Tig Carson's Blog, page 3

How I Learned To Stay Focused

I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that, for most writers, the #1 biggest issue with getting any sort of writing done is... ohhh look, a butterfly!
Okay, let me try again - is staying focused.  Now give me a cookie!
For me, this 'focusing thing' started around the time I was, well.. born. The common mantra in my home was, "Your son is smart Mrs. Carson, but he just seems to have problems focusing."
I'm not sure why I was that way. I suppose it was just the way my brain worked. I took everything in like a vacuum, as long as it interested me. But if I found it boring, well... then it got blocked out. 
I feel the best way to describe my brain is with this photo. 
Just add a teacher, parent , or friend talking off-camera, and it's a perfect example of how my brain works.
So yeah, focusing...

Needless to say, this was a curse and a blessing. On one hand, I found it hard to focus. On the other, if something DID catch my attention, I would focus on that ONE specific thing like a hawk. Things like cleaning my room, making stop-and-go videos with my Legos, or making collages became weekend long events. I would lock my bedroom door and get lost in my work - and I enjoyed it! 
I suppose it was the process I enjoyed most. 
Meanwhile, I floated through school, struggling to keep focused on the subjects I found boring. It was a fight, but eventually I figured out a way to make it less painful. Stories! I would make up stories for everything! Math? - I would create a fairy-tail around times tables: "Prince Roy needed to know what 7x4 was, or his princess would die! But wait, the troll tricked him, and now he must know them all!"
I know this sounds insane, and a long process to simply remember such things, but it worked for me. This is probably why I fell in love with writing. 
Writing was an excuse to daydream, and not get in trouble for it! 
BUT...
Years later, after school, my dreams of becoming a writer faded. Working for a living, movies, and playing video games took over my life. My focus was hijacked by Doom, GTA, Bond, Mario Cart, and Madden. For someone like me, games were my fix. My drug. My escape. 
 
But the itch to write always lingered. I would go to book stores and buy journals, but only fill the first few pages. I must own at least twelve journals with less than three pages written in them. 
Like a lingering ex-girlfriend, my writing would beckoned to me, but I only flirted back.
THEN...
I turned thirty. They say (they = those older and wiser than us) things change when you turn thirty. Thirty brought a sense of adulthood I found unfamiliar. A place I had never been. Expectations seem to change around that age. Maybe it's self inflicted. Maybe it's those around you demanding more from you. Either way, the fog of focus lifted a bit for me at thirty. My brain allowed some of the fence to come down, and I could see those talking off-camera a bit clearer. It was a real "Welcome to planet Earth," moment for me.
It was time to try my hand at writing once more! 
But first, I would have to cut-off the things that stole my focus. Video games were number one, so I made a deal with myself: I would only be allowed to play a game equal to the time I wrote. 
For instance : One hour of writing = one hour of gaming.
At first, it was tough to keep myself to these rules, but eventually it worked like a charm. More often than not, I would end up writing until I got tired. I started to find joy in creating my own characters, stories, and universe.
My focus found a new drug.
 It's Iced-Tea.
Sure, I still played games. I actually beat 'Assassins Creed IV Black Flag' and played most of the 'Pinball 2' tables while I wrote 'A SPACE STORY' - but they were rewards, not rights. I suppose it's like exercising... I wouldn't know... I hate exercising. Let me know! 
I still have a love/hate relationship with writing. There are still days when I feel no urge to write at all. It's part of the process I suppose. But now, I have a much better handle on the focusing end. I think the 9 year-old Tig would be proud of the 30-something year old Tig... as soon as he pulls his eyes from the television! 
 Turn around and focus, Tig!

 

The Process of Building Kilroy

Hey fellow space adventurers! I thought it would be fun to share some of the original art from my book. Early sketches from the beginning of the process, if you will!

When I write, I often have a blurry image of the character in my head. A sort of cloudy, half-formed creature that floats around in my brain. Because of this, I often try to get an artist on-board early in the process, so I can SEE the character more clearly. It's amazing how helpful seeing your characters can help with with your writing (at least for me).

Today, I'm going to share with you the early sketches of one of the main villains of my book. His name is Kilroy... and he's a pretty scary dude.


Kilroy is a culmination of everything that scared me as a kid. He is the boogeyman. He is Death. He is doubt. He is all the things I fear. I wanted the artist to capture all of that in one defining image. (Yeah, def not an easy task.)
Early on, I worked with the talented artist, John Zarate-Khus. John has a military background, and is also a huge fan of D&D - the best of both worlds when needing to come up with the scariest monster in the galaxy! (He's also one of the genuinely nicest men I ever had the pleasure of knowing. No joke. He did NOT pay me to say that!) 

We discussed all my ideas for Kilroy, and I gave John all the necessary little things that Kilroy would need to have. The image in my head was blurry, but certain things stood out. Kilroy would need 'Three Eyes' and have sharp metal protruding from his body. Lots of wires. Hoses. A gross maw. Veins. Ect.
John nailed it right from the get-go.

I was creeped out already!

I also wanted the art in the book to look sketched. The main character in the book, Dean Kilmer, would often be sketching these images on the fly, so they would need to be a bit rough and even partially finished at times.

We were cooking now!

Things were going great! better than I could ever imagine! 

But John's journey with Kilroy had to end here. I thanked John for lending me his amazing skills, drank a strong root-beer in his honor, and continued the journey alone.

Until I met Adam Barutis!
I gave Adam the amazing sketches of Kilroy and - with John's blessing - moved forward on defining Kilroy into the full-size, killer cyborg-monster in the book.

Adam took the bust John had created and added a full body to the beast. 

 Kilroy has a body!

 At first, I was torn about having a full body, and near finished, version of Kilroy. But, as I thought it through, it actually helped to drive the story. Dean had a very logical reason for taking his time with this sketch. His life may depend on it!  
Adam fine tuned the idea, give it a 'sketchy look', then handed me the final image we used in the book. 

 THIS is Kilroy.

In the end, it was fitting that Kilroy would end up being a culmination of 3 minds. A mash-up of ideas... just like the character I had dreamed up from the very beginning. 

Coincidence? Well, yes... of course it was. But still cool!
It's a strange thing to look into the eyes of your own creation -  something I wouldn't be able to do without the amazing talent of two men...

John Zarate-Khus
and 
Adam Barutis. 
  


 
Don't Eat the Grot!
all rights reserved to: Tig Carson.

From Scratch (The Process of Building Kilroy)

Hey fellow space adventurers! I thought it would be fun to share some of the original art from my book. Early sketches from the beginning of the process, if you will!

When I write, I often have a blurry image of the character in my head. A sort of cloudy, half-formed creature that floats around in my brain. Because of this, I often try to get an artist on-board early in the process, so I can SEE the character more clearly. It's amazing how helpful seeing your characters can help with with your writing (at least for me).

Today, I'm going to share with you the early sketches of one of the main villains of my book. His name is Kilroy... and he's a pretty scary dude.


Kilroy is a culmination of everything that scared me as a kid. He is the boogeyman. He is Death. He is doubt. He is all the things I fear. I wanted the artist to capture all of that in one defining image. (Yeah, def not an easy task.)
Early on, I worked with the talented artist, John Zarate-Khus. John has a military background, and is also a huge fan of D&D - the best of both worlds when needing to come up with the scariest monster in the galaxy! (He's also one of the genuinely nicest men I ever had the pleasure of knowing. No joke. He did NOT pay me to say that!) 

We discussed all my ideas for Kilroy, and I gave John all the necessary little things that Kilroy would need to have. The image in my head was blurry, but certain things stood out. Kilroy would need 'Three Eyes' and have sharp metal protruding from his body. Lots of wires. Hoses. A gross maw. Veins. Ect.
John nailed it right from the get-go.

I was creeped out already!

I also wanted the art in the book to look sketched. The main character in the book, Dean Kilmer, would often be sketching these images on the fly, so they would need to be a bit rough and even partially finished at times.

We were cooking now!

Things were going great! better than I could ever imagine! 

But John's journey with Kilroy had to end here. I thanked John for lending me his amazing skills, drank a strong root-beer in his honor, and continued the journey alone.

Until I met Adam Barutis!
I gave Adam the amazing sketches of Kilroy and - with John's blessing - moved forward on defining Kilroy into the full-size, killer cyborg-monster in the book.

Adam took the bust John had created and added a full body to the beast. 

 Kilroy has a body!

 At first, I was torn about having a full body, and near finished, version of Kilroy. But, as I thought it through, it actually helped to drive the story. Dean had a very logical reason for taking his time with this sketch. His life may depend on it!  
Adam fine tuned the idea, give it a 'sketchy look', then handed me the final image we used in the book. 

 THIS is Kilroy.

In the end, it was fitting that Kilroy would end up being a culmination of 3 minds. A mash-up of ideas... just like the character I had dreamed up from the very beginning. 

Coincidence? Well, yes... of course it was. But still cool!
It's a strange thing to look into the eyes of your own creation -  something I wouldn't be able to do without the amazing talent of two men...

John Zarate-Khus
and 
Adam Barutis. 
  


 
Don't Eat the Grot!
all rights reserved to: Tig Carson.

My Board Game Obsession

Alright, I guess it's fair to say I'm a bit obsessed with board games. It all started when I was a wee-lad, my aunt bought me my first board game - 'Mouse Trap!'
Since then, it's been a fun ride. Years spent playing Trivial Pursuit, Monopoly, Scattergories... it was a great time to be alive! 
Alright, I'll calm down. 
Soon, the board game obsession gave way to video games. Video games were faster and more challenging than any board game I could find. It was sad in a way. I missed the community feeling of playing a board game with friends and family.  Camping out around a table, drinks, chips, laughing, cheating, arguments. But it seemed board games would never adapt. Games like Monopoly, and the like, grew stale and static. I longed for something more...
One fateful day, I decided to search the internet for anything fresh. I searched 'challenging board games' - 'nerdy board games' - 'geeky board games' - anything to peek my interest. 
It seemed while I was busy playing video games, a whole world of board games arrived on the scene. Board games that not only catered to the nerd in me, but also were fun to play! I grabbed my card and ordered the first one that jumped out at me.
Carcassonne! This game was perfect for someone jumping into a new genre - simple rules, cool to look at, and the game play was fast. There was also many expansion packs to keep it fresh. But soon. my brain craved more strategy. Something to stir the pot a bit. 

Catan! This game... Catan is STILL a favorite of mine! Me and my friends will play for hours, 4 games a night if we get together early enough. Like Carcassonne, Catan's board changes every game, keeping things fresh. You have to think 3 to 4 steps ahead, make deals with people, and sometimes steal. And again, there are expansion packs to make the board more challenging. 
But again, the board game gods grow weary, even of their favorite games. You must keep feeding the beast! (Ok, too dramatic?)  
Then, one day while perusing the board game isle of my local store... I was feeling a bit nastalgic. That was when this caught my eye...

Triopoly!   This, my friends, was a three-tier Monopoly board. Yeah, you heard me! Three monopoly style boards stacked on top of each other, each smaller than the next. It was an amazing play on a classic game. And it was insane to play. It also took forever to finish. Remember how long Monopoly took, times that by three!
Then a distant friend, from far away lands, introduced us to...

Munchkin!   This card-based game was a fresh change for me. Technically not a board game, it changed my whole perspective. I never really understood or got into such games as a kid, but Munchkin consumed me and my friends like fire rushing through a rain craved forest. Munchkin has so many versions and expansions that it's almost hard to keep track. And bonus... most are playable together!
 This is me, trying to figure out something... real important.  The cards are fun and unique, the game play is long enough to make it worth it, and you can often squeeze in several games a night. And there's always room for more players, as long as you have enough cards!
As of present, me and my friends have been cycling back and forth between Catan and Munchkin (the Cthulhu version). Though, whispers in the dark seem to be leading us back to an old favorite...
Dude, you need to beef-up Iceland.

Plowing Ahead!

Tig is pleasantly surprised how well the book "A Space Story" is doing thus far! He actually smiled for a moment. Seriously, like three seconds. It was amazing.
This revelation has set a bit of a fire under Tig's backside, and is now working non-stop on the second volume of "A Space Story" - presently called "Another Space Story."
(In fact, I haven't seen Tig since Saturday night, so I hope everything is alright. I should call him.)
Anyway, his hope is to get the second book in the series done soon, so you can all find out what happened to...    I said too much.
I should go now...

Win a Signed Copy!

.goodreadsGiveawayWidget { color: #555; font-family: georgia, serif; font-weight: normal; text-align: left; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; background: white; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget img { padding: 0 !important; margin: 0 !important; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget a { padding: 0 !important; margin: 0; color: #660; text-decoration: none; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget a:visted { color: #660; text-decoration: none; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget a:hover { color: #660; text-decoration: underline !important; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget p { margin: 0 0 .5em !important; padding: 0; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidgetEnterLink { display: block; width: 150px; margin: 10px auto 0 !important; padding: 0px 5px !important; text-align: center; line-height: 1.8em; color: #222; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; border: 1px solid #6A6454; border-radius: 5px; font-family:arial,verdana,helvetica,sans-serif; background-image:url(https://www.goodreads.com/images/layo... background-repeat: repeat-x; background-color:#BBB596; outline: 0; white-space: nowrap; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidgetEnterLink:hover { background-image:url(https://www.goodreads.com/images/layo... color: black; text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; }
Goodreads Book Giveaway A Space Story - The Journal of a Bald Little Alien Named Dean Kilmer by Tig Carson Giveaway ends December 12, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads. Enter to win

All About Tig!

Don't Eat the Grot! 

The Wonderful World of Tig

 This, my fellow interwebbers, is Tig Carson.
Tig spends most of his spare time writing. Whether it's in the bathroom, while eating a peanut butter & banana sandwich, or right before bedtime, you will often find this lonely soul tapping away at his laptop keys.
 Presently Tig is working his tail off to finish the much anticipated novel, cleverly named, ' A Space Story. ' 
He knows many of you are waiting patiently in the wings for ' A Space Story ' to be finished, so you can jump right into it. Because of this, Tig has promised to spend the little spare time he had put aside for himself, and write some more!

Isn't that cool of Tig!
In the meantime, here's some of the amazing illustrations that will be used in the novel ' A Space Story ', created by the brilliantly talented Adam Barutis!


ohhh, she looks mysterious.

PS: Tig takes no credit for the poor writing and syntax of this post, and says I should be ashamed of myself.
Keep chugging along, TIG!

Professional Reviews of - 'A SPACE STORY'

**SPOILER ALERT!**
 The following reviews may dig too deep into the book 
for some readers. 




Another Review by Author: Dewayne Watts.