I’m feeling a bit ~quiet~ today, which is a thing that comes and goes in waves. You know those days where you turn a bit inward and think a little deeper on things than on most days.
Today my thoughts are hovering over reality, expectations, promises [kept and broken], goals, forward motion, commitment, longevity, why some supernova collapse into blackholes while others morph into neutron stars. You know, light stuff like that.
When I drift into these moods, it’s nice to find other’s words to help express what I’m feeling. It’s part of the processing, I guess. A way to sort things out—simplify them—and ease back to a more outward existence.
“We do not grow absolutely, chronologically. We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another; unevenly. We grow partially. We are relative. We are mature in one realm, childish in another. The past, present, and future mingle and pull us backward, forward, or fix us in the present. We are made up of layers, cells, constellations.” ~Anais Nin
And a lot of times one set of words will lead me to another set, which may or may not be directly related but possesses this ethereal connection somehow.
A lot of you will readily know this reference
And I seem to stumble upon the most random & interesting tidbits when in this mindset.
Described by one scientist as “the ultimate alchemists,” stars are pretty incredible in that they are these miraculous self-contained and proactive systems that, with the pure power of their own mass, produce the principle elements of life. Then, because all life is about connection, they clump together into star forming regions (or nebula), evolving, and turning themselves into new stars. ~ Lynn Johnson
So, yeah: growth and transformation and thoughts and stars.
The great thing about these ~quiet~ days is how they usually spark new ideas. They serve as those star-birthing nebulae. And they also help existing ideas, thoughts & emotions kinda coalesce. They’re as welcome as the ~loud~ days, and perhaps cherished because of their rarity.
Here’s to hoping you find that perfect balance of ~loud~ and ~quiet~ days.
A lot of times, my ~quiet~ days are triggered by hurt. Someone I trust, I’m close to, lets me down in some way. The processing is how I stretch beyond the hurt to forgiveness. Because nobody wants to be a blackhole.
View through the Amtrak window. NY state? – July 2013
I took my first train ride over July 4th weekend 2013. Cleveland >> Buffalo >> Toronto >> Return.
This trip was amazing for a ton of reasons: couchsurfing, TORONTO, the travel itself. A good portion of my quick turnaround four-day weekend was spent on a train. [Details here: http://wp.me/p2k31x-oA]
Only selfie I took on my Amtrak nomad trip – July 2013
At that point, I was revising my novel Phreak Show and plotting Epistle Of Doff. I’m not sure if wi-fi is a thing on some trains, but there was no internet access on my trip. Translation: productivity.
Random ?orchard? scenery I whizzed past – July 2013
And if you dig the idea of a long distance train ride in a sleeper car [complete with desk], you can complete your own application here: http://blog.amtrak.com/amtrakresidency/
[I totally jumped on that thing the second I realized the application was live.]
View of the Niagara River from the train – July 2013
During the application process you’ll have to confirm that you read the Official Terms. I’m [obviously] not a lawyer, but we writers are always concerned about works-related rights. Right? Right.
So, with that in mind, consider the clause in Item 6 of the Official Terms before selecting what writing sample to include with your submission:
6. Grant of Rights: In submitting an Application, Applicant hereby grants Sponsor the absolute, worldwide, and irrevocable right to use, modify, publish, publicly display, distribute, and copy Applicant’s Application, in whole or in part, for any purpose, including, but not limited to, advertising and marketing, and to sublicense such rights to any third parties…
Bear in mind that as part of the application, your submitted sample (up to 10 pages) falls under the above Grant of Rights. You know, not that that should hinder you in any way. Just something to weigh and perhaps aid in the sample selection process.
Early morning chillin in the Cleveland station
So my application’s in. With up to 24 possible slots with 1000’s [10,ooo’s ?] of applicants, it’s a long shot for any of us. But that’s okay, because an investment of 15 minutes time could end up in a 2-5 day train excursion. Pretty rockin’ tradeoff if you ask me.
Outside one of the Buffalo stations – July 2013
Q: Who else is applying for the #AmtrakResidency? Q: If you don’t score one, now that the concept is under your skin, would you self-fund your own train trip as a writing retreat?
I wear a ridiculous number of hats. [More metaphorically than in actuality, because I love my hair. I kinda treat it as living art.] One feather in one of those symbolic caps is this: I’m MS Certified in Word & Excel. Like, a certificate and everything.
Often, I see questions tossed out on Twitter: HELP! Does anyone know how to [insert formatting issue here]??? Also, when I CP, I find really strange formatting things going on and I’m all like: ZOMG this is a pain in the ass how do you even deal with this madness ahhhh let me help you please please I beg you no really I don’t mind please.
So, I figured, why not share a bit of the knowledge hinted at by that little certificate? Thus, as long as you loverly readers are interested & gaining golden info, I’m gonna do a series of Formatting Tips for Writers.
I use MS Word 2010. If you have a different version, or your toolbars are set up differently, feel free to comment below or hit me up on Twitter [@LucasMight] and I’ll gladly walk you through how to format with your specific setup.
Today: Inserting chapter breaks [with a delicious, free-of-charge side-dish of Chapter Navigation]. And if you already have a manuscript, you can easily go back in and apply these steps retroactively.
Step 1 – Choose a Heading Style: When you begin each chapter, select a Heading Style. [I choose Heading 1, then change the color to black.] Type your chapter title. Once you hit enter, the style will automatically revert to your default font style.
Step 2 – Insert a Chapter Break: Type your awesome words. After the last sentence of the chapter, hold down [Ctrl] as you hit [Enter]. This will insert a Page Break so your new chapter begins at the top of it’s own page. Even after you revise, add or remove words, it will forever stay where it should.
Step 3 – Use the Navigation Pane: Let’s fast forward. You have chapters with perfect page breaks. By using the Header Style, you also have another tool at your disposal. On the VIEW tab at the top, click the Navigation Pane checkbox. A list of chapters appears as a left-hand sidebar. This makes hunting down and navigating your chapters during revision/editing so fantastically easy. If you ever want it out of the way, simply uncheck the box.
There are a ton of tips and topics I’ve seen other cry for help on, or that make my drafting, revising, CP’ing, etc so much easier. The functions are there, and I’d love to put that damn certificate to good use by passing the wisdom on.
Do you have formatting questions? Word issues that give you headaches & keep you from actually writing? Things that MUST have an easier way to accomplish?
Let me know via comments or Twitter. MS Certified Lucas at your service.
:: tips hat ::
I love when hard-awesome things like this take place.
Writers supporting one another while expecting nothing in return. Just for the sheer joy of encouraging & celebrating.
I’m in awe of authors. All authors. People who work hard to create a rich and textured story, and then work harder. And then even harder. And then do that about a billion more times.
And then they show it to the world. That scares the crap out of me.
A few months ago, it came to light that a writer friend of mine was thinking of releasing a book that sounded so freaking good that I couldn’t help but squee all over the place (which is to say all over twitter). It’s a novel that was really close to her heart, she said, but she was concerned. It wasn’t like the young adult novels she usually writes, the ones she’s known for.
It’s about two boys who fall in love. It’s called FALLING FROM THE SKY by the very talented Nikki Godwin.
Now, don’t leave me standing here all alone, kiddos… This is pretty much a prerequisite for writers, right? Don’t blush or try to deny it. I’ve seen your Tweets. And your Pinterest boards. We’ve had conversations. You’re as guilty as I am.
I’m an extremely visual dude. When I write, the scenes play in my mind like a movie. I direct the characters in a sense, but the buggers improv A LOT.
Okay, eff it, I’ll even admit this: my friends and I sit around dream-casting my Phreak Show characters. And a few of you have even volunteered [okay…demanded] to help out on the casting call for Niko. Your amorous intentions are duly noted. [And he’s flashing his crooked smile at you right now.]
Yesterday, a non-writer friend I haven’t spoken to in a while checked in. Curious about where Phreak Show is in the process, the convo went something like this:
Dude: So what’s going on with your book deal? Me: Not to that part of the process yet. Finishing edits with my agent and then we’ll move to the next stage. Dude: Awesome! When do you get the book tour and 3 movie deal? Me: [internal cackling] It’s super rare for books to actually become movies. Dude: Then how are all these books becoming movies all of a sudden? Me: [internal sigh] The % of books being made into movies is probably, like, 2%. Max. Dude: Well those 2% are really getting lucky these days. Me: [reminds self dude is a rube] No more than usual, I don’t think. And that still leaves 98% of authors dreaming about their books becoming movies, but it never happens. Dude: Ahhhh, I see.
This kind of conversation happens all the time. So, obviously, we writers aren’t alone. It seems most folks naturally have this ingrained perception that book = movie. So I started wondering how close my random estimate of 2% really is. Enter: THE MAGIC OF GOOGLE
I submit for your enjoyment and education, the interesting [and perhaps sobering] info I stumbled upon.
First off, some hard-awesome checkpoints we can all keep in mind when writing our next novel or assessing existing ones. John Robert Marlow offers this list of:
10 things Hollywood looks for in any story:
Cinematic concept that can be communicated in ten seconds
Hero that a large segment of the movie-going public can relate to
Strong visual potential
Three-act structure
Two-hour limit
Reasonable budget
Low fat (no unnecessary scenes)
Franchise potential
Four-quadrant (young and old, male and female) appeal
I have no idea how accurate this stat for 2014 is either. I found numbers ranging from 10 to 35, but CNN reports these as “all the books becoming movies in 2014”:
2014 [estimate #1]: 12 book to film adaptions for 2014
But even if a book is optioned, there’s still no promise our friends, family, and fans can check out our stories on the big screen. Author Joseph Finder says:
Maybe as many as 90% of optioned/sold movies never get made.
Feels like a snowball’s chance, right? But, hey, we can’t resist hoping. Perhaps the most important thing in this entire post is something you already know:
Writers are dreamers.
That’s part of the how and the why we create characters, build worlds, and invent delicious plots in the first place. Our dreams refuse to die.
I guess, at our core, writers are optimists. And, for those of us who are really optimistic, we don’t stop at just dreaming. We finish manuscripts. We revise the hell out of them. We send query after query until an agent falls madly in love with our words. We revise again. Even when it hurts. We suffer with impatience during the submission process. We revise those words again with an editor. We do all these things because we are ridiculously optimistic.
We hope. And we dream.
So, honestly, we can’t stop dreaming about our books becoming movies. Even if we try uber-hard. It’s just not who we are as a species. And as long as our expectations are realistic, it doesn’t hurt a thing.
Besides, being dreamers, we always have that 2% or 1.77343% to hang on to. Even if the true number is only .00001% of books becoming movies, that’s more than enough to birth a dream inside us.
Q: What are the chances of your book becoming a movie? A: Are you a dreamer or aren’t you?
[FTR, my answer to the question-posing-as-an-answer is: Incurably so.]
—
This vid inserted thanks to the genius inspiration from @EsherHogan
Once upon a time, I wanted to check out what my words would look like on a Kindle screen. I hunted down the process and created my own little cheat sheet. Since that time, I’ve seen others ask if it’s possible, and have forwarded these instructions to a dozen, thankful peeps. [Maybe you’re another one waiting to happen.]
So, should you want or need this capability, here she is.
How to Send Word Docs to Your Kindle
Step 1: You should have an email associated with your Amazon account. If not, you’ll have to do that first. If so – go to Step 2
Step 2: Send an email to your kindle address. It will be the same as the email in #1, only with the @kindle.com extension [e.g. your.regular.email@kindle.com]
Step 3: The subject must be “convert”
Step 4: Attach your Word doc [You can attach MULTIPLE docs]
Step 5: Send that baby!
Step 6: Log into your Amazon account. Click “Personal Documents” on the left-hand sidebar
Step 7: It usually takes 2 – 15 mins of refreshing for the file to appear.
Step 8: Once it does, click on the “Actions” dropdown next to the file name.
Step 9: Select “Deliver to my…Kindle”
Step 10: On your Kindle – “Sync & Check for Items.”
VOILA!
Useful for: – Personal encouragement. Just seeing your created words in that format can give you a dreamy, little boost. – Handy access to your own words on-the-go. [You know, just like any other e-book.] – I find errors that somehow remain invisible on both the hardcopy & computer screen.
– It keeps you from editing as you go. So you can just read. [If I find something major to change later, I scribble a key phrase on a notepad & later do a search for that phrase in the Word file.]
– [Insert your own amazing reason here]
Other tips:
– Insert an image on the first page of the file & it will display as the book’s cover.
– Others, such as beta readers, can forward the file to their own Kindles. [You know, once you pass these instructions on.]
– If your betas/CPs are comfortable with it, they can even authorize your email on their Kindle account & you can send it directly to them. They just have to pick up at Step 6 above.
I’m curious about those of you who use programs other than Word or have different readers/apps.
Do you ever use a similar process? Know of a quick cheat sheet to help others do the same?
OH NO! Not only has it been 500 years since I posted (actually only like 2 weeks), but I’m also out of tat appointments for awhile.
This is a tragedy.
Still remaining:
– The name banner for Mantis & Lil Diva
– Jules a.k.a Shim the Gender Enigma
– Aaron James a.k.a. Gemini the Two-Headed Boy
– Background aether
– Touch-ups
My artist is booked forever in advance, but we’re squeezing more ink in when he gets cancelled appointments.
Which happen to fall on Saturdays…
If I’m also available…
Hopefully the phreak-sleeve will be completed & healed by summer? We’ll see if the planets align to make that happen.
In the meantime, I’m in the thick of hot and heavy edits on the manuscript.
Challenging, fun, brain-juggly (totally a word).
At this point, the hard work feels totally worth it. But then there’s the variable of feedback once the edits are submitted.
Once again, doing my part, but I guess I have to leave the outcome to celestial alignment, literary luck fairies, and the like.
UPDATE on the feedback: !!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂 ALL CAPS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂
Douggie! While a genius, Douggie has been labeled and mistreated simply because of his smarts. No worries, Douggie. I immortalized your Phreak Show persona for you.
You know how shallow some folks are. Now, they’ll never guess you’re intelligent as long as you keep quiet.
So, sadly, I had to cancel my Phreak Show Ink appointment today. :: sobs like a baby ::
On a happy, non-sick note, an interview of yours truly went live on Tricia Drammeh’s “Authors to Watch” site today. It’d be godlike of you to swing by and check it out.
It took two weeks to get her image just right, but Twiggy [I feel] is gorgeous. I had a very strong concept in my mind. And, for some reason, I feel like I owe Twiggy a perfect execution of that vision. Don’t ask me why I feel so possessive of her. I just do, and can’t exactly explain it.
Right now, she and Jamie are battling for the top spot of Phavorite Phreak Tattoo.
Until now, the phreaks have been kind of scattered, spread in a pre-ordained layout to make room for them all. With the proximity of the images coming together, it’s actually starting to feel like the beginnings of a sleeve. Over the next couple weeks, the individuals will continue to interact with the ones who have come before them. The gaps will fill, the images will play off one another.
My experiments to either write or edit while getting inked? Both failed. Too much physical sensation to go to the mental place needed for those tasks. But I’ve found I can read easily enough [between conversations]. Last week, I just so happened to be reading a scene which talked about the three kinds of people who get tattoos. In my own words:
– One timers
– I have one and might get another
– The addicts
Wouldn’t say I’m an addict, but I’m definitely a fan of immortalizing ideas & images worth immortalizing.
Twiggy Excerpt
Twiggy was, as usual, sitting on her bed shoving food in her mouth. “How’d it go?” she asked.
I squeezed out my hair. “We damn near got struck by lightning.”
“I hate the thunder. And I eat when I’m scared. Want a chip?”
You eat all the time.
“I don’t think my stomach can handle food right now.”
I caught a whiff of pungent stank. Was it Twiggy’s rank chips? Oh gods. No. It was my skanky armpits, the oniony b.o. rejuvenated by the sweat and the rain. I really needed to slough off the week-old funk clinging to my crevices. I had my backpack, but my clothes and hygiene bag were still in my car. Miles away. Out of gas. But, damn, I needed to get clean. A saying I’d once heard—maybe at school, or online—flashed in my head. All things being equal, fat people use more soap.
“Do you have any soap?” I asked my hefty host.
She wrinkled her nose. “Well, yeah. Tons of it.”
“Can I borrow some?”
“For…?”
“The rain. I’m so in need of a shower. You don’t even want to know,” I said.
Twiggy pinched her nose closed. “Oh, I know,” she said with a smile. “We have showers, silly.” She brushed sour cream and onion crumbs off her boobs. “We may be phreaks, but we’re not slobs.”
Confession: I DO know why Twiggy’s image is even more important to me than the MC Tera’s or the love interest Niko’s. Many readers have identified with Twiggy’s struggle. I feel an obligation to them to get her right. Maybe obligation isn’t the right word. How about, I have the desire to do right by Twiggy and—by extension—to those who identify with her.
A lot of times, my ~quiet~ days are triggered by hurt. Someone I trust, I’m close to, lets me down in some way. The processing is how I stretch beyond the hurt to forgiveness. Because nobody wants to be a blackhole.
LUCAS HARGIS 