The Presumption of AI Artists

This blog post was not written by AI…

But it could have been. You can now pay a company to write blog posts for you. With a few simple ‘prompts’ to help capture the theme and the feel of your post, you can completely automate the writing process. Think of all the content I could ‘create’ if I could type less words than what I’ve just typed here, and had the AI spit out screed after screed of content on the daily!

Another productive Facebook thread.

The same thing is currently all the rage in the realm of visual art. Legit artists are feeling disenfranchised because the AI is doing in seconds what it would take hours or days to produce. Folks like me, who can’t draw worth a damn are creating content like this for mostly fun and possible profit:

Library II

from $45.00

The Library stands formidably in the center of the Fields of White to the north of Coravan City. The books held within are numerous. Some titles are familiar, while others more obscure. Some of the books are stories their authors never intended to write. Yet they all reside within the ancient walls of the Library...

• Acid-free, PH-neutral, poly-cotton base
• 20.5 mil (0.5 mm) thick poly-cotton blend canvas
• Canvas fabric weight: 13.9 oz/yd2(470 g/m²)
• Fade-resistant
• Hand-stretched over solid wood stretcher bars
• Matte finish coating
• 1.5″ (3.81 cm) deep
• Mounting brackets included
• Blank product in the EU sourced from Latvia
• Blank product in the US sourced from the US

I am no artist, nor do I pretend to be one. Where I worked hard to string sentences together in a somewhat coherent fashion, I did little to do the same with pen, pencil, cray-paws and paper. My interest in comic books was equal parts story and visual appeal—sometimes the visuals outweighing the story. Don’t judge a comic by it’s…content? I knew what appealed to me both in the artist as well as the writer. I’m embarrassed to say that it took me well into my late 20s before I was able to fully appreciate Neil Gaiman’s, The Sandman, because as a teenager I was too hung up on how it looked. My tastes matured. I developed—I’d like to think for the better.

I view this AI generated art similar to asking an artist for a commission. In my own experience this involves telling the artist my idea over 1-2 emails, paying them, and getting something in the mail. The artwork is that artist’s interpretation of my idea. Was my description too vague, too literal? How did the artist interpret my description? If I sent along an image and said “…in this style” it is up to the artist I’m commissioning to make a judgement call as to what the hell I mean. Does he follow the sample image to the letter or use is as a vague point of reference?

Sometimes the artiest gets it right. Other times it’s way off the mark and I’m left with paying for something I really didn’t want.

AI is the same way. You feed it a prompt and get a result. Nothing more. Only with AI you can tweak your prompt to get something closer to what you desire…or not.

If I had the capital to keep an artist on retainer, or if I were a company with an entire art department, I could achieve the same results through regular meetings, a plethora of visual aides, mood boards, etc.

And ultimately, through the human artist, I would get exactly what I’m looking for.

With the AI, in this current state, it’s a gamble. I may gut lucky from time to time with something that is visually compelling, but it won’t be exact. Which is why AI generated art is great for joe-consumer but not for anything professional in it’s current state.

Maybe one day it will be, or maybe one day I will learn how to manipulate the prompts just enough to reproduce what is in my minds eyes.

So what am I, if not an artist?

The cynic would say that I’m a master manipulator.

But I like to think myself more as a curator. I’m feeding the AI an idea and I’m assessing what it gives me based on my own unique tastes. What I find visually appealing is different from what you find visually appealing—in fact, depending on who ‘you’ happen to be, I might find it appalling! That’s how art—like writing, works—not everything is everyone’s cup o’ tea.

And that, my friends, is what ultimately makes art…art, whether it’s crafted by a human, AI, or a goat.

If you found value from this post, please consider contributing financially. You may have noticed that I’ve not written here in a while. This is in part due to life being busy. But money is always a great incentive and motivation in writing for reals instead of letting the AI do it. Consider becoming a Patron or even giving a one-time donation.

Donate

I’m going to keep writing and posting from time to time. But I’ll do it a lot more if I feel that someone out there is receiving some value from it. Thank you and good day.

Aeon Timeline and Scrivener

Real quick, guys.

I’ve been using Aeon Timeline 3 in conjunction with Scrivener [the Third] . After something of a learning curve when it comes to syncing data between the two programs, I think I’m at a point where I can actually start working with both programs creatively.

A brief note on the setup:

I’ll probably post a more in-depth video on this at some point but there’s a great deal of customisation that can go into making your timelines specific to your story. If you put in the work, you’ll get a lot out of it. It’s important to spend as little time on this as possible, so that it doesn’t take away from your creative time. I have the luxury of having children, which affords me very little creative time, but quite a lot of time where they might be running around, watching TV and being distracting enough where I can setup these two apps without having to use a lot of creative brain-power.

I say all this to say that I don’t feel as if I was avoiding the creative process, but merely using the time I had to do what I was mentally capable of doing. Now that I’ve gotten these technical aspects put to bed, I can shift into a more creative mindset and hopefully carve out some time to throw on the headphones and make some magic!

A Note on the Magic:

My story is in two parts. Part 2 was edited and I have copious notes from my awesome editor. Part 1 needs to be expanded. So what I’m doing with Timeline, is restructuring the content I already have, and inserting new scenes and chapters, in order to tell a better story. I have a lot of this up in my head, based on the Editor feedback, etc. But it’s important to get this all nailed down and codified.

Timeline is going to help me do this.

I’m going to work almost exclusively in Timeline in order to get the structure set. All of this will sync with Scrivener. Once I’m happy with the bones of my story, I will transition over to Scrivener and start writing the scenes, and getting the book ready for another pass from The Editor.

It’s all a huge process, but it now feels like building something sharp, tight and tangible, instead of looking at it through cloudy glasses.

It should go without saying but, no I am not getting paid to endorse these two products. I legit love both Aeon Timeline and Scrivener. I’ve been using them for years and they seem to be getting better and better with each version—Timeline especially.

Speaking of Getting Paid:

This past year I realised that both my time and writing is valuable, and not without a sacrifice to my family and personal life. I will never charge for this content, however if you received any value from the above post, please consider donating an amount equal to the value you received. This is the Value for Value model and it’s how I plan to do business going forward. If this post was worth a cup of coffee, consider donating to my coffee fund. If it’s worth more, that’s cool too.

A link to the Donation Page can be found Here.

There is also my Patreon if you’d like to do more than a one-time donation. You can find the link to my Patreon below. Thank you and Goodnight.

Become a Patron!

Chapter 5 of Fire and Brimstone, and Being Back from the Great Beyond

No, no, I’m still here. Haven’t gotten rid of me yet.

Here is Chapter 5 of the aforementioned tale entitled, Fire and Brimstone. The story is taking shape here. It’s a rough train-wreck, which is why it’s here for free, but if you believe in the work, feel free to donate some coin. Value4Value is a powerful tool in this information era. Just ask the No Agenda Show. It seems to be working well for them.

If this is your first time here, get caught up and check out the first few chapters.

Wife had the kid.

Started working from home

Only to be called back into the office

Will probably start working from home again in a week or so

Praying to God that summer isn’t canceled

Might start streaming again soon.

And so, to business

It’s been some time since my last post. So I wanted to cover a few projects I’m trying to get off the ground.

Twitch

I’m streaming on Twitch. You can find me Here

During the week from 6AM - 7AM you can see me writing stories and talking about it.

On the weekends I can be found in the evening playing games like Batman, or whatever else I feel like playing.

See the schedule on Twitch for an up-to-date list.

When I’m not actively streaming, enjoy the salty styles of saltykaitlyn and a cast of few once I add more friends to my Host List.

Please feel free to Follow me, and watch and chat when I’m streaming! Just like here at CGMcGinn.com, my Twitch Stream is the Happiest Place on the Internet.

Fire and Brimstone

So I’m posting my work on This Website for your enjoyment. As I write the chapters I’ll update This Page.

As new chapters are released I’ll update my social media accounts so that everyone will know when new content comes out.

These are rough drafts of my work. Here is my process: I’m writing this story live on Twtich in the morning. I’ll then read through each chapter, clean up any grammar and expand on a few ideas. For example, in the live writing of Chapter 1, the character of Charlotte didn’t have a previous career as a pastry chef. That bit of her backstory was added during this initial editing phase and released today, Here.

Eventually I’ll have a complete story that is edited, and consistent and polished, which will be published here on the website in a digital format. But in the meantime, if you find entertainment in these rough-cuts of my work, feel free to take advantage of the Donate button and throw some value, for the value you received.

Thanks!

Ravencry: Book 2 of the Raven's Mark by Ed McDonald

When I finally put all my ducks in a row, get published (self or otherwise), and get on the scene, my first order of business will be to befriend Ed McDonald and talk shop over pints of thick strong stouts, porters, and ales of the chest-hair growing variety. I get the sense that he’s a pretty cool guy. I’m following him on Instagram, so it’s a start. Maybe when this post goes live I will make mention of it on the “Insta”—something I should do more often anyway. Based on one of his more recent posts, I’m pretty sure we share a similar writing style—the difference being he has 2 books published with a 3rd coming out in June while I have a series of rough drafts ranging in degrees of roughness similar to grades of sandpaper. He obviously has the discipline in which I lack.

I enjoy his writing style and the 2nd book of the Raven’s Mark series, Ravencry maintains the hard and sharp edge introduced in his first book. The character of Ryhalt Galharrow is what you get when you take Ian McShane’s, Al Swearengen and throw him into a magic-fill, apocalyptic fantasy, where he is able to swear and murder his way through all matter of monster and conspiracy. Galharrow drinks profusely, swears excessively—if not poetically, and cares very little for how he presents himself to the nobility.

Two Ian McShane “Swegen” posts in a week. Time to re-watch Deadwood!

And yet somehow, he is a character with heart, who cares for others—not necessarily society as a whole but perhaps just those closest to him. And those people—few and meager as they may be, he does not want to see them eaten by what may crawl out from the Misery—a seemingly endless stretch of land plagued by magic, more radioactive than ethereal.

As for my second order of business: Revenge. Swift and brutal revenge. Or Creme Brulee.

Revenge

A dish best served with caramelized sugar and a butane torch.

The Vicious Circuit: A Series by Robert Brockway

There should be a name for the genre of bizarre sci-fi, modern-fantasy, horror that the likes of David Wong, Robert Brockway and their ilk hilariously bestow upon this unsuspecting world. I like reading these books for a number or reasons, which I will list right now, in no particular order:

The main characters are hapless lay-about who don’t give many shits about anything, let alone the cosmic nightmares they have been thrown up against. They are often found stoned or drunk…or both.

The Dude abides.

However, said main characters are often assisted by a strong female counterpart who saves them from both monsters and their own stupidity on several hilarious occasions. These characters range from bookish to bad-ass.

And now that you mention it, stories that involve cosmic nightmares and untold horrors of a Lovecraftian nature are often the tea in which I gingerly pour into my ornate and chipped cup.

Thanks Nick the Rat

The dialog is raw and real with a lot of cursing. Not the Shakespearen pros you’d get from an episode of Deadwood, but rather the, punch-in-the-face gutter-speak heard after a night of heavy drinking…in which the drink of choice is gasoline with a spritz of ginger.

"Act averse to nasty language and partial to fruity tea."

~Al Swearengen

Where David Wong's books take place in, Undisclosed middle America, Brockway takes us into the often traveled streets of New York, London, and the far from glamorous L.A. scene. In Undisclosed, we suspend belief because, after all, this could all be some cruel aliens simulation in some unheard of town. But when the landmarks are found on our SnapInstaFace feeds when the monsters arrive is all the more unsettling.

Both writers also write for Cracked.com, which makes me wonder what the hell is in the drinking fountains over there. It's some pretty potent stuff! 

Keep writing these types of books and I'll keep reading them.

And now that I think about it, a Lovecraftian-themed show, staring Karen Gilliam, Jeff Bridges as The Dude, and Ian McShane would be something incredibly awesome. We’ll call this tale of horror, It Came from the Deep, or The Waking Gods, or The Big Lebowski 2. Co-Written by CGMcGinn, David Wong and Robert Brockway. I’d get top billing though. I wrote this post and found the pictures on the Inter-webs.

An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors by Curtis Craddock

A few weeks back, my editor posted a link to a blog looking for writers. It was a paying gig, which involved writing about reading. What discouraged me was that they specifically stated that they WERE NOT looking for book reviews. I guess that's what I do. I don't know. I think I give you enough to make a decision whether or not you should try out a book. I don't like getting in depth on the plot or development--sticking more to what struck me as unique. At first glance I guess this could be misinterpreted as a review.

Needless to say, I didn't apply for the job. Maybe I'm selling myself short. Who knows.

An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors is what happens when you give Alexandre Dumas tickets to a Steampunk convention, then lock him in a room and tell him he won't be let out until he writes a book about it. This is a steampunk, swashbuckling tale in the sky, with healthy doses of palace intrigue, magic, magical technology, and more twists in the plot than...something, something...M. Night Shyamalan.

Biography.com

Steampunk as a genre seems hard to get out into the mainstream. Masques and Mirrors certainly isn't pure steampunk, but there's enough of it in there to get one's cogs off...whatever that means. In fiction, I think it's best used when describing a certain aspect of the technology. When it's used too much--encompassing the plot, the dress of the characters, the way they talk, it breaks the story and turns into, well, a steampunk conversion. I guess the same could be said about any quirk of world-building, but right now, steampunk seems to be the lightning rod for such criticism. If there's a pun in there, it was only partially intended.

2nd Novella Mostly Finished...Mostly

It's a hot steaming mess, but it's a rough first draft.

And more importantly, it's a FINISHED first draft!

I don't know how I got here. But it can be done.

Follow your dreams and you can reach your goals. I'm living proof. Beefcake! BEEFCAKE!!!

Change'n. The Times. They are.

I re-read The Waste Lands by Stephen King--which is said to be the best book in The Dark Tower series. I tend to agree. The last time I read it was in college, which was a long time ago. *I pause to contemplate the passage of time*

It was a very different read the second time, and many years around, and my memories of events and characters were very different. The scene in the Tick-Tock Man's lair was rather simplistic in my young college mind. The setting was more trash-strewn hovel than trash-strewn missile silo. Did my memories filter out the details or where they never there to begin with? The lead up to that confrontation was also very different. I don't remember all the trap-filled, underground passageways. The character of Roland, the iconic gunslinger, was also more human, less full of angst, and, at times, even funny. We project a lot on our protagonists and perhaps my Freshman mindset painted a very different picture compared to my current, more refined pallet.

Or perhaps I'm just full of shit and wasn't paying a damn bit of attention the first time around.

If my wife, in-laws, and the doctor are to be believed, I have a kid now. Life as I now know it has changed...forever...and ever...*sigh*...and ever....

He's a goofy kid. I was going to add, ...'just like his old-man', but it would have sounded cliche. It's weird. Whenever I talk about him, I feel like I'm sounding cliche. I guess all those 'change my life forever' sayings really hold true in this case. It's a weird, strange ride, but I don't think I'd change even the late nights and crying. Not when he cries, and not even when I cry either.

The writing has taken a backseat to baby. I'm just beginning to get back into it. It's been a 2 month dry spell. But this blog, and some notes I've made are pushing me ever forward. I've started my final read of Hidden Mountain before it goes out for submission. It starts off slow. Not sure if it's too slow to the action. Once the action happens, it becomes a very 'hit-the-ground-running' until the end, kind of story. Not sure if The Editor should take another pass at it, or just throw it to the mercy of the submission process and see if I get any feedback.

At the library I work at, I've begun compiling what I like to call, The C.G. McGinn Collection. This is all a precursor to the C.G. McGinn wing, which they will build in my honor after all the money I donate to them once I become rich and famous. Here is what currently resides within this most prestigious--be it a bit pretentious--sub-library within the library proper:

The Rook by Daniel O'Malley

The Gentleman Bastards series by Scott Lynch

14 and The Fold by Peter Clines (14 is a must read)

Somewhere in Between by Katie Li

More to be added in time.

How about I give you the finger...

...and you give me my phone call.

Apple released new emoji's today. Now you can give your friends the finger. Ladies, that jerk from college who to this day manages to drunk-dial you, can now be met with a close-to-real-life retort.

I watched that fanedit of the 2nd and 3rd Matrix movies mentioned in my last post. I liked it. I feel it addressed some of the main complaints Samson and I had about those films. It certainly isn't perfect, but it may be my go-to when the Marathon Matrix bug hits me. For me the only way to watch The Matrix series (not the movie but the entire franchise as a whole) is to watch in this order:

1. The Second Renaissance

2. A Detective Story

3. The Matrix

4. Kid's Story (Optional)

5. Final Flight of the Osiris

6. The Matrix Revolutions: The Epic Edition by GeminiGod

Note: I have another fanedit that incorporates the the live action scenes from the Enter the Matrix video game into the 2nd and 3rd movies. I haven't watched it yet, though the gist of it is similar to the above fanedit. It's possible this version may be better and take the Number 6 spot. Only time will tell, though you should expect a rebuttal to this post either way.

The Editor will have my manuscript for Hidden Mountain by this time tomorrow. It goes without saying that I hope she likes it. But moreover, I hope she beats the hell out of it. I know it needs work. I've done all I can for it. It needs a fresh set of eyes and a head full of ideas.

I started reading, Gail Simone's Batgirl. It's dark and fits in well with Scott Snyder's Batman. Yeah, I know I'm a little late to the party. Sue me.

I'm not proud to admit this, but I never read V for Vendetta. This also goes without saying but it's so much better than the movie.

Current Enjoyment

What I enjoy:

1. The first cup of morning coffee

2. "Cat's Cradle" by Kurt Vonnegut

3. The Fratellis latest album, "Eyes Wide, Tongue Tied"

4. My office

5. Bubba Burgers

Less Superficial Enjoyments:

1. The Wife. Because.

I read Cat's Cradle again. It's a good book but you have to be into Vonnegut or else you're not going to get it. There was a lot more happening after the big thing that happens than I remembered. The audio version even had a nice interview with the late KV, which was also good. Totally different generation of writer. Very refreshing.

I have an Editor for the novella. I met her at the Author's Expo last month. Full disclosure: I saw her name on the list of editors at the expo and researched her with the All-Mighty Google to see if she was legit. Turns out, she is. So when the expo finally came around, I had a pretty good idea of what to expect. Tanya -her name is Tanya- seems really enthusiastic about the novella -a trait I associate more with agents than editors. I suspect this is a good thing though. Up until now, I and a select few were the only people who gave a damn about what the hell I've been doing with my meager free time. So it's really cool to have a professional editor get into it as much as I do.

I have some time before turning over the manuscript. I'm going over the notes from my beta-readers and putting together notes on the series, characters, plot -stuff she's going to need. This is more than just copy editing. When all is said and done I hope to see exactly what works and what doesn't.

Inside Baseball

I made a small outline of the series in its entirety. I don't have all the details. A lot of what I have planned in my head is subject to change as the characters develop. I'm not going to force my initial outcome if a particular character no longer feels or acts the way they did when I first came up with it.

That being said:

Anthology#1: 5 Novella's. By the end, all the main characters will be introduced and the reader should have a fairly good idea of the universe, its rules, etc.

The Novels: 3 Novels. The first one picks up right where the last novella ends. These 3 books will cover a specific story I've been wanting to tell for several years now. 

Anthology#2: The jury is still out on this one. I've got a great big world here and I want to be able to explore other areas that perhaps branch away from the main story. This 2nd collection will probably take place between the events of the novels, but again, nothing is set in stone just yet.

A lot of this probably sounds like something only I'd be interested in. But hey, this is the process, my process anyway.

Not since April

I'm still here.

The last post had some announcements. But I sorta jumped the gun.

I did some soul searching and decided to throw my hat into the ring of more 'traditional' publishing. I thought about self-pub. Self-pub may very well be in my future. But I want to explore all possible options. I think my work is good enough to be mainstream and the worst thing I can do is not make the attempt.

I'm going to be at the NE Authors Expo this week. It's a great community. I have no 'wears' to sell, but the goal is to support a friend and make some connections.

Finished my first novella while vacationing on the Cape. "Hidden Mountain" is the tale of a submarine captain and her first mate. It's the first story in a series of 5. All 5 tales make up the Ice Bible Anthology.

I've received some feedback from beta-readers on Hidden Mountain. Much of it has been positive. I have to make some of the concepts of the story more clear, and adjust the pacing. Several of the readers haven't had me talk to death the intricacies of the universe I've created. So it's been great to have an outsiders perspective on what the hell I'm trying to make here.

I've also begun work on the second novella, "Of Black and White Doors". It's still in 1st Draft form, so the overall story hasn't been completely fleshed out just yet.

Look for me at the New England Authors Expo. I'll be sharing a booth with Chris Samson.

Short Stories & Burgers

Big news in the world of writing. You'll notice a new Projects section on the site.  Currently it links to 2 different pages: The Lighthouse Series, and Short Stories. The Lighthouse Series is the title of the novels I'm currently writing, which take place between two very different worlds. I've been asked by a few people what the story is about so I'll be posting a book synopsis of the first book, Dark Nexus soon.

At one point, I didn't think this story was going to become a reality. History has proven that I've not been one for finishing what I've started. But I've moved passed the doubt of  whether or not I have something here, and the doldrums of only writing when I feel inspired -whatever the hell that means. The novel will be finished and will see the light of day one way or another.

Keep checking the Short Stories section. Check is religiously. Better yet, check it every single day. I'm in the process of finishing a short story that takes place in the world of the Lighthouse Series. I'm also updating the 3 stories currently available on this site: Five Years, Coffee Shop, and Outer Heaven. Not to pull a George Lucas or anything, but I'm updating them based on current technology that wasn't available in that primitive time we look back on as 2012 . No. When those were written it was long before the world of the story was fully realized. It was before the characters were fully developed. So the 2.0 versions of these stories will fall in line with the novel. Five Years and Coffee Shop are considered backstory, but a story none the less worth telling. They follow a young Aryel Lessard as she learns how to enter the Dream. Outer Heaven will be expanded and will probably fall in the timeline a few years prior to the start of Dark Nexus.

My plan is to have the 4 short stores finished very soon. How soon? Long before July 29th. That's rather specific. I know, right! I will be at the New England Authors Expo, sitting at a table with Chris Samson. If I get the stories up on my website, for sale, in a single anthology, I will be hawking my wears at the expo and talking up Dark Nexus. If I don't get the stories up, I'll be hanging out with Samson and help promote his current projects -which are awesome, by the way! 

Since I'm a raving egomaniac, this is all very good motivation for me to get these stories completed.

So keep checking this site for an update and keep July 29th open on your calendar. It's in the middle of the week so put in the time off from work now. That's what I did. 

In other news, Bubba Burger had replaced the mundane grilling burger of old, since my awkward years in high school. They truely make a tasty burger.

The other day my wife discovered that Double B's (that's what all the cool kids are calling it...I think), make a Cheddar and Bacon burger. I can't even begin to describe the joy  and wonder that is this burger. However, I would recommend only eating just one at any given sitting, in part because people will look at you as the fat kid, and also, it's CHEDDAR CHEESE and BACON!!!!!! Treat these babies the way you would a really expensive cut of steak, or a fine sipping whiskey. Treat them with respect. Because if you don't respect these burgers, they will probably stick around long enough to cause you the most egregious and merciless pain.

Thanks for reading,

CGMcG

Welcome to my lair...not that I'm some sort of animal...

...Or maybe I am...

Breaking the format for this entry as it's been a while and I need to get back into the swing of things. 

Books worth reading:

Masters of Doom by David Kushner

Skip the audio version. All things nerd-culture have a raging hard-on for Wil Wheaton. I, thankfully, do not. Tips for reading a non-fiction book: No, it's not OK to put on a British accent when quoting something from the Guardian. Yes, I realize it's a British newspaper. It doesn't matter. Would you put on a stereotypical Japanese accent when quoting something out of Yomiuri Shimbun? No, no you wouldn't. Also, don't put on a Joseph Lieberman or Bill Clinton voice when quoting them either. It might also help not to sound like such a damn fanboy when reading the rest of the pros. Just few tips from me to you.

The Gunslinger by Stephen King

It was on sale so I picked it up cheap. I'm a fan of the Dark Tower series, especially the first 4 books. King went back and updated the Gunslinger in 2003 and the end result was a really polished piece of work. I read an interview with him not long ago. Turns out the Dark Tower books were never edited. O.o I know, right! If you're looking for something from King that isn't hard horror, and more dark fantasy/sci-fi, then give this one a solid read.

3 books by JD Robb

Ok, so the Wife got me into this. I didn't think I'd like them, but they're pretty damn good. For those of you who don't know, JD Robb and Nora Roberts are the same person. No, I haven't started reading romance books, at least, not yet. The "In Death" series takes place in a Blade Runner-esk future New York City where drugs and prostitution are both legal and corporations buy planets and build fancy space station resorts. The main character is a detective. The books are mysteries. Since the author got her success in romance, the sex scenes are well done and pull no punches. Where some authors might 'fade to black' or gloss over the sex, Robb/Roberts dives right in, and it makes for both good storytelling and something different in what can be a formulaic genre.

What else is going on:

Got one of the main characters from my novel preserved for posterity. Here's another great piece drawn by Ben Dunn. He did a great job! I really like how the pic came out. He'll have my business for quite a while and if he's up for it, there are 10-plus characters in the novel who would look great next to this one, in my office.

And speaking of my office

Here's mine!

My Father-In-Law is the best. He realizes that sometime I just need to get away from the Wife, and now I can! (However, what you don't see in the picture is that the wall behind me is only half-finished, so I won't be doing much hiding).

Seriously though, it's good to have my own space, for writing, for gaming, to just chill. When the computer was in the living room, it was easy for both me and the Wife to zone out on the computer/tv. With the office, it helps us appreciate the time we spend together, in-part, because there's a clearly defined border for the time spent apart. I don't know if I'm making much sense, but, bottom line: it's a good thing.

"Shift" & "Dust" by Hugh Howey

Book Book

It's a double-whammy tonight! I picked up Shift by Hugh Howey, for the beginning of the year. I like the book because I'm a sucker for the nitty-gritty back-story of a story. I think that's why It's taking me so long to write a damn book, because I'm all about the back-story. Shift was a prequel to Wool and explained how things got the way they got. 

Dust was the thrilling conclusion of the Silo Trilogy. It tied up a lot of the ends from both Wool and Shift. As a complete set, the trilogy was good, with Wool as the dominant book. Wool was very character-driven. You couldn't help but develop an attachment to the majority of characters, including the jerky head of IT. Shift and Dust were more about telling a story based on events. It wasn't bad. It just wasn't as emotionally stirring as the first book.

I like Howey's writing style and look forward to reading more of his stuff.

Errr...Write Write

A lot has happened in the writing world.

1. It took some hair-pulling, head-banging, and tears, lots of tears, but I was finally able to create an outline of the novel. I also figured out how I write: I create a first draft by just writing the shit out of things. I do best when this is done in a notebook. Sometime, usually between these pen-and-paper sessions, I'll put what I wrote into the computer, and during this time I'll expand on the ideas scribbled in ink and develop the story. We'll call this, Draft 1.5. Once the story is written, from roughly start to finish, I'll do myself a huge favor and outline the damn thing. The outline, in this instance, is my road map, something to keep me on track. By this point it's a game of fill-in-the-blanks. The outline helps me flesh out the plot and what I've missed, and where to include what information. After that, re-write, revise, proof and polish. It's probably not the way Stephen King does it, but shit, I'm not Stephen King.

2. Because the outline wasn't done I got into a rut. I'd been in a rut since Christmas. But that's all over. The outline is done and I'm writing strong again. I hammered out 2 major scenes over the weekend and snow days. 

3. Contacted Ben Dunn, and gave him a overly detailed character sketch for my main character, Aryel. For weeks now I had and idea of how she should look. And at the last minute I scrapped this idea for something 1000 times awesomer! Both The Wife, and Samson approve, so the commission promises to be kick-ass. Ben is unbelievably awesome, so I know the pic is going to come out looking great.

4. I want to start a simple D&D campaign that doesn't involve a lot of stats and number crunching, focusing almost entirely on the story, and taking place in the universe of the novel. I think that'd be really cool and would help me further build the world. Player's would create unique characters, not characters from the book, and they'd get lost in this crazy dream world. I don't know what kind of interest people would have for that, and I'm not the best DM, but hey, it could be fun. Any takers?

"The Ratman Forgive You, this Time."

Read a Book

That's right, we're reviewing Stephen King's The Stand! So dust off your Blue Oyster Cult CD, and give Kareem Abdule Jabbar some serious consideration for a Golden Globe, because we're kicking it back to 1994 with The Stand TV miniseries!

No, I'm kidding. My thoughts on the very long book instead:

I first read The Stand in high school. For a slow reader I think I read it into my freshman year of college. Probably not, but I'm sure it took me a while. The book gave me nightmares about dead people. At the time, dead people were still a scary thing, probably because I hadn't been to too many funerals, and I was still somewhat scarred from watching Stand by Me at an age much younger than whatever the appropriate age for watching Stand by Me is. Dead body's were scary shit for a little kid and I'm still a little unnerved by them even today. 

I made the mistake of watching the 4-part miniseries before reading the book, so character development took a back seat to the Girl from the Breakfast Club, the dude who would later go on to have no legs in Forest Gump, and the former basketball star who received top billing and a spot on the cover for his portrayal of the 'king of the minor characters'. 

The re-read presented an aspect of The Stand that my still-developing teenage mind would have scarcely grasped.

Everyone dies. Sorry if I just ruined the book for you. The world is wiped out by a flu-like virus doctored up in a government lab. Spoiler Alert!

King is known for his pop-culture references. It's part of his style that makes him so widely read. He throws in these nuances and the reader is ushered into his world by the connection to real life events. Simply by playing David Bowie on a character's radio, King has put your into his world, which is not unlike our own.

In The Stand, King does something diabolical with this use of pop-culture. Simply by referencing George H.W. Bush, Madonna, the Rolling Stones, and others, -putting the reader into this all-to-similar world- conjures up a much darker, deeper level of horror. Without explicitly saying it, the reader infers that these people, these famous, well-known people have all died of the plague. Tragedy always hits the hardest when it happens to someone you know, and the band, the politician, and the, whatever the hell Madonna is, are all known enough by the masses to bring the tragedy right to the doorstep of the mind. It makes for great writing when you can pull the reader into your world.

I'm glad I was able to appreciate The Stand now that I'm older and hopefully a little bit wise. 

Write a Book

Taking a break from the writing to gain some perspective on the story as a whole. Working on a rough outline and figuring out pacing. As one who does not like to outline, this was a discouraging process. But I think I've found what works best for me. And that's the great thing about this whole writing thing: there isn't a magic formula or set of steps that must be followed to the letter in order to make this work.

I've started scribbling out the main points, not chapter-by-chapter but in a rough mix between scenes and changes to the settings. I'm keeping myself from getting hung up on details and just sticking to character development and major events, and how they connect to one another as the story unfolds. I've also thrown out some ideas that turned into obstacles as things progressed.

I'm sure one day this writing section will be exciting, maybe even enthralling to read. For now, well, you'll just have to settle for the mundane. 

There was one exciting bit of writing news that I can add here. Daniel O'Malley, author of The Rook heard about me awarding him with Best Read of 2014 from my last post. He had this to say:

So I think that makes me an official member of the fan club. I'm going to have to learn the secret handshake, and hope the rites of initiation don't involve paddles.

Hey Dan, I'm honored to have a place in  your pool room!

NanoWrimo 2014

So I haven't written here in a while. November was insane and a huge part of it had to do with the annual National Novel Writing Month that I felt compelled to enter. I'm a sadist.

I've been averaging 2000 words a day and thought that it would be a breeze. How wrong I was. It's difficult to write when you're under the gun. And with NaNoWriMo, it's like chasing a speeding train and every time you stop to catch your breath, ie, get caught up at work late, get home late, and then sit down to try and write, you've created a much larger gap in your word count and have to write that much more to fill it.

Anyway, it's over. I am both exhausted and thrilled to have seen it to the end. It made the frustrations of the months seem worth it.

What did I write about?

Funny you should ask. I set out writing Book 2 in the Dream series. Book 1 is being revised and going through re-writes. I put that on hold to attack Book 2. I now have a halfway revised Book 1, and a really really really rough rough draft of Book 2.

When I*m ready to pick up Book 2 again, in a non-NanoWrimo setting, I'll be able to further develop the stuff that worked and refine it into a more concise story.

NaNoWriMo is a great exercise for writers and people who have toyed with the idea of becoming writers. What established authors say all the time is if you want to be a writer, you have to write, and read, A LOT. And it's true. No denying it. And what they mean when they say write a lot, is, you need to get into the habit of writing. You need to write beyond when you feel like it. You have to write even if the scene you're working on sucks hard and isn't going where you expected. You need to write even when you'd rather play on the computer, surf the web, or watch The Blacklist, which is the best show on television and you're un-American to think otherwise.

Writing everyday flexes that invisible, magical muscle that puts you in the writing mindset, and trains you to be able to write even when you're not inspired or in-the-mood. It also makes it easier to accept that not every session is going to be epic or riveting. Some sessions may be downright boring. But that's what editing and revisions are for: to fix or throw out what doesn't work. Even if you're writing is below par, you can feel good that you're doing it, that you didn't put it off, even for James Spader.

So start writing damnit! And mark the 1st of November 2015 as the day you commit to writing your ass off for an entire month.

Wool: A Story about a Sheep Herder in Nuclear Winter

Reading:

Wool by Hugh Howey is -in a word- awesome. In fact, stop reading this right now, go to your closest book store, or Audible and buy like 10 copies of the book. Don't worry, I'll wait.

I did a report about the reinvention of the publishing industry in a digital age, the emergence of indie authors and new exciting business models like Kindle Direct Publishing, and the stuff Scott Sigler was doing on his podcast. I don't remember a whole hell of a lot from the report, but I do remember talking about Hugh Howey. This was a ballsy move on my part, seeing how at the time I hadn't read Wool, and was basically going by what I had heard from others. Still, I did get an A on the report. Well, I don't know much more about Hugh Howey than I did before, but I'll tell you this:

He self published his story on Amazon Kindle Direct, people loved it, and he became a successful author. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

There's a reason why people love Wool. And that reason is: It's a freaking awesome story! It's 5 parts. Part 1 really sets the tone for the story and it only builds from there.

What stuck out for me was how Howey subtly created sympathy for the antagonist, without doing a complete 180. You don't stop hating the 'bad guy', but you understand his motives.

A few books from now I'll be writing about the sequel, Shift, followed by Dust.

Writing:

I've started writing a series of vignettes, each centering around one of my 3 main characters. It takes place very late in the story so I guess now I have a goal to write up to. The 3rd part of the book was very rough in the 1st Draft, so I have a feeling there will be several iterations before I get it right.

In other news:

I started watching Gotham and I've been pleasantly surprised. I was a skeptic but the first episode really brought me around. I suggest you give it a shot, even if you're not a Batman fan.

The Gerard Way concert is a week from Sunday and I'll be getting my tickets tomorrow. One truly hasn't lived until they find themselves excited for Brit-Pop 10+ years after the fact. 

And tomorrow is the wife's birthday and this big lug has a dinner to plan. 

"The Target" by David B and the Eclectic Lemonade Orchestra

Reading is Good:

David Baldacci will forever hold a place in my heart for two very good reasons: The Camel Club and the Will Robie series'. I'm not a big Mystery/Thriller guy, but I do make the exception for these two ongoing stories. The Camel Club is basically about a former CIA badass on par with Robert McCall from the 1980s tv show The Equalizer. In a similar vein of badassery, Will Robie is a CIA assassin who is paid with our US tax dollars to kill ruthless dictators and other ne'er-do-wells in a cold and calculating way that only one such as he can do so well.

The Target is the 3rd book in the Robie series and though the main story involves a plot by a rogue nation that could bring about the end of civilization as we know it, there's a very nice subplot that involves the wholesale killing of a bunch of neo-Nazis. If that's not a recipe for success than I don't know what is.

It's not all killing though. Baldacci puts a human face to his ruthless characters, which is a good thing because otherwise this would have been a really depressing book. Like the other 2 books in the series, this one was pretty good. Not the best, but it answered a lot of questions that came up by the end of book 2.

After trudging through American Psycho this was a much needed pallet cleanser. I went into it knowing it wouldn't be a heavy read and since it's part of a series, a successful series there wasn't a lot of fear that any of the main characters would be killed off. I hope that doesn't come as a spoiler to anyone and if it does, well...oops. 

Up Next: A really exciting retelling of Wool by Hugh Howey. I suggest you all read it before the next post.

Can We Start the Story Now:

Not to bore the hell out of you but I'm still still still revising Chapter 2.

When I'm not doing that, I've been playing Dues Ex: Human Revolution. It's a dark sci-fi game with androids, or humans with robot parts...something like that. It takes place in the future, in Detroit. It's good to know that Detroit is still around in the future.