#4

I am still reading Lisey's Story. I got to a really good part today, you know, the really horrific juicy stuff. It is amazingly good. And creepy. I love it.
It makes me think about when I get to those moments in my own writing. Creating them, the tense, terrible, wonderful, insane things that the enire story has been building up to, is as fun to write as they are to read. More so actually, at least for me.
It's a great feeling to be in that zone, when your brain is travelling a thousand miles a second and your hand can barely keep up. It is those times that remind me why I wanted to be a writer in the first place. If you've ever been there, you know what I'm talking about.
I got a little writing done too. I'm working on the second book in the Collapse at Hidden Verse Three-Three-Two series. I had so much fun with the first one, that I couldn't stop there. I just fell in love with the characters. Now if someone would just buy the first book. It will be available on Amazon.com in the next few weeks. (And other online stores) I hope people will give it a shot. It really is a fun read. Anyways, enough with the plug for my book.
I'm also working on a completely different novel. I'm getting close to halfway on that one.
I'll sign out with a quote (maybe not an exact quote, but this is the basic idea) from one of my favorite authors:
Kurt Vonnegut said,
"Each and every character in a story should want something, even if it's a glass of water."
Kurt was the man, and we should all listen to him.
That's it for now.
Brian

#3

I've never had a problem with what people call "writer's block." Maybe I'm an odd duck, but there are more stories boucing around inside my head than you can shake a pencil at. I don't mean to brag, it's just that I see alot of writers online talking in forums, or whathaveyou, about the motivation to keep going. They get stuck on names for places, how much description to use in physical appearance, how to name their characters...the list goes on and on. My point is, they're thinking too much about the final product, and not the actual process of writing. Names will come along as you write the character. It doesn't matter what so-and-so's name is while you're writing. Stop trying to come up with perfection, and write the damn story. Get something down on paper.
There is no magical process in how an author came up with your favorite character's name. He or she came up with it because it sounded good to them, or it possibly had personal meaning to them. That's it.
If you want to know how much or little physical description to use when writing, read a popular author, any favorite of yours will do, and pay attention. How much desription do they use? Don't read it for fun, read it like a textbook. It's all there in black and white. I'm not telling you to copy them, I'm telling you to see what works for them.
Motivation has to be inside you. No one else can give it to you. The desire to write stories is either there or it's not. If you're really serious about this stuff, then read and write...a lot.
As much as you can.
You will get better with every word.
I know I have.

#2

So, I just got home from work. It was a horribly busy day, so I got no writing done whatsoever. I did manage to read a bit though. I'm currently reading Stephen King's Lisey's Story. I am enjoying it very much.
One thing that I've noticed while reading King, is the way that each of his books has its own language, its own slang, that the reader must be introduced to as he goes along. It's like being let in on, or spying on, a marriage or a group of friends, or whoever the characters may be. Its their own little set of strange words that they use only with each other. It would be gibberish to anyone else.
Example: The husband and wife in Lisey's story say smuck instead of f**k. They also say things like strap it on, a phrase with special meaning just to them.
Why does he do it?
Well, to be honest, it's a device.
He uses it to pull you in close, allowing you in on a secret. It's to show the little things that people in relationships share with each other. The things nobody else knows. It makes things personal.
It can also make things very amusing. And humor is good, always.
No matter what genre I'm writing, making the reader smile (or laugh, which is much harder) can turn a dry page into a favorite scene.
Provoking emotion from the reader is what it's all about. It's what I strive for with every word.
Make them grin. Piss them off. Fill them with dread. Make them care. As long as they feel something, they'll keep reading. Unless the thing they feel is (oh god, please not that) bored.
Anyways, I'm thinking of trying King's secret language device in one of my books. It likely won't have the same magic as when he does it, but who knows? His writing is not some divine voice from the gods. He uses the same 26 letters of the alphabet that the rest of us use. He just arranges them a hell of a lot better than I do.
Oh, well.
I'll keep reading. And writing. Cuz that's what writers do.

#1 Sunday. May 25, 2008

Hello.
My name is Brian Holtz, and I am an author. Of what? you may ask.
Fiction.
Suspense, science fiction, humor, slipstream, dark fantasy, novels for teens and young adults. If I have forgotten anything, you'll have to excuse me. I'll add other genres later, if I think of more.
I have published short stories with Thirteen Magazine, (Jeremy's Potential) a Brittish print zine, and The Midnight Times, (Harvey & Ethel) an online short story zine. The first awarded me 'Best of Issue,' the second interviewed me the following month; thier version, I suppose, of 'Best of Issue.'
So there you go. Those are my official published writing credits. Impressive, eh?
Yes, I am very proud.
So, as you can see, I am a struggling author, like so many of you out there in internet land. We spend our days writing, (hopefully) surfing the digital waves inside our PCs, wishing we were livin' the dream. We seek out other like minded souls, hoping for encouragement and validation. We seek out those whom have "made it" looking for advise, trying to find the map that will guide us to the holy grail. A published novel.
Yes...That's it, isn't it?
The goal. The reason we spend hours blinding ourselves, staring into bright computer screens. Writing. Editing. Staring into the abyss.
Is that you?
Yeah, me too.
Welcome to the depths of my brain.