Alex Laybourne's Blog, page 65

Hot-Damn I Won an Award

I know that a great many people have a less than appreciative view on the blog awards that are rolling around the net. I am not one of these people. If someone took the time to read my blog and put me forward for an award, then I am over the moon with that. It means that mine stood out enough to be (normally one of a select few) that receive the award at that particular time.

It is therefore with a great sense of humility (and a little bit of internal singing and dancing) I thank my good friend John Mountain owner of one of my favorite blogs; Written in Blood, for he is the kind soul that nominated me for this award.

I am not someone who is comfortable in receiving praise, and so find myself oddly tongue-tied when it comes to this post. Under normal circumstances, most blog awards come with a specific set of rules that should be followed, some personal revelations and such, so in keeping with this, I guess I will reveal a few things about myself, and reveal my three nominees for this award.

I am (or rather was, and will be again) an avid golfer. I started playing in 1990 (when I was six) and only stopped when I left the UK. I plan to start again once the kids are older or when I can write full-time and not have to sit in an office all day.
I have four kids and yet would want more. I love the idea of adoption, and if I ever have enough money to be eligible, I would definitely adopt.
I hate odd numbers, everything has to be even. The volume on the tv, the radio in the car, I must have even numbers of things, like black and blue pens on my desk etc. The same with children, I couldn’t have one more, or adopt one child, I would need to take it to six. Something my wife is rather uncertain of.

Alright, alright I will stop with the madness, and while you wipe the blood from your eyes I will pass on this rather prestigious award to three bloggers I feel deserving of it. That is not to say there are only three, for I could name several more, however, three are the rules, and so three is shall be.

Meeka’s Mind – A wonderful and honest blog written by a lady who, despite being half way around the world, has become  close friend.

Writing is Hard Word – Roger Colby’s blog is always a great fun read and one I open the instant the email appears in my inbox.

Doing the Write Thing - Sonia G Medeiros got me hooked with her series on my all time favorite character in both books and tv, Dexter Morgan. Since then I have read everything she has written and a lot of the older posts too.

I hope that the nominees are happy with the award, however, should they choose not to post about it, I will not take offence. As I said at the start, blog awards are often viewed with mixed feelings, and I do not want to force anybody’s hand (unless it is to buy my books)

 

 

Honesty is the Best Policy

Last week, just after my post about over description in modern writing, I got my ass handed to me on a plate by a reader and fellow writer.

I will leave him nameless for now, simply because I plan to kidnap him, and don’t want to give the game away just yet. Before you start to panic, I have no intention of hurting this man, but rather plan to keep him locked away just long enough for Stockholm Syndrome to kick in, at which point he will become my new best friend.

I am a writer, so of course my ego is fragile, my self-esteem balanced on a knife-edge that sees me bungee jumping from ecstasy to despair and back again on a daily basis. Yet, I appreciate honesty, and would rather be ripped apart – in a constructive way – every day than have ten people filling my head with unwarranted and unnecessary praise.

I think that sometimes, we get too caught up in the friendly environment that is the indie community and lose sight of the fact that a good ass whopping every now and then, when delivered in the right way, and through the correct medium, is sometimes just what the doctor ordered.

The person in question did not launch into a tirade on my blog, nor did they pat me on the back and then bitch about me when I wasn’t looking. Both of which are approaches I have seen taken. No, this person read my post and took the time to write  a lengthy response including his  opinion on the theory I raised, as well as pointing out some of my errors within the post; grammar issues and the like. He then sent it to my via a Facebook email whereby a conversation developed, and I hope a friendship will too.

It was a personal approach and one that helped me immensely. My blog posts will never be perfect, because I do not have the time to make them such. I write what comes to my mind, off the cuff shall we say. I have a very small writing window, and what time I have is ultimately reserved for my fiction work. Therefore most posts get a spell check and cursory grammar sweep, but mistakes will seep through and while it is not ideal, I am come to accept it.  I have more room for poetic (language) license on the blog than in my fiction after all.

Thanks for reading.

Writing Winds Blowing in a Different Direction for a Modern Audience

I am currently reading two books, one written by an indie author, and one by a more mainstream writer. I will name neither, as it is not important for the context of this post. Why? Because the comparisons I can draw are not limited to these two texts, but rather they confirm something I have noticed across the writing range.

There is a fundamental change it would seem in writing, a change that caters towards the laziness that is sweeping through modern society. It is a change that panders to lazy readers, who want to read but want to have to do no work in order to enjoy it. Of course, reading should be as easy on the eyes as a the Swedish beach volleyball team, but there is a difference between easy reading and lazy reading. This brings us nicely to the point of my post.

I know that there are going to be examples to disprove my hypothesis, but are there not always such articles.

Description is all well and good, a necessary part of writing. How could we every hope to set the scene without describing anything. Even movie scripts give some allure to the tone of the scene.  However, overkill is a sweeping epidemic that I have noticed, not just in indie writers, but across the published world. Even certain magazines that I read from time to time seem to have taken to describing everything in a much finer level of detail.

This may all be well and good, but I feel that, as a reader, I don’t want to have every single aspect of a scene laid out before me. I like to be able to conjure my own scene. That is what sets books apart from movies, the ability to add small personal aspects and perspectives to things, to bring the story to life in a way that means more to us than it may to the person reading the same book three rows back on the bus to work.

Prose can be flowing, rich in context and structure and still leave more than enough room for a readers personal interpretation of the scene. Similarly, a scene can be described with a dull, military clarity and leave absolutely nothing to the imagination. A case in point is the scene I have just finished reading, in which we are introduced to a new character. A male, and the author goes to such lengths to describe the character, talking about the curve of his brow, the rise and roll of the folds when he scowled, the shape of his eyes tha exact color and hue, their position on his face etc. In short, it was too much, the image made so clear that it lost all focus because I no longer had to work for it.

Readers should not expect to have everything in a novel served up to them on a silver platter with written instructions included for those still too lazy to think. Writing is not a passive event, it should be active, and we as writers should certainly not pander to the demands of such an attitude.

My Unfortunate Hiatus; Getting Back in the Saddle

The last couple of months have been trying to say the least, and as a result I have had to force myself to step away from my writing more and more in order to pursue other endeavors… why, not because I enjoyed it, or because I wanted to, but simple because had I not have done so, we would have not managed to pay the bills.

It was a tought couple of months, and I had to pick up more and more freelance work, which ok, is still writing, but not the sort I wanted to be doing. It was nothing but an endless stream of internet articles all based around Search Engine Optimization for a particular niche within the internet that shall remain nameless. It sucked, but got us through a tough time, and bought the kids their Christmas gifts.

Luckily, the real touch times are behind us, at least for the time being, and so I can put the brakes on the freelance work, just a little, and get back to doing what I really love… writing this blog, and writing / editing my books.

Not being able to do so for the better part of two months was painful, it really was like somebody had separated part of me from myself, and just thrown it away.

This break merely reinforced in my mind the knowledge that… I love writing, and there is not one other thing out there that I could ever imagine myself doing. It makes me smile, it relaxes me and helps me escape from the world. I could not be happier to be back and hope you are all still here with me, following and reading my often random musings.

I am heavily on the editing bandwagon, with my second short story collection midway through hard copy edits, then it is type them up, grammar edits and then off to beta readers. I would love to say I can have all of this take care of by the end of the year, but the truth is I won’t. I hope the hardcopy edits will be done, and part of the write-up, but my time is still limited with the kids (naturally) and the day job (sadly) going first. Not that it will stop me, I mean I got up at 3.45 this morning and so can finish this post and get a little bit of work done on some things.

Those Small Moments That Prove I’m Getting Old

I had better start by saying, I am only 28, I am not old, nor do I feel old, and nor with I care when I am old. I am happy with each year I can add to my counter, and do not fear any number that stands before me, although mourning a few that have passed is all well and good.

This just struck me the other day when I was reading a newspaper article, and then, as my mind does, it snowballs, and suddenly I found myself staring down the loaded barrels of the aging shotgun, just wondering, where did the time go.

This little fact set it off…

David Beckham is 37! for a football player, that is ancient, and his retirement, no matter how much he loves the game, is immanent (even Teddy Sheringham had to give in to age).

I read this line of text a few times, and then sat back and though… my kids will never grow up and see David Beckham play football. OK, they will have the stars of their own generation to adore and gossip about, but they will not see David Beckham play. This guy was one of the sporting icons of my youth.

I remember watching a champions league game where Manchester United played out to IFK Göteborg, and in the starting eleven were a number of young, unproven players, hopeful and eager to get their shot at glory. This included, among others, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt, David Beckham plus Garry and Phil Neville. All of these players not only went on to become Red Devil superstars, but were the backbone of my sporting generation. These players are all now of a similar age to Mr Beckham and in some cases have already retired from the sport.

It may only seem like a simple thing, but thinking about how the people who I grew up watching play are now retiring I feel inexplicably aged. There are already a handful of managers and coaches involved in the game who, when I see them, I can remark ‘ I remember him when he was a player’ but these were people already in their twilight years when I came along. To start saying for the people I grew up watching just seems wrong.

Sport and Heartbreak; Hand in Hand On and Off the Pitch

I am a sports fan, while I don’t get to watch it… ever (a side effect of having 4 kids and a wife that dislikes sport with a passion), but still, I love sport. I read all the sites (BBC/sport and ESPN being my main sources of information) news articles etc and so it was with a heavy heart that my weekend ended. Not only hearing about the tragic incidents involving Kansas City Linebacker Jovan Belcher, but also an even more disturbing story involving a amateur youth football (soccer) game here in the Netherlands.

Richard Nieuwenhuizen (41) was a running the line at a local amateur football club, where he was also a member when tragedy struck. Mr Nieuwenhuizen was attacked by several players involved in the game he was helping to officiate, a game in which is own son was playing. The three players aged fifteen (two of them) and sixteen kicked and stamped on him in a vicious attack. As a result, later that afternoon, Mr Nieuwenhuizen collapsed into a coma and died in hospital two days later as a result of that beating.

The three youths involved have been detained and authorities claim that they plan to prosecute them, however, this incident highlights a problem that is much larger than this one tragic incident. How can this sort of behavior exist in modern society. We are talking about children attacking an adult in the middle of a sports game, and then beating him to death…. wh? What would create such a reaction that this was the necessary outcome? It saddens me to say that it must have been because of an incident related to the game… GAME! I cannot get over this enough. Murder is never the answer, violence… ok, to be honest, yes, sometimes, but NOT like this.

Sure, the footballing world is reeling from such events, and everybody is crying out in a mixture of rage, condolence and sheer bewilderment. All amateur football has been cancelled next week, and armbands will be worn by professionals during their games. A nice gesture, but surely society will not expect that this will solve the problem.

We live in a society where violence towards one another is becoming not only commonplace, but accepted. Sports are a reflection of society as echoed by Sepp Blatter president of FIFA the sports global governing body.

“Football is a mirror of society and sadly, the same ills that afflict society – in this case violence – also manifest themselves in our game, “

Sadly, it is not just limited to football, just the other week in the Netherlands, a fight broke out at a kick boxing gala which ended with gunshots and fatalities. This can also be linked to a series of assault charges and aggressive incidents involving top Dutch / Moroccan fighter Badr Hari, who has now been reprimanded in custody pending charges that include attempted murder!!

Where will it end? I was brought up with the belief that sports were about self control. teamwork, discipline, and above all… fun.

The Next Big Thing

I have been tagged by the talented Solitaire Parke as part of The Next Big Thing train. I am speechless that someone would consider me for such a placement, and so would like to begin by saying Solitaire, thank you.

The main premise of this ‘tag’ is to discuss my current writing project. However, as it would happen, I am currently in between projects. I have a pile of editing to do, but most of it is short story collections. I have a book due for publication in December with the wonderful MayDecember Publications the first in my Highway to Hell horror trilogy, and so I guess, I should talk about that. Not only for you, but I will probably start writing the third installment in the new year and just love these characters so much, can quite happily talk about them all day long.

What is the working title of your book? Highway to Hell

Where did the idea come from for the book? That is a long story, as the novel itself started as something totally different. The original idea I had has actually not been responsible for three differen t books.

What genre does your book fall under? Horror

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I have never actually thought about this, and would not have a clue. I had no actors and actresses in my mind when writing it, and always said that as long as Uwe Bol doesn’t direct it then I am happy.

I would like to have a mix of known starts and unknowns in the movie.

I could easily put an actor or actress against the part. Shemar Moore as Marcus for example, but those links would simply be because I like them as actors not because they would fit the character perfectly.

And for the authors I have tagged:

Catherine Green

Matthew Munson

Todd Brown

Hannah Audrey Warren

Racheal McGillvary

November, December…. Holy Crap it’s Almost New Year!!

I cannot believe that it is almost December. Sinterklaas has arrived, and the kids are pumped about getting their gifts on December 5th. Where has the time gone? Anyway, that was not the point of this post, and so without further digression…

The end of the year is almost upon us, and while it is often a time for reflection, I will save that for the 31st. Instead, I would like to look ahead. Not too far mind you.

What are my plans for the rest of the year, and the start of 2013 (if we live past the 21st. I’m better we do just fine)…

Editing, that is sadly where my priorities lie these coming months. I have 4 completed works ready for edits. 3 short story collections and one novel. I am almost there with the first collection, just waiting back on some final beta comments, and then it is ready for submission.

I am mid-way through hard-copy edits on the second collection. It is tough going, because they are stories I wrote about two – two and a half years ago. So much has changed since then… I have changed so much since then. Needless to say, it is as though they were written by a stranger, and so edits are somewhat in-depth. Still, I love the stories, and am happy I can have the chance to improve them now.

The third collection I haven’t looked at yet, but anticipate a similar problem / opportunity for strengthening. The novel, I finished a month ago, and so will be a nicer (if that term can really be applied to editing) project, as it is fresher in my mind.

I realize I will not have all of this done by the new year. Realistically, I want to have the first collection submitted and the second with my beta readers, by new year. That is it for this year. I have a lot of freelance work on too which needs my attention daily.

Highway to Hell is due for release next month, and hopefully the second installment not too late into 2013. All things going well, I would love to have all my short stories and two novels published by the middle of the year, but that is as far into the future as I want to plan.

Besides, once all that editing is done, I can take a well earned weekend off, before starting to work on one of the 14 other projects I have ready to be written.

So what are your plans for the end of 2012?

RIP Larry Hagman 1931 – 2012

Blog Jitters…

It has been a while since I posted anything on here. I have not been neglecting my blog, but rather, took a planned hiatus. It has actually served several purposes; One was pleasing, one was frustrating and the other a pain in the ass. In other words a full spectrum of experiences have been had during my time away.

Yet, despite this absence being planned, I still feel guilty at not having posted anything.

So, what is it that has been keeping me so busy

1) NaNo

I started NaNo this year with no plan, no story and no clue as to where one would come from. I took a couple of ideas I had been playing with, combined them and for a while, it looked as though everything was going good. Then, somewhere along the way, everything went to shit, and I just found myself forcing words on a project that not only did I not care about, but was absolute bullshit for the most part. Needless to say, I scrapped it, and retired from NaNo. This retirement is also linked to the second item…

2′ Freelance Work

I have had to take on a load, (around 50k words) of freelance work simply in order to have enough money to make it to the end of the year. This has then in turn taken a lot of my…. now… ALL of my time. It saddens me as I don’t really enjoy the freelance stuff; website articles and content, and especially the topics it covers, but it is money in the bank and that is what I need. For a while I was doing NaNo, I was over 2000 words a day on that for a while, and then writing 1500 a day for the freelancing, but it just became too much, what with the office job kicking my ass, a vindictive manager that wants to force me out of the company, and the kids, who of course, I give my attention to when I am at home.

3) Stats

I am sure that many of my regular readers will know, I love stats, blog stats in particular, and knowing that I would not be posting this month, I wanted to check and see how my stats would compare. My returning visitors and or ‘searchability’.  To my surprise, I have been averaging close to 50 hits a day without posting anything. Granted I have several seasonal posts that I expected to get a lot of hits this month, but still I am happy that I have no been forgotten.

All in all, I have been running around like a blue arsed fly and cannot help but feel lost. I took a step back from the blog to gather my thoughts, I have to take the freelance work to… well, basically survive the year, and I am more than enough editing to keep me busy, and while I smell a plan brewing, that, is a post for another time.

I will end by saying, I am back and I have missed this.

Thank you.