Posts Tagged ‘blogging’

Self-Published Authors Helping Other Authors: My First Post of the New Year

Posted: January 17, 2014 in Journalism, Living and Life, Writing
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This morning I published my first article of 2014 on Self-Published Authors Helping Other Authors, a website I write for that aims to help self-published authors make the most of their options and succeed in self-publishing. It’s also my tenth article for the website, which I’m very happy about.

The article is called Some Tips For WattPad Users, and it’s about–you guessed it–using WattPad. I promise, I’ll leave the topic of the website alone for a while after this post. Well, I did say that if any of our readers on that blog had any tips about using WattPad, I’d publish those in a follow-up article, but…well, after that article. I think I’ve been going on a Wattpad obsession lately, and it’s been showing through on this blog. I hope it hasn’t annoyed anyone. At least not too much.

Anyway, the article is about some general tips for utilizing WattPad, so if you have an account or are thinking of getting an account, please check out the article. And if you’re a self-published author or you’re considering self-publishing, I highly recommend Self-Published Authors Helping Other Authors. It’s a wonderful website with many articles on just about every subject you can think of devoted to self-publishing and it’s run by a variety of authors, myself included, who are devoted to their craft and love helping others out.

All for now. Have a great day, my Followers of Fear.

Buried Alive: Published on WattPad

Posted: January 15, 2014 in Progress Report, Scary Stuff, short story, Writing
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A while back I wrote a short story I titled Buried Alive, about a girl and her mother and younger sister who are buried in a coffin in the backyard by the girl’s abusive stepdad and what happens to them while inside the coffin. It was a very dark and surreal story and I enjoyed writing it.

Since I wanted to publish something original and previously unpublished on WattPad before I write an article on the website for Self-Published Authors Helping Other Authors and leave the subject of the website alone for a while, I thought I’d give Buried Alive the publishing treatment. I even gave a creepy little cover when I published it. Look below.

Creepy, right?

Creepy, right?

If you’d be interested in reading Buried Alive, please follow the link. And if you like it, hate it, whatever, please let me know in a comment, either here on this blog or on WattPad. I’m always happy for freedback from the people who read my work. Even if they think something I wrote totally sucks and they never want to read anything by me ever again.

Oh, and some updates for everyone: besides that article I mentioned above, I also plan to write a short story, hopefully over this weekend, and I plan to submit it to a writing contest through Ohio State’s English Department. Hopefully it’ll get selected. Also, I’ve sent The Loneliest Roads for critiquing to a friend. Actually, I sent the original version and a second version with an alternate ending, but who’s keeping track? Anyway, my friend will hopefully tell me which version she prefers and give me some advice before I send it out to see if I can get it published. We’ll see what happens.

Well, that’s all for now. I’m off to get ready for bed. Goodnight, Followers of Fear. Pleasant nightmares!

My First Short Story of 2014

Posted: January 13, 2014 in ideas, Living and Life, Progress Report, Scary Stuff, short story, Writing
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A model of the limo I used in the story, except it had cow horns mounted on the front and flames painted on the side.

I just finished my first short story of the new year. And for plenty of reasons, it reminds me of a Stephen King story. I’m hoping that an editor will think the same thing if they read it.

The short story is called The Loneliest Roads and it’s about a hitchhiking young woman who gets picked up by a stretch limo (hence the photo). Once she gets inside, she finds herself in for a whole new world of terror. And it’s a different short story than anything I’ve ever written before. Firstly, it’s after I finished the first draft of Video Rage, which I’ve mentioned in previous posts as being a time where I really grew as a writer. I also utilized new techniques I picked up during the past semester. One was to try to ramp up the terror gradually rather than have my protagonist be immediately confronted with pure evil. I started by trying to make things seem only a little unreal at the beginning, and then making that feeling of unreality grow slightly as the story went on, until it was time to make the terror more than just subtle.

I also tried to delve into the psychological factor of my protagonist, whose name is Miracle Jones (yes, I seriously named my character Miracle Jones). I wanted to make her more than just a flat character, and I did that by delving into her past, focusing on her psychology. I thought the way I revealed her character was actually kind of creepy. Then again, I tend to think everything I write is creepy. Whether it is or not depends on your opinion.

Anyway, I’ve a pretty good idea of what I’m going to do with this short story. I’d like to get around to editing it in a few weeks or so, and maybe sending it off to a friend for a critique. I have a second ending for the story that takes a less positive turn than the one I wrote out tonight, so if I or my friend feels that the ending could be different, I’ll go with my second ending. And after all the editing has been done, I hope to submit The Loneliest Roads to a few magazines, see if any pick it up. I would be very happy if they did. And if they don’t…who knows? It could go into a future collection of short stories or on Wattpad, or both. Future’s open.

For now though, I think I’ll try to catch some sleep. Tomorrow if I can I’ll start on an article for Self-Published Authors Helping Other Authors, and after that I’ll start on another short story. It’s going to be very exciting this semester for me. Goodnight, Followers of Fear.

A Confession and Some Updates On My 666th Post

Posted: January 8, 2014 in Living and Life, Progress Report, Reflections, Writing
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Yes, this is my 666th post. The fact that I’ve been counting up to this post must tell you a lot about me. I just wish I had something scarier to mark the occasion. I guess the picture to the left of this paragraph will have to do.

I want to make a confession to you on this post, and that confession starts with a little story. Today I met with one of my counselors at Ohio State and she told me she’d read Reborn City over winter break, and that she’d enjoyed it very much. In fact, she told me at times she had trouble putting it down because she wanted to keep reading and see what happened, which explained why she read it so quickly. I’d heard this from someone else who’d recently read RC, so it made me feel pretty good. But at the same time, I also felt pretty incredulous. After all, I wrote this book in high school. It took me about four years to get it ready for publication, and I needed a lot of help along the way from friends and family.

The truth is (and this is the confession part from the title of this post), I’m still trying to figure out what the hell I’m supposed to be doing. I may act sometimes like I’m all experienced in the matters of fiction writing and all that’s terrifying, especially when I’m writing a post for Self-Published Authors Helping Other Authors, but I don’t know it all. I have no idea how to get more people to read my blog, or how to get more people to purchase or download copies of my books. I tried with the Weekly Exercises to get people interested in buying my fiction writing and just interested in my writing in general, but it didn’t work out so much (this is part of the reason why I haven’t been writing any Exercises recently, in case any of you were wondering. That, and I didn’t have the time or the inexhaustible well of ideas for so many flash fiction pieces). And I’m certainly not the authority on terrifying people. I’m pretty far from it. I’m still trying to learn how to do a better job of scaring than jumping out to yell BOO! or use a big, scary monster with claws or a serial killer with a knife. There are subtleties to scaring people and doing it well. I’m still learning how to do it.

So I ask that you still support me and help me. I’m working hard to fulfill my dreams and to become a better writer. If you want to read my writing, then I’m happy about that and I thank you for it. And if you never want to read my books because it’s just not what you’re into, then that’s fine. Everyone’s tastes are different.

And now for those updates:

–I’ve written a blurb for Video Rage. For those of you who’ve read Reborn City and enjoyed it, I wrote a short blurb for RC‘s sequel that gives a few hints as to what we can expect for the next book. Unfortunately VR is only listed as Coming Soon, as it’s still in the first draft at this point. Still, if you’re interested in the second book, you can read the blurb here.

–I’ve published a few stories on WattPad. Well, one story, to be exact. Revenge for a Succubus’s Beloved was published about a year ago, and it’s still one of my favorites, so I published it again on the site for others to read if they so desired. The other two publications are previews of The Quiet Game and Reborn City. I hope to publish some original fiction in the coming months on the site, and when I do I’ll let everybody know. If you would like to read The Quiet Game‘s preview, click here. If you want to read RC‘s preview, click here. And if you want to read Revenge for a Succubus’s Beloved (and it’s one of my favorites, so I hope you do), click here.

–My Facebook page has reached 100 likes! Growing and maintaining a Facebook page is not easy, ask any author who has one. Ask any person who has one. And I finally managed to get 100 likes on my own page. Took several months, but I did it. I’d like to thank everyone who’s liked my page and stayed with me through the months. Just like everything else, it couldn’t happen without you. And if you’re interested in checking out my Facebook, follow the link here.

Well, that’s all for now. Have a good night, Followers of Fear. Thanks for reading my 666th post, confession and all. I hope nothing demonic results from you reading it.

Snake: Three-Fourths Through The Final Draft

Posted: January 8, 2014 in Living and Life, Novel, Progress Report, Writing
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I’ve been meaning to write this post since last night, but I’ve been so busy these past 24 hours it hasn’t been possible. I guess that’s to be expected at Ohio State, especially when low temperatures close school for two days in a row. Well, no time like the present, so let’s get started.

Yesterday my friend and fellow author Angela Misri sent me her thoughts and suggestions for Chapters 73-76 of Snake. And after doing some extensive editing work (those chapters needed a lot of work, as I realized from reading Angela’s comments), I realized that we had gotten three-fourths of the way through the entire book. And of course that means we have less than twenty-five chapters left of the book before I can get it ready for publication.

Working withy Angela has been a delight. Her suggestions always hit the mark or point out potential areas of misunderstandings for readers that I, as the author, have missed. Sometimes her suggestions have frustrated me because they involve a lot of rewriting, but always I’m thankful for them because in the end she’s right and all the work is worth it. And now with only a quarter of the novel left, I’m looking forward to hearing her thoughts on it over the next couple of weeks and getting her final review once she’s finished the entire book. And as a thank you for all her hard work, I’ll be interviewing Angela about her own upcoming book, Jewel of the Thames, to be released sometime this spring. I can’t wait to read it Angela.

And as for Snake…well, I’m looking forward to releasing it to the world. It’s one of my favorite stories that I’ve written so far and the characters are rather dear to me. I even have plans for one or two sequels, and I hope that everyone who picks up a copy not only enjoys the book, but lets others with similar interests know that they enjoyed the novel.

For now though, I’ve got some work to do, so I’ll sign off for now. If I’m lucky I’ll be able to do a post later tonight, so keep checking your readers and inboxes. And if I don’t get to write another post, I’ll write it tomorrow. See you later, Followers of Fear.

Video Rage: The First Draft Is Finished

Posted: January 5, 2014 in Living and Life, Novel, Progress Report, Writing
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I’m proud to say that the first draft of Video Rage, the sequel to Reborn City, is finally finished! And it took exactly six months to write. I’m not kidding, I started it on July 5th, 2013 and finished it today on January 5th, 2014. Crazy coincidence, huh?

Writing the last three chapters of VR were at times difficult but all the time extremely fun. I just felt the story flowing out, even when I made changes to how the scene played out in my head to how it played out on paper at the very second I was writing the story. And a whole lot happened in those last three chapters: the final conflict of the novel was resolved and I was able to set up for the third and final book of the trilogy (more to come on that later in the post). I’m actually very satisfied with how this novel turned out. I started it with the goal of making a kick-ass story where the characters didn’t lose their depth and weren’t reduced to one-dimensional cut-outs like Katniss Everdeen in Catching Fire. Although I may be biased against my own novel, I believe I did a very good job. Most of the characters grew in their own ways, and some had pretty exciting and at times tragic twists happen to them. I think anyone who reads this novel will be satisfied with it (God-willing).

And now for the page and word counts (and by page, I mean 8.5″ by 11″ MS Word paper pages). In my last post about my progress with Video Rage, the page count was 197 pages and the word count was 54,703 words as of Chapter 24. With the addition of Chapters 25-37 (the last chapter being called “Epilogue” actually, but whatever), the page count is 299 pages and the word count is 83,935 words! That’s a pretty decent-sized novel, around the size of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone actually. Of course the editing phase may either trim it down or expand it a little, depending on how I go about editing each and every chapter and what I do in those chapters.

So now that I’ve finished this monumental task, what are my plans? For now I’ll make sure to back up VR and other important documents so that I don’t lose them. Then I’ll only write for homework and for scholarship for a little while. After that period though I’ll work on several short stories and after I’ve done enough of those, I’ll get back to work on Laura Horn and finish that up as well. And as the final draft of Snake comes together, I’ll work on that too and get it ready for whenever it’ll be published. And when it’s time, I’ll start going over VR and editing it as well. Perhaps within a year or two it’ll be available as well.

And as for the third and final book of the series, I won’t write that any time soon. I need some time to work on other books and other projects so that I can return to the world of the West Reborn Hydras with fresh eyes and ready to finish their story. I also need time to figure out how the story will end. I know what my final scenes are probably going to look like, and I know who the main antagonist will be and how he’s going to be a pain in the ass for the Hydras, but I haven’t settled on anything yet. When the time comes though, I’ll let you know. And hopefully by then the Hydras will have a bigger fan base than just my sister, my stepmother, and a few good friends of mine. That would definitely be nice.

For now though, I’ve got files to back up and a dinner to cook before the new semester starts tomorrow. Wish me luck, my Followers of Fear.

Spring Semester 2014: Pre-Semester Countdown

Posted: January 4, 2014 in Living and Life, Progress Report, Writing
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I’ve done the last of my pre-semester shopping, so it’s time to write a post about what’s going to be happening to me this semester at Ohio State University. My college life and my writing have often been intertwined since I got to school here. When my grades are good and life’s going my way, my writing has done well. When life’s tough and I’m not doing so well grade-wise, my writing has suffered (or worse, my writing hasn’t even happened because I just don’t have the time or energy to write! That happened last semester). Which is probably why I write these posts at the beginning, middle, and end of each semester, because both are so essential to each other as I try to become the writer I’ve always dreamed of being.

In terms of classes, all but one of them are devoted to the study abroad trip I’m going on this summer. The study abroad trip visits England, France, and Germany, and we’ll be intensively studying World War II. With that in mind, many of my classes are focused exclusively preparing for the trip. I already took a general World War II class and a History of the Holocaust class in past semesters, so the number of classes I have to take have been pared down. Still, there are a few I still need to take: one is a special History research seminar, in which we’ll be covering various WWII-related topics and then do research projects around that (I’m assuming). Another History class is devoted to the rise of America as a world superpower from 1921 to 1963 and hinging around the US’s involvement in WWII (I guess a semester of prep for studying World War II abroad just wouldn’t be complete without one course that’s America-centric in nature). The other two classes are French classes: one is a course on French-American relations throughout the years. I’m pretty sure this’ll involve everything from the various wars the US and France have both been involved in since the French and Indian War as well as such silly topics as “freedom fries” (the latter is actually in the title of the class, if I remember right). The second course is a course in learning everyday French and learning how to say “Thank you for your help”, “Where is the bathroom?”, and “I would like a Belgian waffle. Oh your wife is Belgian? Cool! Tell her I love the waffles and chocolates!”

 

The beach of Normandy. We’ll be studying D-Day this semester and visiting the beach during the trip. Can’t wait!

 

In addition to the French class, I ordered some software off Amazon last night that’ll teach me to speak German. Not only will this be relevant to the trip, but it might be relevant for a future story and it doesn’t hurt to be able to speak Hebrew, French and German when I apply for jobs in the future. I’m actually looking forward to learning the language, and the software I got received some very good reviews on Amazon, so I hope I’ll really be able to utilize it. I also plan to apply for several scholarships and get the funds I need to travel abroad. I hope I can get a ton of scholarship money! Otherwise it might be difficult to go on the trip!

The only class I’m taking this semester that isn’t related to my study abroad trip is an English course for my English major. Specifically, it’s an English 4597 course, which is one of those courses all English majors are required to take at some point late in their college careers. Fortunately they offer several different varieties of this class, so I ways able to choose one that worked with my other classes and sounded interesting: Deaf Literature and Deaf Culture (when I tell people I’m taking this course, they ask me if I mean “deaf” or “death”. Considering that it’s me they’re asking, it’s a relevant question). It looks pretty interesting, and we have some very interesting books, including a children’s book that intertwines illustrations with prose into two different narratives. Not your average children’s story, to say the least.

I’m also working about ten to twelve hours a week at the Financial Aid office this semester, just like I did last semester. With busy season over, the office should quiet down a little. Still, there’s a literal mountain of work to get done, and I’ll be working through some of that mountain every time I step into the office. I don’t mind though: the work usually isn’t too bad, the people are great, and I’ve come up with some great ideas for short stories and novels while restocking the copy paper or sifting through some recently-scanned documents (so if you think a job will sap you of your creativity as you try to create the ultimate story/painting/poem/etc., here’s an example to the contrary).

And finally, I just want to fill everyone in on my social plans and my writing goals for this semester. I hope to be able to hang out with my friends a bit this semester, just like I did last semester, but I also want to socialize more and do new things. Last semester I joined the science fiction club on campus, but I was so busy I was only able to come to two meetings. I hope to attend more often this semester. I also would like to go to events in and around campus and meet new people. And who knows? I may even try to start a relationship of the romantic nature this semester. Don’t know if that’s possible or if I’ll have time for that, but I can try.

So looking forward to finally getting Snake done and published. I hope plenty of people read it.

And as for my writing, I plan to finish Video Rage‘s first draft either this weekend or in the coming week. I’m almost done with one of the chapters and after that there’s only two more to go. I already have the ending planned out, I just need to get there. And after I finish VR, I’ll take a short break from writing before getting to work on several short stories. Over the past semester I’ve come up with over sixty ideas for short stories, but I’ve been so busy with school, work and VR I haven’t had the time to write any of them, so I want to get some of them out of the way this semester. And after I’ve written enough short stories that I’m satisfied and submitted a few of them to magazines and other publications, I’ll take another break before I get back to work on my other WIP Laura Horn, which I hope to finish up before the fall when I start a new novel for my senior thesis.

I also have plans to edit VR when the time comes, start the basis of a new collection of short stories, write several articles to Self-Published Authors Helping Other Authors, and of course to finish the final draft of Snake and get it ready for publication. My friend Angela Misri is almost done giving me feedback on the book, and after she’s done I’ll interview her about her work, including the publication of her novel Jewel of the Thames, which is coming out sometime this spring. It’s going to be a great semester!

Now though, I have to go on a short shopping trip and then make dinner for myself. Afterwards I plan to do some last-minute preparations for the new semester before retiring for the evening. So with this, I wish you a good night and I’ll see you tomorrow, my Followers of Fear. Wish me luck in the new semester as I take on the world, prepare for my trip, and try to fulfill all my dreams. It’s going to be hard work, but I’m so ready to take up the challenge.

See you in eight weeks when I let you know how I’m doing.

Writing In The Dark

Posted: January 3, 2014 in Living and Life, Writing
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I’ve been meaning to write this post all day, but it’s been kind of a crazy day, so I haven’t rally had the chance until now. I better take advantage of this opportunity while I still have the chance.

Last night I sat down to work on Chapter Thirty-Five of Video Rage, the sequel to Reborn City. I’d started the chapter earlier in the week, but because I’d been sick and because of the new year I’d only gotten a little over a page written. I’d planned to sit down and write before Elementary came on, and then do some more writing during the commercial breaks, but at around nine-thirty the power went out all around my neighborhood. In the space of a second the only light in my apartment was my laptop computer.

Now for those not too familiar with Ohio, we get some crazy weather year round (last year during a power outage a friend’s grandmother actually got snow on her roof. It was in July, and she has the photo to prove it). And this week we’ve been seeing below-freezing temperatures and several inches of snow. So when the power went off, my apartment started getting pretty cold. After confirming that the rest of the neighborhood was out of power and placing a phone call to the power company (where I learned that the outage would most likely be repaired by half-past midnight), I shut myself off in the apartment, got out some flashlights, and booted up the computer to continue writing VR Ch. 35.

Normally when I write, I’m beset by a number of distractions, the Internet being the chief one. However the lack of power took out the Internet, took out the TV, took out the lights, and took out most of the distractions. So besides answering the phone or getting up for the bathroom or to blow my nose and get a cough drop (still a little sick even now), I was basically distraction-free.

And boy did I write! With nothing really to keep me from writing, I just wrote the scene down! There were some tear-jerking moments when the characters questioned why they were even fighting for their lives, followed by a moment when my leading lady really hit them with a pep talk. There was a final battle, and it resolved with a deus ex machina that perhaps wasn’t the best deus ex machina ever written, but I think for this story it worked out very well.

At around ten to midnight the power in my apartment came back on, and I was able to take a hot shower and go to bed feeling warm. However I also ended the evening with a lot of work out of the way and the goal to finishing Video Rage that much closer to attaining. I’m really glad I was able to have that opportunity to write uninterrupted, even if I had to wear an extra sweatshirt and my snuggie to do it. And when I finish Video Rage (hopefully sometime this weekend), I’ll be able to look back on that night and see it as a bit of a turning point in the process to finishing up the novel.

However, there’s a bit of a sad note to this story: last night while I was working, I dropped my USB drive and its casing broke. Luckily I was able to fix it quickly with some tape and none of the files saved on the drive went missing or were damaged, but I knew then that the drive was near the end of its life. The drive was already several years old: I’d gotten it in high school, and back then it had a silver casing around it to protect it, as well as fabric and another metal ring so that you could hang it from a key ring. The fabric broke eventually, and then after nearly four and a half years of surviving everything and anything, the silver casing fell off, and not too long after the last one, the casing broke.

My old flash drive in its last moments. In lieu of flowers, please send money to a charity of your choice (though I wouldn't mind if you supported my Buckeyethon fundraising efforts).

My old flash drive in its last moments. In lieu of flowers, please send money to a charity of your choice (though I wouldn’t mind if you supported my Buckeyethon fundraising efforts).

So while I’m kind of sad to have to give up the drive, I know it’s time to let it go. I already bought a replacement and I’ve transferred the files, so I can let it go knowing all the hard work and all the years of use weren’t in vain. So good-bye, old USB drive that lasted through so many years and even a trip through the washing machine (not kidding, it went through the washer and after some time in rice worked like a charm). You shall be fondly remembered.

I’m going to end this post here, Followers of Fear. I just want to say that wherever you are right now, you’re warm and your power’s working. I’ll let you know if I finish Video Rage by the time I go back to classes on Monday. Wish me luck!

2013 In Review

Posted: January 1, 2014 in Living and Life, Progress Report, Reflections, Writing
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Happy New Year!

As always, WordPress sent me an email letting me know how my blog did this past year. This year, my blog was viewed enough times to fill the Sydney Opera House about four times. That’s great…but I wish I was good enough to fill the Sydney Opera House just once! Honestly, where do they get these statistics?

But I digress. The point is, another year has come and gone. And to quote Dickens, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” That sums up just about every year I know, but it’s pretty accurate. A lot happened this year to me, including two of my books getting published; I moved into an apartment with a friend and learned some more of the tribulations of the adult world; I was accepted into the study abroad trip I’ve been aiming for; I started my third year of college; I began writing and then administrating for Self-Published Authors Helping Other Authors; and a whole lot more that I won’t put on my blog but were important nonetheless.

All in all, a crazy year. Sometimes all that was going on threatened to bury me, while at other times I felt like I could do anything. I had my highs and my lows, like anyone else. But I managed to get through them and I came out stronger for it.

Reborn City

And now for my new year’s resolutions: I resolve to be a better writer. I resolve to get more people interested in my work and even in reading it. I resolve to finish Video Rage (probably happen in the next week or so), get back to Laura Horn and finish that up (shouldn’t be too hard, considering how quickly I tended to write the chapters), finish the final draft of Snake (hopefully sometime in the next couple of months) and publish it by the end of the year (I hope), write a whole ton of original short stories and publish some of them (fingers crossed on that one), start whatever novel will end up being my senior thesis in the fall and maybe a few other projects. I resolve to improve my craft and to help others improve their craft in my own small way. I resolve to grow this blog and Self-Published Authors Helping Others Authors. I resolve to fulfill my dreams of being a successful novelist.

I resolve to be a better person. I resolve to work on my personal flaws and try to improve. I resolve to be a good student, a good scholar of English and History, a good roommate, and a good worker. I resolve to be good to my friends and family and love them as much as they love me. I resolve to go to Europe for my study abroad trip this summer and learn as much as I can on World War II and the Holocaust. I resolve to keep my grades up. I resolve that my conduct in life is exemplary.

With any luck, you’ll be reading about a guy called the Snake soon.

I resolve to read a lot of books, see a lot of movies, and binge on too much TV. I resolve to keep my bank account in order. I resolve to eat healthy and stay healthy. I resolve to…are you still reading this list? If you are, you have the patience of a monk.

All in all, I plan to make 2014 better than 2013. So this year, my Followers of Fear, I wish you luck and I hope we get to share a ton of great experiences together. Happy New Year!

Is This Me Or Someone I’d Like To Be Someday?

Posted: December 31, 2013 in Living and Life, Novel, Reflections, Writing
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My roommate got me into watching Chuck on his Netflix, so I didn’t get as much writing done in the past few days as I would’ve liked. So I’m going to take this opportunity to discuss something I’ve noticed lately before the clock strikes twelve and a new year begins.

Sometimes I look at the rough draft of Video Rage I have in front of me. I look over what I’ve written, I nod at the points that I think are good, I edit something when I see that I’ve made an error or a mistake. And then I ask myself, “Did I really write this? It seems so much better than my work has been in the past.” And that’s not me praising my own work (though I’m happy to do that most days of the week). It’s me wondering who’s actually writing this story.

Let me try to explain this without sounding like I’m trying to toot my own horn. The other day I was writing a scene for Video Rage where a very important world leader points out several flaws in the story the antagonists over at the Parthenon Company have been telling about the West Reborn Hydras. I’m looking over the chapter and I think to myself, “Are you sure you wrote this, Rami? It’s a lot better than  scenes you’ve written before, it reads like a sci-fi version of a scene from Scandal, and it’s almost good enough to be of that quality.” And looking over the entire novel so far, I’m noting a quality in the writing that puts it a level above its predecessor Reborn City. I especially notice these differences in portions where I expand upon the world of RC, in scenes dealing with the interpersonal relationships between the characters, and in those moments when I add items or elements on the spur of the moment that vastly change how I see the scene playing out.

And it’s not just in VR. Two nights ago I had an idea for a short story. I’m writing the idea down so I don’t forget it, and I’m noting how I’d like to write it, how I’m going to be drawing on elements or techniques I noticed in some of the short stories I read this past semester, how the man focus of the short story is going to focus on the inadequacy of the male lead. And as I finish writing the idea down, it hits me that the idea is a lot simpler but also a lot better a short story than anything I’ve ever written before.

I’ve always written short stories like novels, except I’ve got to figure out how to tell the story in less than 10,000 words, so it better be a brief story. Not the best method for writing short stories, is it? In fact, I’ve realized that for ages, but I didn’t know any other way to write them, so I’ve been writing them that way for years. The way this short story goes is very different though. If I had to describe it, it’d be taking an idea, telling a simple story based on it, and centering the focus on the reactions of one character to events around him, drawing on the numerous short stories I read this past semester and the techniques that those authors used to tell those stories.

Trying to explain it here, I know I’m not doing the best job of it. But that’s the closest I can come to. And I know that if I can figure out how to write this short story and others like it, I might be able to step my game up a little and become a much better writer.

And as I write this, I wonder if I’m getting closer to the writer I want to be. One who is able to tell a deep, meaningful story, one which draws the reader in, holds them in terror and in awe, makes them feel for the characters a deep attachment, and causes them to think about the story long after they’ve finished reading it. I’m still a long way from that author I’d like to be, but I’d like to believe that I’m making some headway to that goal based on the maturation  I’ve observed in my writing.

Well, I guess editors and reviewers to come will tell me so if I’ve made any headway to that goal. In the meantime, I’ve got three chapters of Video Rage left, and I’m going to try to finish them before school starts up on Monday. Wish me luck.

Oh, and before I forget, I want to wish all you Followers of Fear a Happy New Year. Your continued support makes it possible for me to keep writing, blogging, and publishing, and it’s your continued support that makes it a bit easier for me as I work to achieve my dreams and become a successful horror author. I wish you all a great year in 2014 and I hope everything goes your way with all your goals and projects.

See you next year!

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