Zing!

You've felt it before.  Chances are you feel it all the time, but do you pay attention to it?  Likely you don't especially if you're unsure what to do with it. 
No, I'm not talking about that extra zip in Mayo that makes it miracle whip... I'm talking about the rush or flash of inspiration that enters our mind and sends it on the ubber roller coaster of coolness.  How long the ride lasts and how thrilling the dips and twirls are depends up on our situation, the inspiration and the time we have to stay on.  Regardless of the definition, we all zing.



John Brown

 Author John Brown gives excellent clarity to Zing on his website.  Link here.  I think understanding what Zing is and knowing how to 'hunt' for it will change a new writer forever.  Once you latch on to it, your stories will change for the better.  It is possible to pass your zing on to others.  (Assuming they're compatible to it.)

How does it work?  I don't know, but it does. 
Example:  Trailer Park Elves.
Did that buzz you?  It buzzed me when I read Larry Correia's Monster Hunter International.  When we have a cool idea, it resonates not just in us, but in everyone who's compatible with it.



Larry Correia

 It's taking these idea's and putting them in our writing that takes our stories to a new level.  We all know that the whole point of telling a story is to get an emotional response from the reader. Why?  Because that's why they're reading.  To be emotionally moved.

John Brown suggests listing out all the Zing idea's that we're implementing in our story, then twist them.  Back to our example.  Elves... zing.  Trailer Parks... zing.  Trailer Park Elves... Zing Zing Zing. 

For me, I'm outlining my 2nd quarter novel and I took the idea of sorcerers and energy and I'm twisting them together.  Author Michael Crichton takes technology that Zings his interest, then asks,  "What can make this go wrong/be abused?"

I took Sorcery and Energies and asked, how can science make sorcery real?  It grew from there.

Taking our Zings, twisting/combining them and then asking questions... the obvious or just plain off the wall questions will grow our appeal and magnify the Zing to us and our readers.

I've have a weak novel I'm editing now.  The first one I've ever written.  It has problems... huh, go figure?  I've had to ask my self.  What could make this stronger?  I've decided that I need to go scene by scene and evaluate the Zing it has.  I'm going to review what is there, then twist it and start asking questions.  The deeper it gets (as long as it's not distracting from the story) the better the story will get.  I'm looking at this as re-animating the corpse.  Yeah, it's a body, but does it have a soul?  Is there any life in there?

I'm going to give this a try.  I hope you will as well.

Good Advice I'll Have To Rely On

I think blog interviews with authors are fun, but some can be disturbing and fun I've discovered.  Check out this link to the interview with Bree Despain (Author: The Dark Devine & The Lost Saint) and The Spork of Doom.  If you think that the name kind-of says it all... we'll you'd be wrong.  The weird runs deeper, much deeper, but I'll leave that to you to explore.

Regardless there is some good advice at the end of the interview that I find very useful.  Bree gives this advice frequently, so I'm going to say if it's good enough for a very successful author, then it's got to be good for me.  Goodness knows I need it.

"Great books aren't written, they're revised."  - Bree Despain.

Aside, I just love the fact she has the word aren't in her mantra.  Although I'm not known for mantra stealing, I might have to give this one a go, because it's so perfect for me.  My first draft of Lightning Child is struggling.  O.k. it's a given that it's my novel version 1.1  (Novel 1, draft 1), so it's bound to be very imperfect, but at this point I've learned just enough to be dangerous to myself.  I see how inexperienced I write, and know where I should be and even have a lot of tools/tips/advice to help get me there, I just need to write more and figure them out.  So mean time I'm editing and it HURTS!

However, now I'll be 'Revising to Greatness', because if it ain't written, it can't be revised.  (I used ain't!  giggle.)  And now I know that all those rough draft words can be revised into something that is great.

I do actually have a mantra, and I suspect it will be mine until the end of time.  'Never give up.'  I know it's not original, but it's been real for me on so many aspects in life.  It's proven true when I adhere to it.  Now I can put another mantra under my breath.  Let's just hope no one at work hears me while I chant these during my breaks.  (That's when I write.)  That could prove to be awkward.

Link here to see the interview blog by the Spork of Doom and enter to win a copy of The Lost Saint.

Balance In All Things

It's time to talk opposition.

Understand it's a part of the fight. If you don't have it, you're probably not doing something right. Opposition to your efforts of goodness is your verification you're on the right path. If you have absolutely no opposition, you're probably not pointed the correct direction. Re-align.

Really at this point you just need to know it's there.  To be able to recognize it.
You'll see external opposition.  That's where it comes from sources other than you.  Then there is the internal type.  Which is pretty obvious, because that's you baby!

The external is pretty easy to deal with.  You recognize it, examine (study) it, develop a plan to over come it, then execute.  Off with it's head!

Internal is more challenging.  Every step is the same, only it's more difficult.  Recognizing could be a big snag.  It was for me.  In general there's a little voice in my head that tells me I'm a poser and only super scholarly types (which I'm not) or complete geeky wanna be's (which I'd rather not admit) are writers.  So how could overage Joe Me be a writer.  Maybe even a really good writer... you'd best stop now.
I've discovered that when I'm procrastinating; you know like writing a tweet, Face Book Update or a blog entry I'm having issues recognizing this internal opposition.
Does this mean I have multiple personalities.  Well yeah, maybe it does to a small degree.  That self degrading put-downer guy is speaking too loudly.  Hey, self bully Bif, where are you when I need you?  Go sock him in the face to get him to shut up.
Sap!
Now, that's better.

The one surefire thing I can do to overcome opposition to my writing, is to do it anyway.  Where's that Jessie James internal self... there he is.  Rebel with a cause, this way please.  If you try to stop me, I'll just do it anyway.  In secret.  Hiding down in the laundry room, or on my lunch break when I should be in the gym doing bench presses. 

Yeah, that's me the guy who is pretentious and thinks that one day if he doesn't give up he'll be a published author.  He's a real goober and thinks that complete strangers will read his words and say, hey, that's pretty good.  What else does he have?

Hey put-downer, didn't I just have Bif over there sock you one?  Back off!  You can come out when it's time to do the chores.

I first saw this on the wall of a police officers
cubicle in my home town's police department. 

Anyway, it's got to be true.  If you don't quit, then you can't fail.  The harder you work at it, the faster it will come.  So, I'm not going to quit.  Actually I'm going to go do it right now.

Alright Bif, high five.  Let's go pick on gullible for a minute, then we'll go write something.

Word!  (That's funny because I'm a writer and I write them.)

;-)

P.s.
A quote from Bree Despain's March 12th presentation at the library event I spoke of earlier. "Get your 2 plus hours in daily.  You have a right to write." 
I just love that.

Dum Dum Dum Da Da Dum Dum, Under Pressure

I think Queen (the band) had a bit of this in mind when they sang that song.
We all have pressures on us and our time. When we have something of real value the balance that exists in the universe will attempt to rob that from us.

The pressure is caused when we resist that change.  The building pressure or result of resisting the easy path to nothing is what makes us strong and produces things of value.  When I go the gym I quite frequently drag myself there.  All I want is to go take a nap or read a book or do anything but exercise, but it's the act of winning over my weakness that builds strength.  It's the same with writing.

I often wonder why my best writing comes from the smallest periods of time.   Those last few minutes before my writing time expires is when I get the most value.  The idea's and words flow.  It's not because those last thirty minutes are any better than the first ninety.  I believe it's because I have pressure to perform.  I have a deadline at 6:29am that says your time is up.  If I want something at that point I had better push hard and make progress.  The pressure of deadlines drive us and opens our potential. 

Most days on my breaks at work I try to rough draft some notes about the current story I'm writing or developing.  Not once in the past year I've been doing that have I ever sat down thinking I knew what I was going to write, but knowing I've got ten minutes makes it work.  The first seven minutes are sheer torture, the pressure builds and I fear not getting anywhere.  Then it breaks and for three minutes until I drag myself away from the burst dam of idea's I've gotten somewhere. 
A deadline, even if self imposed, gives us a road map.  We can see and plan out milestones to reach a bigger goal.  Without deadlines there is at best an ambiguous destination.  Essentially there is no path with check points.  Therefore no pressure.  No growth.  Anyone could walk a hundred miles if given an eternity.  But if you've been given 48 hours, you bet you could foot that distance, but you'd have to create specific goals and checks to ensure you don't miss your target.  What is the difference.  The latter provides growth.  If you take an eternity to get there and had no pressure you can't possibly grow.

If you're like me you have many things pulling on your time.  Work, family, religious duties, the growing need to eat or sleep soon.  Don't look at these as obstacles, but as blessed pressure builders.  Carve out your writing time and guard it jealously, but don't abandon your life.  You need those things to make this, your writing, worth while.  You need the pressure they'll give while you struggle to write. 

For me it took making sacrifices I didn't think I could before before I could write regularly.  Maybe it will for you also? 

When you're under pressure, don't give up.  When (not if) you're feeling pressure it's because you're on track.  It's what this life/world is about.  Push past your barriers and create new wider boundaries for yourself.  That's right.  Get your backside in the chair, put your fingers on the keyboard and push those keys.  Eventually you'll be making words, and soon those words will mean something.  Not likely until the last moment, but you'll have something you didn't have before.  And that is valuable.

Happy writing to you.

Pop Tarts and Tap water at 4am

It may not be the most desirable way to write, but it's mine and I own it.

You heard it right 4 AM every day, no excuses. I've been on that path since October 1, 2010. It's been a bumpy road at times, but it's mine. I've been wanting to be a committed writer for years, and 2010 was going to be my year. The year I finished my novel or bust! However after struggling seven months with an evening time slot of 10pm to midnight when my mind was shut down and I couldn't motivate myself into anything creative, I eventually decided that if I was going to make a big commitment in my life to write a book I needed to show to my self that I was committed beyond the days left over minutes. I wasn't getting anywhere robbing time from the next day.

The night owl shed his feathers and picked up mornings. Ouch... that still hurts.

I turned to the mornings with vengeance and here I am today with 2 complete first draft novels and I'm fresh into first edits on my number one project, Lightning Child.

Things went very well at first. Then life happened and my 10pm bed time was delayed and I'd wake up too tired to get much done. My high target of 1600+ words a day gets missed nearly every day and then I started struggling to reach my 1200+ target. Baby's get sick or teething and all sorts of things that I let keep me from writing before. Things both in and out of my control. (I'm sure all the mom's out there know just how much infants cripple your ability to write. I've also decided that children only wake up in the 4 to 6:30 am time frame if you are writing.)

I learned that my journey in being a daily writer included several things. First of all I needed the support of my wife with the children during writing times. I must make strong use of my break times at work to write. I need a solid 4+ pages to transcribe in the morning and get me started. If I have that then my morning is at least 1200 words or better. If I don't, it's a gamble.

Some day's I'm so exhausted I can barely keep my hands on the keyboards, so I've taken to standing up and pacing to get the blood pumping so I can stay awake for even just sixty seconds more before I have to pace around again. (I wonder if I look as stupid as I feel when I'm doing it?)

Saturday and Sunday afternoon nap times are my sweet spot. I use them to make up for lost ground in the week. Deadlines are deadlines. If you don't reach them... you're dead meat. I had to create deadlines to keep myself motivated. My wife follows up and asks how I'm doing. Shame, if I didn't meet my goal, is self delivered and in plenty big scoops.

I also have taken to snacking on sugary breakfast pop tarts or their off brand equivalents to keep the blood alive in the early A.M.. Then I wash the stale dry goodness down with some fresh tap water.... yum!

Still when all is said and done, even counting those days when I failed or when children or other distractions hit me hard, I did it. I wrote my book in 2010, and I started 2011 with a new goal to get 4 more before the year is out. 4 completely written novels, including first round edits. Unofficially I want to have book 1 submitted to even just one house or agent, with room for the others to follow. I'm all about those rejections. Bring them on.

I have a plan. This plan I hope to beat. If I keep writing and make my daily goal I'll have 1 million words in less than 2 and a half years. I suspect by then that I will be strong enough to get publication considerations.

I'm also supplementing my deficient ego with inexpensive writing conferences, author presentations/signings,writing pod casts and blogs. I've learned so much speaking to and listening to those who've already walked a similar path that I'm on. I try to be in the community and support it the best I can.

I suppose this is a journey and I'm going to live and love it the best I can. I'm one of those types that Bree Despain spoke about in her recent 'Tips for Aspiring Writers' presentation at the Whitmore Library in Salt Lake City 3/12/2011. I've had my eyes on future events for so long saying 'I'll be happy when...' that I forget to love my life now. Of course I knew this already and my extremely wise and beautiful wife reminds me of this all the time. But it's very applicable to my writing. If I have a tough morning writing, then I need to remember that I love writing. Do what makes it fun, even if it detracts from my word count that day. I need to enjoy my journey.

I'll liken how my writing is to how road trips can be. If you travel from point A to B in as short a time as possible. It's really rather un-enjoyable. If you make stops along the way to enjoy scenic views, historical markers, attractions and other fun things you'll take longer but enjoy your journey. It's the journey in life that we have to love. If I've decided I won't love my journey then I won't and with my eyes only focused on the destination I won't be happy until I get there. If there ever arrives, but that's a conundrum for another discussion.

So when writing has so much to enjoy along the way it would be rather fruitless to not just plan to enjoy the journey.

All journeys are different. I hope yours turns out to be fun and that you never lose the love in writing. If we don't quit, one day we will all get published regardless. May today's destination be two hours of writing fun.

In the mean time I'm just going to sit here at 4am and keep writing. With the occasional pacing, pop tart chomping and tap water chugging... of course.