Apocalypse! They say it's coming, what will you do?

Image courtesy of Danilo Rizzuti at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Who doesn’t love a good disaster movie? We eat it up from any source- books, movies, art, you name it. Sure, it’s morbid and a little twisted, but we love to think about how the world is going to come to a sudden, screeching halt. Why are we so sick?

First of all, let’s not be too hard on ourselves. I mean, it's not our fault that the "end of days" keeps coming up- we have a lot of experience dealing with the threat of an apocalypse. It's been shoved down our throats since...forever. Since the 80s alone, there have been more than two dozen predictions that our world would end (check out this massive list!) and yet, here we are still scratching our heads and searching for clues.

In case you didn’t know, we are coming up fast on another, December 21, 2012: The End of the Mayan Calendar —the day after my husband’s birthday. Better make this one count, Sweetie. The good news is it's unlikely to cause even a moment of inconvenience (at least that's what I hope.) But we're not out of the woods yet; there are many more predictions for the world to end in the future as well.

We are at our best and our worst when our lives are at stake. On any normal day, would we take in a stranger? Kill someone over a hill of beans? Pick up a hitchhiker? Probably not. But, throw a disaster in the mix, perhaps an epidemic, and we become so desperate for survival, companionship and power in numbers that something deep inside changes.

Whether we are faced with an asteroid (Deep Impact, Armageddon), global warming (TheDay After Tomorrow), solar flares (The Scorch Trials), disease (28 Days Later, The Stand), war (The Hunger Games), or zombies (Zombieland), we enjoy seeing how quickly humanity falls apart when the proverbial poo hits the fan.  But after the dust clears and the masses are dead, the few remaining band together, build alliances and unlikely friendships blossom. It’s really heartwarming stuff. Or so we hope...

Image courtesy of duron123 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

While we sit in our theater seats or relax in the comfort of our own home, we ask...am I the guy that gives up early just to avoid the stress? Perhaps I'm the undercover heroine that fights for life? Seeing it on screen is one thing. What if it happened for real? What would we do?

The Next Big Thing!

Welcome to THE NEXT BIG THING!

This is part of an author’s blog tour. Each author who is tagged has the privilege of answering 10 questions about their current work-in-progress. I am honored to have been tagged by Melissa Lummis. You can see the link to Melissa’s blog at the end of this post. I've tagged two authors, who will post their blogs on October 10, 2012. (Their blog links are also at the end of this post.) After reading about my “Next Big Thing” be sure to check out the other authors to see what their NEXT BIG THING is!

 

What is the working title of your book?

The Paragon Trilogy is the name of the series. Book one is aptly named, The Paragon.

 

Where did the idea for the book come from?

A little over a year ago, when I was living in Okinawa, Japan, a friend of mine told me about a landfill in the middle of the ocean called “The Garbage Patch”. It’s a huge expanse of open water that houses masses of debris and pollution that floated into the gyre by currents and remains stuck. She told me it was larger than the state of Texas and I was flabbergasted! After researching it, I found out it’s REAL! The helplessness of what it would take to fix it was overwhelming…how do you stop plastic from entering the ocean?! Stopping it’s production is the only thing that I could come up with…impossible. Then it occurred to me, what if the world ended, and land was unlivable, and people fled to the ocean and made a home of this mess? From that spark of “what if…” West and her quest for life and freedom were born. The rest of the plot elements just fell into place.

 

What genre does your book fall under?

Dystopian fantasy set in a post-apocalyptic era. It’s also part of the Young Adult Fiction category.

 

What actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I think I’d want “no names” to act in the lead roles. If this story became such a sensation that it warranted a movie deal. I’d want fresh faces. After all, I’m a “no name”, it seems only fair. (Though, if we could work Johnny Depp in there, I’d be OK with it.)

 

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

In a world of hardships and unmentionable horrors, West Lambert’s search for purpose and freedom may save the human race…or be the key to its undoing.

 

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I’m not fully decided but I’m leaning toward self publishing based upon my research of the industry and the advice of some trusted friends. I’d like to be traditionally published at some point, it’s kind of a “bucket list” thing…but I know it will help to prove myself in the Indie market first.

 

How long did it take you to write the first-draft of your manuscript?

I’m still working on it, actually. I’m about 2.5 months into book one, so I’m predicting about 5-6 months, hopefully less.

 

What other books would you compare to this story to within the genre?

I've been told from some that it has a “Hunger Games” feel to it, something that I’m not sure I live up to yet. I did get a lot of inspiration from the Hunger Games books though, as well as from Veronica Roth, the author of Divergent.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Writing is something that I’ve always done, and completing a book has a top place on my “things to do before…” list. It was probably my mom, though, that has pestered me all my life about writing that made me truly believe I could do it. Since then, my ambition has gone from just sending out my one contribution into the wild world to a realization that this maybe the niche I’ve been looking for all my life. Thanks for nagging me, Mom!

 

What else about your book might pique your readers’interest?

This book is geared toward young-adults, but I hope that people of all ages can appreciate the story. West’s perseverance through each obstacle is something that everyone can relate to. Her feelings of love, betrayal, friendship, and hope encompass the human condition. The philosophical dilemmas presented to her are heavy, and make you wonder, ‘What would I do?’ Not only is it a story of survival and determination, but it exposes a very real situation, the ever declining condition of Our Earth.

 

I was tagged by Melissa Baer Lummis www.melissalummis.blogspot.com

Tag! You're next, Allison Silver www.sssahm.blogspot.com

Tag! You're next, LeeAnn Rhodes www.storiesbylee.blogspot.com

Excuses are like...

It's 4:10 AM, time to wake up. That's what my husband's alarm said this morning via the sound of shrill bells. Silly me, last night I thought it sounded like a good idea to get up and work on the book before the rest of the world joined me, and Ryan is good at making me follow through on my goals...too good.

Though I didn't get a lot of time to myself before a bad dream wrenched my 7 year old out of bed for the day (at 5:20 a.m!), I am choosing to be grateful that I made any progress at all. Look at the bright side, I could have just sat on Facebook or Twitter for my entire writing period, or even worse (or better?) I could have slept until 6 a.m. like usual.

Lately, I've found it difficult to make progress as I should. I haven't failed any goals, mostly because I haven't made any, but I have gone from writing every day to writing three times a week. I've gone from being willing to write anytime, anywhere, on anything, to demanding a computer. I've even gone so far as to require absolute silence and focus to write, something that as a mother of three, I'm rarely afforded...like never. So what happens? I didn't write for a couple of weeks. Then, when I began again, I only did so when I could take a break away from the house for a few hours- how realistic is that on a long-term basis...I'll tell you. It's NOT. This is part of a downward spiral of excuse making, and potentially something that would tear apart my ambitions. I'D BECOME A WRITING DIVA! Not in the awesome way, in the "nothing is good enough" way.

Then I was gifted a Kindle book called "Are You There Blog? It's Me Author" by my pal, Liz Shulte (who is a fantastic writer, check out her books on Amazon!), which I began reading right away since I need all the help I can get. Not 20% into the book, I got totally busted. The author gave three sample excuses for not writing and not taking ownership. Guess what? I got 2 out of 3, but unlike it was for Meatloaf, 2 out of 3 is really bad! Those two were 1) I'd write more if I had a better computer, and 2) I'd write more if I had more uninterrupted time. Oh, man. That hurt. I was totally pegged.

My computer, which has always been a bit of a lug anyway, died for the umpteenth time a couple of months ago. We've attempted to resurrect it countless times; it has more lives than our cat. But it flat lined again and I lost my will to keep trying, leaving us with only a teensy, tiny netbook left for all household computer needs. *gasp* I wanted to buy one, REALLY BAD, a nice new one, one that doesn't threaten to die on a daily basis making me backup my work every other minute, just in case. But, we're purchasing a home, so we are saving like crazy...not a good time for a major purchase. Frustrations mounting, I created excuse #1.

As you may already know from my profile, I have 3 young and very spirited children. They adorable, they're sweet, they're my pride and joy, and they're NOISY! They rampage around, playing with the dog, chasing the cat, eating everything, asking for drinks, wanting to draw, paint, make things out of clay, play guns, play video games, run outside, fight, cry, tattle, jump, hug, kiss, wrestle, talk, sing, scream...rarely do they sit still and never are they quiet. Quiet means trouble.

Though when the story hit me initially, nothing could derail my tenacity to make words appear on paper, but over time, when I had to work harder to make the story progress, get through writer's block, come up with problems, solutions, character development, etc...every giggle, every tap on my shoulder was a force strong enough to derail my train of thought, which had gone from being a Shinkansen (Japanese bullet train) to a rambling toy train half chewed by the dog. Why bother writing at home at all? I didn't. I wrote when I could leave and go to my favorite writing place...a certain coffee shop called the Inner Bean, which I could do only Tuesday and Thursday, because that's when they stayed open long enough for me to get there after my husband got home from work and I could escape. Wow, two days a week...regardless of the fact that I did get a lot more done during those times, my 2 year old would be in middle school before I could get this book published at that rate. Thus I beget excuse #2.

Forget the fact that we're moving (excuse #3). Forget the fact that movers are coming tomorrow. Forget that I need a new computer. Forget that I need work space and time. Life is messy and it will never be in a place that makes you slow down enough to take a breath, stretch out and say "Ahhhhh...now I can do this." If I wait for that, I'll always be a writer that doesn't write, an author that never publishes. It's the only way I can be a failure.

So, I've made some changes.
- I'm going to make myself goals. I can't reach goals if I don't make them.
- I'm going to create deadlines.
- I'm going to get up early or stay up late, whatever it takes to find the time to write for a little bit at least 6 days per week.
- I'm going to make a plan to get a new computer, but in the meantime, I will work with whatever resources I have available. I will use the netbook, I will find a library, I will get out my pen if I have to.
- I'm going to keep a positive outlook and not allow life's curve balls to take me out.

So, for all those writers out there that fall victim to the "I would write more if..." thoughts, for anyone who thinks that the perfect moment to reach your goals will present itself naturally, WAKE UP! If you don't take accountability for your future, if you don't grab your excuses by the gullet and squeeze the breath out of them, they'll keep you down forever.

Remember, excuses are like Today. You've got one. What you do with it is up to you.

Have a great day. NO EXCUSES!

I'm NORMAL?

You heard it here folks, I'm normal. Those aren't usually the words that I use to describe myself, though increasingly I realize that if something pleases the rest of humanity, ie McDonald's french fries, it will probably appeal to me as well. But that's not what I mean...

Over the past few weeks, I've had a hard time moving forward on the book. Mostly, I blame this sudden change on the fact that my attention has been diverted to moving forward in general- trying to buy a house in a new city, new state, and all the joy and logistical planning that goes into moving a family of 5 within the military. Yikes.

However, it's not all just about the move, though it came at a somewhat convienent time to get the bulk of the blame. I have just reached a point in the story that I knew was coming...the writer's block. (cue dreaded suspense music) I'm in an awkward position between knowing where I was and knowing where I want to be, and now, I have to write myself out of it.

Thankfully, inspiration is seeping into my brain by hearing the wise words of someone more experienced tell me that this is normal. NORMAL. I'm so excited. In the legendary words of Cpt. Jason Nesmith, "Never give up, never surrender."

I love that there is no wrong way to do this. I love that no matter how much trouble I have, the issues are not insurmountable, and I love that hundreds - nay- thousands of writers before me have walked this path. The only thing that I can do to mess this up is not to do it at all.

Hello Again

Writing these days is hit or miss. I'm in the process of moving from Georgia to Kentucky, which is a pretty huge undertaking and has therefore taken the majority of my creative thinking juices for the past several weeks. Howsoever, I'm pleased to be on our way to owning a home again and living in Louisville, KY, which is a fantastic city of which I am thrilled to become a resident.

Just when I thought it would be another month before I was able to focus on West again, the urge to write hit me today as did the desire to share another chapter with you, so here I am at Panera hoping to do both in the short time I have to work before my duties at home call me forth.

As before, I give this disclaimer: this is a rough draft of chapter two. As rough as they come. Like it, love it, hate it, it's okay. I've figured out that putting it out there makes me feel productive, like there's a piece of it that made it out of my hands. I'm sure someday I'll review this blog and scrutinize the choice, but for now, I'll ignore my future self and post away.

Enjoy...

To Share Or Not To Share...

Writing is hard. Especially now because for the first time, I'm writing something that other people read. I've been writing for years, and most of the time, I'll create something, lose it, find it, then throw it away, being hard on myself for the quality of the writing and the overall messiness.


However, this time, I'm committed. I've put it out on display for people to read, I've invited and accepted feedback. This has been a great exercise for the most part, and to some degree, I will keep doing it. But, it occurs to me that it can also be a hindrance.

Being a people-pleaser, I want everyone that reads it to enjoy it. But you can't please everyone, which is a bummer. Even literary pop culture icons, like Harry Potter or The Hunger Games, are fraught with controversy. And, though I don't write to follow trends and I'm not trying to make international best sellers lists, it makes me happy when other people like the story I'm telling, it's what keeps me motivated to write the next page when the thrill of my own review wears off, as it inevitably does.

It's tricky for me to distinguish which is more important, writing for me or writing for you- my own version of  'what came first?' On one hand, I have to say that the writing for myself is more integral, because if I am excited about the writing, then your entertainment should come as a direct result. While if I am writing to please, I may never succeed, in which case, my internal motivation will suffer. However, without seeing other people enjoying it, I'm not as inspired to keep going, to find the answer to the question, 'what happens next?' It's a real conundrum.

I don't know if sharing the story at this early stage is wise, and without a mentor writer to ask, I will have to learn by trial and error. It's possible, however, that until I get farther along in the story and have made the structure strong enough, I risk the whole thing tumbling down as I attempt to make it perfect for every reader, an impossible task.

So, I'm unsure, should I put the story out there at these infant stages, or wait until it's more mature?

Out With the Old...

After sharing the first 5 chapters with my writer's circle, I am back at the drawing board, finding ways to make the story's beginning stronger. Granted, it's not a total wash, hopefully the people that have read it will agree, there's potential there. However, the feedback from readers has helped me considerably to find some weak points within the story. So, if you have provided some comments, THANK YOU! If you haven't and if you have formed an opinion, SHARE IT! I'd love to see some comments, questions, speculations, reactions -- what ever.

Because I'm adding more about setting, West's dream, and some basic elements in the first scene, I'll be posting a rewrite soon. So, PLEASE share the link to this blog, get as many readers as possible to see it and weigh in. The negative reviews help me improve it, the positive reviews help inspire me, so either way, your statements are valuable.

The writing is going well, I'm on chapter 10 now, though I am going back to redo some of the first part while the ideas are fresh in my head. This has been so much fun already, I can't wait to see how things turn out for West.

More to come soon...