R.M. Willis's Blog, page 2
January 27, 2016
E.M.D.R. - The Science Behind a Story
My new Novella Reckoning is due out in the next month by KnightLand Books. I asked a very good friend of mine named Don Self to write a forward to the story since it was his scientific explanation of a newer therapy technique that inspired it.
Here is what he wrote: And as always thanks for taking the time to read this.
My name is Don Self and I have been asked to write the foreword to the new science fiction novella, Reckoning. Which makes sense because, in my own way, I’m a Reckoner. Well, actually, I’m a mental health counselor. To make any sense out of that statement, you need to read the story. And I highly recommend that. But, first, R. M. wanted me to talk about some stuff.
A little about me…I have been a counselor for over twenty years. I began my professional career the usual way as an “eclectic” counselor who engaged clients using “talk” therapy. I was eclectic in the sense that I used a hodgepodge of techniques, drawing from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Solution Focused Brief Therapy, Freud, Jung, whatever I could get my hands on. And I used talk therapy, which meant we talked. A lot. As I grew as a counselor, I became disillusioned with talk therapy. My clients did not seem to get better. I was doing my job as a counselor; obviously my clients were slackers.
I met R.M. Willis back in 2008 when he was first hired by the facility where I worked (I know him as Roy – we’re on a first name basis). I was impressed by his sense of humor – he laughed at my jokes. R. M. was working on his degree in psychology (my fave) and criminal justice. We both played World of Warcraft and watched the same kind of movies. We’re truly Nerds in Arms.
Having moved on from talk therapy I’m now a practitioner of a trauma resolution treatment known as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy (EMDR), a long and complicated name for an odd therapy that really works. I introduced R.M. to EMDR back when we first met. My training was fresh and I wanted everyone to know what it was, how it worked, and what it looked like. Back in those days, I used a light bar with clients. It’s a long narrow metal box with a single line of blue LED lights that run the length of the box. The box has a mount that allows the use of a tripod. In addition to the lights, it also has headphones and buzzers for auditory and tactile stimulation.
Anyway, I demonstrated the light bar for R.M. I showed him the LED lights and had him follow the lights with his eyes. I put the head phones on him and demonstrated. I then gave him the buzzers and demonstrated them as well. Not satisfied, R. M. asked to be hooked up to all three simultaneously. And so we cranked that baby up. At its highest setting, the entire LED light string appears to be continuous and blinking. The auditory and tactile stimulation also appear to be continuous. I have yet to meet someone who can keep up with the movement, sound, and buzzing, including R.M. Sorry, R.M.
I later learned that R.M. was a writer, and he was kind enough to allow me to read the first and second drafts of a short story he was working on titled, Reckoning. I thought that both of them were good; with the second draft, I wanted more. It seemed incomplete. When I pointed out my misgivings about the second draft, R.M. let me in on his secret: My explanation of and experience with EMDR inspired the story. With that knowledge, I had a better understanding of where R.M. was going with the story. When I read the third draft, all of the pieces fell into place and its connection to EMDR made complete sense.
So how does EMDR work? To answer that, we have to explore how the memory process works. Normal memories are processed simply. If your brain decides that this paragraph that you are reading is important, then sometime tonight when your mind drifts into the lowest levels of sleep, you will dream. To the outside world, you are lying peacefully. Except your eyes. They move rapidly back and forth, underneath your eye lids. We call this REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. This is the process by which we believe long term memories are created. Thus, the information in this paragraph will translate into long term memory and will be accessible to you years from now.
Simple memories require simple processing. Trauma memories are a different breed. Trauma events are global events. They affect us from head to toe and activate our “fight or flight” response. Most of us know about fight or flight responses. There are two other possible responses – freeze and faint. When our rapid response systems are activated, we are prepared for danger. When our rapid response systems are repeatedly activated by life stressors, we begin to experience detrimental effects such as those identified with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. We have found that repeated trauma can actually cause brain damage by atrophying certain portions of the brain. In addition, the person affected develops core negative beliefs that affect their everyday lives.
That person might believe that they are weak or powerless or worthless or damaged. These core beliefs then affect the way they approach their daily lives. With EMDR, we work to dig out these core negative beliefs and replace them with healthier, positive core beliefs. We do this by replicating the natural REM sleep process, while awake and in a controlled setting. For many people, EMDR allows them to reprocess the traumatic memories and heal from their pain.
I’m not just a practitioner of EMDR, I’m also a consumer. To make a long story short, stuff happened to me as a kid, things that should never happen to a kid. As a result of this stuff, my adult life has been less than functional. I have some of the symptoms that one would associate with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. And it has affected my relationships with friends and family. For the past three years, I have worked with a counselor using EMDR. And we have successfully reprocessed several trauma/abuse memories; I’m not the same person that I was three years ago. I’m a better person, better father, better husband, and better counselor.
Reckoning is a multifaceted tale that explores questions like nature versus nurture, rehabilitation versus punishment. In addition, it introduces technology that, at this moment, is out of our reach. And, yet, like all good speculative science fiction, brings us a future with technology that could be right around the corner. Enjoy!
For more information about EMDR, check out the EMDRIA website at www.emdria.org and the EMDR Institute at www.emdr.com.
Here is what he wrote: And as always thanks for taking the time to read this.
My name is Don Self and I have been asked to write the foreword to the new science fiction novella, Reckoning. Which makes sense because, in my own way, I’m a Reckoner. Well, actually, I’m a mental health counselor. To make any sense out of that statement, you need to read the story. And I highly recommend that. But, first, R. M. wanted me to talk about some stuff.
A little about me…I have been a counselor for over twenty years. I began my professional career the usual way as an “eclectic” counselor who engaged clients using “talk” therapy. I was eclectic in the sense that I used a hodgepodge of techniques, drawing from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Solution Focused Brief Therapy, Freud, Jung, whatever I could get my hands on. And I used talk therapy, which meant we talked. A lot. As I grew as a counselor, I became disillusioned with talk therapy. My clients did not seem to get better. I was doing my job as a counselor; obviously my clients were slackers.
I met R.M. Willis back in 2008 when he was first hired by the facility where I worked (I know him as Roy – we’re on a first name basis). I was impressed by his sense of humor – he laughed at my jokes. R. M. was working on his degree in psychology (my fave) and criminal justice. We both played World of Warcraft and watched the same kind of movies. We’re truly Nerds in Arms.
Having moved on from talk therapy I’m now a practitioner of a trauma resolution treatment known as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy (EMDR), a long and complicated name for an odd therapy that really works. I introduced R.M. to EMDR back when we first met. My training was fresh and I wanted everyone to know what it was, how it worked, and what it looked like. Back in those days, I used a light bar with clients. It’s a long narrow metal box with a single line of blue LED lights that run the length of the box. The box has a mount that allows the use of a tripod. In addition to the lights, it also has headphones and buzzers for auditory and tactile stimulation.
Anyway, I demonstrated the light bar for R.M. I showed him the LED lights and had him follow the lights with his eyes. I put the head phones on him and demonstrated. I then gave him the buzzers and demonstrated them as well. Not satisfied, R. M. asked to be hooked up to all three simultaneously. And so we cranked that baby up. At its highest setting, the entire LED light string appears to be continuous and blinking. The auditory and tactile stimulation also appear to be continuous. I have yet to meet someone who can keep up with the movement, sound, and buzzing, including R.M. Sorry, R.M.
I later learned that R.M. was a writer, and he was kind enough to allow me to read the first and second drafts of a short story he was working on titled, Reckoning. I thought that both of them were good; with the second draft, I wanted more. It seemed incomplete. When I pointed out my misgivings about the second draft, R.M. let me in on his secret: My explanation of and experience with EMDR inspired the story. With that knowledge, I had a better understanding of where R.M. was going with the story. When I read the third draft, all of the pieces fell into place and its connection to EMDR made complete sense.
So how does EMDR work? To answer that, we have to explore how the memory process works. Normal memories are processed simply. If your brain decides that this paragraph that you are reading is important, then sometime tonight when your mind drifts into the lowest levels of sleep, you will dream. To the outside world, you are lying peacefully. Except your eyes. They move rapidly back and forth, underneath your eye lids. We call this REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. This is the process by which we believe long term memories are created. Thus, the information in this paragraph will translate into long term memory and will be accessible to you years from now.
Simple memories require simple processing. Trauma memories are a different breed. Trauma events are global events. They affect us from head to toe and activate our “fight or flight” response. Most of us know about fight or flight responses. There are two other possible responses – freeze and faint. When our rapid response systems are activated, we are prepared for danger. When our rapid response systems are repeatedly activated by life stressors, we begin to experience detrimental effects such as those identified with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. We have found that repeated trauma can actually cause brain damage by atrophying certain portions of the brain. In addition, the person affected develops core negative beliefs that affect their everyday lives.
That person might believe that they are weak or powerless or worthless or damaged. These core beliefs then affect the way they approach their daily lives. With EMDR, we work to dig out these core negative beliefs and replace them with healthier, positive core beliefs. We do this by replicating the natural REM sleep process, while awake and in a controlled setting. For many people, EMDR allows them to reprocess the traumatic memories and heal from their pain.
I’m not just a practitioner of EMDR, I’m also a consumer. To make a long story short, stuff happened to me as a kid, things that should never happen to a kid. As a result of this stuff, my adult life has been less than functional. I have some of the symptoms that one would associate with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. And it has affected my relationships with friends and family. For the past three years, I have worked with a counselor using EMDR. And we have successfully reprocessed several trauma/abuse memories; I’m not the same person that I was three years ago. I’m a better person, better father, better husband, and better counselor.
Reckoning is a multifaceted tale that explores questions like nature versus nurture, rehabilitation versus punishment. In addition, it introduces technology that, at this moment, is out of our reach. And, yet, like all good speculative science fiction, brings us a future with technology that could be right around the corner. Enjoy!
For more information about EMDR, check out the EMDRIA website at www.emdria.org and the EMDR Institute at www.emdr.com.
January 13, 2016
Finding Reasons to Say Yes
I used to work for a man that said, "It's important to find reasons to say yes, saying no is simply too easy."
Obviously if you're reading this you probably already know that I'm a writer, however most of you don't know that I also have full-time career. In my "professional" life I'm in a management position and I supervise several people on multiple levels throughout my organization. In fact most of the time when I'm in the building I'm the highest level of authority present.
Now, I'm not saying this to be braggadocios, I'm simply setting up enough background information so that you know I have some business talking about this subject today since it is quite the deviation from what I would normally blog about.
I think it's important for people, especially those that have some influence over the lives of others to find reasons to say yes to those they supervise. When your employee comes to you and asks for something it's easy to say no. When you say no you don't have to deal with it anymore, you don't have to take the risk that whatever it is their asking about might not pan out in your favor.
That is a pretty poor excuse for holding people back from their full potential. Because you're lazy, or afraid you'd rather take the easy route. But is it that easy?
When you hold people back, or you don't find a reason to say yes then you've just sealed your death warrant. Now I'm not saying you have to say yes all of the time. Sometimes no really is the right answer, but only after you explored all of the possibilities that yes could have provided.
If you don't then your best most talented people will eventually leave. They will either find a manager that is better equipped to provide them with the appropriate work life balance and who fosters their creative abilities, or they'll leave completely and become your competition.
Here is an example from today that precipitated this blog posting.
I had an employee that performs between adequate and excellent on a fairly consistent basis. He approached me and asked to switch his days off. He currently has Fridays and Saturdays off, which is better than most people, and I initially didn't see a reason to move him to Sundays and Mondays like he requested.
Now to make things a little clearer I work in a facility that runs 24/7 and we have to have a certain number of people here at all times. So in order to accommodate his request that would mean I would have to switch his days off with another employee.
If I had been a lazy supervisor my analyses of the situation would have stopped there and I would have said no, be happy with what you have.
Instead I thought if he's not really happy with his days off, even though their pretty good, then maybe others aren't happy either. So I put together a blank schedule and passed several copies of it around to all of the employees at his level. I asked each of them to rank 1-8 which set of days off they would want the most to the least.
I then compiled the results and discovered that over half of them desired different days off from the ones they had, AND not all of them wanted a piece of the weekend.
To make an already long story short; I announced today what the new schedule would look like starting in February and everyone was getting their number 1 choice. So, this one request that I invested a rather minimal amount of time to say yes to ended up improving the morale and work/life schedule for all of my employees.
Now that's pretty cool.
As always thank you for taking the time to read this extra long post, and please take the time in your own lives to find reasons to say yes.
Obviously if you're reading this you probably already know that I'm a writer, however most of you don't know that I also have full-time career. In my "professional" life I'm in a management position and I supervise several people on multiple levels throughout my organization. In fact most of the time when I'm in the building I'm the highest level of authority present.
Now, I'm not saying this to be braggadocios, I'm simply setting up enough background information so that you know I have some business talking about this subject today since it is quite the deviation from what I would normally blog about.
I think it's important for people, especially those that have some influence over the lives of others to find reasons to say yes to those they supervise. When your employee comes to you and asks for something it's easy to say no. When you say no you don't have to deal with it anymore, you don't have to take the risk that whatever it is their asking about might not pan out in your favor.
That is a pretty poor excuse for holding people back from their full potential. Because you're lazy, or afraid you'd rather take the easy route. But is it that easy?
When you hold people back, or you don't find a reason to say yes then you've just sealed your death warrant. Now I'm not saying you have to say yes all of the time. Sometimes no really is the right answer, but only after you explored all of the possibilities that yes could have provided.
If you don't then your best most talented people will eventually leave. They will either find a manager that is better equipped to provide them with the appropriate work life balance and who fosters their creative abilities, or they'll leave completely and become your competition.
Here is an example from today that precipitated this blog posting.
I had an employee that performs between adequate and excellent on a fairly consistent basis. He approached me and asked to switch his days off. He currently has Fridays and Saturdays off, which is better than most people, and I initially didn't see a reason to move him to Sundays and Mondays like he requested.
Now to make things a little clearer I work in a facility that runs 24/7 and we have to have a certain number of people here at all times. So in order to accommodate his request that would mean I would have to switch his days off with another employee.
If I had been a lazy supervisor my analyses of the situation would have stopped there and I would have said no, be happy with what you have.
Instead I thought if he's not really happy with his days off, even though their pretty good, then maybe others aren't happy either. So I put together a blank schedule and passed several copies of it around to all of the employees at his level. I asked each of them to rank 1-8 which set of days off they would want the most to the least.
I then compiled the results and discovered that over half of them desired different days off from the ones they had, AND not all of them wanted a piece of the weekend.
To make an already long story short; I announced today what the new schedule would look like starting in February and everyone was getting their number 1 choice. So, this one request that I invested a rather minimal amount of time to say yes to ended up improving the morale and work/life schedule for all of my employees.
Now that's pretty cool.
As always thank you for taking the time to read this extra long post, and please take the time in your own lives to find reasons to say yes.
December 30, 2015
Star Wars - My Review
Yesterday I took my kids to see the new Star Wars movie. Now, before I get into any details and spoilers let me say, I loved this movie. I think that J.J. Abrams did an excellent job with paying homage to George Lucas' original vision while giving us some new characters in a galaxy far far away.
With that being said I would warn you that below there will be SPOILERS so if you have not seen the movie yet then I suggest not reading further.
I want to talk about this from two distinct points of view. First just as a fun Science Fiction/Fantasy film, separate from the Star Wars universe.
If you look at the movie as just a stand alone genre film without any other expectations then I think it's pretty safe to say that yes, it's a good movie, hell it's a GREAT movie. The music was gripping, the graphics were excellent to seamless, the acting was phenomenal, the action fast paced, and the mystery thick. It's easy to see why it's raking in the money at a record pace.
This is a universe I would want to be in, to learn more about. Thankfully however we didn't have to be introduced to Star Wars for the first time with this film. Which brings me to my second point. As a Star Wars film this did everything I wanted and more. It enriched a universe we already love. We got to see the original characters, and stand in the Millennium Falcon again. And, we got to meet some incredibly awesome new characters.
I love Fin, Rey, Kylo and BB-8. I want to know more about their backgrounds and their motivations. I felt like I could relate to them, when Fin chose to leave The First Order after seeing all of the death and suffering I wanted to help him. As Rey came into her powers and realized that she didn't have to bend to Kylo's will I cheered. BB-8's thumbs up I think will be a classic Star Wars image from now on. And, I have to know more about Kylo, his corruption and how it's going to evolve. I DO NOT want him to be redeemed especially after he killed Han Solo, but I desperately want to see how dark and powerful he can get.
I know that a lot of people have drawn similarities between some of the plot lines between The Force Awakens, a New Hope, and Return of the Jedi. I can see those too, but keep in mind in all things, fiction or otherwise, history has a way of repeating itself. So why should the Star Wars saga be any different? Especially if this is a continuation of the Skywalker family story, it only makes sense that there would be similarities. Look in your own family, does each generation wright a completely new story? Or, is it a maturation of the same story over time, reinventing itself but with the same flavor as before? I would argue the latter.
So for what it's worth this was my opinion of the new movie. I look forward to the next in the saga, and I find myself easily saying that with time this one could become my new favorite of the series.
So, what did you think? Please tell me in your comments I'd love to hear your thoughts whether you agree or disagree with me.
And as always, thanks for taking the time to read this.
With that being said I would warn you that below there will be SPOILERS so if you have not seen the movie yet then I suggest not reading further.
I want to talk about this from two distinct points of view. First just as a fun Science Fiction/Fantasy film, separate from the Star Wars universe.
If you look at the movie as just a stand alone genre film without any other expectations then I think it's pretty safe to say that yes, it's a good movie, hell it's a GREAT movie. The music was gripping, the graphics were excellent to seamless, the acting was phenomenal, the action fast paced, and the mystery thick. It's easy to see why it's raking in the money at a record pace.
This is a universe I would want to be in, to learn more about. Thankfully however we didn't have to be introduced to Star Wars for the first time with this film. Which brings me to my second point. As a Star Wars film this did everything I wanted and more. It enriched a universe we already love. We got to see the original characters, and stand in the Millennium Falcon again. And, we got to meet some incredibly awesome new characters.
I love Fin, Rey, Kylo and BB-8. I want to know more about their backgrounds and their motivations. I felt like I could relate to them, when Fin chose to leave The First Order after seeing all of the death and suffering I wanted to help him. As Rey came into her powers and realized that she didn't have to bend to Kylo's will I cheered. BB-8's thumbs up I think will be a classic Star Wars image from now on. And, I have to know more about Kylo, his corruption and how it's going to evolve. I DO NOT want him to be redeemed especially after he killed Han Solo, but I desperately want to see how dark and powerful he can get.
I know that a lot of people have drawn similarities between some of the plot lines between The Force Awakens, a New Hope, and Return of the Jedi. I can see those too, but keep in mind in all things, fiction or otherwise, history has a way of repeating itself. So why should the Star Wars saga be any different? Especially if this is a continuation of the Skywalker family story, it only makes sense that there would be similarities. Look in your own family, does each generation wright a completely new story? Or, is it a maturation of the same story over time, reinventing itself but with the same flavor as before? I would argue the latter.
So for what it's worth this was my opinion of the new movie. I look forward to the next in the saga, and I find myself easily saying that with time this one could become my new favorite of the series.
So, what did you think? Please tell me in your comments I'd love to hear your thoughts whether you agree or disagree with me.
And as always, thanks for taking the time to read this.
December 28, 2015
2015 Year-End Review
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and is looking forward to the new year. As so many others do around this time I like to look back at this year and highlight some of the things that stood out for me on a personal level.
I met more than a few challenges, some with grace and others with less than an ideal outcome. I had things go wrong with the structural integrity of my house and had to bring in a professional plumber to get it fixed, thanks dad.
I tried and failed yet again to make any significant progress in my quest to loose weight.
I was promoted at work and took over the supervision of the graveyard shift, in that vein I've tried very hard to help improve moral and to encourage the staff to take on some new responsibilities in order to alleviate some of the pressure on the other shifts.
I've tried to mediate some minor familial disputes between my wife and her mother much to my own undoing. Word to the wise, if its not your business, stay out of it. Since taking a step back and letting them hash out what they need to I've learned that I might be able to live to see next year after all.
I think one of the hardest things was when I made the decision to leave my original publishing house making what I believe to be a major course correction for my writing. Even though I think it was the right choice it was still not an easy one to make and I wish them the best.
Speaking of writing I had a lot of big things happen for me this year. My first Fantasy novel, Power Rises: The Ways of Power Book One sold thousands of copies and made the top 100 list for its genre in seven different countries to include; The US, The UK, Canada, France, Germany, India, and Australia. A short story of mine titled "First Day, Last Night" was published by Anotherealm.com. I wrote an article for The Overland Literary Journal about Amazon and their new KU pay system, and I was featured in an article in Publisher's Weekly.
All said, not a bad year. I look forward to the coming challenges in 2016. I have two books being published early in the year by KnightLand Books, the first is a Science Fiction Novella titled "Reckoning" which is about crime and punishment in the near future. The second is the sequel to my novel titled "Power Spreads: The Ways of Power Book Two". It of course will follow Rancoth and Dorbin as they learn the truth about the Spheres of Power and are trapped in a deadly game of cat and mouse with Rellian, whose Master will stop at nothing to control the ancient technology.
As always, thank you for taking the time to read my blog, and please feel free to comment and share your own challenges from this year and what you're looking forward to next year.
I met more than a few challenges, some with grace and others with less than an ideal outcome. I had things go wrong with the structural integrity of my house and had to bring in a professional plumber to get it fixed, thanks dad.
I tried and failed yet again to make any significant progress in my quest to loose weight.
I was promoted at work and took over the supervision of the graveyard shift, in that vein I've tried very hard to help improve moral and to encourage the staff to take on some new responsibilities in order to alleviate some of the pressure on the other shifts.
I've tried to mediate some minor familial disputes between my wife and her mother much to my own undoing. Word to the wise, if its not your business, stay out of it. Since taking a step back and letting them hash out what they need to I've learned that I might be able to live to see next year after all.
I think one of the hardest things was when I made the decision to leave my original publishing house making what I believe to be a major course correction for my writing. Even though I think it was the right choice it was still not an easy one to make and I wish them the best.
Speaking of writing I had a lot of big things happen for me this year. My first Fantasy novel, Power Rises: The Ways of Power Book One sold thousands of copies and made the top 100 list for its genre in seven different countries to include; The US, The UK, Canada, France, Germany, India, and Australia. A short story of mine titled "First Day, Last Night" was published by Anotherealm.com. I wrote an article for The Overland Literary Journal about Amazon and their new KU pay system, and I was featured in an article in Publisher's Weekly.
All said, not a bad year. I look forward to the coming challenges in 2016. I have two books being published early in the year by KnightLand Books, the first is a Science Fiction Novella titled "Reckoning" which is about crime and punishment in the near future. The second is the sequel to my novel titled "Power Spreads: The Ways of Power Book Two". It of course will follow Rancoth and Dorbin as they learn the truth about the Spheres of Power and are trapped in a deadly game of cat and mouse with Rellian, whose Master will stop at nothing to control the ancient technology.
As always, thank you for taking the time to read my blog, and please feel free to comment and share your own challenges from this year and what you're looking forward to next year.
December 1, 2015
Opportunity for a FREE Book!
Hey everyone. With the re-release of Power Rises: The Ways of Power Book One I would like to ask that those of you who have read it to please take a few minutes and write an honest review here on Goodreads and/or Amazon.
Furthermore I would be willing to send a FREE signed copy of Power Rises: The Ways of Power Book One to anyone who would commit to posting an honest review on both Goodreads and Amazon.
Thanks!
Furthermore I would be willing to send a FREE signed copy of Power Rises: The Ways of Power Book One to anyone who would commit to posting an honest review on both Goodreads and Amazon.
Thanks!
November 26, 2015
Book Discussion
Please feel free to comment or question on the new discussion (https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...) I started about the re-release of my book: Power Rises: The Ways of Power Book One
Happy Thanksgiving
Many people out there are preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving. My family and I choose not to partake in this particular holiday. Not for some highbrow reason as one might think. There are those I know who refuse to celebrate because they view the holiday as a festivity held in honor of slaughtering millions of Native Americans by white invaders. If this is the first time you've heard of such a thing then you may want to check out this article: http://www.wnd.com/2015/11/why-some-c...
But, like I said this is NOT the reason why my family chooses to abstain from celebrating. For us it's a much more personal matter. Nine years ago on Thanksgiving Day our son tragically died. It is something that rocked our family in a way that I cannot describe adequately. The choices that were made and the way in which we all mourned nearly destroyed my marriage.
Even now I still find myself taking a moment on this day to cry. To let the pain flow freely. To allow myself time to grieve. It hurts, it will always hurt. So why am I sitting at my keyboard right now with tears streaming? Why am I sharing this with all of you? It's not because I want your sympathy, nor do I have some perverted internal exhibitionist motivation. The answer is quite simple really.
First and foremost because it helps me. I'm a writer, and writing is the most cathartic exercise I know. Second it's so that I can follow it with a simple message. One that I think will have more resonance if you know where I'm coming from. Be patient and understanding of one another. Don't put others down for choosing to celebrate, or not celebrate any holiday by whatever name you may call it.
It is not your place to judge someone, and call them out because they say Merry Christmas, or Happy Thanksgiving. Nor should you look upon someone with disdain if they tell you that they don't celebrate, or that a particular holiday offends them for whatever reason. I don't celebrate Thanksgiving, but I don't lash out at people for telling me to have a happy one. I shouldn't force my tragedy, or my beliefs on anyone else, and I know that they are not trying to force theirs upon me. They are merely trying to be friendly and I should accept that at face value.
So again, as we move into this holiday season, have patience with one another. Try to understand that one of the joys of living in this world is the fact that we are all different, and can freely celebrate in our own ways, or not.
For those of you who DO celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope that you have a happy and safe one. For those of you who do NOT, I hope you too have a safe and happy time in whatever you're doing.
As always, thank you for taking the time to read this.
But, like I said this is NOT the reason why my family chooses to abstain from celebrating. For us it's a much more personal matter. Nine years ago on Thanksgiving Day our son tragically died. It is something that rocked our family in a way that I cannot describe adequately. The choices that were made and the way in which we all mourned nearly destroyed my marriage.
Even now I still find myself taking a moment on this day to cry. To let the pain flow freely. To allow myself time to grieve. It hurts, it will always hurt. So why am I sitting at my keyboard right now with tears streaming? Why am I sharing this with all of you? It's not because I want your sympathy, nor do I have some perverted internal exhibitionist motivation. The answer is quite simple really.
First and foremost because it helps me. I'm a writer, and writing is the most cathartic exercise I know. Second it's so that I can follow it with a simple message. One that I think will have more resonance if you know where I'm coming from. Be patient and understanding of one another. Don't put others down for choosing to celebrate, or not celebrate any holiday by whatever name you may call it.
It is not your place to judge someone, and call them out because they say Merry Christmas, or Happy Thanksgiving. Nor should you look upon someone with disdain if they tell you that they don't celebrate, or that a particular holiday offends them for whatever reason. I don't celebrate Thanksgiving, but I don't lash out at people for telling me to have a happy one. I shouldn't force my tragedy, or my beliefs on anyone else, and I know that they are not trying to force theirs upon me. They are merely trying to be friendly and I should accept that at face value.
So again, as we move into this holiday season, have patience with one another. Try to understand that one of the joys of living in this world is the fact that we are all different, and can freely celebrate in our own ways, or not.
For those of you who DO celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope that you have a happy and safe one. For those of you who do NOT, I hope you too have a safe and happy time in whatever you're doing.
As always, thank you for taking the time to read this.
November 23, 2015
Amazon's KU Pay Structure
Well I wrote an article for the Overland Literary Journal in Australia about Amazon's new KU pay structure. It was published today! Please check it out when you have the opportunity.
https://overland.org.au/2015/11/welco...
As always please feel free to question or comment, and thank you for taking the time to read what I've written.
https://overland.org.au/2015/11/welco...
As always please feel free to question or comment, and thank you for taking the time to read what I've written.
November 13, 2015
Universal Truths for Writers part 7 of 7
So this is it, we've finally reached the 7th and final universal truth for writers. I hope that you've found these useful, and I welcome any of your comments or questions. This last truth is probably the most important so in classic clichéd fashion I've saved the best for last.
Writing isn't easy, it's not a get rich quick scheme, it is a work of passion that demands a ton of time and effort to do well.
Stephen King, arguably one of the most successful and prolific writers of all time said, "Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work."
Writing, especially something that is commercially viable is a very long arduous process that involves many key players. Besides the writer you have editors, artists and designers who all play a part in creating the final product. While each of these professionals have a huge impact on the success of your work none of them could exist without you and your fertile imagination. With so many peoples careers on the line it's important that you write every day.
There is an acronym in the industry that must become your mantra; BICHOK, Butt In Chair Hands On Keyboard. It means you have to sit down and write, even if you're not in the mood, or you're experiencing writers block. You have to write, you will never realize your dreams of publication if you're not doing your job. Even if your writing isn't currently paying your bills you MUST treat it like a job or you will NEVER be able to do it for a living.
Before I sign off, lets recap our list:
1) Writers must never stop learning.
2) Writers must read every day.
3) Writers must intentionally experience what life has to offer.
4) Writers must always carry a notebook and a pen.
5) Writers must learn to let go and trust their characters.
6) Writers must embrace rejection as part of the game.
7) Writers must write.
Do you agree? Did I miss anything? Please comment and share your own thoughts and ideas about the truths of being a writer. And as always, thanks for reading what I've written.
Writing isn't easy, it's not a get rich quick scheme, it is a work of passion that demands a ton of time and effort to do well.
Stephen King, arguably one of the most successful and prolific writers of all time said, "Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work."
Writing, especially something that is commercially viable is a very long arduous process that involves many key players. Besides the writer you have editors, artists and designers who all play a part in creating the final product. While each of these professionals have a huge impact on the success of your work none of them could exist without you and your fertile imagination. With so many peoples careers on the line it's important that you write every day.
There is an acronym in the industry that must become your mantra; BICHOK, Butt In Chair Hands On Keyboard. It means you have to sit down and write, even if you're not in the mood, or you're experiencing writers block. You have to write, you will never realize your dreams of publication if you're not doing your job. Even if your writing isn't currently paying your bills you MUST treat it like a job or you will NEVER be able to do it for a living.
Before I sign off, lets recap our list:
1) Writers must never stop learning.
2) Writers must read every day.
3) Writers must intentionally experience what life has to offer.
4) Writers must always carry a notebook and a pen.
5) Writers must learn to let go and trust their characters.
6) Writers must embrace rejection as part of the game.
7) Writers must write.
Do you agree? Did I miss anything? Please comment and share your own thoughts and ideas about the truths of being a writer. And as always, thanks for reading what I've written.
November 3, 2015
Universal Truths for Writers part 6 of 7
Rejection is part of the game, so you better get used to it.
It was Isaac Asimov who said, "Rejection slips, or form letters, however tactfully phrased, are lacerations of the soul, if not quite inventions of the devil—but there is no way around them." Even if you go the non-traditional route and self-publish you're going to have to deal with rejection.
What you've written is not going to be everyone's cup of tea. Whether you're writing articles for newspapers, short fiction for magazines, or have completed your novel and are trying to get an agent or publishing house to bite, you will get rejected. Here is what you have to remember, despite how much it hurts, and how little this is going to make you feel better, it's not personal.
The editors in charge of acquiring work are taking a gamble on every piece they say yes to. They have to turn a profit for their company or they won't be around for very long. So it's not that your particular piece won't be a runaway best seller, it's just that they personally didn't fall in love with it, and if they don't love it then they can't sell it.
I'm sure each and everyone who is reading this now can name at least one thing that they've read and thought...wow, what trash. How did this get published? And that's okay. Everything isn't meant to be loved by everyone, if it were that way this would be an EXTREMELY boring world.
Think of it this way however, if only .05% of the entire world fell in love with your writing and bought everything you produced you would literally have millions of fans. You just have to weed through the other 99.95% to find them, and that my friends adds up to a lot of rejection letters.
I hope this is helpful, and I thank you for taking the time to read it.
It was Isaac Asimov who said, "Rejection slips, or form letters, however tactfully phrased, are lacerations of the soul, if not quite inventions of the devil—but there is no way around them." Even if you go the non-traditional route and self-publish you're going to have to deal with rejection.
What you've written is not going to be everyone's cup of tea. Whether you're writing articles for newspapers, short fiction for magazines, or have completed your novel and are trying to get an agent or publishing house to bite, you will get rejected. Here is what you have to remember, despite how much it hurts, and how little this is going to make you feel better, it's not personal.
The editors in charge of acquiring work are taking a gamble on every piece they say yes to. They have to turn a profit for their company or they won't be around for very long. So it's not that your particular piece won't be a runaway best seller, it's just that they personally didn't fall in love with it, and if they don't love it then they can't sell it.
I'm sure each and everyone who is reading this now can name at least one thing that they've read and thought...wow, what trash. How did this get published? And that's okay. Everything isn't meant to be loved by everyone, if it were that way this would be an EXTREMELY boring world.
Think of it this way however, if only .05% of the entire world fell in love with your writing and bought everything you produced you would literally have millions of fans. You just have to weed through the other 99.95% to find them, and that my friends adds up to a lot of rejection letters.
I hope this is helpful, and I thank you for taking the time to read it.
