Writing Update - May & Onward

Hello everyone,

It has been a while since I last posted here and some of you may be wondering what happened to me. Radio silence does not equal dead, at least not in this case. In fact, I have been quite busy. I’ve been working on several short stories and editing a novel.

During January and February, I worked on several different flash fiction and short stories. I always enjoyed creating short stories. It was what got me into writing in the first place. Being able to have fun and write whatever popped into my mind is a great way to relax and improve my writing craft.

I know what you’re going to ask: “Hey, that’s great! Can we read them?”

Not yet. I have been going through all of them, one by one, and editing them. I want to deliver better work every time and if I don’t edit, you don’t get the content you deserve. Also, I have been taking some that I really enjoy, and I’ve been attempting to get them published in a few magazines. My mini goal this year was to get at least three short stories sold to a science fiction or fantasy magazine. It’s an ambitious goal, but even if I got just one story published, that would be incredible!

Now, if I don’t get a short story or flash fiction published, what do I do next? The plan is I will do another round of edits and then put them on the website…for free! Not all the short stories, but the ones I enjoyed the most. Some may be quite a bit different than what you are currently accustomed to, but some may feel familiar.

I’m also planning on doing a small information blog about short fiction magazines. There was a ton I learned when researching short stories and I would love to share what I learned with you. Another blog I would also like to share with you is about editing.

Around the middle of January, I was asked to edit a novel. No, this isn’t a big-name author or ghostwriter. It was my brother. He has a story that he’s been eager to tell, and I’ve been helping him go after it. In a later blog, I may go through the process of what I did and what I learned from the experience. However, this experience is still ongoing and I’m sure I’ll learn more as I go along.

I also plan this year to make some additional changes to the website, but when those happen, I’ll let you know.

Until next time, read, write repeat.

-J.J.

Ethics in Science Fiction - Why Morals Matter

As I have been preparing for National Novel Writing Month (now only six days away), I had a question that consistently popped up as I prepared my story: “How does ethics affect technology?”

I had taken psychology classes in college where we discussed morals and ethics, but not through the lens of technology. We didn’t debate the ethics behind self-driving cars or proper levels of encryption for computer programs. The ethics we discussed were framed often around laws and non-technology life such as contracts and business operations. However, that doesn’t cover the full scope of this changing world.

Technology is rapidly changing life as we know it and leading to some incredible, yet potentially scary outcomes. Like social credit systems and growing national surveillance, ethical questions around these topics are more mainstream than even five years ago.

It makes sense that debating the moral and ethical stances of these topics will be a long, winding road for common day people and governments for years to come, but, what if, science fiction had the answers?

For my story, I wanted to learn more about the ethics surrounding A.I. technology. During my search, I stumbled upon an article from Journal of Future Studies entitled, “Science Fiction As Moral Allegory.“ Written by Timothy Dolan, the article dove into science fiction in terms of the broad history of the genre, it’s impact on society, and it’s use for building a better future through moral questions the stories can raise. I highly recommend reading the article if this interests you.

One quote that jumped out at me from a writer perspective was:

“Good science fiction is never about building utopias as much as about warning of the dystopias seeded in their attempt.”

— Timothy Dolan

The idea that good science should not be evaluated for potential dangers it could cause in the future is a real risk we run into everyday. For example, self-driving cars are great, but what if I can’t control the car, or worse, the car ends up controlling me and sends me into the river? Is it moral and ethical to allow technology to operate itself when the lives of others both or outside the vehicle could be negatively impacted? It’s a good question to ask. It doesn’t mean that self-driving cars are evil or bad, but with every technological advancement, risks need to be weighed.

I believe this same approach should be applied to science fiction stories. By not looking at and explaining the possible issues with a science fiction world of your creation, it can lose depth in the story and make it more difficult to build a compelling story.

It’s in asking these questions that brings out great stories and helps us all challenge our own ideas and beliefs.

To learn about the morals and ethics in technology, science fiction may be the best place to start. Science fiction tackles these topics in ways many of us fail to think about. That is why I’m researching topics like these for my next story more closely than I had before and I implore you to do the same for your next science fiction story.

What are your thoughts? Do you think ethics and morals matter in science fiction? Should escapism without moral thought be done in science fiction? Do you think all stories contain some moral or ethical lesson?

Let me know in the comments below.

Until next time, write, read, repeat.

-J.J.

Fear & Pace: Crafting A Powerful Horror Story

I have been reading through a novella called, Gwendy’s Button Box, written by Stephen King and Richard Chizmar, and while I was reading, I started to realize why so many people enjoy the horror genre of novels. I’ve never been a fan of horror movies (I get scared too easy) and it led me to fear approaching the horror genre of novels as well. I didn’t want to read a story that would give me insomnia and have me constantly checking every lock in the house. However, that changed, at white elephant Christmas party last year. As part of the gift exchange, I received the novella as a gift. I had never heard of the book, let alone knew that legendary Stephen King put out novellas.

After I got home, I didn’t pick up the book. Instead, I placed it on my bookshelf, thinking I would probably never get around to reading it, considering my already atrociously high queue of books waiting patiently for me to read, and moved on.

Then, just this month in fact, my lunchtime was filled with boredom and out of curiosity, I thought I’d give the novella a look. Almost instantly, I was captivated. The story moved with expert pace; not too fast to cause confusion, but not too slow to feel like a drag. Short chapters, comfortable pace, compelling opening, everything you need for success.

As of writing this, I have not finished it. Why? It’s not just because I’m a slow reader, but I’ve only had like 10 minutes each day. I get about chapter done each day, but I might take this weekend and finish.

Yet, it’s what I learned why reading it that made me re-evaluate my own approach to writing and how to better improve my story’s tense moments and build a bit of a thrill. I can boil it down to two points: Fear & Pace.

FEAR: NOT AN BAD FOUR-LETTER WORD

Honestly, those two points seem to be the bread and butter of horror and thriller stories. Without fear, you can’t create tension, build suspense, or have your character make the ill-informed decisions that they do. Fear disorients both the character and reader, warps reality, and can bring an almost suffocating experience to the everyone in and around the pages. Fear is a powerful emotion and when you used right, it gives the first part of a successful horror story equation. Well, maybe not the first part.

PACE: KNOW WHEN TO RACE AND WHEN TO SLOW WITH GRACE

The first part of our horror story equation is more reserved for pace. Pacing a story, any story, is important from the get-go. We don’t want a large fantasy epic to be moving at breakneck speed with short sentences and intense drama if we know nothing about the characters. We also don’t want a long winded, two pages on the description of the killer as they plunge a knife in an innocent character’s back. Proper pacing is appropriate spacing. To do that, for horror stories, it’s important to build characters, give us some time with them in the beginning. We need to get comfortable, at least in the beginning. Maybe sprinkle in some subtle foreshadowing of the events to come. Striking the right balance is key to delivering a killer story.

Obviously, there is a lot more to crafting a horror story. Put if you keep these two ingredients in mind, making your next horror story might just be scary easy. Well, I doubt easy, no story is, but I’m not you. You might be the second coming of Stephen King for all I know, pumping out 2,000 words a day or something crazy. If so, your awesome! If not, your still awesome!

Anyways, what do you think is important in a horror story? Am I completely off base on what is important in a horror story? Please let me know in the comments. Also, remember that NaNoWriMo is less than 10 days away, so get prepared and ready to write!

Until next time, write, read, edit, repeat.

-J.J.

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.

It's Cold, Send Blankets

It doesn’t usually get this cold in Minnesota, but these next two days are not usual. A high of -14 and a low (with windchill) of -60 or -70 (-51.111 or -56.666 degrees Celsius respectively) at night.

To put that in perspective, that’s nearly as cold as the surface of Mars. Okay, nearly might be a stretch (average temperature on Mars is -80), but I think it’s close. Thankfully, I’m able to work from home the next two days and it will give me to time to catch up on some much needed reading, writing, and other school/work obligations.

With the first month of the New Year nearly in the books, it’s a good time to evaluate your progress on your writing goals. Some of you may have set some on New Years. Others may have just set some now. That’s okay. Better late than never!

My goals, as far as writing is concerned, are simple. I only have two:

1. Write a blog once a month

2. Write at least one page a month

The last goal stings because it feels so low to me. I want to be writing WAY more, but it might not be possible with my current schedule. The light at the end of the tunnel is nearing though and I will be able to write more in a few months.

To those who feel they are underachieving on their writing goals, just keep going and do your best. It might be a sentence, a paragraph, even a page, but whatever you do, don’t stop pushing toward your goals. Tell your story the way you want to tell it and enjoy the ride!

For those affected by winter’s bitter grip, stay warm and hide under as many blankets as you can find. That’s my plan. Stay safe and see ya next month!

-J.J.

Plot vs Character - Which is More Important?

When creating a story, inspiration and ideas come from anywhere. Sometimes we’ll think of an awesome story premise, but it has no plot. Maybe we have a great character, but don’t know where they belong.

What is more important when creating a story?

Before I answer this question, let me first explain the difference between Plot and Story.

PLOT VS STORY

For the most part, the difference between plot and story is a Google search away, but often we get the two confused.

A story is a sequence of ordered events. More accurately put, it’s the history or timeline of events. “Doug took the ball, then a cat chased Doug, then Doug grew wings, then the cat morphed into a thermonuclear warhead…etc.” X happened, and then Y happened, and repeated until there is nothing more to tell.

However, plot is different.

The plot is the reasoning behind why these events work together and what the story is communicating to the reader. “Doug took the ball from the greedy, ball hording cat. In the cat’s rage, it chased after Doug. Fearing for his life, Doug grew a pair of wings to escape and deliver the ball to his friend Wilbur, a ball-enthusiast. The cat would not allow him to get away with its favorite toy and morphed into a thermonuclear warhead as both a means of catching up and a threat…”

The rationale is present and tries to answer the “why?” in a story. Why are these pieces coming and for what reason? That’s the job of plot.

It’s a difficult balance that writers must balance or confusion for the reader can quickly set in.

PLOT VS CHARACTER

Okay, so which is more important, plot or character?

The short answer: Both

Character is important. A great character or cast of characters is what really keeps you wanting to learn more about the story. A good character is one we root for (or against) and have genuine self-interest in learning more about them. We want to follow the character on their adventure. However, if you have a bunch of awesome characters with nothing for them to do, nobody would read that either right?

Character and plot should work together, weaving fast-paced, exciting events with engrossing, multi-dimensional characters. There is no wrong way to write. You can work on characters that are interesting and insert them into a story. You can think of an awesome sequence of events that would make a great story and organically build the characters inside of it.

At the end of the day, you want both to blend together in your story. If you don’t have both, readers might get bored and have no reason to stay around.

That’s all I wanted to cover in this post and if you want to see more of this on the blog, please let me know on the comments or on Twitter.

-J.J.

Why I’m No Longer Part of the Romance Writers of America

*Reads title again* You were a romance writer? For many, this may seem a little out of left field. Maybe a bit unexpected.

Not many would guess that I used to write romance stories. There isn’t much that would give anyone that sort of takeaway.

I write about comic books and sci-fi/fantasy on the blog, I have no romance stories on the free story selection, and, to top it off, my bio photo is terrifying on the front page.

The question remains, “What made you want to write romance?”

I don’t know. I used to read quite a few Nicolas Sparks books. I liked the way the stories moved and the emotion of the characters. After some feedback on some creative short stories I wrote in college, I thought I would give it a shot.

I was a member of the Romance Writer’s of America (RWA) for about a year. I set out a plan to have a novel completed (which I did) and start querying agents (I did that too). The story was supposed to be a romance story about a nerdy teenage girl, who is also a member of the school’s cheer-leading team and the school’s most popular group of teens.

I went to a writer’s conference, got it critiqued, and met some great writers and agents. The critique went awesome and my spirits went through the roof when I started querying. I even had my work recommended to an agent at the conference. All wins in my book!

However, once I got my feedback, I was discouraged. Every query came back with a rejection, some more detailed than others. At that point, I just slowed down. Passion for writing those types of stories waned. My efforts to edit my story, a story I used to love, slowly became more and more disinterested.

Writing became harder.

I was pushing to improve in all areas, but it felt like the more I tried, the farther back I went.

Once it came time to renew the romance writer’s guild membership fee, I didn’t want to keep the membership up, especially if I wasn’t going to have anything to show for it. Plus, $100 dollars was a lot for me.

I was lost, weakened by rejection that every writer faces. I knew it was coming, but you can’t prepare for it without facing it. In hindsight, it was for the best. It gave me time to rethink what I wanted to write and what to do moving forward.

Where I am now…

I don’t think I will be returning to writing romance stories for awhile as I have a stronger passion for science fiction and fantasy. Stories with adventure in far away, fictional lands. It was part of the reason I made the website.

Comic books mix the genres, blend themes and styles seamlessly, without being tied down to traditional expectations. Science fiction and fantasy, I feel, go hand in hand. They complement each other.

That is where I’m heading now. I am almost finished with my “draft zero” of my science fiction/fantasy story. For this story, once I get it in a comfortable place, I will seek out some beta readers to help me fine tune the story.

In the meantime, I would like to add more stories to the site. I have one I’ve been sitting on for far too long that was a runner up in the Writer’s Digest competition a few years ago. It’s a romance story, but I think it’s a fun one.

Believe it or not, I was going to post another nerdy romance story on the free short story section back when Comic Con was in full swing. In the end, I didn’t.

I was a bit self-conscious about the short story. I tried cleaning it up, but the more I worked on it, the less confident I was on the piece.

And it probably steams back to my rejection letter. Inside, I felt like I worked months on a project that I was happy with, just to be told it isn’t good enough. Not to say the critique was unhelpful. It was concise and clear with just enough explanation to help me get control of the story. It was what I needed to hear, even if I didn’t like it.

So, I want to second-guess myself a little less. I plan on posting that story as well…next month.

Also, I don’t want to knock the RWA. I think it’s a great organization, but you need to be fully invested to get the most out of it. If you have an interest in writing romance or want to learn more about it, visit their website.

I hope everyone learned a little bit about my writing journey and maybe take away something for yourself. Don’t let rejection tear you down and steal away your joy of writing. If something does work out right away or the way you planned, take a step back and don’t be afraid to take it slow.

In the end, we get where we want to go by moving forward, not by stopping. I say to all of you, “Don’t stop.”

-J.J.

AI and Science Ficition - What is the Future?

I was scrolling through my Twitter feed today and came across an article over at Arstechnica about science fiction and AI. On the article, it has a video interview with Robin Sloan, the author of Sourdough, talking about how to write a novel with machine learning.

The idea of writing novels with machine learning has been around for a few years now, but it hasn't really caught on outside of a fun hobby. Most people probably heard about it, shrugged, and completely forgot about it. 

And I don't blame you, there are still a vast amount of limitations and problems. It isn't exactly Shakespeare, but it certain does try. If you are a curious person and want to learn more, definitely check it out on Robin Sloan's website. He has a cool little machine learning program you can download and play around with.

What the article made me think about was how science fiction is evolving today and how it might look in the future. Many science fiction classics like Blade Runner, Man in the High Castle, War of the Worlds, were created back in the 60s and if you read them, they still feel unique, rooted a fiction world that still seem unbelievable.

However, there are stories about space travel that now seem more likely than ever before. Stories like The Martian and Interstellar feel more possible every single day. I mean, I doubt we'll discover time travel in the vacuum of space after traveling through a black hole, but stranger things have happened before. People still pour all the flavors from the soda dispenser in their oversized cup...

I digress. 

Science fiction and the landscape of the stories will start looking quite different moving forward. It has already started, not just from a content perspective, but a creator perspective. Sci-Fi greats like N.K. Jemisin is an unstoppable powerhouse of science fiction/fantasy stories. Martha Wells is another great science fiction author, creating the Murderbot Diaries (Yes, it's as cool as the name suggests). These two are first names that comes to mind, but there are some many others moving the science fiction genre forward. 

Artificial intelligence is a common subject in science fiction, but the way it can be approached in the future will make for incredibly interesting stories. I just keep thinking about all the amazing possibilities of science fiction moving forward and how it can show us our evolving world.

Stories about the dangers of advanced technology implants (transhumanism), how humans and advanced artificial intelligence co-exist, how the ideas of deities and politics transform when facing superior technology advancements or the discovery of new life.

I'm barely scratching the surface and I know this must sound like complete idea vomit, but I'm really excited about it. 

So, the questions I didn't really address yet, "What is the Future?" More robots? Decentralized economies? AI overlords? All of them? 

I don't truly know, but I am excited to see what's happening next. 

-J.J.

Your Privacy, My Policy - Privacy Policy Explained

Hello everyone, 

I just want to update everyone on a few changes around the website and upcoming projects. On the website, I made one significant change: Outlining the privacy policy.

To avoid any long-winded, technical talk about privacy laws, I'll keep it simple: Your privacy is important and your information you provide me is NOT sold. 

The information you provide me is limited to what you find on the email/newsletter form: Name and email. I kept it pretty simple. However, there is some information I do receive from you when you come onto my website. 

I do receive some location information, IP address, and devices a visitor uses on this site through analytics provided by Squarespace and/or Google Analytics. The information I receive doesn't mean I know where you live and who you are. I don't have government access to spy systems and listening devices. 

The only information I receive is the information you freely give me. With this great responsibility, I do my best to protect the information you provide. I don't sell it to third-parties for financial gain or marketing improvements. I use the information to provide better service to you.

That being said, a third-party may get access to your information when you use their platforms, systems, or plugins. For example, if you bought a book on Amazon via PayPal from my book link. Amazon and PayPal would have your information in that situation.

To know what they take and learn more about Squarespace's cookie policy on your device(s), please review my privacy policy under third party or Squarespace's privacy policy.

Now with the boring stuff out of the way, upcoming projects! I wish I could say I have a lot of projects, but I don't...at least not finished anyway. I did finish a screenplay that I submitted to a contest (fingers crossed it does well) and I've been working on a few short stories. My goal is, by summer's end, to have one story done. 

I know, not much of an update, but it's all I got.

There will be another blog post this week and I will outline a few of the projects in more detail.

Also, if you haven't had time yet, check out Solo: A Star Wars Story. It's way better than people think! 

-J.J. 

Update - National Novel Writing Month

As promised, an update on my writing progress for this month. In a word...disappointing. It has been a struggle to get words on the page, especially good ones. I have been experimenting with different forms to get the content out, but its been mostly a struggle. However, there is good news! 

The last couple of days have been going well! I mean, its not 1,000 words a day, but it's definitely better. 

So, you might be asking, "Why are you struggling to write?" Maybe you aren't asking, but I am going to tell you. I have been juggling quite a few projects, one being a film. A few years ago, I made a film with my brother and a few friends. My brother and I had been doing some promotion, but I really put my brother in charge of it. The movie is called, "Continuity and Other Errors." It's a weird story and the trailer doesn't really do it justice. 

It has only played at one film festival so far and was preselected for the New York Film Festival. We are waiting on responses from other film festivals, but right know, its been pretty slow. 

Now you know a bit about what has been slowing me down this month. I am looking forward to the rest of the month where I hope to completely turn this slump around and meet the 1,000 words a day mark. Maybe even have another free short story! Maybe.

My question for you, "How has your writing been going?"

I hope it's been better than mine. I will provide a final (more comprehensive) writing update at the end of the month or December 1st. 

Until then, keep writing! - J.J.

How I used Pixar's Forumula to Create a Short Story

A few months ago, I announced that I had written a short story for a children's anthology. It is my first short story that I have ever gotten published, so for me, it's quite exciting. However, I never mentioned how I came up with the story.

At the Minnesota Writing Conference, I signed up for a critique session of my first 10 pages with Madeline Smoot at CBAY Books. At the end of the awesome session, she mentioned that she does anthologies every so often. She had a few requirements, mostly based on the idea of monsters in hiding. It sounded like a cool idea, but I didn't have anything at the time. Plus, I was really focused on my work-in-progress novel. It was maybe a week or two after I got back from the Minnesota Writing Conference that I started to think about the anthology. Then, one day I was just surfing around Twitter and I saw a post about Khan Academy's collaboration with Pixar called, "Pixar in a Box."

Pixar in a Box is a class that goes behind-the-scenes to show how Pixar creatives go about creating animated movies. Much of the free course covers animation, since Pixar is an animation studio, but they have one relatively large section on the art of storytelling.

I went through a few sections to see how they went about creating stories. Throughout the videos and activities, I often saw references to the movie, Monster's Inc. I remember as a kid watching it in the theaters and how scared Mike and Sulley were of little Boo. It got me thinking about monsters and children in stories, and how they interact with one another.

Once I hit the video, "What if...," the story immediately hit me.

I wanted to see monsters in a different light. I wanted to focus more on children's acceptance of monsters, communication differences, and development of a relationship.

While writing, I kept reminding myself of some major elements of Disney's formula.

At first glance, a majority would think Pixar stories followed the tried and true method of the Hero's Journey. In some cases, this is true. However, Pixar's approach is unique. The major elements that I find are quintessential to a great Pixar film are focused on three main areas:

1. Emotion
2. Dreams
3. Real Life

Emotion - Connecting to the Characters

Emotion, in any story, is necessary to gain the audience's attention and investment. Emotion is in every story, but Pixar makes it unique. A few years ago, Emma Coats, a Pixar story artist, posted some Pixar story basics to Twitter. The one that kept hitting me was:

"If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations."

This was the approach I took to not only developing the main character, but the monster as well. My hope is people draw on their own experiences when reading the story and connect with the characters in their own way.

Dreams - Asking the "What If... "questions

When looking at a story, especially in realms of science fiction and fantasy, dreaming is required. A great way to get started is asking a "What If..." question. Sanjay Patel, Animator/Storyboard Artist, explains what a "What If..." question does:

"It shuts down the logic part of your brain and lets you engage in the dream part of your brain and somehow it opens up the doors to imagination."
- Sanjay Patel, Animator/Storyboard Artist

Making stories based off this type of question is powerful to not only get started, but to keep the momentum once you get stuck. It helps to create a bounce board of ideas to developing a story.

For my story, the "What If..." question I asked was, "What if monsters couldn't speak?"

I encourage others to use this technique when writing stories.

Real Life - Write what you know

What connects the previous two areas together, and creates a great story, is the real world. Peter Doctor, director of Monster's Inc, Up, and Inside Out, said it best when talking about the old saying, "Write what you know":

"Well, what that actually means is, yeah, go ahead and write about monsters and explosions and car chases, but put something into it that talks about your own life."

In fantasy, it's easy to replicate similar tropes and ideas that have come before, even on accident. Putting some real life into a story, I feel, not only makes it easier to avoid, but make the story feel genuine. It helps an audience connect with the characters and make the dream like circumstances of the story seem honest.

It also makes the story uniquely your own.

That is how my short story came to be and how I used Pixar's formula. I took elements that relied on adding emotion and honesty as the drivers for a fantasy story, basing it in the real world.

There is no right or wrong way to do it. You might be doing it right now with a story you are writing. The way I did it may be different for you, or it may be the same. Either way, the best part of Pixar's formula is there really isn't one. They are just being honest, writing about life, in a way we can all relate to.

That's how storytelling is meant to be.

-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.

I am back...and I'm PUBLISHED!!!

Remember a few blogs ago I mentioned I had a big surprise? Well, this is the surprise. I will have my first short story published in the anthology, "The Monsters Hiding in Your Closet."

The anthology is about monsters that can be found in your closet. Well, maybe not your closet, but somebodies. There are 10 stories in total, all geared to children 9-12 years old, but I think teens and parents could enjoy them as well!

I have been waiting a few months to officially announce this and I am beyond excited to finally see the anthology come together. Right now, it is in the process of heading off to print.

The anthology drops October 1st, but you can pre-order the anthology here on Amazon.

Now that I am back after a month of near silence, I hope to bring some more comic book reviews your way. I am going to push my original timelines back a bit, focusing on a blog per month.

Why?

Because I want to bring quality content together and I feel like a full month gives me the time to actually deliver. Longer, more focused content around comics, movies, and writing. Hopefully more content you want to see. For example, do you want to learn about how to network with other writers or how I got involved in publishing a short story to an anthology? I can answer questions like that.

So, please leave a response in the comments what you would like to see more of. More comic book reviews? Writing Prompts? Challenges?

Let me know and I can start getting you the content you would like to see. You can email me, but the best ways to get in touch are through the comment section below and my Twitter: @JjLahr.

-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.

I am off to meet the writer people...or the wizards...that sounds cooler. Wizards.

Tomorrow I will be attending the 2017 Minnesota Writing Workshop, which I talked about in a previous blog post.

While there, there are three things I want to focus on:

I am here to learn and have a hoot! #horriblepuns

1. How to pitch my work - I have sent out queries before and had some agents interested in reading partials and fulls, but so far nobody will to take the next step. What I hope to gain at the workshop is improving my pitch skills. At the event, I will be given the opportunity to pitch my novel to an agent and get some feedback. My dream is the agent will be blown away and be biting at the bit to sign me. In reality, it will be a learning experience on how to improve my pitch and potentially add the knowledge to my future query attempts. I prefer the dream, but reality ain't too bad either.
2. Meeting cool people - That is one huge benefit I hope to take advantage of: Being around other writers. I could learn a lot and make some new friends. You can never have enough writing buddies.
3. Some basic critiques - I will also be participating in a 10-page critique of my story. Now, I know that might sound weird, considering I'm querying to agents, but I see it as another way to sharpen my work and get an inside look at a professional author/editors idea. The better I can make my story, the more enjoyable it will be for all of you. Win-Win-Win. The third win is for my brother because he wants to win too.

Overall, I am super excited for tomorrow and I hope to learn so much that mind explodes. Obviously not literally or it may take another two or three years for Minnesota to hold another Writer's Digest Writing Workshop.

Minnesota Writing Workshop

I am going on trip, far away from here...if far is about two hours away. On February 11th, I am attending my first writing workshop! I have never been to one before, so I am hoping this will be a great experience to meet fellow writers and learn more about the writing world.

The Minnesota state flag is pretty awesome!

The workshop is taking place in St. Paul, Minnesota at the Intercontinental St. Paul Riverfront. I am just super excited so that's all I can think about right now. What I am most excited about is meeting the other writers, agents, and editors. Each of them are going to have a different experience in the writing world and there is going to be so much I can learn about.

Looks fancy...except for the construction equipment on the reflection.

If anyone is thinking about going to this workshop, you may want to signup soon as the workshop is filling up quick (about 140/150 as of today). For me, this is a great risk as well. I am not the most social of butterflies and anxiety really gets to me when I am put in an uncomfortable situation. Letting other people examine my work through offered critiques and pitches is tough. You put all this work in on a project and you have to build this tough skin to endure rejections of your work (even if it is only pieces of it). In the past, I have received great feedback from writing groups and teachers, but a part of me felt they weren't as critical as they needed to be. A great support group? For sure! But, I feel some could have really barreled into with some much needed real talk. I really want to take my writing to the next level and I feel this is an important way to do it. My goal is to keep an open mind and really take those critiques to my head, not my heart, and improve my writing for publication.

If all goes well, I will hopefully have a few new connections and some great critiques to improve my writing. At worst, I will have a great experience that will open the door to the writing world and what I will need to do to be successful.

The better stories I create, the more people I can hope to impact. Hopefully make them laugh, think, and have a genuinely good time!

Next week I will get back on the comic book blog path. So, I will leave you with this: (WARNING: There are cuss words...if you care)

Super Short Post - Story Update

Just a super fast update about the story. I am still in the process of determining where to put the story, but I have found a few options. Below is the list of publication platforms:

Research is harder than writing...sometimes.

• Booksie.com
• StoryWrite.com
• Wattpad.com
• Reddit
• or finally, the website

The last option is a free e-book for everyone, not just newsletter subscribers. That would take a bit longer to do as I would have to figure out how to make one. If people want me to do this option, it may take me a little longer to get it ready.

I would really like to publish it to a place where it is easy for everyone to view and still be able to post feedback on the story (what you liked, what you didn't like, how you would have done it better, etc.). I have never wrote a horror story before (unless you consider atrocious writing to be a horror story, then I have written many) and getting some feedback would also be great learning experience.

The decision comes down to you! Please let me know in the comments or on twitter about which option you would like me to do. I will be taking comments until Thursday, October 20th.

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

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.