17199--Can You Handle the Truth?

It's a simple enough question and the answer can be character-revealing.  Better still, it can also be character-developing.

A useful aspect of writing is editorial feedback.  To most people, this is also known as constructive criticism.  Some of it can be more constructive than others.  The importance of it, though, is that it can tell a writer how his work is being perceived by readers.  The writer may, or at least should, know what he intended to convey.  The best feedback will let him know how near he came to the intended target and provide a guide for closing the gap to it.  Critiques and reviews aren't just about blowing sunshine up a writer's ass, delightful as that may be.  They've become public signposts telling other readers whether or not to read a work based on what someone else got from it or failed to get from it.

Whatever you take from someone else's review, you're a third party in a two-party conversation that should be happening with the goal of helping a creator hone his skills.

I've had teachers who were very dedicated to this process, one who was bad at it and another who I'm pretty sure was ready to retire and seemed to have given up on it altogether.  That last one was back in an English class.  She had taken to insisting that we read books of our choosing, writing reports on them, then turning them in only to never see them again.  When we asked about getting the reports back, she would say something to stall and go on with class.  One of my classmates decided to join her in her game.  He told me that he was certain she wasn't doing anything with the papers we turned in and was merely making up grades.  What we wanted and needed, though, was honest feedback.

To test the point, when next she asked for him to turn in his reports, he claimed he already had.  She debated his claim because she had no mark in her grade book to record that he'd turned in his reports.  He countered by insisting that he had placed the reports on her desk.  Her desk was very messy.

She looked upon it with an expression of hopelessness.  It was very, very messy.

"Well, alright," she said, making a mark in her ledger.

Class moved onward and he never heard any more from her about it.  None of us did.  We received no feedback on our work and our potential opportunity for growth was thus squandered.  I can't prove any connection and I suppose it'd be a statistical anomaly were there a connection to be made, but the guy I didn't name above went on to shoot his immediate family a few years later, murdering his mother in the process.  Sure, odds are it's unrelated, but why take the chance?  If you have the opportunity to help someone grow and improve, make that difference.

The truth may sting, but it can also help.

17152--Should You Choose to Accept It

The time is here.  So I'm calling upon you.  Why?  Because you love to read.  Coincidentally, I've been writing.  You're smart, so I know you're getting this.

I've been posting chapters on this site for a while and now the book they're from is ready for you.  The series is THEOBROMA and the first book CHILD OF FIRE AND BLOOD.  It's an epic fantasy/sci-fi adventure.  Because of its length, it's going to be released in four parts.  Part One is 406 pages/80,000+ words.  Part Two is about 550 pages/107,000+ words.  The first is what's available to you now, PART ONE: A RISING STORM.  Since you've been enjoying it so much, I'm giving you the opportunity to get your hands on it from the source before the release goes live.

Sure, you can go through Amazon if you like.  Don't think I won't appreciate it.  Buy copies for everyone you know and tell them to do the same.  Magic, dragons, swordplay, immortals and super science await.  Conspiracies, lost cities and sprawling warfare will ensnare with their intrigues.

Here's the thing, though, at Amazon a copy will cost you cash.  From me, you guessed it, you're trading for a review.  Put it on Goodreads, Amazon, tell your Facebook friends, put it on a blog of your own...hmmmm....I suppose I could do with a copy, too.  I really would like the feedback, good or bad.  I'm just asking for a review.  What you write is up to you.

I had a calculus professor who worked like that back in college.  Granted, at his best he was a self-important *ahem*, but he maintained that he didn't care if we turned in a sheet of paper with a chapter from "Moby Dick" on it for our homework as long as it had the student's name at the top.  He said he had only been tested on it by one student.  Instead of differential equations, he got "Call me Ishmael."  He gave the student credit for doing his homework.  And people dare question the sincerity of our educators.  Granted, I did have occasion to prove that he didn't pay attention to a lot of things he said in class, but that's another story.

I promise you it'll be easier to handle than either calculus or anything Melville ever put to paper.

Now, if we're going to do this, I'll need your email address.  Contact me with a reply here and I can set you up with a PDF.  At the end of October, some call it Halloween, I'll have a drawing from the names of those who've done reviews.  That's right, do your homework and you may win a prize.  It's worth it to me because, like most authors, I'd like to get some reviews posted about my book.  Sorry for stating the obvious.

Right now, I'm thinking two winners with a choice of an autographed copy of Part One or a free copy of Part Two.  Winners get to choose.  Victory has its privileges.

When sales go well, though, I'll work up something more grand for the release of Part Two.  As always, your support is appreciated.  Thanks.

17141--What Would You Do With One Million Dollars

You probably have what seems like a very clever idea.

You probably wouldn't do something as silly as blow it on making a movie.  Well, not unless you had a really amazing idea, right?

Sharknado was made on a one million dollar budget and has a 3.5/10 rating on IMDB, reviewers citing bad special effects, acting, script and general concept.  No surprises there.

Over on Rotten Tomatoes, LA Times' reviewer says gaping plot problems are the point of movies like this, inspire fabulous in-home commentary and great consumption of alcohol.  With only 7.5/10 from averaging 11 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 91% score.

Syfy ran it 3 times in its premiere month, with viewership increasing each time.  A National Weather Service rep joked, "As with any waterspout or tornado, the best advice is to be in an interior part of the lowest floor of a sturdy building and not outside, whether sharks are raining down or not."

It has trended on Twitter thanks to celebrity involvement in discussions, including Wil Wheaton and Olivia Wilde.  Syfy has held a Twitter contest for, yup, a title for the sequel.  Will it be Shark Night Rises?  No, Sharknado 2: The Second One is scheduled to premiere in July 2014.

Wow.  Probably the most amazing million dollars Syfy ever spent.

Who greenlights these things?

16536--Some Things Were Not Meant To Be

Any experienced reader can tell you as readily as any writer that the world of books consists of subdivisions of many genres.  A lot of readers spend their time and energy only on a few genres they love.  Most writers, likewise, keep their focus to only a few specific areas.

I feel pretty confident in declaring that romance is not one of my genres, neither as a reader nor a writer.  The only way I even get close to feeling tears flow is to watch Spock die.  They don't start, but I can feel them getting close.  From the writer's side, I really don't lean toward the hot and steamy in my plotting.  I let my characters have that stuff for their time off my clock.  That may not always be the case.  My storytelling style may yet go through many changes over time.

Among the significant changes we are all experiencing in storytelling exists in the form of this simple blog.  Not only can writers reach out and touch all on their own, but readers can respond in kind.  You see, one of the training tools that one of my better creative writing teachers employed was the critique.  His rules were clear and simple: first, praise; then, pan and offer any suggestions for improvement; lastly, whoever wrote what was being critiqued was to sit still and listen quietly. Were we to ever publish, he said, we wouldn’t be able to run around explaining to every reader what we’d meant to say so we should just listen. Now, though, we still may not be able to handle the actual travel, but we can virtually dialogue with every single reader if we’re so motivated and explain our work and gather feedback.

I find that impressive. It wouldn’t necessarily be productive, but it’s still quite a capability.  I feel I will always welcome feedback, though I don't plan on doing much explaining.  That, I don't think was meant to be.