This site is a place where I discuss my writing journey, my books and stories.
HERE IS THE LINK to the interview by a local video blogger.
Do things that make you uncomfortable in your life complacency and comfort do not help you grow. So I am taking a heaping spoonful of my own medicine. I have always firmly believed that to grow, you need something to push against, even if that thing is your stage fright. I hope you enjoy it! for me, let the cringe begin.
After thinking about Emergence Ascended for way too long, and now that I am finished, I found there is a dead space in my head. I sat down to put together some notes and instinctively opened my ‘work in progress’ that is no longer in progress, at least the creative part of it. I had a strange feeling of separation. It’s not as dramatic as postpartum depression (not that I am trivializing a mental health condition), but the correlation is that there was a sense of “Oh, okay, what do I do now?” Of course, it was brief; I have 2 more novels in line, so there is plenty to do PLENTY.
It was a weird feeling, not a sad one, but it was definitely something to acknowledge. When you are close to a project and then it’s over, there is an almost whimsical feeling of longing for the ‘good ol days’. At that same moment, there was also a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction. I did complete it, and I am really happy with the ending. A strange bag of mixed feelings.
When I completed Emergence Collective, I was too elated to feel any loss. However, I did have ideas to put on paper (Like the ghost story I am starting). I pushed the ghost story aside to write the sequel, so maybe I didn’t suffer because the next project was in the same world as the one my brain was still stuck in. I wonder if other writers feel similar things after they finish? To me, this isn’t a negative thing; it’s an introspective look at myself, a new emotion that I do not have much experience in. Maybe I can put it in a story. (Everything is fodder for inspiration.)
Moving on… I’m still thinking about the title(and working title) for ‘The Ghost Story’ (that is going to get old.) But Yellow Man, or the man in yellow. Ohh, maybe something catchy like Slicker Man or just ‘Slicker.” Something Stephen Kingish. He always had cool one-name titles: Cujo, Carrie, Christine… That seems to work. Anyway. I started my research (before I finished Emergence Ascended) because I can’t stop myself from working on three things at once) on yellow man, the guy in a yellow rain slicker? Ugh. I started researching the next book.
I had an interesting conversation with a Paranormal investigator from a group in the UK. And I think I have my finger on the pulse of how those things operate. I have a plan for some of the early background stuff in my world-building. I have the setting in my head, and the characters are starting to flesh out. I am not sure how spoilery I should get here; after all, this blog is as much for me (maybe more) as it is for you. Since you are reading this, you are in the Hand-prints of Darkness Insiders club. So maybe you get the privilege of witnessing not only the behind-the-scenes process but also some of the secrets rattling in my head. Maybe it will be fun to expose the inner workings of my brain, for better or worse. However, if I did lay bare my secrets to the story, it would make writing about the process easier.
Maybe if you heard it, it won’t sound confusing, but to me, a little dyslexic, attention deficit muddled brain, I am trying the best way to approach it.
It’s October. The veil between worlds is thin, and the old gods demand tribute. Blood will flow! Muahahahahahaa! Maybe I should have waited to post this until tomorrow, Friday the 13th (or lucky you to the Australian readers), To post my sacrifice piece. Okay, not a blood sacrifice, but I donated part of my soul to the cause.
It doesn’t happen a lot, and maybe it should more often. I don’t know. I had spent a fair amount of time writing chapter 42. One of the last chapters in “Emergence Ascended.” I am wrapping up the main conflict and setting up for the satisfying conclusion that will make or break my book. Nothing is worse than getting invested in a story only to have it fall flat in the end. (my new fear). I recently watched a movie that did just that, though I can’t remember the name because I try to forget disappointment.
The chapter flowed well and had all the elements I was hoping for. The tone was right, and I think it invoked the emotion I was trying to instill. Then, I deleted it. I even set up for it a couple times in earlier chapters (I had to go back and change those breadcrumbs, too)
It was painful. I do not get much time to write (this book could have been completed a year ago, to be honest), so the writing I do accomplish is precious. I deleted it because, even though I knew where I was going, it didn’t read like I wanted when I got there. My inner critic told me things like, “It’s pretentious, expository, and leaned too heavily on outside references.” DELETE.
Sometimes, sacrifices are needed, and some are even worth it. So, I have mixed feelings, but the strongest is eagerness. Excitement to take another approach. I am so close to the end, its worth my effort to make sure the reader gets the best out of me.
Thank you for taking the time to check out my post!
I bet you have wondered why I have not posted an Audible update lately. That project is on pause. It has been challenging to get clean recordings, and the amount of editing made the project bigger than it should have been. It is much work for a crappy outcome. OK, I was getting better at it. You can still listen on Spotify to my progress at narrating; the sound quality was also improving. (It was pretty cringy the first few episodes.)
So I was recording in my dining room; it is wide open to the kitchen and living room with vaulted ceilings, so everything echoes, and (5 cats) are noisier than they should be. So, I am waiting for a space to carve out for a permanent recording area. In the next few months, I should have a niche to call my own, and I will resume recording then.
In the meantime, I continue to chip away at Emergence Ascended, on chapter 30, with just over 50 thousand words, so I am nearing completion. I started my research on the ghost story I am writing next. I have been corresponding with a paranormal investigator group in the UK, so I look forward to some spooky tales to flesh out my insane idea. If you are or know a ghost hunter or paranormal investigator, send them my way!
Thank you for taking the time to check out my blog; feel free to leave a comment or drop a “Like” my way; I sincerely appreciate it.
I am making good progress on “Emergence Ascended” (the sequel to “Emergence Collective.”) I am getting close to the final chapters and I couldn’t be happier. I am working with an Artist, Nora Ravenhorn for some digital art. Here is an image of Serenity Gates, one of the characters in “Emergence Ascended” (click the picture for a link to her Facebook)
I have mentioned in previous posts that when I am writing (or drawing), I create rule sets to maintain continuity in the world I am building (or the picture I am drawing, a style is a rule set for me). In Emergence collective and its sequel Emergence Ascended, there are rules to the world that may not be spelled out in the story. It’s mostly for me to keep the story’s vibe the same throughout. I tend to be scattered, and ADD doesn’t help, so the rules are a coping mechanism to keep things straight in my scrambled egg brain.
In the Emergence world, I have several seemingly unrelated philosophies that guide the story. Remember that I am not a shaman, Guru, or theoretical physicist, so the crap I come up with may or may not coincide with actual science, religious or spiritual facts, beliefs, or practices. It’s pure fiction. The framework for these stories is based on String theory and my imaginary connection to spiritualism, where vibrational energies are the heart of reality. In string theory, everything that exists comes from infinitesimal vibrating strings. When the strings vibrate at different wavelengths or frequencies, that defines the particular matter or energy and makes things like quarks, protons, atoms, molecules, etc. In some spiritual philosophies, the world(or reality) is also vibrational energy that governs things like love (positive vibrational energy) or hate (negative vibrational energy), whether you are healing or decaying in your spiritual self. Consciously or intentionally, maintaining a positive vibrational frequency (spiritually) will shine out and radiate love, light, and positivity that others will be attracted to. Conversely, suppose you are radiating a negative vibrational frequency. In that case, you will attract negative entities that thrive on those frequencies and encourage negativity in your life to reinforce the negative energy they are consuming.
Karma (in my world, though I don’t point it out expressly) is that convergence of positive and negative energy. To me, Karma isn’t a spiritual point system where if you do something good, you get points that you can cash in, in life or the afterlife. Or if you do something terrible, you will lose points, and maybe something bad will happen to you. In my rule set for my story, Karma is the balance of positive or negative vibrational frequencies. Like attracts like. If I keep vibrating in lower frequencies, those things that also reside there are attracted to me and vice versa. Doing “Bad things” (although a cultural distinction can be made for what is considered good or bad ) is merely a matter of vibrational patterns. Altruism is regarded as one of the higher frequencies, but your choice in how altruism is displayed can be a negative frequency, depending on your intention. If you help an old lady cross the road, for example, that is a good thing. But if you did it to be noticed doing it, so that whoever saw you doing the “Nice thing” will see you as a good or nice person; that act of altruism is corrupted by your selfish, negative need to be seen as being nice (Bad karma dude). It’s a slippery slope, and the balance of your spiritual frequencies is constantly wavering back and forth.
Ok I think I am rambling and none of this probably doesn’t make sense, but when I am writing the Emergence series, this stuff all plays its part in the back of my mind.
Thanks for reading! Leave me a comment or ask a question, there is extra Karma if you give me this a “Like”
So as I mentioned before, I have been stalling on Emergence Ascended. When I started, I had the gist of the story in my head from beginning to end (sort of). I had a rough map, at any rate. Sometimes I write myself into a corner or (as the reader is) wonder what will happen next (that’s where I need to be clever and creative), but sometimes I get stuck. There were a few possible plot directions I could go, but one way led to a problem, and the other leads to another issue. Trying to find the best possible solution without sounding derivative or a bland ending, I had to give it some serious thought.
Well, I had an epiphany. I had all the elements in place, but for some reason, my dumb brain took a minute to sort it out. I Passed the bumps in the road and am ready to finish the 3rd act. As I am primarily a discovery writer, I do not usually outline; I have an idea and go from there. But After my epiphany, I decided to jot it down to keep my thoughts in order. Maybe I am evolving my writing style.
Here is a question for the other writers out there. Have you ever written the end, last chapter, or whatever before you finished? Then connect the dots? How’d that go?
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It’s been a great couple of weeks, with a quick vacation and a holiday weekend. I did not spend any time writing. I let myself get bored. Boredom is a very healthy state of being in my opinion. It makes your brain ooze creativity as it aches to do something, anything. So I let myself get bored, refilling the creativity, parts of my brain. I also switched gears from writing and spent a lot of time doing some laser engraving projects (As shown above). Now that things are going back to normal, I will start posting again and writing my WIP. I also plan on recording more chapters of “Emergence collective.” So if you have been following my Spotify, more episodes are coming soon (Sunday maybe)
Thanks for checking out my blog!
Yes I am still around!, I have been on holiday with the family. Getting away from it all and ditching technology (as much as I can.) Recharging my creative batteries. I expect to start posing again in a week or so. Stay tuned!
I am getting to the end of “Emergence Ascended” (my current WIP), the sequel to “Emergence Collective,” which is very exciting. I am probably the slowest writer in the world since I should have finished this book 6 months ago, but I am chipping away at it. It’s funny that while I am writing, I have to stop myself from daydreaming about the other stories in my head. I added a few more paragraphs to my short story Phantom Black (I’ll post that next), but also I am working out some details for my next book (no title yet). In the next book, I go back to my favorite Genre, Horror. It’s a ghost story, but there is a direction I am taking that requires a lot of moving pieces to work together all at once for the idea to make sense. I am also going to take a completely different approach to my writing. The dreaded outline. With some bonus pain, being character development prior to even starting. I had read somewhere about an approach to fleshing out characters by making a grid, in which each box in the grid describes a character trait or behavior and how those characters interact with each other. There is more to it, but that is the gist of it. I have some other character generation ideas that I am going to integrate into the new writing process too. Anyway, I have been having fun playing with the plot and character decisions with the ghost story instead of finishing my WIP. Oh, and some short story ideas.
Hand-prints of Darkness 