Happy Endings

There are certain stories that people don’t like automatically. Beyond genre and subject objections that is. A story could, based on its statistics and attributes, be well within someone’s tastes and yet they can still despite it. There are many reasons this could happen and, I’m sure, most, if not all, of us are guilty of such bias. I know I am, and I have a perfect example of such loathing.

 

The Perfect Storm has been a focus of my ire since my very first viewing of it. I didn’t have a problem with the story or the plot, just let me get that out of the way. This isn’t a writers pet peeve induced hate. My displeasure was, like many others, focused on the ending. Statements like “It was good… but the ending ruined it!” have been tossed around by many people, including myself, about this story and many others that fall into the same category.

 

As a writer I know, at least logically, that this should NOT be the case. The ending is valid. It is final. It is complete. There shouldn’t be anything wrong with it, but yet there “is.” I have recently, literally in the last couple of days, had an epiphany on why stories like this unfairly draw our wrath. Simply put: we like happy endings.

 

Cinderella, Snow White, and the rest of the Disney Catalog. People enjoy seeing: the princess getting saved, true love discovered, bad guys getting what they deserve, and, most importantly, the Happy Ending.

 

Why are people so focused on the Happy Ending? I believe the answer lies in the alternative. The “NonHappy” Ending is too real, hits too close to home, and, as such, SUCKS. Like I said previously, this is an epiphany brought about over the last couple days. I had the epiphany while sitting in a wheel chair, and watching the light of light fade from a dear family member.

 

My aunt, Sergeant First Class Kimberly Carroll, lost her long battle with leukemia this morning at 8:26am. She was a victim of the very thing that was supposed to save her life: the bone marrow donated to her by her son. She was a victim of the arguably worst sort of marrow rejection: it attacked her body from the inside.

 

While spending as much time as I could at the hospital, along with a good portion of the family, I had the aforementioned epiphany: sometimes, life just isn’t fair. While watching her rapidly waste away, I couldn’t help think “This SUCKS.” And, while trying to make sense of the situation, I made the connection to other stories.

 

People like happy endings because they are fleeting glimpses of what they wish would happen. Beating the odds is called “Beating the odds” for a reason: because most do not. Life, in general, is a far crueler mistress that Disney EVER let on. Most do not get saved in the nick of time. Most do not get brought into the monarchy. And, yes, people actually die.

 

My aunt’s story, much like The Perfect Storm, is not fair, but very real. She received treatment. She had the support from family, friends, and professionals. She was even lucky enough to find a donor inside the family. However, it wasn’t enough even with her long battle.

 

While I say goodbye to my aunt, and continue on with my own living story, I will never forget these lessons. Sometimes, regardless of how much you try, how well things seem to go, and doing everything right, it is still possible to lose. Sometimes, life just sucks, and all you can do is try your best, and hope for your own Happy Ending.


Wes Kirk

Real Advice in Practice

Real Advice in Practice #1


As promised, here is the first of the weekly segments for helping with character development by using references from the real world.


Today I went to a local mall and camped out with some friends in the food court. While eating, chatting, and just generally hanging out, I kept an eye and an ear out for my surroundings. During this particular trip I spotted a couple noteworthy traits / actions that could be used for writing. I'll put in parenthesis my extrapolation of what I discovered.


I heard a lady talking about a guy that never seems to smile, and she was wondering why that is. (This one actually has a pair of things that could be extrapolated from it. First would be the man being referenced. There are a variety of reasons for people not to smile from shame of their bad teeth to simply not expressing themselves that way. The second take away is the lady herself. She presents both a sense a curiosity and caring for someone that she apparently doesn't really know that well. It could be that she's the type of person that likes to fix such situations. It could also simply be office-type gossip, but that's not as interesting in my opinion).


I saw a lady breaking out a thick novel, getting comfortable, and digging into the book right in the middle of the food court. Not eating, or meeting anyone, just reading. The food court was rather noisy. (This one has a couple interesting ways that it could be used. She really seemed to be enjoying herself, which got me thinking about the situation. On one side, maybe she has a hard time focusing and reading if an area is too quiet. There are some people that need that kind of background noise. There's also the possibility that she's the sort that wishes to be around people, without actually INTERACTING with people. If she's an introvert, interacting with people requires an expenditure of energy on her part, but that doesn't stop the craving for social / human contact. So that could be a route to take it as well: someone who's lonely, and wants to be around people without any social pressures.)


Saw a guy wearing a pair of headphones, but they were turned off. Guy was just hanging out, and looking around, but with headphones off. (This one you could have some fun with. Maybe he really doesn't like people, and just wants to be left alone so he puts up such a visual cue. What about the possibility of him being deaf, and he does it so people don't think he's ignoring them intentionally? May he was there waiting on someone the whole time, and turned his headset off so he could see better and not get lost in the music. Then there's the story / plot possibilities of him being under cover agent, cop, spy, etc and is actually staking out the area.)


There was a girl who repeatedly braided, and unbraided, the same cluster of hair. (This is an interesting boredom or waiting trait. It could be used as boredom or nervousness. In this particular case I'm pretty sure it was outright boredom as she waited for one of her parents to return from the bathroom. But, used repeatedly in similar situations it could go a good way in showing a fidgety character)


Now, my extrapolations from what I've seen may not be accurate for the real world at all, I'm not trying to pry into people's lives. That isn't necessary. We're writing fiction here, so there's no problem with taking a creative license with what you observe. Take whatever cues you do observe, and find interesting ways to apply or use them. Different actions and traits can be used in widely differing areas, depending on context and whatever it is you establish.


There was another set of traits that I stumbled upon, but that will be for a later post in the week. It will cover treating multiple characters as a single "unit" / single "character"


I'll also post a small short story on the Anthology so you can see how I've used some of these traits in my own works.


Hope this helps! Like always, if you have any questions just drop me a line




--Kirk

Self-Publishing lesson +1

Hi everyone, 

I thought I’d share something I have learned from this whole “self-publishing” drama that I’ve gotten myself into. Hopefully reading this will help you if you decide to go the same route. I’ll post more information and anecdotes as they become available.

For those that don’t already know. I’m going the self-publishing route with After Sanity. I had a lot of reasons for coming to this decision, but they are not part of the current topic, so I’ll avoid any further digression. I released After Sanity: Corporate Aspirations, the first part of six, in early July.

Now, when you go the self-publishing route, YOU are your own marketing department. If you happen to have a marketing guru friend who’s willing to do it for you, so much the better. I don’t. So It’s all me. I knew this in advance, of course. I didn’t kid myself on it. However, I did have one major oversight.

My specific problem has to do with a little thing called ‘timing.” Generally speaking, this wouldn’t be such an issue since my schedule’s so fluid. However, summer and fall is my heavy season. So, in case I haven’t left enough bread crumbs, I picked a horrendous time for me to release my first book.

If you already have some sort of following, or group of people you can recruit to help you spread the good word, so much the better. I’m rather unknown outside of certain circles. And, as I mentioned in my very first post, intentionally stayed out of social media for as long as possible. This has seriously bit me in the rear as it’s forcing me to make those connections now.

To get the word out, I have to be as active as possible in a variety of areas. I don’t mean running around like an Avon salesman and harassing people. I simply mean letting people know that I exist. And, even with that relatively meager goal, I simply didn’t have the time to do it. A great example of that is the extended absence from this blog.

Now that it is the winter / slow season, I’ll be able to spend more time doing things to help get my name out there. My flurry of projects I’m getting into is another example of my attempt to tell the netsphere “Hey! I’m here!” and give some examples of my work.

So, as should be expected, the exposure for the book has suffered dramatically. As such, it’s nowhere near any “best seller lists.” All of this, can be attributed to the lack of marketing and lack of attention on my part.

The takeaway / advice for you: If you are going to self-publish anything, make sure to schedule it so that you actually have the TIME that will be required to do the marketing it will very much need. Getting your name out there during the creation process would also help. But, unlike what several POD printing services may say in their ads. The “Hard part” is NOT over when you finish the book. It’s actually just starting.

Good luck my friends! Until next time.

 

--Kirk

I Come Bearing Gifts!

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

Why does it seem my chapters are so short? Question from the mail bag #1

This will be my first time posting in response to a question. If you have any yourself, about writing or even about me personally, post a comment or shoot me a message and I’ll get back with you and possibly make a post about the topic. Also have started a “Q and A” list on the “About Me” page.

Q:

When I write I always find that I get from point ‘A’ to point ‘B’ very quick. I'm not too good at adding detail so chapters end up being very short. That's one of the big issues I have. IDK maybe that doesn't make sense.

A:

Actually that does make sense to me. You probably are getting really focused on what you are wanting to HAPPEN in the story, and not so much on the TELLING of the story. Here is a great exercise that I think can help you out with this. First, go ahead and write out the story / chapter as you normally would. Now, start back over from the beginning and start reading the work slowly. Doing this normally helps you “picture” the world. Are you getting a good mental image of what is going on during the story? If so, double check with the words, and make sure you’re not mentally adding everything yourself. If your character walks into a bar and yanks some guy out of his chair, make sure ALL of that is actually written down. If you are montaging the events, it can be a problem. You have to make sure to give the character(s) enough 'screen time' to actually seem alive.

This brings up the debate of “how much is: too much, too little, enough” when it comes to details in a story. I have another entire blog post planned out for this, but I’ll give a cliff notes version here. “Enough” is when you can, within the confines of your own style, convey your story to another using only what you have written. If you have to keep verbally clarifying for your reader, then you need to add those details into the book. Unless it’s something that’s explained/ revealed a lot later, but then that’s a style choice and not a clarity issue.

That being said, there is no reason for you to write out every micro detail your character(s) is(are) doing. It can be to your benefit to let the reader "fill in the blanks." If you put in TOO many details, the reader may get bogged down and have an issue relating with the story. It's okay for a chapter to be "short." "Short" is a relative term and as long as it works for you and your story, there's no problem.

This most likely will be my only post for the week. I will be presenting at the Origins Game Fair in Columbus Ohio and am going to be INSANELY busy. Hopefully I can manage a post on Sunday when I get home but no promises.

--Kirk

What’s your favorite misspelled word?

Evening authors! So, what is your favorite misspelled word? No I don’t mean in the sense of funny things that come about like my tentacle/ testicle snafu. What this post will be focusing on is an editing tip that many of you may not even realize. We, all of us, have certain words that we have a bad habit of misspelling. Sometimes this gets to be a major issue if the misspelling is another word entirely. This could be an issue of “learning bad habits” where you were you memorized it that way and it just stuck or it may be an issue of getting words mixed up. Whatever the issue, I’ll give you some tips on how to fix or avoid the problems.

Grammar Nazi Pet Peeves.

This section has to do with word choice and is actually one of the most covered in traditional schools. Things like “their, they’re, there” and “whose vs who’s”. These are major grammar issues that get the Grammar Nazi’s rolling in with a red pen Panzer Division. A PENzer Division if you will. There is a long list of these types of problems, and for brevity sake I’ll not include a list here. (If you wish for a longer list let me know and, if I get enough interest, I’ll work something out.)

Homonyms: Peek/Peak, Stair/Stare

Homonyms, the word itself is funny, but the issues they cause during editing are nothing of the sort. For those bad with vocabulary, homonyms are words with different spellings and meanings, but are pronounced the same. They can crop up in your writing as you are visualizing the elements of the story and quickly writing it out before you lose the “mental picture.” The creative side of the brain (right) is separate from the side that controls words (Left), so this sort of problem can rear its ugly head every now and then. There’s nothing wrong at all with it happening. The trick is to RECOGNIZE that fact, and keep in mind you have to fix it during edit.

The “I don’t think that word means what you think it means.”

These annoying errors have to do with a word choice error caused by confusion of meaning. Homonyms have a presence in this category, but it’s more than that. An example from my own list(that’s also a homonym): clinch and clench. For this pair only one letter separates the meaning from the intended and wrong. One (clinch) means to confirm, the other (clench) means closing into a tight ball. A random pair of commonly misused words is elicit and illicit. Elicit means to bring about something. “A soft touch of his hand elicits a growing smile from his companion.” Illicit means illegal and can be remembered since they both start with “ill.”Example: “His illicit activities landed him in jail.” They are obviously two different words with completely separate meanings, right? However, if you confuse the words you may make the same mistake repeatedly throughout your transcript, and never be the wiser.

What now wise guy?

The important part: Fixes! If you couldn’t tell from my previous posts, I am a big fan of lists. Having side documents help me organize my thoughts and helps prevent me from forgetting important things. On top of that, it is impossible to know and remember everything, unless you are an immortal with a perfect memory that is. For these problems, lists are an important step. Unfortunately, you’re not likely to know it’s happening until a beta-reader gets a look at it. If any of your beta-readers point out even ONE instance of the above, or similar, issues make a note of it in a list. Then you need to search the entire document with the ever faithful “Find” feature. Find and replace is okay, but you have to be very careful as misclicks can make unfortunate changes.

Others may have the mindset of: “Why not just avoid causing those problems in the first place?” That is an awesome idea, thank you for sharing that thought with us, Captain Obvious, but unfortunately we are only mere mortals and SOMETIMES make mistakes. Of course once you make note of the problem, and repeatedly have to fix it, you’ll make mental changes and make the mistake less often. Eventually this self-editing will eliminate the problem but, in the meantime, lists can help you target your personal list of common errors and raise the quality of your writing.

--Kirk

Curse you Auto-Correct!

Writing is hard enough, so why make it any harder than is has to be? There are several things you can do to lighten your work load and smooth out the process. Below are a few of the things I’ve learned to do along the way. Not all of it will be applicable for all situations, but as usual I’d recommend looking it over and making your own decision on how much to emulate.

Auto-Correct, Auto-Fill, etc. TURN IT OFF.

This is rather straight forward. If you’re software has this feature, turn it off. Yes, these features have given the internet vast lists of hilarious misunderstandings caused by the wrong word being used, but that is an unnecessary annoyance when you are trying to write. On top of hurting your work flow, since you have to stop and FIX the error the software made, it may go by unnoticed until much later. A description involving some monster with tentacles attacking people can take a whole different direction if it’s spontaneously changed into testicles. Yes it has happened. To me. Go ahead and laugh, I did. Moving along…

Beyond changing the word to something quirky or humorous, it could cause major headaches later. One of the issues I have run into before is the word “Stares” being transformed magically into “Stairs.” It seems like an easy fix, but sometimes the problem with these homonyms is that sometimes the eye glances over them during editing. The meaning is there and grasped on some leave of the reader, but the error doesn’t always get caught. So save yourself some headaches, and just turn the thing off.

Spell check, Grammar check: TURN OFF

Same advice as above, but for different reasons. Firstly, if you are doing some sort of fantasy fiction, get ready to be drowned in a proverbial sea of red and green squiggly lines. Another problem is the software isn’t right all the time. There are a fair number of words and names that the programs simply don’t recognize. Remember that it’s just an aid and only provides SUGGESTIONS on things to fix. You are the writer, you are the editor, YOU know what you want; make it so.

The biggest issue with these options? Why do I have so much disdain for the squiggly lines during the writing process? Simply put: they slow you down. If you get into the groove of writing. If you have managed to root yourself in the world you are creating. If you have the winds of progress filling your sails, why would you want anything forcing you back into the real world? These seemingly innocuous little multi-colored squiggly lines are disturbing flags of potential errors. Most of us have a problem with ignoring them and moving on, I know I do. They are like that by design. BUT, they are an EDITING tool. They have their time and place, but not during writing. Each time you are uprooted from your work in order to fix a “possible” problem flagged by the squiggles, you risk losing whatever thought or plan you just had in your mind. The potential time lost is just not worth it. So, turn it off and wait for your editing phases to use this particular toolset.

--Kirk