It Could Always Be Worse

Poor monkey. Rain-soaked and missing a leg, he has officially given up. Most people have probably felt like this and I feel like this almost every day. To say that the year 2013 has been challenging would be a big understatement. Between job search woes and hospital bills, it takes every bit of strength I have to not curl up in a ball with a glass of wine and sob uncontrollably. But that wouldn't get me anywhere. I take comfort in knowing that everyone struggles. Writers struggle all the time. The struggle gives color to their work. After all, how interesting would our characters be if we couldn't convey a sense of despair?

I've decided to focus on the positive things that occur instead of the negative things that drag me down into that place I don't want to be. Three good things about this week are:

1. My Smashwords downloads of Hannah Strong are gradually increasing. Granted, I'm not making any money off of
    them. I'm okay with that since my main focus is finding an audience.

2. The lovely Annie Daylon picked me for her September "Pick of the Twitter."

3. A fellow Backspace writer complimented my "gorgeous" author website and made me smile.

I'm going to have weekly blog posts titled "Three Good Things About This Week" from now on. It's therapeutic.

What Writers Can Learn From Diana Nyad

If there's one takeaway from the 64-year old's 110 mile swim from Cuba to Key West, it's never give up. She made several attempts over the years and came up short of her goal. A lot of people would have just quit. It's in our nature to want to succeed right away. Anything less than immediate victory and we're talking ourselves out of our dreams. Ms. Nyad's story is proof that with intense focus and a can-do attitude, the world is there for the taking. I sometimes wonder how many writers have quit over rejection by an agent or dismal book sales. Writing is tough and selling your work is beyond difficult, at least in the beginning. The ones who stick to their plans will be rewarded for their efforts.

Making friends with failure

Okay, technically it isn't failure until you give up. The point is that if one is to succeed with writing or anything, they must keep trying. Setbacks are common as we all figure out how to rise to the top of the self-publishing sea. As Dory from Finding Nemo would say, "Just keep swimming."

Since making the decision to publish a short story, I've received constructive feedback that will help me take it to a higher level. Maybe I'll flesh it out into a novella or maybe a full-length novel. Downloads have nothing to do with my decision. I just want to make it into a better piece of writing than it is. Rather than unpublish, I am making it available as a free download here: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/340069

I welcome ideas from anyone who would like to help me craft a better version of this story and thank everyone in advance for their help.

Why novelists should enter the BlueCat Screenplay Competition

Once upon a time, I wanted to be a screenwriter. I'm not sure why I thought a script was the best medium to tell my story. Scripts are on a different planet from novels in the storytelling universe. It's okay to offer up details and use lengthy prose if it serves your novel well. In contrast, screenplays are basically blueprints for movies. Details and prose may make it difficult to stay at 120 pages or less, which is the industry standard.

That is not to say that you shouldn't write a screenplay. On the contrary, it could change your life. A couple of years ago when I entered my script Miracle at Santa Anita into the BlueCat Screenplay Competition. For a $60 entry fee, you receive not just one, but two written analyses. You even have the opportunity to rewrite the script and resubmit it for a reduced fee. Each write-up is a very thorough assessment of your story and what its strengths and weaknesses are. My weakness was that my prose was too "novelistic," which I didn't take as an insult. I fleshed the characters out more and wrote a novel using BlueCat's feedback as a tool.

Gordy Hoffman founded BlueCat back in 1998, and since then it has grown into a one of the most recognized screenwriting competitions in the world with a community of over 13,000 writers. Past participants have gone on to secure industry deals and recognition. Aaron Guzikowski was a finalist in the 2005 competition with his script Prisoners. That script went thorough all the Hollywood channels and is set to come out in September with Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal in the starring roles.

If I haven't already gotten my point across, I'm just going to say BlueCat is awesome for writers, so JUST DO IT.

Go to http://www.bluecatscreenplay.com/ for more information.

From character bio to short story

I was never a big believer in writing out character biographies until I received feedback from an editor about a character who just popped up in my novel for no apparent reason. This Marty character probably needed to serve some purpose and I just threw her in to see what would stick. My editor was right and that character now has more of a backstory that explains her presence. My biographical experiment turned into a short story about the main female character in the novel. Now Marty has an explanation, even if it's within the context of a primary character's backstory.

You can read the entire short story here for 2.99  http://www.scribd.com/doc/155496659/Hannah-Strong

If you have a Kindle or Kindle app, download it from http://www.amazon.com/Hannah-Strong-ebook/dp/B00DUFQZUG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374246861&sr=8-1&keywords=hannah+strong

Both the Prologue and Chapter 1 of the novel Miracle at Santa Anita are available to read for free on scribd.