Friday, November 29, 2013

when someone loves you...

“When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You know that your name is safe in their mouth. ” — Jess C. Scott

I saw the quote on Goodreads.com, and while I love the sentiment, it's a tough sentence to follow.

Roland

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

15,000 words in only 10 years

In my spare time (I didn't know I had any) I've been writing a book. I've been writing this book since May of 2003, which is when my mother died. The book would be huge (and done) if I'd actually been writing all this time, but truth be told, I haven't written more than 500 words of it in the ten years between then and now.

The book is not really about my mother at all, but about relationships with parents that aren't 'there' for one reason or another. Some parents die, some parents leave, some parents were never really there, or present in a child's life, to begin with; these are some of the issues that I wanted to explore, and still do. It is not autobiographical, and just to pretend that I can prove that, I'll share with you that it's from the point of view of a twenty-something girl; the only child of a now single father, who's wife died ten years ago. Her name is Kate.

There are writers who are overcome by their writing, to the point where the story writes itself. I'm not that writer. With me, my characters seem to write themselves, and it really screws with my plans for them. I love to write these scenes, wherever they go, and for ten years they have been very cathartic. Still, I'm often left with words and scenes without a home, given the actual story.

As of yesterday, I hit 15,000 words on Kate's story, and 95% of this was done in 2013. That's a long time for just over 14,000 words. That's too long, but I was repeatedly struggling with the idea that this isn't a story to publish, so why write something only I will read? When that's the mindset, it's far too easy to push things to the back burner in favor of other work.

Catharsis led me to writing this story, and I think it's going to be more cathartic to finish it, edit it, put a cover on it, and publish it, even if it's far from my ideal first fiction story. It's not like a have a long list of chick lit or 'new adult' stories that I need to get out of my brain... (That's a lie, I do have a long list.)

Still, in my ideal world, my science fiction serial world come first, or maybe my own telling of Tristan and Isolde. I have too many ideas, and when I hit a snag with Kate, I spend time outlining one of them; each my perfect first book. Then, the next day, it's always back to the story that I have to write for my own good, and Kate's too, I suppose.

Ok, back at it. 15,001, 15,0002, 15,0003...

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Music to which I write (aka 'music to write to')

I don't always write to music, but when I do...

When I write non-fiction (or fitness books (see what I did there?)) I listen to the kind of stuff that's pretty cliché in the industry (metal, rock, etc.).

When I write fiction, it helps to fit the music to the theme, and it's been romance, lately. ...when I have time to write it, squoze in between my legit projects, of course.



Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Steal Like An Artist

The wife came back from San Fran yesterday, and brought be a cool little gift from an actual bookstore (we don't have them here anymore, it seems).

It was an independent bookstore, even!

With non-Starbucks coffee inside.

Steal Like an Artist



Steal Like an Artist, by Austin Kleon. (here's more about the author)

The book is 6x6" 'bathroom book' format, which is strangely perfect right now because I'm actually writing a bathroom book (It's simmering on the back burner for other projects, right now).

The book is great, and inspirational for any artist or wannabe artist, and is full of quotes, quips, simple graphics, and humor. It's also available on Kindle, but I find it hard to believe it would be as useful, but who knows.

Perfect (and perfect timing)

This book could not have come at a better time, as I constantly doubt my plots, stories, and characters and their 'originality.' Down deep, I know "there is nothing new under the sun," but I do try to make them my own.

This book is not a license to steal, but it is permission to write.

Roland

Friday, November 15, 2013

Anyone out there?

I know, I told you to go away, then told you I was 'back' but different, then I proved I was the same guy NOT posting before I said I was back by once again NOT posting.

What a bag of mixed messages I am.

I can get worse yet please don't go away...

Here's the deal: My ramble on what's what with Roland


  • When I switched to writing about fitness, I thought that was all I needed, but I was wrong. I need to write to write, not just write to teach. I also need to write differently than I have been recently. I need to go back in time, figuratively of course, to when I just wrote and was happy to let the chips fall where they may.
  • I've been so busy writing and working on 'serious shit' that I've neglected to 'just write.'
  • I feel called to write fiction, like I used to do in the olden days, when computers were just black screens with green, glowing letters. I wrote scripts and short stories on a mainframe computer (which, unfortunately, didn't have diskettes, so I have nothing of them anymore).
  • It wasn't really a mainframe computer, but no one knows what Prime is, aside from Optimus Prime. Plus, it's not important unless you know what Prime Computer was. If you do, you probably know me, because it was a small world.
  • I was recently reminded that about six years ago I took an online job aptitude test and it told me I should be a romance book writer. This is serious shit, people.
  • My ramble is almost over...
  • Assuming I do knock out some fiction, I wonder if I should have a fake author name (pseudonym is too hard to spell), because my book ideas aren't even remotely fitness related. It wouldn't be a secret name, but just a way to differentiate myself on Amazon.
  • As far as names and personalities go, ironically I probably try to sound more manly when I write fiction books; I mean look at what's on this blog, people. Chick flicks and Regina Spektor? It might have been better to have a fake name over in the fitness world, but that ship has sailed...
  • I'm a touchy feely guy, which is what this blog let me put out there. I plan to put a lot of that down into words that become books and short stories, even if it takes a while (I only have so much time, and vampires and emo robots won't write themselves (although in my forthcoming sci-fi vampire robot series, they might)).
  • We saw About Time the other night, and loved it.



  • Now, ramble over.

Monday, November 4, 2013

You are my sweetest downfall

The love of my life doesn't get the music I love.

I think she gets the music I like (Pink Floyd, Rush, ELO, etc) even if she doesn't agree with my choices. I also think that if she knew the depth of the music I listen to she would leave me or turn her own music waaaay up. Yes, I like Deep Purple. Yes, I like Blue Oyster Cult (that's right, I do!). Most of the Moody Blues, two songs by Jefferson Airplane, and one by Jefferson Starship.

Even though I'm sure she'd wrinkle her nose at much of the above list, she gets it. Most of it, anyway.

There's a place where we find common ground; I also like The Killers, The White Stripes, Feist, and Gorillaz, and while those might not be her favorites, we both like them enough to listen without headphones.

What she doesn't get is the Tristan Prettymans, Missy Higgins, and Regina Spektors. To her, I think all their voices, sounds, songs, and stories are the same (like every Jack Johnson song).

I like music, books, songs, and stories where people talk a lot, tell stories, fall in love, have hard choices, hearts get broken, people are rescued at the last moment, and (despite the happy ending) not everyone wins.

Yes, there are guys singing about these things, but why listen to a guy when you can listen to a girl?

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