 No, I'm not talking about dressing up like a G.I. Joe, a Ninja Turtle or a Power Ranger and kicking some supervillain ass. And I'm not talking about slipping on a spandex suit and running around with a cape either like these guys -  (hey, what you do in your own time is your business, I'm not judging).
It's about keeping the fire alive, the passion, that thing that keeps you working on your top secret project of revolutionary proportions when nobody but your significant other and your mom seems to give two bits about it. Everyone's got something that they're working on, creating. If not, maybe you should - it's good for you. These days it's so easy to start something, anything. The actual challenge is in following through. And that's really what I meant by Action Figure. Action Figure = Follow Through So how do you follow through? When you're dead tired from your day job, you get home and all you want to do is write/paint/compose/cook or whatever the hell it is that get's you excited. It takes discipline to stick to something especially when the speed in which modern life carries us is a dizzying pace. Surely there's people out there who are masters at juggling a 100 things in the speed of light then blog about it and still have time to eat dinner and watch a movie. Damned freaks. 1 Comment If you missed out on the interview this past Friday with me and writer A.R. Braun talking about collaborations and other stuff, you can listen to it below. Had a blast. I'm starting to really like doing interviews. I'm a self-described media whore, just so you know. On a side note, I thought I was gonna be late for this interview, just got out of work - still had time to walk the dog, change into my Super Friends jammies and grab a cold beer. So, for those of you who frequent here, you may notice a few changes. I changed the design a bit, added a new banner. Added a new podcast page. and within that podcast page is an even newer banner for my current pet project.  So new, it still has that new undead podcast banner smell. Van Saint Status Report: (AKA stuff I did and the ones that are waiting patiently behind) I'll be recording this evening since last night, the allergies kicked my butt. Gonna write a synopsis and script for a promo - anyone wanna trade podcast promos with me, say I. Just finished another short story the other day, not sure if I'm gonna submit or just release it here. Got stuff to add in production journal. Will be recording another Z-Cast (that's my writer screencast, BTW)  First things first. {Interview} I have a live interview on June 25 @ Blog Talk Radio's Nadia Sahari Show scheduled 8pm CST with writer AR Braun. We'll be talking about our collaboration together among other things. Feel free to call in (347) 855-8333 {Panic in Year 2020: A Zombie Novel Episode 1: Prologue} My first ever podcast plus a bonus introductory screencast talking about it is posted here in my blog. I'll continue to post screencasts as part of my author platform. I think it's something different that I haven't seen a lot of writers use so I'm experimenting with it. As far as I know you saw it here first! {Fresh Fiction} I put up a new story over at the production journal called The Dead Don't Sleep. I promised all those who joined my Hooligan list that they would get exclusive content, and that includes stories. Here's a teaser for it: There are strange people in my house. They wear peculiar clothing and carry with them a variety of equipment. Black and silver boxes that buzz and hum softly. Some have small flashing lights. Some have glowing screens. Some emit a steady high-pitched noise that cause my ears discomfort. I was awakened by the noise of their caravan. A clunky steel box with beams of light shooting out from both ends. It was shortly after dusk, they entered my home with ease as if they had been here before. They walked from one room to another, each one carrying a small device with them. You can read the rest of the story by signing up. Method of Madness #1: How do you tackle your WIPs? Everyone's got their own pace, preference and method of working. I'm just curious to know how you go about it. At the moment I have 2 main projects. My serialized audio zombie novel and my short stories. I usually set up a writing schedule a week ahead. Evenings after work are often split up for both the book and whatever story I'm working on at the moment. Days off are usually saved for longer writing sessions. I usually spend 5-6 hours on a day off juggling both, sometimes bouncing from the novel to a shorter work - it keeps he material fresh for me that way. I prefer to batch similar tasks together. I have a white board that I use to jot down my to do list. I helps to visualize everything. That or write it down on post it notes and tack it up where I can see it. It's also easier to shuffle i around and reorder it this way. It looks something like this: Web -> Design = need font, stock image = update site, analyze traffic Offline = Work on chap. 2, edit story, rewrite blog post Podcast = record initial read, overdub, edit I don't always get it all done but I do make a significant progress when I apply this method. Your turn: Care to share any tricks/tips/techniques? Don't be shy, leave a comment. After a few glitches, technical mishaps, this is where I announce my first episode ever, podcast of Panic in Year 2020: A Zombie Novel. This is a book in the making, meaning I don't have the book completely finished yet. I only have a couple of chapters done. So what you're getting is unabridged, fresh and raw content. From my notebook straight to your ears people. Exciting huh? Yeah I know. I think so too. So below is a quick screencast where you see part of my desktop and you hear me talk about the origins of this story and other stuff. It took me multiple takes due to tech errors. What I forgot to mention was that I recorded all this in one sitting late last night (which was my birthday FYI), just cos I was too stoked about it and I couldn't sleep so what the hell, some people drink milk when they can't sleep and some people podcast. Below the screencast is the actual Epsiode 1. I'll be posting more content in the production journal later so keep an eye out for it. So just press play and enjoy. Episode 1: Panic in Year 2020: A Zombie Novel - Prologue Thanks for listening. See you on the flipside.  Sid Valentine and the Fearful Goddess, the second story in the Sid Valentine Universe is now ready for mass consumption via good ol' Smashwords for $0.99. This story is self-contained but you'll get a better understanding if you read the first Sid Valentine story which is available for free. Trust me, you'll appreciate the 2nd story more if you do. I've been silent on the interwebs lately - I usually go in lock-down mode when I have tons of things that need to be finished. There's too much distraction so oftentimes I have to kill the internet completely. There's also a lot of personal matters going down right now. Find out what I've been up to over at the production journal, which I lovingly call The Art of Winging It. All you Hooligans need to check out the production journal, I'll be posting some new content today and the next couple of days. Thanks for the support. I do appreciate all the shout-outs, the links, and the comments. I can use all the help I need. I'm a little behind on correspondence and reading up on your awesome blogs but I'm gonna be playing catch up, I promise. |
| Dark fiction writer |
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