend my Character snapshots of “Emergence collective.”
Character snapshot: Barney Derrick
Character snapshot: Frank
Character snapshot: Willy Winston
Character snapshot: Mark and Trina
Character snapshot: The hole
Or if you like Horror, maybe check out “Alone.” It is a quick read, only 21 pages.
Thank you everyone who has checked out my blog!
Write as if you are an orphan.
I can’t remember where I heard that, but I think its harder than it sounds. Even though I write for myself, because I am compelled to, I think about who is reading it. Friends, family, strangers. But I think it inhibits the content of my writing, as I am always easing off the gas when it comes to graphic scenes of violence and sex. I, however, am an unabashed reader of those things, so Why can’t I write it? I sincerely applaud those that are brave enough to navigate those waters (as I stand on the shore looking on with envy). Maybe I will be brave enough to let loose a little one day.
Work shoppin’ stuff
I mentioned before about writing long-form vignettes (If that’s what they are called) as inspired by “Bloggin’ about Yaudi” a blog I read. So I am going to give it a go, and just workshop a little scary story idea I’ve had creeping around my noggin… I do want to expand on it, not to novel-length but flesh out more of it, but here is the gist…
Phantom Black
The beam of light pierced the veil. Like an ugly knife wound tearing a rough, misshapen hole in the darkness. The light touched a tentacle of the creature, a warm tingle drawing its attention. Confused and curious, it extended its tentacles, reaching, feeling the jagged edges of the opening. It wrapped its tentacles around it with more confusion about the nature of this new thing in its world, then examined the edges, feeling its solidity. Reaching in and gaining purchase on the inside surface, it began to pull itself through, marveling at the warm tingly, yet slight stinging sensation on its skin.
The scientists fiddled with the device with excited banter, enthusiastic about their apparent success. The device looked like an over-engineered paint spray gun. One of the scientists adjusted a setting on the machine, causing a pleasant harmonic tone to emanate from it. The other scientist poured a black viscous liquid into a small vat attached to the instrument with tubes, hoses, and electrical connections. The first scientist starts speaking into a recorder, taking verbal notes with a shaky, excited voice. “four-thirty two hertz to four forty hertz seems to be the correct resonant frequencies to properly align the filaments. We have achieved approximately….” He looks up at the other scientist and nods his head slightly, prompting the missing information.
“Ninety-nine point nine, nine percent.” The other scientist reads off of a computer monitor in a matter-of-fact tone.
“Yes, right. Ninety-nine point nine, nine percent of photon absorption.” He continued, “We have found with the increased amplitude and voltage, the harmonic frequencies will correctly align the carbon nanotubes vertically; gave us an additional twenty percent efficiency.” He said, his voice still quivering with obvious exhilaration.
Tentacles wavered through the opening, touching the air feeling the strange tingle of the light. As it pushed deeper into the new expanse, it could feel a vibration of sound emanating from inside this new space. It waved a tentacle sniffing the air, searching for the source of the vibrations. With so many new sensations, the creature grew eager and more curious. It pulled itself through the hole, sniffing and feeling.
With their backs turned away from the black painted surface, the scientists quickly prepared their device for the new round of testing; the creature probed a tentacle towards them. The probing tentacle extended toward the sound vibrations and detected a unique sensation that triggered a biological response; Hunger.
Research: Like a masochist getting a root canal
I found that I am researching strange things for writing fiction. I read “The world as will and representation” By Arthur Schopenhauer. I found it fascinating but a bit of a slog to read through. I am currently reading “DMT: The spirit molecule” By Rick Strassman. Another fascinating read and less “oldie timey” vernacular writing style that is much easier to digest. Next on my list is “The origin of consciousness in the breakdown of the bicameral mind” Julian Jaynes. (Which has been on my “to be read” list just for fun). There are some pretty deep rabbit holes I fall into, of which the things I research may not even end up in the book directly. But if you take a moment and reflect, there is an underlying theme and stream of consciousness in there somewhere 😉
Do you (I) know what you are doing?
It is not writer’s block. I tell myself as I stare at a blank page. The problem is there are too many choices. Maybe you can relate to this. As a kid (or adult, I don’t judge), You are standing in a candy store, anything you want there is yours if you want, but you can only have a few choices. How long do you waver between the creamy, decadent chocolates or the chewy gumdrops? Just when you have decided and reached (for the chocolate, I already knew what I wanted), the Swedish fish catches your eye…. That is how I feel sometimes; too many choices leave an empty page but in my mind, it’s full, and working on the next. I have mentioned before that my writing style is kinda convoluted. I think of the entire story, front to back. My roadmap. But there are a lot of side roads and interesting things to see along the way; I might wander off the planned route a little before I get back on track. But I do have a plan. Now I fill in all the little details. But those details have to have meaning that progresses the storyline and fits together like a puzzle. I take all these pieces, maybe workout a scene here, think about an interaction that might not show up for a few chapters, set that down, and work on another scene that won’t show up until the grand finale. So blank pages are not blank. In my mind
This method is working for me. But really, I have no idea what I am doing. There must be an easier way. I have been wondering how other writers do their thang. What is the process? Am I the only one that writes this way? Maybe I should start interviewing other authors, pick their brains, and see what works for them. What do you think? Let me know in the comments section below.
As far as my blank page goes, I have been reflecting on my story, and I think I have smoothed out some rough surfaces that made good connections in the narrative. Blank page I will crush you.
Feeling accomplishment
I had a good weekend and, got a lot of my plans completed, Projects for Etsy. But I did not write anything. I know, I know, I said it was a priority this weekend, but I am an artist and we are allowed to be flaky with personal goals. Even though I did not put words on paper, I do work on the story. When I am creating whether is it drawing (which I don’t do enough of lately), or painting, I am thinking about how I want the story to go. Visual art is my Zen place because I can let my mind free and wander where it wants while my eyes and hands are doing the work. My head is a rat’s nest of thoughts, so sometimes it takes a little time to unravel the threads of the story. Nevertheless, I am feeling pretty good about getting things done. Oh And Happy Pi Day!
Hand-prints of Darkness 