Ideas from the toy box part 2. Challenge yourself.

     In July, I told of a way I’d found to escape writers block. For me, escape is found in simple things. I have toys, bookshelves, a globe, and previously, a jar full of buttons. These things allow me to destress. There is a part of the human psyche that finds comfort in kneading and molding playdough.
     Today, I will go beyond the notion of destressing and into the formulation of ideas.
You have to challenge your mind. 

     If you’ve never thought to enter short story contests, there is no time like the present. These contests often give a topic or suggest some lines to be included. They have time limits and word counts. From there you are free to meander in the gardens of your imagination.
     For some, the idea of contests creates more fear and stress. Here, being the nerd I am, I point out the Bene Gesserit litany from Dune, "I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me.”
     I understand the anxiety that comes with uncertainty. But contests are more for the writer than the audience. 
     I used to ask my wife to choose three random words. I would write a poem based on her words, then she would tell me if it was good or if it was crap. The reason for this wasn’t to say “Look what I did”, it was for the challenge. Writing has to become a habit, but is often easier if we’re given a topic(s).
     Many pundits say to keep an index box of ideas for times of need. Pull a card or two and start writing. I will go one further. Wherever you are in the next few days, give yourself a challenge. Choose a random person, whether shopping, driving, or simply the third person who passes the doorway. Pay attention to the way they’re dressed and their expression. 

     If you are a romance writer, consider what love or hurt caused that expression. Are they going to, coming from, or have just discovered an affair? Imagine them being with someone – first date, first intimacy – and imagine these things through your “that’s how it was for me” or your “I wish it’d been this way for me” eyes.
     For suspense and thriller writers, what secret lies around the next corner? What did they do that brought them past your door? What is about to be done to them? How about their family? What about them is different?
     Writers call upon the world around them for ideas. An example of this can be found in Stephen King’s self-proclaimed inspiration for Pet Semetary. At one time, his family lived near a busy road where neighborhood pets were victims of passing motorists. Add a child mourning the loss of a pet, a magical graveyard, a helping of evil Juju, and you have a good beginning. Add a father mourning the loss of a child killed on that same road and you have a terrifying story.
     Sometimes you have to call upon the ideas of others and add a twist. How many book series in today’s market deal with vampires? The idea for the living dead didn’t originate with Bram Stoker, either.
     Ideas are often found by blending the mundane and the absurd. The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button is a perfect example. If we had our lifetime of experience when we were young…

     Everything in life has a backstory. Don’t overthink it. Look at life around you and put yourself in the place of another to feel and see through their eyes. Use your actual experiences to imagine yourself in their place. Use the experiences you might have wished were yours to expand the idea. Then back away. Take those emotions and thoughts and write. Many readers will have the same thoughts. They will connect with your words.
     Smells, sounds, sights, so many things elicit memories. And often, the best writing come from using those memories as a springboard. Challenge yourself. Go out and find your inspiration. And, whatever you do, keep writing.

     The Click Here selection from last week dealt with a murder. It was spliced from three sections in the chapter. As such, the transitions might have been a bit rough. 
     Today’s selection is a first introduction of the Brettinger city and Rayburn County police. Another body has been found and the county commissioner’s wife is being detained for questioning as to her involvement. Doug Levy, a reporter for the Brettinger Bugle, is unaware of the events, but has always suspected a cover-up involving the county commissioner, He has followed and waits outside Millennium Hall. Doug believes a huge event has taken place and he wants the exclusive story. I hope you enjoy.

Crossing a line part 2. Writing outside your comfort zone.

As promised, and for the next few weeks I’ll be taking a closer look at some generalities and explore the how and why.

The first: Readers and writers should step outside their comfort zones to gain perspective.

When I made that statement, I wasn’t writing only about specific authors and genres. Everyone has their favorites. As for me, I’d once made it my mission to locate, purchase, and read every novel published by John D MacDonald. To begin, Travis Mcgee, his serial character, was an “everyman” version of James Bond. But beyond those twenty-one Travis McGee books, his other novels were full of intrigue and action.

I’ve since read the published works of Robert Ludlum, Lawrence Sanders, Dean Koontz, and now I’m working through Lee Childs. The reason is simple. They share common themes and familiar phrasing – action, intrigue, strong male characters in dangerous situations.

Call that my home base.

Likewise, some of my female friends have discovered their home base in the works of authors such as Jude Deveraux, Johanna Lindsey, and Catherine Coulter.

Having a home base is normal. It enables our psyche to “go to ground” and kick up its feet. The words flow in and around us. Our thoughts, opinions, and often our actions are developed in this normal ground.

1)      So why read outside our comfort zone?

It keeps the banjo playing, “he got a real purty mouth, ain’t he?” part of us to a minimum. Even the most adroit Harvard professor has their portion of mental inbreeding based on their preferred reading list. Change gives us an unskewed view of the world around us.

First, try a change in genre. And you have to be fair here. We occasionally find books by favored authors that leave us just short of mourning the waste of ink and paper. Give a new author and genre time to grab your attention.

I know what the pundits often say: there’s not enough time in a day to waste it on bad writing. Please don’t mistake different for bad.

Also, experience different forms. Read a short story, read a poem, read a biography, read an essay. You didn’t like what you read today? Give it a few days, then try a different author. See an image of the world through a different perspective. Change and experience can help erase bias.

It might sound as though I believe the written word has a magical power to change the world, one reader at a time. In a way it does, depending upon the reader.

2)      Why write outside your comfort zone?

You might not realize, but Stephen King writes novels, novellas, novelettes, short stories, poetry, essays, journal articles, non-fiction, and the list continues.

He understands an essential truth. Outside our safe place, we exercise creative muscles we never realized we had. We do more research. We watch people more closely. We read more. We listen more. We learn more. We gain new insights and add layers to our “comfortable” work. Our imagination is set free to explore and, simply put, we become better writers.

My comfort zone is thriller fiction, but I also write poetry, novellas, and short stories in various genres, many of which are included in this website.

Wolves In The Dark is my favorite poem. I wrote it one February night, years ago, sitting cross-legged in front of my fireplace. It can be found in the Poetry section.

The Hospitality Girl is my favorite short work (novella). It is far from my comfort zone genre and is written from a woman’s perspective. Excerpts can be found as Click To Read selections following some of my earlier blog posts.

I hope this has been entertaining and enlightening. Next week I’ll visit and expand upon another topic I might have brushed by in previous blogs.

My Click Here selection is an except from Brettinger that involves a murder scene. It takes place in the early-mid section as the action is beginning to ramp up.  For more information about Brettinger, read my section on the origin behind Shadowman. Thanks for reading, and, as always, keep writing.

Late Lament. Adding pieces to the puzzle.

I'll speak to writer's specifically in a moment, but first a few words to all readers.

I've been a fan of The Moody Blues since the early seventies. Their lyrics carry meaning and an intensity of emotion sometimes foreign in today's music.

The poem Late Lament, written by their drummer, Graeme Edge, was first featured on "Days Of Future Past". The music might be considered dated for today's market, but it is well worth a listen.

I highlight this poem for today's blog for one reason: It is a real and evocative expression of emotions that visit every human. Writers are no exception. In fact, writers might feel the emotion more keenly.

Writers are observers of the world around them; sometimes taking part in what they see, sometimes not. But always, what they see and feel is altered by the processes in their minds. Everything has a backstory.

Over the last three months, I've touched on a range of problem areas for new writers. Over the next few weeks, I'll revisit some of these topics and provide more strategies.

However, for the next two weeks I'll be out of pocket. I'll be posting Click Here To Read sections of "Brettinger" (formerly titled Shadowman) with the hope it might entice those of you who did purchase the original version. I will notify everyone of its future release date. 

 But for now, I leave you with the poem "Late Lament", by Graeme Edge, and a click to read offering from "Brettinger". The offering gives some of the myth background effecting character decisions and events. The myth is a fiction and a creation of my imagination. It is an original work. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental. 

I hope you enjoy both. And whatever you do, keep writing.

Breathe deep the gathering gloom,
Watch lights fade from every room.
Bedsitter people look back and lament,
Another day's useless energy spent.
Impassioned lovers wrestle as one,
Lonely man cries for love and has none.
New mother picks up and suckles her son,
Senior citizens wish they were young.
Cold hearted orb that rules the night,
Removes the colours from our sight.
Red is grey and yellow white,
But we decide which is right.
And which is an illusion?

To view the entire website, click RwriterN in the top bar or click the action icon top right.

That's the fact, Jack. A look at nonfiction.

My focus up to now has been fiction. Today I’ll consider nonfiction as well. But first, a bit of reality to help new writers focus on a goal.

Just as there are various categories of fiction (thriller, romance, mystery, literary, etc) each having subgenres, there are many more categories and subgenres of nonfiction works.

As I stated in a previous post, well over one million titles are published worldwide each year (per United Nations Education, Science, and Culture statistics based on ISBN). This includes fiction and nonfiction, both first publications and new editions of existing works.

More women read fiction than nonfiction. More men read nonfiction than fiction. Women buy and read more books than men. A simple exercise in logic.

From this it would seem more fiction is published than non-fiction. This isn’t the case. Based on ISBN, the ratio of published nonfiction to published fiction is approximately 5:1.

With so many books to consider, I find it is easier to imagine them as boats, each assembled by the loving hands of their author.

For a work of fiction, the new author is the ten-year-old who sets a foot-long sloop loose on a lake dotted with jet skis, runabouts, house boats, and yachts. The author hopes to navigate to the other side through the wakes of writers such as James Patterson, Danielle Steel, Stephen King, Nora Roberts, among others.

A daunting task at best. An impossible undertaking at worst. Yet, every year, some young author’s “boat” makes that distant shore.

For a work of nonfiction, the new writer is joined by thousands of others in putting their boat on a river. They watch it begin to progress downstream. The writer then rushes ahead and around the bend to wait at the finish line.

And they wait.

And as they wait, some “boats” make it through (a compliment to the writing and marketing). But most will be found in a log jam among those other thousands. A few might break free and make the goal. Most will never see the view from around the bend.

I don’t write this as a discouragement. I want to emphasize a point I’ve made several times. Successful new writers know their target audience. They aren’t afraid of failure. They are aware of the wake and the logjams, but they keep putting their work afloat in constant hope.

One key to nonfiction success is finding a hot-button topic. An inside story from an ISIS informant, for example, might be an immediate bestseller. Likewise, Bill O’Reilly has found remarkable success with his “Killing” series, although many readers say the works are far more fiction than nonfiction.

While some works of nonfiction are written for the purpose of entertainment (primarily biographies/autobiographies) many are written to highlight areas of concern or interest.

Without a hot button topic, a writer has to focus on the specifics of the subject matter. They often try to bring something new. This is where some writers get pigeonholed. Their point of view within the narrative is often skewed. This creates an open door for opposition writers.

In the year 2002, the Library of Congress cited 70,000 books that had been written about the civil war. That number has grown every year since. Viewpoints of the Generals, of foot soldiers, civilians, and of cavalry. Books dealing with economics and society, with industry and change; Differing viewpoints, new insights, recent conjecture., books upon books.

But…

For a nonfiction work to be successful, it must be well written and well researched. It is often creative. For example, “Who Moved My Cheese?” is an allegory for dealing with change in the family and workplace. It takes a real problem (stagnation in the face of change) and presents it couched in fiction. It is creative nonfiction.

In the end, success is different for everyone.

A book might have geographic appeal. A biography of Jimmy Carter would certainly sell better in Georgia than in Iowa.

A book might be written for young mothers. For art majors. For people in need of help. And as such, the self-help and DIY market continues to grow.

Books that stand out might have the best advice. Or perhaps they have the most appealing cover design. But rest assured, there will always be several to choose from.

And why?

People read nonfiction to learn, to understand, to bring fresh perspectives, and to connect. If you are writing nonfiction, your challenge is:

Do I have something more to contribute.

I'm currently working on three projects. I will post some of those pages in the near future. For the moment, I'm including a recent poem. It's a bit maudlin, but I hope you enjoy. 

**I've moved all my poetry to the poetry section of my site. Use the click to read button below for quick access to this section.**

Thanks for reading.

Hay Chewed. A look back at the last three months.

This site and blog were developed to inspire new writers and to entertain every reader. After reviewing comments and reader subscriptions, I believe my goal is being accomplished. My topics to this point have been:

May 28th “Hiding from the world isn’t always a bad thing”, eliminate distractions and outside influences when you write;

June 4th “Drunken Ping-Pong and the sex that didn’t happen”, the ‘write what you know’ philosophy colored with the might have been;

June 11th “Pacified steel and the $5,300,000.00 box of donuts”, the use and overuse of subjective knowledge;

June 18th “Ideas from the toy box”, ideas to free the imagination;

June 25th “Living in the aftermath of the incredible edible egg – the difficulties of writing for the opposite sex”, opposite gender main characters and ideas to keep them believable;

July 2nd “It’s all in how you begin”, openings to capture audience interest;

July 10th “Crossing a line”, why we should read and write outside our 'comfort zone’;

July 17th “When one door closes, break down a wall”, ideas to escape a plot corner;

July 23rd “Skinning the cat: Choosing a writing style for a target audience”, general and specific pointers;

July 30th “How was it for you? Endings that keep your readers coming back”, allow the novel/novella/novelette/short story to end when it should;

August 5th “Steamy, hot, monkey lovin’ : writing believable sex scenes vs. sex that sells”, no further explanation necessary;

August 13th “Sometimes there are monsters, sometimes there are angels”, personal pain and triumph can season a manuscript;

August 20th “’Shaka when the walls fell.’ Writing in times of feast and famine”, What to do when the ‘who really cares’ moments come;

August 27th "Hay Chewed. A look back at the last three months." A three month overview.

Click Here buttons after each blog. provide excerpts from current writing projects. The entire website can be accessed by clicking RwriterN, located in the top bar over the blog. By clicking each picture, visitors can view poetry, current and future writing projects, my inspiration to write, the ideas behind the book Shadowman (being republished with the title Brettinger), and a Contact button to either subscribe or share ideas.

A writer’s style can change from project to project. Voice is expressed across these styles and formats. Voice is not only the how and why of idea expression, the personality of the writer is often revealed. But personalities tend to mature and blossom as we experience life. Nevertheless, we keep a distinctiveness that is our own.

Take, for example, the novels Black House and The Talisman, coauthored by Peter Straub and Stephen King. Their writing melds into a complete work, but the separate voice of each author stands out. A devotee of either can say, “Straub wrote this bit” or “King wrote that”.

It is important to know why you are writing. Is it for love or for money or for the love of money? Is there a story that should be told? Is there a history to share? With that in mind, there is one last thing to cover. I’ll use an easy medium as reference.

Every generation has a style of music that sets it apart. And every generation has artists they call sellouts. Dark Side Of The Moon by Pink Floyd was called a sellout album by some of their fans. It catered to the masses. As such, it is their top selling album.

The 80’s and 90’s and 2000’s are full of genre music. Artists with a “Me too” way of looking at their art and sometimes a “Me too” swelling of their bank accounts. So the point here is a repetition of the previous statement. Know why you are writing. It you find an author whose style matches yours, read all you can of their work. Let it touch and effect you and the style of your writing.

The world has changed since the seventies and eighties. It might feel as though there are over a million other writers seeking publication every year. In reality, the number of individual books published yearly far exceeds the one million mark. Self-publishing has opened the flood gates.

Let’s be honest, some excellent works are lost in the shuffle. Some seemingly popular works leave us scratching our head, a “Did I actually pay for this?” expression etched on our face. A name, reputation, and clever marketing can go a long way toward success.

But that’s the way of things. So why do you write?

I hope it’s to find your voice and express yourself. I hope if you mimic another writer, your own voice will come through. I hope you make money along the way.

Thanks for following my blogs. Click the contact picture (the strawberry shortcake with the heart-shaped whipped cream) with ideas, questions, and suggestions. Above all else, keep writing.

Michael D Grant,   The Writer Inside.

I'm not posting a Click Here to Read selection this week. I will begin again next week with a selection from my current writing projects. As always, thanks for reading.

"Shaka when the walls fell." Writing in times of feast and famine.

“Shaka, when the walls fell” is a line from one of the most popular episodes of Star Trek TNG. This episode, titled “Darmok”, was the second offering of the shows fifth season. The writing was ingenious, the directing superb, and the episode saw the acting debut of then twenty-three-year-old Ashley Judd.

But this isn’t about a cast of talented actors, the origin of a memorable phrase, or even the man who wrote it. This is about the meaning behind those words and how they relate to writers.

“Shaka, when the walls fell” is a rich metaphor for times of failure and frustration. I chose this phrase because...

Yesterday I had a chance to speak with a fellow writer who, in his words, has lost any joy for writing. He used to wake each morning with ideas and excitement. Whether at his computer or with a pad and pen, he wrote every day.

He told me he hasn’t written in weeks, having experienced a notion that creeps up on each of us at some time in our lives. He said, "Who really cares?"

The who really cares isn’t about a lack of ideas. It is the notion that the walls are too high to climb. The abyss is too wide to traverse. And no one will ever hear your screams. It is the point in our writing when we say, “Why am I doing this?”

Wisdom from the pundits tells us we write because we have to write in order to be happy. If we don’t wake up each day with a passionate urging to put ink to paper, we should be doing something else. That seems a bit cold and tactless, but it is essentially true. And why? Because, as with any venture, there might be years of defeat before the first minor success.

A writer should consider themselves in the same category as a small business owner. Their product is found in the words they weave. Some days their successes surpass their expectations. Some days they beg for even one customer. To further this analogy, it might help to understand that eight out of ten small businesses fail within the first eighteen months. So if this is what writing is like, why do we do it?

1)            Our stories need to be told.

I have a friend who came to a crisis point in her marriage. She and her husband found a way through their struggles and she now has a passionate urging to share her story. She blogs, speaks at conferences, and has a devoted following, all because she believed her story had to be told. Her next venture involves publishing non-fiction books to help others who are struggling in their marriages. She knows she may never become wealthy, but she believes in what she is doing. A large number of non-fiction writers fall into this category.

2)            We’ve always wanted to see our name in print.

This is a valid, although a bit immodest, reason for writing. This might be the person who sets a goal and strives to attain their fifteen minutes of fame. They’ve accomplished their dreams by seeing their name on a book cover. That is their meat. Any sales of their work is the gravy. Vanity publishing houses make their living by catering to these writers. I celebrate their accomplishments and purchase their books if they meet my criteria (July 2nd post, It’s all in how you begin). It has been said that half of all writers fall into this category. They might never publish a second book; their goal being met.

3)            We love to write.

We sit with our ink and paper and we create worlds. We create friends and enemies. We fall in love. We create fear and we create heroes. We touch the sky. We write because we love to write.

When my writer friend said to me, “Who really cares?”, my first response was simple and obvious.

“When you wake in the morning, do you really care? Even for that one instant, before the world rushes in with busyness and to-do lists and appointments to keep, do you really care?”

He is beginning his new project this morning.

My blog often targets new writers, but I hope there has been something here for everyone

I wish you luck and success, and, above all else, whatever you write, just keep writing.

My Click Here To Read button gives the last bit of Assuming Room Temperature that I’m willing to share for a time. You can find the first six chapters as the Click To Read offering after my June 4th, July 2nd, and July 30th posts.

If you haven’t read my previous posts, please take a few moments out. Hopefully you will find something entertaining and helpful.

Thanks again, and enjoy.

Sometimes there are monsters, sometimes there are angels.

Characters in fiction can be inspired by people that do exist, people we hope might exist, or people we pray don’t exist. We bring them to life and give them an existence forged from our known realities or from one of the many might have been realities of our lives.

When reading fiction, might have been moments are often most important. Those moments allow us to dream. We travel outside ourselves into a world created by the writer. Conversely, when writing fiction, we create a might have been for someone else.

Knowledge of the Is and the Was helps create the Could Be. And in that could be…

Sometimes there are monsters.

My first wife, Laura Ellen, died in January 2014 from complications related to H1N1 influenza. We’d been together 32 years. Some of those years were good, some were not.

Three days before she died, she awoke from a propofol sedation and began begging the nurse to see me. The nurse told her I’m there at every visitation, but, as Laura was crying out, saying she had to see me and wouldn’t relax, the nurse put her under again. I was less than fifty steps away through the double doors of isolation, waiting in the hallway; I'm sure the nurses knew this, as my routine never changed.

The nurse told me what happened an hour later, at the scheduled visitation, but it was too late. Laura would never wake again. I could have been angry, but what purpose would it serve? Anger could have lessened that nurse’s desire to care for Laura’s needs. I’ve seen it in action. Nursing is very stressful. An irate family member can turn a doting nurse into one who will meet basic needs then hurry out without affording any extra considerations.

I still sometimes wonder what Laura wanted to say. Did she know she was about to die and wanted to say goodbye? Did she want to say she loved me? She obviously wanted to tell me something, or to at least see me.

I believe I understand the feelings of those who watched helplessly as the twin towers fell with their loved ones inside. I believe I understand the scenes in movies where a loved one is a hair breadth beyond a saving grasp, only to plummet or drown. I was fifty steps away, and in those fifty steps, I sometimes feel my failure. I wasn’t there when I was needed the most.

Ask any survivor of a traumatic event. Sometimes there are monsters.

When I write victims or villains, I use moments from my past. I can’t begin to imagine the full extent of terror and anxiety Laura felt. I only know what I felt and that is enough.

But…

Sometimes there are angels.

I have a wonderful life now. Several months after Laura died, I met Kelly again for the first time in thirty-six years. Our connection was immediate and now I’m married to this wonderful woman. With Kelly I have the now and the future, but I also have the might have been.

We are similar in so many ways, it is easy to imagine us having been together through all of these years. If we both hadn’t been painfully shy at a young age that might have happened.

She has great kids, both adults now. I feel a sense of pride in them, although I had no hand in making them the men they are. But it is easy for me to imagine Kelly and I first starting out, buying our first house,  and raising our sons. I can see us having grandchildren. They would sit on my lap and I would read them stories and poems, just as my grandmother did for me.

But that isn’t real, or maybe, in some ways, it is. I can see Kelly as the woman who has always been meant for me.

I’ve begun a new project titled, “All Our Realities”. It deals with just this: What is, What was, What might have been. In one of my realities, Kelly and I have been married all along and tonight I will be reading stories to our grandchildren.

When I write love and possibilities, I think of Kelly and our might have been moments. Ask anyone who has found love. Sometimes there are angels.

If there is one thing I want to convey in all of this, it would be: Allow yourself to feel the pain. Allow yourself to imagine the might have been. Write well, but write with passion.

One final note, after losing her daughter to leukemia, Anne Rice turned a short story she’d written into an immensely popular and lucrative series of novels. She allowed the pain to have purpose in her writing. If you haven’t read The Vampire Chronicles, it is well worth the investment of time.

No matter what you write, allow it to become real. And no matter what else, keep writing.

  My Click Here To Read button provides pages from The Box Collector, a Southern narrative short story. To set up the pages, the narrator has found the body of a hummingbird he used to watch as it visited his feeders.. He sets about to do the right thing and bury the bird, choosing a proper box and recalling moments from his past as he does.

I hope you enjoy.

Steamy, hot, monkey lovin' : Writing believable sex scenes vs. sex that sells.

“When writing a novel, a writer should create living people; people, not characters. A character is a caricature.” – Ernest Hemingway

     As I’ve previously stated, I don’t write erotica and I’m not so much an indulgent person in my own day-by-day. However, in my lifetime, I’ve been fortunate to count a wide variety of "strange and unique" individuals as my friends. This classification, while not flattering when said by some, is accurate and completely accepted within friendly circles. As such, this post is a bit more PG-17 than my previous blogs.

     Among these friends have been two writers of erotica; one whose writing style is similar to John Norman’s Gor series, but not so ham-handed (apologies to the fans of Mr. Norman’s thirty-three books of Gor, as he did get better after his first few books were published).

And, although I was never a client, I’ve counted among my friends the owner of Chattanooga’s first escort service listed in the yellow pages (quite groundbreaking in those days) and a telephone sex operator who demonstrated Foley props (oddly enough, a wire whisk and large jar of petroleum jelly used together were her favorites) that kept her clients engaged and the money rolling in.

     What does any of this have to do with writing? These friends from my past were in the business of enticement. They made money because they were aware of some important rules:

1.    Know your target audience.

     This is the biggest mistake made by beginning writers and a question asked by many agents. If a writer isn’t sure how to respond, they might consider reference to an icon. E.g. people who read Alexa Riley or people who read Nicholas Sparks, etc. And sometimes the question might be better answered, “People like me”.

     A manuscript can stand on its own without a target audience. Perhaps it was written because it needed to be written. I believe that is a valid purpose. Some agents, however, may not. Indie and self-publishing can bring an excellent story to a wide audience.

     But, given the idea you will attract a certain type of reader. are you targeting people who are looking for great sex interlaced with a good storyline, or are you targeting people who are looking for a good storyline that features great sex?

2.    Use the right wording for your target audience.

     I’ll deal with erotica in a moment, but, if a work of non-erotic fiction calls for intimacy, the writer would shy away from words such as: (apologies and a bit of indulgence requested here)

A)    Manroot

B)    Heaving and/or throbbing when referring to:

C)    Expletive deleted

D)    Expletive deleted

E)    Clinical terminology used by your family MD when speaking to your grandmother. (This is true for Erotica as well).

F)    Any language that makes you uncomfortable. It will translate through your writing to the reader.

     Some things to remember. Nicholas Sparks doesn’t write sex scenes. But no one can deny his books are full of romance. Possibly the biggest key in writing intimate scenes in non-erotic fiction is: Less is often More. For example: “And with that one look, she surrendered to his touch.” The reader’s imagination will take over if you have a good storyline.

     As for erotica, let the steamy, hot, monkey lovin’ commence. But there is one HUGE note I must interject. Most readers are women.

3.    Men are visual. Women are situational.

     A male reader might accept that the pizza delivery guy gets pulled into the beautiful housewife’s home for a toss about. This same man might momentarily regret his decision to graduate dental school, wishing instead he’d remained a pizza delivery guy.

     A woman will call Captain Bogus out for what he is. She knows that the housewife will have had at least a page and a half of angst leading up to that call for pizza. She knows that somewhere another guy has been involved and caused this poor unfortunate housewife to have unrequited needs. She knows that if the housewife had ordered from the deli and invited a friend for supper, none of the wonderful, miserable, slow burn, quick release dialogue and descriptive narration would have been necessary.

     Once the groundwork has been set, add the visual. Let the character(s) ripple, throb, heave, melt, plunge, dangle, thrust, and ache to your heart’s content.

     But don’t cheat the reader out of the “Why?” of the situation. You can’t just write that the character went to some event, met some random guy, fell into bed, met another random guy the next day, fell into bed, and the storyline involves which random guy is she going to keep falling into bed with. Send that to Penthouse Forum. Don’t make a novel out of that kind of fluff.

     However, I must admit, there is a population of female readers who are looking for just that. Life can be all too real. The guy(s) in their life belch, or scratch, or other less fun things in public. They want to escape into a world where all that matters is the bow chicka wow wow with Mr. Fantasy Lover 2016.

     For an example of mainstream Erotica, I’m including a Click Here button at the end of this blog. The short passages are from a published author, with credit given, and provide an example of erotica that I see as standard and well written. The language is a bit graphic and is in no way a representation of the entire work. This excerpt only considers today's topic, writing a sexual situation.

4.    Most writers and readers fall into a middle ground.

     Comfort level is what’s important here. If the writer isn’t comfortable writing about intimacy, the reader will know it. Also, the writer has to realize some readers might be embarrassed by the pulsating, throbbing expletive deleted.

     I’ve been in healthcare for fifteen years. Ask any nurse, we talk about anything and everything. Sometimes we have to monitor ourselves, as no topic is taboo dinner conversation within our peer group. But, I’m not going to talk about my day and the “You should have seen" stuff with my wife. Likewise, some sexual topics will never make it to the pages I write.

     I’m giving an example of how I deal with passion and intimacy in a second Click Here button, which provides pages from The Hospitality Girl.

     To set up the passages provided, Tammie Bowers is a young woman who feels betrayed by love. One of Tammie’s patients, ninety-one-year-old Alice Rogers, has sensed the turmoil in Tammie and is telling the story of her own life to help Tammie understand how wonderful and painful love can be. Alice has provided only short excerpts from her life each day, leaving Tammie constantly wanting more.

     Remember these keys things:

     Fiction is often about creating a fantasy world using factual building blocks. As such, sex can be messy and uncomfortable. Sex can be one of the best and one of the worst things to happen to a relationship. Sex can bring two people closer than they’ve ever believed possible. Sex can tear relationships apart. Sex can feel good or bad or both.

    Guys will go to a sink, reach for the faucet, and beg for water (pardon my metaphor). Women know that when the water is off at the sink, there’s bottled water in the fridge and working faucets all up and down the block.

     Don’t vulgarize sex unless the storyline calls for it. And remember, write sex the same way you write everything else. The characters have to be believable (not caricatures), the dialogue and narrative must be purposeful, the scene needs to move the story forward and not be a gratuitous bit of slap and tickle thrown in for laughs (unless you’re writing comedy).

I hope this has been enjoyable and provided a smile or two along with a few ideas to consider. No matter how or what you write, just keep writing.

How was it for you? Endings that keep your readers coming back.

In It’s all in how you begin, my post from July 2nd, I wrote about beginnings. I said while the cover design or back cover blurb might draw me to a book, I will read the first paragraphs before I make a purchase. Entice me and I’m happy to open my wallet to read more.

A good opening can be followed up by a backstory and plotline that progresses the novel. There can be high points, low points, intrigue, irony, bittersweet moments, or perhaps just good old gut-wrenching twists. By the end of the novel, the author has the audience satisfied they’ve made a good investment of time and money.

It doesn’t always happen that way, but it should.

How can a novice writer accomplish this intended purpose?

First, know when to stop writing.

After a good opening, a back story and crisis are revealed. Actions and decisions lead the reader through the labyrinth and shape the outcome. Conclusion. Check. Done.

But no. There isn’t a large enough page count or there are more characters to be introduced or the writer wants to add yet another twist.

Compare this situation to a round of golf. A great shot from tee is followed by a good mid game and the ball is on the green in three strokes. Twelve putts later, the ball goes in the hole. Admirers have long since lost interest and the only people left are those determined to see just how bad it can get.

This type of run-on book has been penned by seasoned authors. I’ve read a few. In my humble opinion, please know when it’s time to back away from the keyboard. If the work turns out to be a novella, novelette, or short story, it’s okay. Just let it end when it should.

Second, the conclusion should be necessary and make sense.

This is where a general outline might come in handy. In my July 17th post, When one door closes, break down a wall, I mentioned writing organically and from an outline.

The hazard with the first is that the manuscript can meander through endless side plots which might not be satisfied by the ending. Imagine interwoven rows of dominoes set to topple at the whim of the builder. After a flick of the finger, the falling dominoes race ahead, but half the dominoes are left standing because the pattern wasn’t thought out properly. Better luck next time.

The hazard with the second is that the manuscript might be stiff, boring, and just too regimented. And as an extension, the conclusion might be all too predictable and (yawn) all too expected. Imagine the same dominoes set in a straight line. A finger flick and off they go… Yep… They all fell down. Next.

Know where the plot twists, turns, and ends. Throw in a few tricks. Jump a few hurdles. And when all the dominoes fall, everybody is happy.

Finally…

Nobody likes dream sequence conclusions (who shot J.R. Ewing) so just don’t.

If there is a struggle between foes, even friendly foes, make it an even playing field, e.g. Captain America vs Iron Man. Nobody wants to see Bambi meets Godzilla (even though the Marv Newland short film was hilarious).

The reader isn’t stupid. There is no need to explain everything again…again…again…

Even though many people loved the show “Lost”, the conclusion left some cold; like me. Please, no convenient short cuts or ways out of a poorly considered ending. If the manuscript is trapped in a plot corner, maybe my July 17th post could help.

The conclusion should give the big bang and it can last for several chapters. Blow crap up. Let the characters learn something about themselves. Let raw emotion explode off the page. Let the love triangle disintegrate. Give the reader something to fear, cheer, cry, or laugh about. Do whatever it takes, just don’t disappoint.

My Click Here offering has the next two chapters of Assuming Room Temperature. To read the chapters in sequence, reference my June 4th post, Drunken Ping-Pong and the Sex That Didn’t Happen, and my July 2nd post, It’s All In How You Begin for their Click Here offerings. Again, it hasn't been edited and any suggestions would be welcomed.

8/9/16 I've compiled all three offerings into one with the click here button.

Thanks, and enjoy.

Skinning the cat: Choosing a writing style for a target audience.

To begin, I love books on CD.

An unabridged novel, read with the intent and focus as created by the author, with tell volumes about that writer’s style. Those spoken words influence listeners because that's how we’re put together.

We began life as listeners.

We were read to as children. Or perhaps our listening experiences were limited to overheard conversations. Whichever is true, we developed our first communication skills from those early listening experiences.

Skip ahead to today.

The words we type have their origin in those early communication experiences. We share commonalities with people in our neighborhood, our town, our state. We’ve added experience and education to develop a unique voice and style. But there’s a potential problem.

Will our style and voice have limited audience appeal, or worse, no appeal beyond those in our inner circle?

In conversation we use redundancies. We use hand gestures and facial expressions to make our point.  We use colloquialisms. When we write, our presentation has to change.

The general:

1)      Delete the redundant, vague, and assumed.

You could write: “Trudy had worked up the courage to ask for a raise. She’d thought about it all morning and now she was going to do it. She got up from behind her desk, walked to his closed office door, and reached out to turn the door handle. When the door handle didn’t turn she realized she’d have to wait. She’d have to wait and work up the courage to ask her boss for a raise again when he came back.” That might be perfectly acceptable for many readers.

The repetition in the first two sentences gives urgency. But if you already had her behind her desk, why do you need to tell the reader she got up from behind her desk? And unless you are emphasizing the courage of movement or distance involved, you might not need to write she walked to the office door. And why say she reached out to turn the door handle? The reader will already know she has reached out when she discovered the handle locked. And why say “his closed office door” if she’s trying the handle? The door was obviously closed. And why repeat the reason she tried the handle in the first place? You’ve already set the reason and urgency in the first two sentences. The reader hasn’t forgotten.

This is far from a perfect example, but it’s something we do early on in our writing. We try to speak the words onto the page as if we were having a conversation with our cohorts.

With that said, I do suggest you read aloud the words you written, maybe record the reading to get a feel for what you’ve written. That helps take away the gestures and emotions you were imagining while you typed.

2)      Use narrative, dialogue, and exposition to enhance your story.

I’ve written and read stories that are simple narratives. They convey emotions and events without losing any power or meaning. Dialogue novels exist, but they are a bit more challenging to read.

The mind requires occasional resets to contemplate and digest. In a narrative work or a traditional novel, we are given those moments to pause. When reading dialogue, the mind is more active. There are fewer pause moments, and, unless the dialogue is very engaging, we get lost in the tedium.

I’ve read excellent novels with three, four, and even five pages of continuous dialogue, but those were the exception. I’ve also read pages of dialogue that could have been better written as a single paragraph of exposition or narrative. Don’t create a massive weight of dialogue unless it moves the story forward more effectively than a well-placed bit of narrative or exposition.

3)      Forget the rules of grammar.

While you don’t want to lose your readers by being too conversational, you don’t want to bore them by being too precise. Use of grammar that is “too perfect” is like listening to a lecture giving by someone in monotone. You keep hoping something is going to change, some slight inflection that will keep your mind from wondering. But it never happens. You get bored and lose track of what is being said or irritated and simply stop listening.

4)      Stop the chop.

Combine sentences into extended thoughts. You might write, “I looked outside. I saw a kid chasing a butterfly. I remembered when I was a kid and smiled. I used to chase butterflies.” Write something more like, “I looked outside and saw a kid chasing butterflies. I smiled at the memory of sunny days and chasing butterflies.”

The specific:

When Tom Clancy wrote “The Hunt for Red October” he included a lot of technical information and language. A number of years ago, I had the chance to IM with one of the editors that had worked on the novel. She gave me insight into his motives.

Mr. Clancy wanted his novel to have wide appeal, but he also wanted it to sound authoritative. I took her advice to heart and tailored my then current writing project accordingly. You can read the results in my blog from June 11th – Pacified steel and the $5,300,000.00 box of donuts.

One huge difference between his story and mine was that his crisis had inherent intrigue and massive audience appeal. Mine would only interest readers who enjoyed chemistry and the properties of steel.

If you are writing for a specific group, tailor your language accordingly. Don’t include unnecessary details. Keep it simple when it needs to be simple. Make it technical when it needs to be technical.

I would hate to pick up a Chilton repair manual and have to slog through paragraphs of thoughts and feelings and reminiscences. Just tell me how to fix my car.

Likewise, I would hate to read a novel and get slogged down by inside industry info that doesn’t progress the story or is so specialized that I would have to do research to understand minor back-story points. That’s why I trashed my manuscript about industrial sabotage. I had so much back-story technical info and so much about the workings within a specific job class I was boring myself.

So what style and voice are you going to use?

If you are writing for kids its easier. A more conversational style will work. If you are writing for young adults, use more pop culture references in your dialogue. If you are writing for adults, use uncomplicated and non-redundant narrative. Use dialogue that is crisp and wouldn’t be better as narration. 

Write in either first or third person depending on the message you are trying to convey. I enjoy writing in both. Changing style between projects allows me to explore aspects of my personality.

The third person author is the observer, seeing things their characters may not. The author brings the reader into the observation room for a peek at someone else’s reality.

The first person author is the empath, allowing themselves to explore powerful feelings and react to life changing events. They are the ones being observed and they aren't afraid to expose their underbelly to the reader.

Whichever way you write, keep writing.

My Click Here reading is one of my favorite scenes from my novel, Shadowman. The mood of the scene might have been influenced by the works of Chuck Palahniuk (Author of Fight Club, etc). The man depicted is a local politician and bad guy who has been involved in or responsible for several murders. Events have occurred to cause a break with reality. He has fled town and is in hiding.

I hope you enjoy.

When one door closes, break down a wall.

     You've written something marvelous. You have intrigue, romance, and a plot line so unique it can never be equaled. You follow the logical path, bringing your character to a sentinel event. 
     The wave has crested and you plan to ride it to the shore and collect your adulations from admiring fans. Then the fog of joy lifts and you realize you’ve written yourself into a corner.
     The advice from those experienced in these events is as follows:
1_Take a break, something will come to you; 2_Don’t be afraid to go back and rewrite the storyline; 3_Throw in a plot twist; 4_Study your manuscript to see how you arrived at this point, then tweak one or two minor things; 5_Keep writing, the problem often solves itself.
    Those corners sometimes occur because we are organic in our writing. We don’t have a plot structure or outline. We have an idea where the story is going but not how it’s getting there.
     I’ve written both ways, from an outline and organically (stream of consciousness, borrowing the notion from James Joyce and his masterpiece Ulysses).
    For whichever way you write, you can never allow your characters to stop speaking to you.                 I’ve read formulaic books from best-selling authors. Those novels can be fantastic. But occasionally, I wonder if a novel is a mish-mash of seventh grade essays with a noted author’s name slapped on the cover. Cha-ching. Money in the bank because of a good reputation.
    One of my favorite ways out of a corner has been used by Stephen R. Donaldson in his Thomas Covenant series, by Joss Whedon, creator of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series and other celebrated screenplays, and by many other authors time and time again…
    Eliminate some of the readers favorite characters in order to move the story-line forward. If done well, it has impact and touches the reader in a deep and meaningful way. 
    Whichever approach you decide to take, never stop writing.

My Click Here post provides the prologue of "Unrighteous Indignation", a novel I wrote in 2007. I found myself in a plot corner and put it on hold. I have plans to revive the manuscript in 2017. For more about Unrighteous Indignation, check my future projects section. 

Crossing a line

"First Blood" by David Morrell (1972) and "God Drives A Flying Saucer" by R L Dione (1973) are among the first "impulse buy" books I purchased with my own money. In those days, paperback books were sold at supermarket checkout lines, holding place next to the candy and gum.

Those early purchases occupied my mind during vacation trips to Florida and Louisiana. I imagine my parents were grateful that I read instead of arguing with my brother and sister. 

Over the years I've tried to broaden my horizon, purchasing "vacation" books from various genres. A list of those reads might never be among any pundits top ten, but I found them to be thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining. Among those reads were:

"The Killer Angels" by Michael Shaara (1974) A novel about the battle of Gettysburg that won the Pulitzer in 1975; "The Wolf and The Dove"  by Kathleen Woodiwiss (original edition 1974 with republications in '76, '87, '90, and '95) A fantastic historical romance; "The Mammoth Hunters" by Jean M Auel (1985) A novel set in the early days of civilization; and "The Name Of The Rose" by Umberto Eco (1980) A novel of murder set in an Italian monastery.

I believe we should leave our comfort zone at times and read outside our normal genre. It gives us perspective. As such...

The 24 hour short story competition from yesterday provided a difficult and interesting task. I'm sure many participants went with the mundane, but, given my personality, I could not. My Click Here reading, which I will link AFTER 1:00 pm est TODAY (the contest deadline), will give access to "The Wyman Initiative" the short story I've submitted. I hope you enjoy.

As always, click the Contact button with any comments or to subscribe to this blog.

It's all in how you begin.

Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.

That is the opening line of Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. The first paragraph continues stating that the gate was locked, the way in barred to her. No one answered when the narrator called out and the house seemed deserted. This sets the tone for an amazing story.

I recommend this book to everyone.

Alfred Hitchcock was so impressed he directed a movie based on the novel. Stephen King got inspiration for Bag of Bones from reading the novel.

The first three lines of Stephen King’s Bag of Bones reveal the last conversation between the narrator and his wife as she’s going out on an errand. He describes the conversation without going into exhaustive detail, setting up a crisis point in the first paragraph.

“The next time I saw her, she was on TV. That’s how you identify the dead here in Derry –“

It’s always the beginnings that get me. I imagine it’s the same for many readers.

When I visit bookstores, brick and mortar and online, I might be drawn to a cover design. I might be intrigued by the back cover blurb. But I base my purchases on the first pages. If a writer grabs my attention in the first minutes, I’m hooked.

I expect a story to have a normal ebb and flow. I expect a story to progress toward its conclusion without needing to be wowed on every page. I look past minor flaws in the layout and editing, having read many wonderful books with some printer or other technical errors. But I expect a good story. I want surprises. I want some wow moments in the mix.

These ideas were at the forefront when I began the prologue for Shadowman. I wanted to grab the reader’s attention immediately while not revealing everything at once.

“The blast of the shotgun was deafening. The rest was quiet work. A pushing, driving, movement of hands to finish what had to be done.”

I don’t tell right away that a murder has been committed. I don’t immediately reveal the outside forces and inner turmoil effecting the man. He’s only one thread in the tapestry.

In life, many things are about beginnings.

What made you notice this or that person? What attracts your attention when you look outside? What draws your interest away from those certain tasks at hand that need to be completed? That is the book cover.

Their smile, the way the sun highlights their hair, their cologne/perfume that elicits a reaction in your senses. The squirrel jumping from tree to tree, the mixture of colors in the gardens and fields, the kid chasing the butterfly. The song that just came on the radio, the hunger pangs you’ve suppressed all morning, the smell of coffee brewing. That is the back cover blurb that draws you to the inevitability of wanting to experience more.

Starting a conversation with that person you’ve noticed. Remembering when you were the kid chasing butterflies. Singing along with that song on the radio. Those are the opening lines of the book.

Make the reader feel happy, sad, intrigued, angry, make them feel something, anything but bored with what you've written. Writing is all about engaging someone’s interest. It’s about taking them away from their day to day and bringing them into the world you’ve created.

My Click Here selection contains the next few chapters of Assuming Room Temperature, my next crime thriller. I haven't edited the pages and would appreciate any constructive criticism giving through the CONTACT icon.

8/9/16 I've combined all of the offerings for Assuming Room Temperature under the click here button.

Thanks again, and enjoy.

Living in the aftermath of the incredible edible egg - the difficulties of writing for the opposite sex.

     Donna White was my first attempt at writing a female protagonist. The short story, “Bleach White – the summer without a tan”, was written in the mid-eighties. 
     Donna was a well-to-do high schooler. However, the summer before her senior year, her father fell ill and was no longer able to support their family. Donna had to take a summer job to help out. She missed time with her friends, she missed time at the beach, she missed everything she’d once held dear.
     Donna struggled with the urge to blame her father for his illness, finally forgiving him as the first day of school approached. 
     She comes to a crisis point the first day of class as her former friends reject her, both for having become middle-class and for her lack of a summer tan. They taunt her, calling her Bleach White; a nickname echoed by fellow students and teachers alike. The story was sad and sentimental and emphasized the importance of family bonds in the face of social pressure.
     But my characterization of Donna White wasn’t what it could have been. She was too stereotypical and her personality was devoid of layers. This is a common thread in new writers.
     There are many teachings and blogs detailing how to write for/as the opposite sex. They are all very good, but my personality requires I put my own spin on the subject.
     In the 1970’s, Taro Gomi wrote, “Everybody Poops”. In 1983, Shinta Cho wrote, “The Gas We Pass: The Story Of Farts”. These two Japanese authors discovered a way to handle an uncomfortable subject, entertaining and helping children and parents alike. I do not claim the prowess of these authors, but I likewise hope to entertain and help in my small way. As such…
     It was our freshman year at the University of Georgia. Walter Templeton, my friend and cohort in many misadventures, busied himself with science and the night life in Russell Hall, our dormitory and the site of several of the aforementioned misadventures.
     I busied myself with the study of English Lit and my fascination over Amelia. I don’t recall her last name, but she was lovely and inviting. She always sat front row left and always had a smile as I found my seat in the fifth row. After several weeks of smiles, I finally worked up the courage to ask her out.
     Amelia stayed after class that day, keeping her seat, front row left, and I was certain she had guessed my resolve. She must have anticipated my pending approach. She must have somehow sensed my desire and longed for me to ask her out. These were the thoughts in my eighteen-year-old mind. The only obstacle was the friend waiting there with her, carrying on their conversation.
     I wanted her friend to leave. I imagined Amelia likewise wanting her friend to run along so that the eventuality of our being together would become a reality. And that is when it happened.
     From there, in the fifth row of English 102, a foulness was birthed, both horrid and silent in its becoming.
     Amelia spoke first. “Oh My God. What is the smell?”
     The classroom windows were open. I imagined the possibility that food service was boiling cabbage and the steam was carried on the breeze. Likewise, as there was construction on campus, I imagined some workers might have set fire to a heap of trash and tires and the smoke wafted our way. I turned back from searching the windows with an “It must be coming from out there” hopefulness.
     Her friend, and it is always the friend, said, “I don’t know. But let’s get away from it.”
I admire that young man I was for still having the courage to ask Amelia on a date. I still get a laugh when I think of her “I don’t think so” response.
     That situation, and other events of my life, have helped me understand more about writing.
The young boy I was, although shy, was full of ego. As a man matures, the ego is still there, but is tempered with experience. The Now me would have never waited to speak with Amelia. I would have introduced myself the first day and let the chips fall.
     Female writers can write a stereotypical male character with a large ego and keep him appealing. Add maturity and experience in the mix. Give him desirable traits. Give him a smile, have him start a nice conversation, make the reader look past the fact the he might be an ass. Make him a lovable and desirable ass. Imagine the things you want to hear coming from his mouth. Imagine the typical, but mix in the actions any woman might desire. Maybe the guy is willing to embarrass himself for a good cause.
     As for Amelia, I do think she might have had a faint attraction toward me. Then again, perhaps she was just nice. Guys writing for women should explore and include both possibilities. A woman will go over every detail of what might have been. She often listens to her friend’s advice, then chides herself for listening to her friend’s advice before she comes back to her original thoughts. Then she blames her friend before blaming herself and finally decides that things will work out, maybe, if God is not trying to punish her for something,
     To write a woman, I now allow myself to access the library of my thoughts. I pull forth a memory, childhood to current time, aging or making younger the lady as necessary, and let myself imagine a scene unfolding. It seems to work well for me.
     The Hospitality Girl is my current writing project and the subject of this week’s Click Here posting. In this novella, Tammie Bowers is left heartbroken by the only man she’s ever loved.            When she meets ninety-one-year-old Alice Rogers, Tammie learns all that life can hold and how wonderful and sad it is to be in love.
     I give a huge thanks to Chris, Lantz, Samantha, Keya, Tara, George, Scarlett, Ed, and other Chattanooga Writers Guild members for your advice and inspiration.

Ideas from the toy box.

      I used to have a large collection of buttons. Large, small, stylish, plain, these buttons were a variety of shapes and colors spanning generational shifts in style. I could pick any button and let myself imagine the original article of clothing.                                                                                   Once done, I would imagine the person wearing that shirt or sweater or coat etc. A second button would be their counterpart or the antagonist. Scenarios arose involving the wearer of the tailored white shirt and the wearer of the green frumpy sweater. The buttons were a catalyst that drove my imagination. Often they inspired characters for my short stories.
     I’ve always collected things. Bottle caps had been my first serious venture. My favorites caps were “Have a DAD’S…tastes like ROOT BEER should” and the Coke bottle caps with the image and name of a sports figure printed inside. 
     These days my collection is very simple. I have my books and I have my toys. 
     I’m not speaking of the classic “Big Boy Toys” like sports cars, jet skis, and turbo powered whatchamacallits. My toys are like me. Simple.
     If you poke your head in my office you will see bookshelves, a slinky, a chess board, silly putty, dice, a stuffed Sesame Street Grover (a present from my wife because she knows Grover is the bomb), nail puzzles, crossword magazines, a Rubik’s Cube, and the list goes on. You will also see a very nice globe and stand.
     I don’t like writer’s block. My simple toys allow me to escape to a place where I don’t have to think. I can relax, play, read a book, listen to the Bose, and find a way back to myself. It doesn’t take long. Maybe thirty minutes. Maybe a day. But I always find my way back and the block is gone.
     Seasoned writers and rookies alike experience the blank page. Seasoned writers have internalized their toy box. A mental roll of the dice reveals an enjoyable storyline. Rookies need to reach out and mold the playdough now and again.
     Whichever skill set, every writer has something that frees their mind, allowing them to imagine what might be. Every writer has that moment of “It wasn’t until it was”.
     So when the blank page is demanding action, open the toy box and let the ideas come as they will.
     With all this said, I have one final item to share. 
     Studies have shown the importance of play. Children who play have healthy brain development and tend to be more successful adults. Adults who play are more creative, have improved relationships and have good problem solving skills.
     So go, play, support the arts, read a book, watch a movie, daydream, or just grab the playdough and give it a squeeze. It’ll do you good.

     My Click Here selections were both written on a whim. The first is an inexact parody of The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe. It was written some twenty years ago as a challenge at a Halloween party. I called it With Apologies To EAP.     *With Apologies to EAP has been moved to the poetry section. The second was an entry in a twenty-four hour short story contest. Each contestant received the same E-mail at noon on Saturday. The E-mail gave a word count, a three line bit of text to be incorporated, a request for a surprise ending, and the word GO.  I used two hours and decided to submit far before the noon Sunday deadline. It's not great, but it was fun to write.

Pacified steel and the $5,300,000.00 box of donuts.

The greatest portion of my working life, before nursing school, involved reading contracts and negotiating business deals totaling in excess of $300,000,000.00. That might sound impressive, but, in the world of business, money flows like the Mississippi.

At one point, a serious problem surfaced with our steel vendor. And yadda yadda yadda. I will not bore you with the details.

I was attempting to write a novel when this multi-million dollar crisis happened. It seemed intriguing how the problem arose, only to be denied by the vendor. It became more intriguing as we discovered other clients who experienced similar "cover-ups" involving the same vendor.

I fictionalized this intrigue in the pages of my manuscript. How fascinating, how exciting, to have the main character involved in a murder plot and a juicy bit of industrial sabotage.

During the actual business meetings, involving the investigation of cause and subsequent solving of our problem, my vendor brought an endless supply of Hot Donuts Now. This too went in my book.

The manuscript completed, it was e-mailed to a trusted overseas friend. We had no common ground except our love of the written word. When she finished her reading, her statements caused me to scrap my masterpiece.

Oh My God! My moments of industrial intrigue now rested in the landfill!

But not quite all. She found one item lovely and fascinating.

"I like the bit about the pastries."

I no longer include subjective expertise in my work. 

I'd been fascinated by my "ordeal with the steel". While I'm sure twelve or possibly fifteen readers would have been likewise intrigued, I chose to adapt my style to engage a larger audience.

This is the best advice I can imagine for new writers...

Just because something feels interesting, just because it seems totally fascinating in the moment, there is no guarantee anyone will ever want to read about it.

Except for the donuts.

One can never find a better diversion than Hot Donuts Now.

---

Last weeks Click Here offering brought several pleasant comments through the CONTACT icon. Thank you. This week my focus is on poetry. Far from the norm, my sonnets are less pastoral, less divine. My sonnets have a bit of angst. I hope you enjoy.

*Sonnets have been moved to the poetry section.

Drunken Ping-Pong and the sex that didn't happen.

To begin...

I don't write erotica or porn (soft or hardcore). Do not look for signs of either in my writing. Conversely, I have no issues with any writer who chooses to pursue those genres. There is definitely a niche market, money to be made, and a good segment of readers seeking to be entertained by their writing.

I do try to write with emotion. And I try to write what I know.

Every beginning writer has heard those words. "Write what you know." It's a good way to start. It is the basis for what I write and it is the subject of today's post.

It was late summer. The University of Georgia campus in Athens was alive with the busyness of college life. Walter Templeton, my friend and cohort through many misadventures, walked in, waving a flyer he'd taken from the Russell dorm community board. The unadorned page, in the simplest, yet most inviting of phrases, announced a community cookout at the Tri Delt sorority house. We should be there, the flyer told us. We needed to be there.

The decision was made before I had a chance to speak. One does what one must do.

Passing the gate onto the beautifully manicured lawn, Walter and I were greeted by two of the most beautiful and evocatively dressed women we'd ever encountered. It seemed a natural thing to take the cups they offered. Anything within must be nectar, having come from these flawless creatures.

 We were led through a host of smiling faces. Handsome guys, gorgeous girls, hands offered and shaken, smiles and glances, pats on the back and words of welcome abounded.

A large pit had been dug in the center of the spacious back lawn. Preparations must have taken days. Chunks of firewood, gathered, hauled, and thrown into the waiting maw had been set alight. A large spit spanned the entire length of glowing embers. It turned and softly clicked, carrying a beautiful side of beef.

Everything had been prepared and waited each eager plate and fork, but that was for later. Now was for finishing the thirst quenching amber essence in our cups. Delicate hands lifted, tilted, pressed, insisted against the cups in our hands. Alison and Julia had a second offering ready. I don't actually recall their names. But within the ether of memory, Alison and Julia fit very nicely.

The second urging led to the third and a natural fourth. Walter and I were led by the hand into the cool downstairs of the house. We exchanged a glance, smiling as friends do. The fifth urging of liquid intoxication offered and consumed, the girls made their decisions. Julia pulled Walter across the room and I followed, with Alison leading the way.

It seemed odd that they would stop in the center of the room. It seemed odd that Walter and I faced each other across the green surface of a ping-pong table. It seemed odd that Alison took the now empty cup from my hand, sliding a paddle and ball in its place. It seemed odd that we were supposed to play ping-pong, doubles ping-pong.

Alison and Julia looked in high competitive mode. Walter couldn't wipe the smile from his face. I stood there, looking, wondering what would happen next.

Alison touched my arm, smiled, and told me it was my serve.

I wondered what the prize would be for the victor. I wondered what would happen if we won the first point. I wondered if Alison would lean against me and kiss me for each small victory. I wondered if this was strip ping-pong.

I 

had 

to 

win

this

point.

I drew back, tossed the ball in the air, and brought my paddle forward with a Goliath force. 

It was surprising to all four of us. The ball spun and sailed and turned and struck, dropping back onto the surface after hitting Alison in the side of the head. 

Walter was the science guru. He knew the laws of physics. Yet he was completely dumbstruck. What caused the ball to sail sideways instead of across the net? 

I was the English major. I was good with words. Naturally I handled the situation with tact and etiquette.

"Oops."

That was all I had. I had been using words, writing poems, waxing eloquent for years. But all I had at the moment was "Oops".

Alison handed the ball into my waiting grasp. This time it would be different. This time I would use less force and spin. This time I would think my way to a perfect serve.

This time I hit Alison just below her chin.

I wasn't surprised when Alison and Julia walked away. I wasn't surprised when Walter started laughing. I wasn't surprised when we were told to have a nice evening and shown back to the gate. But that was the way of things.

I've thought about that day, and many others like it, when I've been writing. I've thought about the anticipation and the disappointment, the embarrassment and the laughter. I've thought about all the might have been's.

Every moment in life holds a lesson and a well of emotions. Many of mine, though embarrassing in the moment, have led me here. 

Gabriel Simmons, last weeks "click on" offering, was written from a sense of pain and rejection I'd felt at one time. This weeks offering taps into another of the emotions from my past. When writing, I find the sad and embarrassing moments to be the best fuel for every question of "what might be?"

I hope you've enjoyed. 

---

This weeks selection provides the opening pages from one of my "What's Coming Next" projects. Assuming Room Temperature is a crime thriller I wrote in 1999-2000. I am "rebirthing" it for today's world. My wife, Kelly, enjoys my writing, but has a hard time with this one. She loves the way it's written, but the villain is the stuff of nightmares. The work is not yet edited and may have indent issues in the translation from Word. Click the Contact button with any thoughts and suggestions. I hope you enjoy.

8/9/16 I've included the first six chapters in the click here selection.

Hiding from the world isn't always a bad thing

My wife and I are taking time away this weekend. We have books to read and projects to complete. Her projects are for an upcoming baby shower. My projects are, as always, about writing. 

It is exactly this time away, separate from work and bills and the pressing matters of life, that allows a freedom of the mind. There are precious few moments of solitude when they are desired, and stagnating heaps of solitude when they are not. The desired times of peace must be nurtured and cherished. Our worries and responsibilities will be waiting exactly where we left them when we return to the world.

With that said, I've finished the short story Gabriel Simmons. Woo and hoo. My hope is to have this story perfected (if such a thing is ever possible) and submit it to the Southern Writers Short Story Contest. The deadline is June 30th, but I hate to put anything off to the last minute.

Gabriel Simmons might not be the "cup of tea" entry Southern Writer's magazine expects. If you've read my current projects section you can understand. However, I do want to take the chance. 

That is where you come in, dear reader.

I've included a button at the bottom of this post that will give you access to the entire unedited version of Gabriel Simmons. This is where I will be asking for your opinions.

Gabriel Simmons is told from the point of view of a twelve year old boy. As such, the sentence structure is not perfect. This is intentional, but if it doesn't work for you, please let me know.

My wife asked what his mother does for a living, you will see why when you read, but I told her it was up to the imagination of the reader. There is a change in perspective, outside to inside, that may cause a problem for some. This too was intentional. But if it doesn't work, please voice your opinion.

Use the contact me button to leave comments. If you do not want to be put on a mailing list for blog updates that's not a problem. Just type "no" after your comments, or, if you prefer, use the twitter or facebook icons at the bottom of the page to leave a message or a tweet.

Thanks in advance for your comments and opinions.

I hope you enjoy the story.

Michael D Grant

RwriterN

Poetry

I've found and added another of my poems from ago. I will continue to update as my old works come in and I'll begin writing poems again this weekend. 

Kelly asked me if I felt badly, having written almost every day those many years ago, never keeping copies of my work. I told her how I felt at the time. Those poems and short stories were gifts. They were meant for others and for specific purposes. 

These few have come back. More will come in. I will continue writing about love and loss and fear and hope. What else could bring me more joy?

Chattanooga writers' guild and the Georgia writer's association.

Every writing guru, when speaking to new writers, will share this one bit of sage advice: Find and join a local writers' group. I had held off for years, unsure of myself, unsure of agendas, unsure of what I could give and gain from association with other writers.

I've always been a bit of a loner, as many writers seem to be, and I've always been my own worst critic. Perhaps I could call it my McFly mindset (Back to the Future, 1985). What if I submitted my work and they didn't like it? What if they said it was no good? I didn't think I could take that kind of rejection.

Finally deciding nothing good ever happens without risk, I contacted the Chattanooga writers' guild. I've been attending local meetings since February, and, as said by Robert Frost in "The Road Not Taken", that has made all the difference. 

As a member of both the Chattanooga writer's guild and the Georgia writer's association, I've gained access to a wealth of knowledge, experience, and training. My only question is why I waited so long.

Far from pundit or guru, I have only one bit of advice to give to anyone thinking about writing. Find and join a local writers' group. It will make all the difference.