Category Archives: Uncategorized

Early to Write

Posted on by

I woke up early on a Sunday so that I could get to my coffee shop by nine in the morning.  Now it is ten in the morning and I have already written 1,000 words.  I used to call myself a nighttime writer.  I know I enjoy writing overnight, but that is far to limiting.  If I can control my schedule so that I write every single day, i shouldn’t matter whether it is dawn, dusk, noon, or midnight.  I just need to write.  I finally teaching myself this lesson.

I hope to get past 25,000 words today.  With a goal of 70,000-80,000 words, that brings me to about a third.  The novel is on pace to fall within that range.  I have several spots in my mind where this story could end.  Once I’m within the range, I’ll have to pick on of those points and go with it.  In all my years of watching movies and reading books, I’ve come to find that that best stories don’t really have an end.  The best stories are snapshots of a people’s lived during interesting times–while acknowledging that there was plenty that came before and plenty still to come.  I intend on incorporation that idea in my novel.

Time for some viral videos…

There is a moment when near future technology suddenly become present-day technology.  That moment, when you realize what you world is capable of, is one that I will always try to capture in my work.  That moment of complete awe and envy is a strange emotion that we all feel all too often now.  It’ll only get more and more intense over the decades.

If you haven’t caught the theme yet–I am addicted to near-future technology.  This video depicts the sunny side of the near future…but I still can’t look away.  Having a fully interactive world is something that I can’t entirely wrap my head around.

Write Every Single Day

Posted on by

Today was full of events.  We went up to the mountains as a family to celebrate my niece’s birthday.  Still, I found the time to write.  Even if it was only 1,000 words, I have found just how important it is to write every single day.  I am now at 22,000 words and am loving where the novel is heading.  When my schedule opens back up (likely tomorrow), I suspect that I will write a huge amount.  Nothing is better than seeing a novel take on a life all its own.  This is why I write.

I went to a poetry slam that got canceled last night.  I spent some time with the organizer and realized I really need to try slam poetry.  I may look into a way to record myself and upload the poetry onto this site. More on that later.  In the meantime, some more “Influences.”  This time, in the form of books.

Feed by M. T. Anderson
Near future literature is unbeatable.  Feed is the untilmate warning to the future of technology.  Almost weekly, I stumble across a news article that reminds me of something from this book.  Anderson did his research.  The future of our world will be incredible, but impossible moral questions are waiting to jump up just around the corner.  I want to be able to form a story the way Anderson is able to.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy
I have never finished this book.  Both times that I tried to read it were interrupted by school work.  I plan on reading it later this year.  Nevertheless, it has already influenced me greatly.  McCarthy is the author who made me realize you need to find your own style of writing.  While exploring that, I realized that stream of consciousness is how I need to write.  Following the norm is almost never the way to go.

20,000 Words

Posted on by

I should hit 20,000 words today.  That’s 12 days to write more than 1/4 of the novel.  Yet again, I am only getting faster.  The beginnings of the story are entirely set up and I am hitting the stride of the plot.  I hope to write at least 3,000 words today (1,000 are already done and I still have an hour before I have to report for work).  Considering I am not doing much other than writing this story, I am going to use these days to build the “Influences” section of my website.  Today I will start with two movies.

Lost In Translation
This movie has long been one of my favorites.  I saw it with my father when I was a teenager.  It stars Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson (before she was famous).  This movie holds a beautiful balance between plot and character-building scenes.  The development of romance is impeccable.  I hope to be able to write like this some day–holding onto tension to build romance and allowing for the plot to flow freely.

Children of Men
Another one of my favorite films–but for vastly different reasons.  I love near-future fiction.  If you have never visited FurtureTimeline,com, it is well worth the visit.  Anyway, the important thing to remember in near future fiction is that you can only account for certain details.  Certain inventions, disasters, or events cannot be predicted.  Children of Men not only takes this into account, but makes it a central theme–creating a semi-dystopian society in the process.

In the Zone

Posted on by

I wrote another 2,000 words today–bringing me to 16,000 words on my new novel over the course of ten days.  I am on a roll.  If I can keep this up, this will be the fastest and best novel I have ever written.  Also, the style, length, and subject matter are all perfect to try to reel in an agent.  I may actually try to send this out to a few agents after I polish it up.  Yet again, I spent my day working on the novel and not uploadadble content.  Instead, I am going to link another “Influence.”

The Egg by Andy Weir
I read this story a couple years ago.  It changed my life.  It’s not something to believe.  It is something to ponder. It addressed the golden rule in entirely new light.  “Do unto other as you would have them do unto you.”  It is a little long, but worth the time.

Minimalism

Posted on by

Today has been a strange day to say the least.  I am busily working on my novel.  I have constructed 13,000 words over the past eight days and only seem to be speeding up.  I hope to be done with the rough draft before the end of May.  Because of this, I am spending less time working on content that I will be able to upload.

Instead, I decided I would share some of my values and influences.  The video above is about anti-consumerism or minimalism.  I have been greatest influenced by videos and books with this message over the last several years.  If you have never read “The Gospel According to Larry,” please read it.  I have moved from more than 1,000 possessions to less than 550 over the past few months.  It is a freeing expereince.

“The more you own, the more it owns you.”

Also, I attended a poetry critique yesterday.  I hope to update over the week ahead with new poetry using some of the tactics I learned at this meeting.  I feel like it is one area of writing that I have not practiced all that much.  Hopefully I will build my craft over time.

Essay Update

Posted on by

I am still working hard on my new novel–11,000 words and counting.  Now that I am back home, I am going to have to figure out exactly how to use my time so that I continue writing.  After attending church today, I felt compelled to write about my experience.  Over the last hour or two, I wrote the essay below.  I hope you enjoy it.

Community Demands
My mind is wired to see social structures.  I can look at a group of people and identified the power structure quite easily.  In this piece, I compare the communities of the two cities that I have lived in.  It is, at the same time, a very personal piece about belonging.

Burst of Imagination

Posted on by

I finished writing yesterday with a total of 4,800 words done on my new novel.  So far today, I am at 8,300 words.  I haven’t had a burst of imagination like this in years.  With the plan of keeping the novel in the 70,000-80,000 word area, I am already more that 10% of the way done–and I started working on April 8th.

It’s nice.  The more I practice at writing, the easier it is for it to burst out of me.  One of my more annoying problems with older novels is that they took too long to write.  This is more than just a nuisance.  So much changes take place in one’s life over long periods of times.  Those changes can affect the tone of the writing without meaning to.  By writing quickly, the novel will contain the same voice and I will be able to control when the tone changes.

Even after this mini-vacation is done on Saturday, I will continue to write like there is no tomorrow.  I live in such a way that I can give myself a few hours each day to write.  I want to give this project my full attention.  If I am able to finish it in a short period of time (two months or so) and keep it in the necessary word length, this could simeltaneously be the best and most publishable piece of work yet.

The Reading Log and Blog section of the website have been updated.  I’ll try to update with something new tomorrow.  Until then…I’m going to aim for 10,000 words by the time  my coffee shop closes.

Poetry Update

Posted on by

I spent a good deal of today writing updates for all of my blogs and reading “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.”  I just finished writing a piece of poetry–which is linked below.  Tonight I will be working more on the new novel.  I hope to get to 10,000 words before Saturday–when I return home from this strange mini-vacation.  I will also be updating many of the “Blog” sections of this website with more recent pieces.  Enjoy the poetry in the meantime.  I have to run.  It’s Margarita night!

The Coffee House
I do most my writing at several different coffee houses around town.  Over the seven or so years that I have been going to coffee houses, I’ve seen a change.  It’s much harder to meet someone new when there are always electronics involved.

Novel Length

Posted on by

I don’t have an update for you today.  I promise I’ll get some sort of update for you tomorrow.  Today, instead, I want your thoughts on novel length.  I’ve spent the last three days in solitude and have pumped 5,000 words into a new novel.  With the creative juices flowing, I don’t plan on limiting what comes out.  Still, I can’t help but think about the possibility of getting something published some day.  With that in mind, I know full well that novel length is important.

My first novel was far too long for a Young Adult Novel (or any novel by someone who isn’t already published).  Fire Saviors was 123,000 Words.  My second novel–The Saints–was a publishable length at 76,000 Words.  Too bad it was a sequel.  My third novel was far too short for literary/mystery fiction: Only 46,000 Words.  Although I don’t consider word length all that important compared to content, I know it plays a role.  In order to give my new novel  a solid chance at being picked up, I know it needs to fall within a certain length.

I’m pretty sure that length is about 70,000-100,000.  Ideal length is somewhere around 70,000-80,000.  I want to know what everyone else thinks on the matter.  Do you even think about things like this when you write?  I don’t actively think about selling my work as I write.  I know what I need to do to get published on most levels…I just can’t bring myself to write for anyone but me.  That’s why I have a blog that may–some day–make it harder for a publisher to take me on.

~Richard

Flash Fiction Update

Posted on by

I’ve started working on what could possibly be a new novel.  It feels good to be immersed in a project once again.  I’ve already pushed 1,500 words into it.  There are a lot of things that I will be practicing with piece.  I’ll keep you updated on its progress.  In the meantime, a new flash fiction.

The Booklet
Writing about Alzheimer’s has entered the mainstream over the past decade.  It’s a difficult subject for more reasons than the obvious.  Since it’s nearly impossible for those suffering from the disease to document their experience, I cannot help but wonder.