Quite the Life (and all in Times New Roman 10pt!)
Hey, buddy! I’m eatin’ here!
A short piece at the end of a long week.
It’s been quite busy here. Coyote are coming by nightly. This upsets some, especially our dog, Boo, as by gosh, don’t they know that’s his backyard they’re in?
Wisely, the coyote are fleet, nimble, and cautious.
Hence this short piece, Mr. Thackbody Dines.
Enjoy.
Bringing Your Character to Life via Description
This is the fourth in an ongoing series of StoryCrafting/StoryTelling posts I’m publishing for my own benefit; explaining something helps me determine if I’ve truly learned it or am simply parroting what others have offered. I learn my weak spots, what I need to study, et cetera.
Previous offerings include:
And note that I’ll update/upgrade/edit these posts as I learn more.
Imagine you’re going to cook a specific dish for some reason. I’ll choose Fettuccine Alfredo because I made it for Susan last night.
Start with a list of ingredients:
Good and not enough. If I dumped them all into a pot it wouldn’t be very good Fettuccine Alfredo. You can have all the ingredients but you have to put them together correctly to get the desired outcome.
What I need next is the order of putting it all together:
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In all things, only what brings you joy
Another author recently wrote me “I am struggling, not without hope, to get over being overwhelmed by social media demands. A great tool, but where do you find the time to work on your writing?”
The answer to this question has long intrigued me. Especially when several people comment on my social expertise.
My first thought is, Moi? Surely you jest.
Several authors tell me they put as much time into their social marketing as they do in their writing. I’ve read some of their work.
I totally agree they put as much if not more time into their social marketing as they do in their writing. It shows. I want to ask “Do you want to be liked or do you want people to like your work?”
I mean, you can drown in the crap that’s out there now. One fellow asked me to write a review of his book. I couldn’t get past the first paragraph. I declined and politely suggested he get an editor to go review it. He already had an editor. Two, in fact, and a story coach and a publisher.
Really? And your book still sucks this much? Amazing.
For myself, craft is everything. I want my writing to stop people in their tracks. I want their world to go away and my world to take precedence. Could be why reviews of my work include statements about missing bus stops, staying up through the night reading, things like that. One person, at a recent reading, commented that my subject matter was painful but the writing pulled them right into the story. Yes!
So social marketing comes second or third or forty-fifth to me. I don’t do it every day.
I also have another rule for social marketing; enjoy it. If you’re going to do it, enjoy it. Make it pleasurable. Do it to give yourself and others a smile.
Here’s what I suggested when asked:
I only go social when I need a break from my writing. To me, developing my craft and producing product (stories, et cetera) is everything. I believe that producing quality work causes everything else to happen, so developing my craft comes first.
Sometimes I need a break. Maybe I’m stuck on a plot point, maybe a character isn’t behaving, maybe I’m just tired of developing a storyline. Okay, go online and say hello to a few folks.
I also have a core belief that we’re here to help each other succeed, that a success for any one of us is a success for all of us, so I trumpet others’ successes as much if not more than my own.
So work on your craft first. Go social when you need a break, need to warm up, something like that.
Behavioral economists reading this will go all blathery about altruism, freeloaders, cheaters, et cetera.
Don’t waste your time. I wrote that I do it when I need a break and because I enjoy seeing people succeed; a rising tide kind of thing and maybe they’ll remember me when… So much for altruism. I’m not looking for reciprocity. So much for freeloaders and cheaters. Besides, I reward people who help me – I promote them through my mailing lists – so freeloaders and cheaters die off quickly.
May not be the best strategy. Works for me. Maybe it’ll work for you.
Ever watch an author sign a book for a reader? It’s impressive. There’s a flourish, a joy, an excitement. It’s amazing. Come watch it happen!
The good folks at the Burlington, MA, Barnes&Noble bookstore invited me to do a book signing on Saturday December 14, 2019 1:00 PM.
Please attend. It’ll be fun!
A bit about The Augmented Man
The US Military concedes that any kind of combat leaves soldiers psychologically damaged and makes reintegration to society difficult.
The solution is to find individuals who are already so psychologically damaged the most horrendous combat experience will seem trivial by comparison. Better, find individuals psychologically damaged who’ve also experienced massive physical insult and trauma. Best, individuals psychologically damaged, physically traumatized, and emotionally vacant.
But where to find such individuals?
Captain James Donaldson suggests using massively abused and traumatized children as the basis, arguing “…they’ve already experienced more at home than they’ll ever experience in the field. All we need to is help their bodies catch up to where their psyches and emotions already are.
Nine individuals are selected for Augmentation and entered into combat.
One survives.
And comes home.
Anecdote
I recently took part in an authors’ reading and used the Surface section of The Augmented Man as my text.
One of the other author’s partners said, “I’m uncomfortable with your subject, but your writing pulled me right into the story.”
YES! Thank you, that’s what it’s all about.
To me.
When the power of the writing overcomes the reader’s objections to the story’s content, take a moment and be proud. You’ve done good work.
About me
You can find out more than you need to know at my About page.
Let’s go for a ride, Al
(final edit before the proofreaders (he said). You can read the previous version here.
Read Empty Sky Chapter 5 – Jack Games
Creator and above level members can download a PDF of the first six chapters to read offline
Al Carsons took off his shirt while Doc Martin read an official letter Tony sent to explain the situation. He placed the letter on top of Al’s folder and placed both folder and letter on the examining room table. Next he reached into his pocket and pulled out some Post-It notes.
“What are those, Doc?”
Doc Martin patted the examining room table. “Up.”
Al sat on the table. Doc Martin read the Post-It notes, nodding at each as he shuffled them, then put the bunch of them in the sink. “You smoke?”
“You know I don’t.”
“Wait here.”
He went to his office and came back with a small box of wooden matches, lit one and held it to the Post-It notes.
“Doc?”
“You would like to test for a Class 5 HazMat TT license. I am going to examine you to make sure there is nothing to suggest you shouldn’t test for that license, but which would not stop you from maintaining your Class 4 Construction Vehicle license. Do you understand what I told you?”
Al smiled. He and the Doc went way back. On his first visit, Al was a strapping, blonde haired, cowlicked buck fresh out of high school who’d just started working for the county and, in the middle of his union physical, confessed he’d just met a girl and wasn’t she pretty? Al remembered the Doc talking to him, confirming and denying things Al had heard about but never experienced, things about being “safe”.
Doc had been a tall, lean, man about fifteen years older than Al. Tall and lean and wiser than anybody Al ever knew.
Now Al had gotten a gut and what hair he had he cut close. Still thin but now not as tall, Doc seemed more like a pussywillow stick bent with the weight of the silvery puff on top. The Doc seemed to be getting thinner and more hunched these days.
“Why, sure, Doc, I understand, but — ”
“Good.” Doc reached into a drawer and came back with a reflex hammer. He whacked Al square on the forehead hard enough to open the big man’s eyes.
Greetings! I’m your friendly, neighborhood Threshold Guardian. This is a protected post. Protected posts in the My Work, Marketing, and StoryCrafting categories require a subscription (starting at 1$US/month) to access. Protected posts outside those categories require a General (free) membership.
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