Leonard D. Hilley II's Blog, page 13

Write It Down!

I’ve mentioned numerous times about the importance of keeping a writing notebook. Inspiration strikes at times least expected.

A few months ago, some scenes popped into my head concerning the characters in my current novel. Knowing these would disappear if I didn’t write them down, I opened a Word document and wrote out the detailed scene with dialogue, as though this was the opening. This chunk of writing was over 5,000 words.

The novel started well before this event occurs, so I didn’t know how long it’d take to get there. The pivotal scene has stayed in my mind the entire time I’ve worked on the book. Finally, last week, my characters’ path reached the intersection where the characters will be thrust into more chaos. But the journey to get there took 74,000 words! I never thought it would take that long to get to that point.

I blame the characters and the new characters and the city I never knew was hidden on the map. Events unfolded in ways unimagined. But, I’m not disappointed at all. The other things were necessary, and had I not written down the detailed scene, it would have been lost … forever. Sure, I could write from memory, but not as good (in my opinion) as what came to me during those moments of inspiration.

So, write it down! Especially if your mind is getting as old as mine.

Until next time … Keep reading and keep writing!

Charlie, the Best Dog From My Youth

I’ve been trying to find an old picture of Charlie. He was the most loyal dog I ever had when I was a child. Charlie’s mother was Sheba, which was a German Shepherd/wolf mix. She was a great dog and Charlie was born in a litter of twelve.

We gave away eleven of the pups and kept Charlie. He was a brown dog, and we never knew who had fathered him. He didn’t even resemble Sheba, but he was a dog that followed me everywhere I explored. He scouted ahead and circled back around, making certain, I suppose, that I was safe. He went with me when I fished at the local ponds, when I was insect collecting, or when my sister and I played games outside. He was always within sight.

The unique thing about Charlie was that whenever we took outdoor pictures, he’d always sneak into the picture. Often, we never realized it until after the pictures were developed, and we’d smile. He knew he was a great part of our family.

He lived over ten years, and one day, he simply wasn’t at the house anymore. I searched for him for days, calling for him, but he never came. My father said that he thought Charlie went somewhere to die, so that we didn’t suffer the pain of loss. But, I suffered the loss anyway. I missed Charlie so much that it was years before I could allow myself to get close to another dog. Charlie had a way of giving comfort during those days when we were down.

The biggest fear he had was thunderstorms. He hated thunder and whined outside to be let in. Our father would, on occasion, allow him to come inside until the storm passed.

Of all the pets I’ve owned over the years, if I could ask for one to be returned, it would be Ol’ Charlie. He was a close companion and the most loyal dog. Dogs are unique in that their friendship is never one-sided. They give affection and sense when we hurt inside. Charlie was that way. After my parents’ divorce, Charlie became even closer to me, and to deal with an absent father, I spent more times exploring the countryside. And Charlie was there loyally, until he wasn’t. That absence hurt for quite some time. Even all these years later, I think about that old dog and the times we shared. For me, no other dog can fill that loss.

Have you ever had a pet that touched your life in such a way?

 

Trust After Constant Betrayal?

When people have wronged us over and over again, and we’ve forgiven them over and over again, there comes a point, at least for me, where that bridge of trust has collapsed and no amount of reconstruction will ever reconnect the gap. I’ve experienced this with several people over the years, and sadly, some of these have been family.

Currently, this matter is becoming harassment, especially on Facebook, as this person continues making new profiles after I keep blocking the old ones. You’d think a person could take a hint, or fully understand when told outright years ago that the person has overstepped the boundaries by constantly lying and is no longer welcome and to stop contacting me.

A lot of psychologists have made it clear that ‘no contact’ is the best solution, especially when that individual has continually violated your trust. It’s not that I’ve not forgiven the person. I have. But trust is something earned, something sacred, and once it’s been completely shattered … there’s no remedy. And when actions like theft, lying, and betrayal have been habitual from a person you once thought the world of, that is why having no contact is perhaps the best safety cushion. It prevents the circumstances from ever occurring again. The heart is tender and vulnerable and needs protected at all costs.

So I have moved on and chosen not to have contact with certain people, simply because they cannot be trusted. Does that mean I don’t love them? No. Does that mean that I don’t pray for them? No. It simply means I’m not putting my mind and heart back into a position where their poison daggers can slip in again when least expected and try to cause further pain. My pain has healed over the years, but the scars are a reminder; a constant reminder not to ever lower my guard again.

I have a small circle of trust. Due to my upbringing with dysfunctional parents, few people have ever gotten into my circle. Trust has always been hard for me because my parents were pathological liars. Generally, if they said one thing, you could bet it was the opposite. Thus, the circle.

For some, once they understand that they’re not allowed back into the circle, it becomes a game or a quest for them to get back in. Regardless of how badly they’ve treated me or others in my direct family, they have a determined, almost psychotic need to regain acceptance. Sorry, but no. The door has been closed. Don’t knock and the doorbell doesn’t work. The pain inflicted over the years has caused too much damage to repair. I’ve moved on. It’s time for this person to move on as well. Hindsight is 20/20 but some things cannot be fixed.

No Contact–Out of the FOG

Until next time …

What’s in the Works

My apologies for not posting in a while, but I’m still writing. Not as quickly as I’d like, but the work is progressing.

I’m currently working on a novel that is in The Chronicles of Aetheaon series. I have 5-6 book ideas for this series before actually getting to ‘The Plague-bringer’ novel, which originally was set to be volume three. Each of these books focus on certain key characters who ultimately come together, weaving the 5-6 books into what becomes ‘The Plague-bringer’ book.

Like with any map in the real world, when viewed from afar, you only see the major cities. However, when you’re actually traveling, you find the neat smaller towns and smaller cities as you explore. This is what has happened for me. What I had thought would be a simple journey for three of my characters has led me into a previously unknown city with incredible characters and mysteries surrounding their bizarre existence. Although I’m not quite certain how this unfolds, bits and pieces come to me via the characters day by day. Quite an interesting aspect all its own.

Oh, and btw, my novels are also available via Kindle and Kindle Unlimited. I had them across all channels, but none of the other channels held much success in finding readers.

Until next time …

Roadblocks in Writing

All writers at one time or another find themselves staring at an empty page or a blank screen, unable to tap into the inspiration well. Sometimes, this issue blocks creativity for a day or more. Sometimes, weeks or months go by where a person has given up, thinking there’s nothing to aid him/her during this crisis. For me, this has happened several times, and usually right after I’ve finished a novel. What’s an author to do?

Don’t despair. You can find a way to burst through the roadblock and continue down your creative path. Here are some tips to help:

1. Define what the problem is. Is it fatigue? If you’re not getting enough rest, this in itself will askew all aspects of your life, and not just your writing. Too much at home/work stress issues can block your thought processes and bog you down. Find a way to relax: yoga, inspirational music, read.

2. Edit work in progress (WIP), but be careful. Whenever creativity flows are dammed up, revising and editing a work can be dangerous because you can become overcritical of your own work and think everything that’s you’ve already written is terrible and start cutting everything. Don’t do this. Instead, reread your passages to pull yourself back into the story. Revisit the characters. Ask the characters questions or see if you understand why they’ve reacted to certain situations like they have.

My writing process consists of rereading the work I’ve written the day before. If I wrote fifteen pages the day before, I reread those pages to get back into the story. Sometimes, though, I’ll only go back three pages and revise. I’ve found often that those three pages are a skeleton of what was supposed to happen and after editing and perhaps adding more dialogue, those three pages turn into six or nine. By the time those pages are added, I’ve moved on into the next set of scenes, bypassing the roadblock.

3. Get rid of distractions. Turn off the cellphone. Don’t be tempted by the television or even start watching any show. Unplug the router. While these seem harsh choices to make, there’s a logical reason why avoiding these mind-numbing distractions will boost your creativity.

A lot of studies have been done about the dopamine rewards associated with the use of cellphones, the Internet, and binge-watching on television. (search: cellphone/dopamine for dozens of article. WARNING: NOT during your scheduled writing time). The dopamine effect actually numbs the mind, making you feel good, but essentially dousing your want to write more of your story or novel. As a writer and scientist, I’ve learned that I work best when I unplug the router because I love to research, and if I have access to the Internet, I cut my productivity by 90%. These entertainment factors lead to procrastination, which is costly to how much work you can produce.

4. Work on something else. Some authors work on multiple WIPs at the same time. I try not to do this, but I once found myself with three active WIPs, which can be productive. However, when it comes to the number of pages for each work, it can feel like you’re not finishing enough of any project to be effective. In my situation, I worked on all three until the strongest characters wrestled to the top of the other two. Then, I concentrated on that story.

5. Visualize the setting/characters. If you write fantasy or sci-fi, organize a box of pictures (from magazines or ones you’ve printed from the Internet) that you can keep in a box and thumb through for inspiration. Let’s say you’re writing a fantasy where your characters will enter a dark forest. Having a picture of a dark forest or a building you see deeper in the forest will spark your curiosity and interest, making you wonder what more is out there that you cannot see from the road. It’s this exploration that prompts you to follow your characters to investigate.

The opening for Lady Squire came to me based upon a picture I had seen in a fantasy magazine. However, the picture only jolted the idea. The story was quite the opposite of the what was in the picture, but it put one of my main characters in peril from the very beginning. “A picture is worth a thousand words.” In this case, the picture was worth several thousand.

6. Listen to your characters. As I’ve mentioned, revision and adding dialogue enables me to add more pages to my stories at times. Sometimes, a character says something unexpected that might introduce another character later on. Ray Bradbury’s adage was: “Follow the characters.” That’s what I do. All of my stories have written themselves because I let the characters do what they must do. I follow with my computer and write down all I see and what they say. It’s a process that’s never failed me. Don’t be afraid to ask the characters question. Or ask, “What if?”

7. Keep your health in check. This is the most crucial tip. Exercise. Walk. Don’t stay sedentary. I speak from experience. You don’t need to be a weightlifter, but I stress you must exercise and eat healthy. The most dangerous part of our job as writers is being confined to a chair while we write. Exercise actually helps reduce stress, too, so you might find your productivity increases by walking outdoors or on a treadmill. Keep active.

I hope that these tips help increase your productivity if you’ve found yourself facing a roadblock that hinders your progression.

Until next time ….

 

The Legend of Zelda

In December of 1992, while I was on Christmas break from Berea College, my mother had been listening to the morning ‘swap-shop’ radio program. Someone had called in and stated they had seven Nintendo game cartridges for sale for the NES system. She thought these would make a great Christmas present for my twin sisters, so she called and set up a time to meet, look over the games, and then she bought them.

When she brought the games home, my sisters were looking through them. The gold cartridge caught our attention. There wasn’t any booklets with the games, and the name of this game was nearly rubbed away. They piddled around with this little elf-looking character and roamed endlessly from screen to screen. None of us could figure out what the purpose was except to kill these strange creatures.

They quickly got bored with the game and went to do something else. I grabbed the controller and began walking from screen to screen, thinking that there must be something to this game, a reason for why you’d even bother playing it. This was before the Internet, so we didn’t have access to information. Explore and discover.

I did this for about a half hour, wandering aimlessly, killing creatures and little else. Then I came upon a bridge and crossed to a little island. A large tree stood in the center of the island with a black rectangle, which was the doorway. I entered, the music changed, and I was inside a dungeon. The game suddenly became interesting, and my twin sisters returned to the living room to watch.

After completing the one dungeon, the task became exploring all the areas, trying to locate the next one. But, we discovered a problem that we didn’t expect. The old game cartridge had a defect, perhaps from overuse from the previous owners, but you couldn’t save the gameplay. We found this out the hard way. After turning it off the game, we lost everything.

Games are addictive to those who love playing them, but they also become addictive to watch. My curiosity always had me wondering what happened at the next level or stage. My sister, Jenny, was the game master when it came to playing Mario, Castlevania, Dark Cloud, etc. She played, and we helped solve the puzzles. So after we had lost all the progress I had made, she played until she got back to where we had turned off the game. The problem was that we had to leave the console on constantly. She had played hours each day, so she didn’t want to lose what she’d earned.

I had to return to Berea when because my break had ended, but at that time, she still had not found all of the castles. Two friends who lived in the dorm room on the floor below mine played Nintendo games all the time. I stopped by their room and asked if they had ever played it. Of course they had … several times. I told them of the progress and that we didn’t know where the other dungeons were. They told me where they were hidden and how to enter them. I, in turn, called my sisters and relayed the information to them.

They were excited about the news and she beat the game while I was at college. The console had been on nonstop for two weeks. Then, I got to tell them what Kevin and Tom had told me about the second game if you typed ZELDA as your character’s name. So Jenny set on the new adventure.

Those memories of discovery in The Legend of Zelda remain dear to me, because as a family we sat and watched these mysteries and puzzles unfold. Writing is similar to this for me, especially when it comes to the Realms of Aetheaon.

I passed 50K words this morning in a region I didn’t know was there. Had I not chosen to look closer, I wouldn’t have discovered the city or the odd Dwarven race that resides there.

When you look at the full map of the United States, you get a general idea of terrains, but you don’t see the people, the houses, the rivers, creeks, lakes, or mountains, etc. To truly know what is on the landscape and the types of people in the area, one must travel to places sometimes off the beaten path. While I cannot physically travel to these fictional places in Aetheaon, I do visit them through the eyes and ears of my characters, which is an adventure I can’t find in the real world.

Until next time ….

 

Welcome to 2018!

Temperature-wise, 2018 has started off to be blisteringly cold. It is -3 degrees F this morning and predictions are for similar overnight temps for the remainder of this week.

I’ve noticed an odd correlation with these extremely low temperatures and when I’m writing about the colder regions of the ice mountains in my Aetheaon series. While working on Shawndirea in the winter of 2013, the main characters emerged into the Realms of Aetheaon at Glacier Ridge. The entire time I worked on this novel, the area had extremely abnormally low temperatures–like this week. We had a LOT of snow, too; the most snow we’d seen in several years.

The situation became a running gag at Daymar College with staff and faculty, and because the temperatures kept matching the ones in the book, I added a paragraph at the bottom of my WIP that stated: “The staff and faculty at Daymar College correctly matched all of the Megamillion numbers and won the jackpot.” Needless to say, the latter part never came true, but the weather kept us frozen.

I’m currently writing the third book in the series, but the setting isn’t in Glacier Ridge. However, it is a new place in those mountain ranges that until several weeks ago, I never knew existed. The city is in a region of the Frosted Peaks mountain range. And from the moment I started this part of the novel, the snow fell and temperatures have fallen drastically low. While I know the correlation isn’t the actual reason, I marvel at the circumstances surrounding this ordeal.

I’m also doing something a bit differently with the series. For those of you who have followed Shawndirea (Book One) and Lady Squire (Book Two), you know that those novels jump between several sets of characters and eventually their paths intersect toward the conclusion. The next books will not follow this format. Each new novel will deal with a set of the characters facing challenges necessary to prepare them to face the Plague-bringer, who disrupted a lot of towns and cities in Lady Squire. Each novel will focus on the particular characters and their dilemmas as were written in the Epilogue of Lady Squire.

Picture each group of characters traveling a road of destiny (to confront/destroy the Plague-bringer) where they complete certain goals they were pursuing before the final confrontation. Those goals for eachwill be completed as a complete novel, but at the end, fate will direct them in a new direction where their road joins the others.

I realized early on that these novels couldn’t be written in the same fashion as the first two books. If this became one single novel, the book would be 1-2000 pages long. Currently, (theoretically), each novel will be 350-500 pages. You, the readers, will learn more about certain characters, you’ll meet new characters, and visit new cities and lands. The maps for the Realms of Aetheaon are vast and mostly unexplored, even by me. I’m learning a lot about these places and our beloved heroes.

The journey is long, my friends, and I hope you’ll tag along for the adventures.

Welcome to 2018. Happy New Year! Blessings to you and yours!

Until next time ….

The Things I Remember About DeKalb County, AL, From My Youth

Almost a year ago I visited Fort Payne and Rainsville, AL, for the first time in several years. After the devastating tornadoes in 2011, so much has changed, but the more I thought about it, so much had already changed from the time I was a boy.

In the late 60s and early 70s, the Rainsville intersection had a phone booth at one corner with nothing else but a small parking lot. The booth stayed there for many years. On the other side of Hwy 75 from the booth was the old McCurdy House, which stayed there until being moved and the spot is now occupied by McDonald’s.

I remember the old drive-in about 3/4 of a mile from the intersection that was later a place for Roadway trailers to be parked. The odd thing about the drive-in was that we could see the screen from our house even though we lived on the brow road (Co. Rd. 44) near Hwy 35.

My mother took us to shop at the IGA on Hwy 35, and if I recall correctly, a Jitney Jr. once stood directly across the street from it. The old Post Office stood nearby. The Rainsville Curb Market was a place I only frequented whenever my grandparents visited from Ohio. Grandpa would take me to the store to get a few items on our way to great-grandmother’s house. For a while, Rainsville had a small Five & Dime, which was the best place to get toys.

The old Dairy King, which later became Kings Restaurant, was a place where teenagers spent weekends and summers cruising around and hanging out. I also remember a small Dairy Queen in Fort Payne when I was about four years old. I suppose the reason for this is because I won a free Fudge Sundae but had to give it to my brother David because I was too full to eat it. The contest was based upon matching the number on the back of the red plastic spoons to the one they had written on their board.

In Chavies, we had the old iron bridge, which was a single lane bridge. Not far from Plainview High School was a small Mom & Pop store where I remember my father taking me in the late 70s. We got Grapico sodas in the old glass bottles. The cashier told us that those were the last ones being made and they were being discontinued. At least that had been the rumor, I suppose. What actually happened was the franchise for Grapico was being sold to Buffalo Rock, but a few years later, the product was back on the market.

For the longest time, Dewey Williams had a store near the old Hwy 35. After the highway was reconstructed into four lanes, the area changed a lot. But I suppose that’s the nature of the beast in all areas. Once a town or an area progresses, a lot of the historic landmarks disappear.

For those of you who grew up in DeKalb County, AL, what are some places you remember that are no longer there?

Snow: The Conspiracy

Our first snow occurred yesterday. Nothing else seems more peaceful than watching the first twirling flakes drift from the sky and fall with the gentleness of a feather. Snow’s white purity changes the terrain, often blanketing the trees, fields, and roads with its blinding beauty. And that, folks, is the deception.

The falling flakes are the ruse. It’s almost like the misdirection in the movie, “Wag the Dog,” but instead of a political motive, snow uses its slight of hand differently; in which someone yells, “Hey, look! It’s snowing!”

While everyone turns their attention to the wonder and beauty of the snowflakes, they’re missing what’s actually occurring. A few falling snowflakes are harmless, and for many, quite enjoyable to watch. But if you’re spending your time watching those artistic, acrobatic snowflakes dancing in the breeze, you’re missing the bigger picture. It’s the millions of them gathering together on the ground, the roads, and even your sidewalks or outside stairs that you should be watching. Little by little, their numbers increase, and the more they group together without you noticing, the more dangerous your isolated world becomes. You should be on high alert, but no, let’s watch the falling snow. It’s so precious. And the next thing you know, they’re building walls around your fortress. They’re creative masterminds setting you up for a bizarre and sometimes deadly obstacle course right outside your front door. If you don’t protect your driveway and sidewalk by shoveling the clumps of white, you’ll soon become immobile and taken hostage by those beautiful flakes.

But what really happens when you use the shovel to scrape the walkway? You can’t get all of the snow with the shovel, so folks resort to adding salt. Salt melts the snow, so you assault the snow. And that might work for a little while, especially if the sun comes to your rescue, but if the sun hides for several days, and the temperatures plummet, snow brings out its alter ego: Ice. You, with your best intentions to make your life easier, have angered snow into becoming an even worse enemy. You might well get around a couple of inches of snow, but an inch of ice makes life even more treacherous. Don’t believe me? Ask the doctors at the ER about the increased number of patients who are treated for injuries after falling in the snow or slipping on the ice as compared to other times of the year.

“No two snowflakes are alike.” You hear that a lot, don’t you? But when there are millions of them piled up, how do you know? Has anyone ever really taken the time to check? And how do you compare the snowflakes on the ground today against the snow that has fallen last week, or last winter, or ten years ago? Who knows? Maybe they’re clones? That could explain how so many parachute from the sky at exactly the same time with their own agenda. Often their invasion is ill timed. You need to get to work or to school. Since the title of this article states, “The Conspiracy,” you might want to study snow’s real motive…

A few snowflakes? No problem. They come and go. Billions of them though, and cars, trucks, and semis pile up on Interstate Highways like an angry child bashing Hot Wheels cars together just for the fun of it. The beauty of snow is stained crimson quite often. It has taken countless victims. So, don’t let the ‘purity’ of white deceive you. Like Santa, snow has a list, too, regardless of naughty or nice, so be careful.

Oh, and snow sports. Those who love the snow the most are those who ski, sled, or the more daring mountain climbers. However, snow is no more friendly to those who treasure it than to those who despise it. Snow blankets the mountainsides as a seductive invitation to entice skiers and sledders to head to the slopes or hillsides, but most cannot see snow’s ulterior motive. After several feet of these innocent flakes joining forces, snow is a master at hiding objects, like rocks, pitfalls, and logs. Yes, many deathtraps lie in wait along those downward paths, or worse, all the little snowflakes piled upon the ridges decide it’s time to do a bit of skiing of their own with what we call an avalanche. Talk about skiing your heart out … Good luck trying to out-move tons of falling snow.

Snow is also responsible for another phenomenon. Ever notice when the weather forecast calls for several inches of snow how suddenly all the milk and bread disappear from the store shelves? There’s no feat of magic here, and I thought this anomaly only occurred in Alabama where I grew up. But no, it happens up here, too. Milk and bread. Poof. Gone! Why? What are you going to make with milk and bread? Why not milk, bread, and eggs? At least you could make French toast. Or boil the eggs to eat later. But it’s always the milk and bread that vanishes from the store. Sometimes the snow never comes, or it ‘misses’ us, and those people are sitting at home hoarding an oversupply of spoiling milk and stale bread. Maybe the weather forecasters are in cahoots with the dairy companies and bread makers. Could happen. “Hey, Charlie, we’re a bit overstocked on the milk. How about some fictitious snow?”

“I’ll get right on that, Bill.”

Reactions to snow forecasts are different based upon the region. When I lived in Alabama, if the weather forecaster ever mentioned an inch of snow, voila! No school. Often it didn’t need to be more than a ‘few flurries’ or one snowflake to have our schools close their doors. We loved those days. But not so, farther North. Nah, we can get a couple of feet of snow and nothing shuts down. Life goes on as normal. Except, we have no bread or milk on the store shelves here, either. Not sure why because we could have easily driven to the store to purchase it.

As I grow older, I view snow differently. I’m more wary, because falling down as a kid or teenager was much easier to recover from than it is since I’ve grown older. I still love to see a good snowfall, but I do it safely from a distance behind the windows. I try not to drive in it, except whenever necessary, not because I fear my driving ability. I fear the other drivers’ careless driving.

For all my life, even in the deeper South, I’ve listened to my parents and friends and teachers talk about how magical a White Christmas is. I’ve yet to understand why, especially if you travel to visit family. I have only seen two, maybe three, Christmases when the snow has fallen. Nothing magical about it to me. The real specialty of the season is visiting family, and I’d much rather do that than shovel snow and throw out my back.

Ya’ll be careful out there.

Back to Aetheaon, Yet Once More

I’ve written three books in the Chronicles of Aetheaon Series. Whenever I think that I know the direction my series and characters will take, my muse wipes the thought board and maps a new set of winding trails into unknown territories, leaving me at her mercy to follow, observe and listen, and take notes.

You see, my original goal was the three book trilogy, but that plan has been scrapped. As I began writing the third book, a problem emerged. Not a bad problem. Actually, what occurred was a good thing, but getting to the original book three … not happening. At least, not yet.

Here’s what occurred. While writing Book Three, in the same fashion as Books One and Two, each storyline was far too broad to share the stage with all the others. Instead of one book, at least five books will be spun before finally getting to The Elves of Woodnog.

Aetheaon is a realm with vast hidden lands that even I have yet to see, and some of those places are beneath the surface. For those who have read Shawndirea, and how the Roble and the faery crossed the River Styx, you realize so much more is underground. More maps. More cities. More characters and creatures, some vile and others beneficial, await.

I cannot ever explain how these things occur. All I know to do is follow and write. Characters are what make the stories. And some of the most beloved are fleshing out more adventures that ultimately destine their fates to intersect upon the same road. Yet, getting to that road, a lot of obstacles must be overcome.

I face the task at hand with great eagerness. I cannot wait to share these journeys with you. Blessings to you.