Nothing Can Be Done For Them

Posted: December 14, 2012 in Politics and Leadership, Reflections, Social Activism
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Nothing can be done for the 20 children at Sandy Hook Elemeentary School in Newtown, Conneticut.

They are dead, taken from this world too early by senseless violence. As President Obama said, “They had their entire lives ahead of them — birthdays, graduations, weddings, kids of their own”, and now they’ll never have them. We cannot imagine how their parents must feel, or how friends and loved ones must feel. This day, the flags are at half-staff for a damn good reason. These children are now lost, and their parents will never hold them in their arms again. Just thinking about it, I want to tear up and cry. Up until this point, I thought nothing could hurt me more than Aurora and Wisconsin, but I was so wrong, and I wish I didn’t have to find that out the hard way.

I wish there was something I could say that could make this all better. I wish I could erase the pain we all are feeling now because we lost these, bright, innocent young lives. I wish I could cast a spell and bring them back to us like in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, where the only worry about bringing back the dead may come from some odd side effects. I can’t. I wish I could, but I can’t.

I only hope now people stop bitching about second amendment rights vs. gun control and see we really do have a serious problem with gun violence in our country. I don’t know if that problem stems from just overabundance of firearms or from damaged psyches or both. I do know that what happened is horrible, and I don’t want anything like it to happen again in my lifetime, in my country.

Aren’t we tired of arguing while families bury loved ones that won’t grow up? Can’t we just sit down and talk and work something out? Is that too much to ask for? Is it too much.

Nothing can be done for those kids. Plenty can be done for those still alive. Let’s remember that as we proceed this week, and keeps these poor children in our thoughts and prayers. Thank you.

Snake: Part VI Done!

Posted: December 14, 2012 in Novel, Progress Report, Writing
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I’M ON A ROLL!

Today, at around a quarter to four in the afternoon, I finished writing Part VI of Snake, two days after I finished the previous part! I had to cut out one chapter and combine two chapters as I was doing the writing, but that’s okay, because this part is awesome! I had an idea for a regular fight between the main antagonist and the Snake, but I changed it so that they fight not in an office or across the city, but in a controlled environment like in The Hunger Games. How did I do that? You’ll have to read the novel when I put it out to find that one out.

So now I have only four chapters in the Epilogue left, and then the first draft of this novel will be finished. Can I get a whoop-whoop?! Anyway, time to do a count-up (my favorite part of reporting the Parts are done). Remember, I write my drafts double-spaced, with 12-point Times New Roman font. When I finally publish this and Reborn City, they’ll probably be much smaller in terms of page count. Probably.

So, Part VI of Snake ends up being 28 pages and 7,095 words. Adding it to the rest of the Parts: the Prologue was 14 pages and 3,979 words; Part I was 41 pages and 10,177 words; Part II was 96 pages and 23,801 words; Part III was 126 pages and 30,733 words; Part IV was 86 pages and 22,288 words; and Part V was 29 pages and 7,576 words. Add it all up, and you get a staggering amount of 420 pages and 105,649 words. Does anyone want to place a bet on how long the first draft will be after I add the Epilogue?

Well, I’ll take a break till tomorrow. Tonight, I just want to spend time with my family and read some good books too.

Wish me luck.

A Paper-Clip of Short Stories

Posted: December 12, 2012 in ideas, Scary Stuff, short story, Writing
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I’ve received a lot of support from friends, family, and readers on the possibility that after I finish Snake, I could work on some short stories and possibly turn that into a collection, and publish it before I publish Reborn City or Snake. Well, I’m still a little undecided on that, but I’m definitely taking some time this vacation to write a few short stories. I actually picked out five of the fifteen ideas I had amassed on my tack board and put them on a paper-clip. And I don’t mean I had some ideas, wrote them on pieces of paper, and paper-clipped them together. What I meant was, I put down some short story ideas on pieces of paper, and then poked them with the business end of a paper-clip. I’d take a photo with my camera and post it here on my blog, but my writing is big and recognizable. There’d be no point if one of my stories gets stolen.

So I’ve selected my short stories. When I get home tomorrow and I finish Snake, I’ll start working on them. Shouldn’t take me too long, especially if I’m not distracted by anything. Unfortunately I tend to get very distracted somedays, so hopefully I can keep my mind on work long enough to make some progress.

So, if anyone is wondering on the short stories I’ll be working on, here’s the ideas I have, without anything that’ll give away anything important:

  • An isolated girl’s school becomes even more isolated one morning, and something dark is beneath it all…
  • A man trying to go clean gets a strange and spooky experience while going cold turkey…
  • A politician running for reelection gets a very deadly and undead visitor while in an old mining town…
  • There’s an old, abandoned hospital on the outskirts of town with a bloody history. And that history is very much alive…
  • A young boy with autism gets an encounter with the spirit world, and his small world might get a shock that’ll shatter it to pieces…

Sounds pretty awesome, right? Especially with the … after every idea. And if, God forbid, the two short stories I sent out recently get rejected, I could add them to this list; they’d make a great collection. Either way, 5 and 7 are lucky numbers for me, so either way I’m good.

Now assuming I decide to do a collection, what should I call it? Definitely nothing with the word “paper-clip” in it; that’d sound too comedic for what I’m doing. Perhaps “The Bells At Dusk”? Or “Eyes in the Smoke”? Or perhaps I’ll take a title from one of these short stories. Who knows? Any suggestions would be great.

Well, I’ve got work to do. Blog on you later!

Snake: Part V Done

Posted: December 12, 2012 in Novel, Progress Report, Writing
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Awww, isn’t it cute?

Well, that last chapter took me a while because I got distracted so many times. But I did it! I finished Part V of Snake, and I feel like partying! I only have eleven chapters of Snake left now! I just got to finish up the climax, and then I have to write the epilogue. I’m almost done!

You know, I can’t believe how quickly I’ve written Snake; when I was writing Reborn City in high school, it took me two fricking years to write the first chapter. That was partly because I believed that a novel needed to be written in years, partly because I took breaks during writing RC for homework/working part-time/Israel/writing short stories/other stuff. In any case, it took a long time to write RC, but I’ve managed to write Snake in almost six months. I feel almost like James Patterson! If given the time and the motivation and the equipment and the inspiration, I can get a novel done in a year, something I didn’t think possible for me.

So I’m going to take a short little break, veg out in front of my computer, and then I’ll see about starting Part VI.  I’m going to make the rest of this first draft simply frightening, disturbing, and slightly romantic. Wish me luck, mi compadres!

I hope that was some resemblance of Spanish. I should’ve stuck with Hebrew: Wish me luck, haverim sheli!

Oh, and before I forget, here’s the page and word count up! Part V was 29 pages total (keep in mind, double-spaced, twelve-point Times New Roman font) and the word count was 7,368 words. Now let’s add it all up: we get 392 pages and 98,346 words! Jeez louise, I’ve been busy these past six months! But it might become bestselling busywork someday.

On to Part VI, haverim sheli!

Is This A Good Time To Start An Overdue Conversation?

Posted: December 11, 2012 in Politics and Leadership
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I was watching the latest NCIS episode when there was a breaking update. Apparently there was a shooting at a mall in Oregon today. Yes, while kids were jumping up and down as they waited in line to see Santa and mall cops were worried about an increase in shoplifting that always comes with sales and holdiays, some guy shot and murdered two people before getting killed himself. Also, the guy had a hunting rifle, which, if I remember correctly, you can take home with you the same day you buy it, no questions asked. Not even a background search.

Also, this is the fourth major shooting in the past five months! Aurora; Wisconsin; New York City; and now Oregon. All involve guns, all probably could have been avoided. AQnd yet how many state or national gun laws have been passed since this meshuggas started? That’d be none. And how many people have tried to start a discussion? Plenty of politicians, civilians, and one sports newscaster. And how many times have those discussions been shot down by opponents of gun control? Every time!

Seriously, I’m getting tired of ranting on this subject. so can we do something to stop the gun epidemic. Something that actually helps, something that actually doesn’t involve bickering along party lines. And come on, the election is over by a month and five days. It’s a good time right now to talk about safe, proactive ways to cut down on the amount of gun violence. And don’t say “less restrictions, leave them as are”; and don’t say we should allow the right to carry concealed arms, that’s what the police are for.

SeriouslyCongress, I’m telling you to do something about this, or be called inept senior citizens. Heck, the Supreme Court is beating you to gay marriage, might want to show you guys can actually function.

Solving the fiscal cliff problem might fix the bad image you guys have too, but gun control might also help your image.

Seriously, let’s talk. I’m on this blog and near the phone. It shouldn’t be hard to find the latter. You’re Washington DC, after all.

Snake: A Diagnosis

Posted: December 11, 2012 in Novel, Progress Report, Reflections, Writing
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Or lack of one, to be more precise.

I’ve mentioned it a couple times before, but I’ve been working with a forensic psychologist who’s been helping me with the police reports in Snake. I send him a description of the Snake’s latest murder, he takes a look at it and based on the information I give him uses it to try and guess things about the Snake, such as motive and who he might be. I use that information he gives me so that my FBI profiler character can give an accurate assessment of the Snake.

Now, I promisedmy friend/consultant that when the profiler character figured out the Snake’s identity, so would he. Granted, the profiler character figured it out using evidence that can’t be used in a warrant, much less a courtroom, but she figured it out, so I sent the identity of the Snake to my consultant, giving him a detailed history of the Snake, his personality, and why he became a killer. I also asked what sort of diagnosis the Snake would be given. This is the reply I got:

“He doesn’t have a diagnosis.   Certainly, he has some psychiatric traits – like psychopathy, etc. – but nothing diagnosable.   A diagnosis signifies that either some impairment is occurring, or there is clinically significant distress present.   I don’t see either in his case.   It’s clear that he’s not truly a psychopath, and it’s evident that he’s done what he’s done in order to seek revenge and ***********.   While extreme in his methods, he’s quite noble in his cause.   I wouldn’t burden him with a diagnosis.”
By the way, the ************ means there’s something in that paragraph I don’t want revealed yet, so I had to cut it out and replace it with something else.
Bottom line though is that I set out to create a unique serial killer the literary world had never seen before, and it looks like it worked, becuase I’ve never heard of a serial killer without a psychological diagnosis. Psychopaths, schizophrenics, mood disorders, paranoids, even a few conditions that cause mental retardation and facial dysmorphia, I’ve seen them all used with serial killers in movies and books. This is a first for me though, so I’m kind of happy that my own work is where I’m introduced to it.
Anyway, thought I’d share that with you. Have a good evening, I’m off to dinner.

Snake: Reducing Chapters

Posted: December 11, 2012 in Novel, Progress Report, Writing
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Look out! It’s going to bite you!

As I’ve gone about writing chapters of Snake, I’ve sometimes combined two chapters in the outline in order to make the story move along more smoothly. Last night I finished Chapter 86, and today I’m about to start Chapter 87. However as I was reading the description I put in the outline for this chapter, I thought it seemed a little short, like something was missing from it. So I went over the next chapter; that too seemed shorter than what a chapter required. So did the next one, and the one after that. After looking at all four though, I realized that together they would make an awesome chapter. So I did what any sensible writer who wants what’s best for his work would do, and I combined Chapters 87-90 into one big Chapter 87. Already it’s looking like an awesome chapter, so I can’t wait to start writing it. It may be a litle longer than some of the other chapters in this story, but I still think it’s going to be awesome.

Also, this reduces the number of chapters I have left down to thirteen, meaning I’ll have less than 100 chapters when I finish Snake. But hey, I think it’ll end up being an awesome novel when it’s done, so what’s a few less chapters? Besides, I already combined several other chapters together at various points of writing this novel, although I’ve never combined four together at the same time. So really, it’s no big deal.

Well, that’s all for now. I’ve got to get on Chapter 87 and write it up. I’m definitely finishing this book by the end of December! Woo-hoo!

Are the One Million Moms Really Making A Fuss Over This?

Posted: December 9, 2012 in Reflections, Social Activism
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I was reading an article on HuffPost, and it said that One Million Moms, a conservative media watchdog that takes a very hard anti-gay stance, now says it is “moving on” from its protests of Ellen DeGeneres as the spokesperson for JC Penny.  Apparently back in February, they had a hissy fit when Ellen was selected as the store’s spokesperson, but of course they didn’t base it over the fact that Ellen is a lesbian and a married one too; no, they said it was because JCP was a “family store” and having Ellen as spokesperson was promoting values that went against the traditional form of family. Now they say they are moving on, and will now boycott the store.

First off, I’m not so sure they have a million mothers in that organization. It’s a stupid point, but it’s a point nonetheless; how do we know there’s a million mothers in that organization? Second, what’s wrong with the non-traditional family? I grew up in a very nontraditional family, and even though I write scary stories, I turned out decent. In fact, my parents should be given medals because I got this far! Third, why are you protesting Ellen? OMM, there are worse things out there than a lesbian comedian with a wife and a talk show being the spokesperson for a major retail store.

But then again, not much of what the conservative right has problems with makes much sense to me. For example, I think children growing up in poverty and with substandard education is horrible. But organizations like OMM will complain that if we give those children more food stamps and educational funding, we will be fostering a culture of dependence and making these kids moochers for life. I think that sending jobs overseas and not giving them to hardworking Americans is cruel and that the jobs should stay in the United States, even if it costs the rich a little more to keep them here. What does OMM say? Probably that the people who lose these jobs will find jobs soon enough that are just as good as the old jobs, and it makes no sense to “punish” job creators.

So go ahead, OMM. Protest something that’s becoming more acceptable everyday. When you’re ready to tackle real problems in our country, let me know.

Snake: Starting Part V

Posted: December 9, 2012 in Novel, Progress Report, Writing
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I’m definitely becoming the sort of person who just isn’t comfortable unless he’s done some writing during the day. In fact, I had a little free time before my meditation class today, so I ended up starting Part V: “Coiled” of Snake, just because I had the time and I felt tlike writing. I didn’t finish the chapter, but I’m going to do that right now, if only to just get it out of the way. Afterwards I’ll study for my final on Wednesday, which somehow through luck or random chance or God’s decision-making process, is my only final. After that, I might work out or go for a long walk. And after that…maybe I’ll start the next chapter. Depends on my mood.

Okay, now that I’ve talked about my day, I’ll get to Snake and what goes on in Part V. This section of the novel features a huge fight scene, where the Snake and his allies take on some of the worst of the family the Snake has been hunting. The Snake goes up against Frissora, the nasty mercenary I mentioned a few posts back, and after that, some crazy stuff happens that gets resolved in Part VI.

After I’m done with this part though, I’ll be in the home stretch to finishing the first draft of Snake. After that, I’ll leave it alone a while so that when I go to edit it, I’ll be looking at it with fresh eyes. And in between getting my critiques on individual chapters of Reborn City, I’ll work on short stories, which I may or may not turn into a collection of short stories.

But for now, I’ve just got to keep writing, one chapter at a time. Thankfully I won’t have to write any more sex scenes or anything like that; that would be awkward!

2012 Blog of the Year

Posted: December 8, 2012 in Living and Life
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Pretty impressive, considering I’ve only been doing this blog for a year and four months. But then again, this is more meme than award, like all blog awards, and I was nominated by a friend. Still, I’m happy that I would be nominated for this award, so thanks to one and all!

Of course, every blog award comes with awards, so here’s the rules:

  • Select the blog(s) you think deserve the ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award.
  • Write a blog post and tell us about the blog(s) you have chosen – there’s no minimum or maximum number of blogs required – and ‘present’ them with their award.
  • Please include a link back to this page ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award – http://storiesbywilliams.com/–and include these ‘rules’ in your post (please don’t alter the rules or the badges!).
  • Let the blog(s) you have chosen know that you have given them this award and share the ‘rules’ with them.
  • You can now also join the Facebook group – click ‘like’ on this page ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award Facebook group and then you can share your blog with an even wider audience. Of course I don’t have Facebook yet, so why mention it? Just to let the nominee know.
  • As a winner of the award – please add a link back to the blog that presented you with the award – and then proudly display the award on your blog and sidebar … and start collecting stars…!

Well, I’ve got one blog I’m nominating, and that’s it! So can we give a warm round of applause to Jason Alan (http://jasonalanwriter.wordpress.com/). He’s now also a 2012 Blog of the Year winner. Woo-hoo! Yay! H00-hoo-hoo! Congratulations, Jason. Welcome to the club.

Have a good night. I might start Part V of Snake now…or I’ll wait until after Fianls are done on Wednesday. I’ll let you know when I know.

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