Travis Thrasher's Blog, page 36

Endorsement For Paper Angels

(Wow--humbled to read this endorsement tonight on Amazon!)
"Paper Angels captures the true essence of The Salvation Army Angel Tree program and the true spirit of Christmas which is sharing and caring. I am pleased to recommend it to everyone as an inspirational story, for parents to not only share with their children but also to create a Christmas tradition for years to come."
—Lt. Col. Charles White, Salvation Army Officer and Founder of the Angel Tree program

Inspirations . . .

Journeying into the unknown . . .
One step closer.

KEEP GOING! Step Six To Writing A Novel (Writing Tip #87)

Sometimes the words on the screen or paper look like Egyptian hieroglyphics. Or passages written in Latin.
Sometimes you have nothing to give, no emotion to share, no excitement to type up and send out.
Somedays that sensational, sky-rocketing feeling deep inside of your soul is gone. And you're left to write uninspired horseshit.

Sometimes your head hurts from being up at 1:13 a.m. and 2:34 a.m and 4:32 a.m. the night before because of those wonderful little princesses that should be sleeping in their twin cribs.

Sometimes there's a scene or a setting that just feels plain old stupid.

Sometimes something somebody said sticks in your mind. A negative review. The lackluster sales. The bill collector asking about an overdue bill.

Sometimes you wonder what you're thinking doing writing acting feigning posing.

Somedays you slog through sucking and stinking and then you stare at the prose and know it reeks.

Sometimes you want to stop and take a break or at least slow down.

Sometimes the story seems simply lame. Just like you.

The difference here is that this—all of THIS wonderfully spiralling nonsense —does not stop you.

You are stubborn.

You are thick-headed.

You are strong-willed.

You can suck it up and bite down and keep the words coming.

You know that this is just a second, a moment, a phase of a bad day, an echo of a bad song gone astray. You know that tomorrow will be something better and newer and far more exciting.

Tomorrow you might write the best batch of your entire freaking life.

So you keep on. Midstream and midstory.

THIS is what separates you from so many.

Some have raw, oozing, awesome talent.

But you, dear sad sap of a soul, you have strength of spirit.

You have determination.

You keep going until you see the finish line.

Bad days and all.

Step Five To Writing A Novel (Writing Tip #86)

Create a routine for your writing and be consistent with that routine.
Do whatever works for you, but make sure you do it!
I've told this story before, but I tried getting up to write before I went off to my full-time job when I worked at a publisher. I'd be falling asleep at my desk at 5:30 in the morning. That routine didn't work for me. But grabbing a lunch break or two during the week worked as well as occasionally writing late at night.
Know what works and doesn't work for you. But be consistent.
The more you hold to your routine, the more you'll see your writing project grow. You don't have to cram 10,000 words into a writing session. Be slow and steady. But be consistent.
The more you write, the more you'll want to write. I really mean that. It doesn't mean you won't have bad days or times when the words aren't coming. But it will mean that you'll miss it when you're not writing.
Bit by bit. That's how you write a novel. Little by little.
I'm not sure if I buy the saying "Slow and steady wins the race." But I do believe that slow and steady can result in a finished novel.
Slow, steady, and (did I say this already?) consistent.

Every Breath You Take--Official Playlist

Playlists remind of these stories of mine I wrote. I poured every bit of my heart into this heart. But that doesn't always mean something is going to be a bonafide blockbuster, huh? Doesn't matter. I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to write this story.
Here's the official playlist because I had several as I was writing this story. If I could only make one cd, this would be it for this little love story.
(Thanks for asking, Meggs . . .)
#1. "Clair de lune" (from Suite Bergamasque) by Leon Fleisher off Two Hands
#2. "Life In Technicolor" by Coldplay off the magnificent Viva la Vida

#3. "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" by The Police off Ghost in the Machine
#4. "Sparks" by Coldplay off the transcendent Parachutes
#5. "Big Sky" by Annie Lennox off Songs of Mass Destruction
#6. "Cecilia" by Simon & Garfunkel off The Best Of Simon & Garfunkel
#7. "The Chain" by Fleetwood Mac off Rumours
#8. "Fragile" by Sting off Fields Of Gold: The Best Of Sting 1984-1994
#9. "The Scientist" by Coldplay off the one that started it all for me A Rush Of Blood To The Head
#10. "Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley off Grace
#11. "One" by U2 off Achtung Baby
#12. "La petite fille de la mer" by Vangelis off L'Apocalypse Des Animaux Soundtrack
#13. "It Comes And It Goes" by Dido off Safe Trip Home
#14. "Every Breath You Take" by The Police off Synchronicity
#15. "Claire De Lune" by Philadelphia Orchestra off Ocean's 11

#16. "Death and All His Friends" by Coldplay off the healing and glorious Viva la Vida

Top 100: #70

One of the most beautiful songs I can think of. For my top 100 list that I still have yet to post on my blog. I have all the songs in my book 40.
"Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac
I took my love and I took it down
I climbed a mountain and I turned around
And I saw my reflection in the snow covered hills
'Til the landslide brought me down

Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail thru the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

Mmm Mmm... I don't know... Mmm Mmm... Mmm Mmm...

Well, I've been afraid of changing
'Cause I've built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Children get older
I'm getting older too

So...

I've been afraid of changing
'Cause I, I´ve built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Children get older
I'm getting older too...
I'm getting older too...

So, take this love, take it down
Oh if you climb a mountain and you turn around
If you see my reflection in the snow covered hills
Well the landslide will bring you down, down

And If you see my reflection in the snow covered hills
Well maybe... The landslide will bring you down
Well well... the landslide will bring you down

Review of GRAVESTONE

I'm very fortunate to continue to receive nice reviews on my books. I HAD to share this one I just read for The Solitary Tales #2: Gravestone. It refers to two of my favorite stories by one of my favorite authors as well as referring to my favorite television show of all times.
Wait a minute . . . is this "Charles Evans" really just my wife or one of my friends posing as a reviewer?? (He's a Top 100 reviewer and this is his real name, so I don't think that's the case!)
Here's the review. Thank you, Charles Evans!
"In some ways "Gravestone" is like the TV show Lost: The Complete Sixth and Final Season where every character is an enigma and every answer opens up two more questions. At time the TV show and this book can be quite maddening and you get to the point where you want to yell-out in frustration. The difference is that "Gravestone" is able to keep the loose ends in order allowing it to progress with the tale.


Solitary: A Novel (Solitary Tales Series) is the first novel in the Solitary series and it has a define beginning middle and end. However, "Gravestone" makes no apologies as it clearly serves as a bridge between "Solitary" and the next installment Temptation: A Novel (Solitary Tales Series). Despite being virtual literary bridge "Gravestone" is a darker (and ultimately better) than its predecessor. It is tough to explain how a YA Christian mystery novel could have the same level of gloom and dread as Salem's Lot and The Mist (Previously Published as a Novella in 'Skeleton Crew') but it matches both of them. It really is a surprising novel on many accounts - not only is scary, but it also captures teenage angst and the nature of being an outcast and a rebel.

One thing that sets the Solitary apart from other books in the suspense/mystery genre is that for all of its evil and scary imagery it a very clean novel. While I wouldn't recommend it to kids under 13 (especially if they are nightmare prone) it avoids using profanity or other cheap tricks to try and create an authentic feel.

Final Verdict, while "Gravestone" may not be appropriate for every teenager it will likely be popular series if people see it for what it is (a very dark and terrifying story) and not as a YA Christian novel. Trust me - "Gravestone" is a novel that would make Stephen King very proud.

The Times They Are A Changin

Ten thoughts from one writer & book lover as I visited my Barnes & Noble bookstore this weekend:
#1: I noticed something new. A huge space (several rows) devoted to selling toys for children of all ages.
#2. I almost bought a toy for full price since I had our twins in their stroller and one of them was getting fussy.
#3. Almost bought Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion because of the premise and the reviews I've heard. Almost but didn't. Why? Because I thought I might enjoy it more on my Kindle. (Not lying either)
#4. Noticed that Cormac McCarthy's books had been repackaged. I have four of his books I still have to read (not his most famous--those I've loved). For some reason, I can't see reading him on Kindle. Why?
#5. People either really LOVE it or HATE IT when you have a double stroller with twins. At least ours isn't a double wide. It's still narrow like other strollers.
#6. I typically don't even bother checking to see if a store has my books, but the Geneva B&N bookstore is my home base, so they always have a bunch. But they moved the Religious/Inspirational Fiction row somewhere because of the toys, so I never got a chance to see how many they had.
#7. Barnes & Noble sells a lot of gift items for writers and books lovers, like journals and cards and pens and such. I guess I never noticed how much of that stuff they carried.
#8. Cheerios always help a fussy baby.
#9. I eventually left without purchasing anything. Once I got moving on the sidewalk on the humid Sunday, both babies went to sleep.
#10. On our way home from the store, I saw someone on the side of the road waving a 40% off sale sign. For what store? Borders.
Times are a changin', not just for this guy who used to go into the bookstore by himself and always leave with a pile of stuff, but also for those bookstores as well.

If You Like Coldplay . . .

Then chance are good you'll like my 2009 novel Every Breath You Take. I've written about it a lot on this blog. It's a love letter to our eldest daughter. But in many ways, it's a love letter to Coldplay too.
Right now it's available on my website for $9.99 or on kindle for .99 cents. It's a sweet love story with a supernatural twist.
I encourage Coldplay fans to give it a try.

Step #4 To Writing A Novel (Writing Tip #85)

The fourth step I take when writing a novel is probably one of the biggest areas where I differ from other novelists.
At the start of the actual writing process, I always try to do something different. I break the story down then try and figure out the best way to tell it. My goal is to do something unique with each particular story, something I haven't done before.
For many novelists, especially when something has worked before, they stick to what they know best. I'm not just referring to genre but rather style and format. For some novelists, the biggest change in their writing style might be switching point-of-view from third person to first person.
Yawn.
I'll share some examples from my work to illustrate what I'm getting at.
This started when I began writing The Watermark, my second novel published. I could have replicated what I did in my first novel, The Promise Remains. Tell the story about a guy and a girl who fall in love. But I didn't really want to tell that story again. I wanted to tell a story about a man who regains hope. So I wrapped it up in the guise of a love story, but I kept the beating heart of the story a secret from the reader. Since it was written in first person, I was able to do that.
Most love stories end with the couple getting together (or tragically not getting together). But The Watermark ended with our hero having regained hope thanks in part to this wonderful woman he'd met. He was heading toward her, but we never saw the two reuniting. Because that wasn't what I set out to write in that novel.
For The Second Thief, I built an entire story around a Twilight Zone-esque ending. For Three Roads Home, I built an entire book around three similar-themed stories.
When it came time to work on Gun Lake, I really got ambitious. A bit too ambitious, I learned in hindsight. I decided to have eight character viewpoints. EIGHT! (I just had to pull the book to count how many.) That was a bit too much to try and pull off, but I went for it.
For the next book, Admission, I broke up the narrative by an eleven-year gap. So you basically had two stories going back and forth, tied up at the end.
Blinded . . . well, the big thing I did different was in fact the point of view. But I get some points because it's second person POV, something very few novelists attempt.
Each time I start a new work, I deliberately think of a new and different way of telling the story. I'm not just trying to experiment. I'm attempting to challenge myself in a creative way. I don't want to simply press the REPEAT button and tell another story in the same old way.
Many of you who are reading this might have never finished a novel. So my encouragement is to worry more about finishing and worry less about how you do it. But I believe it's good to think through a unique way of telling a story. Sometimes that can also be the entire hook of the story. Yes, but the narrator of this story is the family's pet hampster!! You might be on to something brilliant. Or you might biting off more than you can chew, like I did in Gun Lake.
Are you dying to write your story? Do you have your map in hand and your characters sketched out? Then think and play around with how to tell that story. Tinker around with the story map. Be creative with the characters.
Try things out. Many times I'll attempt something, then chuck it and start over again. That's one of the many ways you learn.