Writer's Block: Be Self-Accountable

I guess I'm lucky. I never experienced true writer's block. Sometimes I don't feel like writing, but once I sit my ass down and get to work, that quickly goes away. But lately, I've been blocked.

I know the factors involved: I've been writing three books simultaneously while getting Nettl's book cover made and editing her second book. I've revised Book One (With A Dream) and got it republished, and I'm also editing a 700-page epic for another author. Not a lot of time in there to get anything done on my most pressing project,  Book Two (With A Bullet).

I've had the hardest time scraping out alone-time while writing this book. For me, writing takes a great deal of solitude and focused concentration and I just haven't had those luxuries this year. I'm feeling a bit frayed around the edges.

Well, last night I looked over my manuscript and made a decision. I had only one and one-half chapters left to write, so I waited until everyone was in bed, then I made myself a cappuccino and sat down to write. My goal was to finish the damned thing or else die from too much caffeine and too little sleep. Surprise! I finished it. Even better, I like it.

But how did I bring myself to that place? I decided to be self-accountable: I told Nettl that I was going to finish the book. Now, I don't know about you, but when I tell someone I'm going to do something, I do everything I can to see that it gets done. I hate looking lazy or like a half-asser to other people. I knew that my little mind-psyche would work on me where this book was concerned, and it did. If I'd just kept it to myself, I might have been tempted to think, "Meh, it'll be here in the morning. I'll finish it then." Which is, of course, what I've been doing for the past three months. I'll remember this trick in case I go through this crap again. And I'm sure I will.

In case you ever go through writer's block, here are some quotes that might help you:

Paul Rudnick:
"Writing is 90 percent procrastination: reading magazines, eating cereal out of the box, watching infomercials. It's a matter of doing everything you can to avoid writing, until it is about four in the morning and you reach the point where you have to write."

Stephen Fry:
“I have to get into a sort of zone. It has something to do with an inability to concentrate, which is the absolute bottom line of writing.”

Merit Antares:
“The only cure for writer’s block is insomnia.”

Charles Peguy:
"A word is not the same with one writer as with another.  One tears it from his guts.  The other pulls it out of his overcoat pocket."

Mary Garden:
"My block was due to two overlapping factors: laziness and lack of discipline."

I Am Jazzed!

The newly revised edition of my book is ready! The new edition includes:

* Revised and added narrative/dialogue
* Chapter illustrations
* Advanced editing
* And it costs less than the first edition!

I received my proof copy this morning and it's really quite beautiful! If you'd like to receive a SIGNED advance copy (it won't be available to the public for another week or two), email me and we can discuss the details. 

With A Dream: Book One of Beyond The Bridge, a Rock & Roll Trilogy
By SK Waller
Price: $14.99 + $2.50 shipping
6" x 9" (15.24 x 22.86 cm)
Black & White on White paper
256 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1466324398
ISBN-10: 1466324392
BISAC: Fiction / General

(You can purchase the NEW Kindle edition here.)

The New Facebook Feed Changes Suck Arse

Tonight, Facebook created a massive hate campaign amongst its members (myself included) by rolling out their new News Feed changes. I've never seen so many people in there so late on a week night. I admit it. I hate it too, and I never use the word hate.

Here's the problem for me: We now must choose between three subscription options for each of our friends, view ALL, view Most, or view ONLY IMPORTANT. Facebook has admitted that they choose what updates they think we will consider important. Huh? I've asked a number of people what the criteria is for determining what Fb thinks is important. All I get is a stock answer about algorithms. That's not what I'm asking. I'm asking what is Fb's definition of IMPORTANT?

"When you log in after being gone for a while, the stories WE THINK you’ll find interesting, or top stories, posted while you were away will rise to the top of your News Feed for you to see first."

The worst part is that we now have the task of going through our friends one-by-one and selecting which option we want. But... but... why should I have to subscribe to my friends? Isn't that why they're on my friends list in the first place? And since the default is set at MOST, I'm already missing some of my friends' updates.

I'm a member at Google Plus, but I don't trust that lot either. They're always changing crap. Besides, this is just a silly slapfight between the two anyway.

You know, this may be very good for old-fashioned blogging, come to think of it. Maybe my hit counts and comments will start to climb again as people leave Fb. Nah. They're not called Crackbook for nothing.

Avast and Ahoy, Maties!

Well, it's that time again. It's International Talk Like a Pirate Day.

Have yerself a fine one, ye landlubbin scallawags!

If You Qualify, Go Away.

"Bullies come in all shapes and sizes." - Nettl

Sometimes they're strangers and sometimes they're friends. Sometimes they write mean-spirited blog entries and sometimes they talk shit behind your back.

Either way, they suck. Go away.

Sloe Ruin

Ah, nothing I love better than a good challenge! Mrs. Anke has thrown down the gauntlet and I of course must rise to meet it.

Seems she's been fermenting a batch of sloe gin since last November, which she's labeled, "Mrs. Anke's Ruin". I imagine it's aptly named. Now, I have been able to stomach neither the smell, the taste, nor the idea of gin ever since a lady in London served it to me mixed with Orange Crush and no ice, but Mrs. Anke states rather confidently that although she doesn't like it either, she can imbibe in copious amounts of her Ruin. And a lady should be able to enjoy her own ruin, should she not?

I just love the way it looks. That alone is enough for me to enter her contest to win a free bottle. However, she has stated that she hopes I don't win because of what she would have to endure at the post office. If I do (which I doubt), I think I'd just ask her to hang onto my bottle until I can get over to Royal Tunbridge Wells. There's nothing I want more from that trip (when/if it happens... a booksigning, perhaps? I mean, since my trilogy takes place there...) than to go pub crawling around the Wells with Mrs. Anke, but I fear that after a few nips of this beautiful brew, we wouldn't see many pubs. And if we did, I doubt I'd remember much about them.

If you haven't checked out Mrs. Anke's Ladybits, then you really should. And you should enter the contest, too. Tell her I sent you.

Because I'm a Glutton for Punishment

I've taken my book, With A Dream, off of the market. Why? you ask. Because, with the upcoming publication of With A Bullet, Book Two of my Rock & Roll trilogy, I want to make sure Book One is up to snuff. I'm glad I decided to go back through WAD because I found a few errors that needed to be fixed. God only knows what kind of misery I'll subject myself to when I'm about to publish Book Three.

Besides fixing the errors, I've also added a bit of narrative (not much), added illustrations to the chapter title pages, lowered the price, and tweaked a few things that no one will notice. But my opinion counts, you know? And I wasn't happy with a few little things in the formatting. I've also added to-from years to the cover (Book One: 1966-1971).

Some of us are never satisfied.

I really hate this because I was the indignant big mouth who bragged that I'd never publish a book that wasn't absolutely, definitely, indisputably perfect in its editing.

Karma's a bitch.

Anyway, I'll let you know when the two books, in their turn, are available.

Relief At Last

Good-bye you literal hell of a summer. Don't let autumn's door hit your butt on the way out!

My beef isn't only about being uncomfortable. Lawns, trees and flowerbeds died, kids couldn't go outside (NObody could), so everyone has cabin fever, the state was riddled with wildfires and drought, and families had to decide whether to buy food or pay criminally high utility bills. And, of course, this is the summer that the AC in the car went out. Have you ever driven around in a black automobile in 115-degree heat with no AC? This is the worst summer I've lived through and I'm glad it's nearly over.

In case you didn't see the promo in the sidebar, Book Two of my Rock and Roll trilogy is set to be published later this month. That nine months certainly flew by! This is the pretty-sure-it's-a-done-deal cover. And below this is the trailer that I made tonight. Enjoy!

And now, I'm going to bed. I have a 600+ page novel to start editing tomorrow. No, it's not mine. It belongs to an author who has hired Alla Breve to publish his book.

Night all!