Wow! Got my very first royalty check from 3 Fates Press for sales of 'Circuits & Steam'...considering it's an anthology, that's quite a bit...well, okay, it's pennies but it's something :-)
This post is actually part of a Writing Process chain letter, and I was tagged by Marian Allen, one third of 3 Fates Press (http://www.marianallen.com/2014/06/writing-process/) so I'd better get to it!
My Writing Process...
Okay, maybe this'll help someone but I doubt it, it's quite boring, really.
1. I write up my ideas on the 'big' story and try to put them in some order
2. I draw up a diagram which includes all my characters, their actions, motivations, etc
3. From 2. comes a whole load of new ideas, so I have to redo No.2 (this stops once I get a whole story and I can then move on)
4. I start writing up the 'big' story
5. I read what I have and edit/add/subtract until I'm satisfied that's what I wanted when I started No.1.
Easy, really...yeah, right. It takes 3-12 months and it starts with the 'big' story idea. At the moment, I'm playing around with a few.
This is a chain letter, so I'd better tag a few people...3 is the required number...2 is too little, 4 is too much, 5 is WAY OUT...I guess I'd better tell them...
1: Jordan Bell (http://jbfiction.blogspot.hu/)
2: Mathew W. Weaver (http://ramblingsandraving.blogspot.hu/)
3: Tannis Laidlaw (http://tannislaidlaw.com/)
Good luck :-)
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Monday, June 30, 2014
Sunday, June 29, 2014
Dani's Shorts 2 FREE on Amazon for 2 days
As the title says. For some reason, people only want to download things from Amazon, so 2 days for free there. I don't know why but Amazon Kindle won't let me give any other free promotions...must look into that later. Go get DS2 from Amazon for FREE...now :-)
http://www.amazon.com/Danis-Shorts-2-Dani-Caile-ebook/dp/B00IHYKKG0
A new idea...yes and no. The problem is I can't think about anything for more than 5 minutes...here's my latest Weekend Quickie (42) on the Iron Writer website...
http://theironwriter.com/weekend-quickie-42/
I wanted to do the 'firework' but Jordan beat me to it...I don't want to tread on anyone's toes but....maybe I'll try a firework one for 42 in my next collection...
So, new idea? Yes...and no. A continuation of 'How to'? (which you haven't read yet) Another 'Graham Reader'? (so easy...okay, maybe I'll do that :-))
http://www.amazon.com/Danis-Shorts-2-Dani-Caile-ebook/dp/B00IHYKKG0
A new idea...yes and no. The problem is I can't think about anything for more than 5 minutes...here's my latest Weekend Quickie (42) on the Iron Writer website...
http://theironwriter.com/weekend-quickie-42/
I wanted to do the 'firework' but Jordan beat me to it...I don't want to tread on anyone's toes but....maybe I'll try a firework one for 42 in my next collection...
So, new idea? Yes...and no. A continuation of 'How to'? (which you haven't read yet) Another 'Graham Reader'? (so easy...okay, maybe I'll do that :-))
Friday, June 27, 2014
TIW Summer Open Preliminaries...
Somehow I got into the Iron Writer Summer Eq Prelims :-) I got 2nd behind KA DaVur in that last Grudge match and I sneaked in...have already sent my story and it'll be up next Thursday, so please be sure to vote.
This time, anonymous judges will place each story in their brackets, and the popular vote (where you come in) will be 1/3 of the vote. It is still important to get a large popular vote, but hopefully the judges will mean that something 'good' will get through to the Summer Final, and not some crap which has been voted for by all someone's friends and relatives...me? I always try to write something 'good'. It would be a disgrace for me if I wrote something 'bad' or even worse, boring. My story has depth, jokes, and is connected to a classic play...you'll see.
Other than that, not much going on...except Summer!! :-)
This time, anonymous judges will place each story in their brackets, and the popular vote (where you come in) will be 1/3 of the vote. It is still important to get a large popular vote, but hopefully the judges will mean that something 'good' will get through to the Summer Final, and not some crap which has been voted for by all someone's friends and relatives...me? I always try to write something 'good'. It would be a disgrace for me if I wrote something 'bad' or even worse, boring. My story has depth, jokes, and is connected to a classic play...you'll see.
Other than that, not much going on...except Summer!! :-)
Saturday, June 21, 2014
Transition Period 2 : My take on Challenge 70
I haven't been posting much lately, I'm slowing down due to being 'published', I think. Nothing runs on the same timeframe as in self-publishing. I am, however, working on The Iron Writer Anthology 2013-2014.
Plus I've just had a go at Challenge 70...written from last evening's experience while looking at a house...
(Challenge 70 - demolition derby, light sabres, mud wrestling, roman candles)
For Better For Worse
Plus I've just had a go at Challenge 70...written from last evening's experience while looking at a house...
(Challenge 70 - demolition derby, light sabres, mud wrestling, roman candles)
For Better For Worse
The match was on,
full blast, the large flat green screen glowing in one corner of their living
room, her husband grinning and cheering in the other, beer can in dirty hand.
He hadn't bothered to wash since coming back from his workplace, dumping
himself down in his favourite chair and flicking on the television. The kids
quietly played in the kitchen looking like they'd already suffered one scalding
from their father.
"What you
doing?"
"Eh? What
does it look like? Watching the game!" He gulped down another mouthful of
his cheap beer. "Got any snacks?"
"Unless you
want some of the kids Cheerios, no. Where's the money?"
"Here."
He patted his trouser pocket but showed no movement to give her any for the
weekly shopping.
"I got food
to get."
"Then get
going. And buy some nuts, I want some nuts. And be quick!"
"But I can't
shop without money."
He begrudingly
handed over a wad of cash, barely enough. A long stare got his attention.
"What?"
"I need more
than that."
"I ain't got
any more."
"What did
you do, drink it away?"
"Don't you
start!" One team scored in the match. "Yes!"
"I really
don't know what I saw in you..."
His head slowly
turned and his eyes narrowed, but a smile came over his face.
"I remember
that night, the first time I saw you, mud wrestling with that buxom brunette
cousin of yours. Ha, if it weren't for your sharp hawk-like features and
flowing red hair I would've thought you were a man."
"You pig! I
knew you'd had my cousin. She's always had an eye for you!"
"Then why
did you go for me, huh? Huh?"
"...for your
collection of Lego light sabres, that's what."
He laughed and
spilled some beer on the worn out carpet.
"Yeah, not
much of a choice was there, me and my manly charms or that Brett guy and his
toys. That light weight poofter." He tried to grab her around the waist
but missed. "Oh, and that first night, eh? There were some fireworks that
night, eh?"
"More like
cheap roman candles that fizzed out after a few seconds."
He went back to
his match and beer.
"And what
about the car?"
He was ignoring her
now.
"The car! I
need to use something to go shopping in! You said you'd sort it out this
week!"
The other team
scored, making it even.
"There's
nothing wrong with the car, it runs like a dream. It's your driving that's the
problem."
"Dream? A
dream? I once had a dream...but now I don't have time to dream, always rushing
around this house, cleaning up after you and the kids. That car is a wreck!
It's only good for the demolition derby!"
"That's a
great car, that is." He drank up his beer and watched the match.
"Now I've
gotta use the bus."
"Whatever.
Be quick. Remember the nuts. Oh, and get me some more beer."
The kids went
with her.
Monday, June 16, 2014
Transition period (plus Challenge 68 take)
I think I'm going through a transition period. I'm not writing much, waiting for my new book to be published by someone else other than me and I feel like I'm in no man's land. I'm not impressed with my work on 'Torn', my new idea, and I'm waiting for the next to appear. I'm also continuously ill...
Anyway, here's my take on Challenge 68, it took a while to come out - a variation of Woolf's 'Mark on the Wall' :-)
Challenge 68 - The Hole in the Wall
(elements, rock, paper, scissors, shaving cream)
Anyway, here's my take on Challenge 68, it took a while to come out - a variation of Woolf's 'Mark on the Wall' :-)
Challenge 68 - The Hole in the Wall
(elements, rock, paper, scissors, shaving cream)
What exactly did
we ever do in those school breaks, those thousands of endless breaks between
lessons? It seems such a waste now, all that running around, playing football,
picking on the weak kid, playing kiss chase, inventing some stupid game which
involved a tennis ball and large empty wall, and basically talking rubbish
throughout. Why didn’t we study, why didn’t we try to better ourselves when we
had the chance? Why didn’t we listen when the teacher asked us to study for the
test, do the project, or stop throwing paper at each other? Now look at us,
stuck in deadend jobs, paying the bills, breeding more fodder for the system to
chew on and spit out.
There was one
teacher, I remember now, only one, who tried to wake us up. But one wasn’t
enough. He gave us an opportunity to think, to have an opinion, to question
things around us, both close to home and globally. No tests every other lesson,
no punishment for late homework, only bad marks if we didn’t do right. He used
to let us play, too, but in what he called an educational way. One game I
really didn’t like back then was ’rock, paper, scissors’. What the hell was
that all about? He told us it originated in China way back, and has been used
to settle small trivial arguments ever since. I didn’t get it then and, as he
always encouraged us to do, I questioned its logic. Sure, rock blunts scissors,
and scissors cuts paper, but paper covers rock? No, I wasn’t having that. I
even tried to show him that paper doesn’t stop a flying rock with a few ill
fated experiments. His point was that it covered the rock. I then said you
might as well cover it with shaving cream or some kind of foam, or a box,
maybe. He said that a box was made of cardboard, which is paper, but he liked
my idea of shaving cream. He opened it up to the class, that if paper changed
to shaving cream, what could the other two objects be? Razor was easy as a
substitute for scissors but the others got stumped on the rock. Looking at the
teacher, it came to me in a flash. His face. The silence in the classroom was
broken by the teacher’s laughter. Yes, razor scrapped away shaving cream,
shaving cream covered his face, and his face blunted the razor. He gave me a
good mark for that one, but he then asked me how I was going to represent
them…that’s when the idea fell apart.
I wonder what
ever became of that teacher? Last thing I heard was that he’d written a book
and got it published, though I don’t think he was famous or anything. And what
about all of us, the thinkers, the opinionated argumentatives? Menial jobs,
most of us, but I did learn one thing. The pen is mightier than the sword.
Paper covers rock.
Thursday, June 12, 2014
When TIWs get together - The Cat and the Monkey
As a writer I believe in living on the edge. I don't believe in sitting at my computer, waiting for inspiration, wondering where and when the next big idea will come from, what my latest work will be. I believe in writing. Today I saw a picture of a cat which reminded me of one I used to know. This sparked off a kind of 'duel relay' with my good 'young' buddy, Mathew W. Weaver who was the one who shared the picture on his facebook page. This relay can be seen on his page... https://www.facebook.com/mathew.wordweaver/posts/1430664367204612?comment_id=1430748550529527¬if_t=like
...you have to get to the 1st comment, then read down. At first we took it easy, 4/5 words each, then we took half sentences, until the story was done! It's a rather strange little story, but worth the outing, and the reading.
Congrats to Mathew, for 3 hours of coming back with the goods! :-)
Herer's the same on his own blog...I think excellently presented :-)
http://ramblingsandraving.blogspot.hu/2014/06/the-tale-of-cat-and-monkey-when-tiws.html
The Cat and the Monkey (12 June 2013)
Mathew W. Weaver:shared Animal Advocates's photo.
...you have to get to the 1st comment, then read down. At first we took it easy, 4/5 words each, then we took half sentences, until the story was done! It's a rather strange little story, but worth the outing, and the reading.
Congrats to Mathew, for 3 hours of coming back with the goods! :-)
Herer's the same on his own blog...I think excellently presented :-)
http://ramblingsandraving.blogspot.hu/2014/06/the-tale-of-cat-and-monkey-when-tiws.html
The Cat and the Monkey (12 June 2013)
Mathew W. Weaver:shared Animal Advocates's photo.
True enough!
Dani: There was this cat...
Mathew:... which
lived all alone...
Dani: ...in a
little white...
Mathew:...doghouse.
It's neighbor....
Dani: a grouchy,
diseased and...
Mathew:...putrid
monkey with a bad case of rabies....
Dani: ...loved to
howl and screech...
Mathew:... at odd
hours during the afternoon.
Dani: Well, this
cat decided that...
Mathew:...enough
was enough, and...
Dani: ...in one
odd moment when...
Mathew:... the
monkey was having guests over....
Dani: ...he leapt
up onto the fence which separated...
Mathew:...the
garden from the swimming pool, and...
Dani: marked the
area for all to smell. Unfortunately, the water...
Mathew:...
formerly a beautiful shade of deep blue...
Dani: ...now
turned to a dirty shade of yellow.
Mathew:The
monkey, in the process of...
Dani: creaming
his butt for the infamous...
Mathew:...
Cherished Chimpanzee maneuver, which also involved...
Dani: squeezing
his testicles in a banana vice...
Mathew:... and
yodeling in as high pitched a voice as possible...
Dani: ...stopped
in his tracks when the guests noticed...
Mathew:... that
there was now a palpable change in odor...
Dani: ...and an
oily viscosity to the water,
Mathew:...accompanied
by a faintly noxious cloud of green.
Dani: The way
that monkey somersaulted...
Mathew:... with
the poise and agility of a gymnast and...
Dani: ...no hint
of the 23 years in urethral sling surgery which blighted his blossoming career
as...
Mathew:... an
acrobatic pianist at the local circus, he...
Dani: ...could've
won Gold at the local Prosthetic...
Mathew:
...Amazing Aeronautical Ape Competition, that also happened to feature...
Dani: …..the Stupendous Russian Poodles of Kiev and their...
Mathew:... lesser
known counterparts, the Roaring Rottweilers of Romania.
Dani: With a
flick and fling, the monkey landed...
Mathew:... with
grandeur on the tiles beside the pool, but...
Dani:
...unbeknown to his little brain, the cat had already covered them with...
Mathew:... litty
itty bits of hairballs that he had torn to pieces just so.
Dani: The
monkey's guests looked on as their host suffered the most hilarious bout of
chaetophobia...
Mathew:... as his
legs scrambled wildly and yet he stayed in one place. His mouth open in a yodel
of protest...
Dani: ...,to the
surprise of all who were there to witness it,..
Mathew:... he
managed to miraculously regain his balance. He grabbed the fence, and let out a
sigh of relief. But that, however, was before...
Dani: ...the cat
had enacted his "piece de resistance", the 'claws in...
Mathew:...extremely
sensitive area' maneuver. The onlookers raised paws to their mouths as...
Dani: the sound
of ripping flesh intruded on their as yet unperturbed sanity of mind.
Mathew:With a
final shriek of defiance, the monkey lurched backwards...
Dani: ...,bananas
and nuts filling the air, splashing into the yellow, viscous cloudlike pool,
leaving the poor creature with nothing more than...
Mathew:...a tuft
of hair around the back of his ears. Enraged at the loss of his once luxurious
fur, he lunged...
Dani: ...towards
the cat, tripped on his own Fatty Patty inflatable jumbo love doll he'd
prepared for the second attraction of the day and...
Mathew:... landed
on his now bare skinned belly. The momentum of that fall slid him backwards,
limbs flaying, right into the pool. The splash...
Dani: of the
thick yellow/green soup within the pool, unnaturally defying gravity as it
slunk through the air, ...
Mathew:...splattered
all onlookers, doused any and everything unprotected. The cat, untouched as a
cat always is, leaped onto the fence once more to survey the damage. Satisfied that
the task was done, he left, victorious and proud.
Dani: THE END
Mathew:(bows)
Dani: (bows)
Friday, June 6, 2014
Challenge 66 - Grudge 6
Yes, I was in this one...anonymous, well, it should have been...one guy posted his story, and then there was mention of the collaboration in that team...etc,etc. I came 2nd, in the popular vote and got 1 judge vote, putting me...2nd.
Here's my story in better format than the website...:-)
(elements, written as a radio script, Rav Shaul, one character has a paper bag on their head, include all processes of beer brewing without mentioning beer.)
Here's my story in better format than the website...:-)
(elements, written as a radio script, Rav Shaul, one character has a paper bag on their head, include all processes of beer brewing without mentioning beer.)
"THE UNIVERSE DOESN'T CARE WHAT YOU ARE"
/ CAILE
1 SFX TWO PAIRS OF FOOTSTEPS
WALK TOWARDS
2 EACH OTHER, SOUND OF A PAPER BAG
3 RUSTLING AND A COUGH FROM WITHIN.
ONE
4 PAIR OF FOOTSTEPS STOPS.
5 TED: Shalom.
6 SFX VOICE OF RAV COMES FROM
UNDER
7 A PAPER BAG.
8 RAV: Shalom.
9 TED: Err, Hi. My name's Ted. Who are you?
10 SFX SECOND PAIR OF FOOTSTEPS
STOPS.
11 RAV: Rav. Rav Shaul.
12 TED: Who?
13 RAV: Rav Shaul, you know?
14 TED: Shaul? Oh, Rav Shaul! You're a Gentile!
15 RAV: Yes…what? No, that's a misunderstanding,
I'm a Natsari Jew!
16 TED: Yeah, right, Rav. Pull the
other one. Err…but Rav? Why have
17 you got a paper bag on your
head?
18 SFX SOUND OF SIGH FROM INSIDE
PAPER BAG.
19 RAV: I thought that would be
obvious.
20 TED: Good point, seeing as you're
a Gentile. Any stones around here?
21 RAV: I'm not a Gentile! I'm a Natsari Jew!
22 TED: Whatever. So, you're still
reading the Torah then, eh?
23 RAV: Of course! I'm a Rabbi! Look,
see? Never leave home
24 without one.
25 SFX SOUND OF LARGE PARCHMENTS
BEING
26 OPENED, THEN BEING CLOSED.
27 TED: Oh, right. But, really, I
heard you were…a Christian.
28 SFX: LARGE SOUND OF THUNDER
29 RAV: Christian?
30 SFX: LARGE SOUND OF THUNDER
31 TED: Yeah, Christian.
32 SFX: LARGE SOUND OF THUNDER
33 RAV: No, not me. Those Chri…
34 SFX: BEGINNING OF THUNDER
35 RAV: Those Gentiles…they get
-soaked in water-. I don't.
36 TED: Yeah, crazy, right? You'd
have to be -slightly cracked-
37 to do that.
38 RAV: And they're -steeping- in
love and harmony and all that
39 'Hallelujah' jazz...whatever that
is...I've absolutely no idea…
40 TED: Oh, Christ, yeah.
41 RAV: Mind your language.
42 TED: Sorry.
43 RAV: Yes, well, everything that
those Chri…Gentiles were before is
44 -rinsed out-, -extracted-. They are
-separated- from our grand
45 teachings by that small group of
'disciples'. Pah!
46 TED: Yeah, so I heard.
47 RAV: And then they are -boiled-
up, cleansed and -sterilized- with
48 all that talk about 'loving their
God'. That's…just not me.
49 TED: That guy they follow…who is
he again?
50 RAV: Jesus.
51 TED: What? What happened? What
did I do now?
52 RAV: No, Jesus, Jesus Christ. That's the guy's name.
Jesus Christ.
53 TED: Oh, right, right. Yeah,
'course it is.
54 RAV: Then they sit and -ferment-,
talking about the 'Old Testament'.
55 Not me, no, sir.
56 TED: What is that all about, eh?
'Old Testament'?
57 RAV: Beats me. But they are so
-settled-, so sure of themselves.
58 It is quite an achievement to do this
in our time of unrest.
59 They are -stabilized- with their
'Scriptures', with no
60 -cloudiness- of mind.
61 TED: Those Chri…Gentiles, they're
a bunch of special -cases-,
62 if you ask me.
63 RAV: Yes, well, it was nice
meeting you...err?
64 TED: Ted.
65 RAV: Yes, Ted. But I have to -wrap
it up- here, Ted, I've got a
66 circumcision at 4.
67 TED: Oh, right, well, sorry to
hold you up. Have a good one!
68 RAV: …yes, quite.
69 SFX RAV'S SET OF FOOTPRINTS
MOVES OFF.
70 TED: Okay, well, Shalom!
71 SFX VOICE OF RAV FURTHER AWAY.
72 RAV: One born every minute…
73 TED: Sorry?
74 RAV: And 'peace' upon you,
too…shmuck.
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