Self-Publishing & Writing

Observations & Advice from a Self-Published Author.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Fear & Fiction

So...a ghost story, huh? Occasionally that's the sort of reaction I get when I tell people about the new book. What I get from this is a question: "Why would you want to write about that?" There's probably an underlying assumption about the value of the horror genre (among other assumptions). I want to explore briefly here the place fear has in our culture and the horror genre as a means to express that fear.

Real Bad Stuff

Let's make no mistake: there are fearful and terrible things in our world. The recent tragedy in Norway is a clear-faced example. A deranged person goes on a rampage and ends over 90 lives. There is radical evil at work.

The scary thing is that "evil" is not completely "out there" somewhere but also "in here," in us, in me. I/we share responsibility for the very real, very bad stuff that happens in our world. We make choices every day about how we interact with people face to face, on a message board and when someone we're talking about isn't around at all. And not all of these choices contribute to the wellness of others. Do they?

And it's not just people. I am one among many who believe there are real and dark spiritual forces at work in the world. evil must be understood holistically (in both it's visible & invisible forms) if it is truly to be reckoned with.

When contact with this sort of terror sits inside us should we be surprised that it seeks to come out somehow?

Output

Now, humanity is designed, engineered to be creative. We seek multiple forms of expression. We generate new ways of communicating our emotions, experiences, rationalizations, thoughts ... including the fearful ones.

"Horror," "Supernatural Thriller," "Paranormal Fiction" or whatever category you want to use are valid expressions of the fear which sits on a cultural throne. And this fear must be expressed.

Why? Because if we are not honest about fear and simply supress it we will find that farther down the road our fears will have grown and it will be much harder to cope with them.

Healing always requires honesty. The truth must be named and called out before it can be fully played out in us.

Separating the Good Bad from the Bad Bad.

Are there ways of expressing this that are unhealthy? You bet. As in any form of expression, any use of a genre of storytelling or poetry or whatever there are excesses which are just un-helpful.

What is the goal? Is it to get as much atrocious activity on the screen or on the page? Does there need to be buckets of blood and gore? See, I don't think so. As a matter of fact when we inundate ourselves with these they lose their meaning, their power to express fear.

When I started writing "A Ghost of Fire" and to plan for the subsequent volumes I chose to write in such a way that relied more on tension and suspense rather than on simple atrocity. Is there blood in the book? Yes, but it's strategically used. It's not, "Oh, we've gone two more pages, let's get some gore in there."

The Fate of Fear

Will fear always reign? No. Fear has had its dark night to do what it wants. But remember this. Never forget this: "There is no love in fear. Perfect love drives out fear" (1 John 4:18).

Take that, fear.




Thursday, July 21, 2011

Open your Eyes

Where do you get your ideas? That's a strange question, because it appears to assume a single source of ideas. I really don't think there is one. I think inspiration for writing or any other creative endeavor comes in many different shapes and it keeps no schedule. Sometimes it's clear and in your face, sometimes it creeps up on you  and pounces when you least expect.

Here's an example from personal experience. A few years ago while I was writing my first book, The Exiles Next Door, I had basically finished the thing...or so I thought. Then as I lay in bed one night, trying to get to sleep an idea seemed to drop out of nowhere. It was a simple line I'd heard a fellow classmate say in my Hebrew class in college that had stuck in my brain like popcorn kernels stick in your teeth. I couldn't get to sleep until I got up and wrote the idea down. It became an entire chapter of the book.

Sometimes inspiration develops like a diamond: slowly, over a long period of time. You see something like a billboard or somebody do something at the mall or whatever. You say to yourself, "I have no idea why, but that's important and I'm going to hold onto it until I figure out why." It's sort of like a grain of sand in an oyster which over time becomes a pearl.



Here's another example. My second book, The New Book of Acts, has a chapter which is based on a conversation between myself, my wife and another person in the first church I pastored in Michigan. We had this conversation where we talked about new churches and how some had picked non-traditional names. I wondered out loud if a new church could start and never pick a name. The idea met with opposition. it then became the basis for Chapter 3: A Church with no Name. But it took a while for that idea to take shape into a chapter.

The point is this: When it comes to ideas for creative projects ALWAYS keep your eyes OPEN. You never know when you're going to strike gold. Even the smallest, most seemingly insignificant incident can blossom into a core concept for a story, a chapter, a song, a scene, a play... anything.

Maybe keep a small pad of paper with you to jot down an idea. I've used this before. It can be helpful but its not necessary.

To read more of my writing:

sample/purchase ebooks: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/samwhittaker

Purchase print books: The New Book of Acts & The Exiles Next Door.

Facebook for A Ghost of Fire (Coming Soon!)

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Expectations and the "let down" effect of sequels

It's happened to all of us. We've seen a movie sequel or read a book sequel because we thought the first one or previous ones in the series were so brilliant that we just HAD to check out the next one. And then...the fizzle. It wasn't what we hoped for. Or film Franchises get "rebooted" and the fanboys and fangirls get all up in arms because "It won't be the same."

What is it with all this?? Is it the fault of studios and authors/publishers who don't know what they're doing? Are these people completely incompetent? Or is there more going on here?

Because consumer products of any kind are a two-way street (Lane 1 - Producers, Lane 2 - Consumer) I suggest there's a shared responsibility. Producers (Books, Movies, Music, blah-blah-blah) have responsibility to thoughtfully create worthwhile product and not merely seek a buck. Consumers (the rest of us) have a responsibility to thoughtfully select what we want with understanding of just what it is we're getting into without too high expectations.

While there are definitely "sequel" Producers who screw this up by not being in touch with their consumer base there are also Consumers who sabotage the process by bringing Great Expectations with them to the sequel product. (Interesting side note: Charles Dickens wrote "Great Expectations" as a serial. When the final of the serialized book was published people didn't like it because it wasn't what they expected so he wrote a different ending and published it. Ironic, considering the title isn't it?)

Sometimes a studio announces a franchise will be rebooted, meaning a different take and probably a different cast will be used in future movies of that franchise. Then people get on message boards and get all snarky. "New?" they say, "why does it have to be new? We liked it the way it was!" Are we saying we want the same old thing over and over? Peanutbutter and Jelly for lunch ... EVERY miserable day of our lives? Aren't we bigger and more creative than this? Do our sequels have to be like a McDonald's Big Mac: Fast, full of junk and it tastes EXACTLY the same no matter how many time and how many places we've had it? Have our imaginations really shrunk that much?

As one who is writing a sequel to my novel, A Ghost of Fire, this concerns me. because I don't want to do excatly the same plot with exactly the same kinds of things happening over and over. That would be a let down for me and my audience.

So, dear reader, I leave you with a few question: "As a consumer of sequels, what is your responsibility?" and "What expectations do you bring with you to the Sequel?"

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

WRITING with an OUTLINE

I touched briefly on this idea in my last post but I feel it's an important enough strategy to focus an entire post on it. Welcome to...The OUTLINE.

Simplicity.

For me outlines are very basic. You don't have to get super-detailed with thembecause that's what the actual writing is about. Outlines are the skeletons and writing is the meat you hang on the bones. When you see a skeleton on the street (!) you don't say, "Hey! That's Frank. I'd know his outline anywehere." But the Skeleton is still essential to the Frank you know because if you saw Frank without it, odds are you wouldn't recognize him that way, either.

I create an outline which is numbered (1, 2, 3...you do remember numbers, right?). Each number represents a chapter of the the book I'm working on. "A Ghost of Fire" has 30 chapters. Guess how many numbbers were on the outline? 30.

Each number gets one to three lines which give shape to the "big idea" of the chapter. You fill in the rest later. Here's a brief example where we'll use a fake book with three measly chapters:

Frank's Day Out: A Novel of the Postmodern Condition.
Chapter 1. Franks wakes up and goes to make breakfast. Frank can't decide what to make (too many options)
Chapter 2. Frank leaves for work and stops at a Starbuck's. Frank can't choose what he wants (WAY too many options)
Chapter 3. Frank stops at the Bank where a robbery occurs. The robbers says to him, "You're money or your life?" Frank can't choose (too many options). Frank is shot. Poor Frank.

That gives us a little something basic to work with, an order. We also have a theme develop. We also see we need a much more interesting character. Frank's a real moron.

Flexible.

Your outline should not be set in stone. I suggest a word processor instead. Why? One word: "Backspace."

While working on the last book I had an entire chapter from the outline that was completely cut. Why? it didn't serve the story. That's another benefit of outlining: You see it all laid out before you and you can begin to see what DOES and DOESN'T work.

An Extra Mile.

I've found it helpful recently to take the chapter from the outline...and then create an outline for the chapter. I'll come up with anywhere between three and seven thing I want to hit in a chapter and make those an outline.

As always I hope this helps.

Smooth writing to you,
Sam.

For more info on my stuff:



Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Writing GOALS that help you ACHIEVE!

Whether you're writing anything from a class paper to some fun fiction to a blog post (ahem) there are a number of things you can do to improve your writing and increase your writing output.

Today I'm going to write about goals. This can mean a lot of different things so I will explore just a few here. If you have any other ideas please feel free to share them in the comments section.

The first question you need to ask to establish helpful writing goals is, "Where is this going?" In other words, is this thing I'm working on (let's say a novel or piece of short fiction) important enough to give it the chance to live by giving it a destination to make it to in the end? If your writing has no purpose, maybe you shouldn't do it.

Harsh? Maybe, but if you don't care about where it's going then why should I? here are some goals you might consider:

Mechanical Goals.

"Nuts and bolts" may seem boring to you...unless you buy a car that is missing the necessary ones to keep it on the road. Then I'd wager you'd be very interested in them. The same is true with writing. If you went to Barnes & Noble or Amazon and purchased a book that was sloppy and undisciplned my guess is that not only would you NOT recommend it to your friends but it might even receive an unfavorable user review online at some point.

1. Word Count - Sometimes the best mechanical goal to maintain is simply production. When I was writing the first draft of "A Ghost of Fire" I had a goal of 1,000-1,500 words a day. Often I would try to smash this goal and would succeed. A good lesson to draw is that sometimes a good mechanical goal can help you to excel beyond it.

2. Outline - I'll probably talk more in depth about this at some future date. Suffice it to say for now that giving your writing a basic shape, skeleton, or whatever ahead of time can give you an organized and convenient place to hang the rest of your brilliant little words in the near future. Plus creating an outline may cut back on the "overwhelming" factor.

Heart Goals.

Nuts and bolts aren't the "end all" of writing. It doesn't matter where the car goes if there isn't a real live person in the driver seat and/or the passenger seat(s). Or, it doesn't matter how technically perfect or production-based your writing is if you don't care.

1. Write because it's worth it. Write because it motivates your spirit. Write because it's fun. Don't write as if a gun is to your head. Even if you are writing something for school that you don't want to write about FIND SOMETHING about it to enjoy. Complaining is a choice. Period.

2. Don't admit defeat. Look, it's just a word processor. You're the thinking, intelligent person, right? Who's the boss? Who's in control? A word processor can't feel. You can. Accept the challenge of writing something and make it big. Mr. Pell, my business class teacher in High School, said, "Every once in a while you have to throw your mind a T-bone Steak." By that he meant we need a challenge from tim to time to grow.

That's my two cents for today. I hope it helps.

Sam.

For more info on my stuff:

Monday, July 11, 2011

2 FREE sample chapters for "A Ghost of Fire."

So, the book doesn't arrive until sometime in August 2011. I thought I'd share the first 2 chapters for free. Now, mind you these are still in their rough draft form. The final form will likely see a few tweaks here and there (Grammar, Flow, etc.).

Do let me know what you think!

Follow this link to download chapters 1-2 for Kindle, Nook, PDF, RTF, Plain text, Sony Reader, Palm Doc & good old fashioned Online reading. (Thanks to our dear friends at Smashwords!)

Enjoy!

A Ghost of Fire - A New Novel coming in August

A Ghost of Fire, my new paranormal thriller, will release in August 2011 in both paperback and Kindle formats (along with a few other ebook formats).

Here's the book description:


  "Steve Nicholas wasn't looking for drama. He was just looking for a job. But when he lands a position as a janitor with a respectable data processing company strange things begin to happen. There's the smell of smoke and the echoes of childlike laughter. But these inexplicable things may only be the beginning of something much more menacing.
     "He soon begins to have increasingly terrifying nightmares and to experience ghostly encounters while awake. it won't be long until Steve finds himself caught between warring supernatural forces.
     "If he isn't careful he might get burned...or worse."

Paperback $14.99

Kindle $0.99