Writing, Reading and Exploring

Hey All,

I'm been writing bits and pieces here and there.  In fact I've been trying a new style of writing just for fun.  By this time of the year I'm usually coming up with new story ideas but the creativity muse had not quite struck me yet.

On the musical front, a former co-worker of mine introduced me to several new blues artists. Some of them I've heard of before and others brand new. Expanding my musical horizons is always a plus. I never know what piece of music might set off a creativity explosion in me. Music is very much ingrained in my creative process.  Most of the pieces I write are written with music in the background and most chapters in my stories will give a nod to the piece of music currently playing or was playing.  I like sharing music with readers in that form and also it allows readers to explore their musical horizons should they wish.  It's one way to share music with others.

In the past week I saw a grey barred owl and it's baby.  I've never seen an owl in my area even though they live in the forest behind my house so it was a super treat to final see one. I was lucky to see an Indigo Bunting as well which is rare to see where I live.  I've manage to enjoy seeing an Eastern Phoebe, Catbird, Blue Jay, Cardinal, Chickadees, Yellow Finch and lots of other birds

Our two rabbits are running around the back yard at night along with seven chipmunks and unfortunately the same amount of squirrels.  There is one squirrel who I call "Fat Squirrel" who has one heck of a beer belly on him that had the nerve to steal my birdfeeder off the line and drag it away.  I have yet to find the feeder.

I apologize for the short post but it's 90 degrees out even though it's nearly 7 pm. I have no air conditioning so I'm slightly melting.

I hope all of you are well and keep up with your writing.  Camp NaNoWriMo is starting soon again so do check it out and get your summer writing on!

Rock on!
~Maynard

I'm Alive

Hi All,

I'm still alive. Since my last post, I rolled right into NaNoWriMo, had family issues in December and have dealt with the notice of my radio station being silenced as the network it was on closed down. I have spent the past few months trying to get things feeling normal again - for me.

I have put aside reading books for now and have moved to working on various crafts. I have been doing small pieces of writing here and there but nothing substantial. I might crank out a 10,000 word story or do scenes it's nothing that is being used for a bigger story at the moment plus my mind has been on the NHL playoffs.

Admittedly, my team, the Chicago Blackhawks were eliminated in the first round so I'm bummed but not too much.  I think because I have been a Cubs fan since I was 12 that the "there's always next year" mentality fits here. There is always next year to try and win a Stanley Cup. (Dear Hockey Gods, Please don't let them trade Andrew Shaw!)  My Cubbies are doing well right now but I'm not paying a lot of attention to them at the moment.  I won't really start paying attention to them until July because once the All-Star Game hits it's a totally different season of baseball through October.

I apologize for the lack of updates on the site and it as much as I would like to update my website I'm having issues with the editor.  I will tell you that I recently finished reading Patrick O'Sullivan's book Breaking Away. It was hard to read in some places, I cried, I screamed and I got angry. I would recommend people give it a read. You don't have to be a hockey fan to read it.

All right, that's my update folks. I hope to have my website updated soon. I leave you with Jonathan Toews, Captain of the Chicago Blackhawks telling a funny story.

Rock on,
~Maynard

Road to Writing - Outline

Hi All,

The journey continues in preparing a story.  We've done some work so far in what our characters should look like, where the location of our story will take place and what some of the buildings may look like.

Now it's time to outline or plan some of the things we'd like to happen in our story.  Think about your plot, think about sub-plots and specific scenes or conversations you'd like characters to have.

There is no right or wrong way to organize your story.  You can use folders for each of the items you have or you can enter it onto one sheet.  I like to use a word document to lay things out. I like to break the document into sections: Plot, Secondary Story Lines, Specific Scenes and Other.

I don't always write up this document. I sometimes will use colored sheets of paper and cut them with ideas or write what I want to do with my story in a journal book.  My advice is to use a technical that works best for you. 

That's the key to writing your story, using the tools you have and using them the best way possible to create your story.

Today I'm leaving you with a video by Sirenia - The Path to Decay.  Enjoy!

Rock on!
~Maynard

Road to Writing - Character Appearances

Hi All,

Well, it's time to move along with our characters.  If you have character names then you might have an idea what your character(s) might look like.  By now you might have an idea of their appearance and the clothes they might wear.

What your character looks like is just as important as to what they wear.  What they wear helps shape your character and in trying to determine what your characters should wear, go to clothing websites or any website that sells clothing and start looking at clothes for your characters.

As an example, I recently went on a women's clothing website to find an outfit for the lead character in a story I'm working on.  My character is in her 20's and I envisioned her to look a certain way, that her clothes needed to reflect that she's an introvert and depressed. 

Her clothes need to reflect the darkness that she has about herself.  I found a nice jacket I wanted her to wear and a scarf to go with.  By finding the clothes I wanted her to wear and having pictures of the clothing it helped me describe the clothing better in my story.  My character went from wearing a wool short coat to wearing a black double-breasted wool short coat with a cotton teal scarf. 

If it's helpful, get sheets of paper out and create your character appearance on them so that when you write it's in front of you.  You can do this electronically too by creating files for each of your characters.

By doing this, you can see how your characters fit together.  Think of a play or a Broadway show and how the cast is complimentary to each other regarding their wardrobe.  Essentially this is what you are doing.  You're creating a character appearance palette.

This can be a fun thing to do and obviously how much you put into it is up to you.  It's not a requirement or something that many people do but with anything it's another tool to help you along.

Typically, I leave you with a music video but today I am leaving you with a commercial starring former Chicago Blackhawk Patrick Sharp which fits into today's theme.  Enjoy the chuckle.

Rock on!
~Maynard

Road to Writing - Main Character

Hi All,

Apologies for the hiatus but I had a chance to take a software testing class and so I went for it. Now that I am done with that, I hope to be back here writing posts more often.

In my last post, I gave you homework in writing down names to potentially use for your characters. Do add to your list, let it grow to 10 pages if that's where it takes you. Your list of names is very important and you'll go back to it over and over.

Today, we're going to concentrate on a supporting or main character.  You may not know exactly the role the character is going to play in your story and that's okay.  What we're going to do is jot down some basic things about your character.

In your journal book, on index cards or in a computer file, start on a blank page or card and write an attribute about your character.  If you already know the name of your character, write it at the top of the page or card. I have listed an example of the list you want to create for your character.

*Name
*Gender
*Eye Color
*Hair Color
*Physical Attributes
*Hobbies
*Occupation
*Special Skills

Now, this is just an example and you may have many more items to add about your character.  Adding more or using the basic list above is fine.  There is no right or wrong answer as you begin to construct your character.

Once you do one of your characters, try another, and another.  You'll find that you'll be able to write about your characters more easily and really flesh out who they are.  If there is a photo of a model or various people who make up the appearance of your character, cut their photos out and use those to inspire you when you write your character.

The characters in my most recent book were based on people that have been in my life at one point or another.  I've changed them drastically from the people I knew but their foundations are based on real people.  I have characters that are based on random strangers too. Plain people who I've passed walking down the street.

The world is filled with characters and many of them reside right in your own head.

Okay, that's it for me today.  Start writing about your characters and give them names if you are ready to.

Today's music treat is: Pink Floyd "Coming Back To Life"

Rock On!
~Maynard