When I started writing seriously, I was inundated with a whole pile of rules. Every part of writing has a rule, and it was a given that if you learned them all, you could consider yourself a good writer. Now that we have digital self-publishing, I'm find myself questioning these same rules. I used to critique things because people wanted to find an agent and get published, but now because of self-publishing, it appears people don't have to follow the rules. I've read some poorly written books in the last few months, or at least I thought they were poorly written, and yet these stories are finding success via self-publishing. I've heard some people say that because it's poorly written, makes it easier for the reader to identify with the characters.

Really?  

Most of what trips me up has to do with structure and style. How do I know that what I consider wrong, could actually be this writers style? I'm afraid that I might insult someone if I state that his preferred writing style is wrong, or worse, stifle their creativity.

I will admit, I'm at a loss as to what to do.   

I know what you all are thinking; what is this nutcase going on about now? Well just this; when people don't say goodbye to you before they hang up the phone. Drives. Me. Nuts! Seriously. It stems from my a**hole, ex-stepfather. He NEVER said goodbye, but had the nerve one day to chastise me for the way I started conversations

STEP-FATHER: "Its 'May I speak with so-in-so', not 'Is so-in-so there?'.

ME: *PUNCH* (note-I didn't, but it was a fantasy of mine for years.)

I caught my mother doing it one time and immediately called her back and told her what she'd done wrong. I've even called Sithboy back when he was at a friend's house and blasted him for doing it. 

THEN, I got blasted on Twitter once because I said goodbye before I headed off. He sent a message saying he was un-following me because I cluttered up his stream with nonsense (or something stupid like that).

Really? Since when are manners nonsense? AND HE WAS BRITTISH!  

Okay, I'm better now…

We're coming down to the wire folks!

Of Covens and Packs

I set a date up with my editor this week. June 15 is when COVENS AND PACKS heads out to be edited. There's also been a flurry of emails over cover art and things are looking good! Chapter five is revised and half of chapter six is as well. I'm hoping there isn't too much info dump. 

Usually I'm working on the rough draft for next book in the series, but the last few months have buggered up my schedule and now with the deadline looming off in the distance, I just want to focus on one book. I'm getting that excited feeling too. I feel like I'm putting out my first book. I guess I'll feel like this each time!

Word count to date: 25,445 for five chapters. 42,331 overall.

Coldsgate Manor

Reading Dracula has inspired me. If you haven't read the book, the whole thing is told through journal entries and business correspondence. I've read other books like this and I was thinking about re-doing this book like that. All journal entries. It would be a challenge for me because I normally do my work in tight third. Hmm…I like a challenge.

Marked

I've been working on this script lately. I wouldn't mind having it done before I go to the convention in Toronto. I'd like to have COVENS AND PACKS, COLDSGATE MANOR, and MARKED, all done before the beginning of November.    

Racer Movie

So I got several scenes done on this. Still in the first act, but it's coming along. I've got the incident that focuses around the motivation done, but I'm not good with action scenes. 

Has it come to this? Just this past weekend I heard of another writer and their online meltdown on a forum and on Twitter. I'm not going to go into details. I think this guy has already got more attention than he deserves. 

This latest disgrace has further blackened the face of self-publishing. Don't be fooled into thinking this will pass without any ramifications. What hurts one of us, hurts us all, and self-published authors who are arrogant as this guy was, do more harm than good. 

So what is the SP community supposed to do? Do we let these author's go off and self-destruct? Do we try and compensate in some way for their public gaffe? Do we slam him/her in public as much as possible? It's the squeaky wheel that gets the oil, but each time we act or react to these 'authors', good or bad, it intensifies the already growing malice toward SP community. There are enough people out there who think all self-published authors are unprofessional. We don't need to prove them right.

Personally, I'm for letting these people self-destruct. Attacking other writers under the guise of self-defence only makes them look more like the amateur they are. Let their own personal code of conduct bury their career. The rest of us will do just fine without them. 

Unfortunately, life got in the way this week and I wasn't able to write as much as I wanted. That happens to all of us, and then some panic and force themselves to catch up to the word count they planned. Not me. I don't need that kind of self-induced stress.   

Of Covens and Packs

Finished chapter four this week. It's not a long chapter, but it was difficult to write. So much info had to be placed, and trying to make it not sound like info dump was hard. I'll probably end up going through the whole manuscript at least one more time before sending it off to my editor.

Chapter five is going well too. Only need to add a couple thousand to make my chapter goal. That is if it needs it.

Word count to date: 19,687 for four chapters.

Coldsgate Manor

Still poking away at this and new ideas are popping into my head as I write. It's driving me nuts! This is why I don't understand how some writers can whip out a MS and then publish it a few weeks later.

I've decided that I'm going to put in some sensual parts. Not sure if I'll make it erotic, we'll just see how it goes.

Word count to date: 14, 417 for three chapters

NEW PROJECT ALERT

Sometimes I surprise myself when I come up with a new story idea. This time, the inspiration comes from a video game Sithboy was playing- BLUR. It's a car racing game with a twist. I really like it too. I don't know why or how, but as I'm watching him play I'm thinking, "Wow, this could be a good background for a story!" Then a plot came to mind.

It's a movie script idea and I've been working on the script at night.   

Other Update/News

UNDER THE COVER OF WICCA is in the iPad store! Also, Createspace now allows for European selling so I can sell my compilation book over there! Wow, good week!

iPad Listing: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/under-the-cover-of-wicca/id501776914?mt=11

…doesn't mean you can't talk to them.

With Mother's day last weekend, a lot of people I know were out visiting family, and some of those visits included going to cemeteries. It's hard to celebrate a special day when the person it's meant for has passed on.

My aunt went to my grandmother's grave. She goes twice a year; on Grandma's birthday and on Mother's day. She talks to the gravestone. I guess it makes her feel like she's talking to my grandmother. I told her she doesn’t have to wait to speak to her at the cemetery, I'm pretty sure Grandma can hear her talk to her anyplace.

Family members that have passed come and visit us all the time. The majority of us never realize it, but if you tune yourself into them, you will notice their presence. It won't be like they spontaneously materialize in front of you (wouldn't that be a hell of a shock!), but it will be something simple, something you know and associated with them; the scent of their favourite perfume or flower or even a memory you'd forgotten. These are their ways of letting us know they're around us.

It won't happen right away either. It takes time and practice. The biggest obstacle facing you will be to release the negativity you may have. There is so much negativity surrounding communicating with spirits that it's ingrained within our consciousness. Also, our loved ones take their cues from us. If the idea of receiving a sign from them is troublesome to you, they won't do it. They want us to be comfortable, not scared.

If you are serious, then I would suggest start by looking over pictures of them. Remember the good times you had, and if the mood strikes you, reminisce with them like they were still alive and sitting across from you. It will take some time, but they will let you know they're listening.

One thing that drives any story forward is character motivation. Your Hero must want to do what he's supposed to, or nothing gets done and the story might as well end right there. More importantly, the reader must believe your character wants to do his task, otherwise the entire thing comes off as forced and trust me, the reader will pick up on that.

We all know what motivators characters; good vs. evil, discovery, money (or is that just for writers) but what about sex? What if it's the sole motivation? In most fantasy I've read (apart from erotica) sex is used to bring two characters closer, or the final act after pages of hot and heavy flirting and teasing. I don't think I've read a story where sex was used as a means of motivation; either the character did what was necessary so he could have sex, or as a means of manipulation. Again, not outside of erotica 

I've been toying with this idea for my side WIP, and wondering if this would be something to explore. The story itself is NOT a romance, so get that idea right out of your head (Darke can't write romance, remember :P ), but I can write decent erotica. It would also bring in some conflict between the protag and the other characters in the story, as my MC would be the one being manipulated.

A part of me has wanted to write something hot and steamy for a while now; actually, ever since DATE NIGHT was published, to be exact. Could add a whole new dimension to my story. One problem, I'm afraid that if I write a story like this, then people will expect this kind of writing from me in the future, and right now, I don't have too many stories where graphic sex scenes would fit.          

I'm curious as to what you think about this? 

Mr. Tobias's twenty story plots are still on my mind, so it was with that mid-set that I think I came up with one that is overlooked by most novel writers, and not utilized enough with script writers.  Are you ready?

It's called 'Survival'.

Remember all those apocalyptic movies Hollywood was belching out? Where at the very last moment, the Hero would do something and save the world from a horrible end? Yeah, not those. I'm talking about the movies where the main character(s) struggled to survive, and most of the secondary ones didn't. Movies like WAR OF THE WORLDS, CLOVERFIELD, and to some extent, SKYLINE. With these movies, the MC wasn't falling in love during a lull in the action, or trying to come up with a clever way to save the world. All that was on their minds was how they could survive the next few minutes, few hours, few days.

Movies like this are rare, and I understand why. People like to have a happy ending. A happy ending wraps things up nicely with a bow on top and says 'it came, it conquered, but we survived'. What kind of a story would it be where everyone died? We feel confident that if we ever got into that kind of a situation, at least we know we could get through it, and that makes it easier to watch it in the first place.

With novels, readers expect some kind of a neat and tidy ending. The Boy gets the Girl, the Hero saves the world, the quest is completed, etc, but what if that didn’t happen? What if the Hero didn't find the answer in time, or the quest wasn't completed?

A rather grim title for a blog post, but the events of the last few days have made me take a look at things.

Late Monday night I was at the hospital. I had heart flutters and was scared out of my mind. My grandfather died of a massive heart attack when he was fifty. That's only six years from where I am now. My mother went health nuts around this age too. She was so afraid the same fate would happen to her, and at the time, I thought she was over-reacting. I know better now.

The doctor said I have a condition called Premature Ventricular Contraction. 

http://www.medicinenet.com/premature_ventricular_contractions/article.htm

The doctor says it's not as bad as it sounds, that it's common, but still, it's enough to make you wonder what the hell you were doing in your life to make your heart act like this.

Right now, I’m fine. A little worse for wear and I have some new life experiences to draw from, but I also realize that perhaps certain things in my life will have to be scaled back. Your heart and brain are two of the most important muscles in your body, and so many things can go wrong. Things may be fine now, but who's to say that would continue without lifestyle changes.

Sometimes stubborn people need a good kick in the ass. I think I got mine Monday night.