Let’s get personal?

I have been wondering about this for a while. I have heard both sides of the argument, but I want to know what you all think. Do you want me to be more open and more personal here on my blog or do you like it the way it is?

Anniversary Contest – Round 2

        I first want to congratulate Danny Evarts for winning the first round of the contest. Found You has been shipped of to him, just in time for October. But as I said in the first round, there were two books to win. This round is for Play Dead by Michael A. Arnzen, a good friend and mentor, as well a multiple Bram Stoker Award winner. This is an Out of Print book signed by Mike Arnzen.

        Same method for entry, just post a comment and then at the deadline I will pick a winner randomly. This time around, though, there is a new thing to add to you comment. Actually, two:

        1.) What is something that frightens you about Halloween since you were a kid?
        2.) Favorite Halloween costume you ever wore?

        Just write those two things in your comment and you will have a chance to win. The deadline will be October 8th. Pass the word along.

         The winner of Play Dead is Pia Veleno. Congratulations, Pia!

Is There A Thing Called Blogger Block

For the life of me, I don’t remember when I said I would limit myself to only two posts a week. It could have been only a few months ago or back in February for all I know. But I have found that in the last week or two, it’s been harder to write them. It could be for a number of reasons:

- I do have a large load I put on myself in my fiction writing.
- There hasn’t been a whole lot of funny stuff in the world.
- It’s been a while since I just got out of the house as there really isn’t a whole lot to do near me, so why waste the gas.
- There really hasn’t been a lot of funny in the world. I need the funny! I crave it!

Many of my posts have be somewhat serious, sprinkled with the Wit and Sarcasm flavored Mrs. Dash. But it has been a while since I had a really good funny post.
        
I think it was the one on sausage.
        
So, I have spent the morning going over funny sites, funny blogs, funny videos, in hopes to spark that silly clown inside that runs rampant on Twitter so often.

Nada. Zilch. Bubkiss (is that how it’s spelled? I’ve never seen it written down before). So I wonder if I have “Blogger Block.” Though, I did find that the general state of humor around the internet is sort of lacking too. There are all the classic places to go too. and most of the hilarious stuff is still up or easy to find in the archives. But when I look at the recent posts or additions, they aren’t that funny. Instead of being a gut buster, they are more like that worn joke you pull out at parties that will get a laugh and everyone will enjoy (mostly) but nothing tremendous.

It’s like the world is getting serious, again. And while I’m not against being serious, I don’t think it is a 24/7 state of being. I’m the kind of guy that finds the humor in anything. If you don’t you lose the enjoyment of things out there.
        
Like Yoo-Hoo. The first chocolate drink that didn’t need the addition of milk or water, and tasty as all hell. We need fans of Yoo-Hoo to go out on benders this weekend and live it up in the town or city.

Or trampolines. Someone should build an obstacle course made up of various angled trampolines where you have to bounce off them to make it through.

How about the old college gag of condom water balloons? There should be a massive fight on a college green. One side is the Pocket Rocket Brigade and the other is the Trouser Snake Berserkers.

Until then, I think there is going to be a massive blogger block on the internet if we keep up this seriousness. And if you think writers with writer’s block is bad, just imagine all the normal-ish, sane-ish people getting frustrated they can think of anything to write about…it’ll be like the election season all over again.

*Runs screaming in terror*

Can I Haz TARDIS Nao?

So, get this. I have been using Scrivener for over a year now. It has helped my writing tremendously. Now, I saw that Michael Marshell Smith used it and was giving out a 20% coupon for it on his blog. In that entry, he talked about how he wrote everything, including his blog, on it. Now, one of my things was that I could never check grammar on it. Grammar and spelling are my downfall. What can I say, I went to public school and were taught it for about 3 months in 4th grade and 9th grade. And as I couldn’t really find blogging software that helped, I decided to get Macjournal as it would work with every blogging site out there. Those that have come by noticed that I would still have errors no matter how many times I proof read my entries, seeing the failing of blogging software.

Now, I know some of you are saying, “Well what about Word or Open Office to check the grammar?” And a sane, hassle dealing individual would do that. But I loath hassle. I get frustrated having to export from Scrivener and open in Word and check the grammar for my stories and novel. Now to do it for a blog entry? Oh hells no!

But I got thinking, “If Smith uses this, what am I missing to not use it too?” So I start exploring Scrivener, something I haven’t done in about 8 updates.
        
I want to say in my defense, right now, I truly believe that what I found did not exist until that very moment. But I found the option to turn on grammar checking >_<. But I also found even more things, like annotations and highlights, that I’m very sure weren’t there when I first bought this, which means my need for any Office like program is going away. I can do it all here. So, I’m experimenting, and this is my first blog post using my favorite application in the world!

But that’s not all that I have to talk about. As you might have seen, there has been updates and changes around the site (if not, be inquisitive and see what is new and different). One of the major things I want to address is that I took away the My Links category of websites. Mostly because there wasn’t much traffic from them. If you want them back, I bring them back, but I’d rather have more author, publication, and resource links for you all that might be helpful than just how to get to my Facebook page. There will be more changes coming as I get read for another year of blogging.

I’m also starting a season of writing insanity. Starting with October 1st, I will have lots of short story deadlines coming up. Luckily, I have story ideas, for all of them, I just need to find the time to write them all, hence the need for a TARDIS. I’m working on stories for The Monsters Next Door, Dead Bells anthology, Dark Faith anthology, Baconology possibly, Alienology, Apex Halloween Contest, New Bedlam Spring Thaw contest, and Necrotic Tissue magazine. Safe to say, Twittering and blogging may wind down a bit.

For those that didn’t hear. Sonar4 ezine is now quarterly starting with this month’s issue. So I will only have four columns a year. While I had hoped to have that monthly deadline to help me keep myself sticking to the deadlines I make for my other work, it is nice to have more breathing space between columns.

Also, this is an open call to writers. With the success of the Guest Blog Post from Michele Lee, I have Louise Bohmer blogging in October, which I plan to coincide with my review of her book, The Black Act, which will be in print again thanks to Library of Horror Press. I will also be Guest Blogging on hers in April. But I always have room for any writer who wants to blog here to help promote an newly released work. And if I can manage it, I will even try to have a review of that work or a most recent work to go along with it. Just contact me through email if you want to post.

Other than that, it looks like things are settling with my health, making the end of this year more bearable. I do find it funny, though, that it it is happening now, so close to my birthday. Why? Well it all in the number 3. Now, I’m not a true believer in Numerology, I think it is simply a physical metaphor to understand traits in people, and it is not a perfect or accurate one at that. But it is fun to look at the coincidences that the chaos of the universe brings about in each of out lives. Starting in Oct 1st, it will be 3 months of writing and birthdays in my family. My 27th is on Oct. 3rd. 27 added together is 9, which is three 3’s. November has 3 birthdays, including my dad’s who is 30 years older than me, so 57, which equals 12, which equals 3. and December is my nephew’s 3rd birthday.

Lets hope 3 is my lucky number, haha.

Me? Award? Jigga-Wah?

I think someone is pulling a fast one on me, but apparently Jodi Lee has bestowed me with the Kreativ Blogger Award.

Kinda glad I went with a grey tone theme, though I really wish this wasn’t pink

Anyway, now I must bestow it on seven other bloggers. Why do I have the feeling this is just clever networking tool? Anywho, here as my Seven Deadly Sins of the Internet:

Dhympna – Stories, recipies, and the common sense that seems to be lost these day all in one blog. How can you not love it.

Rockstar NinjaGurl – Killer wit. Killer car. Killer looks. Killer Kung Fu Action

Pia Veleno – One of three writers that are honest and open on their blogs, from her feelings on books to delving into the sexual mores and trying to get more guys to kiss each other.

A. M. Hartnett – I’m her manslave. I’m sure if I didn’t put her name here, the cattle prod would come out.

Betsy Whitt – A friend and fellow SHU alum, she’s a surrogate big sis (even though I’m the older one) and has some of the more humorous life stories I’ve read.

Andrew Wolter - A force soon to be reckoned with in the horror genre, he blogs openly about his life as writer and person, no holds barred.

Michael A. Arnzen – One of mentors from SHU. Like himself, his blog is both astute and wacky at the same time.

Now, I’m supposed to name 7 mystery writers…

Anyone else think there was game of telephone at one point and this was completely mixed up? I mean, nothing against mystery writers, but what does the Kreativ Blogger Award have anything to do with the Mystery genre?

So I’m boycotting that segment until someone can tell me, preferably from the people that started the award.

Ravenous by Ray Garton

Title: Ravenous
Author: Ray Garton
Genre: Horror
Publisher : Leisure
Pages: 342
ISBN: 0843958200

For some who would come across Ravenous, they would read the story and think it was just a exceptionally written, yet classic werewolf tale with a new twist on the myth. But there is so much more going on in this book. In an amazing way, the twist of turning lycanthropy paves the way for metaphors of the human condition in today’s society that would feel didactic in a regular werewolf tale.

They all come out in the excellent characterizations and character developments in the book as each of member of the cast face the implications of the supernatural STD. We have the Sheriff of the town under attack in the middle of the meeting on prepping his officers to combat the werewolves, slides of into contemplations of his wife possibly being one. The internal struggle of being able to believe both sides and wondering if the heart or the mind is right in a world of rationalism and skepticism. The cheating husband who still loves his wife, but no longer finds your sexually satisfying and looks elsewhere and grasps for control while his love and his lust clash with his heart in the middle. Even the most sympathetic character, Jason, is tragic in that he is the embodiment of the geek that never can quiet get his life the way he wants it and is more lost in the real world than in the boyish dreams and fantasies into, which, he escapes. It is a life that really is one that tends to become more and more common these days they ever before since it was normal for children to leave the nest and develop lives outside of their parents.

It also comes out in the portrayal of the werewolves. Over the course of the book, various characters become infected. First, this is something I wish I saw more of in horror fiction: letting the reader into the mind of the monster. So many just develop a monster, both strong ones and weak one, and just use them as the killer of the story. But in developing those monsters, the writer has had to understand the mind of the monster and that is an experience i think readers, too, should experience. For me it made these werewolves more terrifying. Why? Because while they were monstrous beings with sex drives and hunger for flesh on a horrific level, they still were all too human in their reasoning. In a way there represent how easy it is to loose ones self once a person becomes a part of a like minded group where they share such overpowering ideas, outlooks, and beliefs. Instead of satisfying our animalistic desires, we satisfy our desires for power, self-worth, and greed. There is a joke that goes, “Life is a sexually transmitted disease with a 100% mortality rate.” Ravenous proves this point all too well, replacing life with lycanthropy.

Garton’s Live Girls is considered an essential addition to the vampire canon. At the very least, Ravenous should be highly considered for addition into the werewolf canon.

Anniversary Contest! (with Free Books!) – Round 1

Hey Everybody!

It’s amazing to think that just last September 8th, I started this blog and website. All just to get my name out into the internet and promote my first story sale. And for all of those that have passed by on occasion or regularly read my posts, I want to thank you all. So I’m going to do a two part contest. Each part you will have the chance to win a free autographed book!

That’s right, you don’t even have to pay for postage! I’m better than those infomercial people.

First Round:

We all know that I love to make you all laugh. So, I want you to tell me how to make you laugh. Just leave a comment on something you’ve seen me do here on the site, or something that makes you laugh as you are searching the internet. One comment per person. At the end, I’ll pick someone at random using random.org. That person’s comment will be the theme for Round 2 AND will win the first free book:

- A signed first print mmpb edition of FOUND YOU by Mary SanGiovanni

So take a look at the posts in the categories: lolz, funny stuff, and/or the internets or come up with something new to challenge me and you just might win!

Deadline is September 22nd!!!

“Context! Soon We Will Be Making Another Run.”

Well, It’s been almost a week since I got back from Context, might as well finally getting to writing a wrap up of it.

I will say that it felt a lot more like Necon. Writers coming together, chillaxing with each other, talking about writing, the business, and life in general. I was able to meet up with Tim Esaias from Seton Hill on Friday while everyone else was filtering in Friday. We talked books, stories, and he even helped me form a great short for The Monsters Next Door. Eventually, Andrew Wolter was allowed to fly into Columbus. After checking the condition of “The Goblet,” he went off to wet his whistle over at the Winking Lizard Tavern (a hot spot for the writers that weekend).

The Opening ceremonies started and that was where I met up with Christopher Golden. Just getting more time to talk with him was worth the weekend. He is such a great person and ready to talk you anyone about what he’s learned through the years, and a humble gentleman to all. If you get the chance, do talk to him. He let me pick his mind about the possible YA series I have in mind and I think I have a much better idea where I’m going to start it. After I came across the The Funky Werepig, Greg Hall, and R. Scott McCoy of Necrotic Tissue in the dealers room. Talk about a goofy set “brothers from different mothers.” I also was introduced to Tim Deal of Shroud Publication, Jason Sizemore of Apex Publications, and Rio Youers and his wife, Emily.

Most of Friday was all about the Apex Party. Now, I don’t mind parties, but I rarely last long. Lots of people in a tiny hotel room (at least for the number of people in there) yeah, I get a crawling feeling under my skin and I need to find space. So after an appearance there, I went down tot he hotel bar where Rio, Emily, and “The Gold One” were drinking with Gene O’Neill and Gord Rollo.

This was much more my bag.

More talk of the business took place (if there is one thing I can say for Rio Youers, he knows how to work a room and network with people) until the last call. Gene and Gord headed off in one direction and The rest of us went to the Apex Party.

Yeah, I know, I just left, but I just needed space and was wanted a second go around.

Well, I didn’t stay in the room long before the creepy feeling started, and I was getting tired (as I only had breakfast that whole day) On my way out I bumped into Maurice Broaddus and Chris Golden out in the hall talking comics, Mo*Con, and Necon. Of course I introduced myself as the guy on Twitter who was writing punctuation erotica with Zoe Whitten and he knew who I was instantly. Boy do I know how to make myself know in the world. When Security came up saying quiet down or they were going to boot people out of the hotel, I knew it was my time to scaddadle.

Saturday was a big day for me. The biggest part was at breakfast where I bumped into Gene O’Neill. We talked craft (including the benefits of second person point-of-view. I know, I’m a writer that I get giddy talking about points of view), Seton Hill, formal training vs. life experience, how each of use got into writing, stories written. And out of it came him offering to read a chapbook once I have it polished and if he likes it, he would send it to a publisher with a personal recommendation.

This is when I’m eternally gratefully for a great poker face. I was a hair’s breath away from school girl screams of glee.

The rest of the day was really just hanging out with everybody. It was like being at home, having people over for pizza and wings and just playing off one another. Good times. Around dinner time I got a chance to catch up with Gary Braunbeck and finally meet Lucy Snyder. These two are just the great people I’ve had the honor to meet. It was really good to talk to Gary as he knows my thinking and my writing style after working on Scavenger for a year with me that all the questions I’ve wanted to ask myself, but would never get answers, I could ask him and he knew exactly where i was going and what I was talking about.

After, it was time for the The Funky Werepig Context show. Fun time all around, which you can catch BlogTalk Radio. But just for you, I did manage to record the upside down signing of Rio Youers:

After that was the infamous Shroud Party. This was the time in which the mysterious goblet was revealed:

Again, me, party, there was more space this time around but I think some of these writer people liked to get friendly cause they would just cram into each other. Now, there was supposed to be the great Big Boy Dance Off. I was in-charge of recording it all for you. I waited. And waited. And waited. Soon I was told that the Dance Off was cancelled. So I called it a night.

I wake up Sunday, only to find out they had it without me! And I was going to through my hat in the ring, literally too, haha.

Sunday was mostly wrap up and lots of long farewells to everyone. A few last laughs, including Kevin Lucia and I finally remembering seeing each other at Necon (I’m telling you horror writers, it all comes back to Necon). I ended my weekend on a high and now I have so much work on my plate after a summer of writer cons that, hopefully, you will start to see my name in more places.

And Now back to our regularly scheduled insanity.

Calliope Wept – Part 3: The 5 People Theory

Unlike the last two posts, this is not a about a generally accepted idea. Though, it is bases on other accepted ideas. So the tone and structure of this post may be different.

We have see it all before. A group of people, all sharing a common drive and goal, who assault our lives with their various causes. Those who believe their cause is the right and best cause. Ones that tend to get a lot of Nazi comparisons. It seems like more and more, there are new fanatical groups popping up, trying to shout the loudest to be the the only one heard. These are very different than the ones who have care along with conviction in what they believe in. The ones that make you want to volunteer some of your time to help or to engage in discourse. Where is the difference? It is something I call the “5 People Theory.”

It is something that I started to realize in college. There were a lot of groups for various things. It was surprising that with every new group, there seemed to be more and more nonsensical actions or statements made in the name of the group. There were also more conflicts with people or other groups. I started to wonder why. In the end I came up with this theory:

Any group consisting of five or more people, who all share near identical viewpoints on a the reason they gather, the personal intelligence and common sense of those people lessens.

It passed on a number of theories that everyone already believes in, like, groupthink, group polarization, conditioning, risk management, and other.

You see, unlike a typical group of friends, lets say, groups gather because they all have a common interest. Now, among healthy groups, there is a diversity of thought and ideas. if a group is small, say three or four people, it can handle more conformity of ideas, because the percentage of common ideas is closer to an equal balance to the differing. If there isn’t, the destruction of the group is imminent because individual personalities will start to take over instead of ideas.

Once there are five, though, the percentages start to play a different game. You can have even just a few similar ideas, but the collective power of those common group ideas is greater than each person’s individual different ideas. This is where the festering begins.

We’ve all had a point in our lives where we share a lot of things in common. It is a invigorating and intoxication. We are drawn to that person and want to spend more time, pursuing the interests that we share. Now imagine five people with each other. It becomes almost incestuous at that point. And the close off, because know one will understand like these people understand. And what happens is that they become reliant on that relationship. Because they close off, they have no other true interpersonal relations that can compete with the group devotion.

So others become weary “others” unless they show some sort of connection to the group ideas. They become defensive because they have relied on each other for protection and support. They become vitriolic because the world had become much larger and everyone seems like an enemy because of their exclusiveness. They become the people that will yell out you days after a argument just because they haven’t been able to resolve that is was a difference of views, not a malicious attack on something they hold dear.

And I see these groups, cliques, and organizations grow more and more. From fans of a particular writer activists for a social change. And the problem with them is that they have given up individuality and freedom of thought for complacency. They become the generator of the un-professionalism and the vitriol that can make new writers ruin their career before they start.

I have have left friends because of this. The insular nature is almost frightening. As a writer, I want to explore, learn and create new ideas. How can I do that if I homogenize my thoughts and opinions? If you are a writer or a reader reading tis post, look at the people you keep closest when it comes to literature. Do you have friends that will have opposing thoughts to yours so that you can have an honest debate and possibly learn more about books and writing in the end? Or, do you keep company whose thought are so similar to your that the threat of stagnation always looms over you. Diversity is key to life, and in the end, that is what all stories talk about. Anything else results in death and decay.

Calliope Wept – Part 2: Vitriol

For those that read the comments on Part 1, you will notice that a general theme came up in all of them: snark and meanness. I didn’t go into a lot when I responded to them because I knew I had this post coming next. Hopefully, I will better explain my thoughts I briefly stated there.

I remember a night, a group of then Seton Hill Writing Popular Fiction students, were talking about bestsellers. In that conversation, the Name of Names of the horror genre, Stephen King, was brought up by one person. I can’t remember the exact wording, but basically she said that he was shlock writer after his fifth book. The discussion changed at that moment. No longer were we talking about the qualities that seem to be inherent in books that are listed as top books in the country on what ever list you look at, but now we were in a mini flame war about Stephen King.

This is the power of vitriol.

While it seems like a tool of social self-defense, it’s not and it shouldn’t be. Vitriol, by its definition of “cruel and bitter criticism” is tied to wars of opinions. and it comes out, most often, when a person or a group of people forget that criticism is not about right or wrong ideas, but purely an viewpoint. Today, as I write this post, colleagues and acquaintances are meeting more and more vitriol on their various sites and Twitter feeds for #romfail ladies and/or supporters. This is all vitriol does, it self-perpetuates. Growing more hate-filled with each use. And it doesn’t even need a response to enact this mutation of social discord. It’s a pressure cooker: once the lid snaps on, it will build up until the release valve is opened.

I have noticed that vitriol has taken a firm grip on the writing world. Whether this is new, the same it always been, or a growing trend over a period of time, I don’t know. But in the present day, it would seem that anyone over the age of twenty-two should be better than to let such vile conversing take place between grown adults. And who knows why it is; the possibilities are endless.

It’s worse when professionals spout it about someone or something within their profession. These maybe your thoughts and your opinions, which I am not saying you can’t express, but you need to know how to express them properly. The second thing for new and aspiring writers to know:

Criticism is important to us. From readers, editors, publishers, reviewers, and other writers. They are the gauge we use to see if we are communicating out thoughts clearly. But they are only worthwhile if they are constructive, not destructive. As you will be criticized, so you must criticize, but in a manner of respect. Snark and vitriol are self-serving and selfish.

What comes next is going to seem like an attack to the #romfail people. It’s not, or the very least, not meant to be. I am merely giving criticism to both you and everyone else you happens upon this post.

The idea of #romfail is to be a place to make snarky comments about excerpts of a book chosen for roasting. I heard mention that they liken themselves to Mystery Science Theater 3000. First off, I’m still trying to understand why snarky comments are the same as a well written comedic script of riffing. MST3K’s jokes weren’t improvised, they were well thought out and sequenced jokes. Also, while they made fun of the flaws of those movies, they joking was about celebrating where sci-fi films started from and honoring the cult classics.

In #romfail’s case, all it is snark. Yes, the members of the group might find it humorous, but they do say that this a group for review and criticism purposes. Snark can’t be a part of that and expect to not have people question the true intentions and purpose of the group. And when anyone does they either try to ignore the questions or snap the lid shut on the pressure cooker of their vitriol.

All art lives in a community. In that community are ones for each of the arts and so on and so forth down to the individual. When a writer goes as far as to use snark and vitriol in response to anything in that community, the rest will soon color their views by that. We have all have people in our neighborhoods, towns, counties that were know for derisive acts towards other, the more they did it, the more it became their reputation. Sure they may not out cast everyone, but they do make themselves the untrustworthy. That is the effect on an inter-personal. Inter-professional? This schism it creates can be harsher and more difficult to mend at anytime in the future. In a everyday office situation, it can be seen as abuse. People have been fired for the same thing. I know I’m repeating myself, but that why it important to understand the bigger picture and not just your little corner of the world.

We writers help each other by not just pointing out flaws in each others work, but to explain why they are flaws and give suggestions on ways to improve it the next time around. The best advice I was ever given on critiquing a piece of work was, “Never critique the writer. Critique the story. By saying is the writer’s fault you are judging that writer and that is not your job or purpose. Your only task is to help the story become a the best it can.” And what you have to remember is that you will come across stories you don’t like, not one word of it. But liking it is not a constructive because it’s subjective to each readers personal taste. If you don’t like something, that it mean it badly written? Of course not. You have to be objective in your remarks. Personal preferences or personal ideas of how things should be writing can only be aimed at your own work. Doing it to others is just telling them, “Rewrite this the way I want it be written.”

In the end, it comes down meanness. Just look at the definition and the synonyms of snark and vitriol. Would you want any of them to be words that describe you, as writer, as a professional. I hope not. Writers can’t get trapped in meanness. We are the meaningful.