Dirty fan...

When I was awoken at 5 am this morning I craned my neck instinctively to listen to the monitor and see if Simon was getting an early start.  He wasn't.  The fan was just imitating sounds of a person slurping the last of the coke from ice in the bottom of a Wackdonald's cup....

Ok seriously, I can't imagine that it was as loud as I imagined it to be... But it kept me awake until past 7 am.

During that time I started wondering why I've become so enamored with blogging.  I began to rule out one possibility at a time...

• I'm not so narcissistic I think every word I utter is golden prophecy.  In fact I deliberate painstakingly over each and every word I write to make sure I fool people into thinking I'm not a total idiot.  (you should know it took me an hour and a half to make sure that last sentence was prefect.)
• I don't really care much for trends or trendy stuff.  In fact I've only recently honed my fragile gag reflex so that I don't accidentally launch tacos at the people who say, "YOLO!"  or "Kardashian"...  Now if people say those 'words' in my presence, projectile vomit is very much deliberate. 
• I don't generally care what people think about me.  In the really real world, I'm usually so lost in my own brain maelstrom that I'd prefer people not to notice me at all.  So if you see me walking down a sidewalk talking to myself like a loon, it's not because I'm crazy... It's because I want you to think I'm crazy so you won't talk to me.  Wait a second... does that make me crazy?
  I don't dislike you... I'm just awkward sometimes.  And trying to concentrate.  I really do love you.  I just express it better in here than out there. 

So after using this process, I finally understand why I am growing more and more addicted to blogging.

YOU.

That you are reading this right now and may or may not (but probably won't) post a comment is why I love it.  I want nothing more than to make your life less boring; albeit for only 1 or 5 or 20,000,000 seconds.
It's why I'm drawn to create... Be it music or stories... And I can't escape my responsibility of at least TRYING to infuse something of value here and there.

If I didn't write passionately, you would know.  You would say, 'David's being fake.  That sucks.  What a coward.  Let's go read something real...  with kahunas.'

ARQAZ #1

A Redemptive Quality About Zombie:*

Independent

Fact:

Zombie wants to eat you.  If you make noise or show yourself or in any other way make your presence known to Zombie, he/she will come after you.

Zombie will not turn and say, "Hey guys, look what I found, come with me!" 

Zombie will not wait and see if his/her friends are into it. 

Zombie will not say to him/herself, "Well, everyone else is just standing around... I might look stupid if I start doing something else."

If you see Zombie walking around in a group, don't be misled!  He's not there to show off his latest outfit or sweetest moves.  

Zombie wants to eat you.  

It just so happens his accomplices have similar goals.

Maybe we should all learn a lesson here.  To you dependents, I'm not saying be disobedient.  You don't know when you might need help...  and chances are it's far more often than you realize! 

To those of you with dependents, I'm not saying be negligent.  Don't act like it's just you.  People need you... and not just your money.

I'm saying if you have a goal, and you want it, don't worry about whether or not it's trendy or your friends do it or if it's what is expected of you.  

Go after it! 

Don't waste your time doing things that everyone around you does if it's not something you want for yourself or your life.  Someday, it might be entirely up to you to get what you want and need in this life!

You better start learning how!

*entire subject matter of this and any related post is hypothetical and therefore validity of statements herein has never been proven in a scientific or any other manner.  If you attempt to argue with me on this or any related topic, you are acting outside the bounds of logic and may be ignored.

WRiTE CLUB 2012! (a contest)

Kind of stoked about this:

WRiTE CLUB 2012

I'm new to writing contests but I'm about to give this one a try.  After all, I have a few story ideas so why not take a break from editing?

To my understanding, interested parties will submit a story of no greater than 500 words (this is less than a page for you laymans / laywomans).  Then DL Hammons will pick two at random to square off anonymously and be judged by readers and the winner will move to the ... Just click the link and read what he says about it!

Upside:  Winner gets uber-exposure and no gold coins.
Downside:  Not every submission will even see the light of day...

I want to write a story about a [I must remove this text as it breaks a rule of WRiTE CLUB!!!! I'm sorry!]


First rule of write club...

This one's for all you writers in the crowd...

Here's what I want to post today! (Because I refuse to let my wild-at-heart blog be shackled by boundaries and laws !  (Except the law that a Silexari half-week shan't past without the blog seeing a new post) ) 

I know this has been done a thousand times... But I've only participated in it once and since then, my WIP changed drastically.

If you would like to participate, do so in the form of a comment below.

If you don't have a WIP, feel free to make something up, I don't care! 

My blog knows no limits!  

IT'S CRAZY!!

*crack wears off*

Ok here goes. 

1. Go to the seventh or seventy-seventh page of your current WIP.
2. Count down seven lines.
3. Copy the seven sentences that follow and post them on your blog (or as a comment here).

For the sake of clarity, I'm listing title and genre. 

A Sawmill's Hope / Fantasy


 

Darke’s thoughts were consumed with adventuring and he slept very little.  Judging from Brandal’s endless huffing and tossing about he was equally restless.

Darke rose early in the morning and shook Brandal, who lay in a tangle on his cot against the wall.  He insisted they leave quickly and quietly, as they were taking Jaek’s favorite horse for Aedron and a conspicuous amount of food, supplies and weapons.  They were leaving plenty of horses for what labor the farm demanded but Darke didn’t want to appear to be taking yet another hunting vacation in the midst of this crisis.  He especially didn’t want to try explaining to his father that their fate rested on a bizarre arrangement made with a stranger to catch a mythical beast.

          They dressed quickly, donned their packs and climbed out Darke’s window into the front yard.



I love posting excerpts.  I may dedicate some future blogs to just that.

Respondez, por favor, and give me something of yours to read!

The Composing (De Composing for you urbanites)

I make songs... all instrumental but songs nonetheless.

I make them on my computer with programming software.

I have been known to charge money for interested buyers.


Is this by definition composing?  Writing?  Making?  I'm not one to judge.  But this is a hobby of mine which occasionally borders on a 'dream'... to be a soundtrack producer.  For vid games or shows or movies or commercials.

The problem is, I care about each song I write and if I don't it comes out flat and unemotional.  To write songs, I need to be inspired, where-as to write words, I just need to sit down and do it.

Inspiration is a fleeting thing and for me, it comes at the most unexpected times.  If I'm struggling to finish a  song and nothing is forth coming, I am a wreck.  Don't look at me funny or I might kill you where you sit / stand.  When I finally come up with a breakthrough it may bring tears to my eyes.  Then I listen to the song over and over on every medium (phone speakers, office speakers w sub, truck, car, headphones, earbuds) and determine what levels could be changed, etc.

My point is, it is a stressful thing!! To make music on a deadline or for a project!
I don't know if that's how I want to grow old and ripe; swinging from one stress-vine to the next!

Writing is different.  If I get stuck, I don't get violent tendencies, I get out of the house and into the woods.  Alone preferably (or at least with Jax).  Eventually I have a breakthrough.  Then it is equally satisfying and in the writing process, it too can bring tears to my eyes. (now you know I'm a big wuss) 

Music for me comes from emotion.  Or it fails.  Emotion you can't force.

Stories come from my imagination.  
I haven't yet been in a position where I had to write on a deadline but now that I think about it, I imagine it is quite stressful as well.

This blog doesn't necessarily have a point... But it has been some what therapeutic for me.

Thanks.

Your welcome.


Oh, check in my list of links to hear my tunes on soundcloud (it's on the left unless I've moved it)

Anti-Adverbs, Twain and Salt

I saw this quote from Mark Twain the other day:

The difference between the almost right word & the right word is really a large matter--it's the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.

This may not mean a lot to you but if you're editing a manuscript, it begins to make sense.  A rule of editing / writing / revising is get rid of as many adverbs and adjectives as possible with the intention of empowering your nouns and verbs. (And replacing them with better ones if need be.)


In my opinion, this rule helps transform this:

 I walked carefully to the doorway and quietly pushed the tall, brown, wooden, heavy door.  It surprised me when it made a loud, high-pitched, earsplitting noise while it opened and let everyone know where I was. 

into something more like this:

I crept over and eased against the great oak door.  As it gave way, its rusted hinges shrieked angrily, betraying my position.


I didn't entirely eliminate adverbs or adjectives from second example... after all, Adverbs / Adjectives are like bath salts;  They aren't evil... Sometimes they're just used the wrong way.

Query Letter vs. Resume

So I've been thinking about how to publish my coming book.

Obviously I could either self publish or find a publisher...  I won't go into my pro's and con's of each route, we'll save that for another time.

Anyway, for the sake of this post, I recently read an article by a professional journalist (link posted below).  She wrote a book she hated and she pitched it and it got rejected.  She then wrote a book she loved and she pitched it and it too got rejected.  Depending on how literal she was being, it sounds like she pitched the idea to only a few agents / publishers / editors.

 I was laid off a couple of years ago.  During that time, I sent countless resumes in all directions.  I took classes and got certifications (despite that I already had a degree).  I went to job interviews, handed out resumes in person and filled out applications online that took anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour and a half... and mostly for jobs that weren't the least bit appealing.  After months (no less than six) of doing this my efforts landed me a job.

HERE'S MY POINT:
If I decide to seek an agent / publisher / editor, I plan to express the same effort.  After all, my effort will not be toward a job flipping burgers or selling over-priced electronics or hauling boxes around...  It will be for a job I dream to have.  Therefore, shouldn't I put in at least as much effort?  And more??
What if after sending a few resumes out and getting a 'NO' back for each one, I had just said, "Oh well, clearly I'm not meant to work..."?
(I'm not saying people DON'T do that, I'm sure some do.)

I'm just saying that when my time comes, I'm not taking NO for an answer.

Time will tell if I stand by what I have said here.


Here's the link to the quitter:  WAH WAH!