Writing Update - What To Expect Next

I’ve been trying to find some sort of work-life balance throughout the last two years and I think I’ve finally found it. Stories, like life, require structure. Without it, the sum of the whole comes crashing down. Striking balance is what makes everything work.

This year has had quite a few ups and downs…okay, mostly downs, but I’m determined not to have it end on a low note. From a writing standpoint, here is what I hope to deliver for those viewing my blog:

• More frequent, consistent blog posts about writing, comics, and great stories in general.

• Start an educational blog series based on writing books.

• And a new short story.

So, let’s start at the top. More blogs. I’ve wanted to do more, and I made too many excuses for not doing them. That won’t be happening anymore.

“Wait, does that mean you are going to blog everyday now?”

No, not every day. But it will be more frequent. However, I would like to know what you all would like to read?

• Do you want posts to be more writing advice focused?

• Do you want me to cover upcoming books and authors?

• Do you want reading suggestions?

I will probably do a combination of the three moving forward, but if there is one you prefer, please let me know in the comments. Please note, I will try to cover all genres of books and comics, but I do tend to gravitate toward sci-fi and fantasy.

Next up, an educational series.

I’ve been working on becoming a writer for awhile and I’ve learned a lot throughout the process and I always feel like I need a refresher while I’m working. As the adage goes, “If you want to learn something, teach it.” I would love to share what I learned (and the books I’ve learned than from) with all of you. This educational series may not start right away, but it is something I wanted to try.

I hope to provide an update on it soon.

The last one, of course, is a new short story! I haven’t done one in awhile and I would love to give you all a free one again. My goal is before the middle of December, but it could be sooner. Who knows?

I do have other writing projects I’m working on and I don’t want to neglect them or put them off any longer. I have a novel that I’m nearing completion on (draft zero) and I want to complete another story this year as well. That “other” story is going to be what I will be working on for National Novel Writing Month. I encourage all of you to participate, even if you don’t have a writing project to work on.

That is my update for all of you. I hope everyone’s writing is going well and please leave a comment on what you would like me to cover on the blog.

Until next time, write, read, repeat.

-J.J.

2018 - New Possibilities & YOU!

I know its nearly a month into the New Year, so I apologize for the lack of blogging. 2018 has been pretty busy already and it holds a lot of possibilities. Writing new stories, experimenting with mediums, just trying new things. 

I'll admit, I have been inconsistent. Late posts...like really late posts. Some uninteresting. Oh, and don't get me started on my pathetic attempt at National Novel Writing Month. It has been disappointing, trying to put fingers on the keys and words on the blank screen. 

However, with every New Year, comes new possibilities. My goal is simple: Consistency. I know I will have difficulty keeping up with every news article and event surrounding the wonderful world of comic books and pop culture in general. The train's always moving, never stopping, and becoming more and more saturated. So, my goal is to be consistent. A blog post a month is the main goal. I want it to focus on either writing or comic books/pop culture. Long as it stays in that realm. I have quite diverse tastes. One second I want to write about spaceships blowing up bigger spaceships ran by androids, the next I want to do a romantic comedy about two penguins roaming the refrigerators of South Africa. So many ideas, not enough time. 

So, on this blog, I want to just keep it simple. I also want to add a free short story or two. Something new, a bit off the beaten path. Or maybe not, I'll see how I feel. 

Anyway, that's what you should expect this year. Still, I do want to know: What do you want to see here? To say the responses to my questions after each post has been...limited. Let your opinion be heard! But, not too loud because I think i'm going deaf. Not sure, just a precaution really. 

Leave a comment and I'll read it. Maybe even answer! Who knows? Who am I kidding, I'll answer. Also, I plan to be a bit more active on Twitter than I have been. Keep it loose and fun. Oh, and no politics! 

Hope to hear from you all soon and start of 2018 off right! -J.J.

Storyclock Notebook: How it works and why it’s awesome!

When I first heard about this on Twitter earlier this year, I knew it was going to be something useful.  A small, simple tool to help bring order to my internal chaos of runaway story ideas? I am totally in! That tool was the Storyclock Notebook.

What is the Storyclock Notebook?

The Storyclock notebook is a research and development tool that helps writers organize their ideas and find gaps in their stories. For screenwriters (which were the intended audience) it helps them get a bird’s eye view of their story to really nail down the details of the story. Created by Seth Worley, a Los Angeles-based director/writer, he drew up the idea for the Storyclock out of his own frustration with half-baked ideas, but no story to put them to. Starting out on Kickstarter, the Storyclock Notebook decimated their intended goal and kept everyone in the loop about the progress.

When I saw the Storyclock, I knew I could use this for preparing and organizing my own stories, whether it’s a short story, a novel, or even a screenplay.

Why is it Awesome?

For an interview video with the tool's creator, click the photo.

Outside of the fact that Seth Worley made it? Not much. Just kidding. What makes it great is the ability to organize and develop a story all in one place. For people like me that occasionally struggle with keeping all my ideas straight, this tool will add a much-needed focus to crafting stronger, sharper stories. It also gives me a more visual way of looking at the story. It doesn’t just feel like a block a text. It feels like fleshed out, beat for beat, story. It helps me play out the story like a movie in my head.

So, where are they now? The Kickstarter ended a few months ago and are just starting to move into the shipping process of the physical copy. For those who backed it, a digital copy has already been received along with a hilarious, 80’s VHS inspired tutorial. Seth is always one for surprises!

If you want to learn more about the Storyclock Notebook, check out Storyclock.co.

Also, I was not sponsored or asked to promote this product. I just believe in it's use and think it could be a great tool in a writer's journey. I recommend using it next time you want to organize your ideas and create a strong, yet flexible foundation for your story.

-J.J.

New Website!

Did you notice anything different today? Probably the vastly changed layout right? Well, I wanted to improve the layout of the website to make it easier for you to navigate and so here it is! Now you can find my blog, newsletter, and short stories on the top navigation bar.

Yes, you read that right. Short stories. I have one short story currently getting published and will be released on October 1st, 2017. You can still pre-order on Amazon to get your Paperback copy! I also added a free short story section. Last year I had a limited release of the Halloween story and I thought it would be nice to simply put it back on the website for everyone. I hope to add more free short stories in the future, but my focus is to get more published in anthologies, magazines, etc. It helps to get stories out to larger audiences and share with people I may not otherwise be able to reach through Twitter and my website alone.

Super excited to have a fresh, new layout, but I want to know what you think? Do you like it? Anything I need to improve or change?

Please let me know in the comments below so I can make the best possible website for all of you!

-J.J.

Great Opening Lines and How to Make Them

Have you ever read a comic book or graphic novel and the first opening line of dialogue blew you away? The answer is probably no right? Comic books are visual by nature. More should be shown through visuals vs words. But, what if you could have a comic book that really hit you with words?

Simon Spurrier is a great writer who can use a well placed line to drive the story, along with Mark Millar and Max Landis. Yet, its the opening lines that I feel go under polished.

If I ever make a comic book, I would want to try using a great opening line accompanied by a strong image to get people excited. Here are some great opening lines from novels that really demonstrate what I am talking about:

• "A screaming comes across the sky." - Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow
• "Mother died today." - Albert Camus, The Stranger
• "They shoot the white girls first." - Toni Morrison, Paradise
• "It was one hell of a night to throw away a baby." - Julia Spencer-Fleming, In the Bleak Midwinter

The last one made me laugh out loud for some reason. I don't know why. Anyway, these opening lines are great for bringing the reader into an emotional part of the story. Most of these examples are pretty sad, but they have a pull to them that makes people want to read more. It breeds curiosity.

To make your own, whether it be for a comic book, short story, or even a novel, think of the story's setting or character and create a line that is the opposite of what the story is about. Its all about the unexpected. For example, "It was love at first sight."

It sounds like a pretty common phrase, but I bet you would never guess that it was the opening line to Joseph Keller's Catch-22. Give people something unexpected

I think opening with an unexpected, gut-punching line can really put the reader of the comic (or any story) in a great mindset for the story and lead them into the world. Sure, you could say that is the point of the visuals, but sometimes a line with a visual can make a story so much better.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you have even better opening lines? Please let me know in the comments.

Some of you might be wondering why I have not posted a blog in two weeks...and then lead with a more writing focused post? Well, I have big news coming up. Something unexpected. If you are on the newsletter, you will know first (in a few short days). So, if you want to know what the big reveal is, sign up for that newsletter!

What's with the changes?

As some of you may have noticed, there have been a few changes to the site. After the writing conference, I thought about the website and what I wanted to be present on the site. When you pull up the site, you usually saw my first initials and my last name. That's fine, but I felt it was like I was hiding from you. Sure, you can find my name in the About section, but who looks there...right?

So, I put my name out there so there would be no confusion. My name is Jonathan Lahr and I am a writer. Was that too AAA for everyone? Anyway, I digress...

I want to bring all of you quality content, but I feel like every Friday comes around and the content I bring to the table is not enough. Not researched enough or not enough finesse or something.

My goal is to bring you quality content, but I would really like to know: What do you want to see?

I want to keep it in the realm of comics, yet I am not afraid of keeping up with pop culture from time to time. I think a good example of that would have been a review of the new Lego Batman movie (if you haven't gone, I highly recommend it by the way).

GIFs are cinegraphs, except less Spider-man #probably

Maybe you want to see GIF's of comic book character, cinegraphs, a unique monthly comic (I don't have great skills though), simple reviews of comic books, or just blog about my life. Not that spectacular, but its something.

All of these ideas and more I am fine with and I will be coming up with some ideas myself, but I would love some input. What is something you would like to see that you don't see on other comic book blogs? Or blogs in general?

So, please leave your thoughts in the comments section below and I will probably do what you suggest (within reason).

Anyways, I hope to come back in a week or two with some new, fresh content for all of you.

-J.J.

November has ended...on to DECEMBER!

Tim Allen as Santa Claus...I was expecting more power tools.

NarNoWriMo has ended and the holiday season is upon us. That can only mean one thing: Gifts! And Tim Allen, but not many people talk about him...

But, before I get into what to expect, I want to reflect quickly on the NarNoWriMo and hopefully encourage some of you to do it next year.

First, I am disappointed to say that I was unable to achieve the goal of 50,000 words in the month of November. I ended the month with 43,196 words. During the last couple of days, I saw the writing on the wall with holidays becoming a greater barrier than anticipated. Thankfully, my brother had a great perspective on it: "You may not have hit the word count, but did you finish the story? If you so, than you did it!"

Although I didn't hit the word count, I would say that I did finish the story from beginning to end. Was it my best writing? No. I can't believe anyone put out a bestseller with a first draft written in a month, but at least a story was completed. Editing is next! In fear of getting to wordy and not holding up to my word (I said I would reflect quickly), I have a bullet list below.

What I learned:

• Writing can't be done only when inspired, it must be consistent.
• It let me be okay with writing "bad" and put focus on finishing.
• Setting word goals can be a great motivator.
• I need to manage my time better to reach goals.
• I can write way more words in a day than I thought (Best day: 6,348 words).
• I can write a novella in a month, so I am pretty awesome!

Overall, I felt this was a great experience to help me reach my writing goals. My hope is anyone who is interested in writing would definitely take advantage of this opportunity next year. Plus, you don't have to pay to do. The only thing that is spent is your time. If you're not interested than lucky for you we are talking gifts next.

Not so fast...instant gratification is bad for you!

I enjoy the holiday season and I want to give back to great people who have been reading my blog, twitter, and/or subscribed to my newsletter. First, the ebook. It has been ALOT harder than I thought to make one. It shouldn't be, but it has been. I hope to have some progress this weekend and get it to subscribers soon. Once I get one done, another would hopefully be easier. I plan to have another free short story ebook in time for the holidays, unless you celebrate Hanukkah, I doubt I'll get it out by December 6th.

The last gift is a small giveaway. I am going to get those logistics figured out this weekend and have some information for you on Monday, December 5th. I haven't decided if I want to make it a secret, since it is a gift giving holiday season, but I am leaning toward letting everyone know what the giveaway is. Like I said, you will know (or won't know) more on Monday.

So, if you are interested in getting the free short story ebooks and potentially the giveaway prize, please remember to subscribe to my newsletter. If I get you email, it makes it easier for me to contact you.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me through the contact page. If you can also follow me on twitter if you want to keep up with what I am working on or talking about (I say weird things from time to time, its just in my nature).

And now, I leave you with a GIF:

Writing Update #4 - Short Story Update and SUPERFIGHT!

Another writing update coming at ya! There is not a whole lot to report. This week, I am about half way finished with the Halloween short story and should be done by Sunday. I have been writing a few other ideas this week on other short stories in a variety of genres, but I won't start those until I have a couple more done. I also read Roald Dahl's short horror story, "Royal Jelly," which I highly recommend if you want to get in to the Halloween mood.

What spurred on a lot of those recent ideas was the game, Superfight. Superfight is a card game where two players pit a random creature or person against each other in a battle to the death, determined by a jury of your peers. The game requires players to argue their case for why their character would win the fight. Each player gets three cards, one character card and two modifier cards.

The game gets hilarious when you are playing with good friends and you draw ridiculous characters with equally crazy modifiers. For example, our latest game involved one of the players to face off against Cthulhu (character card), wearing diamond armor (modifier card), carrying way too many grocery bags (another crazy modifier card).

It made for some great laughs, but it also got my mind moving about far reaching ideas and unique plots I know I wouldn't of thought of otherwise.

Later this week (hopefully Friday) will let everyone know where you can find this story.

Until next week, keep writing everyone! - J.J.

Writing Update #3 - I Won Something!

Another update post about my writing work. I have recently submitted a short story for a superhero anthology through Meerkat Press. Meerkat Press is an independent publisher put of Atlanta that works on a variety of fictional work. They are also running a IndieGoGo campaign to help with some of their costs associated with publishing a short story anthology.

Whether or not my story is selected for the anthology, I am excited to see what stories will be in it.

Honorable Mention - Love Came Down

A few months back, I mentioned in passing that I won an honorable mention award through Writer's Digest for their annual writing competition. Yesterday, I received my first award for the short story, Love Came Down!

This is my first award I have ever received for my writing (unless you consider writing to be its own reward, then I have several). It is great to receive this recognition and I hope to continue to create more stories that are even better. I am still sending this short story out to a few other short story magazines and publishers, so it will be a while until it goes on the website. If it does get accepted by another publisher, I would need to let them retain a majority of the rights to the work until the end of the contract.

As far as my novel, I am still going to agents and publishing houses, but I want to focus on an agent first before I jump into a publishing house that may not be my first or best choice. I am also still considering self-publication through an e-book, but the costs involved are more than I initially anticipated.

I also purchased a writing bundle and webinar from Writer's Digest website about world building and creating monsters. I will speak at bit more about these resources in a review next week.

Until next week, keep writing everyone! -J.J.