Apologies if the title sounds more interesting than what I'm about to say. It sounds like you might come away with some new tip or an exciting idea for how to market, and I'm not sure that will be the case. I'm more wanting to take a moment to share what I've observed so far, to possibly engage a conversation and, in fact, to see what I can learn from those with more experience. There's no doubt I'll increase my own as I continue my personal journey. There's also little doubt I'll look back later and wonder how I ever made it when I knew so little. :-)
Let me start by saying the world is filled with creators. This is a good thing, and I think it's also only natural, as this has always been the case -- we're all artists and creators -- but it's only just now, at this moment in history, when it has become impossibly easy for every artist -- which is all of us -- to find an audience. In fact, it's become so easy we can now do it out of pure boredom. We almost can't NOT do it. We've all got access. Extreme access. We can make a little doodle and, potentially, share it with a billion people if they'll look. And if we've all got access, and we're all creators, who's the audience?
It's us, of course. We're sharing and consuming around the clock, and while there's still the big sensations, the Taylor Swifts of the world, the David G McDaniels (just checking if you're paying attention), there's also tons and tons of smaller groups, niche bands, poets, filmmakers, furniture designers and origami masters you'll never hear about ... yet they have a following and fans, and how do you find them and how do you, as an artist, get found among the sea of noise?
I wish I knew.
Marketing ourselves is a game we're all playing. How do others find you? How do you make it stick, and grow? There's no screening process like there was decades ago and everyone's clamoring. You can immediately get to anything and everything and it's all there and you've mostly got to sift through it to find what you want, and while you're doing that you're also putting your own stuff out there into the same process ...
For me it's been an eye opener. I suppose I knew, intuitively, how much action I'd be diving into, but part of me thought -- probably like everyone else thinks -- Oh, once I start ... of course people will notice. Fans will come and it will all unfold beautifully into everything I imagine.
I wonder if that's actually happened for anyone just getting started.
Maybe it has. Probably it must have. Just by the law of averages a few of us must hit it big right out of the gates. But for the rest, even the ones that go on to become hugely successful, there's work to be done. Lots of work. And my struggle has not been with the effort -- I'm more than willing to put in the time, and I do -- but where to actually focus that energy. I keep getting these Ah ha! moments where I think I've figured out the exact right thing ... only to discover it's a waste of time. Or has very low returns.
And so my quest continues. Part of me thinks it's a numbers game, and that may be true. Continue to network, I tell myself, continue to learn, continue to apply, continue to post (the sum total of the world's servers must be massive, truly, to hold all our crap), continue to persist (is that redundant?) and don't give up.
I'll close with that. For all you fellow artists out there, and by that I mean everyone, I believe this: We never fail. We only give up. We might quit, but I don't think we ever fail. This is just my opinion, but it kind of makes sense, right? How can you fail if you never give up?
#TeamStarAngel
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Sunday, April 3, 2016
Triumph & Tragedy
I prefer Triumph over Tragedy. Of course in life Triumph is more rewarding, and that seems like a no-brainer, though many of us do seek a little heartache and drama in our lives. As humans we seem to have a propensity for misery.
In storytelling, though, I prefer the uplifting to the tragic. As a writer Triumph is always the sort of stand-up-and-shout emotion I'm going for. Of course to get a good Triumph you need good Tragedy. Tragedy must lead to any Triumphant moment, or at least the best ones -- it's hard to triumph over nothing -- but I prefer the stories that have their fair share of incredible victories, overcoming the odds ... basically really big wins.
As for reality; in truth there's more positive in the world than negative. More good. Despite the merchants of chaos running the typical news hour, despite all the bad things made all the worse, all the more serious by the fact that they get the most alarming coverage, the evidence supports the fact that, mostly, we're good. We haven't killed each other yet. Wars, yes, terrible crimes against each other, of course, but over the millennia we've gotten better. The world has advanced. If the balance of our actions were destructive than we wouldn't be here today. Man -- the vast majority of us -- is good, and no cynic, no matter how clever, can change that.
It's the cycles, however, that make it interesting. On the whole mankind is not a Tragedy, but we've certainly had our dark times. We likely will again. Like ice ages we go through cultural shifts, and the Romans exist no more and the Thousand Year Reich never made it and someone new is in charge and so on and so on.
And so a good story, in my opinion, has both, but it has no shortage of Triumph. And, of course, nothing beats that for an ending.
#TeamStarAngel
#MakeItBetter
TeamStarAngel.com
In storytelling, though, I prefer the uplifting to the tragic. As a writer Triumph is always the sort of stand-up-and-shout emotion I'm going for. Of course to get a good Triumph you need good Tragedy. Tragedy must lead to any Triumphant moment, or at least the best ones -- it's hard to triumph over nothing -- but I prefer the stories that have their fair share of incredible victories, overcoming the odds ... basically really big wins.
As for reality; in truth there's more positive in the world than negative. More good. Despite the merchants of chaos running the typical news hour, despite all the bad things made all the worse, all the more serious by the fact that they get the most alarming coverage, the evidence supports the fact that, mostly, we're good. We haven't killed each other yet. Wars, yes, terrible crimes against each other, of course, but over the millennia we've gotten better. The world has advanced. If the balance of our actions were destructive than we wouldn't be here today. Man -- the vast majority of us -- is good, and no cynic, no matter how clever, can change that.
It's the cycles, however, that make it interesting. On the whole mankind is not a Tragedy, but we've certainly had our dark times. We likely will again. Like ice ages we go through cultural shifts, and the Romans exist no more and the Thousand Year Reich never made it and someone new is in charge and so on and so on.
And so a good story, in my opinion, has both, but it has no shortage of Triumph. And, of course, nothing beats that for an ending.
#TeamStarAngel
#MakeItBetter
TeamStarAngel.com
Saturday, March 5, 2016
World Building
Today I thought I'd talk a little about world building. Most writers do world building, some more than others, and in fact there have been heated debates about how much is needed. I recall watching a video interview with George RR Martin, the "Game of Thrones" author, and him talking about the degree to which he builds out the underlying foundation -- the world, the universe -- for his characters and stories, and how there was this other author (can't recall his name) who was of the opinion that world building was overrated. Martin was disputing that, and pointing out how with the other guy's stories there were slips in continuity. The other guy, apparently, believed the story was all that mattered and the rest was a waste of time.
I disagree.
Martin is correct; world building is important. In fact, for my first series I stopped early on and took the time to flesh out the full history and universe my characters were playing in, just so there was something consistent to hang it all together. By the time I was done that write-up turned out to be 60 pages, and covered everything from past races to current governments and all the framework and mechanics that made everything work. For "Star Angel" I have a historical timeline from 100,000 years before the stories take place, along with write-ups for all major events. I call it the "Star Angel Companion." No one will probably ever read it.
It helps. Greatly. Especially in a fictional world. Writers of stories in a modern or historical setting have it a bit easier, of course, as their "world" is pre-built for them. Stories that take place right here on Earth, in the "real" world have our entire existence to draw from. It's the world we know. World War I happened and all the details are there for anyone to use and we all know exactly how it shaped events and how it might lead to any character motivations. If you're making up a fictional universe, however, you may not be able to draw from that. In some cases none of it. And so for your story to work you need to at least have the basics defined. Otherwise your characters are swimming in an ocean with no direction and no land.
World building is important.
Maps. Histories. Beliefs. Races. Lineages and hierarchies, changes in physics (if any), rules of magic and other fantastic knowledge. Languages. All these things become important, and merely winging it as you go along, fitting in these very important elements as a matter of convenience, placing the story first and not worrying over the details ...
That approach can create a sort of low-level vertigo with the reader.
And so I feel it's important to take the time to flesh out your world, your back stories, your historical motivations and all else that shapes the universe in which your characters live. This can be work, no doubt. But the reward will become clear the further you forge into your story, when you see how easily things hang together, how well the pieces fit, and how much what your characters are doing makes sense.
Doing so ensures continuity. It removes distractions for the reader. And, if you take the time early on, it most definitely makes it easier in the long run for you, the writer.
There you have it. Two more of my cents. :-)
As always, keep writing!
#TeamStarAngel
#MakeItBetter
I disagree.
Martin is correct; world building is important. In fact, for my first series I stopped early on and took the time to flesh out the full history and universe my characters were playing in, just so there was something consistent to hang it all together. By the time I was done that write-up turned out to be 60 pages, and covered everything from past races to current governments and all the framework and mechanics that made everything work. For "Star Angel" I have a historical timeline from 100,000 years before the stories take place, along with write-ups for all major events. I call it the "Star Angel Companion." No one will probably ever read it.
It helps. Greatly. Especially in a fictional world. Writers of stories in a modern or historical setting have it a bit easier, of course, as their "world" is pre-built for them. Stories that take place right here on Earth, in the "real" world have our entire existence to draw from. It's the world we know. World War I happened and all the details are there for anyone to use and we all know exactly how it shaped events and how it might lead to any character motivations. If you're making up a fictional universe, however, you may not be able to draw from that. In some cases none of it. And so for your story to work you need to at least have the basics defined. Otherwise your characters are swimming in an ocean with no direction and no land.
World building is important.
Maps. Histories. Beliefs. Races. Lineages and hierarchies, changes in physics (if any), rules of magic and other fantastic knowledge. Languages. All these things become important, and merely winging it as you go along, fitting in these very important elements as a matter of convenience, placing the story first and not worrying over the details ...
That approach can create a sort of low-level vertigo with the reader.
And so I feel it's important to take the time to flesh out your world, your back stories, your historical motivations and all else that shapes the universe in which your characters live. This can be work, no doubt. But the reward will become clear the further you forge into your story, when you see how easily things hang together, how well the pieces fit, and how much what your characters are doing makes sense.
Doing so ensures continuity. It removes distractions for the reader. And, if you take the time early on, it most definitely makes it easier in the long run for you, the writer.
There you have it. Two more of my cents. :-)
As always, keep writing!
#TeamStarAngel
#MakeItBetter
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Continuum Fiction
Okay, I'm putting it out there, a new genre:
Continuum Fiction
I may not be the first to write it, but I'm probably the first to name it. New genres eventually get created to cover new types of fiction, and each new division only helps refine and define the expectations for a certain type of story.
Fiction, of course, is at the top. Fiction is a made-up story. Great, you like made-up stories, but is Fiction enough of a category to let you know the kind of story you'll be getting?
How about Science Fiction? Closer, but there's still a wide variety. And so we come up with categories that refine the classification of story and therefore have a better idea of the type of story we're getting when we see that genre. Paranormal Romance, Fantasy Adventure and a hundred others that weren't and then were have been created to identify common themes.
And so today I'm officially naming it:
Continuum Fiction
What follows is my working definition, set down here, and I intend to make a Wikipedia article if they'll let me:
Continuum Fiction: any story where at least one character, at some point, recognizes a continuum of existence of self, recalling with certainty having been and acted as various identities in the past, with an awareness of the distinction of self in the present, whether gained through exposure to elements in the story (revelation/epiphany) or with an existing awareness at the story's inception.
Continuum Fiction does not preclude cloning (such as Palpatine in the "Star Wars" universe), genetic streams (such as "Dune"), or mechanical transference, such as the computer storage of consciousness that occurs in many sci-fi stories. However, to be true Continuum Fiction the actual individual, the true identity, the soul, the spirit -- however you define it, the person themselves, the real person and who they truly are, not a body, not a brain, not synapses or neurons or genetic copies; a true reincarnation/continuation -- must transit to a new awareness, body, etc.
And that's Continuum Fiction.
"Star Angel" fits this definition. Another series I wrote and may revive (badump bump), the "Saga of Ages" series, is Continuum Fiction. Who knows? Maybe I can become the master of the genre I made a name for! :-)
I hereby declare Continuum Fiction a thing. Others have written it, though not many, and not exactly as defined above. Continuum Fiction is my small contribution to the literary landscape.
As always, thank you for listening. :-)
#TeamStarAngel
#MakeItBetter
TeamStarAngel.com
Continuum Fiction
I may not be the first to write it, but I'm probably the first to name it. New genres eventually get created to cover new types of fiction, and each new division only helps refine and define the expectations for a certain type of story.
Fiction, of course, is at the top. Fiction is a made-up story. Great, you like made-up stories, but is Fiction enough of a category to let you know the kind of story you'll be getting?
How about Science Fiction? Closer, but there's still a wide variety. And so we come up with categories that refine the classification of story and therefore have a better idea of the type of story we're getting when we see that genre. Paranormal Romance, Fantasy Adventure and a hundred others that weren't and then were have been created to identify common themes.
And so today I'm officially naming it:
Continuum Fiction
What follows is my working definition, set down here, and I intend to make a Wikipedia article if they'll let me:
Continuum Fiction: any story where at least one character, at some point, recognizes a continuum of existence of self, recalling with certainty having been and acted as various identities in the past, with an awareness of the distinction of self in the present, whether gained through exposure to elements in the story (revelation/epiphany) or with an existing awareness at the story's inception.
Continuum Fiction does not preclude cloning (such as Palpatine in the "Star Wars" universe), genetic streams (such as "Dune"), or mechanical transference, such as the computer storage of consciousness that occurs in many sci-fi stories. However, to be true Continuum Fiction the actual individual, the true identity, the soul, the spirit -- however you define it, the person themselves, the real person and who they truly are, not a body, not a brain, not synapses or neurons or genetic copies; a true reincarnation/continuation -- must transit to a new awareness, body, etc.
And that's Continuum Fiction.
"Star Angel" fits this definition. Another series I wrote and may revive (badump bump), the "Saga of Ages" series, is Continuum Fiction. Who knows? Maybe I can become the master of the genre I made a name for! :-)
I hereby declare Continuum Fiction a thing. Others have written it, though not many, and not exactly as defined above. Continuum Fiction is my small contribution to the literary landscape.
As always, thank you for listening. :-)
#TeamStarAngel
#MakeItBetter
TeamStarAngel.com
Saturday, January 16, 2016
Good News
You get what you validate (support the truth or value of). When it comes to News we don't have many choices. Bad news sells so that's what we get. We don't, however, have to validate it. Tragedy is part of life and when it strikes -- handle it. Don't tune in to watch unless you can do something to make it better. Take action. Don't be a spectator. Spectating is for sports, not life. Don't be a spectator in life.
Between tragedies we can seek out other sources of news, and it's nice to have a few out there focused on the good. The Good News Network is one of them.
http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/
By the way, this isn't a head-in-the-sand mentality, or whistling past the graveyard. Validating that which is desired is the first step on the road to making it better. Validating the negative is not. Validate the good, not the bad. You'll be surprised how well that works. :-)
#TeamStarAngel
#MakeItBetter
TeamStarAngel.com
Between tragedies we can seek out other sources of news, and it's nice to have a few out there focused on the good. The Good News Network is one of them.
http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/
By the way, this isn't a head-in-the-sand mentality, or whistling past the graveyard. Validating that which is desired is the first step on the road to making it better. Validating the negative is not. Validate the good, not the bad. You'll be surprised how well that works. :-)
#TeamStarAngel
#MakeItBetter
TeamStarAngel.com
Sunday, January 10, 2016
Soul Mates
Or love at first sight. This concept is as timeless in use as it is in its implied continuum of connection. Throughout the history of humans people have experienced falling in love with someone from the very first moment they meet. Certainly the percentage who experience this is small, but it happens all the time all around the world every day. With billions of us alive on this planet at any given moment it's just the law of statistical averages in action.
But why does it happen at all?
Soul mates. When we say love at first sight we're talking about meeting a soul mate. Someone we're not, actually, meeting for the first time. It's funny, but this part of the equation often gets left alone. We say "soul mate", and we know instinctively what that implies -- and we believe it -- but we don't usually stop to think what it really means.
It isn't, of course, necessary to get that significant, but the truth is the phenomena of that feeling of having known someone, of already being linked to them, impossibly, from the very first moment of meeting, of loving them so deeply and completely without knowing a thing about them in their current form ... is tough to explain.
Yet it happens.
And so it does in "Star Angel". When Jessica meets Zac it's this sort of inexplicable, incredible reaction. Jessica's friend, Bianca, can't believe the lengths Jess goes to, what she does for this strange boy who's fallen from the sky. Even Jess herself doesn't really understand it.
Read on to see why. Jess and Zac do eventually discover their connection. From the start they're drawn to each other, with such a powerful force it drives them to amazing lengths to be together.
For our heroes are the truest examples of timeless love. :-)
#TeamStarAngel
#MakeItBetter
TeamStarAngel.com
But why does it happen at all?
Soul mates. When we say love at first sight we're talking about meeting a soul mate. Someone we're not, actually, meeting for the first time. It's funny, but this part of the equation often gets left alone. We say "soul mate", and we know instinctively what that implies -- and we believe it -- but we don't usually stop to think what it really means.
It isn't, of course, necessary to get that significant, but the truth is the phenomena of that feeling of having known someone, of already being linked to them, impossibly, from the very first moment of meeting, of loving them so deeply and completely without knowing a thing about them in their current form ... is tough to explain.
Yet it happens.
And so it does in "Star Angel". When Jessica meets Zac it's this sort of inexplicable, incredible reaction. Jessica's friend, Bianca, can't believe the lengths Jess goes to, what she does for this strange boy who's fallen from the sky. Even Jess herself doesn't really understand it.
Read on to see why. Jess and Zac do eventually discover their connection. From the start they're drawn to each other, with such a powerful force it drives them to amazing lengths to be together.
For our heroes are the truest examples of timeless love. :-)
#TeamStarAngel
#MakeItBetter
TeamStarAngel.com
Friday, January 1, 2016
Two Types Of Story
Everyone has a story to tell. At least one. Of this I'm convinced. Some have more than one, some have many, and some people are nearly bursting at the seams with stories. While there may not be a limit to the top of the scale, I do believe there's a limit to the bottom. It isn't zero.
Everyone has at least one.
And so what I've noticed, writing as long as I have been, is that most stories fall into one of two categories: Already There or Make It From Scratch. In the final bargain maybe all stories are "already there", but that's a bit too esoteric to dive into and, mostly, you, me -- anyone undertaking to write a story -- will notice it's either one or the other. Either you've got a story idea burning to be told, or you come up with an idea and then work on writing the story from scratch. Either way, it would seem to me all stories fall into one of these two categories. Is this a "Duh!" moment? Probably. :-)
Anyway, the Already There story can, at times, be easier to write, as it's more likely to flow and the outline is often easier. Crafting one from scratch can take more effort, sometimes a lot more, and usually involves a much more involved outlining process. This isn't necessarily always the case. Passion for the Already There story can bring its own sets of challenges.
Once the writing begins, however, it's interesting how a Make It From Scratch story can begin to flow same as an Already There. Such that even something that was just an idea you came up with for the sake of writing a story can begin to take on life, and you may find yourself rushing with it in a stream of consciousness -- just as if it had been burning there all along. Which is why I think all stories may be "already there", at least in chunks, some just buried far deeper than others, and so maybe there's really only one type of story in the end.
But that's probably a topic for another day.
That's my two cents for now. Happy New Year. May 2016 be awesome for you. And, as always, read and read more. And write. Sharing stories is an age-old hobby, and if you haven't told yours yet ... by all means, get to it. :-)
#TeamStarAngel
#MakeItBetter
TeamStarAngel.com
Everyone has at least one.
And so what I've noticed, writing as long as I have been, is that most stories fall into one of two categories: Already There or Make It From Scratch. In the final bargain maybe all stories are "already there", but that's a bit too esoteric to dive into and, mostly, you, me -- anyone undertaking to write a story -- will notice it's either one or the other. Either you've got a story idea burning to be told, or you come up with an idea and then work on writing the story from scratch. Either way, it would seem to me all stories fall into one of these two categories. Is this a "Duh!" moment? Probably. :-)
Anyway, the Already There story can, at times, be easier to write, as it's more likely to flow and the outline is often easier. Crafting one from scratch can take more effort, sometimes a lot more, and usually involves a much more involved outlining process. This isn't necessarily always the case. Passion for the Already There story can bring its own sets of challenges.
Once the writing begins, however, it's interesting how a Make It From Scratch story can begin to flow same as an Already There. Such that even something that was just an idea you came up with for the sake of writing a story can begin to take on life, and you may find yourself rushing with it in a stream of consciousness -- just as if it had been burning there all along. Which is why I think all stories may be "already there", at least in chunks, some just buried far deeper than others, and so maybe there's really only one type of story in the end.
But that's probably a topic for another day.
That's my two cents for now. Happy New Year. May 2016 be awesome for you. And, as always, read and read more. And write. Sharing stories is an age-old hobby, and if you haven't told yours yet ... by all means, get to it. :-)
#TeamStarAngel
#MakeItBetter
TeamStarAngel.com
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