Parenthood, in general, is a wild ride. I have three wonderful children of my own (eight, five and one), and every day is an adventure with them. However, as most - if not all dads - know, there are some unwritten bylaws in daddom that we must adhere to:
1. Get along with your spouse. Our jobs are not quite as hectic as those of our spouses. We do have some stressors and issues that we must face, but by and large our motherly counterparts have to deal with the mother load of crap that goes on day to day. They tend to do most of the cleaning, cooking, getting up in the wee hours of the morning to clean the sheets that your kid just peed all over. Some could argue this. I, for instance, do a fair amount of the cooking for my family. I do it because I like it. The more I forget to show my wife some appreciation, the worse life gets. I'm a dufus sometimes. It happens. She had and does earn it. So, learn from this...
2. The little ones will get hurt. We have a one year old. She loves to run and explore anything and everything in and around our home. When I was a new father, my gut instinct was to cringe at my son's every collision and run to rescue him. Of course, he quickly got over it, and was up and running again in seconds. I remained mortified for at least a few hours after. By the time we got to our daughters, we would hardly respond to their incidents. Someone would say, 'they just ran into the wall,' to which I would then reply, 'is she bleeding?' The bottom line - do what you can and must to protect your kids, but don't go overboard. They'll live.
3. Kids will inevitably fight. There's no way around this. Once you have more than one they will fight over whatever they are able. The best thing to do if you have to mediate these incidents is to run the other way. Ok, really - if they can't come to an agreement to share whatever it is that's causing the argument, then neither of them get it in my home.
4. Yard work is your friend. A lot of the newer dads have yet to find the calming effects of mowing the lawn, or weeding the shrubbery. This is your chore - nay, duty - and it is a great way to center yourself. Take this time to think through some problems, to-do projects or how to surprise your wife that night.
5. Choose your sports viewing wisely. Sure, this time of year there are at least four days out of the week that an American dad could watch football alone. I won't even get started on soccer, baseball, cricket or rugby. The point is, your family has better things to do than watch you watching sports. So, don't forget to drop the remote now and again, and take the family out somewhere to do something fun. Go to the park, a zoo, an amusement park... whatever they're in the mood for.
Life is a moving bullet with its secrets engraved on its surface. So, don't blink, or it will fly right past you.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Saturday, October 13, 2012
How To Write A Book In Just 30 Minutes A Day
If you're anything like me, you probably have trouble finding the time to write your next masterpiece while juggling work, family responsibilities and everything else that goes on in your life on a regular basis. Trying to carve out a few hours even in a week seems like an insurmountable task. What if I were to tell you that you could write a book in as little as one thirty minute session a day? A little more manageable, right? Here are some sure-fire tips that helped me in getting my latest work written and out the door.
The first thing that I did was to figure out my story's characters. I sat down and fleshed them all out. Where did they come from? Why were they in the place of this story now? This is a major part of the writing process. The biggest complaint I've always had as a reader of stories is flat one-dimensional characters. So, a great chunk of time and attention should be invested here to help build a strong foundation for your work.
The next thing that I did was to hash out the main plot of my story in three to five paragraphs. This is the right length for this summary exercise because in previous publisher submissions I've found that they all want a cover sheet that does just this... summarize your entire novel in three to five paragraphs. It's a hard thing to get right at first, but with practice it is a necessary skill that will make your synopsis (blurb) writing that much better.
After these items I fleshed out my story chapter by chapter. I just wrote out what was going to happen, and who was involved in each major scene. This was the most labor-intensive portion of the task, but it served me well in saving time during my writing sessions. I would do this work at night or early in the morning when I had some quiet time set aside for myself to work on the project.
Finally, I took my thirty-minute lunch breaks at work along with my notes from the aforementioned work and managed to hash out 500-700 words every day in half an hour. Doing this over the course of a month led to a finished work. It was as simple as that! Just plan your work ahead of time so that when you can make the brief window of time to work on your stories you can make the most of them.
Be sure to check back later for some ideas that I used and still use for writing synopses and coming up with killer titles. Enjoy!
The first thing that I did was to figure out my story's characters. I sat down and fleshed them all out. Where did they come from? Why were they in the place of this story now? This is a major part of the writing process. The biggest complaint I've always had as a reader of stories is flat one-dimensional characters. So, a great chunk of time and attention should be invested here to help build a strong foundation for your work.
The next thing that I did was to hash out the main plot of my story in three to five paragraphs. This is the right length for this summary exercise because in previous publisher submissions I've found that they all want a cover sheet that does just this... summarize your entire novel in three to five paragraphs. It's a hard thing to get right at first, but with practice it is a necessary skill that will make your synopsis (blurb) writing that much better.
After these items I fleshed out my story chapter by chapter. I just wrote out what was going to happen, and who was involved in each major scene. This was the most labor-intensive portion of the task, but it served me well in saving time during my writing sessions. I would do this work at night or early in the morning when I had some quiet time set aside for myself to work on the project.
Finally, I took my thirty-minute lunch breaks at work along with my notes from the aforementioned work and managed to hash out 500-700 words every day in half an hour. Doing this over the course of a month led to a finished work. It was as simple as that! Just plan your work ahead of time so that when you can make the brief window of time to work on your stories you can make the most of them.
Be sure to check back later for some ideas that I used and still use for writing synopses and coming up with killer titles. Enjoy!
Thursday, October 11, 2012
What's Really Going On At the Doctor's Office
I had the unpleseant pleasure of having to go to the doctor's office last week. It turned out that I had a sinus infection on top of a flu virus that was reaking havok on my system. The unfortunate aspect of this realization was having to wait three hours in their lobby to get to this conclusion. I'm pretty sure that by the time I was called back into the exam room that I could have taken the morning news anchor's job with no problem.
The real fun began when I got back there... I swear - I think that doctors today are playing some sort of twisted game with us as patients any more. They sit back there behind their computer screens scribbling God-knows-what on their clipboards. Well, I can tell you what I believe they're doing back there... MadLibs. After this particular experience, I'm certain that these professionals are working off of a fill-in-the-blank symptom MadLib, and then googleing it online:
DR: What are your issues today?
YOU: Sore throat, runny nose, cough... ya know...
DR: Umm hmm... (looks at clipboard and thinks to self) 'Eight letter word in Latin... Noun... ' Influenza.
YOU: Come again?
DR: You have influenza... or maybe cholera... no, that's only six... oh, nevermind.
Ok... So, maybe this is a bit of an exaggeration... maybe. Let's face it, though... most PAs and doctors these days are only doing what we could do for ourselves in searching up the symptoms online. So, maybe they do have more years of trained experience, and perhaps they do know what's best. Who's to say that they aren't really doing this unbeknownst to us all?
The real fun began when I got back there... I swear - I think that doctors today are playing some sort of twisted game with us as patients any more. They sit back there behind their computer screens scribbling God-knows-what on their clipboards. Well, I can tell you what I believe they're doing back there... MadLibs. After this particular experience, I'm certain that these professionals are working off of a fill-in-the-blank symptom MadLib, and then googleing it online:
DR: What are your issues today?
YOU: Sore throat, runny nose, cough... ya know...
DR: Umm hmm... (looks at clipboard and thinks to self) 'Eight letter word in Latin... Noun... ' Influenza.
YOU: Come again?
DR: You have influenza... or maybe cholera... no, that's only six... oh, nevermind.
Ok... So, maybe this is a bit of an exaggeration... maybe. Let's face it, though... most PAs and doctors these days are only doing what we could do for ourselves in searching up the symptoms online. So, maybe they do have more years of trained experience, and perhaps they do know what's best. Who's to say that they aren't really doing this unbeknownst to us all?
Monday, October 1, 2012
Marketing Corner
In this blog string, I would like to share some free marketing concepts that may boost your ebook sales. There are already the tried and true methods that have been put out in regards to this subject such as (but not limited to): writing another book, starting a blog, working in the affiliated marketing program, creating a website for your works, and conducting interviews with well-known authors in your genre -- just to name a few.
So, let's say you've done all of that, and you're STILL not getting many/any sales. I'll use the two books featured on the blog for this week to illustrate a couple of techniques that you might not have considered. You've written a fantastic End of Days epic. The first thought might be marketing it to the Christian consumer market. You would be right in doing so, but what happens after that pool runs dry? I would suggest that you do something a little counter-intuitive. Take your work and market it to blogs and forums that run counter to the belief system that your book portrays. Sure, you will likely take some lumps along the way, but you'll also get more sales. No publicity is bad publicity.
In the other example featured on the blog this week, we have a children's book about an adventurous feline. Once again, the logical place to start would be in children's book circles. Since this story is about a cat, why not also market it to forums and websites for pet lovers? They likely have children or grandchildren that would read your work. As with all things, I would suggest that you not just go into a forum and spam everyone there. Get in and get involved. Feel out where your potential sales might be.
Both of these tips also lead to the bigger picture which is being more sociable and making yourself more visible. The more that you get out and about on the web, and in the real world the better your chances will be for success.
Come back and visit the blog again in the near future for more tips on marketing your books.
Cheers!
So, let's say you've done all of that, and you're STILL not getting many/any sales. I'll use the two books featured on the blog for this week to illustrate a couple of techniques that you might not have considered. You've written a fantastic End of Days epic. The first thought might be marketing it to the Christian consumer market. You would be right in doing so, but what happens after that pool runs dry? I would suggest that you do something a little counter-intuitive. Take your work and market it to blogs and forums that run counter to the belief system that your book portrays. Sure, you will likely take some lumps along the way, but you'll also get more sales. No publicity is bad publicity.
In the other example featured on the blog this week, we have a children's book about an adventurous feline. Once again, the logical place to start would be in children's book circles. Since this story is about a cat, why not also market it to forums and websites for pet lovers? They likely have children or grandchildren that would read your work. As with all things, I would suggest that you not just go into a forum and spam everyone there. Get in and get involved. Feel out where your potential sales might be.
Both of these tips also lead to the bigger picture which is being more sociable and making yourself more visible. The more that you get out and about on the web, and in the real world the better your chances will be for success.
Come back and visit the blog again in the near future for more tips on marketing your books.
Cheers!
Books You Should Read
The first ebook that I will review for this blog is a great one... and comes from Len du Randt. It is entitled "Son Of Perdition", and was a pleasure to read. It did remind me a bit of the "Left Behind" series that was so popular years ago, but this novel takes the reader into a slightly different direction giving them an in-the-trenches view of what the End of Times might be like.
The characters are well-developed and multi-dimensional. The plot is well-paced and action-packed. The level of diction is spot on for a piece in this genre. Even if you come from a different cloth, the action in this work will keep you entertained the whole way through. Mr. de Randt's work can be found at:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Son-of-Perdition-ebook/dp/B0079II88M
Other works by du Randt include "The Incubus", "The Succubus", and a collection of short stories entitled "Love and a .38". They are all available on www.amazon.com .
The next ebook that I'd like to get you in the know about is a children's book by Adrian Marshall entitled, "BOGOF the Supermarket Cat". This is a cleverly written piece about a cat that goes on a hair-raising adventure to the local supermarket. Along the way our friend makes new acquaintances, finds some new work and eventually finds his way home. The level of diction is very suitable for children of all ages, and the artwork is great. Marshall's work can found at:
http://www.amazon.com/BOGOF-the-Supermarket-Cat-ebook/dp/B009229B9S
What will be the next adventure for our furry friend, Tiddles? Keep an eye on the series at www.amazon.com.
The characters are well-developed and multi-dimensional. The plot is well-paced and action-packed. The level of diction is spot on for a piece in this genre. Even if you come from a different cloth, the action in this work will keep you entertained the whole way through. Mr. de Randt's work can be found at:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Son-of-Perdition-ebook/dp/B0079II88M
Other works by du Randt include "The Incubus", "The Succubus", and a collection of short stories entitled "Love and a .38". They are all available on www.amazon.com .
The next ebook that I'd like to get you in the know about is a children's book by Adrian Marshall entitled, "BOGOF the Supermarket Cat". This is a cleverly written piece about a cat that goes on a hair-raising adventure to the local supermarket. Along the way our friend makes new acquaintances, finds some new work and eventually finds his way home. The level of diction is very suitable for children of all ages, and the artwork is great. Marshall's work can found at:
http://www.amazon.com/BOGOF-the-Supermarket-Cat-ebook/dp/B009229B9S
What will be the next adventure for our furry friend, Tiddles? Keep an eye on the series at www.amazon.com.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
The Castle Ciphers
My new work "The Castle Ciphers" is available on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/The-Castle-Ciphers-ebook/dp/B009HTFOR4. The associated website with other photos and evidence to the research can be found at http://castlepros.weebly.com. Approximately $2 million USD remains undiscovered.
Friday, September 21, 2012
Book Reviews Coming Soon!
In the coming weeks and months, I'll be reviewing and featuring the works of fellow writers on the blog. Be sure to check in every now and then to get a look at some interesting reads.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)