FRIENDS ...

"Friends are the only true wealth we have in this world, and the only treasure we can hope to find in the next."

 - Samuel McCord

THIS JUST IN:

BERNICE FISCHER  http://blog.bernicefischer.com/?utm_campaign=tw_shoutout&utm_medium=user_share&utm_source=shoutouts&shoutout_to=rxena77&shoutout_provider=tw

 {BOOKS & MORE} just TWEETED AND POSTED about Robert Rossmann's graphic design and audio work on THE STARS BLEED AT MIDNIGHT!

My friend, the fabled narrator, Robert Rossmann, spent much of his working life as a Graphic Designer.

http://www.robertrossmann.com/

Now, while working as an audiobook voice actor, he is musing whether or not to do covers for Indie Book Authors.

Look at the above video for the fantastic cover he has done for our audiobook, THE STARS BLEED AT MIDNIGHT ...

And listen to the prologue for the audiobook he is now working on for me.

What do you think?  

Should Robert go for it?

WRITERS IN A CAGE

“To be what we are, and to become what we are capable of becoming, is the only end of life.” 
~ Robert Louis Stevenson

Are you a writer in a cage, 

a cage of your design?

Often we are our own worst enemy, 

denying that we are capable of achieving more than we give ourselves credit for.

We are tempted to give up on our dreams because the road to them is arduous and slow.

Our behavior, our attitude, our bad habits are all within our ability to change for the better 

but we prefer the comfort of the familiar. 

We choose the path of least resistance, of a way of life that neuters the potential of success within us.


WHINING OR WINNING?

Have you pulled over on the side of the road to success, declaring defeat before you have even given it your all?

A well-functioning adult who puts in sufficient time, focused brain-storming, and quality effort can succeed in most endeavors.

You may not become the next J K Rowling, 

but how will you know if you do not rally everything within you and at your disposal in the attempt?


LAW OF LIFE

With a positive mind-set, willingness to learn, courage to change, and an iron resolve to work hard daily, you can ONLY get better.


DISCIPLINE NOT DESIRE

Great writers like Stevenson wrote daily, not when the desire struck them.  

You must, too.  How can you expect the water to flow if you do not turn on the faucet?

Stevenson spent long years of dying slowly, painfully each day, but he wrote classics each of those days. 


IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU

You are an adult, capable of becoming a professional.  

A great archer does not think of himself before he fires his arrow.  He thinks of his target.

Your target is not you -- it is the reader.

How can you write a book whose every page will excite the reader?  

That is your goal each moment in the chair before the computer screen.


WISHFUL THINKING NEVER WROTE A SINGLE WORD

Daydreaming is a pleasant haven from the hard work of putting evocative words on paper.  

But wishful thinking of impressing your co-workers or becoming the next Neil Gaiman will only leave you with what you put into your dream:  

Nothing.


PLAYING IT SAFE NEVER SCORED A TOUCH DOWN

Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg all have a few things in common:

They dropped out of college to pursue their dreams.  

They dropped activities that drained their time and spirit to focus on working on their goals.

They continually re-invented themselves and their work, growing better with each painful transformation.


PIMP-SLAPPING YOURSELF IS NOT GOING TO GET YOU THERE

 Why talk to yourself in ways that you would never talk to a friend?  

You are your best friend.  And if you are not, that is one problem to tackle first off.

Jettison the "I can't."  

Speak truth to yourself.  

Making a mistake does not make YOU a mistake.  It makes you human.

If you tell yourself "I'm nobody.  No one will buy this," you hamper your imagination.

Stop listening to your fears.  You are not psychic.  The future is up for grabs. 

 Look at the headlines:  

ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.

Life may be less than pleasant right now.  That is now.  

Tomorrow is a land of endless opportunities.

Be a pioneer of that unknown territory.  

Take those reasoned steps that will bring you closer to your dreams each day.

YOU CAN  SUCCEED

BECAUSE OTHER UNKNOWNS 

HAVE DONE IT BEFORE YOU. 

What bars have you erected

in your own cage?

NEIL GAIMAN & DAVE BERRY ON HOW TO WRITE

The ghost of Mark Twain, Neil Gaiman, Dave Berry, and I were playing poker at Meilori's.

Mark grumbled, 

"It is the first day of spring.  I hate spring in Louisiana.  I tell you, Roland, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours here."

The biggest white dog I had ever seen nuzzled a happy Neil Gaiman.  

"Roland, you know what I love most about visiting Meilori's?"

"Being able to hug Cabal again?" suggested Mark.

Neil smiled wide.  "Exactly.  And the fact that no one asks me ...."

A young girl, seemingly all eyes and blushing, sat down opposite him and gushed, 

"Oh where do you get your awesome ideas for your books?"

Cabal rolled his eyes 

and Neil sighed, 

"Write the ideas down. If they are going to be stories, try and tell the stories you would like to read. Finish the things you start to write. Do it a lot and you will be a writer. The only way to do it is to do it."

The girl pouted as if he were holding out on her, and Neil's eyes sparkled.


"I’m just kidding. There are much easier ways of doing it. 

For example: 

On the top of a distant mountain there grows a tree with silver leaves.

Once every year, at dawn on April 30th, this tree blossoms, with five flowers, and over the next hour each blossom becomes a berry, first a green berry, then black, then golden.

At the moment the five berries become golden, five white crows, who have been waiting on the mountain, and which you will have mistaken for snow, 

will swoop down on the tree, greedily stripping it of all its berries, and will fly off, laughing.

You must catch, with your bare hands, the smallest of the crows, and you must force it to give up the berry (the crows do not swallow the berries. 

They carry them far across the ocean, to an enchanter’s garden, to drop, one by one, into the mouth of his daughter, 

who will wake from her enchanted sleep only when a thousand such berries have been fed to her). 

When you have obtained the golden berry, you must place it under your tongue, and return directly to your home.

For the next week, you must speak to no-one, not even your loved ones or a highway patrol officer stopping you for speeding.

Say nothing. Do not sleep. Let the berry sit beneath your tongue.

At midnight on the seventh day you must go to the highest place in your town (it is common to climb on roofs for this step)

and, with the berry safely beneath your tongue, recite the whole of Fox in Socks. 

Do not let the berry slip from your tongue. Do not miss out any of the poem, or skip any of the bits of the Muddle Puddle Tweetle Poodle Beetle Noodle Bottle Paddle Battle.

Then, and only then, can you swallow the berry. You must return home as quickly as you can, for you have only half an hour at most before you fall into a deep sleep.

When you wake in the morning, you will be able to get your thoughts and ideas down onto the paper, and you will be a writer."

Dave Berry looked betrayed, 

"Hey, you told me I had to kiss a virgin goat at midnight while J K Rowling watched all draped in a mysterious monk's robe! 

And to never let my title have anything to do with the insides of the book."

The ghost of Mark Twain patted the hand of the bewildered young girl.  

"Princess, there is only one brief, solitary law for good writing.  It is very easy and simple, Missy.  Write only about things and people folks take a living interest in."

Neil nodded, "Or you could do that."

 

WHEN IT ALL SEEMS TOO MUCH

Here are some small ways that I have found that work for me

when life seems too much:

1.) HAVE SELF-COMPASSION -

In other words, cut yourself some slack.   

It’s being willing to look at your mistakes or failures with kindness and understanding —

without harsh criticism or defensiveness. 

Look at yourself as you would a friend going through a similar hard time.  

You know the advice you would give them?  Maybe you would be wise to follow it yourself?



2.) Remember THE BIG PICTURE -

A particular task may be disgusting or daunting -- 

but usually it is part of a goal that is worthwhile and helpful to someone important to you. 

 LOVE is a sauce that helps make even the most distasteful go down easier.



3.)  ROUTINE can be your friend -

 Every time you make a decision — 

whether it’s about choosing which medical avenue to take, about when or how long to sleep before tackling reality again, 

or about choosing rye or whole wheat for your egg salad sandwich --

It takes emotional energy.  

The more energy you deplete, the more stress builds up.

The solution is to reduce the number of decisions you need to make by using routines. 

If there’s something you need to do every day, do it at the same time every day.

Have a routine for preparing for your day in the morning, and packing up to go home at night.

No matter how you feel about Obama, 

he stated in a recent interview that he used the same strategy.  And he should know about problems and the stress they bring.

4.) Don't go NSF -

I've talked about your emotional checking account.  

Each emotional transaction depletes that account.  

Continually drawing from your emotional account without depositing is going to have you go NSF eventually.

That means a breakdown of some kind.

If there were something you could add to your car’s engine, so that after driving it a hundred miles, 

you’d end up with more gas in the tank than you started with, wouldn’t you use it?

There is something you can do for yourself that will have the same effect… doing something interesting.

Recent research shows that interest doesn’t just keep you going despite fatigue, it actually replenishes your energy. And then that replenished energy flows into whatever you do next.

5.) Think IF/THEN -- WHEN & WHERE -

Do you have a to-do list?  If you are in a middle of a life emergency, you certainly do.

  What you need is a way to get the things done that you set out to do in a timely manner.

 What you need is if-then planning (or what psychologists call “implementation intentions”).

Deciding in advance when and where you will complete a task (e.g., “If it is 4pm, then I will return any phone calls I should return today”)


can double or triple your chances of actually doing it.

Another way to combat stress using if-then plans is to direct them at the experience of stress itself, rather than at its causes.

Recent studies show that if-then plans can help us to control our emotional responses to situations in which we feel fear, sadness, fatigue, self-doubt, or even disgust.

 For instance:

 “If I see the doctor enter the room, then I will stay calm and relaxed, for then I will be able to ask the questions I need to,”


 or, “If two demands are pulling at me, then I will keep a cool head and calmly choose the more important of the two.”



6.) A LITTLE PREP & A LOT OF COPING -

As patients wait for test results, anxiety rises as time slips into slow motion. But experts say patients can regain a sense of control.

• Start before the test itself.
• Because fear can cloud memory during talks with doctors, take notes. If you can, bring a friend to catch details you may miss.

Some pretest questions:

• What precisely can this test reveal? What are its limitations?
• How long should results take, and why? Will the doctor call with results, or should I contact the office?
• If it’s my responsibility to call, what is the best time, and whom should I ask for?

7.) WAIT IS A FOUR LETTER WORD -

13 I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living.

 14 Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD.
- Psalm 124

Anticipating uncertain news or outcomes can be torture.

HOW TO WAIT WELL -

1.) DISTRACT YOURSELF FROM UNCERTAINTY

  Stressed minds seem to want to endlessly cycle your worst fears.  

You will find yourself unable to focus.  Sometimes a video of ocean waves is magnetic. 

For me, I found watching a video of a man Kyyaking in a rapids with a hymn in the background soothing for me when the world seemed about to bottom out.

IN HIS PRESENCE was the DVD:
http://www.amazon.com/In-His-Presence-Thou-Vision/dp/B000BG0DM8
(just in case you were wondering what video)



2.) MANAGE YOUR EXPECTATIONS -

Bracing for the worst is what many do. 

But research supports a number of benefits of maintaining hope under difficult circumstances,

 such as better adjustment to uncertainty, reduced risk for of hypertension, increased immune functioning, and faster recovery from illness.



3.) LOOK FOR THE SILVER LINING IN YOUR PRESENT MOMENT -

 It may surprise you to know that people with chronic and deteriorating diseases do not often report loss of all happiness compared to their healthy counterparts.

 Expectation plays a huge role in life satisfaction, 

so generally, when people come to terms with their new predicament, they're able to redefine their personal measures of happiness.

Therefore, while waiting for potentially bad news, 

you can take some comfort in knowing that, though your life may have to change, you will still be able to find some measure of happiness.


4.) KEEP PERSPECTIVE REGARDING THE POSSIBLE NEWS -

Consult with friends, family, and experts to ascertain the ramifications of potentially bad news. Evaluate how important the moment truly is in the grand scheme of things.



5.) KEEP COMMUNICATIONS OPEN TO YOUR FRIENDS -

Just leaning on the shoulder of a friend who gives a damn can make all the difference in the world.  

(Which is why I dedicated THE LEGEND OF VICTOR STANDISH to my best friend, Sandra)

Know that others have endured storms and have gained compassion from the journey.  Good friends want to help in any way they can.

Try to be a good friend in return.  :-)

YOU CAN WRITE ANYTHING YOU WANT!

“One must have a mind of winter to behold the nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.” 
- Wallace Stevens 

 

Just think of it!  We can write anything we want!!

We can create our own Han Solo, our own universe, our own odds.

STORY

 Elu, my Apache Gandalf, says there are no truths, only stories.

Each of us is a myth in our own heads. 

We make it up.

It is the story of ourselves we steer our actions by. 

It is not the truth of our life. We could not bear to look at that.

 It is the illusion which helps us keep going on in life.

Myths 

Man alone tells stories to understand his world.

I have always believed that, no matter what Elu said, there was only one story in all the world.

Men are caught, in their lives, in their thoughts, in their hungers and ambitions, 

in their greed and cruelty, and in their kindness and compassion, too, in a net of good and evil.

There is no other story.

 A man, after he has brushed off the dirt and blood of his life, 

will have left only two hard questions: 

Was my life good or was it evil?

We fall from womb to tomb,

 from one blackness and toward another, 

remembering little of the one and knowing nothing of the other ... except through faith.

You see, the apparently happy moments are the ones that deceive us. 

Though our senses or our wits may not be able to see the tides 

that are leading toward those clusters of events called crossroads, they’re happening all the same … 

and more tragically for our being blind to them. 

The star, the wheel, the butterfly—

all are in an unseen state of turmoil, 

waiting for the moment when some invisible process signals that the time has come. 

Then the star explodes. 

The wheel of Fate makes poor men rich. 

The butterfly mates and dies.

STORY can say all that is unsayable in the world.  

How can we resist the lure of attempting that?


The best STORY is the one where the reader sees her or himself in it and mutters, 

"Yeah, that's the way it is, isn't it?"

Events have a way of bruising us soul-deep until we long for a carpet ride out of our lives.

That's what STORY does for us ... 

it gives us a magic carpet ride out of ourselves for a few short precious moments.

WHAT IS THE PARTICULAR MAGIC OF WRITING 

THAT KEEPS YOU DOING IT?

ST. PATRICK'S NIGHT AT MEILORI'S

It was St. Patrick's Night at Meilori's.

Hibbs, the cub with no clue, was hiding there from Ratatoskr, the Asgardian Squirrel.

As if hiding from that rascally rodent was possible.

Hibbs got smacked in the back of the head with a snowball so hard that for a moment he became TWO cubs!

Ratastoskr found that so funny he forgave the cub for trying to hide from him.

The squirrel scampered up beside the fuming Hibbs as the cub rubbed the back of his wet head.

"Why do people wear shamrocks on St. Patrick's Day, fur-face?"

Hibbs tried to think of a way to tweak the nose of this snowball ambusher and smiled, "Because real rocks are too heavy."

Ratatoskr pouted, "No fair!  You're not supposed to know the answer."

Hibbs smiled wider.  "I have one for you now.  Knock.  Knock."

The squirrel scowled, "Who's there?'

"Irish."

"Irish who?"

"Irish you a happy St. Patrick's Day,"  

And so tickled was Hibbs at the look in Ratatoskr's eyes, he fell giggling on his back.

The squirrel popped to the table to his right and snapped back his own question. 

 "How did the Irish Jig get started?"

The Asgardian Squirrel had not noticed the small man in green with murderous eyes sitting at the table who rumbled,

"Faith now, but the answer is clear: too much to drink and too few restrooms. 

And ye scrawny rodent, ye made me spill me drink. Now, I'll be spilling yer guts!"

Despite their long history of bickering, Hibbs thought of Ratatoskr as a friend so he waddled up to the table.  

"You get my pal over my dead body!"

Hibbs realized he might have possibly phrased that a bit better as the leprechaun rose evilly to his feet.

"Sure now, but that can be arranged."


A shimmer of snowflakes and stardust slowly formed into the regal Turquoise Woman, 

who held the First Hawk of Creation next to her icy heart.

Her voice was winter given life.  "Do you know why I love to eat leprechaun?"

First Hawk, later to be called Little Brother by Hibbs, cawed, "Short ribs!"

And off ran the yelping leprechaun with First Hawk flying happily after him.

Ratatoskr turned to Hibbs.  "What do you get when you cross a short-legged leprechaun with a hunting hawk?"

Hibbs shook his head mystified.

The squirrel laughed, "Not Fast Enough Food!"

IT TAKES MORE THAN A GREAT IDEA TO MAKE A GREAT NOVEL

It takes SEX!

Sorry about that. 

The ghost of Mark Twain snorted those words as I wrote the title to this post. 

“I have so many great ideas for books, you and I should write a book together. 

I’ll give you the idea 

and all you have to do is write the book.” 

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been told that. 

Everyone has ideas. 

Most everyone can write words on 

a computer screen. 

Few can spin those words into a tale that is interesting.

 Every story is a promise, and its characters are the way the author keeps that promise. 

1.) A REASON TO CARE: 

Weakness married to Need. 

A dying mother has to keep it together long enough 

to get her young daughter to her sister at the next stop 

on a wild train ride through an Apocalyptic countryside. 

Cannibalism is the norm in this savage age. 

Weakness will not only worry her young daughter but lure the predators aboard the train. 

As the mother’s strength ebbs, she must drive her failing body and fogging mind to battle ever-increasing challenges. 

2.) HOW YOU TELL THE STORY KINDLES THE FIRE OR PUTS IT OUT: 

 "Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.”

3.)  FOCUS ON THE RIGHT SPOT: 

Concentrate your narrative energy on 

the point of change. 

A great book is not about the status quo but about evolution, about crossroads, about growth. 

4.) ANSWER THE NEEDFUL QUESTIONS: 

“Where am I?”

 The reader needs to know where the scene is taking place: 

the sights, sounds, smells of the place. The era. The relative danger in the surroundings. 

“How much time has passed since the last scene?” 

Time, like kidney stones, pass at various rates and with different levels of pain. 

“How are the characters reacting and why?” 

Words, like slung stones, have varying impact depending on who throws them and who receives them. 

Each bit of dialogue should have visible impact on the people involved or the dialogue is a candidate for deleting. 

 “What’s the point?”

If a scene doesn’t advance the plot or the characters in a meaningful way, you are wasting the reader’s time. 

And in this era of limited attention spans, readers will drop your book with too many such scenes. 

“What is the protagonist’s, the antagonist’s goal in this book. 

Do you care if they reach it? 

Do the goals make sense to desire?” 

5.) ROLES MODELS ARE IMPORTANT:

If you have to read ... 

to cheer yourself up -- 

read biographies of authors who went insane.

What was that all about?

PUT HUMOR IN YOUR CHAPTERS!

What do you think makes a novel
great?

Here is the man behind TOY STORY & WALL-E