Spiritual Ambiguity

Warning: This post is going to be a bit ambiguous as the theme deals with essential elements of my book. Given I don't want to include any spoilers, I'll do my best to dodge them.

I queried a book blogger today about reviewing my book. On her page she mentioned she had a strong interest in books about faith and belief. While the majority of these topics she read in Christian literature, she seemed open and receptive to the idea of other religions and concepts. I sent her a letter, detailing out how this might attract her to my book.

I have, however, concerns.

'The Dead Dream Wakes' could either be a statement about human willpower and belief that lends to our 'godly' nature, or it could be a heretical statement condemning any faith in an external deity to disassociation.

Yes, I know, that's confusing. The problem is, the series 'The Dead Dream Wakes' starts is one about belief. It's about human nature and our power of creation. Through a twisting maze of supernatural and reality-warping events the series seems less and less about our species... But it's a byproduct of ... well, us.

If my book becomes big? I am already expecting the same vehement condemnation Phillip Pullman received for his 'Dark Materials' series. I expect to piss a lot of people off.

But that doesn't stop me. The idea for the series is not a negative one, even to faith. In fact, when you get right down to it? The concept of having absolute conviction in our own power and ability should be a testament to the success of any creator god/goddess. After all, who wants to raise weak-ass children, y'know?

Holy Death of Grammar Batman!

I tend to write very 'stream of consciousness' when I'm in the mood to write. I kind of zone out and let my fingers fly like I just let fly a rock from a slingshot. It's an incredible feeling when it works... And incredibly frustrating when it doesn't.

I like to be as forthcoming as possible when I discuss my capacity as a writer. I'm by no means a Steinbeck, but I do think I have talent with words and I can develop a strong story. But in the spirit of self-depreciating humor I want to share this little gem with you:

Several cars came erupted in the smoke of their burning brakes as they screeched to a halt.

Holy freakin' god, what the hell was that? I've been reading this 'sentence' over and over for the past ten minutes moving between laughing hysterically and shaking my head in shame. It's a silly, stupid little screw up of grammar but wow-oh-wow is it bad! I continued to read this section I last wrote and it only gets slightly better. So, with a few quick clicks and strokes I nuke the whole section into oblivion, stopping only to save a backup copy just in case my ego ever gets too big that I need to knock myself down a peg or two by re-reading it.

I don't feel bad or shame really. I'm amused more than anything else. It's a little frustrating have to re-write something, especially before the book is done. But I find working progressively rather than retroactively works better for me. It's all about method. I know some brilliant writers like Orson Scott Card write from outline and are very structured. I can't do that. I need to be surprised. I need to have a discovering experience when I create something. It's one of the most enriching aspects of writing.

I had this plan today. I was going to write ALL DAY and put in work on the 'Dead Dream Wakes' sequel. But I know what the problem is. I know why I feel so brain-congested. I haven't had the time to read, let alone write my own material. So before this little agent of chaos gets producing again, I'm going to go sit down with a novel and feed my head.

Happy reading.

Subversive as a lifestyle. First off...

Subversive as a lifestyle.

First off, let me say that the dictionary definition of 'Subversive' is a bit misleading given today's nomenclature. Let's take a look at it:

sub·ver·sive   [suhb-vur-siv]
adjective
1.
Also, sub·ver·sion·ar·y  [suhb-vur-zhuh-ner-ee, -shuh-] Show IPA. tending to subvert or advocating subversion, especially in an attempt to overthrow or cause the destruction of an established or legally constituted government.
noun
2.
a person who adopts subversive principles or policies.

Pretty cut and dry, right? Of course not.

Subversion is an idea, a concept of shaking up the status quo. It's a method by which to virally infect society with something that changes it. It can be something as small as a meme or as large as a revolutionary ideal. Writers, artists and musicians for thousands of years have been persecuted or praised for their subversive techniques (usually persecuted).

Howard Bloom, the brilliant sociologist, calls this 'Diversity Generators'. In an ordered society, the majority of the masses are 'Conformity Enforcers', people who follow the trends and police radical thought to maintain order. They, we, do this usually unconsciously. Diversity Generators propose changes to change up the order of things and make fresh something that was never before (or at least hasn't been for a time) popular or accepted.

So how does this all relate to the craft of writing? Well, so far as I have experienced, writing very rarely proposes a new idea. Many times a story is a rehash of many different experiences thrown together in an order that is hopefully pleasing and ideally new. Sometimes you hit paydirt, sometimes you falter.

I could have written another vampire book. Probably had a good run with it too. I would have conformed to the current trend and profited off of it. But truth be told? I'm sick of them. I would compromise myself too much to tool my creativity to be marketable.

So what's the answer? Infect, infect, infect.

I want my writing to be a virus. I want to inject myself and what words I spin into the world of literature. If just one person reads my book and lets themselves be a little bit more open to the idea of reality being more than just what we experience when we're awake? I've done my job and then some.

(For those on my Tumblr, this starts ...

(For those on my Tumblr, this starts the beginning of synching my Blogger account with Tumblr so previous blog posts can be found at http://ping.fm/qwVIk)

It's a curious thing, getting established with blogs again. I remember back in the day all we really had was Livejournal. Truth be told I was an avid user of this website but as I grew and traveled around the country, I find myself putting distance between it and myself. Blogging back then was a deeply personal thing for me and I poured every ounce of my emotional angst into the internet like any young man would.

Well my emo days are long, long over. So once again I find myself stepping into the digital world to discuss and network. I don't have much of a choice, really. Being a self-published author is not an easy task and exposure is everything. Thankfully I am possessing of a certain charm and wit that, in theory, should help my chances in making it (at least, well enough to live off my art).

Very quickly I'd like to point out that this is all being established with the help of two awesome websites. hootsuite.com and ping.fm. Ping is mirroring my content to both my Blogger and Tumbler accounts. Hootsuite allows me to post blogs and social media 'tweets' without having to visit more than one website. With so many options out there for connecting with people, this just seemed to make the most sense.

Maintaining an online presence

I now have a Linkedin account! http://lnkd.in/7WJAjd

Shaking off the winter blues.

Hibernation is a serious affliction for me every year around this time. Oddly enough I hibernate online as much as I do in the real world. Despite the wacky climate we're experiencing here in Oregon this year, I can feel the thaw coming and it's waking me up.

Couple of brief updates:

Work continues on the Bridgeport sequel. I estimate to be roughly 80% complete, but finding the time to write while attempting to do marketing is a pain. I understand quite nicely why some people avoid self publishing for that reason alone.

I'm going on a trip to Hollywood soon for a brief stint. In theory I plan to post up somewhere near the Academy Awards and try selling my book out of a suitcase. This is just as much to pull off such a stunt as it is for the money/exposure. My eccentric travelling companion wants to record me trying to woo the Southern California elite with my stories. We'll see.

I'm working on developing a Kickstarter project, potentially for making an audiobook. I'm currently looking at ACX for distribution. Neil Gaiman seems to vouch for them.

And lastly, I am committing myself to posting in this thing as often as possible.