Ryan P. Freeman's Blog, page 5

New Mexico pt dos

True to form, I'm writing yet another New Mexico post. Yesterday was my Nana's 80th birthday - so we came by plane and car from all over America to help her celebrate!As I type away on my phone during church service (shh- don't give me away!), I think it's a good time to reflect on legacy. I don't yet consider myself 'old' - I'm just 29 right now - and yet, I'm seeing how so many people and places have left their guiding, transformative mark on me.I went to middle school and high school in Al...

Identity, Influence, & Social Action: Alexis Saints on Writing

How did you first get into writing?No matter how far back I go with my memory, I can not remember not writing. As soon as I learned how to read and picked up my very first books, I was already creating little tales with my sisters and my friends as the main characters, constantly going on quests around the world. At nine, I had this big notebook where every page was the plot of a novel I wanted to write; at ten, I started working on a story that would have, a year later, become my first publi...

Discovery, Possibility, Thrill: Hernandez on Writting

How did you first start doing what you’re doing?When I was four years old my backyard had trees and bushes lining the back fence. To my imagination this was no mere collection of scraggly evergreens and magnolias, this was Direwood. A land of adventure, danger, excitement, monsters, magic… Every good and fascinating thing a little boy could dream up.That’s how I started writing. It isn’t a unique story; the telling of private tales; the writing of dialogues in which you play both hero and vil...

Going Small-Time: Why This Indie Author Does Branding Differently

Hi all,If you've been following in along so far with me, you might have noticed a change in my online presence over the past month or so. That's because I'm intentionally re-thinking how I (*cringes) advertise to you, especially across social media.Let's face it, everybody and their meme wants our 5-second (max) online attention span. I attend entire regular meetings focused over the single repeating issue: how can we dissemble our info to you. How can we get you (yes you) to buy our book/com...

Hannibal Goes Indie: Ft. Laura Gibbons' Red Hen Bookshop

How Did You First Get Started?Lots of baby steps that snowballed very quickly lol. Going back to about 2011, I wasn’t in a good place where I was employed (now former). I had completed an Associates of Arts in ’07, and decided to finally complete my Bachelor's degree. I had previous experience with independent contracting and marginally running a business, and knew it was something I enjoyed. So I spent 22 months barely sleeping and working two jobs and taking care of the (then very little) c...

Repetitive Failures, Last Place, and Never Giving Up

First of all, apologies to Mr. Ryan Freeman for sending this article in late! Honestly, it was right out of the blue when he sent me a message reminding me about this article. - My eyes became as wide as saucers as I scrolled up, reviewing our conversation."Oh right. Oh no!"What really happened was I had in mind to visit his author site - it was so exhilarating, because it's my first time getting acquainted with an author. Nevertheless, my fingers were lingering about what I wanted to write f...

The Great Chase:Why Friendship and Joy-Chasing are Essential for A Life Well-Lived

In lieu of the increasing fans (like you), here's a new post!I'm not really sure what to write. It happens more often than not, actually.What really kills me, though, is how I'll get these excellent writing moods... all the stars will align and a hallelujah chorus will shimmer down from above... and then I'll get distracted.Seriously.And no, before you bring it up - it's not all social media distractions, either.Life gets distracting. My mind just becomes all cluttered up sometimes. Awhile ba...

How Story-Telling Takes Root

How Did You First Start Writing?I don’t know about writing, but the first time I ever noticed story-telling was when I was about 3. I heard all this yelling. I went into the kitchen. Everyone was standing and staring at our two neighbors walking really slow next to my father. My father was a physically big man who moved very fast at all times unless he was asleep, so this was confusing. I was trying to push through past everyone to see better (I was quite short.) My Mom put her hand on my sho...

So-Not-Journals, False-Starts, & Short-Stories

How did you first start writing?I have an old notebook from Jr. High filled with poems and little stories. My best friend and I used to write all kinds of things. I distinctly remember writing a story when I was a young teen that included some less than savory elements. My mother, also a writer, found it and freaked out. She thought it was my journal and not fiction. Looking back on it now, it surprises me that she didn’t realize it was fiction—I was a bit of a goody two-shoes—but I’ve learne...

Writing: Cathartic Creation & the Imagination

How did you first start writing?I think I probably began writing in middle school. I remember writing for prompts and creating short horror stories and loving it, but I didn't begin seriously writing until attending university. I was a hard science major and there was just something about writing that felt so cathartic. Why do you love it?I think I love writing for that reason, it's a way for me to take what feels like an infinite imagination and make stories about people with different lives...