Tag Archives: fiction

The Stagner Chronicle

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With the start of my Kickstarter campaign quickly approaching, it is time to unveil my fourth novel.  The title of the novel is “The Stagner Chronicle: The Oral History of the Second American Revolution.”  It is a science fiction/political mashup that takes place in the near future.  Below is a link to the page that contains the first chapter in the novel.

If the novel looks interesting to you, make sure to follow my blog and look back in the upcoming days.  When the Kickstarter campaign starts, you can preorder a copy of the novel for yourself.  There are also plenty of other goodies available–from a bookmark of the revolutionary flag to the poster of the central text of the novel.  I hope you will join me in this campaign.

The Stagner Chronicle

Kickstarter & Video Storytelling

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I’m pretty sure I am going to do a Kickstarter campaign to help my latest novel–The Stagner Chronicle–get off the ground.  The website is set up in a way that makes it a perfect alternative to publishing.  I’ve been looking through campaigns similar to the one that I am creating.  Many people were able to meet their goals and surge past them.  I hope I can pull off the same thing.  I’m going to place my goal low anyway.

In order to make a successful Kickstarter campaign, videos explaining yourself are essential.  I made one for the campaign itself.  Then I decided to try reading one of my short stories aloud to provide an example of my storytelling.  It ended up being really fun.  I may start doing this for everything I put up on the site.  I want everyone to tell me what they think.  Linked below is a short story I uploaded a few months ago.  It now has a video at the top of it where I read it with the emotion it was intended to have.  Let me know!

It’s What You’ll Never Know

Mountain Conversations

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I spent most of my day in the mountains with a new friend.  I love the stage in new friendships when you are able to talk for hours on end.  Politics.  Old romances.  The role of creativity.  Philosophy.  I’ve always been fascinated with the way that conversations evolve from one topic to the next.  When a conversation goes on for hours, you can usually track it back like an organic, living thing.

I spent most of my evening working on a script for Elance.  With every passing day, I am becoming more and more interesting in screenwriting.  Instead of aiming for writing another novel in the second half of 2012, I think I’m going to try for a movie-length script. All I have to decide now is what story I should write about.  I have plenty of stories in mind.  I just don’t know which one would translate best into film.

Today, instead of a memory update, here in an influence update and a  music video.

Fun
I liked the song, “We Are Young”.  Fun didn’t hit my radar, however, until the some “Some Nights” hit the radio.  I am in love with it.  My inner history nerd loves the video that goes along with the song.  The lead singer is so emotional.  Plus, the romance that they push in the video is so beautiful.  Make sure to watch the video.

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Falling Behind

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I haven’t done much in the way of writing over the past two days.  Yesterday entailed little more than helping a roommate move in followed by a party.  Today was the hangover followed by meeting with a friend.  Although I may fall a day or two behind on the memory challenge, I will continue it.

My main worry is that I haven’t been editing as much now that I have a big Elance job.  I have three days to do the second half of.  That is more than enough time.  I think I’m just going to spend the next couple hours working on editing.  I really just want to get this draft done so that I can have others take a look at it.  I’ll upload a new memory sometime in the next 24 hours.

Until then,
Richard.

Ghostwriting Problems

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I don’t want to leave the wrong impression.  I love ghostwriting.  I like getting paid to sit down and write on random projects.  There’s just a problem that goes with it.  It forces all your energy away from your project and into someone else’s project.  I spent the last two days working on a website and real estate rewrites.  It was easy money…but I haven’t touched my novel in 48 hours.

It’s time to get back to work.  I am going to try to finish the first rewrite of my novel within the next 48 hours.  I’m still going to take sporadic ghostwriting jobs because I need the money…but I need to find the right balance.  I am currently dedicating at least three hours to writing a day–whether it is my own writing or ghostwritting.  I may bump that up to four hours.  Getting my own projects done when I have the time is the best way to not fell stressed out when i have a ghostwriting job.

Much Love,
Richard

The Intimate Sunrise

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It was strange watching the sunrise this morning.  It was the first time in many many months that I successfully stayed up all night and watched the sunrise.  It was beautiful, yes, but that barely explains it.  It’s almost like an intimate moment with a celestial object when you see it’s silver lining cross the horizon and fold into a dome over the next several minutes.  Those hours of waiting in darkness were well worth the wait.

Caffeine seems to be the perfect aide for editing.  I had three red bulls last night and got through about 20 pages of editing.  This afternoon, as I work my way through some espresso, I have almost completed another ten pages.  I now have only 28 pages of editing left to finish the second draft.  I’ve already worked out half the bullet points of things I need to work on.  This manuscript is already looking pretty clean.  My daydreams about sending it to an agent are starting to peak.  I need to control those daydreams until I have a clean manuscript.

With Love,
Richard

Returning Home

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I meant to start the “50 Day memory Challenge” yesterday.  I ended up editing way too much instead…then life got in the way.  Today will be different.  I’m back in my hometown today to babysit my nieces while my sister goes to class.  When I am down here, I have a long list of things I need to get done: reading, editing, memories, and fix up a poem.  That’ll take at least a good two hours.  I’m ready for it.

I feel like I haven’t been creative in too long.  I kinda want to just write a random flash fiction piece.  I might do that.  There really is something to the idea of always having that creative outlet open.  I fear that if I don’t keep using it, it won’t get better.  That’s why I love having this website.  It forces me to write because I have an audience.  That’s all the the encouragement I needed to get back on track.  I hope I don’t slip off this wagon anytime soon.

God I’m Tired,
Richard

50 Day Memory Challenge

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I am back from the mountains.  While talking with some close friends I decided to do something I’ve been needing to do for a while.  I have a horrible memory.  In order to help me remember, I created a 50 Day Memory Challenge.  Starting tomorrow I will write down a memory.  There are a few guidelines.

  1. You must write about a new memory each day.
  2. Upon completion, you should have memories of each age (that you can remember).
  3. Upon completion, you must have at least one memory that falls under each:
    1. Happiest Memory
    2. Saddest Memory
    3. Memory you are not proud of
    4. Most excited memory
    5.  Craziest Memory
    6. Most vivid memory
    7. Memory you would like to relive
    8. Romantic
    9. Sexual Memory
    10. Embarassing Memory
  4. Try to include one memory of every person who was important to you at some point in your life.
  5. Memory must not be altered (to the best of your ability).

I will be starting this challenge tomorrow.  I may not upload everything that I write.  This is more of an excercise.  It may result in material that I may upload, but that is not the focus.  I will continue to edit and work on other things as well.  Now that it is summer, I have plenty of time to work.  Here is a quick poem I wrote last night.

Changing Perspectives
I’ve starting spending more time writing poems with regard to the past/present/future.  It may having something to do with my critique group wanting to do a theme night (time travel).  In the end, however, it is bringing out a strange sense of nostalgia.  I love it.

Summer Break Means Time to Write

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When I finished substitute teaching today, I went over how many days are left in the school year.  Suddenly, I realized I was on Summer Break.  I am heading up to the mountains tomorrow for a long weekend of reading, writing, editing, and friends.  When I get back, I am going to a fundraising lunch with my mother and helping out my sister with babysitting.  After that, I’m pretty sure there is only one day left of school…and I’ve never much desired to sub on the last day of school.

With time abound, I have plenty to do.  I have four books on my immediate to-read list.  I need to finish editing my latest novel.  On top of all that however, I will continue writing.  I have two stories in my head that I may start working on.  I also have two poems in-progress that I will try to flesh out this weekend.  This summer break will be a godsend to my writing.  I must make sure I keep it up the entire summer.  I need to give my followers some new material.  When I get back from the mountains, you can expect some.

With Love,
Richard

Filling in Plot Holes

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Ten pages of editing a day ended up being a bit much.  After three days of editing, I have 16 pages done.  Since the manuscript is already pretty clean, I don’t mind going a bit slower than expected.  Five pages of editing a day is great.  Plus, I’m pretty sure I’ll do much more this weekend.  I’ll be up in a family cabin in the mountains with no internet access for a few days.  It’ll be perfect.

It’s strange finding plot holes in your own work.  In some instances, I started something early on in the book and lost track of it as I wrote.  Other times, I didn’t plan on a certain plot turn and now realize the start of the book doesn’t line up with the end of the book.  I’ve come up with a good method of tracking all of them.   This is one of the main reasons I do at least three edits before letting anyone read my work.  By the time I’m done with the second edit, grammar and spelling is ususally fine.  It’s the plot holes you have to worry about.  I don’t want my first readers to be confused.

Time to go read.  The Handmaid’s Tale is quite interesting.

With Love,
Richard