Chad R. Mitchell's Blog, page 4

Mental Fitness… Stretch!

Despite my negativity. Despite my fear. Despite my astonishing lack of enthusiasm…

I overcame.

I enrolled in KDP Select. It offers the book for free to Prime Members.

I can only hope it is the right choice.

http://amzn.com/B009PI2DBM

Now on to other things…

I have heard that others are still reading. They tell me it’s pretty all right. I want to hear more. The audience is silent.

The stage is a lonely place. Even when you are not standing on it. Whenever you present yourself to the viewers, readers, and the like, you are taking a monumental risk.

So review if you have a moment.

I am rewriting the synopsis. The blurb upon the back of the book. I want to fine-tune the medium. Get it good.

I have a way with words. I write weird. I like my scatter brained catastrophe. It is all right.

I have said all this before and I will continue to harp upon it.

I am reading again… More.

Currently struggling through “The Life of Pi.”

Why?

Well, I detest watching a film version of a book without first reading it. I feel like I am not doing it right. How often do you watch a film and then read the book? Not as often as the other way around. I don’t want to be robbed of the experience of the mind’s eye. The experience of putting the words to thought to image. I want to experience the author’s prose, the imagination, the mental creation. Then I want to see the film. See how another envisioned the literal.

The literal holds for me what the visual only confirms. It holds my imagination in tow. The stretch that I feel upon my frontal lobes… it captivates and grows. Me.

Take a moment. Read a book. Then take a break, and watch the show.

Struggle through the words. Use your creative energy. The reward is a fulfilled mind. A growing imagination. A dance of delight in the mental receptors.

Do it.

C

My thoughts for free

I am getting ready to enroll A Tale of Two Brothers in the KDP Select program. This means it will be free…

That’s right. Free.

The book that I am promoting, painfully pushing, and offering for absolutely nothing.

And why would I do that? Why would I give up my hard work for a song? Or less than that?

Supposedly it increases sales. Supposedly it generates interest. Supposedly the book will get a lift from the exciting label known as free.

And everyone loves free!

So from Dec 7th until a time to be decided I am going to be offering it up to the lowest bidder. I hope you take the time to pull down the title, read, and review. Each and every download helps!

I am not begging you. But I am imploring you passionately. Join me in this exciting and nerve wracking venture into the unknown.

C

http://www.facebook.com/chadrmitchell...

http://amzn.com/B009PI2DBM

The negative

To date I have received 5 stellar reviews on Amazon. Most from people I know, and that want to promote my work. I have enjoyed a moment of unadulterated joy from each of these. It only lasts a short time, praise, flattery, compliments, all seem to fade quickly. A quick taste of delight before the doubts start to creep back in. Almost like caffeine, a momentary upper, a temporary high. And then I crave another.

The positive, no matter how much or how often, is less permanent than the negative. And I am a glass half full sort of fellow! But when the critics critique I bow to their pressure. I crumble under their touch like a sand castle before the wave. No matter the hours dedicated to my creation, one small touch from the cold sea and I am a disintegrating mess.

Do I have “thin skin?”

Yes. I think I do.

I have been told to get used to it. To prepare for the detractors, from the naysayers, the vagabonds and knaves who will have fun watching me squirm.

If I knew it was coming, I might better prepare. But each and every person who reads my work is another opportunity for praise. And the lack of praise is damning enough. Those who go out of their way to tell you just how badly you did are the ones who really do the most damage.

And to be honest I haven’t had too many of those just yet. Probably because I am not widely read… Yet…

It’s a two edged sword. I want the readers, I want the truth. But I want the readers to love my work and all to tell me that truth. I don’t want the honest answer that there might be those who are not interested.

But I take the good with the bad. The dark with the light. It is a part of this path that I am on. Even if it curves in ways I never saw coming.

So keep the truth coming. Even if it hurts. I want to deliver a tale that many will love. Many is better than none, even if it’s not all…

C

An open mind

I went out of town for a few days this week. It was a business trip, not for writing, for my work. My day job… IT, Silicon Valley, three days trapped in a fluorescent lit room. It wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but still not what I want to be about…

The best part is that during the trip I had a moment. I had 3 hours to drive. Alone, away from my distractions. A long lonely drive where my mind was allowed to escape. And to think. And to dream.

And it happened. I was able to imagine as I haven’t in quite awhile.

You see, as a writer, you sometimes simply force the words onto the page. It’s not always bad, in fact it is good discipline. A good writer must be able to write even when the spark is missing. You must be able to conjure up the spell, even when the muse is distant.

But the muse is never far from you. And sometimes the silence is when she speaks.

And she spoke to me on this trip. I had a bright flash of inspiration. And pieces of the puzzle came falling into place, arranging themselves in new patterns I hadn’t even been able to see. I saw where the story goes, where the characters must grow, and why the story even existed at all.

The story has always been told to me. And I am relating it to you. I did not make the fabric of the garment, but simply fashioned it as I was shown. And how was I shown? Not from the mind but from the creator. He who has shown me all along. This story is not my own. It is not what I have chosen to write. It chose me… And that is why I believe it will go on for much longer. It will reach great heights.

I have to believe that. If I didn’t why would I write it at all? This inspiration, this vision, is beautiful. Amazing. And I am blessed to have been called to deliver it onto the pages.

Expect great things. Not from me. But from what I have been called to do.

I write and I tell a grand story. Watch it grow.

Second book is coming, third will follow right behind… and the fourth… well… It is going to be exciting. I cannot wait to share.

C

NaNoWriMo

A year ago I started writing again. I had been lazy for far too long. Without inspiration, drive, or a muse.

I had finished the rough draft a few years before, and then sat on it. Never moving it forward. Just talking about book 1 as if it would publish itself…

Someday…

Then National Novel Writing Month came around. Last November. A 50,000 word challenge.

And I thought, rather than finish the first one, I would write the second.

I got through about half. And then I realized that this book would never be read. Not by anyone but my close circle of friends.

I finished up the month, saw an ad for an editor. Asked her to work for me… and a month ago it culminated in the release of A Tale of Two Brothers. Book one… of nine… of Tales of Terrezial.

(If you are reading this, please go purchase a copy. The links are on your right… and read it… Tell me what you think)

Well this NaNoWrimo I am starting again. This time to finish the second. This one won’t take a year.  I hope. I have so much to write. So much to publish.

Of course it is waiting on me. Again.

But I will not sit on my hands. I will use them to write. I will burn both ends and do it up right!

I will tell you this… The second book is not going to be a sophomore slump. Already it is more thrilling than the last. The boys and their friends are going to face greater danger, more fantastic creatures, and the world of Terrezial will become more revealed. I hope you join them. This journey will be fun. I promise.

C.

The Artist’s Way

Based upon the sage advice of some good friends I have decided to read The Artist’s Way. It is a book that encourages and trains struggling artists to unblock the hinderances to their creativity.

So far, I have finished the introduction, first couple of chapters, and am at the point where I must act. The book is a course. A class. A study in finding the path to artistic success. Even though I thought I might be put off by the use of the “spiritual” dogma, I instead have found it to be enchanting. It doesn’t seem too “new agey”, or preachy. Instead it seems to encourage the beliefs I already have, and doesn’t seek to overturn any opinions I hold.

Except for one…

I will have to get used to calling myself an artist.

An artist.

For years I have always mocked the term. I have seen it so easily espoused from the lips of those who want the image. The self serving musicians, painters, writers, and photographers who inhabit the community.  None of them succeeding in their art. But when asked, they always respond with the “I am an artist”, without something to show for it. I have always judged these want-to-be posers with disdain. My inner voice casting them down as pretentious liars with a disgusted growl.

How could they be artists when so many struggling, truly talented, and yet not so snobby others could not? How could others be working full time, silently pacing, working hard to make ends meet. In the background, late evenings, stolen moments they trudged through a scattered rewrite, sketch, or paint and yet never call themselves an artist. They felt it wasn’t theirs to claim. They hadn’t suffered on the streets of manhattan with no money, or traveled with a band cross-country. They only dreamed and quietly attempted… and did… more than those who already assumed to be.

So now I will call myself an artist. And I will say it with conviction. If not out loud… then here. On paper. And I will honor the calling. Because everyone is given the opportunity, but not all follow. And all are given the chance, but not all claim it. I want to be an artist. I want to answer the call.

At all cost.

C.

And now what?

The future is here.

The book is in print, Nook, Kindle.  It is available to the waiting masses!

So where are they?

That is not to say that I haven’t sold a decent amount. I am incredibly blessed by the support of my friends, family, and online followers.

But I want the hordes. I want the mass media blitz. I want the people sleeping on the streets outside of bookstores awaiting the release…

I know it’s far too much to ask at this point. And I am not complaining. I am just awaiting the possible future.

I believe it will come.

At this time the most important thing is to be thankful. Take the time to move forward. I have 8 other books to write.

In this series.

I have a novel to finish. Another series to start. This is only the beginning.

Now the important thing is to get the youth to read this story. They are the critics I want to hear. I love that adults will read my words. But kids. They are future.

They are honest to a fault. They won’t hold back if the story is not what they want. I want to enchant, entertain, and excite them. I want them to read it with fervor the way I used to tear through books.

I want to see them bring the story to life. I want to know how it looks in their eyes. That is the moment I am waiting for…

Already there have been a few. And that makes me so happy.

Someday I will read this story to my daughter. And I will do so in silly voices. With excitement.

I hope she enjoys it.

C.

p.s. The links on the right are to my book! Please purchase a copy, read it to your kids, write a review!

To hold it in your hand…

First and foremost I must say thank you to all of my friends, family, and those who have purchased my book. You make this all so thrilling and rewarding. I am honored by your love.

And most importantly I must say thank you for the love and support of my wife. Jenny is the most amazing woman I have ever known and without her I would never have finished what I started. It is amazing what can be done with her help. She is my all.

So today I released my print version online! It will take a few days to show up on Amazon. But you can purchase now through https://www.createspace.com/4017840

YEAH!!!

Here is a pic of it on my desk!

The moment of truth

I woke up this morning to an email.

From Amazon.

Saying that the book has been released onto their site. Available now. For Kindle.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009PI2DBM

Now is the moment of truth. My hard work, and the many hours, and all of the support of my loved ones… It comes to this.

So please, if you will, purchase the book. If you want the print or Nook version they will follow very shortly. But the Kindle makes a nice reader. And the best part is you don’t need to own one. Just download the app on your smartphone or computer.

Then purchase, and share… and most importantly: REVIEW!

Sales and traffic on Amazon are driven by reviews. This book will be a success… I feel it… but only with the support from my friends and family.

Thank you all. You are all amazing!

C.

12 Hours…

So it has been uploaded to Amazon and B&N…

Yes!

12 Hours till release! (Or around that…)

So excited, yet a tad apprehensive.

I hope you enjoy what I have crafted.

Thank you all in advance!!

C