Tag: creative writing

Sacrifices: Thoughts on the Risks of Being A Writer

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

There’s truth in these words. Our victories in life are almost always the result of placing ourselves in situations where we stand to lose. We take risks. Writing is no different.

Today, I’d like to reflect on two particularly big risks related to writing: money and time.

Money

Writing requires money. If you want to make your book publicly available, you’re going have to fork over the cash. That’s the way of things. I write and publish books as a hobby, not to make a living, which is a good thing because I’m nowhere near to making a profit off of the copies I’ve sold so far. On the other hand, high expenses seem to be the mark of any good hobby … But I digress.

Writing a book doesn’t cost anything, except perhaps the price of a good computer and keyboard (or pen and paper if you are so inclined), but editing does, as does cover art, formatting, and printing or releasing in eBook form. That’s thousands of dollars that may or may not be recouped. If you wish to write to support yourself, remember that there’s no guarantee you will do more than break even for a long time. And you may never. So be certain that you also enjoy writing for its own sake!

Time

Writing is not a quick and easy activity. Don’t expect to be the author who dashes out an award-winning novel after a single furious weekend session. At least, don’t expect to do that and have time for anything else. Like eating and sleeping, for example.

Investing time is a little scary, because unlike money, you can’t get it back in any way, shape or form. We pay our dues of time to that which we value above all else. Ask any writer: you are going to spend many long hours at your desk brainstorming, outlining, drafting, redrafting, formatting, and agonizing over the perfect words to fill out that final paragraph. And your book may or may not be successful. That’s risky. Your writing requires sacrificed time. Are you ready to make that sacrifice?

And now, I have either scared you away from ever publishing your stories or you have considered these factors and are determined to carry on regardless. Good for you! I’m not trying to be a doomsayer, I just wanted to share the realities of being an author. Time and money. Mundane and annoying, but that’s because writing, like every job, is in fact a job. It has its dull moments of drudgery. It is also one of the most incredible, exciting, wondrous, and most fulfilling acts of creativity available to humankind. It is risky business, writing a book. It also brings great rewards.

***

Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.

“Hermes is not having the best time. He walks a fine line, and his duty as messenger of Olympus weighs heavily on him. Being a god in the modern age means living in a world that no longer believes in gods. How much can one deity accomplish when no one respects him anymore? And why do his instincts tell him that he, the son of Zeus, is losing favor with his own family?

Tensions abound. The upstart Young Gods play dangerous games using entire cities as their boards. Formless monsters strike from the nighttime shadows, terrorizing hapless mortals. Agents of rival pantheons scheme to thwart Olympus’ designs. In the thick of it all, Hermes does what he does best: trick, lie, and cheat his way to victory.“

Bats Are Cute. Prove Me Wrong.

Sometimes, daily prompts are quite wonderfully bizarre. For example:

Jot down the first thing that comes to your mind.

Okay, you asked for it. The very first thing …

Bats are cute. A lot cuter than people give them credit for.

Maybe I should have waited until Halloween to do this.

Anyway, bats are adorable and get a bad rap for being scary, bloodsucking, grotesque monsters akin to rats on wings. This is untrue and unjust to bats. Even ugly bats wrap around the event horizon and come shooting back out into the realm of cuteness. Bats deserve to be respected.

I mean, look at this. Is this the terror that flaps in the night? No, it’s a cute little baby bundle of fluff. Or this. And this, too. Respect the bat!

And that’s all I have to say about that. The first thing that came to mind for today’s blog post.

***

Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.

“Hermes is not having the best time. He walks a fine line, and his duty as messenger of Olympus weighs heavily on him. Being a god in the modern age means living in a world that no longer believes in gods. How much can one deity accomplish when no one respects him anymore? And why do his instincts tell him that he, the son of Zeus, is losing favor with his own family?

Tensions abound. The upstart Young Gods play dangerous games using entire cities as their boards. Formless monsters strike from the nighttime shadows, terrorizing hapless mortals. Agents of rival pantheons scheme to thwart Olympus’ designs. In the thick of it all, Hermes does what he does best: trick, lie, and cheat his way to victory.“

What High School Taught Me About Writing

Describe something you learned in high school.

  1. Topic sentence
    • Supporting sentence one
    • Supporting sentence two
    • Supporting sentence three
  2. Summary sentence
  3. Repeat for four or five paragraphs
  4. Conclusion

That’s how I learned to write essays in high school, and it carried me through college and graduate school.

Writing is hard. Some of you reading this blog or writing your own may have perchance noticed this fact. Writing requires focus, thoughtfulness and the ability to review your work and make changes as needed. What we bloggers post online are things that we want to write about. That’s challenge enough.

But I’m sure you remember what it’s like to write a high school essay (or, perhaps, you are at the age where you are learning firsthand). It’s work. Worse, it’s homework. It’s something to get done before watching TV or playing video games. It’s an obstacle to leisure. And you’re probably writing about something that doesn’t interest you in any way, shape or form whatsoever.

High school taught me how to get through challenging essays by teaching me how to write them. Topic sentences supported by three or four following statements. Reiterating your point regularly. Outlining – oh, yes, the vital importance of outlining and planning ahead.

Organization, organization, organization. That’s what I learned most about writing in high school English class. Keep all your ducks in a row and know what you’re working towards. Making it up as you go isn’t easy. It’s doable, but it’s so much better to have the shape of things already in mind. Writing by the seat of your pants isn’t as romantic or thrilling as you might think. Well, not all the time, anyway. It never hurts to have a plan first.

***

Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.

“Hermes is not having the best time. He walks a fine line, and his duty as messenger of Olympus weighs heavily on him. Being a god in the modern age means living in a world that no longer believes in gods. How much can one deity accomplish when no one respects him anymore? And why do his instincts tell him that he, the son of Zeus, is losing favor with his own family?

Tensions abound. The upstart Young Gods play dangerous games using entire cities as their boards. Formless monsters strike from the nighttime shadows, terrorizing hapless mortals. Agents of rival pantheons scheme to thwart Olympus’ designs. In the thick of it all, Hermes does what he does best: trick, lie, and cheat his way to victory.“

Reasons to Laugh

What makes you laugh?

I laugh at irony. I laugh at observations on the absurdities of life. I laugh at wordplay and cleverness. I enjoy sardonic jokes, jokes that push themselves up from the common denominator. I like humor that people put effort into, that has a setup and a punchline that makes you think for a moment, scratch your head, and then break out laughing.

I like being a bit of a gadfly. Nothing taken too far, but I get a giggle out of throwing people for a loop. Maybe I’m a Groucho Marx at heart, with a sharp tongue that I need to keep in check. But then, sometimes I’m laughing inside, watching politely and quietly as the world goes insane and carries itself with the utmost seriousness like a toad in a tuxedo being interviewed on the red carpet. Inside, I’m roaring.

The world isn’t getting madder; it’s always been mad. Lewis Carroll knew, and so did Abbott and Costello. Jonathan Swift was dead certain and let everyone know it. The Three Stooges made it abundantly clear. Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse proclaimed it with pomp and ceremony. Life is weird, and all the more so because we pretend it isn’t. The world goes on in utmost seriousness, and that makes me laugh, because if you ignore the layers of respectability, the jokes write themselves. An innocent child laughs at what adults believe is the most important thing in the world.

Most of all, I laugh at myself. We pretend that we can’t laugh at ourselves, that we are serious people on a serious Earth, but often that is who we should laugh at the most. So, laugh a little.

***

Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.

“Hermes is not having the best time. He walks a fine line, and his duty as messenger of Olympus weighs heavily on him. Being a god in the modern age means living in a world that no longer believes in gods. How much can one deity accomplish when no one respects him anymore? And why do his instincts tell him that he, the son of Zeus, is losing favor with his own family?

Tensions abound. The upstart Young Gods play dangerous games using entire cities as their boards. Formless monsters strike from the nighttime shadows, terrorizing hapless mortals. Agents of rival pantheons scheme to thwart Olympus’ designs. In the thick of it all, Hermes does what he does best: trick, lie, and cheat his way to victory.“

The Surprises of Blogging

Blogging is a delightfully unpredictable hobby.

Having blogged for over two years now, I can safely say that what I regularly post today is not what I envisioned for my blog when I started. If you ever check out my earliest posts, it’s obvious that I was in full college essay mode, writing long paragraphs on subject matter that I thought was interesting, and I’m sure someone out there might agree is such, but that was frankly not drawing much attention.

Then I started writing shorter posts on topics not related to analyses of classical mythology and saw the views go up. Then I started writing about life experiences and fun, brief observations and the views climbed even higher.

To be honest, I’m sometimes surprised by which posts prove most popular. I’ve been blogging long enough to pick up on patterns, but I’m still happily surprised when a quick and dirty post I write to keep the site alive becomes a big hit with readers.

Blogging, and writing in general, is hard to predict. People are complex creatures, and the reactions I get sometimes throw me for a loop. But then, it keeps things interesting and encourages me to go in directions I never considered before.

***

Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.

My latest book, The Trickster’s Lament, is currently available on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback format.

“Hermes is not having the best time. He walks a fine line, and his duty as messenger of Olympus weighs heavily on him. Being a god in the modern age means living in a world that no longer believes in gods. How much can one deity accomplish when no one respects him anymore? And why do his instincts tell him that he, the son of Zeus, is losing favor with his own family?

Tensions abound. The upstart Young Gods play dangerous games using entire cities as their boards. Formless monsters strike from the nighttime shadows, terrorizing hapless mortals. Agents of rival pantheons scheme to thwart Olympus’ designs. In the thick of it all, Hermes does what he does best: trick, lie, and cheat his way to victory.“

A Letter to 100-Year-Old Me

Write a letter to your hundred-year-old self.

Well, Jake, I have a few things to say. First of all, since you’re such a worrywort, I just want to let you know that if you’re whining and cringing over how much worse society has gotten, let me remind you that it always had problems and they’re probably still the same ones. Get over it and carry on.

I am curious, though, if someone finally invented functional jetpacks or rocket cars. Are they affordable? Do they make traffic better or worse? I kind of doubt they’re around though, are they? Back to the Future thought we’d have hoverboards and weather control by 2015, after all. And that Jaws would still be getting sequels.

Speaking of entertainment, is virtual reality still a thing? If it is, are they making VR movies yet? I don’t mean demos, I mean full, 120-minute films. I’d love to know how those turned out.

You’ve lived a long life and seen a lot of things happen. More than most people in the last millennium could expect to see in their lifetime. A lot of it is amazing and wonderful. A lot of it is probably scary and disappointing. But that’s life in general – good and bad, sweet and sour. Some people bemoan modern times as the downfall of civilization. I imagine they said the same thing when the Roman Empire fell, and when the Normans invaded England, and in between the fall of every Chinese dynasty, and when Disney bought Marvel Comics.

You’ve lived a long life, and I know you’ve learned to make the best of it. Maybe you managed to do everything you wanted to do. Maybe you didn’t, but knowing how life goes, you’ve probably been surprised by good things you never saw coming. Either way, just remember this tidbit: Life is too short to spend in regret and frustration. Relax, take what comes, and do your best. Enjoy it.

Best regards from 2025 A.D.

***

My latest book, The Trickster’s Lament, is currently available on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback format.

“Hermes is not having the best time. He walks a fine line, and his duty as messenger of Olympus weighs heavily on him. Being a god in the modern age means living in a world that no longer believes in gods. How much can one deity accomplish when no one respects him anymore? And why do his instincts tell him that he, the son of Zeus, is losing favor with his own family?

Tensions abound. The upstart Young Gods play dangerous games using entire cities as their boards. Formless monsters strike from the nighttime shadows, terrorizing hapless mortals. Agents of rival pantheons scheme to thwart Olympus’ designs. In the thick of it all, Hermes does what he does best: trick, lie, and cheat his way to victory.“

Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.

Thoughts on Boredom

What bores you?

Boredom bores me. Okay, that’s a bit of a glib answer. Let me try again.

What bores me? Being unable to exercise my artistic skills. Being unable to imagine and create gets under my skin if I’m not careful. Maybe it’s a curse of the artistic mind, but I often feel like I need to create , to write something down and let my flight of fancy run its course.

However, I’ve learned that there is a distinct difference between being bored and embracing boredom. Boredom doesn’t bar me from productivity in other areas of my life and doesn’t condemn me to sit around twiddling my thumbs, lamenting the ennui of my existence. It just means I need to be a little patient. I have a job and other obligations. They come first. They are a responsibility and a privilege. I’m not in a place right now where I can make a living off my creativity. Writing books is a hobby, so it oftentimes simply cannot be a priority.

Are there times when I wish I was elsewhere doing something I consider more interesting? Well, yes, but that’s part of growing up. Play is the work of children. Work is the work of adults. Boredom is a side effect and a nuisance. I wish I could write 24/7, but I can’t. So, I learn to persevere through the boring times. They don’t last forever. It’s a fact of life, and it makes times of relaxation and artistic indulgence all the more sweet.

***

My latest book, The Trickster’s Lament, is currently available on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback format.

“Hermes is not having the best time. He walks a fine line, and his duty as messenger of Olympus weighs heavily on him. Being a god in the modern age means living in a world that no longer believes in gods. How much can one deity accomplish when no one respects him anymore? And why do his instincts tell him that he, the son of Zeus, is losing favor with his own family?

Tensions abound. The upstart Young Gods play dangerous games using entire cities as their boards. Formless monsters strike from the nighttime shadows, terrorizing hapless mortals. Agents of rival pantheons scheme to thwart Olympus’ designs. In the thick of it all, Hermes does what he does best: trick, lie, and cheat his way to victory.“

Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.

I Long to Destroy a Single Word

If you could permanently ban a word from general usage, which one would it be? Why?

Censorship is something I generally take a dim view of, but if I was given the power to ban just one word, I would ban – well, let’s see, there are several words that irk me, but if I had to pick only one …

Literally. I would scour all media and erase the word “literally” from existence.

I acknowledge that language evolves. It changes. Meanings change. What a word meant last decade is completely unrelated to its usage today. But that doesn’t mean I have to like the evolution of a word that originally described a thing or action conforming to its own description as fact rather than metaphor, i. e., the expression “hit the road” taken literally by beating the pavement with a stick or someone who is “feeling blue” literally turning a shade of blue. The adverb once had a very specific meaning that applied in very specific circumstances, and using it outside of that purpose was incorrect.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

That was literally the best concert I’ve ever been to. Stephen Spielberg is literally the best director in history. I literally almost died in that car collision. I literally read ten books in a single month. This is literally not how you use the word.

It’s just another word to emphasize a point. Somewhere along the line, someone decided that “really” and “very” and “extremely” and “superlatively” and “quite possibly” and “definitely” were all too boring and decided to give the English language another disembowelment.

And that’s the evolution of language. Words take on entirely new meanings and the old ones are left behind. It’s natural. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.

The worst part, in my opinion, is that it shrinks our daily vocabulary. “Literally” could be replaced by a slew of options in everyday conversation, but we fall back to the quick and easy method of using one over and over and over again. It’s a shame that we gradually decrease our ability to express ourselves by loading a single word with a hundred different meanings rather than learning a hundred different words with very particular, targeted meanings. It’s more work, true, but it makes speech so much more interesting.

But that’s enough of me preaching. Language is language and things will go the way that society drives them, regardless of whether or not it knows how to steer. If I had the power, I would immolate the word “literally,” sweep up the ashes, and dump them in the sea. Alas, that I cannot literally do such a thing to a word.

***

My latest book, The Trickster’s Lament, is currently available on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback format.

“Hermes is not having the best time. He walks a fine line, and his duty as messenger of Olympus weighs heavily on him. Being a god in the modern age means living in a world that no longer believes in gods. How much can one deity accomplish when no one respects him anymore? And why do his instincts tell him that he, the son of Zeus, is losing favor with his own family?

Tensions abound. The upstart Young Gods play dangerous games using entire cities as their boards. Formless monsters strike from the nighttime shadows, terrorizing hapless mortals. Agents of rival pantheons scheme to thwart Olympus’ designs. In the thick of it all, Hermes does what he does best: trick, lie, and cheat his way to victory.“

Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.

Nostalgia Courtesy of a Snickers Bar

What is your favorite candy?

Food is such a nostalgic thing. Memories of my favorites conjure up childhood memories of family outings and fun with friends. I get warm fuzzies thinking of my mother’s old cooking, or a particularly memorable birthday party, or that one time I was allowed to have a pizza when my parents left me home alone one night. And, of course, the memory of favorite candies.

Mine are Snickers. Nuts and caramel covered in chocolate. Not airy fluff like 3 Musketeers and with more texture than a Kit Kat, Snickers bars are the perfect blend of dense, crunchy, tasty and buttery smooth.

I don’t eat them much anymore, but I remember when I was young that every time I went with my parents on our monthly shopping trip to the navy exchange I would get a Snickers from the candy kiosk before check out. I had to finish it before getting back in the car, or I’d get chocolate stains all over the seat.

Snickers isn’t just a favorite candy. It’s a catalyst for fond memories. I can recall nearly every part of that store: the maze of grocery aisles; the home and garden section with kitchen supplies and clothes and magazines and knick knacks; the garden greenhouse, which had a fun corner where they kept the action figures and other toys; the tiny food court where we occasionally grabbed McDonald’s (and where I confirmed that McDonald’s will never be as good as Burger King).

I haven’t thought about any of this in a long time. Food really is a key to nostalgia’s lock. Good days long gone, but readily remembered with a little gastronomic prompting. I miss them.

***

My latest book, The Trickster’s Lament, is currently available on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback format.

“Hermes is not having the best time. He walks a fine line, and his duty as messenger of Olympus weighs heavily on him. Being a god in the modern age means living in a world that no longer believes in gods. How much can one deity accomplish when no one respects him anymore? And why do his instincts tell him that he, the son of Zeus, is losing favor with his own family?

Tensions abound. The upstart Young Gods play dangerous games using entire cities as their boards. Formless monsters strike from the nighttime shadows, terrorizing hapless mortals. Agents of rival pantheons scheme to thwart Olympus’ designs. In the thick of it all, Hermes does what he does best: trick, lie, and cheat his way to victory.“

Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.

Writers, Mix It Up

I’ve started on the third installment in my urban fantasy series. Everyone writes at different speeds, and I’m somewhere in the middle of the pack, I think. I published my first book in August 2023 and published my second in January of this year. I hope to finish this third installment by the end of next year.

Maybe I am a slow writer, after all, but when you have a job and other commitments, you can’t be a writer 24/7, unfortunately.

Anyway, I’m happy with my work, but after finishing this current project, I think I’ll take a break from Hermes’ adventures. I’m in the mood to try something new. And that’s healthy, I’m finding. Writing about the same thing is kind of like exercising. If you keep exercising the same muscle group over and over, you end up hurting yourself rather than strengthening yourself.

So, I want to mix it up. I want to write different stories after finishing book #3 and stretch my talents. Broaden my horizons and various other cliches. It’ll be fun, and it’s good practice to try something new.

***

My book, The Trickster’s Lament, is currently available on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback format.

“Hermes is not having the best time. He walks a fine line, and his duty as messenger of Olympus weighs heavily on him. Being a god in the modern age means living in a world that no longer believes in gods. How much can one deity accomplish when no one respects him anymore? And why do his instincts tell him that he, the son of Zeus, is losing favor with his own family?

Tensions abound. The upstart Young Gods play dangerous games using entire cities as their boards. Formless monsters strike from the nighttime shadows, terrorizing hapless mortals. Agents of rival pantheons scheme to thwart Olympus’ designs. In the thick of it all, Hermes does what he does best: trick, lie, and cheat his way to victory.“

Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.