Bill Conrad's Blog, page 34
July 3, 2019
I Used to Write Many Letters
In 2016, I began my writing adventure. Until that time, I had written a few short stories, some jokes, four miserable patents, and many technical documents. I didn’t consider writing to be a core skill. At best, I considered it to be a tool to help me communicate to known audiences.
Three weeks ago, I cleaned a fireproof case in order to make room for a backup hard drive. Since our house robbery, I’ve become slightly paranoid about backups. Side story into my paranoia. I have: a dual drive that I update every other week (I place it in our “house safe,”) an unreliable backup drive (in another safe,) a “naked” drive in the fireproof case (that I do not intend to update often,) a backup drive at my parent’s house in their safe (that I back up every three years) and an archive folder on my computer “D drive” (that I never remember I have.) Well, at least I’m not burying backup drives in the middle of nowhere… Hmm, that gives me an idea.
My fireproof case contained around 500 pages of hand-written letters from the age of 15-20. I wrote the bulk of these to my girlfriend and kept photocopies of the originals. Why did I keep all these letters and make photocopies? Hmm. Now, this paranoia of multiple hard drives makes a little more sense.
My motivation for shredding the letters came out of the fear of dying. I didn’t want my family to read my personal thoughts from that young age. Why? I have moved on to better challenges. In typical Bill logic, I found all the pages to be in great shape, well organized and stapled together.
As I shredded, I read several pages, and the content shocked me. They contained deep well communicated feelings. I took a deep dive into ideas about life, inventions, the future, friends, events of the day and my passions. I had no idea that I used to write with so much intensity.
I compared these “raw” letters to my present writing, and they looked remarkably similar. I had a knack for freely expressing, opinions and my passions. My style of conveying thoughts followed the same patterns, I used the same verbs and the same overall sentence structure. Yet, I uncovered many differences. Young Bill could not spell to save his life, had no grammar ability, created sentences to nowhere, and he wrote with a limited (repetitive) vocabulary. This is to be expected from a young writer. Side note. My handwriting has degraded.
Writer Bill existed back then. He had passion, drive, and a positive future attitude. He wanted to make a big impression on the world and felt his mind contained all the tools to do so. These vivid descriptions impressed me with their bold attitudes.
I didn’t expect these pages to have any substance and I now understand the source of my writing passion. I began as a good writer. I suppose I knew this fact and didn’t accept my ability for an unknown reason. Side note. When I told my mother that I wanted to write a book, she said, “You were always a great writer.”
Writers require core talent to write anything of substance. They also require passion or at least a healthy respect for the topic. I wrongly assumed that my passion is a recent occurrence.
Three weeks ago, I cleaned a fireproof case in order to make room for a backup hard drive. Since our house robbery, I’ve become slightly paranoid about backups. Side story into my paranoia. I have: a dual drive that I update every other week (I place it in our “house safe,”) an unreliable backup drive (in another safe,) a “naked” drive in the fireproof case (that I do not intend to update often,) a backup drive at my parent’s house in their safe (that I back up every three years) and an archive folder on my computer “D drive” (that I never remember I have.) Well, at least I’m not burying backup drives in the middle of nowhere… Hmm, that gives me an idea.
My fireproof case contained around 500 pages of hand-written letters from the age of 15-20. I wrote the bulk of these to my girlfriend and kept photocopies of the originals. Why did I keep all these letters and make photocopies? Hmm. Now, this paranoia of multiple hard drives makes a little more sense.
My motivation for shredding the letters came out of the fear of dying. I didn’t want my family to read my personal thoughts from that young age. Why? I have moved on to better challenges. In typical Bill logic, I found all the pages to be in great shape, well organized and stapled together.
As I shredded, I read several pages, and the content shocked me. They contained deep well communicated feelings. I took a deep dive into ideas about life, inventions, the future, friends, events of the day and my passions. I had no idea that I used to write with so much intensity.
I compared these “raw” letters to my present writing, and they looked remarkably similar. I had a knack for freely expressing, opinions and my passions. My style of conveying thoughts followed the same patterns, I used the same verbs and the same overall sentence structure. Yet, I uncovered many differences. Young Bill could not spell to save his life, had no grammar ability, created sentences to nowhere, and he wrote with a limited (repetitive) vocabulary. This is to be expected from a young writer. Side note. My handwriting has degraded.
Writer Bill existed back then. He had passion, drive, and a positive future attitude. He wanted to make a big impression on the world and felt his mind contained all the tools to do so. These vivid descriptions impressed me with their bold attitudes.
I didn’t expect these pages to have any substance and I now understand the source of my writing passion. I began as a good writer. I suppose I knew this fact and didn’t accept my ability for an unknown reason. Side note. When I told my mother that I wanted to write a book, she said, “You were always a great writer.”
Writers require core talent to write anything of substance. They also require passion or at least a healthy respect for the topic. I wrongly assumed that my passion is a recent occurrence.
June 26, 2019
Reflecting on My First Book
I began my writing adventure on March 12, 2016 and published Interviewing Immortality May 22, 2017 on Amazon. I later put it on Kubo and Barns Nobel. The reviews have generally been positive and people encourage me to continue.
In this blog, I wanted to take a step back and ponder the original story. In case you have not purchased this well-written novel, I will provide a short summary:
James, a published author is spending his Saturday afternoon at a book signing. Towards the end of the day, a striking woman walks up to him, stares menacingly into his soul and announces, “You will do.” Without another word, she walks away. James is stunned by the unexpected encounter; yet has no idea how very much his life is about to change.
After the book signing, as James walks back to his car, he suddenly finds himself kidnaped by none other than this overpowering woman who calls herself Grace. He comes to understand that this callous event serves as his introduction into the unscrupulous life of his captor. James has been targeted to pen a harrowing account of this astounding woman’s preternatural past. In unraveling the layers of her destructive life, James is compelled to confront his own life choices.
What do people think of my work? The main negative feedback revolves around the torture scene. I set the tone at modestly frightening and I kept the gore to a minimum. The scene’s impact came from the feelings: “I was deflated, weak, confused, and tired, and I desperately wanted to get out of the wooded area. The body still twitched, but now in a slow, withering way. The sight sickened me, and I wanted to throw up. I knew Gerald was dead. Nobody could survive a cut like that to the neck.” At the time, I felt it mild in comparison with other books and movies. However, I respect people’s beliefs and values. Perhaps I made it too gory. As a result, I toned down the gore and violent descriptions, in the sequel.
The other negative feedback revolves around “redundant” characters. I never got a clear definition of the term “redundant.” However, I believe it refers to my tick of saying something in one sentence and saying it again in the next. I am working on altering my writing style to compensate.
I recently read a negative review that didn’t like the conclusion. I think they wanted more closure. But that is what sequels are for.
Another concern from readers is that the story has been done. An author is forced to write a book; how unimaginative. Did I come up with that idea sitting in front of my computer trying to think up a plot? Readers want to compare my story to the novel Misery by Steven King.
Misery is a kidnapping horror story and my story explores an amazing woman’s life from the perspective of a disgraced author. I respect the reader's initial beliefs that the stories seem similar. I would like to remind people that it’s difficult to come up with something completely new. For example, many people feel Star Wars is based on the movie Once Upon a Time in the West. Personally, I see absolutely no relationship. When Harold Ramis wrote the movie Ghostbusters, he had been completely unaware of the unpopular show “Ghost Busters.” Or did he secretly use that miserable show as inspiration?
From a personal perspective, the most frustrating aspect of this book has been attempting to market it. The challenges to get the word out are extremely difficult. Of course, that result is to be expected. Marketing requires natural ability, experience, research, effort, connections, and luck. Of those requirements, I possess 10% effort and little else.
On the positive side of my writing experience, I received several touching positive reviews/messages from readers and each one of them made me feel wonderful. Granted, I would like to see hundreds of positive reviews, but it’s going to be a long process.
In 2016, I didn’t have a lot of writing experience and my ability has since evolved. With this improvement, I am able to reflect on my original work. There are indeed areas I would change if I could go back in time. My style, editing, organization, clean up and error/fact checking have improved. Readers are able to accept a “raw” story. They can appreciate a few imperfections and they understand that a first book is bound to have issues. As this novel is electronic, I am able to revise it. At this time, I don’t believe a new round of editing is necessary.
In taking a high-level view with my improved writing abilities, I feel my original work stands on its own. Why? My main characters are very contrasting. A low life author and a fantastic paranoid psychotic killer with unlimited resources. They explore her life from the odd perspective of an author that cannot be honest with himself. That is a good unique combination of people and a unique plot.
As I presently edit the sequel, I often need to read parts of Interviewing Immortality to get the facts correct. The story still reads fresh and I marvel at my insight. Writing the sequel also allows builds on the foundation of the characters and the plot.
Overall, I believe I made the correct choice to start writing. I continue to appreciate the plot and I like the characters. The choices I made continue to be validated and as I reread the book, the plot remains solid. I have pride in what I created and I like hearing positive comments. Sometimes, we take a leap and land somewhere special. For me, that turned out to be writing.
In this blog, I wanted to take a step back and ponder the original story. In case you have not purchased this well-written novel, I will provide a short summary:
James, a published author is spending his Saturday afternoon at a book signing. Towards the end of the day, a striking woman walks up to him, stares menacingly into his soul and announces, “You will do.” Without another word, she walks away. James is stunned by the unexpected encounter; yet has no idea how very much his life is about to change.
After the book signing, as James walks back to his car, he suddenly finds himself kidnaped by none other than this overpowering woman who calls herself Grace. He comes to understand that this callous event serves as his introduction into the unscrupulous life of his captor. James has been targeted to pen a harrowing account of this astounding woman’s preternatural past. In unraveling the layers of her destructive life, James is compelled to confront his own life choices.
What do people think of my work? The main negative feedback revolves around the torture scene. I set the tone at modestly frightening and I kept the gore to a minimum. The scene’s impact came from the feelings: “I was deflated, weak, confused, and tired, and I desperately wanted to get out of the wooded area. The body still twitched, but now in a slow, withering way. The sight sickened me, and I wanted to throw up. I knew Gerald was dead. Nobody could survive a cut like that to the neck.” At the time, I felt it mild in comparison with other books and movies. However, I respect people’s beliefs and values. Perhaps I made it too gory. As a result, I toned down the gore and violent descriptions, in the sequel.
The other negative feedback revolves around “redundant” characters. I never got a clear definition of the term “redundant.” However, I believe it refers to my tick of saying something in one sentence and saying it again in the next. I am working on altering my writing style to compensate.
I recently read a negative review that didn’t like the conclusion. I think they wanted more closure. But that is what sequels are for.
Another concern from readers is that the story has been done. An author is forced to write a book; how unimaginative. Did I come up with that idea sitting in front of my computer trying to think up a plot? Readers want to compare my story to the novel Misery by Steven King.
Misery is a kidnapping horror story and my story explores an amazing woman’s life from the perspective of a disgraced author. I respect the reader's initial beliefs that the stories seem similar. I would like to remind people that it’s difficult to come up with something completely new. For example, many people feel Star Wars is based on the movie Once Upon a Time in the West. Personally, I see absolutely no relationship. When Harold Ramis wrote the movie Ghostbusters, he had been completely unaware of the unpopular show “Ghost Busters.” Or did he secretly use that miserable show as inspiration?
From a personal perspective, the most frustrating aspect of this book has been attempting to market it. The challenges to get the word out are extremely difficult. Of course, that result is to be expected. Marketing requires natural ability, experience, research, effort, connections, and luck. Of those requirements, I possess 10% effort and little else.
On the positive side of my writing experience, I received several touching positive reviews/messages from readers and each one of them made me feel wonderful. Granted, I would like to see hundreds of positive reviews, but it’s going to be a long process.
In 2016, I didn’t have a lot of writing experience and my ability has since evolved. With this improvement, I am able to reflect on my original work. There are indeed areas I would change if I could go back in time. My style, editing, organization, clean up and error/fact checking have improved. Readers are able to accept a “raw” story. They can appreciate a few imperfections and they understand that a first book is bound to have issues. As this novel is electronic, I am able to revise it. At this time, I don’t believe a new round of editing is necessary.
In taking a high-level view with my improved writing abilities, I feel my original work stands on its own. Why? My main characters are very contrasting. A low life author and a fantastic paranoid psychotic killer with unlimited resources. They explore her life from the odd perspective of an author that cannot be honest with himself. That is a good unique combination of people and a unique plot.
As I presently edit the sequel, I often need to read parts of Interviewing Immortality to get the facts correct. The story still reads fresh and I marvel at my insight. Writing the sequel also allows builds on the foundation of the characters and the plot.
Overall, I believe I made the correct choice to start writing. I continue to appreciate the plot and I like the characters. The choices I made continue to be validated and as I reread the book, the plot remains solid. I have pride in what I created and I like hearing positive comments. Sometimes, we take a leap and land somewhere special. For me, that turned out to be writing.
June 19, 2019
Integrating Quotes
Quoting dialog in a story should be an easy task. Put quotation marks around a spoken sentence and bam! “Hi there.” Done. It turns out that there are several accepted methods for integrating quotes. Each approach has benefits and I’ve learned there is no correct method.
Hold on, there is a correct method and everybody agrees on it. This “correct method” is widely documented in many books like The Chicago Manual of Style, Garner's Modern English Usage, The Copyeditor's Handbook, Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace. Yeah, not so much. All these “golden standards” mostly agree on the grammar rules and then an author may adapt the rules to their personal taste.
As I bumbled along my writing journey, I settled on a quote integration method that I like. I feel this compromise on all the quoting options reduces and streamlines the editing process. Let’s explore some methods of incorporating dialog:
Method 1 (no quotation marks) James walked up to Bob. I will be late tonight. That’s fine. James walked away. For me, this dialog integration is difficult to follow. Is somebody speaking? Who are they speaking to and when did they stop speaking?
Method 1a (Improved no quotation marks). James walked up to Bob and spoke. I will be late tonight. That’s fine. James walked away. A better method, but the reader still gets confused.
Method 1b (No quotation marks with after thoughts). Bob walked up. I will be late tonight, said James. That’s fine, and he walked away. That is certainly compact and clean. However, this method still leaves the reader confused.
Method 2 (Quotes stuck in) James walked up to Bob. “I will be late tonight.” “That’s fine.” James walked away. This is better than method 1, but the reader cannot tell who is speaking. The reader must make the leap to understand the sentence began with James’s spoken words.
Method 3 (forward hints) James walked up to Bob and said, “I will be late tonight.” James replied, “That’s fine.” James walked away.
Method 3a (forward hints with breaks) James walked up to Bob and said, “I will be late tonight.”
“That’s fine.”
“I need to see my sister.” James walked away. This is the same as 3, but line breaks are added to distinguish between speakers. This is the method I settled on. I feel this is the most straightforward method and readers can easily understand who is talking to who. Before speaking, the reader knows the subject person and the target person. I feel it is the best compromise between all the options. However, it loads the document up with lots of “said,” Of course, I mix it up with: “answered,” “asked,” “continued,” “yelled,” “whispered,” etc.
Method 4 (The afterthought) James walked up to Bob, “I will be late tonight.” Said, James. “That’s fine.” Replied Bob as James walked away. Many people feel this method is the golden standard, looks the most professional and most books use this method. The issue I have with this method is that the reader does not get to learn who is speaking until the end of the sentence. I feel this method trips up the reader and disrupts the flow.
Method 4a (Integrated afterthoughts) James walked up to Bob. “I will be late tonight.” Said, James. “I need to see my sister.” “That’s fine.” Replied Bob. “Go see her first.” James walked away. This method is a combination between 3 and 4. Right after or during the first sentence of dialog, the reader is informed who is speaking. Overall, this method reads well, but it falls apart during snappy short sentence dialog.
Method 5 (separate) James walked up to Bob.
“I will be late tonight.”
“I need to see my sister.”
James walked away. In this method, the dialog is separated from the description and this leaves the reader unsure who is speaking.
To make matters more complex, the rules for double quotes and single quotes aren’t set in stone. I settled on a single clear rule. Single quotes go inside double quotes. “What’s going on Bob?” “Kelly told me to ‘Pick up dinner on my way home.’ Sound good?” This seems straightforward but there is a rule for single words in single quotes. Bob said, ‘Hello.’ I like the way this reads, but I ignore this rule and use double quotes.
Quoting get interesting when a character is thinking about something. An author cannot use the word “said” and they need to replace it with the word “thought.” For example. Bob thought, “I bet she is mad because I forgot dinner.”
Writers have an additional trick they can use. We can put thoughts into italics. Unfortunately, this blog format does not allow me to write in italics. Thus, I must improvise. Kelly walked in and stared at Bob. (Italics begin) I bet she is mad because I forgot to get dinner. (Italics end) We can also do a combination. Kelly walked in and thought, (Italics begin) I bet she is mad because I forgot to get dinner. (Italics end) I have since learned this latter method does not read well.
My upcoming book, Pushed To the Edge of Survival, I have introduced a new technique to allow telepathic characters to interact. I replaced “quotation marks” with Bob thought to Kelly, I think this method reads well and adds a new dimension.
This simple topic should be straight forward. Humans have been speaking and writing English for a long while. One would think this basic topic would have established rules and be universally accepted. For my part, I will do my best to write up great dialog and hopefully, readers can follow some of the dialog.
Hold on, there is a correct method and everybody agrees on it. This “correct method” is widely documented in many books like The Chicago Manual of Style, Garner's Modern English Usage, The Copyeditor's Handbook, Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace. Yeah, not so much. All these “golden standards” mostly agree on the grammar rules and then an author may adapt the rules to their personal taste.
As I bumbled along my writing journey, I settled on a quote integration method that I like. I feel this compromise on all the quoting options reduces and streamlines the editing process. Let’s explore some methods of incorporating dialog:
Method 1 (no quotation marks) James walked up to Bob. I will be late tonight. That’s fine. James walked away. For me, this dialog integration is difficult to follow. Is somebody speaking? Who are they speaking to and when did they stop speaking?
Method 1a (Improved no quotation marks). James walked up to Bob and spoke. I will be late tonight. That’s fine. James walked away. A better method, but the reader still gets confused.
Method 1b (No quotation marks with after thoughts). Bob walked up. I will be late tonight, said James. That’s fine, and he walked away. That is certainly compact and clean. However, this method still leaves the reader confused.
Method 2 (Quotes stuck in) James walked up to Bob. “I will be late tonight.” “That’s fine.” James walked away. This is better than method 1, but the reader cannot tell who is speaking. The reader must make the leap to understand the sentence began with James’s spoken words.
Method 3 (forward hints) James walked up to Bob and said, “I will be late tonight.” James replied, “That’s fine.” James walked away.
Method 3a (forward hints with breaks) James walked up to Bob and said, “I will be late tonight.”
“That’s fine.”
“I need to see my sister.” James walked away. This is the same as 3, but line breaks are added to distinguish between speakers. This is the method I settled on. I feel this is the most straightforward method and readers can easily understand who is talking to who. Before speaking, the reader knows the subject person and the target person. I feel it is the best compromise between all the options. However, it loads the document up with lots of “said,” Of course, I mix it up with: “answered,” “asked,” “continued,” “yelled,” “whispered,” etc.
Method 4 (The afterthought) James walked up to Bob, “I will be late tonight.” Said, James. “That’s fine.” Replied Bob as James walked away. Many people feel this method is the golden standard, looks the most professional and most books use this method. The issue I have with this method is that the reader does not get to learn who is speaking until the end of the sentence. I feel this method trips up the reader and disrupts the flow.
Method 4a (Integrated afterthoughts) James walked up to Bob. “I will be late tonight.” Said, James. “I need to see my sister.” “That’s fine.” Replied Bob. “Go see her first.” James walked away. This method is a combination between 3 and 4. Right after or during the first sentence of dialog, the reader is informed who is speaking. Overall, this method reads well, but it falls apart during snappy short sentence dialog.
Method 5 (separate) James walked up to Bob.
“I will be late tonight.”
“I need to see my sister.”
James walked away. In this method, the dialog is separated from the description and this leaves the reader unsure who is speaking.
To make matters more complex, the rules for double quotes and single quotes aren’t set in stone. I settled on a single clear rule. Single quotes go inside double quotes. “What’s going on Bob?” “Kelly told me to ‘Pick up dinner on my way home.’ Sound good?” This seems straightforward but there is a rule for single words in single quotes. Bob said, ‘Hello.’ I like the way this reads, but I ignore this rule and use double quotes.
Quoting get interesting when a character is thinking about something. An author cannot use the word “said” and they need to replace it with the word “thought.” For example. Bob thought, “I bet she is mad because I forgot dinner.”
Writers have an additional trick they can use. We can put thoughts into italics. Unfortunately, this blog format does not allow me to write in italics. Thus, I must improvise. Kelly walked in and stared at Bob. (Italics begin) I bet she is mad because I forgot to get dinner. (Italics end) We can also do a combination. Kelly walked in and thought, (Italics begin) I bet she is mad because I forgot to get dinner. (Italics end) I have since learned this latter method does not read well.
My upcoming book, Pushed To the Edge of Survival, I have introduced a new technique to allow telepathic characters to interact. I replaced “quotation marks” with Bob thought to Kelly, I think this method reads well and adds a new dimension.
This simple topic should be straight forward. Humans have been speaking and writing English for a long while. One would think this basic topic would have established rules and be universally accepted. For my part, I will do my best to write up great dialog and hopefully, readers can follow some of the dialog.
June 12, 2019
My Editing Philosophy
I spend up to 16 hours per week self-editing. At the beginning of my writing adventure, I didn’t have much structure. I read and made corrections where I saw fit. Overall, I enjoyed this activity. It feels like reading a familiar story and casually making it better. I now understand that while this type of editing improves the story, it leads to unintended issues.
The problems occur when I edit without a particular plan and forget about the big picture. I define the big picture as a book that readers would like to read. More specifically, I do not want to upset the readers with bad writing. Self-editing can result in meandering junk unrelated to the core of the story. My favorite damage invoking activity involves taking a deep dive into thoroughly explaining the characters motives, logic and brilliance. While this is occasionally necessary and insightful, it disrupts the flow resulting in a confused/uninspired reader.
To make matters worse, I discovered a strange self-editing/writing habit. After I create a sentence, I explain the same topic in the next sentence. “Bob walked to the door, opened it and looked inside. After opening the door, he continued walking.” I have no idea why I repeat myself. I suspect that I subconsciously really want the reader to thoroughly understand the topic. Perhaps my engineering mind likes to play.
After a lot of wasted time self-editing the wrong way, I have cobbled together a self-editing procedure and I thought it would be interesting to share. It begins during my initial writing. After I get a few pages written, I go back and casually edit/read them before writing new story. I identify areas were the plot isn’t clear and I shore it up with facts and insight. I also delete junk that isn’t necessary and move sections around.
When the book is finished, I do a full basic pass. I have several specific issues that I seek out. This included my famous double sentences, logic errors and unclear concepts. I also check facts and think about the flow. “Bob died in the horrific car crash.” Later in the book, “Bob and James shared a cup of coffee.” Wait a minute. I thought Bob died? What’s going on? Readers and critics hate that kind of basic mistake.
I often find instances where I used the wrong name for a character or referred to a section of the book where I have removed/changed some fact. The worst writing mistake I found so far is a duplicated sentence that probably resulted from a copy/paste error.
When I have completed my first pass, I start the program Pro Writing Aid. This is an intelligent document checking Microsoft Word add-in with many features. I start by checking for overused words. Gahhh. I hate this part of the editing process. It points out tight concentrations of words [for example, having three sentences in a paragraph beginning with “In general the…”] and other words that should be limited in their use. It’s favorite word to cheerfully locate is “was.” Each one of these feels like a bee sting and it takes a lot of creative effort to rearrange all the sentences. However, the resulting sentences are stronger and it flows better. Overall, this is the longest part of the self-editing process. I also noticed something else. Overused words are concentrated around weak sentences. There must be some sort of subconscious element at work.
Next, I make a full pass using the style improvement program in Pro Writing Aid. This generally goes quickly as it suggests better ways of phrasing sentences and eliminating certain words. The result is a document that reads cleaner and sounds professional.
Then I do a Pro Writing Aid Grammar check. This finds lots of errors and it a bit slower than the style improvement program. Unfortunately, it makes me feel like a grammar bonehead. Fortunately, by this stage of editing, many of the grammar issues have been uncovered.
My final check is to use the free version of the Grammar check add-in, Grammarly. The problem with this program is that it takes about ten minutes to get started. Once inside the document, it highlights several good grammar issues. Its best feature is to locate words that sound the same, but are spelled differently (homonyms, homophones, homographs and heteronyms. Oh my.)
However, there are problems with Grammarly and Pro Writing Aid. The first one is that they disagree with each other and overall end up loading my document up the commas. The second problem occurs when I disagree with their edits. The resulting sentences don’t read well. This forces me to make a choice. Do I go with the advice from a professional program written by language experts? Or does grammar bonehead Bill take the leap? 95% of the time, I go with the professionals. So my writing ends up with lots of commas.
After I have made my final checks, I give my work to my beta reader, my mom. She takes a much higher approach. “This area does not make sense.” “What was Bob’s motivation to go home?” “This area is weak.” “Consider deleting.” “Expand.” I greatly appreciate her input and I put in a lot of effort to fulfil her suggestions. I then enter a new round of self-editing including Pro Writing Aid and Grammarly. Typically, this goes a lot faster.
One final pass and I send my book to a professional editor. I now understand that I need to accept all their suggestions and limit my corrections. Then a copy editor finds nit-picky little things and the book goes onto Amazon.
Wow, that is a long ordeal. It took a lot of wasted time to figure out this process. Self-editing is a must for an author. Or am I a perfectionist who loves to self-edit? Something to think about…
The problems occur when I edit without a particular plan and forget about the big picture. I define the big picture as a book that readers would like to read. More specifically, I do not want to upset the readers with bad writing. Self-editing can result in meandering junk unrelated to the core of the story. My favorite damage invoking activity involves taking a deep dive into thoroughly explaining the characters motives, logic and brilliance. While this is occasionally necessary and insightful, it disrupts the flow resulting in a confused/uninspired reader.
To make matters worse, I discovered a strange self-editing/writing habit. After I create a sentence, I explain the same topic in the next sentence. “Bob walked to the door, opened it and looked inside. After opening the door, he continued walking.” I have no idea why I repeat myself. I suspect that I subconsciously really want the reader to thoroughly understand the topic. Perhaps my engineering mind likes to play.
After a lot of wasted time self-editing the wrong way, I have cobbled together a self-editing procedure and I thought it would be interesting to share. It begins during my initial writing. After I get a few pages written, I go back and casually edit/read them before writing new story. I identify areas were the plot isn’t clear and I shore it up with facts and insight. I also delete junk that isn’t necessary and move sections around.
When the book is finished, I do a full basic pass. I have several specific issues that I seek out. This included my famous double sentences, logic errors and unclear concepts. I also check facts and think about the flow. “Bob died in the horrific car crash.” Later in the book, “Bob and James shared a cup of coffee.” Wait a minute. I thought Bob died? What’s going on? Readers and critics hate that kind of basic mistake.
I often find instances where I used the wrong name for a character or referred to a section of the book where I have removed/changed some fact. The worst writing mistake I found so far is a duplicated sentence that probably resulted from a copy/paste error.
When I have completed my first pass, I start the program Pro Writing Aid. This is an intelligent document checking Microsoft Word add-in with many features. I start by checking for overused words. Gahhh. I hate this part of the editing process. It points out tight concentrations of words [for example, having three sentences in a paragraph beginning with “In general the…”] and other words that should be limited in their use. It’s favorite word to cheerfully locate is “was.” Each one of these feels like a bee sting and it takes a lot of creative effort to rearrange all the sentences. However, the resulting sentences are stronger and it flows better. Overall, this is the longest part of the self-editing process. I also noticed something else. Overused words are concentrated around weak sentences. There must be some sort of subconscious element at work.
Next, I make a full pass using the style improvement program in Pro Writing Aid. This generally goes quickly as it suggests better ways of phrasing sentences and eliminating certain words. The result is a document that reads cleaner and sounds professional.
Then I do a Pro Writing Aid Grammar check. This finds lots of errors and it a bit slower than the style improvement program. Unfortunately, it makes me feel like a grammar bonehead. Fortunately, by this stage of editing, many of the grammar issues have been uncovered.
My final check is to use the free version of the Grammar check add-in, Grammarly. The problem with this program is that it takes about ten minutes to get started. Once inside the document, it highlights several good grammar issues. Its best feature is to locate words that sound the same, but are spelled differently (homonyms, homophones, homographs and heteronyms. Oh my.)
However, there are problems with Grammarly and Pro Writing Aid. The first one is that they disagree with each other and overall end up loading my document up the commas. The second problem occurs when I disagree with their edits. The resulting sentences don’t read well. This forces me to make a choice. Do I go with the advice from a professional program written by language experts? Or does grammar bonehead Bill take the leap? 95% of the time, I go with the professionals. So my writing ends up with lots of commas.
After I have made my final checks, I give my work to my beta reader, my mom. She takes a much higher approach. “This area does not make sense.” “What was Bob’s motivation to go home?” “This area is weak.” “Consider deleting.” “Expand.” I greatly appreciate her input and I put in a lot of effort to fulfil her suggestions. I then enter a new round of self-editing including Pro Writing Aid and Grammarly. Typically, this goes a lot faster.
One final pass and I send my book to a professional editor. I now understand that I need to accept all their suggestions and limit my corrections. Then a copy editor finds nit-picky little things and the book goes onto Amazon.
Wow, that is a long ordeal. It took a lot of wasted time to figure out this process. Self-editing is a must for an author. Or am I a perfectionist who loves to self-edit? Something to think about…
June 5, 2019
Authors Rationalize Their Existence
An author can instantly create anything from an exact copy of something well known to a completely fictitious world that doesn’t have a single resemblance to our own. They need only abide by a few rules that generally concern social norms. Of course, authors continue to push the boundaries.
For example, Harry Potter can use his magic wand to give life to a flower. Biologists, physicists, engineers, and religious experts all say this action is impossible and of course, immoral. However, authors and readers enjoy “lively fiction” and accept this timid creation of life.
It is perfectly natural for an author to write fiction. Readers understand that liberties may be taken and not all stories reside on a foundation of truths. It is therefore acceptable to develop alternate physics, morals, and existences. Authors have no rules and only answer to book critics. Let’s name the flower Julie. Sound good?
In my book Interviewing Immortality, I explore the scientifically/medically impossible concept of immortality. In order to do so, I provided a detailed explanation of the lead character’s life and the mechanism by which she survived. This allows the reader to comfortably take the leap into fantasy and enjoy an implausible plot.
However, this fantasy world can get messy. Let’s look at giving life to a flower. Harry Potter waves his wand, poof, a common flower comes to life and begins speaking. Who taught Julie to speak? Does that flower now have rights? What if another character stepped on Julie and she died? Did the flower have a soul? Do we need to bury Julie in a cemetery? Do the other flower’s regret her passing? Wow, that got complex fast.
The reader is encouraged to “ignore” the ethical implications of giving Julie life. Authors bank on this fact and use the living flower as a magical plot tool. “The flower instantly came to life, smiled, and we decided to call her Julie. What a wonderful day.”
Readers accept fantasy characters and concepts in fiction. Chewbacca will never exist; he is a tall guy in a fake fur costume. However, we still like Chewbacca and love it when he beats up a storm trooper. Writing fiction is normal, and it is healthy to think in terms of unrealistic fantasy.
There is an issue associated with writing fiction. Writers are special people and they view the world from a unique perspective. What could the world be like? How can I make it better, worse or the same with a twist? This can lead to unintended consequences.
Fiction authors often set their own reality aside. In doing so, they escape their lives. In this “improved” world, an author does not have to answer to laws, physics or even their boss who yelled at them for showing up late because they spent the night writing.
How does an author fight back? Easy, “Bob strolled into work late as usual. His Jake confronted him again and told him he would be fired if he did not show up on time. Jake went too far this time and Bob hatched a plan. His boss would die tonight!” Wait a minute. Did the author (a real person) just write down a fantasy where he pretended to kill his own boss (also a real person)? Indeed, he did. Is that healthy? Umm, well, probably not (it might even be considered evidence in a trial.) Or is writing a healthy way of dealing with stress? After all, it is just a fantasy. Jake is alive and Bob has no real plans of killing him.
An author can travel into their deep realm of fantasy. They begin to envision the real world just like what they are writing about. Author Bill does not have a million dollars to spend on a flashy new car. “Bob worked hard that month and Jake rewarded him with a million-dollar bonus.” “Now that’s more like it! Finally, the respect I deserve. I think I am going to buy that car I always wanted.” It’s that easy to dive into fantasy. It can be like an addictive drug that falsely makes a person feel better. In this world, everything makes sense (well, at least to the author) and life is good. I have felt this pull and I often wish I could change the real world into one I have created. However, I now know it is best not to pull too deep from one’s personal experiences. I also learned that people get upset when they are fictionalized.
In the Dilbert comic strip, Scott Adams based many of his comics on his own life experiences. The pointy-haired boss actually exists. As viewers of the comic, we all got a good laugh. What really happened? Scott Adams cannot yell at his boss, so he made a cartoon. Is that healthier? Maybe? What did the actual pointy haired man feel about those cartoons? He is probably very upset, and this made for a bad work situation.
Fantasy is a reflection of reality; a collection of what might be possible even though our present rules of society and science prevent such a story from actually occurring. However, the “world has to make sense” and an author makes “facts” fit their own reality. The further an author dives into their fantasy, the worse it can become. At times, during or right after writing, I feel like I’m not in reality. That I can create something from thin air. I suppose this is the mark of a good author to be able to completely detach their minds. The trick is to understand where the line is and not to stay in fantasy.
I recall a comedian saying something like, “I got into comedy because it was cheaper than going to a therapist.” I suppose writing can be the same escape. I must admit that I do at times take a leap into fantasy to explore my own problems. Of course, life or my own mind is able to bring me back to boring reality. I have no doubt that other authors take too deep of a dive into their secret world and this is not healthy. For me, I am going to keep writing and see where this journey takes me. Perhaps one day this blog will be evidence at a trial. Ha! Made you think.
For example, Harry Potter can use his magic wand to give life to a flower. Biologists, physicists, engineers, and religious experts all say this action is impossible and of course, immoral. However, authors and readers enjoy “lively fiction” and accept this timid creation of life.
It is perfectly natural for an author to write fiction. Readers understand that liberties may be taken and not all stories reside on a foundation of truths. It is therefore acceptable to develop alternate physics, morals, and existences. Authors have no rules and only answer to book critics. Let’s name the flower Julie. Sound good?
In my book Interviewing Immortality, I explore the scientifically/medically impossible concept of immortality. In order to do so, I provided a detailed explanation of the lead character’s life and the mechanism by which she survived. This allows the reader to comfortably take the leap into fantasy and enjoy an implausible plot.
However, this fantasy world can get messy. Let’s look at giving life to a flower. Harry Potter waves his wand, poof, a common flower comes to life and begins speaking. Who taught Julie to speak? Does that flower now have rights? What if another character stepped on Julie and she died? Did the flower have a soul? Do we need to bury Julie in a cemetery? Do the other flower’s regret her passing? Wow, that got complex fast.
The reader is encouraged to “ignore” the ethical implications of giving Julie life. Authors bank on this fact and use the living flower as a magical plot tool. “The flower instantly came to life, smiled, and we decided to call her Julie. What a wonderful day.”
Readers accept fantasy characters and concepts in fiction. Chewbacca will never exist; he is a tall guy in a fake fur costume. However, we still like Chewbacca and love it when he beats up a storm trooper. Writing fiction is normal, and it is healthy to think in terms of unrealistic fantasy.
There is an issue associated with writing fiction. Writers are special people and they view the world from a unique perspective. What could the world be like? How can I make it better, worse or the same with a twist? This can lead to unintended consequences.
Fiction authors often set their own reality aside. In doing so, they escape their lives. In this “improved” world, an author does not have to answer to laws, physics or even their boss who yelled at them for showing up late because they spent the night writing.
How does an author fight back? Easy, “Bob strolled into work late as usual. His Jake confronted him again and told him he would be fired if he did not show up on time. Jake went too far this time and Bob hatched a plan. His boss would die tonight!” Wait a minute. Did the author (a real person) just write down a fantasy where he pretended to kill his own boss (also a real person)? Indeed, he did. Is that healthy? Umm, well, probably not (it might even be considered evidence in a trial.) Or is writing a healthy way of dealing with stress? After all, it is just a fantasy. Jake is alive and Bob has no real plans of killing him.
An author can travel into their deep realm of fantasy. They begin to envision the real world just like what they are writing about. Author Bill does not have a million dollars to spend on a flashy new car. “Bob worked hard that month and Jake rewarded him with a million-dollar bonus.” “Now that’s more like it! Finally, the respect I deserve. I think I am going to buy that car I always wanted.” It’s that easy to dive into fantasy. It can be like an addictive drug that falsely makes a person feel better. In this world, everything makes sense (well, at least to the author) and life is good. I have felt this pull and I often wish I could change the real world into one I have created. However, I now know it is best not to pull too deep from one’s personal experiences. I also learned that people get upset when they are fictionalized.
In the Dilbert comic strip, Scott Adams based many of his comics on his own life experiences. The pointy-haired boss actually exists. As viewers of the comic, we all got a good laugh. What really happened? Scott Adams cannot yell at his boss, so he made a cartoon. Is that healthier? Maybe? What did the actual pointy haired man feel about those cartoons? He is probably very upset, and this made for a bad work situation.
Fantasy is a reflection of reality; a collection of what might be possible even though our present rules of society and science prevent such a story from actually occurring. However, the “world has to make sense” and an author makes “facts” fit their own reality. The further an author dives into their fantasy, the worse it can become. At times, during or right after writing, I feel like I’m not in reality. That I can create something from thin air. I suppose this is the mark of a good author to be able to completely detach their minds. The trick is to understand where the line is and not to stay in fantasy.
I recall a comedian saying something like, “I got into comedy because it was cheaper than going to a therapist.” I suppose writing can be the same escape. I must admit that I do at times take a leap into fantasy to explore my own problems. Of course, life or my own mind is able to bring me back to boring reality. I have no doubt that other authors take too deep of a dive into their secret world and this is not healthy. For me, I am going to keep writing and see where this journey takes me. Perhaps one day this blog will be evidence at a trial. Ha! Made you think.
May 29, 2019
Book Covers
In college, I projected 35mm and 70mm movies for our audiovisual club. They called themselves Lens and Lights. An arrogant bunch of kids. Yeah, I loved it. Side note, projectors are loud!
Older projectors held up to 20 minutes of film and our projector had 40-minute reels. Each theater had two projectors and when one ran low on film, the projectionist would execute a “changeover.” In order to do this, they would first hear an automatic bell when the projector had about five minutes of film to project (or they would set an alarm.) They would then start up the arc lamp and get ready to turn on the motor. Seven seconds before the end of the reel, a “start cue” would appear in the upper right-hand part of the screen. This felt like an exciting moment as I turned on the motor. The start cue looks like a scratchy white ring circle, sold black circle or red ring circle. Five seconds would count down and then the “changeover cue” would appear. The operator had two seconds of film to close the damper on one projector, open the other damper and switch the sound over. Later, the “presto-changeover” company developed a button that did all of this.
Now projectors are either digital or they use a platter which uses a massive (six feet wide) reel of film to eliminate changeovers. I have not projected for years but I still see these changeover cues when I watch movies. Of course, I point out the cues to my friends to annoy them.
Book covers are the primary advertising tool to get a reader’s attention. If an author fails to put effort into this critical step, their book does not capture a reader’s attention. When I began writing, my self-publishing helper Bethany helped me to develop a book cover. She encouraged me to study successful book covers. Bethany also pointed out the many flaws that bad book covers had. I looked at hundreds of covers and formed ideas of what my book should look like. We worked on concept art and discussed all the necessary elements to create a solid cover.
Book covers start out with the title. The font and layout of the title should all tie into the graphics and author’s name. There are many pitfalls to the tile like having a “flowery” font on a serious book. The cover graphics must flow into the theme. For example, if the book is about submarines, it needs to have something to do with submarines on the cover. The graphics serve as the primary tool to visually inform the reader about the book.
Books can have flashy graphic designs or they use simple elements on plain backgrounds. Overall, the look should be bold. The author wants readers to buy the book. The cover needs to reach a reader at a primal level and jam open their wallet.
What are all the elements? This is a complex answer that has a zen quality to it. It took me hours of studying good book covers with a detached mindset to see the patterns. I also looked at hundreds of books with 1-star reviews. I began to see the elements come together in successful covers and the many flaws of poorly designed covers.
I recently came across a book where the author described a harrowing tale about surviving a remote plane crash. The cover had a picture of himself on a rock in the wilderness. I instantly noticed he used an out-of-focus picture. Really? I wanted to yell, “Digital cameras have gigabytes of memory! Take 100 pictures and use the one that is in focus! This is important!” I have an adventure novel where the title font is square and the font of the author's name is round. I have another book where the back cover artwork does not have the same theme as the front. My “guide to being a successful marketer” book has a title on the left and not centered with the background. Who is going to buy a book from an author that cannot even center a title? Me of course. Are these minor flaws a big deal? Readers subconsciously dislike covers that do not come together.
What does this have to do with projectors? All of my cover efforts gave me a new problem. Just as I am painfully aware of movie cues, bad books covers now stand out. I see every single mistake and I now hate going to bookstores.
I suppose of all the problems to have; bad book covers are not that big of a deal. Maybe there is a self-help book out there for me? Off to the bookstore to find one? Gahhhh.
Older projectors held up to 20 minutes of film and our projector had 40-minute reels. Each theater had two projectors and when one ran low on film, the projectionist would execute a “changeover.” In order to do this, they would first hear an automatic bell when the projector had about five minutes of film to project (or they would set an alarm.) They would then start up the arc lamp and get ready to turn on the motor. Seven seconds before the end of the reel, a “start cue” would appear in the upper right-hand part of the screen. This felt like an exciting moment as I turned on the motor. The start cue looks like a scratchy white ring circle, sold black circle or red ring circle. Five seconds would count down and then the “changeover cue” would appear. The operator had two seconds of film to close the damper on one projector, open the other damper and switch the sound over. Later, the “presto-changeover” company developed a button that did all of this.
Now projectors are either digital or they use a platter which uses a massive (six feet wide) reel of film to eliminate changeovers. I have not projected for years but I still see these changeover cues when I watch movies. Of course, I point out the cues to my friends to annoy them.
Book covers are the primary advertising tool to get a reader’s attention. If an author fails to put effort into this critical step, their book does not capture a reader’s attention. When I began writing, my self-publishing helper Bethany helped me to develop a book cover. She encouraged me to study successful book covers. Bethany also pointed out the many flaws that bad book covers had. I looked at hundreds of covers and formed ideas of what my book should look like. We worked on concept art and discussed all the necessary elements to create a solid cover.
Book covers start out with the title. The font and layout of the title should all tie into the graphics and author’s name. There are many pitfalls to the tile like having a “flowery” font on a serious book. The cover graphics must flow into the theme. For example, if the book is about submarines, it needs to have something to do with submarines on the cover. The graphics serve as the primary tool to visually inform the reader about the book.
Books can have flashy graphic designs or they use simple elements on plain backgrounds. Overall, the look should be bold. The author wants readers to buy the book. The cover needs to reach a reader at a primal level and jam open their wallet.
What are all the elements? This is a complex answer that has a zen quality to it. It took me hours of studying good book covers with a detached mindset to see the patterns. I also looked at hundreds of books with 1-star reviews. I began to see the elements come together in successful covers and the many flaws of poorly designed covers.
I recently came across a book where the author described a harrowing tale about surviving a remote plane crash. The cover had a picture of himself on a rock in the wilderness. I instantly noticed he used an out-of-focus picture. Really? I wanted to yell, “Digital cameras have gigabytes of memory! Take 100 pictures and use the one that is in focus! This is important!” I have an adventure novel where the title font is square and the font of the author's name is round. I have another book where the back cover artwork does not have the same theme as the front. My “guide to being a successful marketer” book has a title on the left and not centered with the background. Who is going to buy a book from an author that cannot even center a title? Me of course. Are these minor flaws a big deal? Readers subconsciously dislike covers that do not come together.
What does this have to do with projectors? All of my cover efforts gave me a new problem. Just as I am painfully aware of movie cues, bad books covers now stand out. I see every single mistake and I now hate going to bookstores.
I suppose of all the problems to have; bad book covers are not that big of a deal. Maybe there is a self-help book out there for me? Off to the bookstore to find one? Gahhhh.
May 22, 2019
In the Mood to Write
In previous blogs, I discussed the source of my story ideas but I haven’t addressed the process of getting them out of my head. While my methods are straightforward, they do have some nuances.
A big part of the process requires me to be in the right mood in order to write well. I also require this uplifting mindset to properly edit, market and accomplish other book-related tasks. To fully explain this topic, I need to wind the clock back to the beginning of my writing adventure.
During a fun period of unemployment, I found myself with a lot of time. I spent the majority of this time thinking up business ideas and trying to turn them into reality. From an early age, I wanted to be a writer and unemployment offered me the opportunity. On, 3/12/2016 at 4:29 PM, I took the leap.
I began typing for six hours a day. I knew the plot, and the words flowed. However, a few months into the process, I noticed a pattern. There were times that I could not write well. Eventually, I learned that I needed to have the right mindset in order to write well. As the months went by, I worked hard to figure out the best way to get into the mood. It begins with a conscious decision to write.
I begin by testing the waters and read what I’ve written. When I am confident, I begin making corrections. If I encounter resistance, I stop. This has been a hard lesson. I have done a lot of damage by writing or self-editing in the wrong mindset. It took months of self-editing cleaning up the mess I made by forcing myself to write.
What about the bad parts of writing? Once in the mood, I can market without getting angry and I look forward to finding errors while self-editing. I now understand that writing is different from other activities. For example, I don’t need to be in the mood to pull weeds. I simply push through the negative emotion and begin a mindless unpleasant task.
Strange side topic. When I’m at work and I have to create a technical document, I find that I need to be in the mood to be creative. Upon deep reflection, this has always been the case.
If I cannot get into the mood to write, I find that a distraction can help and I often watch YouTube videos. When enough time has passed, I go back to self-editing. When all seems well, I switch to writing. Usually, the words flow and I appreciate the joy associated with creating something new.
When I am not in the mood, I feel a conscious block not to begin. It feels like a physical barrier in the form of mental resistance. This feeling is different from the negative anticipation of going to the dentist. The desire not to write is more physical; like being hungry when no food is available.
How do I know I am in the mood? Simple. I appreciate the moment. Writing is fun, exciting, challenging and rewarding. In a way, I turn off the non-creative part of my mind and become the magical author. This person has the freedom to create an imaginary world. I put myself into the story as the character. What are they thinking? Why did they do that? How should they react? What would really upset them? As I self-edit, I concentrate on sentence structure and logic. I also think about the big picture and how each sentence relates to the overall story.
Writing is a privilege and I am lucky to have the drive, talent, and means to enjoy this activity. It is something I look forward to doing, yet it is something that I cannot always get into. A true enigma.
A big part of the process requires me to be in the right mood in order to write well. I also require this uplifting mindset to properly edit, market and accomplish other book-related tasks. To fully explain this topic, I need to wind the clock back to the beginning of my writing adventure.
During a fun period of unemployment, I found myself with a lot of time. I spent the majority of this time thinking up business ideas and trying to turn them into reality. From an early age, I wanted to be a writer and unemployment offered me the opportunity. On, 3/12/2016 at 4:29 PM, I took the leap.
I began typing for six hours a day. I knew the plot, and the words flowed. However, a few months into the process, I noticed a pattern. There were times that I could not write well. Eventually, I learned that I needed to have the right mindset in order to write well. As the months went by, I worked hard to figure out the best way to get into the mood. It begins with a conscious decision to write.
I begin by testing the waters and read what I’ve written. When I am confident, I begin making corrections. If I encounter resistance, I stop. This has been a hard lesson. I have done a lot of damage by writing or self-editing in the wrong mindset. It took months of self-editing cleaning up the mess I made by forcing myself to write.
What about the bad parts of writing? Once in the mood, I can market without getting angry and I look forward to finding errors while self-editing. I now understand that writing is different from other activities. For example, I don’t need to be in the mood to pull weeds. I simply push through the negative emotion and begin a mindless unpleasant task.
Strange side topic. When I’m at work and I have to create a technical document, I find that I need to be in the mood to be creative. Upon deep reflection, this has always been the case.
If I cannot get into the mood to write, I find that a distraction can help and I often watch YouTube videos. When enough time has passed, I go back to self-editing. When all seems well, I switch to writing. Usually, the words flow and I appreciate the joy associated with creating something new.
When I am not in the mood, I feel a conscious block not to begin. It feels like a physical barrier in the form of mental resistance. This feeling is different from the negative anticipation of going to the dentist. The desire not to write is more physical; like being hungry when no food is available.
How do I know I am in the mood? Simple. I appreciate the moment. Writing is fun, exciting, challenging and rewarding. In a way, I turn off the non-creative part of my mind and become the magical author. This person has the freedom to create an imaginary world. I put myself into the story as the character. What are they thinking? Why did they do that? How should they react? What would really upset them? As I self-edit, I concentrate on sentence structure and logic. I also think about the big picture and how each sentence relates to the overall story.
Writing is a privilege and I am lucky to have the drive, talent, and means to enjoy this activity. It is something I look forward to doing, yet it is something that I cannot always get into. A true enigma.
May 15, 2019
The Worst Thing I Almost Did
Entertainment follows a specific pattern. A character is defined, they encounter difficulty, which leads to action followed by resolution. A classic example is Luke Skywalker learning the truth about his father. The audience loved the suspense, the surprise, and the amazing aftermath. Real life has similar dramatic moments and people appreciate the drama of resolving their own issues.
In life and in a story, we appreciate a beginning middle and end. We don’t often consider something that might have happened to be a relevant circumstance. I am referring to something different from a narrow escape such as a person starting a fight and then narrowly escape being punched. The person would learn that it is not a good idea to get into fights. My topic is slightly different; allow me to explain.
Around the age of 20, I went to the movies with a friend. Afterward, we walked toward the parking lot. Near our car, we came across an 18-year-old walking (away from us) with his father. This kid had gone out of his way to look like a complete punk. He had put in safety pin piercings all around his head, grotesquely shaved off his hair with orange/yellow hair dye and wore a satanic shirt. A great example of all that is wrong with society.
Well, this obscene sight upset me and I decided to do something about the idiot who ruined my evening with his deplorable personal choices. I walked up to him with the intent of saying, “You look terrible!” I actually planned to say something far worse, but this blog is intended to attract friendly readers.
When I came to him in anger, my opinion changed. The 12-year-old boy had been severely burned and his entire face looked radically disfigured. The severe damage made him look a lot older. The safety pins were actually surgical staples from a recent reconstruction operation. The majority of his hair would never grow back and what little remained had been stained by orange antiseptic around the staples. His “satanic” shirt upon closer inspection proclaimed his survival success at a Christian youth camp. The boy smiled at me. I immediately understood the sight before me as a happy child with his father who had just attended their first movie together after a traumatic event.
I walked away feeling like the biggest jerk in the world. To this day, I reflect upon that moment and I believe the experience helped me to become a better person.
It is difficult to write a character that experienced an event like this. Bill almost insulted a boy and then he felt bad. Why? It would read a lot better if Bill actually insulted the boy and then the boy began crying. Side note, the smile crushed me even more than his crying ever would have. At that moment, the boy became a bigger man than myself.
Readers cannot relate to a near event. “Bill thought about the incident for weeks.” Why? Technically, Bill didn’t do anything wrong. So, the kid smiled at him. Big deal. Hey Bill! Man up and move on! No harm, no foul.
This incident highlights the limitations of writing. My feelings about the incident are valid but abstract. The kid’s smile defines the moment, and that’s not logical. The defining moment should have revolved around painful conflict.
Well. What can we conclude? Number one. Be careful who you insult. Number two. Life is complex and rarely predictable. Number three. Real life can be difficult to write about and readers will not necessarily relate to an incident in the same way as the author. Number four. It’s fun to explore these topics.
In life and in a story, we appreciate a beginning middle and end. We don’t often consider something that might have happened to be a relevant circumstance. I am referring to something different from a narrow escape such as a person starting a fight and then narrowly escape being punched. The person would learn that it is not a good idea to get into fights. My topic is slightly different; allow me to explain.
Around the age of 20, I went to the movies with a friend. Afterward, we walked toward the parking lot. Near our car, we came across an 18-year-old walking (away from us) with his father. This kid had gone out of his way to look like a complete punk. He had put in safety pin piercings all around his head, grotesquely shaved off his hair with orange/yellow hair dye and wore a satanic shirt. A great example of all that is wrong with society.
Well, this obscene sight upset me and I decided to do something about the idiot who ruined my evening with his deplorable personal choices. I walked up to him with the intent of saying, “You look terrible!” I actually planned to say something far worse, but this blog is intended to attract friendly readers.
When I came to him in anger, my opinion changed. The 12-year-old boy had been severely burned and his entire face looked radically disfigured. The severe damage made him look a lot older. The safety pins were actually surgical staples from a recent reconstruction operation. The majority of his hair would never grow back and what little remained had been stained by orange antiseptic around the staples. His “satanic” shirt upon closer inspection proclaimed his survival success at a Christian youth camp. The boy smiled at me. I immediately understood the sight before me as a happy child with his father who had just attended their first movie together after a traumatic event.
I walked away feeling like the biggest jerk in the world. To this day, I reflect upon that moment and I believe the experience helped me to become a better person.
It is difficult to write a character that experienced an event like this. Bill almost insulted a boy and then he felt bad. Why? It would read a lot better if Bill actually insulted the boy and then the boy began crying. Side note, the smile crushed me even more than his crying ever would have. At that moment, the boy became a bigger man than myself.
Readers cannot relate to a near event. “Bill thought about the incident for weeks.” Why? Technically, Bill didn’t do anything wrong. So, the kid smiled at him. Big deal. Hey Bill! Man up and move on! No harm, no foul.
This incident highlights the limitations of writing. My feelings about the incident are valid but abstract. The kid’s smile defines the moment, and that’s not logical. The defining moment should have revolved around painful conflict.
Well. What can we conclude? Number one. Be careful who you insult. Number two. Life is complex and rarely predictable. Number three. Real life can be difficult to write about and readers will not necessarily relate to an incident in the same way as the author. Number four. It’s fun to explore these topics.
May 12, 2019
Do I Complain Too Much?
Around the age of ten, I developed a negative outlook on life. My parents have always been and I’m not sure where my negative attitude came from. Everything sucked, looked stupid or had a problem. Of course, I complained, looked down on everybody and generally felt contempt for everything.
Around the age of 17, my friends and family informed me of my attitude problems. One day, I made a personal decision to change my life. I forced myself to withhold my negative opinions and act pleasant. Of course, I still had negative thoughts, and I continued to look down on the world, but I kept these feeling in check.
It took a lot of effort to make this happen and there were setbacks. As time passed, I continued to reserve my negative opinions and eventually, it became natural not to think in harsh terms.
Today, I lead a happy life and I try very hard not to focus on the negative aspects of this wonderful world. I believe if I hadn’t changed, then my negative attitude would have prevented successful job interviews, my friends would have abandoned me and I could never attract a wonderful wife. I am proof that it is possible to radically change one’s attitude.
On the subject of writing, I don’t think that I would have had the desire or skill to write. Authors need to have a good foundation to enlighten readers. Also, a good story requires characters to get into trouble and then pull themselves out. Characters typically require a positive reason behind their motivations. Negative “complain” books hold little market and they get harsh reviews.
Recently I looked at my blog topics and I noticed a trend of complaining. So, let’s explore this concept and see if I need to adjust in my blogging attitude.
One of my central topics continues to be my struggle with Grammar. I consider grammar to be a challenge and I do my best to overcome my shortcomings. Do I complain about Grammar? Proper grammar has been a persistent issue and I do complain about it. However, I choose not to complain about other people’s grammar. Yet, I now find that reading poor grammar upsets me and I see future blog subjects on this topic. That’s something to think about.
I often discuss my marketing difficulties. Marketing is hard and my efforts have been unsuccessful. To make matters worse, modern society loathes unproven new books. This frustrates me, angers me and overall reveals my personal flaws. I suppose it’s natural to complain about this topic. Does that mean that I get a pass? Hard to say. Have I reverted to my negative ways? Clearly, I’m complaining about the system. Our world has yet to embrace Bill the author.
I recently blogged about the topic of food descriptions and how often people lie. Well, I must admit, this is a deep dive into negative thoughts. Dennis Miller used to say on Saturday Night Live Weekend Update, "Now, I don't want to go on a rant here, but...” He would then lash out at a topic that upset him. I always found these “humorous discussions” to be vastly funny and insightful. However, lambasting the problem in a humorous way no longer has the same appeal. I now prefer to clearly identify a problem and focus on constructive solutions.
Looking back on the last three paragraphs, I can see a negative trend forming. Hmmm. Well, this is insightful on a personal level. New goal. My blog will have a more positive focus. Granted, I still have a lot to say about marketing and grammar. I simply will have to pretend to be positive. Now that’s good marketing!
Around the age of 17, my friends and family informed me of my attitude problems. One day, I made a personal decision to change my life. I forced myself to withhold my negative opinions and act pleasant. Of course, I still had negative thoughts, and I continued to look down on the world, but I kept these feeling in check.
It took a lot of effort to make this happen and there were setbacks. As time passed, I continued to reserve my negative opinions and eventually, it became natural not to think in harsh terms.
Today, I lead a happy life and I try very hard not to focus on the negative aspects of this wonderful world. I believe if I hadn’t changed, then my negative attitude would have prevented successful job interviews, my friends would have abandoned me and I could never attract a wonderful wife. I am proof that it is possible to radically change one’s attitude.
On the subject of writing, I don’t think that I would have had the desire or skill to write. Authors need to have a good foundation to enlighten readers. Also, a good story requires characters to get into trouble and then pull themselves out. Characters typically require a positive reason behind their motivations. Negative “complain” books hold little market and they get harsh reviews.
Recently I looked at my blog topics and I noticed a trend of complaining. So, let’s explore this concept and see if I need to adjust in my blogging attitude.
One of my central topics continues to be my struggle with Grammar. I consider grammar to be a challenge and I do my best to overcome my shortcomings. Do I complain about Grammar? Proper grammar has been a persistent issue and I do complain about it. However, I choose not to complain about other people’s grammar. Yet, I now find that reading poor grammar upsets me and I see future blog subjects on this topic. That’s something to think about.
I often discuss my marketing difficulties. Marketing is hard and my efforts have been unsuccessful. To make matters worse, modern society loathes unproven new books. This frustrates me, angers me and overall reveals my personal flaws. I suppose it’s natural to complain about this topic. Does that mean that I get a pass? Hard to say. Have I reverted to my negative ways? Clearly, I’m complaining about the system. Our world has yet to embrace Bill the author.
I recently blogged about the topic of food descriptions and how often people lie. Well, I must admit, this is a deep dive into negative thoughts. Dennis Miller used to say on Saturday Night Live Weekend Update, "Now, I don't want to go on a rant here, but...” He would then lash out at a topic that upset him. I always found these “humorous discussions” to be vastly funny and insightful. However, lambasting the problem in a humorous way no longer has the same appeal. I now prefer to clearly identify a problem and focus on constructive solutions.
Looking back on the last three paragraphs, I can see a negative trend forming. Hmmm. Well, this is insightful on a personal level. New goal. My blog will have a more positive focus. Granted, I still have a lot to say about marketing and grammar. I simply will have to pretend to be positive. Now that’s good marketing!
May 8, 2019
When Intelligent People Disagree
People are funny. We consider ourselves to be evolved, liberated, experienced and civilized. However, inside we have many fundamental flaws. I find one of our many faults to be rather entertaining if you can disconnect from the topic. I like watching two intelligent people empathetically disagreeing.
This is different from logically disagreeing. For example, let’s say that Tom remembers that Alan Alda didn’t star in the first season of the television show MASH. Sally disagreed and they refer to the IMBD website. Sally locates the correct information and Tom (while disappointed) concluded that he made an error. Logical disagreements occur in our lives without a second thought.
This disagreement could have taken a drastic turn. Tom could have argued that IMDB didn’t have the correct information. When confronted by another website, Tom still refuses to acknowledge his error. His attempt to prove an incorrect fact can go far beyond a simple discussion. Tom can ask all his friends until one (incorrectly) remembers that fact. Tom then searches the internet to locate an obscure reference that mistakenly confirms his fact. For Tom, this is all the proof he needs and he will harshly argue his mistaken belief for the rest of this life. Side note: A former coworker fully believed that Alan Alda incorrect fact and he couldn’t be convinced otherwise.
Now, if we can take a step back and disconnect from the topic, an exchange of this type is fun to watch. The logical, intelligent and respected Tom will put all his great attributes aside in the argument. He will grasp at the smallest thread to prove his point.
Essentially, a bad person will take over Tom and he will descend into anarchy. As the argument continues, Tom’s intelligence will diminish and he will resort to underhanded tactics. This will include lying, cheating and tossing his morals aside. Afterwards, Tom will not apologize and he will leave a wrath of destruction that poisons his image.
And this is fun to watch? From the sidelines, it is hilarious to listen to Tom’s absurd arguments. “I got a… letter from Alan Alda saying he was not in the first season.” “Really? Let’s see it.” “Oh, I just lost it.” The lies, wild schemes and silly attempts to convince others are better than any television show.
Tom has blundered into one of my favorite topics. Confirmation Bias is a part of our mind that refuses to accept a certain fact. An honest logical person will lie, destroy evidence, become hostile, make unsubstantiated arguments and refuse to acknowledge what is directly in front of them. For certain topics, Confirmation Bias overrides our morals, logic, common sense, judgement and manors. My wife calls Confirmation Bias “the science of being stubborn.”
Often the source of a Confirmation Bias comes out of a topic related to the bias. The reason that Tom didn’t correctly recall Alan Alda’s roll actually came from an article in a magazine where Anan made a remark about Tom’s favorite musician. Tom cannot confront this unrelated fact directly and instead clings to an incorrect belief.
We can see clear cases of Confirmation Bias in controversial topics such as religion, climate change, politics and alternative medicine. All humans have issues and we all have topics we feel strongly about. The difference is how we react. For example, I appreciate the band Rush for many reasons. However, I do acknowledge their lyrics are preachy and the lead singer has a squeaky voice. I also acknowledge their music is not for everybody and I respect those people who care not to listen to their music. Do I feel pain when somebody criticizes Rush? Of course. Do I lash out at them and lie? I choose not to.
On the same topic, I don’t appreciate Jazz and I prefer not to listen to it. Is this bad? Perhaps. One must pick their media battles in life. I admit that I do have a bias (or strong passion) toward Rush and a bias against Jazz. The difference is that in an argument, I can fully admit that Rush has flaws and the musical genre of Jazz has very impressive musicians. In my mind, I have a bias but not a full-blown Confirmation Bias.
What is the difference between Confirmation Bias and a passion towards a topic? A long time ago, scientists proved that the earth to be round. At the time, these scientists were ridiculed for their mistaken beliefs. These scientists passionately believed in their cause and eventually their beliefs were accepted as fact.
Did those scientists have a Confirmation Bias? Or does being correct negate the concept of a Confirmation Bias? The difference is that if the scientists used dishonorable means to prove their point, their actions certainly would fit the Confirmation Bias definition. Otherwise, these scientists simply were passionate for their cause.
Now, on to the topic of writing. It is difficult for a character to have a Confirmation Bias. Readers generally like to know the motives behind their character. “Tom refused to believe that that Alan Alda joined MASH in the first season.” Why did he feel this way? Why is he now making silly arguments? Readers get upset when they are forced fill in the blanks. In general, characters are stubborn for specific well-explained reasons or they have a well-defined backstory. In this area, books/media differ a lot from real life.
What happens when we find a Confirmation Bias in our own lives? This takes a lot of personal effort to identify, understand and confront. It takes even more effort to overcome. Tom would have to understand his deep passion against Alan Alda. Eventually, he might answer, “I used to think Alan Alda didn’t join the show until the second season.”
As for me, I am going to continue to listen to Rush and write about characters with crazy well-defined motives. Or do I have Confirmation Bias against characters that don’t have clear motives? I’ll never know.
This is different from logically disagreeing. For example, let’s say that Tom remembers that Alan Alda didn’t star in the first season of the television show MASH. Sally disagreed and they refer to the IMBD website. Sally locates the correct information and Tom (while disappointed) concluded that he made an error. Logical disagreements occur in our lives without a second thought.
This disagreement could have taken a drastic turn. Tom could have argued that IMDB didn’t have the correct information. When confronted by another website, Tom still refuses to acknowledge his error. His attempt to prove an incorrect fact can go far beyond a simple discussion. Tom can ask all his friends until one (incorrectly) remembers that fact. Tom then searches the internet to locate an obscure reference that mistakenly confirms his fact. For Tom, this is all the proof he needs and he will harshly argue his mistaken belief for the rest of this life. Side note: A former coworker fully believed that Alan Alda incorrect fact and he couldn’t be convinced otherwise.
Now, if we can take a step back and disconnect from the topic, an exchange of this type is fun to watch. The logical, intelligent and respected Tom will put all his great attributes aside in the argument. He will grasp at the smallest thread to prove his point.
Essentially, a bad person will take over Tom and he will descend into anarchy. As the argument continues, Tom’s intelligence will diminish and he will resort to underhanded tactics. This will include lying, cheating and tossing his morals aside. Afterwards, Tom will not apologize and he will leave a wrath of destruction that poisons his image.
And this is fun to watch? From the sidelines, it is hilarious to listen to Tom’s absurd arguments. “I got a… letter from Alan Alda saying he was not in the first season.” “Really? Let’s see it.” “Oh, I just lost it.” The lies, wild schemes and silly attempts to convince others are better than any television show.
Tom has blundered into one of my favorite topics. Confirmation Bias is a part of our mind that refuses to accept a certain fact. An honest logical person will lie, destroy evidence, become hostile, make unsubstantiated arguments and refuse to acknowledge what is directly in front of them. For certain topics, Confirmation Bias overrides our morals, logic, common sense, judgement and manors. My wife calls Confirmation Bias “the science of being stubborn.”
Often the source of a Confirmation Bias comes out of a topic related to the bias. The reason that Tom didn’t correctly recall Alan Alda’s roll actually came from an article in a magazine where Anan made a remark about Tom’s favorite musician. Tom cannot confront this unrelated fact directly and instead clings to an incorrect belief.
We can see clear cases of Confirmation Bias in controversial topics such as religion, climate change, politics and alternative medicine. All humans have issues and we all have topics we feel strongly about. The difference is how we react. For example, I appreciate the band Rush for many reasons. However, I do acknowledge their lyrics are preachy and the lead singer has a squeaky voice. I also acknowledge their music is not for everybody and I respect those people who care not to listen to their music. Do I feel pain when somebody criticizes Rush? Of course. Do I lash out at them and lie? I choose not to.
On the same topic, I don’t appreciate Jazz and I prefer not to listen to it. Is this bad? Perhaps. One must pick their media battles in life. I admit that I do have a bias (or strong passion) toward Rush and a bias against Jazz. The difference is that in an argument, I can fully admit that Rush has flaws and the musical genre of Jazz has very impressive musicians. In my mind, I have a bias but not a full-blown Confirmation Bias.
What is the difference between Confirmation Bias and a passion towards a topic? A long time ago, scientists proved that the earth to be round. At the time, these scientists were ridiculed for their mistaken beliefs. These scientists passionately believed in their cause and eventually their beliefs were accepted as fact.
Did those scientists have a Confirmation Bias? Or does being correct negate the concept of a Confirmation Bias? The difference is that if the scientists used dishonorable means to prove their point, their actions certainly would fit the Confirmation Bias definition. Otherwise, these scientists simply were passionate for their cause.
Now, on to the topic of writing. It is difficult for a character to have a Confirmation Bias. Readers generally like to know the motives behind their character. “Tom refused to believe that that Alan Alda joined MASH in the first season.” Why did he feel this way? Why is he now making silly arguments? Readers get upset when they are forced fill in the blanks. In general, characters are stubborn for specific well-explained reasons or they have a well-defined backstory. In this area, books/media differ a lot from real life.
What happens when we find a Confirmation Bias in our own lives? This takes a lot of personal effort to identify, understand and confront. It takes even more effort to overcome. Tom would have to understand his deep passion against Alan Alda. Eventually, he might answer, “I used to think Alan Alda didn’t join the show until the second season.”
As for me, I am going to continue to listen to Rush and write about characters with crazy well-defined motives. Or do I have Confirmation Bias against characters that don’t have clear motives? I’ll never know.
