THURSDAY UPDATE - Violent Brain

     "So many ‘Rules’ to writing."

     When I first started writing many long years ago when I was but a dreamer in middle school I never once paid attention to the so called ‘Do’s & Don’ts’ to writing. Sure I took English classes and all that grammar speech stuff, but not once did I pay attention to how challenging the writing world is for I was too busy playing video games and drawing characters while being picked on for my rat-tail and chubby weight… and the fact I was a ‘geek’ not in the ‘Cool Club’.

     Growing up, between poetic spurts to short story plots and character creation I was writing free of critics and ridicule. Nowadays, critics are everywhere, in all shapes and sizes, and one has to be careful on helpful and unhelpful criticism. Through the years I’ve received various advice from many. From people who weren’t writers, to those who have published more than one novel.

     I have only published one, and after that one I’ve decided to revise it in one big reboot. It was a decision made not by others input, but by my own. The various ‘Rules to Writing’ were never an impact.

     Until one night my brain demanded that I ignore all input and just write, then critique later. I’ve done this before, with my first book. Why didn’t I think to do this again? Perhaps I was so open for input after dissolving the shyness I had of my work that I forgot to retain my fortitude? During these hankering stages I noticed a lag in my writing drive (minus the computer difficulties that lead to a reformat of computer) and my conscience started to nitpick due to other nitpickers planting seeds I knew better than to let grow.

     It’s one thing to accept the advice, but not all advice works for you. It was then I realized my whole element shift for the worse… and it needed to end.

     I still hold all advice I ‘DID’ take into consideration, and it worked well, but somewhere in this all I ended up getting violent in the head, or as I said: “My brain demanded I ignore and write for the sake of sanity.” Too many Do’s & Don’ts to writing and the “There are no rules” kicks back. Yes these ‘rules’ are guidelines other writers use for themselves, but as stated they are not for everyone. We all have our own style, and I almost forgot my own in the process of listening to others a bit too much… and that’s a bad thing.

     I wanted to learn from others. There is no harm in that and I learned a good deal. There are basis to grammar and then some, but everyone has their own style and that should never be argued against.

     And rushing a novel is bad juju.

SHADOW GENESIS INCEPTION 3^rd DRAFT PROGRESS: 95%

• SG Book II: (5 Chapter Cut Salvage from Book I) Waiting to expand
• SG Book III: 2^nd Draft Pending
• SG Book IV: 1^st Draft 25% 

     For those who don’t know, I just added another book in the Shadow Genesis series. SG Book II is now Book III, and the newly installed book (taking the former Book II slot) is the salvage of five chapters taken out of the current novel in progress (Inception) and will be expanded into thirty chapters with added content. A wise decision, for I want to expose more of the story and characters that matter in the series.

     Interesting how this all turned out. Just as you ‘THINK’ you got it planned, the story itself surprises you.

SOTP, Myself, Shadow, & Spirit

SOTP vs EAYG

Seat Of The Pants v|s Edit As You Go

I can tell you right now, I have been a SOTP since… well… since ‘almost’ forever. Thinking back, I have tons of notebooks of stories that never made the cut, or was chopped up and used for other projects. I just write and write until I am done, with no thought of pre-planning… until I realize that the ‘shorties’ I do have (like plot synopsis and characters) are actually prep work just waiting to be filled up like a balloon full of air.

And it be just like that… air.

So I have to fill it all in with some worthy weight of solid elements that make the story a story. I done this so many times that I now wonder why I am not back in that mode.

Seat of the Pants Writer (SOTP) are writers who keep the foot on the gas while knowing where they are going in their own works. They don't stop, won't stop, can't stop (sounds familiar?). They plot as they write, and discover just what their brains dish out. It is a thrill-ride of a time with seemingly no end… until it ends… then you look and go into a ‘holy-hell’ moment due to the many plot-holes and so forth that pops up like a bad tear in the pants… from a not-so-good split move. You’re having a good time until that ‘RIIIIIP’ is heard… or seen for that matter.

Record stops like a mofo from then on out.

Now you have to edit, edit, and edit, and that there is one hell of a killer. Such is why I have been trying my best to get SG:I in good condition and standing a fighting chance, and why SG:V1 felt dull to me (and a book I will never forget or totally degrade for it is still my first… and a great story to those who liked). I went and straight revised the whole manuscript, pushed the count over 290,000 (I was straight SOTP mode too) and karate-chopped it into two instead of one.

Editing SG:I is ‘almost finished’ by the way.

I have a schedule I aim to keep and make it second nature to me. Waking up around or after 5am before 12pm (so I can do other geek/nerd things with my day). That there is my window to go berserk in my project with the weekends being free time and whatever minor project (I got loads) I wish to meddle with. Including the two majors (Multiverse and Slicka), which Slicka is actually a graphic novel idea that I went from drawing a bunch of handmade comics to learning how to script write for it.

That’s right… script writing for comics!

So the SOTP is my default, but I have a sense of EAYG too. I’ll write at times then edit over. Tend to jump around between the two more times than before… and maybe that is a bad thing (or a good thing?) but all I know, is that I refuse to not write every day. If I am away (which happens) I am constantly brainstorming.

May explain why I am not up to my usual in social skills since talking to others gets a bit wonky. Can tell I’ve been stuck in my manuscript more than having a social life… which actually I have been repairing (as I said one time I was seen as a ‘Ghost’ to my own fam/friends). Is why now I make sure everyone knows what’s going on.

Shadow, Myself, & I

There also came a time when few had no idea what I was doing. Well, I also like to be ‘hidden’, since some can be a bit troublesome and full of bad energy. I need to be in a positive mode, positive energy, and upbeat before I write… which I believe is for everyone. Many gave me doubts, many acted as if I had no future in this. Then I got published and it all went poof. Seriously… writing a book is no easy feat, and while some pride themselves in acting better than another by killing another’s spirit… I for one will not be broken.

Negative into positive I say once or twice more.

Plus, for some reason I tend to gain inspiration from the bad energy folk in my life. We are authors after all… one has to be careful with bohemians like us because we work off our lives, our feelings, our spirits, the works. I pull ideas from anything and everything. Some pass… some fail on an epic scale.

A very old Shadow Khan concept

Shadow Genesis as I said before sprouted up from a character I created back in 99’. The character is based off my nickname (Shadow), and back then I was more of a ‘hate the world and its people’ phase. Dark phase or something, but with Linkin Park blasting on repeat and then some… I ended up creating some crazy stories. Almost everything was action packed, drama, and pure fantasy combined. I hardly ever do anything that has no kind of sci-fi/fantasy to it. Originally, Shadow was a blend of modern and fantasy, pulling from my own life elements and altering them into fictional stories. Back then, being that young and out there with such things were as I say the 'infantile' stages of my imagination. I had no real sense of direction, and was just 'dinking' around with the concept of a dark and vengeful superhero fighting evil and protecting those he care for. Being the light in their darkness while he himself is dark by nature. 

Cliche' sounding but hey... I was still learning how to make stories.

After a while, things started to create themselves as I say. Growing up, learning, developing, I began to gain a bit more direction. Discovering how much of a fantasy nut I am too. Going to lay it out right now… I have so much to work on with the Shadow Khan Project (Shadow Genesis included) that I just might be writing for the rest of my life. I sometimes wish I did this years ago…

Another 'Shadow' concept (with Shadow Blade idea)

like… graduating from high school and instead of going to AiA (Art Institute of Atlanta) I should have just went to the community college out here, picked up writing, and turn myself into an author early. If that happened… I may not have met those I know today, nor would the stories (what lived from the batch) have sprouted.

There was a bit of supposed issues arising when a few believed I was using their likeliness in my works. I am the type who works off my life, feelings, experiences, and so forth. There are many of us that way, and the moment the fit of fits came to my attention I had to think back. I recall several wanting to be featured, and me letting them know I did such. It was a promise of adoration and acknowledgement, and those few felt extremely honored. All my life I had people wanting me to 'draw them' or 'write a story with them in it' or something of the like... so it came natural that I'd do it in a snap because I am just that imaginative (aren't we all?)

Champion Shadow Khan (Unofficial character idea)

Well apparently some wanted to play amnesia.

When the news of me seriously an Author (because none of them believed) came up as 'proof'... things changed. Though I no longer have them in my works, the concepts created remain, I sometimes get hints of them wanting themselves a 'iconic character' to them as a 'Tribute'.

Unfortunately, I am not as open to such things as I use to be, because some people can be very guileful... and insecure.

Like a dear friend said: "They should be honored, especially when all you did was acknowledge their friendship and support through your work."

Because sure enough, when you are on your way to bigger and better things through your goals, people want to remind you on your beginnings, and how you should never forget where you came from, or those who were there during the struggle.

While some, like to play a cruel hand in bringing you down. 

 

Unbeatable Spirit

They say I have not much time. One once said that due to my age (being 29 now) I should be settled and so forth. I did not understand why I was told that at first, but it occurred to me that this one’s logic was on the whole “You must be successful and stable by the time you reach 25.”

………..

Really?

I know many who didn’t reach this ‘stability/success’ until they were in their 30s and so forth. I never saw this as a race, and I don’t take to statistics unless I am on a goofy b/s stage for laughs, but to me if you’re not doing anything then you fail. If you lose passion in what you do, you lose a part of yourself. I succeeded in one of my goals… and although I have a long ways to go, if I just stopped writing and ‘trying’… I’d despise myself for it.

Moral: Don’t let others put things in your head that can deter you. No one knows your life better than you do. Keep your spirit strong, and have faith in your abilities.

Sovereign Malice & Baby Shadow