Category Archives: Writing

Books, short stories, and…publication?

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You reach a certain point as a writer when you know that you must put your work out for others to read, view, and absorb.

For me, this realization came after finishing the last book I wrote in December.

I realized after the last line was written that every book I’d written had moved me towards that point–I’ve written four–but living in fear of being judged for my writing kept me from publishing.

I’ve sent short stories out, but all of them have been sent back with a form letter.

This year, I have goals that need to be achieved. I will send off two books and wait to see if they’re picked up,

I will send off two books and wait to see if they’re picked up, I will write three books, write a bunch of short stories, which is what I do in between novels, and I will keep moving forward with my writing.

Writing keeps my brain working, it keeps my mind functioning on all cylinders and the thought of quitting now when I know that I’m better than I was only a year ago, is the driving force in my life.

I once wrote only for me and now that I’m writing full-time I need to put it out there.

In the next few months I’ll share details, but for now. I’m writing, working on getting published traditionally and making more art.

 

 

Christmas Hope

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Today, we went to Brio at Fashion Place Mall. It was something to remind us of Vegas and it’s a place our kids always enjoy.

We went in expecting a good meal and came out with something else, hope.

We’ve struggled financially since our move and we’ve been trying to make ends meet have a good Christmas .

My wife works full-time and I’m trying to get a book published and bartend on the side to make ends meet.

Today, after we ordered our appetizer and drinks, the waitress came over and told us someone was paying for our meal and that we should order whatever we want.

I tried not to cry.

While we’ve struggled to make ends meet, I’ve gone hungry and I’m sure my wife has as well so our kids could eat.

I haven’t been able to help as much financially as I had hoped when we first moved and money has been tight.

To the person who paid for our meal today, thank you so much.

Your gift has meant so much to my wife and I.

Merry Christmas,
Brian and Anita

Teaching my son, that learns like me…

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When I was in junior high, I hated school. I dealt with bullies; my grades sucked and whenever I mentioned the bullies to my father, he’d side-step, “how are your grades?”

What I recently realized through watching my son struggle with school is that I may have a learning disability.

He has issues with focus, I do too, but mine isn’t as pronounced as his.

This realization came to when we got his grades and how hard school is for him.

My wife doesn’t understand it because she learns the way teachers teach. I always hated those kids.

School for me was hard. I sat in front of the room, couldn’t have distractions and my son, he’s the the same way.

Now that I’m aware of this, I have to remember how I learned and teach him to learn.

Some teachers don’t care what your issues are; they’re in the classroom to teach those who don’t have the learning issues, this was obvious to me many times in school.

When I had a problem or didn’t’ understand something and asked for help, they acted put out by it, “Why can’t you just learn this?”

I know this is why I read so much as a kid, and still do. It’s the main reason I hide out to get my word count for whatever WiP(Work in Progress) is befuddling me.

Books were my escape from reality; video games are his. It’s his way to escape from the world and problems he’s dealing with, and I guess my wife and I didn’t understand why until now.

I think I wanted him to be more like my wife and get the grades and not struggle, but that’s not the case, and he needs that extra attention.

Do your kids learn like you or your partner?

What I learned after a year of writing full-time.

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You have to know what you want in life in order to attain it.

At 14-years-old I wanted to be a writer but was rebuffed by my father. “You can’t make money doing that.” He said.

Well, I may not be making money, yet, but I’m closer than I was a year ago stuck in a dead-end job that left me hating my life at the end of the day.

In the past year, I’ve written four short stories and one novel and I’m trying to get a novel on Amazon by the end of October.

Here is what I’ve learned in the last year of writing full-time:

  • You must create a schedule for yourself and stick to it.
  • You have to write every day, even if that writing is a blog post, you must write.
  • You must have a damn outline. This is the biggest for me. It gives me a path to the finish line. Before I was only writing and not finishing, if I have an endpoint, I get there.
  • You must go it alone sometimes. There are times you must lock yourself away to get writing done. People you love will have to understand that. If they don’t, they’re not worthy of your attention.
  • It will be harder than you think. You must push through those moments when the words suck and you hate the story. You must find yourself in the words and never leave until they’re done.
  • You must have a creative outlet other than writing. It doesn’t matter if it’s photography, painting or anything else, but you must have another place to create or you can get fried.

I could put more than this and it might be too many but in the end the most important is that you get words on the page.

If you’re not getting words on the page, you’re not a write, period.

Peace,

Brian

To Wallow or not to wallow

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Every once in a while, we get the chance to do something in our lives that matters and we’re excited about and talk about, then the damn rug is pulled out from under us and we’re sitting in the dirt wondering what the fuck happened.

We have a couple of options at this point:

  1. We can wallow in our own piss and misery.
  2. We can find something else to motivate us and get our ass up and work.

Number one is the easiest, number 2 is where we really learn about who we are, what we want and how hard we’re willing to work for what we want.

The dirt is comfortable and it keeps us closer to the easy life, but it doesn’t do anything to improve who we are.

Getting our ass off the floor and working on our life, that’s the best path, maybe not the easiest, but it is the best.

Dig in, climbs the walls, breach the battlements and steal the damn throne, that’s what we’re made for.