Hello and welcome. My name is Jack, and for around a decade, my "muse," whatever you conceive that to be, has been lying in a coma, rising occasionally to spout a line or two of gibberish, then falling back into oblivion. While I wait for her return, I offer reviews and this blog. Feel free to partake, but don't get too excited; the wake is still in progress. But thanks for your support, by the way. You guys are the best!
Boy, I can always rely on you two to deliver the encouragement. Amethyst Snow Angel raises a good point, though, about tiring of my "bag of tricks." Making stuff up is a writer's stock in trade, but we all have a limited set of experiences to draw on, and those are what we use to bring life to the stuff we've made up. Look, I can't write convincingly about the world of high finance or the life of a brain surgeon. I was a sailor, a karate student, an off-roader, and a safety inspector. As a tabletop wargamer, I understand the principles and application of tactics. That's a lot, but it isn't everything, and it's possible that in sixty years of writing, I've exhausted that bag of tricks. I do feel sometimes that everything I write is plagiarizing my own work. And my "eager grandkids" are all in their twenties, and if it ain't Ariana Grande cool, they aren't interested. Raven, bunny trails might be the thing. The navy handed me a list outlining what they wanted and left it to me to invent the job, which I did. I then held it for the last 25 years of my career, and won multiple awards for my performance, so your assessment of my outlook may not be off-base. "Hunter's Creed" is getting lots of love from you guys, and I suspect it's more because of that ghost than the dour protagonist. But maybe I'll do some "dinking" and see where it goes. I'm honestly near the end of my rope with this. I said "fish or cut bait" in the main article ~ a very odd expression indeed. But I'm beginning to think it's really "fish or get out." Just having this membership keeps pulling me back in here, and if it doesn't lead anywhere productive, I may have to rethink the whole premise.
Not to panic; I'm not going to do anything sudden, but I'm not going to kid around anymore, either. What you see is what you get. Thanks for stopping by, you guys. I always enjoy your company. ... J
I still think it might work to just dink around with the stories--any of them--I too liked Hunter's Creed, but ANY of them works. They're all interesting! I think your productivity brain (from decades of being good at a job, I am guessing) is pinching off your creativity brain, yelling at you about STAYING ON TASK!
(Yes, I know. Bunny trails. But if you're not progressing why *not* go down some fun bunny trails, and instead of a tight novel think of it like a running serial.)
Sorry it took me five hours to get to this, pal. Hey, I'm interested in all of those, to some degree. I was fascinated by the Akuma Files, but by the time it got to the last episode... I was starting to get tired of your bag of tricks if you remember my review.
Right now, I think the most exciting ones are Hunter's Creed and The Orphan Princess. Those seem like the ones where you have something I can't predict, something I haven't seen before with your work. Try to write them for me, because every so often I wonder what's become of that snarky ghost and the villain turned hero, or the villainess who got the makeover. And I'd absolutely love to see how the different threads of the orphan princess tie together - a rollicking sea story would be a lot of fun to read
Oh, I also thought the one about the Orcs and the humans was cool. Lots of room for character development and whatnot. Whatever's most fun for you to brainstorm about... Writing shouldn't be a chore. If you're not dying to get the words on the page... Write them anyway! If that helps
Best wishes for your storytelling progress... Hey, have you tried telling the stories, like to your eager grandkids? Maybe if you tell them first, they'll be more "alive" and easier to write. Does that make sense?
What a fantastic complement, Raven! Back in my "glory days," a reviewer compared me to Joss Whedon and Jules Verne in a single sentence. This is a first for Mozart. Guess I'd better find me a billiard ball... J
There is a scene in Amadeus where Mozart's wife and father are arguing and he, looking very distressed, slinks away into a side room, shuts the door, and begins rolling a billiard ball back and forth while scribbling down notes on a musical manuscript. I always thought that was the most important scene in the movie because it demonstrates that music never left him alone--it bugged him-- and also that it was easier for him than people.
While you seem to be much better at dealing with people than Mozart was, I do think there's a type of brain whose talent just... doesn't leave because it's wiring. Cannot change wiring, might as well roll the billiard ball and write the Magic Flute, you know?
Good morning, my friends. I'd like to thank you both for your attempts to provide me with some perspective. Here's the difficulty I'm facing with this: I used to build plastic models. Interest in that hobby left me, and while I still have an unassembled model in storage somewhere, there has never been an urge to get it out and build it. I used to be a tabletop wargamer, and while I still own a couple of games that I kept for nostalgia's sake, there has been no urge at all to get them out and play them. I used to explore the back country in my 4x4, and while I've owned another 4x4 after I had lost interest in that pursuit, I never took it more than a hundred yards off the pavement. So, why won't this writing thing leave me alone?
It's been a decade; I know I'm over it. So why won't this damned muse, whatever you consider it to be, leave me alone? You know, I've long since come to terms with nothing productive coming out of my keyboard. At this point in life, I don't even want to be a writer anymore. I want to want to play Borderlands, binge-watch Boy Meets World, and read historical war novels that celebrate courage and sacrifice for a greater cause. So why does this keep pestering me when nothing else does? See? Certifiable mental illness.
You may be goofy, Amethyst Snow Angel, but that's several cuts above being psychotic... J
Chill out and enjoy the ride, Jack Writing is a seesaw of love and hate, I can testify. Just this month, I was ready to give up in frustration over three different prompts because of seasonal exhaustion and brain drain. But I pushed through anyway, and actually, I have a very interesting blog post about one of them... "Humor Advice from ChatGPT"
Anyway, we wish you all the best on your switchback, hairpin journey... Ooh, squirrel! I googled "switchback" and got this cool movie: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switchback_(film) (apologies for the link, WdC doesn't accept the parentheses in Wikipedia URLs )
She is, isn't she? I wish the feckless monkey-plucker would take her show on the road and leave me the hell alone! This, "I am, I'm not, I am, I'm not" is beginning to resemble a certifiable mental illness. I had everything calm and relaxed, and then I heard that damned song, and now I have a burr up my 455 over a twelve-year-old story that died in... storybirth? This frustrates the hell out of me. I had everything just the way I wanted it, enjoying my game, my book that someone else wrote, and binge watching an old TV show, and now I have this earwig crawling through my head because of that damned song. Curse you, Lilith! ... J
Good morning, my friends, and I hope it finds you well. It still finds me struggling. Anyone who has paid more than casual attention to my scribblings here knows that for decades I was a writer until one day about a decade ago the muse left for parts unknown. That's the external story, the one that everybody sees who takes more than a casual glance. Today, I'm going to share the internal story, the one I feel and wrestle with every waking moment.
This is how I view the Craft of writing: Whether your goal is to become educated or be entertained, whether your chosen medium is books, movies, TV shows, plays, comedy skits, or eulogies, all have one thing in common: None of them exist without writers. I have been a part of that community, and it's something I've lost. I feel that loss deeply, and I want with all my heart and soul to get it back. I've started story after story only to see them die in utero. My family know how bad I want this. On Father's Day I was gifted the Lore Masters Deck and on my birthday, the Story Engine Deck plus its horror supplement, Written in Ash and Bone. These are inspired prompt generators, and I'll provide a link below.
But that isn't my point. I had some of these cards out playing around with them, and I realized that I don't need a prompt. I have nearly a dozen stories right here in my port that I've abandoned in frustration. They all grew from good ideas that I formed without any prompts other than my own imagination. If I can't bring those home to satisfying conclusions, what am I going to find in those boxes? Maybe if I can get my love affair with the Craft rekindled, then the cards might spark some future projects, but right now, it's all on me to fish or cut bait. These are unfinished stories that began in a blaze of glory then fell by the wayside as interest waned and boredom set in:
STATIC
They are Legend (18+) Heroes? Villains? It's all in the viewpoint, and everyone thinks they're righteous.
BOOK
Hunter's Creed (18+) They say it takes one to know one. So how evil must a man be to be a hunter of evil?
(If prompted for a passkey, it is ATTIC)
These are completed stories that were intended to be the genesis of series, but for one reason or another, I never followed up on them:
FOLDER
The Akuma Files (18+) Sometimes you need a detective agency for cases that are other than ordinary.
STATIC
The Breakdown (18+) She ran until she couldn't run anymore. Then she found her place
STATIC
Safe Haven (18+) Havens are where you find them, and some of them are safer than others.
Eight stories waiting for life, and here I am looking for prompts. Do you have any opinions on these stories all waiting to start? Do any of them intrigue you in a way that would make you want to see where they might go? I'm not saying that I'll ever finish any of them, but I don't want to sit on the sidelines watching the sand in my hourglass run out, and maybe a word of encouragement or an expression of curiosity over one or another of them would get me pointed in a direction that's more likely to lead somewhere then not. I deem it worth a look, hence this particular post on this particular morning. Any thoughts?
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if you remember my review.
Writing is a seesaw of love and hate, I can testify. Just this month, I was ready to give up in frustration over three different prompts because of seasonal exhaustion and brain drain. But I pushed through anyway, and actually, I have a very interesting blog post about one of them... "
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