Hello authors!
I know I have been rather absent from the Blogosphere for a while, but for those who have been waiting it will be well worth it! I’m expecting this post to be one of my larger posts for sure. First, I’d like to catch everyone up on what I’ve been up to for the last *checks watch* Six months…. Yesh. I’ve been pinging out my own life signs every so often through Twitter and the Facebook page. But, because I know not everyone checks those areas, I’ll recap here!
First the biggest news I have to give: After Sanity: Corporate Aspirations was released in July! That’s right, you can find it available at this very moment. It’s available in both digital and softcover variations on Amazon Here. I had been posting updates on my work on the book and cover on the Facebook page, but have refrained from posting it here. I’ve been intending on keeping this a helpful / advice blog, and try to keep from bombarding everyone with self-promotion and advertisements. I recognize that people may genuinely wish to see all of that, besides the progress bars on the right, so I will be adding separate pages to the blog that will contain all that extra goodness. I’ll mention updates on the blog, but it will remain primarily an advice/ tips/ tricks blog.
Since June I have also participated in a few extra writing projects:
I had the opportunity to be a part of an as of yet unnamed Anthology, I’ll post more when more information is available on that.
I participated in the Iron Writer Challenge number 88. Of the five authors, I tied for second. That allowed me to move on to the next round, which has yet to be set. Wish me luck!
I have started another blog where I am posting my short stories. I’m using a secondary blog to keep the posts separate. I’ll be adding a link to the other blog above later, but for now the blog is KirksAnthology.blogspot.com. I have already started posting there, with the opening act being a story per day for each of the twelve days of Christmas. I’m following a fun set of themes that have been posted on the Iron Writer web site. Take a look if you wish.
I participated in and won NaNoWriMo 2014. I chose a novel that isn’t inside of my normal comfort zone to help me improve and grow as an author. It’s worked pretty well, despite the problems. I’m expecting to be done with this one, tentatively called ‘Necessary Violence,’ within a month. At Least the first draft.
I’ve decided to post a much longer work on my Anthology Blog. I will work on and post an entire novel on the blog. Chapter by chapter. I’m hoping to get to a schedule of a chapter a week, but we’ll see how that goes. The purpose will be to gauge people’s interest and get feedback on not only my style of writing but of the story as well. I’m still trying to figure out which story I want to try this experiment with. I may use ‘Necessary Violence,’ but only time will tell.
I have also decided to start up a segment here called “Real Advice in Practice.” I’ve talked to others before and a common issue with people is making characters “seem real.” I’ve mentioned was of making interesting characters and helping bring both them and the worlds you create to life, but I realize the full mechanics of this may be lost on some. To that end I’ll be performing a bit of real world research and, in this weekly segment, share with all of you what I discovered, and how I could use it.
The best thing I know for such exploration is: people watching. I know that seems like some sort of stalker / creeper phrase, but please hear me out. Go to a public venue, and just generally watch people, how they act, and their interactions with each other. Also pay close attention to how they act by theirselves. Now, by this I do NOT mean LEERING / GAWKING / anything like that. Don’t be weird. What I’m suggesting is BE observant. Everyone has some kind of quirk. Most people have a couple. A lot of times the ones they show in private will be different from the ones they show in public, but you’ll still get a good idea. These “quirks” go a looooong way to bringing a character to life.
In this weekly segment I’ll be reporting on my own findings. I’ll go to some public venue, probably a mall, and just sit and observe the rest of humanity. I’ll compile a list of interesting / noteworthy traits and post them here. I will then use the traits and show you how it can make an interesting character. By doing this, I hope to give your creativity a boost and open your eyes to the wonderful world around you, and all of the references it holds for your next great piece!
I had already done exactly as mentioned, and was going to post it here as well, but I believe I’ll give it its own post to be easier to digest.
TL;DR: I’m still alive. I published the book and I’m still helping how I can.
Until next time, keep writing!
--Kirk
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