Tuesday Tips: Brainstorming

The very first stop on my entire process is random brainstorming.

I always do this in long hand on paper. My only constraint has become the fact that I always use lined, 8.5x11 notebook paper. If it is not 3-Hole punched I will punch it.

Every page is dated and will go into a notebook later, sorted by date. Some times it will also have a topic in the header if I was Brainstorming about a specific topic like future weapons, FTL drive technology, prisons of the future, fictional religions, etc. Every page finds it's way into the ideas binder.

This binder is gold...

Mostly the Brainstorms are random. One line might be a cool character name. This might be followed by a plot idea. That may be followed by what might be in the pockets of a security chief in the future. The point is to let it flow.

Keep it handy because random stuff happens during any typical day. Something interesting about food. A fat guy can more easily conceal a handgun. The AI on your phone recognizes someone else's voice. Random fashion all the time.

Eventually Brainstorms begin to cluster into concepts, plots, characters, twists, settings and in the end the brainstormed single line plot that is the beginning of the Outlining Process.

Another Brainstorm tool is a random notes folder on my PC. Electronic brainstorming can come in many forms: Saved images, pieces of music, maps, links, or any other random thing that might give you an idea from the computer.

--All this becomes excellent fodder for the writers mind.

Brandon Sanderson on Writing

Jason Winn, another writer in my Sunday Science Fiction and Fantasy writers group pointed me at this series: 



 --Lots of good tips for a beginning writer.

The Life of a Story

When I first started this blog and this story I was thinking that I would simply self publish it to Kindle just to be able to easily share it with my friends and family.

This is the original cover I made for the story of Roland Barcus, maintenance guy number 42.

As time went by I found that I truly loved to write. I love to drink coffee and make stuff up. I never expected for people to enjoy reading it as much I I enjoyed writing it.

I write the kind of stories I like to read. Something with hard scifi, action, adventures, emotions, conflict, well developed characters and even a bit of romance amongst the genocide!

My book quickly became a trilogy.

While I was writing I began learning about the publishing industry. I learned a lot. My original title was "FALLING" and I learned to search Amazon for your title and found hundreds of romances with the same title. I met and talked to authors, agents and publishers and learned about Independent Authors and Print on Demand Publishing. I some how stumbled my way through and never expected to be so successful.

Both of my first two novels Hit number 1 in the Hard Science Fiction categories on Amazon.

Then I learned about the glorious world of Audio Books on Audible.com. Once again I stumbled through and managed to navigate the process and find a great producer to make wonderful unabridged audio editions of my books for Amazon, Audible, and iTunes.

Today I am on vacation feeling very fortunate. I wanted to thank all my readers around the world for your interest and support.

And my cat Bailey. Best cat in the known universe...

The word is spreading...

I have been saying this for a long time as well...

Need your help to pick the next project!

I only ever work on two projects at a time. The book I am currently writing, Proper Darkness, and the next book I am outlining. I have not decided on the next one to outline. All of the stories I propose are the kind of stories I love to read.

The Outlining Process I use begins with a short description of the book. The four listed below are the leading contenders for the queue: 

Proper Darkness by Martin Wilsey

1) The Zombie Novel: When a newly married couple returns from their camping honeymoon in the Rockies they find Denver in flames and the dead walking the streets. Can they figure out what happened and find a way to survive with death pressing in from the living as well as the dead?

2) The Time Travel Novel: When a widower tries to find himself again on a Trans-Pacific race, alone on a damaged sailboat, in the middle of the Pacific he stumbles into a conspiracy that if it goes wrong could destroy all of mankind and even Time itself.

3) The Alien Mystery: When a quiet groundskeeper of a historic cemetery in Richmond VA discovers the bodies of six executed Police officers, he must hide who he is as long as he can, or it will mark just the beginning of dark times for us all. 

4) The Haunted Spaceship: When a deep space salvage team discovers a giant derelict ship, Captain Adriana Fischer must decide if the haunted vessel is too good to be true when her crew begins to disappear one at a time.

--Which one would you pick? Let me know in the comments!

The Proofs are in!

The final review proofs were delivered yesterday of Blood of the Scarecrow.

We are getting so close!

I have ten independent reviewers on my beta team that will read and make any final recommendations.

--So very close...

Tips: Outline the Hell Out of Things

My outlining thinking face *

I do all of this outlining with pen and paper before I sit down to type.  Pencil actually works better. I do this because it allows me to completely focus on the story. I don't worry about spelling, grammar, punctuation, formatting, or tools. The focus is completely on the story.

It usually starts with idea sheets. These are just page after page of random ideas that will eventually resolve into character, settings, and plots. These are free form bullet lists on anything.

All of this is written by hand.

The Process Begins:

1) Fill in the blanks:  When [INCITING INCIDENT OCCURS], a [SPECIFIC PROTAGONIST] must [OBJECTIVE], or else [STAKES].

2) Write a short 3 act outline with a paragraph describing each act:
   a. The Setup
   b. Rising Action
   c. The Resolution

3) Write a short 9 act outline with a paragraph describing each act::
     Act 1—The Setup
     Act 2—Something Bad Happens 
     Act 3—Protagonist/Antagonist Identified
     Act 4—The push—door to Act 5—1-way door, no turning back.
     Act 5—Go for wrong goal
     Act 6—Reversal - It is the low point, reveals the Achilles heel of the nemesis.
     Act 7—Go for New Goal - The clock is ticking— Protagonist has a new plan.
     Act 8—Wrap it Up, New goal is achieved.
     Act 9 - The denouement. Closure. The End.

4) Write the 3 page outline in bullet points:
   a. Page 1: The Setup = Act 1, Act 2, Act 3
   b. Page 2: Rising Action = Act 4, Act 5, Act 6
   c. Page 3: The Resolution = Act 7, Act 8, Act 9

5) Write the Full Outline in bullet points:
   a. Each of the Nine Acts gets its own page.
      i. Chapters bullets are listed that will be in each act.
      ii. Scene bullets are finally listed within chapters.

6) I also create a character name spreadsheet, as I outline. Name, description, role in the story.

7) Three hole punch all these hand written pages and place them in a notebook binder. All this is done in longhand.

8) Enter all this into Scrivener. (more about Scrivener in future posts)

9) Write. Put the meat on the bones.

I find I never get writers block with this method. You never face a blank page to lock you up. Hammer through the first draft without stopping to revise anything to the end.

--Finish things.

*Author photo by Asher Roth

What to Write

I was reading a writers forum this week and saw a post asking members what to write that would be the most popular with readers.

This is not how I write.

I don't think about the reader when I write. I just write the story I want to read. So I guess I am the only reader I am trying to please.

--Just write. Finish. Read.

If you need me, I'll be in the lab.

Back Matter

This week I will be working on the back cover text to the final novel in the Solstice 31 Saga.

It is an interesting challenge. I don't want to give spoilers for the last book or give away anything from the first two books either.

Some people have already emailed me about the cover of book 3. They said it makes them very nervous.

--Yes. People will die. 

What a Year!

One year ago today my first novel, STILL FALLING was published.

It was a Bucket List goal kind of thing. It was so much fun to write, I never stopped. Since then, all in the last year, I have written two more novels and a pile of short stories. I have produced two audio books and helped many Indie Authors get their titles out there.

Next year is also exciting! I have a fifteen page outline for my next project. I wrote Chapter One yesterday! I'm working on a collection of ghost stories and a screenplay. More ideas than time!

Looking back, that was a lot of action adventure for one year!

--I want to thank all my friends, family and readers for you support!

I start writing my next book today

I took a week off after finishing the Solstice 31 Saga. Blood of the Scarecrow went to the editor last week.I have been itching to get back to work.

Today I start working on Proper Darkness.

 "There is no good lighting that is healthy and for our well being without proper darkness." --Roger van der Heide

This story is a stand alone book. I already have the entire book plotted and outlined. Today, I start putting the meat on the bones.

I've also started working on the new cover as well. For this book I worked with the talented illustrator Duncan Long to create my stories protagonist.

--I'm excited to get back to work!

Shorts Collection

Coming in 2016

This week I was working on my short story collection for the Solstice 31 Saga that I will be publishing this summer or fall.

I have the first five shorts done and available for free via the links to the right.

All these stories give a little more dimension to the complex universe I have created.

Anyway, I was formatting the book using a few of the more advanced features like hot-linked-table-of-contents. I was also selecting the cover art and formatting the books interior.

In a classic jug head move, I accidentally published the thing. It speaks to how easy the publishing interface works if you just click the wrong link it happens!

For about an hour you could have purchased it on Amazon. I have since stopped it but an important lesson was learned.

Do not rush. This is not an emergency. 

I love the fact that in Indie publishing I am the one that is in control. I just have to always remember that I am the one that is driving this bus! 

Beware of Vanity Press

Indie authors are a serious target for scams. Some many people will want your money for formatting, editing, printing, redesign, plot reviews, beta reviews, customer reviews.

I was really lucky to receive a lot of good advice that helped me avoid being taken advantage.

You can Indie publish without laying out a huge pile of cash. In fact, It didn't cost me a dime. I had people tell me createspace was expensive. It is not. It is simple and easy and costs nothing. They provide al a cart services but you are not required to use them. They even have a free cover creator.

Here is what I used (all free):

• Paper edition: Createspace.com  
• Kindle edition: KDP Select (via Createspace)
• Audio edition: ACX.com

There are things that are worth paying for independently. Most notably, is Professional Editing and Professional Cover Art.

--Take feedback. If someone says "Your cover looks amateur!" Don't cling to that pencil drawing you did yourself when you were sixteen

NaNoWriMo

I am accidentally doing NaNoWriMo this year. My Third novel, Blood of the Scarecrow, is scheduled to have it's first draft completed by December 1st.

That schedule allows me to complete the second draft during December and then off to beta readers in January.

Final revisions based on their feedback gets it to my professional editor in February.

--March 2016 Release!

Grammarly Stats

The tool Grammarly captures stats as you work.

I have typed almost a half a million words of fiction in the last 2.5 years.

That was only working about 2 hours at a session, 5 days a week, 200 days a year. About 4 pages per session.

Suddenly I have two and a half novels written and a pile of various short stories.

It's true that a pile of that has ended up on the cutting room floor.  All fun stuff.

--Make writing a habit. Just do it. Like work or brushing your teeth.

Getting Ready for Vacation

I am packing this week to head out on vacation. We go camping for two weeks with a group of close friends.

I am using these people as final reviewers for my next novel: The Broken Cage

This will be interesting. Sitting around a campfire telling me about plot holes, characters and others potential mistakes and improvements.

Mostly, I expect a lot of pointing and laughing.

Please note: I put up with this abuse to make the story better for you, my dedicated readers, both of you.

After a bit of shenanigans, my short story The Outer Ring is now available on Amazon for free. The minimum price they offer for Kindle books is $0.99. They do have a Price Match Policy and I have this story published on Smashwords.com for free.

I requested the price match and specifically stated that it was a story that can help sell more of the Solstice 31 Saga.

--On track for the Sept 1st release of Book 2: The Broken Cage

Cutting

The best advice I received that helped me actually finish my novel was just hammer though the first draft all the way to the end without stopping and no looking back. Besides writing a lot of run on sentences I ended up with a novel that was over 1000 pages.

The second best advice I received was, cut the shit out of that thing. With a chainsaw.

That is very important advice for me. I put a lot of science in my science fiction. But it turned out the extra 600 pages of data dumps that explained how my FTLs worked, or the anti-gravity, or the AIs worked didn't forward the lot or develop character.

Start with a chainsaw, then a butcher knife, then a scalpel. (Then write more to sew up the wounds)

--I had to be brutal. But in the end, the story is way better for it.

Hammer Out a First Draft

For a couple decades I tried to write a novel and never managed to finish a dozen attempts.

I would always get more and more wrapped around the axle the farther I would get into a project. I would always go back and revise and tune and never finish.

It wasn't until I was challenged to just hammer my way through an entire first draft without revising ever. Scrivener helped a lot with this. It has real time spell check and automatic repair. Once I allowed myself to move along it was easy. Knowing the first draft would be far from perfect freed me.

Another thing that happens when you constantly go back and revise and edit from the beginning is that you get an unbalanced book. The beginning will not have the same voice as the end. This is simply because the beginning had been gone over so much more than the end. I have read dozens of books like this.

--Hammer through all the way to the end. Then go back. You will feel great!