Painting With Light

Do You Need an Occasional Writing Break?

May 27, 2016

beach at sunset I think we all need some time to reflect.

I published my sixth book in four years in May, and I'm already 12,000 words deep into book number seven.

As I promised my lovely bride (46 years in June) I’ve taken a break from writing. Not in any dramatic way … I still intend to finish that next book before the end of the year … but I’ve cut back on the number of minutes I spend each day on the task.

Don’t for a minute think it isn’t a task. If you’re serious about writing … at least about writing anything good … you need to treat it like a job and work hard at it.

However, skipping a few minutes a day let’s me concentrate on the house, the yard, my family, my wife (not necessarily in that order) and it’s a good thing to do … even if it is temporary.

I know (and, more importantly, my bride knows) I have so many stories to tell there may never be enough time to get them all down. But every so often I need a break … we all do.

Let’s call it recharging the batteries.

So, as we head into this Memorial Day holiday weekend, I thought I’d just dispense with all the writing blather and pass along something entertaining.

Last December I read an interesting article in Rolling Stone about the 20 greatest singing duos of all time. I didn’t agree entirely with their list, but that’s irrelevant.

I did find three duos from the past whom I thought made some fantastic music. I thought I’d share them with you here (actually, I just wanted to hear them again myself).

The three I like are Simon & Garfunkel, the Righteous Brothers, and a special favorite, the Everly Brothers.

Enjoy the videos, and have a safe and fun Memorial Day weekend.

Boy, does this one bring back memories!

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My books have all garnered some terrific reviews, and you can see the ones I have available by using the Amazon link below. My latest, BLOOD LAKE, was just published. Look for it. You might like it.

You’re invited to visit my web site, BROKEN GLASS, or
like my Book of Face page. You can find me on Goodreads, or follow
some of my shorter ramblings on The Twitter.

**********

Comments posted below will be read, greatly appreciated and perhaps even answered.

Tags: award-winning writing, storytelling
Posted in Lifestyle, Storytelling | 2 Comments »

Things That Matter

May 14, 2016

early-morning

My latest novel, Blood Lake, was just published. You will find it on Amazon and online at Barnes & Noble.

(Whew!) There, the shameless publicity effort is done (don’t I wish). Now on to more important things.

Writing is hard work. The last few months have been hectic, and I’ve quite often been less attentive than I should have been. My bride puts up with me, because she says she likes the way I write.

It must be true. I know it can’t be the money.

Once I subtract the cost of any advertising I do (as an indie author, it’s something I have to do … no one else is going to do it for me), design and print giveaway bookmarks, rack cards, posters for book signings … and whatever else needs doing, I only make enough profit most months to buy her a nice dinner out … maybe.

So, why do I do it?

I like to write, and I’ve got stories to tell. How many stories? To paraphrase one of my favorite old-time sci-fi writers, Isaac Asimov: “If I found out I only had a few weeks to live, I wouldn’t complain…I’d just write a little faster.”

I’m already more than 11,000 words into my next book (number seven). Not bad for someone who only got serious about publishing six years ago.

You’ve heard my lament before.

I’ve written since I was seventeen, and when I retired from the nine-to-whenever-I-got-done marketing job I had, I thought writing novels would be a nice sideline. Something to occupy my time.

When I had the first one almost done, I went looking for an agent, since I knew the Big Five publishers (Penguin-Random House, Macmillan, HarperCollins, Hachette and Simon & Schuster) wouldn’t talk to me without one.

Most decent smaller ones wouldn’t either. After two years, with no agent willing to sign me, I said the heck with it (actually, my language was quite a bit stronger than that) and decided to become an indie author. That was in 2012.

shelf unbound award I haven’t looked back. I’ve written one book every year since, with the exception of 2013 (that year I wrote two). With one Readers Favorite Gold Medal (and one Silver), a favorable Kirkus Review, Five-Star reviews from reputable review houses for all my books, and a “Notable 100 Book for 2015” from Shelf Unbound for my novel STREET LIGHT … I’m not rich, but I’m pretty happy.

I attribute the modest success to paying attention to the factors that make for good storytelling. I learned how to write dialogue. I learned to show the story, not tell it … and those are probably the two biggest things new writers need to learn.

Now I need to figure out how to get my name (and my books) better known. I’m still working on it .. and I’ll let you know what I find out.

I still urge every wannbe indie writer out there to keep writing … and keep reading. Me? I’m going to pay attention to my bride for a while, because she deserves it (OK, I’m going to keep writing, too … I never said I was perfect).

**********

My books have all garnered some terrific reviews, and you can see the ones I have available by using the Amazon link below. My latest, BLOOD LAKE, was just published. Look for it. You might like it.

You’re invited to visit my web site, BROKEN GLASS, or
like my Book of Face page. You can find me on Goodreads, or follow
some of my shorter ramblings on The Twitter.

**********

Comments posted below will be read, greatly appreciated and perhaps even answered.

Tags: book marketing, self-publishing, storytelling
Posted in Book Promotion, Independent Publishing, Self-Published, Storytelling | 8 Comments »

Secrets to Writing a Best-Seller

April 14, 2016

Author Stephen King in Bridgton, Maine. Stephen King in Bridgton, Maine (picture © Rolling Stone).

If you’ve read my blog for any length of time, you know one of my favorite authors is Stephen King.

Not that I enjoy all of his work. I readily admit I don’t.

However, he did write some of my favorite stories. Among them: Shawshank Redemption, The Body (you may remember it better as the movie Stand by Me), The Green Mile, and The Shining.

Whether you like his stories or not, this much is absolutely true.

The man knows how to tell a story.

Books by American author Stephen Edwin King (born 9/21/47) … have sold more than 350 million copies. As a perennial member of the top-10 bestseller lists, he knows a lot about writing popular books.

With all his success, he’s still a big supporter of beginning authors. His amazing book, On Writing, is required reading on many author’s writing shelves, my own included.

You don’t have to be a fan of horror stories to recognize the worth of his advice to countless authors on their own path to publication.

As I get ready for the Rochester Writer’s Spring Conference next week, where I hope to glean a lot of new information about this daily affliction I have called writing fiction, I thought it would be a good time to pass on a bit more of Mr. King’s advice.

Eight Best-Seller Secrets
Besides his well-known writing admonition (that every writer should follow): “The road to Hell is paved with adverbs” … here are eight of Stephen King’s tips for writing a novel that wannabe writers (and, more importantly, their readers) will love …

Use small words

2. Tell your own truth. You can make up stories about anything you like, but your characters and plot have to ring true to your ear. No one is all bad or all good. Even super-baddie Darth Vader achieved redemption in the end.

3. Mix up the paragraph length. It’s boring to look at a page and see uniform blocks of words. Make some of the paragraphs one sentence long.

4. Think of your perfect reader and write only for them. Write a story that person would like and ignore what the rest of the world thinks. No one writes a book everyone likes, but with this method does your marketing for you. If you write solidly for one reader, everyone who’s like them will love your books.

5. Read, read, read. I can never say that enough. Read every time you’re waiting somewhere … when you’re sitting in the doctor’s office … when you’re trying to fall asleep. Immerse your brain in words all day long. The variety will give your own work more depth.

6. Write one word at a time. This may be the most famous piece of advice King has given on writing. How do you write a novel as long as The Stand? One word at a time. Just sit down and do it. Don’t think about writing hundreds of thousands of words. Aim for the next word, and then the next one.

7. Write every single day. It really does get easier the more you do it. You’ll have days when it takes hours to hit your word count and days when it takes no time at all, but set an appointment with yourself and sit down to write every single day, without fail.

8. Find something you love about your work. Yes, writing what’s popular will sell more books, but you’ve got to find some middle ground between what will sell and what you love. Being an author is hard enough. There’s no sense making it even harder by writing something you hate.

Of course, if zombie love stories with skinhead motorcycle gangs in Scotland during an alien invasion in the Middle Ages is something you love, all I can do is wish you luck.

**********

My books have all garnered some terrific reviews, and you can see the ones I have available by using the Amazon link below. My latest, BLOOD LAKE, will be out this summer. Look for it. I’ll look for you at the writing conference.

You’re invited to visit my web site, BROKEN GLASS, or
like my Book of Face page. You can find me on Goodreads, or follow
some of my shorter ramblings on The Twitter.