Archive for the ‘Writing’ Category

So you want to write a novel…

Posted: November 12, 2014 in Writing
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Just had to share this story.
My Clark Kent impression of a day job is as a Sr. software engineer in the healthcare industry. A few years ago I was out of town at this huge and fantastic children’s hospital where we were deploying our product. At the time I was eagerly writing as much as I could, pounding away at the keyboard on my way to finishing my first 90K word novel Genetic Impulse.

I was in a Starbuck’s (yeah, inside the hospital – like I said, it was huge), and I overheard one of the executive administrator’s talking to the clerk. The lady behind the counter was asking him if he’d finish writing his book yet.
My ears perked up. Someone else writing? Awesome! I have to eavesdrop on this conversation.
The administrator replied “I haven’t actually finished it yet. Well, I haven’t actually started, but I do have all these ideas. And they’re going to be a smash. I can’t wait to be a successful writer and get out of this place.”
I almost choked from laughing. Really? He hadn’t written a word yet and here he was, ready to rub his colleagues noses in the fact that he was a writing super star. And he hadn’t written one word.

Here I was, scratching out time during the day, during the night, during lunch, wherever I could to continue getting better and more importantly, getting it done.

It is not an easy process. And as I’ve heard and learned, you have to love the process. You have to love writing. You have to love editing. You have to love networking and social media. You have to learn to take the bullets when someone doesn’t like or appreciate your effort. And if you do all that, you will have accomplished something the executive at the Starbuck’s probably never will. You’ll be a writer with a completed manuscript in your back pocket. And no one can take that away.

The takeaway? Don’t be that guy. Don’t be the smart mouth who never finished what he started. Or didn’t start. It’s taken me a while to get my daily groove on and light up the laptop screen with my best effort. So please, find your writing groove and don’t be that guy.

The real Avatar

Posted: November 7, 2014 in Writing
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So this posted science news I found was a little creepy. At first. The gist of it is that scientists were able to transmit signals from one person, port them over the internet and into the brain of another person and control the other person’s hand – within a split second of sending the signal.
I immediately began thinking of the implications and ramifications of work like this. Imagine using this kind of technology to murder someone through someone else’s body. I know, it’s not the first time this kind of idea has been spawned. But now there’s actual science behind it. It’s not complete science fiction.
Then I started to think about the movie Avatar. This would pretty much do most of it. You could create a biologic “shell” and live vicariously through it (somewhat). But that’s pretty far off. I’m more of a what-can-happen-in-the-next-few-days-or-months kind of guy.
And what of the scientists that created this amazing experiment? What might other unworthy powers want from them? A dying rich recluse…a desperate government that hatches a nefarious plan to take down a rival?
Oh, you could spin a million ideas around this. And like I said, it’s not science fiction any more. It’s science fact.

Check it out:
Direct brain interface between humans

Science in Thrillers Part 2

Posted: November 5, 2014 in Science and Technology, Writing
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Continuing with the thought about science and technology in thrillers, I will admit that I like to stretch mine just a little bit. Sometimes it may be the basis for a whole new business empire or just touch on something that could be extended and become reality. I am a huge science fiction fan, but I try to steer clear of getting too far out there.
So my book Genetic Impulse (which is not yet published) bends on the subject of something I watched on the Discovery Channel a few years ago. In the show, I watched a scientist run a fossil through a chemical process and actually come away with soft tissue. More incredibly, it was the fossil of a T-Rex!
Check it out: Discovery – Dinosaur DNA

So I thought, this is cool, but where could this research lead us? What can we get from it? Dr. Schweitzer made an incredible discovery, but the part that falls short is the fact that the soft-tissue does not contain DNA. So put away your Jurassic Park annual pass. That won’t be happening any time soon. Still, it was amazing.

What I took from this is the idea that you could perform this type of analysis on other fossils. In fact, why don’t we do this on human fossils? In my book, my fictional Dr. Susan Chang does do this on ancient human fossils and comes away with DNA (simply because it’s not nearly as old as T-Rex. No matter how you slice it, it’d be a one in infinity chance to find DNA that can last more than a million years.) Her discovery maps an interesting path from human ancestors to modern humans. What happens next will be delivered when the book comes out. But see how this one discovery can lead to something more interesting?

I equate it to the Jurassic Park simplification of ideas. Michael Crichton was brilliant with his ideas. Hey, let’s take a mosquito and drape it in amber, then extract it millions of years later and joila! we have dinosaurs! But what made this fun is that for the average person like you and me, it was enough to be believable. And that’s the trick.

I like to make my leaps a little more connected, a little more fact-based. But that’s me. I need to know it could really happen. Now if only I could have the same commercial success as Crichton…

Science in Thrillers

Posted: November 3, 2014 in Writing
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The rapid world of evolving science and technology has made great fuel for us as mystery and thriller writers. We’ve bridged the gap between what was once considered far reaching science fiction and good thriller fiction. Science and technology can help us produce new bad guys, new bad events and intricate ways to put our heroes and heroines in danger. As well as unique ways to get them out. All it takes is a little digging and some creative thought.

I was watching an episode of Castle the other night (yeah, a little soft on the thriller side of things, but hey, Stana Katic is uh, nice to watch), and they blend in some great little technical gifts that make the week’s premise fun. In this episode, the bad guy was using pictures of house keys to go back and ‘print’ them using a 3-D printer. Ingenious… I loved it. I’m sure criminals have already done this and the idea made its way to the show, but for the average joe, it makes the episode interesting. (At some point we’ll probably all have key fobs and chips like cars do to defend against such a tactic, but for now it is a little scary…)

But the point is, I find this kind of science or technology, and it’s not science fiction – it’s science fact, in a great many shows and movies today. I think it really helps open up the challenges our characters will face in their adventures.
What kind of tech trend can you use as a nefarious device in your book?

Quest for killer cover art

Posted: November 2, 2014 in Writing
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In my search for the right kind of cover art for my book, The Carrington Event, I’ve perused some websites that I like and some that I don’t. Well, many that I don’t. It’s tough to find someone to help deliver your vision or something that falls within your particular taste.
Here’s one I actually like. Found out later that they’ve also done work for my friend Joanna Penn. So they can’t be all that bad 🙂
CreativeIndieCovers

If you’re in for a bit of adventure, try hosting a design contest. 99designs has an amazing collection of authors vying to win your business. The hardest part with this approach is wording the ‘design brief’. The artists use this to work on your cover. But it’s probably a good idea anyway, because it’ll help you put down in words what you want. You’ll have to take the time to describe it the way you see it. So get crackin’ and let me know if you have any other good places or ideas to generate cover art that sucks readers in like a vacuum.

Writing prompt visuals

Posted: October 31, 2014 in Writing
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Ever have one of those days when you just need a writing prompt? Perhaps for a specific scene or entire book?
I stumbled upon this great collection of pre-made book covers – looking for a place to do the cover art for my next manuscript The Carrington Event. Looking at the fantastic art, it made me think of all sorts of new ideas, not just for new books, but even for individual scenes.
Now I’m certainly not saying you should steal any of these ideas, just use them to get a kick start for that next page. It’s amazing what a creative piece of art can do for your brain.
And who knows, you must just find a great company to do the cover art for your next book.
Check it out:
The Cover Collection

Lee Child

Posted: October 30, 2014 in Writing
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Lee Child’s character Jack Reacher is unbelievably successful. So much so that little Tom Cruise wanted to play the six foot five inch unstoppable juggernaut against evil.
It was great meeting Lee. His ultra candidness was refreshing. It’s like meeting the Simon Cowell of the book business. I found it completely invigorating.
Funny note: He was very obliging for an autograph in my FaceOff book – written by many of the authors that are members of ITW (International Thrill Writers) and present at the conference – I joked with him an apology that I wasn’t a beautiful woman putting my arm around him. He smiled and said “yes. that would have been much better.”
So blunt. Unapologetic, but yet it’s funny. It doesn’t feel crass when he says it. It is what it is. And I could appreciate his humor and wit.
Lee Child
Lee_ChildMe and Lee

Robert Dugoni – My Sister’s Grave

Posted: October 29, 2014 in Writing
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So proud of Robert Dugoni. As I sat and listened to him teach us at ThrillerFest this last July, I knew he was already a bestseller, but to see him hit #1 on Amazon, I am extremely happy for him. What he was teaching us was so clear and easy even I could understand it. Like I’ve confessed in an earlier post, after one of his classes, I ran up to my room in the Conference hotel and started shaking my latest manuscript around with the new found knowledge. And it was fun!
I’ve already signed up for next year’s ThrillerFest, with the added bonus of volunteering to help the organization, and can hardly wait to sit in one of his classes again.
Some people teach and some people do, but he does both. I’ve already purchased my copy and have it queued up to read after my current book. But I can hardly wait. It has consistently gotten 4.5 stars out of almost a thousand reviews.
Found this nice interview with him talking about My Sister’s Grave.
Check it out.
Robert Dugoni – My Sister’s Grave

Just a little proof that’s he’s on #1. At least at the time of this post. I’m hoping it continues for such a great guy.
Check it out:
Amazon Best Seller List

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers

Posted: October 27, 2014 in Writing
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So I’m mid-stream of editing my second novel and I realize all the ‘tricks’ I’ve learned over the years come from two places: ThrillerFest writing coaches and a book I purchased about 6 years ago – Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Brown and Dave King.
If you can’t attend a high-profile conference in NY like ThrillerFest, a good second place would be to look through this book. It helped me immensely. Renni Brown also started a business called “The Editorial Department” or TED for short. They provide a wide-array of editing services and all other types of author support services like book design and marketing help. It’s been around since 1980, so it is not a run-of-the-mill editing service. It’s an establishment.
I’ve personally used their editing service in the past.
But if you’re stuck with a piece of writing that just doesn’t feel right, or your critique group is just faking a smile when they hand it back to you, check out this little book for help. It’s a great value for the money.
Heck, I’m still getting my money’s worth years later.
Check it out:
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers

How do people get new ideas?

Posted: October 24, 2014 in Life, Writing
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I found this article that posted a previously unpublished document written by the late but prolific Isaac Asimov. I am a huge fan of his writing. It was revived by an old friend of his that found it stashed away.
Apparently the post WWII U.S. government put together a think tank to put together out-of-the-box ideas for a missile defense program. Isaac was offered a seat, but ultimately declined because it had the potential to curtail certain things he could write about in the future.
But like the ‘Breakfast Club’, he wrote a letter concerning his thoughts about the subject. It has more to do with how one thinks outside the box than any specific idea.
If you’re a fan, it’s certainly worth checking out:
How do people get new ideas?

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