Yay! You've Started! What's (not) Next?

So, you’ve started. You’ve got your big scene or your compelling character with a dark past, or maybe-maybe-maybe you started with your ending. Now you’re typing your little-writer heart out to fill out the rest of the story. It’s all SO exciting. And every day is a new adventure.

Don’t worry, that won’t last

The brutal truth is inspiration does not magically result in a book. Work results in books. Your inspiration/idea/cool character either becomes work or it will wither and die. 

Upside, once you’ve accepted that writing is a skill, not some Yoda-given talent, you’re well on your way. See, in the writing you’re building the skills necessary to turn your inspiration into a finished book. It all comes down to the actual writing.

Now, who’s on first?

I can’t stress this enough, you need a plan for when that spark of inspiration is no longer quite so new/shiny. Note: I did not say you need an outline. To outline or not outline is a debate you can wrestle with (waste time on) once you have a completed draft. 

As I’ve previously stated an outline can become a labyrinth of self-diversion. On the flip-side, pantsing your way through can result in lost time and lost initiative as you try to remember where you were going each day. 

Day? You mean, like, every day?

Yes, you really should try (as close as you) to write every day. However, I live in the real world and suffer the slings and arrows of economic injustice (means I have to work for a living just like you). That’s the main reason I developed a plan. So, after two days, two weeks, or ~sigh~ two months away, you’ll appreciate a map back to the path of progress.

Even if it’s just jotted down plot points, the better you organize the easier the going will be. 

Research? Never heard of it. Kidding. Mostly. 

I strongly encourage you to complete your draft before you get into currency units from Dark Ages Cypress or the ignition switch for a 1959 Oldsmobile Rocket 88. Believe me, I understand that research is important. I also understand, from pained experience, that research can/will get away from you. Ultimately, it saps writing time and initiative.

Plus, your completed draft will help you pinpoint the research you actually need to do, thus maximizing your research time. 

Until it’s done, tell no one…

It’s fun to talk about a new story idea. We all love exploring characters and motivations. The setting and emotional milieu is SO seductive. But all of that is energy drawn away from putting the story down on paper. In short, show (a completed draft) don’t tell (about something you haven’t done yet).

IT’S NOT READY YET

In my early efforts, I shoved first-draft chapters off on a patient friend for feedback. Then I revised, cut, or rearranged those chapters with the full expectation that said friend would gladly read the resulting product. Eventually that friend told me to bring him the FINISHED draft, when I completed it and not a moment sooner.  

I get it. No matter our inspiration or medium, genre or academic, goals or compulsions, we all want to be read. New writers can quickly become toxic and find their reading-friends avoiding, if not running from, them. 

Additional facts for consideration. Most people do not read. I’m in Texas, where asking someone about books or reading can turn hostile, fast. Therefore, a reader willing to tackle your MS is to be treasured not squandered.

Now, just to finish this MS and get—Oooo, what’s that new/shiny idea?

No new projects. Just, no. Sure, we all know that writer X works on multiple projects at a time without fail. To that I say, George R.R. Martin’s Winds of Winter has been “due” since 2011. In that time he has written six novels and contributed/edited at least two anthologies. Now he says he may never finish it. 

So, you just let that idea go?

Some folks write those ideas down to come back to them. I don’t. Writing the idea down can quickly become writing down character names, plot points, and before you know it you’re outlining and then drafting. I regularly have a new idea for a story and I leave it alone. 

If it’s solid and meant to be, that story won’t leave me alone. 

Finish what you started

It sounds/reads simple. It’s not. Simple stories get difficult. Taking the germ of an idea from a six-or-seven-word sentence to a full novel (60-120,000 words, depending on genre). You can do it. Thousands of our fellow scribble siblings do it every year. Inspiration will not carry you the entire way. Discipline will. 

Do not quit.

The image above, Darkmoon-Art by Dorothe Wouters, does not belong to me. It is used here by Pixabay agreement.

To Start...Start

Recently, I’ve read many posts on social media that all equate to the same dilemma:

• Plotter, planner, or plotster?
• Should I edit as I go?
• Crit group or MFA?
• What writing software should I use to write my first-ever novel?

 

The answer to all of those questions—just start—is just that easy and just that hard.

 

I’m not saying that tools and strategies won’t help you revise, track, and organize your book—they will. Crit groups are great for constructive feedback as well as developing editorial skills to apply to your endeavors. MFAs will…not keep you from writing your book. Editing-as-you-go strategy isn’t efficient. It’s avoidance. 

 

No sheepskin, gang of ink-stained miscreants, or software will do the most important job for you.

 

WRITE THE BOOK

 

Don't have an outline? Get the story down. Don't have a story? Explore what sparked your imagination—a murder, a business betrayal, a cursed dragon in search of her prince—start writing who, what, where, when, and why. See what happens.

I started something like four novels without finishing a single one. Those attempts were attempts to recreate the stories that I loved but they were not my story. Then I heard Walter Mosley say, "Whatever you read, whatever you write, it's supposed to be fun."

What's fun? Start there?

None of the stories I attempted to write had been especially fun. None of it especially scared me. None of it mattered to me, either.

While pondering those issues a line sprang from the deep recesses of my thinky-thoughty thingy.

Roosevelt pulled himself deeper into the shadow of the dying oak. Husking-breath close, the murderous cop circled the tree, pistol first.  

That's it. That's all I had. A name, a scene, and a question: who's good, who's bad, who decides?

Oh, I would LOVE to tell you that the words flowed and I wrote like a runaway prairie fire and "the story practically wrote itself," and all those other pithy platitudes. The truth is it was fast, it was ugly, and much of it was ill-advised. 

The point is start writing and don't stop until you have a completed draft.

Rough, illogical, damn-near incoherent—get it down, “Once upon a time...” to “...something-something-ever-after.”

 

Is the book done? Can you trumpet your triumph from the ramparts? Certainly not. 

 

A couple of decades ago, Science Fiction visionary, Philip K. Dick spoke on a writing panel that included the following exchange with Judy-Lynn del Rey, the mother of modern Science Fiction (and patron of PKD’s work). Obvs, I paraphrase, (badly).

 

“On speed, [amphetamines] I can write 6000 good words a day,” —Philip K. Dick

 

“Well, not good words…” —Judy-Lynn del Rey

 

The point is once you’ve completed your story it isn’t “done.” That is good news! It’s not etched in stone. It’s not good. It’s not terrible. It is complete. 

 

It’s a completed draft and a draft is not ready for submission. It’s not ready for editing. It’s not even ready for a crit group. It is, however, EXACTLY what it has to be—a completed idea, indulgent voice, Swiss-cheese plot, atrocious grammar, bad breath and all.

 

The artistry, the real writing, is in the revisions. You may find that the middle is actually the beginning of the story. The (former beginning) is now a truncated flashback or a charming interlude between drug-fueled shootouts. You may end up with more endings than a “choose your own adventure” book. 

All neatly organized with that spiffy software that you now have a purpose for.

 

But you can’t get to that until the bones are laid down. Until the draft is completed—beginning, middle, and end—you don’t have a story. You have a name, or a scene, or an idea which will never be anything more than a passing whim without some ugly work put in.

The photo above is free for use by Tumisu on Pixabay.

Why I'm Leaving Wordpress and Bluehost

In 2020-ish I gifted myself a blog and website with the idea of maintaining a regular writing schedule. The idea of building a platform and maybe connecting with fellow scribblers also occurred to me. 

Mid-life what?

Some guys restore sports cars, others buy a boat. I started a blog. Laugh if you want, my ego-indulgence didn’t risk divorce. 

But honestly, if my Missus knew how much I paid to Wix (et al) to kickoff my little endeavor she would’ve dropped me like a bad habit. 

Aside from that, what’s the rub?

Everything I read touted Wix as easy to use, easy to clean. No special skills necessary, just pay a fee and build your website from a collection of templates and bolt-ons. Then pay another fee to register your domain. Then another fee for an SSL. Then another fee…

Honestly, the downside was more than fees—though the fees were painful. 

Blog content can be controversial but blogging platforms shouldn’t be

Wix is highly restrictive. You never own your website. So, you pay annually or “your” website goes down. Did I mention it is expensive? Customer service is next to nonexistent and as a result I could either use my domain for my blog or my website but never both.

Had enough? Ready to migrate your website away? Good luck! The stories of timeouts, corrupted download-data, and “we’ll create an archive that you can access later”—with “later” never actually defined in hours/days/weeks—are legendary. 

Still, within a year, I’d had my fill of never getting the website to “face” the blog—or much of anything else that I dropped too-much money on.

At first, Bluehost seemed like a better fit. With plans starting at $3.99/month, it was more economical. All too soon, however, incidental charges stack up and $3.99 starts to look like a bait-and-switch. 

Ultimately, Bluehost became just as eye-watering expensive as Wix. I ended up dropping well-north of three-bills a year with even less to show for it. 

Then there is WordPress…

What originally started as a community-friendly platform has turned into a Trumpian battle for control and profits. As closely as I understand it, (not at all close, btw) one of the founders is poaching WordPress clients through redirection. Further, he has stopped automatic updates. And while cease-and-desist letters are flying none of it gives creators a sense of wellbeing or security.

Oh, and you’re paying somebody for all this uncertainty. In my case over $80/year—on top of the whole hosting fees, domain fees, hungry-hungry-hippos fees, I can go on…

Readership/WriterWednesday

Of course it also comes down to readership and priorities. As previously stated the original idea was writing and connecting with other writers. My little blog served both purposes in aces. 

I made writer-friends like Michael Cook and Victoria Patton. I averaged a post every two weeks. My writing improved with some of my more juvenile impulses exorcised along the way.

Then, in 2022, my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. Everything shifted for me. My little crime stories no longer matter so much. Neither did publication. Or, for that matter, connection. 

The focus of my blog shifted to frightening facts. From diagnosis to the best skin-care for radiation treatment to the post-surgery bra options, I chronicled my wife’s journey through the lowest point of her, of both our lives. 

Mostly, I wrote to process our fear and powerlessness in the face of such a deadly, daunting, disease.

Still, that $300-plus-yearly fee became harder-and-harder to justify. Then Fiona Quinn asked me if I’d be willing to contribute to her blog. 

Fiona writes romance thrillers, really good ones. I’ve read her blog for years. It is as well written as her books, (excellent, BTW). As a result her blog has a considerable audience. 

To my total surprise, Fiona gave me free-reign to write on whatever interested me. Writing tropes, comic books, Netflix—whatever I found interesting. It was a beautiful re-introduction to fiction. 

But wait, there’s more!

Best of all was the platform: Google’s Blogger. That’s where I saw, first-hand, how easy it could all be. Drag/drop, copy, and paste, post—easy-peasy. The platform is incredibly intuitive. Best of all, the price (free) is right for posting something that maybemaybemaybe three-dozen people (fingers crossed) will read.
 

Blogger isn’t perfect. Just ask Dennis Cooper who’s 14-plus-year blog was suddenly and inexplicably deleted. A number of other long-time creators will attest that Blogger isn’t perfect. 

It doesn’t have to be perfect. It just have to be. That’s all I need.

Sure, Blogger is declining. As is the medium as a whole. There are newer, hipper options.

The thing is, my stuff is hardly serious enough, (or consistent enough) for Substack or Beehive. My musings are meant to be conversant, not dissertations. 

Further, monetizing my take on tropes in crime fiction has never been my goal—or even feasible. I simply want a space to post without feeling like I’m being financially irresponsible. 

You know, like a neighborhood bar…where everybody knows your name. And there’s no door charge.

If you’re interested, you can find my take on our life with and after breast cancer at BoldlyBeyondBreastCancer. Likewise, if you’re curious about my views on crime fiction (and most other forms of fiction as well) you can find me at ThrillWriting.

I hope to see you at either/or/both.

The photo at the top belongs to the author.

Train Your Writer Mind Like an Algorithm

 

Fiona kindly allows me to share my musings (aimless ramblings?) on writing here. She’s a great scribble sibling and a true friend. And this outlet is one reason I still write at all.

See, on my blog, I record my wife Gaye’s breast cancer journey. In my day-life, I’m a jumped up accountant who doggy paddles against a 20-foot swell of imposter syndrome. Hour-to-hour, I often feel like I’m drowning or failing or simply failing to drown.

 

Yeah, I’m a “hoot” at parties.

 

Thing is, I didn’t realize until a couple of years ago that what I struggle with (mostly) is anxiety. There’s also a pronounced lack of coping skills. Oh, and a splash of immaturity.

NOTE: First/foremost none of this is intended as medical advice. After too many years of struggle I went to my doctor and got some help. I simply cannot recommend talking with your family physician highly enough.

I struggled before this diagnosis. Among other things, my anxiety often manifested in a short temper exacerbated by the previously mentioned dearth of coping skills and immaturity. Through counseling, I was introduced to Dr. David Burns’ The Feeling Good Handbook.

A comprehensive guide to adulting

Initially, I thought TFGH was kinda hokey. Who talks like that? How do I relate to this? But I take homework seriously and continued my reading. Then the messages began to seep through the granite-like substance that is my skull. 

The cornerstone of Cognitive Behavior Therapy, TFGH helps the reader through rational examination and thoughtful response exercise to build healthy strategies. Most importantly, Dr. Burns successfully proves-up the theory that your thoughts dictate your emotions and all-too often, behaviors. 

Yeah, yeah, the idea’s been around for well over 1800 years. I’m a little slow on the uptake. 

However, once I got it, (most of what we feel is due to what’s going on in the noggin’ NOT what’s going on outside the noggin’) my perspective shifted. Did life turn to gold, success, and ponies overnight? I’ll let you sus that one out. The point is, things did get better.

The most important “better” was my relationship with my wife. For the first time in years, I saw her as an ally and not an adversary. There isn’t an ounce of hyperbole when I say the book saved my marriage.

But then I saw life as beautiful experience instead of a dogged, never-ending challenge or torment. Work improved. I went back to school. Work REALLY improved.

As always, this broaches the eternal question, “The hell this has to do with writing?”

Honestly, more than you’d think. What didn't initially improve was my writing. I haven’t done a lot of fiction writing since Gaye’ diagnosis. Playing “cops and robbers and more robbers,” seems silly when your beloved faces cancer. 

Then there’s the day-to-day recovery—at the expense of actually living. 

It’s really easy to get invested in laundry, cleaning, and Walmart runs. “Oh, up early? That book can wait ‘cause there’s never gonna be a better time to get at that litterbox…” Then there’s that whole work-for-pay scam. 

They laugh at my gainful employment

“Objects at rest remain at rest…” Newton’s 1st Law

A writer must write. Failure to write carries some scary consequences. The least of which is the atrophy of imagination. That immediately leads to facing life, full-on with no buffer. I personally cannot do that. 

Zeno of Cyprus, also a "hoot" at parties.

Just as we must manage our thoughts and emotions, (or they will certainly manage us) we must manage our creativity. Especially when you haven't written in a while or you're empty-headed or even though you want/need to, just don’t wanna.

So, how-to?

Pinterest—bear with me—is a good guide. You look at/like/pin photos of cars and Pinterest shows you more cars. Same-same for cats, food, or comic book covers. 

The (evil) algorithm, be that anxiety, depression, etc., also notes what you seek and gives you more of it. Negative programming? No thoughts of kitties and Viennese chocolate cake for you. You get intrusive thoughts about your report deadlines, every stupid thing you ever said, and the last 16 arguments with your SO.  

Again, how do you change what it shows you?

For me it was nearly impossible to leap right back into cold-start creation. Instead, I started reading other peoples' work. Bardugo's Grishaverse, a Marvel Comics omnibus, J.L. Campbell's "Murder She Wrote." And there were sparks in the imagination box.

But not enough to charge into the oppressive blank page/screen. Instead, I opened the final (for now) draft of my manuscript (MS). The MS that was perfect something-something years ago. The MS that is ready for line-editing. THE MS that requires no further tinkering with tone or pace.

Funny thing, once I opened that file, I found some tonal and pacing anomalies. 

After a couple of weeks of yet-further revisions, I began to think of a short story that I plan to expand to novella. That was not as deliberate as it may read. It was cognitive redirection. 

Listening to (White Man) in Hammersmith Palais, by The Clash—and I immediately know where my protag should be from, geographically as well as culturally. An article on the vocational/trade training renaissance and voilà, my protag has some skills that mos def will impact the plot/goals/stakes. A gag in a sitcom? Well, you get the idea.

Positive-in, positive-out. Focus on what nurtures your spirit and fuels your dreams and you’ll see the stuff of dreams more often than a blank page, (screen, you know, whatevs).

NOTE: all the "Power of Positive Thinking," in the world will not treat your depression, anxiety, or PTSD.

Remember the “this is not medical advice” disclaimer above? Yeah, this is a guide for writers trying to resume their scribble game or find a new grove. This is not medical/mental health  advice of any kind.

Again, I needed help and I sought it out. If you’re struggling, reach out to your primary doctor. If you’re not there yet, maybe explore your employer’s EAP program. Failing all of that, NAMI helps connect people to resources. You can find out more here.

Key takeaways:

• Focus on the negative, all you’ll see is negative

• Focus on the positive and you'll see positive

• Take small steps and build on the results

• Nothing happens without work

• No “tip” is a replacement for professional help

Get well, stay well, keep creating.

I own none of the photos above. All are used for illustrative/educational purposes as covered by the Fair Use Doctrine.

Crime Report: Murder by the Book, a Review

Three women, Addison Comstock, Alecia Cookson, and Casey Mitchell. Different ages, different goals, and different social statuses but they’re drawn together by tragedy, stolen dreams, and tortured pasts.  Two of them are on a hunt and the third has no idea.

Trigger Warning: the following review subject deals with child-abuse and sexual assault.

However, Murder by the Book author, J.L. Campbell respectfully and maturely. There are no graphic or salacious details here. By no means a “cozy,” MbtB is not gritty pulp, either.

 

When we meet international best-selling author Addison Comstock, she is hip-deep in problems. She has a deadline galloping up on her. The editor supervising her team of ghostwriters has just died. Worse, the police have detained one of her ghost writers. Worst of all, her public continues to question the provenance of her pageturners. 

But Addison Comstock didn’t claw her way out of poverty and abuse to turn-tail and run. The abuse she suffered as a child has left her with an iron will. Her success and the price she has paid for it has honed her ambition to a razor’s edge. Still the questions unnerve her.

Alecia Cookson has had it. Her “situationship” with Quentin Young—always on the edge of collapse—is more aggravation than ecstasy. Mostly because she strongly suspects he is messing around. Her work for Addison is one-part pay the bills and two-parts emotional torture. All the while she searches for the truth about her family. More than fame, more than fortune, Alecia wants to know the truth.  

With her own history of childhood abuse Alecia needs to know the truth about her mother and what happened to her. Lie, cheat, steal, Alecia will not stop until she gets the answers she wants. No matter who she has to step over—or step on—to get them.  

More than Addison, more than Alecia, Casey Mitchell is determined to succeed. After years of childhood horror, she is on a mission for justice for her mother and her sister. Buoyed by her determination and the experience of serving justice once already, Casey is unencumbered by Addison’s fear or Alecia’s emotions. 

Casey will see justice done. She will get what is owed to her family. Even if it costs her everything.

“Mark my words, yuh wickedness will catch up to yuh one day. The God I know will see justice served. You will never be happy.”

Like Campbell’s previous crime novel, Flames of Wrath, (reviewed in 2023) there are no “heroes” here. These are three women who have crawled out of generational poverty and abuse. All three have used questionable means to achieve their ends. And all three are locked in their determination. 

None of the three intertwined paths lead to a “happily-ever-after.” But as with FoW, MbtB is a delight in execution. When the twist (which won’t be spoiled here) lands, it’s not so much a shocker as a worth-the-price-of-admission show. 

That’s J.L. Campbell’s strength. She has a true command of reality and how her story fits within a brutally real world. Her violence is visceral, her pain is wincing, and her victory is a hard-won triumph for her character and the reader.

Murder by the Book is a lot of fun. It is also available for pre-order, here. Check it out!