Rob D. Smith's Blog, page 3
July 28, 2014
Dang: Episode 2 Coming August 2014!
It’s official! Dang: Episode 2 will be available in August! Episode 2 will be free for one day. Be sure to watch Twitter and Facebook to find out when. Thanks for reading!
July 15, 2014
Are the Dang Characters Real People?
Are the Dang characters real people? This is the question I get most. The answer is, of course, no. Sorta. I draw inspiration from all levels of association. Most of the characters are loosely inspired by peripheral qualities of family, friends, acquaintances and random people I’ve never met. There’s a little bit of everybody and all of nobody in each of the characters.
In many ways, Dang is an archetypaI story. We all know dreamers with ambitions of fame and fortune. We all have a nosey neighbor, and a fun-loving but clueless friend. Dang is my own take on the stock characters we have in our lives. Recognizing familiar qualities in characters, seeing myself and others in the story, is part of what I like about reading. I hope that as you read you can laugh and maybe even see yourself reflected in Dang.
The one person I can say with certainty that most of the characters, especially the four main characters, are based is on me. A part of me lives in Willem, Murven, Deputy CJ and Peggy. I have crazy ideas for start-up companies, and I have my lazy, playful side. My connection with Deputy CJ obvious, and I enjoy a juicy piece of gossip every now and then. Fortunately, for me and those around me, writing Dang is cathartic, and I don’t let those aspects of my personality consume me. How about you? Do any of the characters remind you of yourself or someone you know?
July 11, 2014
Changes to Dang Blog
I’ve decided that I took on too many writing projects at once. I was trying to blog about life in Tokyo from a southerner’s perspective and write Dang at the same time. It turns out I can’t do both right now. Splitting my attention is affecting the quality of my blog and my book. So for the time being, I need to focus on Dang only. I’ll be posting about Dang regularly, and I’m still going to discuss Dang with readers on this blog. Please continue to stop by.
I haven’t completely given up on the southern boy in the city news. I’m still tweeting about life in Tokyo. Follow me on Twitter, and you’ll get my southerner’s POV! Thanks for reading and be on the look out for Dang: Episode 2!
July 8, 2014
Feedback on Deputy CJ and Peggy?
As I write Dang: Episode 2, I’m doing my best to ensure the plot and the characters develop. I don’t want readers to feel like Dang’s tires are spinning. To do this, I need to make some decisions about the characters that can’t be undone. Before crossing the point of no return, I need your help.
I’ve had some feedback from readers, but I’d love to get more. Dang is a serial novel and as such the story thrives when the readers get involved. Dang is also brand spanking new, and I’ve only published one episode. So to get the ball rolling, I’m going to prompt you just a tiny little bit.
At the time of this post, Deputy CJ and Peggy each have their own chapter in episode 2. To help me decide which direction to go with these characters, I’d like to know what you think about them. Do you like Deputy CJ and Peggy? Do you have any expectations for either of them? Do you want more or less of them? Any and all feedback is welcome.
I look forward to hearing from you and thank you for reading!
July 3, 2014
The Dang Suspects
Everyone is a suspect at the end of Dang: Episode 1. I created a short list to help you keep the people straight. Don’t forget to go to #DangSerial on Twitter to discuss your theories. Speculation is welcome!
The Accused
Willem Wisely
Murven
The Authorities
Sheriff Calvin “Happy” Maddocks
Deputy Calvin “CJ” Maddocks, Jr.
Chief County Commissioner Terrence “Terry” Bristol
The Wives
Cindy Wisely
LunaThe Good Samaritan
Pete “Poot” Barber
The Busybody
Peggy
The Brothers
Willard Wisely
Walmer Wisely
Wilton Wisely
Wilbur Wisely
July 1, 2014
Southern Boy in Tokyo
I consider myself southern. I was born and raised in Charlotte, NC. In the past 13 years, I’ve moved between New Zealand, China and Japan. Although I’ve spent much of my adult life living abroad, I’ve maintained my southern sensibilities. I’m not a full blown redneck, but I do identify with the lifestyle. When I say redneck, I use the term in the wholesome, good-natured, fun-loving, innovative, Jeff Foxworthy sense of the word.
Living abroad has taught me that redneck culture (again the wholesome kind) is the thread that binds humanity. As I walk through the streets in Tokyo, I cant’t help but admire plastic bag ingenuity:
Or appreciate that signs like this are necessary in every city in every country:
Global urban redneck culture is often underappreciated and under represented in media and entertainment. I smile every morning as I cross the bridge over this fishin’ hole:
Smack dab in the middle of the city:
I don’t find these places and things.They find me. As I continue to write Dang, I’m also going to blog about life as a southern boy in Tokyo and share more of these redneck threads that bind humanity. So come on back!
June 29, 2014
Dang Free Days
I’ve decided to make each new episode of Dang free for at least one day after it’s released. During this time, the previous episodes will be available at the regular price. Follow me on Twitter and like my Dang: The Serial Novel Facebook page. I’ll tweet and post when Dang: Episode 2 will be available for free. Thank you for reading and be sure to let me know what you think about episode 1!
June 24, 2014
Why a Serial Novel?
Friends and family ask me this all the time. The short answer is that I am just curious to see of I can do it. But where does that curiosity come from? I’m not all that sure, but my best guess is that it’s a combination of things.
I’ve always been interested in the comments at the bottom of news stories. I am thoroughly entertained and intrigued by what the readers take away from what they read. Some comments are so completely original, from both an intelligent and meaningful perspective to a downright ignorant perspective, that I read them over and over as if they were lines from my favorite book. For better or worse, the comments reveal how the story is received by the audience.
A big part of me wants to write a serial novel for the comments. Just like with news stories, a string of comments from readers would give me insight into what the audience is thinking. In what I would consider the ideal serial novel scenario, the author would adapt the story to the feedback from readers to create a sort of fiction homeostasis. The readers would say what they want more or less of in the story and the author would respond. One reason I chose to write a serial novel is to see if I can achieve this fiction homeostasis. Which, as many authors before me will attest, is easy to dream about but difficult to achieve. But I’m gonna try…
Another reason I decided to self-publish a serial novel is that I’d heard about the resurgence of the serial novel and the success writer’s were having. I’d listened to Joanna Penn’s 2011 podcast interview with Sean Platt. In it they discuss Sean’s success with his serial novel Yesterday’s Gone that he co-wrote with David W. Wright. (You can listen to the interview here.) This interview got my wheels turning.
I listened to the 2011 interview in 2014. At the time of the interview, serial novels were beginning to pick up speed. I Googled around and discovered a more recent article by Jane Friedman in which she discusses the serial novel trend. (You can find the article here.) It was here that I learned about Wattpad and Jukepop (in the comments nonetheless!). After reading serials on these two sites, I felt like it was something I could do.
Combined with my own curiosity for the format, the Joanna Penn interview and the Jane Friedman article gave me the push I needed to move forward with self-publishing a serial novel. Now the next question is how did I end up writing a redneck trailer park crime/murder mystery. Well, that’s another story…
June 23, 2014
Dang! Progress!
Dang: Episode 1 has been available for a little over a week now, and I’ve learned a lot. I’m sure this is only the beginning.
Initially, I was running two websites. One site was my author site (this one) and the other was my Dang site. Based on the stats, all the hits were on my author site. Almost no traffic went to my Dang site. I shutdown the Dang site and run everything from here now. Even though Dang hasn’t been out all that long, I feel like this was the right move. Maintaining two sites and trying to write Dang: Episode 2 takes up too much time. One site makes more sense from a time management perspective.
On the writing side, I’ve had some great feedback from readers. Based on this, I’m adding chapters that follow Deputy CJ and Peggy. Please continue to give me feedback via email, Twitter, Facebook or this blog. I love the feedback!
Thanks for reading and be sure to tell all your friends about Dang!
June 18, 2014
The Global Indie Author by M.A. Demers
The Global Indie Author was the first book I read on self-publishing. To be honest, it was intimidating at first. Copyright, ISBN, cover design and manuscript formatting all seemed overwhelming. M. A. Demers gives excellent descriptions of every facet of the publishing process. It took time but I made sense of it all.
After checking the Amazon KDP requirements formatting and publishing, I realized I didn’t need to know everything there is to know to get started. The Global Indie Author became more of a style guide for me. I referenced Chapter 1 “Book Structure” and Chapter 8 “Manuscript Formatting Essentials for eBooks” most of all.
I highly recommend The Global Indie author to anyone new to self-publishing. It’s one of the most comprehensive books I’ve found for learning the technical side of self-publishing.
