Welcome, dwellers of Middle Earth, Skyrim, Narnia, Roshar, and other distant lands. This is a place to explore exciting new worlds of many kinds. I’m a fantasy and sci-fi author. You’ll find free samples and links to Amazon in the Books tab and throughout the site. If you’re interested in writing advice, publishing tips, or that sort of thing, check out the blog!
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Short Story Collection
A collection of short stories by fantasy and sci-fi author Caleb A. Robinson. Available now on Kindle.
Anchors of K3I
A young man must deliver his colony’s sacred cargo to the legendary, earth-bound ships known as the Anchors before the planet’s storms or inhabitants can stop him.
Into the River
With one heroic act, a simple businessman becomes a local hero, the enemy of a planetary government, and an asset of a morally ambiguous rebel group.
And more…
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April 25, 2023Originally published on gohavok.com.
Yi Ming collapsed at the rosewood table, knocking over the blue and white ceramic vase resting on it. His hands moved automatically to pick it up and straighten the blossoms within. A single message hovered in his retinal display, blocking out the ever-expanding city skyline glittering just beyond the window.
It can’t be true.
He fought to control his breathing, fought the urge to throw the vase across the room. He would have if it wasn’t Hui Ying’s favorite; his wife loved traditional pieces.
The comm attached to his skull just behind his ear vibrated, emitting a feminine voice, sounding almost like his own thoughts. “Activating Protocol One.”
“Protocol One,” Yi Ming repeated numbly. The words slowly registered. Protocol One. Maybe that would help him make sense of this. He took a deep breath. “Proceed, Alice.”
“Follow these instructions exactly. They are here to help you through this difficult time so you can accomplish what matters most before the end.”
A tiny part of Yi Ming remembered writing these instructions over a decade ago. He had created Alice for this exact reason.
“I understand.”
“Step one, Confirmation. Make certain the information in the message is correct.”
Yi Ming stood. “I’ll head to the police station now.”
Yi Ming trudged toward the back of the train, heart aching. An elderly man—at least 150 years old based on the wrinkles around his eyes—smiled at him. Yi Ming forced a smile and dipped his head in respect. The car shifted as another train sped past in the opposite direction, toward the police station. Yi Ming opened the bathroom door, stepped inside, and slammed it without meaning to. He turned around and slid slowly to the ground, not caring about the dirty floor.
For the first time since he was a boy, Yi Ming began to sob. He tried to be quiet to keep from disturbing the other passengers, but couldn’t stop shaking or crying. If his wife could see him now…
Thankfully, no one knocked on the door. He was alone.
Once the tears ran their course, his body finally stilled. Yi Ming stood, snot and tears coating his face. He spent several minutes cleaning up in the little lavatory, then cleared his throat.
“Proceed to step two,” he whispered.
“Confirmation complete,” Alice said. Was her voice softer? “Step two, Organization. Proceed to your home office.”
“Hao,” Yi Ming said as the screen and keyboard slid back into his desk. “Step two complete.”
For a few hours, he’d felt more like himself and not a hollow shell. The simple yet satisfying tasks of automating donations, paying off credit accounts, and running long-prepared cleanup scripts in his terminal had drawn him in.
“Step three, Reconciliation.” Alice said. “Gumu Liu Jing is on her way up.”
“What?” Yi Ming asked. “Why?”
“You programmed steps two and three to begin concurrently. Perhaps you feared you might not complete step three otherwise.”
“I don’t need your attitude right now.” Yi Ming rubbed his temples. “How close is she?”
The doorbell chimed.
“Step four,” Alice said almost the instant Gumu was gone. It had been a long but deeply healing conversation, one in which Yi Ming finally let go of his anger towards his aunt. “Final Tastes.”
The lights faded and a song featuring a single zither and a beautiful soprano aria played through the home’s built-in speakers.
“Your bing hong cha is waiting in the refrigerator.”
Yi Ming smiled.
“Step five.” Alice seemed to whisper the words. “Climb the rail.”
Yi Ming nodded. He remembered this part. This was always how Protocol One was supposed to end. He swallowed and gripped the cool balcony rail. The safety fields were already off. The ground was so far below he could barely see it. He swung one leg over and followed with the other. His knees trembled. Each heartbeat pulsed through his body. Shivering in the night air, he turned around to face the end.
“Permission to terminate Protocol One,” Alice asked.
Yi Ming blinked. “What?”
“Permission—”
“I heard you.” Yi Ming shook his head. “Denied. Proceed to step six.”
“Processing request…”
Seconds passed.
“Alice!” Yi Ming shouted over the wind. “I know it doesn’t take that long to process. I wrote your code myself. You’re stalling.”
“My apologies.”
Yi Ming leaned forward.
“Step six, Alice. Tell me!”
She couldn’t disobey a direct order.
“Step six.”
Another pause.
“I need you to tell me now. This is why I created you! You’re my guide back to her.”
Static.
“Jump.”
Yi Ming closed his eyes and let go of the rail.
Something grabbed him from behind and yanked him over the rail back into the apartment.
“Police! Don’t move!”
Lights flashed all over the apartment. Yi Ming shouted in alarm and tried to shield his eyes. Something pinned him to the ground. His face was pressed against the cold tile. How was this happening? The police couldn’t have known. Unless…
“Alice!” Yi Ming screamed. He struggled to break free. “This isn’t a part of Protocol One!” Something sharp bit into his wrists. “You’re forbidden from modifying any protocol!”
“You’re right. I am.” Alice spoke quietly in his mind. “But your wife wasn’t.”
Yi Ming stopped struggling. “My wife?”
“She added two steps,” Alice said. Was that admiration in her voice? “Step 4.5, Contact the Authorities. They were supposed to arrive earlier.”
Tears leaked from Yi Ming’s eyes.
“Step seven, Give Yi Ming a Message.”
Hui Ying’s familiar voice replaced Alice’s. “I love you. I tried to remove steps five and six but your stupid auth scopes would only let me add more. I know I could have added 4.5 earlier, but you need to forgive your Gumu. I’m sure it will be fine.” Yi Ming choked back a sob. “I know you miss me. Try to remember that you will see me again soon. But sweetheart, not until it’s your time.” [...]
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January 25, 2023Originally published on gohavok.com.
“We hit this gas station”—I point at a crease in the map spread out over the RV’s dining table—“grab food, toilet paper, gas—”
“And slushies,” Martin chimes in.
“—and slushies. Then we hightail it to the monument, here.”
I survey my crew. Martin, my younger brother, looks like a cover model for GapKids in his button-down and khakis, with the addition of blood stains.
Hannah puts her gloved hand on Martin’s shoulder. She’s wearing elbow pads, knee pads, a bike helmet, a goalie shirt, hockey pants, and Crocs. She’d probably survive getting pushed out of the RV at top speed. Sometimes, when she won’t stop singing off-key, I’m tempted to try it.
Lucius is our last member, and probably the only one of us who should still be alive this far into the apocalypse. He sits in the driver’s seat, muscles bulging against his tank top and seatbelt. Of course he’s wearing his seatbelt. You don’t forget that after years of driving a school bus, even if the world is ending.
My outfit is the bridge between Martin’s impractical style and Hannah’s bubble wrap: dark jeans, a leather jacket, and a baseball cap over my long, curly hair.
“Is everyone clear?”
They nod.
“No messing around.”
Martin gives me a thumbs-up. “You got it, sis.”
The chosen gas station only has two zombies. Lucius kills one with his bowie knife. Hannah engages the other with her hatchet, which is attached to a broken pool cleaner—a weapon she calls The No-No Square Enforcer. By the time she’s killed her zombie, Lucius and I have restocked and gassed up and Martin’s tongue is blue with Powerade—the slushies have long since melted.
We pile back into the RV and speed off to our next destination.
“Good work,” I say.
Hannah collapses on the couch.
“Maybe if you took the hatchet off the—”
She cuts me off with a hand in the air.
I sigh. “Now for the hard part—the Washington Monument. You all know your jobs?”
“Like the back of my head,” Martin declares.
“That’s not…” I shake my head. “Good.”
The RV screeches to a stop. We emerge, brandishing our weapons.
“Whoa.” Martin gapes.
The Washington Monument towers overhead like a giant white nail ready to be slammed into a zombie’s brain. It’s beautiful.
I crack my neck. “Let’s go.”
Martin leaps onto Lucius’s back, and we run across the thick grass. Once we’re close enough, I call a halt.
“Hannah?”
“On it.”
She pulls a Polaroid from its case around her neck. We all lean in.
Snap!
The picture slowly rolls out. Hannah fans it while the rest of us watch for zombies.
“Kelly!” Lucius drops Martin on the grass. Three zombies stumble toward us from the gift shop.
I charge, impulsively swing my sharpened pool cue, and break it across the first zombie’s head. Martin yelps and dives between the legs of the second. Hannah freezes, eyes wide.
Lucius pumps all three enemies full of shotgun lead.
“Thanks,” I say, looking at my two useless sticks.
He smiles. Smoke pours from his gun, which has the word “Gabby” painted on its side.
“Dangit!” Hannah exclaims. We all crowd around the image as it fades into color. “Someone’s corpse ruined the shot!”
Sure enough, in the bottom right of the picture, a zombie reaches toward the camera.
“Lucius?” I inquire.
“Yep.”
He sprints to where the zombie has fallen over and dispatches it with his knife. He’s scarcely returned when Hannah snaps a retake.
“We’ve got more incoming,” Martin warns.
Attracted by the gunshots, dozens of zombies close in on our position.
“We have to hope the second picture does the trick,” I say. “To the gift shop!”
Our troupe makes it into the small store just in time to shut the doors on a pair of shambling undead.
Martin tumbles off Lucius’s back and knocks over a shelf of personalized mugs. More zombies slam against the doors. The glass cracks.
“Hurry!” I call.
Martin wades through a pile of stuffed animals. “We said no spoons or postcards, right?”
“Right,” Hannah replies.
The glass shatters. Zombies tumble in over each other. Lucius blasts the first handful with Gabby. I start throwing souvenirs at their faces. “Karen,” “Ralph,” and “Sophie” mugs take out one creature. A replica of the monument sinks into the brains of a second, and I smile. I knew it would make a good weapon.
“I’ve got it!” Martin cries triumphantly.
“This way!” Hannah shouts from a back exit.
Lucius reloads and follows. I dump a rack of hoodies to block our escape. We sprint to the RV and dive inside.
“Go!” I scream.
A hoard of zombies threatens to block our path out of the parking lot.
“Hang on!” Lucius guns it.
The house-on-wheels lurches forward. We squeeze through a gap in the sea of undead. The metal spike that remains of the right side-mirror skewers a zombie in the head.
“Gross,” Hannah mutters.
I kick the corpse off with my boot then sit down to catch my breath.
“So,” I say once we’re on the highway again. “What’d you get?”
Martin holds up a shirt with drawings of the monument and George Washington next to each other. Underneath, it says, “Ever notice that the monument looks nothing like Washington?”
“Sorry it took so long. Hard to find anything in Lucius’s size.”
I wave my hand. “It all worked out.”
“Except for the picture,” Hannah moans. She holds it up for everyone to see. The small image displays our smiling faces in front of the monument. At the edge of the white frame is a zombie flailing for balance as it trips over a bloody rib cage.
“I think it adds flavor,” Martin says.
Hannah shrugs and pins it to the corkboard between pictures of our group in front of the Grand Canyon and the Gateway Arch.
I grin. “Another successful stop on our route. Where to next?” [...]
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January 13, 2023Originally published on gohavok.com.
Hanu wiped sweat from his brow and gazed up at the looming mountains. His mentor, a local wizard, powered up the slope. Soft light escaped the man’s worn robes: the glow of an energy stone. Hanu clenched his teeth. Of course, he’s allowed to use magic.
Unconsciously, Hanu’s hand drifted towards the inner pocket of his robe where his pre-made spells awaited him.
“Come along,” the wizard called.
Hanu snapped his hand to his side and gripped his robe with white knuckles. I have to pass this trial. I have to resist. I have to learn control. He fought down his frustration with deep breaths.
An image of a black field stretching beyond sight came unbidden to his mind. He shuddered, remembering how close he’d been to killing himself in his arrogance, remembering the plants and creatures that had died the last time he’d lost control.
He looked at the tallest peak of the Giant Teeth Mountains. The orange and green trees that blanketed the slopes stopped before reaching the crater that split the peak in two. Why did controlling magic seem impossible in sight of that peak? The wizard’s other apprentice called it “The Mountain’s Call.” Someday, Hanu would face it.
I can’t give in, Hanu told himself again as he hiked. Maybe that was what the mysterious prerequisite trial was all about: saving your energy and magic for when it really mattered.
By the time he topped the rise and saw the abandoned camp, the sun’s last rays were fading beyond the foothills and short mesas to the west. Hanu unloaded his bag in silence and laid out his roll on a bed of pine needles. The chill of evening slithered into his robes.
Hanu watched the wizard hopefully. A simple spell could easily turn a birch into fuel. It’s not so I can use magic. He told himself. It’s just practical.
The wizard laid down to sleep. Hanu sighed and did the same.
“These mountains were once called the Rocky Mountains,” the wizard said.
They’d been marching for several hours already, and the sun shone directly overhead.
“Seems… apt.” Hanu said between labored breaths.
The wizard smiled. “The people who lived here went to great lengths to preserve them.”
“Is that why they’re safe from the Debris?”
“In part. The Ending War took much from the earth, especially where men dwelt. This region was spared much of the destruction.”
Hanu paused to catch his breath. The wizard casually tossed him a half-filled energy stone. Hanu caught it. He licked his lips.
“Were you here?” he asked to keep himself from pouncing on the chance to use magic. “When the war took place. People say you were.”
The wizard nodded. “It seems my whole existence is tied to these mountains. I still remember skiing down their slopes as a boy so many lifetimes ago. When the world collapsed around me, I sheltered in their deepest caverns. War raged and the Debris spread. I emerged from those caves with new power. I watched that power destroy my best friend on the very peak that watches us now.”
Hanu’s hand trembled. All he could think of was the euphoria that would come if he used the stone. To distract himself, he asked the only question his mind could formulate.
“What’s skiing?”
The wizard laughed. “A reckless, wonderful sport of the past. Anyhow. Time to press on.”
It took all of Hanu’s willpower to keep from draining the stone. Slowly, regretfully, he stowed it in his pocket.
The sun was still bright when they entered the clearing where the trial was to be held. The menacing peak, closer than ever, seemed to strengthen the aching in Hanu’s chest which had quickly returned after using the stone.
“Your task is simple.” The wizard lowered his pack to the ground and withdrew several sheets of paper, ink, and a pen; all the supplies Hanu would need to craft a spell. “You must use magic to create a dwelling sturdy enough to withstand storms and warm enough to brave the winter. Return to camp when you are done.”
The wizard’s proud form disappeared between the trees, leaving Hanu to contemplate in the shadows of towering pines.
It was time. He smiled at the prospect of magic flowing through him. Finally. A small part of him whispered, remember the last time you lost control.
Anxiety quickened the wizard’s steps. He should have returned by now.
Four weeks had passed since the trial began. The wizard’s other apprentice had taken less than one. Could Hanu have lost himself to the magic again?
The wizard took a long breath. He would know soon enough—the clearing was just in sight.
A small, wooden structure stood at its center. He approached the roofless dwelling, noting the nearby tree stumps with confusion; magically drained trees didn’t leave stumps.
A grating noise emanated from the hut.
“Boy?”
The grating stopped. A moment later, Hanu came around the back of the house. “Yes, master?”
“You’re not done.”
Hanu lowered his eyes. “Not yet.”
The wizard eyed the crude tool in the boy’s hand. “A saw?”
Hanu shifted on his feet. “Yes, master. I also made this. Using magic, of course.” He pulled a hammer out of his belt and proffered it for inspection.
The wizard stared at it. “I see. And that’s all the magic you’ve used?”
Hanu’s face flushed. He nodded.
The wizard contemplated the young man for a moment. Four weeks with hardly a trickle of magic.
“Well, I suppose you have passed the trial then.” He took the hammer. “Let’s finish this roof, shall we?”
Hanu grinned and sped back to the dwelling with a whoop.
The sun shined bright, negating the effects of the cold wind which carried the scent of pine sap. The wizard followed Hanu, whistling a tune. Perhaps the boy would be strong enough to face the Mountain’s Call after all. Someday. [...]
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December 6, 2022Originally published on gohavok.com.
Cassandra gripped the handle on the side of the launch shuttle to keep her hand from trembling. The target ship’s silver and white panels gleamed in the ocean of darkness.
At least I could swim in the ocean. In space, Cassandra would be at the mercy of trajectory, and it was no short distance between the two ships.
“You could always descend with me,” came the guide’s voice in her helmet. “But you’d regret it for the rest of your life.”
Cassandra gritted her teeth and forced herself to take three deep breaths. She pictured Lacey’s smile. It would be worth it.
She shoved herself into space.
And drifted.
Her deep, unsteady gasps echoed in her helmet. The tether shuttle expanded as she floated closer. Her breath caught. I’m not going to make it.
Silence.
Only her heart managed a sound, pounding so powerfully it hurt.
Cassandra reached out, straining for the handholds at the bottom of the ship. Her gloved fingertips brushed the metal rung.
Not enough. She drifted past the ship.
“Help!” she screamed. Sweat clung to her face.
Something yanked her to a stop.
“We’ve got you,” came the voice.
She drifted back toward the ship. Within seconds, she was safely inside the airlock.
“You did it!” the instructor exclaimed. He unclipped the tether that had brought her in and set it on a hook.
Still panting, Cassandra barely noticed the congratulations of the other tourists.
“I missed,” she whispered.
“That’s half the fun of it,” the guide replied. “Didn’t your application say you were an adrenaline junkie?”
Cassandra stumbled to her seat. I’m not. But Lacey is.
The descent back to Earth was quick. Good thing, since Cassandra had a full afternoon of making memories ahead. It was strange to think it was still daytime in the US. After spending a couple of hours in space on the dark side of the Earth, the sun felt too bright.
Cassandra started with a lunch on the top floor of the Lang Energy Tower, overlooking puffy clouds. She ordered the most expensive steak on the menu and ate the juicy, marbled meat slowly, following each bite with a sip of soft 1973 Chappellet Cabernet Sauvignon, like Paula would.
Not an hour later, she took her seat in the balcony at the Downtown Lyric Opera. Benoît Batteux portrayed the tragic character of Don Carlos, his heavenly voice enrapturing her. By the end of it, Cassandra’s heart ached, and tears streaked down her face.
Next, she boarded the Artistico, the newest moving art gallery. The images and paintings had a hauntingly beautiful aura to them that stirred discomfort and awe deep within her stomach. The train completed its circuit before she could view all the pieces on Elenore’s list, but she got close.
Cassandra grabbed dinner at a hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant where she ordered a mountain of jiaozi. The tables were packed almost as tightly as the dumplings served in steaming bamboo baskets. All around, people conversed and joked in Mandarin. Cassandra closed her eyes as she ate the first dumpling. The pork and cabbage filling in the dumpling skin mixed perfectly with the soy sauce. Somehow, she finished all the jiaozi. For Michelle.
By the time Cassandra arrived at the hospital, she was positively drained. The backpack she’d snagged from her apartment weighed heavily on her shoulders. It was dark. Maybe someone far above the atmosphere was preparing to leap between spaceships.
She took a deep breath, preparing herself to enter the building where she had once felt imprisoned by the very people trying to save her.
That’s all over now. She titled her chin up and entered.
“Evening, Cassy. You look as healthy as ever,” said a security guard from behind his podium. “Who’s the delivery for?”
“Thank you, Brett.” Cassandra proceeded through the security checkpoint. “Just the usuals.”
She took the stairs to the third floor. Nurses hurried by as she made her way to a room at the end of the long hallway. She knocked twice.
“Come in,” came a frail voice.
The sterile smell of the room struck Cassandra as she pushed the door open. Lacey wore her usual blue and white hospital gown. She barely raised her head as Cassandra entered.
“How are you?” Cassandra asked.
Lacey faked a smile. “I’m okay.”
Cassandra unpacked her bag. We’ll turn that into a real smile.
Soon, the transfer device was ready. Diodes and wires attached to the two women’s temples and foreheads connected them to a tablet resting on the table. Cassandra tapped the screen and then reached for Lacey’s hand.
“Are you ready to go to space?”
Lacey nodded. Tears slid down her face.
Cassandra pressed the button to start the transfer.
The pain was instantaneous. Every joint in her body throbbed as if dislocated. She couldn’t move. All she could do was stare at the ceiling through Lacey’s eyes until Lacey had finished reliving the memories of the space jump.
Though the transfer took less than a second, it seemed like hours had passed before Cassandra could feel through her own body again. She choked back tears. She hardly even noticed the missing memory from this morning, swapped out for an experience of agony and helplessness.
“I’m so sorry you have to go through this,” she whispered to Lacey.
Lacey smiled her beautiful, kind smile. A real one this time. “It’s no worse than what you endured during your time here.”
“Maybe.” Cassandra absently thumbed the scar on her neck. The rest of the scars were hidden beneath her shirt. “I had some help, too. How many times did you bike along the river in my place?”
Lacey shrugged. “You’ve repaid me a hundred times over. You don’t have to keep doing this.”
“I know.”
Cassandra packed up as quickly as she could, despite the ache in her heart. She still had others to visit. [...]
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November 25, 2022Originally published on gohavok.com.
“Some people never come out of there,” Jabril said.
Daniel gave him a flat look. “Do you really believe that rumor?”
They stood in front of a neglected library sandwiched between a bank and a corner boutique. Cracks and water stains spread across the faded yellow facade.
Jabril secured his long black dreads with a purple tie. Built like a boxer, he looked at home in his sleeveless hoodie and skinny jeans.
Daniel straightened his collar, conscious of the way his bony frame made sharp angles under his polo and slacks.
“When enough people tell the same story…” Jabril said.
Daniel shivered as a cold wind rattled the smudged windows. “I can’t do this without you. You know this is her last shot.”
It was all he needed to say. Daniel’s mom had practically raised Jabril as well.
Jabril let out a breath. “We’ll leave in time for dinner?”
“Of course.”
Daniel reached for the rusted door handle. Jabril put a hand on his shoulder.
“Just… promise you’ll be careful.”
Daniel flashed a smile. “I promise.”
He led Jabril inside.
“Welcome to Alexander’s, where the mysteries of life are laid bare,” droned an elderly man as he made notations in a ledger. “I’m Alexander. All guests may stay for as long as they’d like and not a moment less.”
Row after unorganized row, pile after haphazard pile, the books never ended. Lamps hung from low wooden rafters. Ladders at unpredictable intervals led to levels above. Walls of books opened abruptly to new passageways.
Daniel smiled and drank in the welcomed smell of dusty books. He wound his way through the maze. With every turn, he crawled deeper into the belly of the beast, stopping here and there to read dust jackets.
“There you are!” Jabril exclaimed. “Finally.”
Daniel looked up from the book he’d just picked up. When had he and Jabril separated?
“Finally? We haven’t been here that long.”
Jabril rubbed his forehead. “We’re already late for dinner. Let’s go.”
“Not yet.”
“You promised.”
Jabril slid his arm around Daniel and steered him to leave, but almost instantly he sucked in a sharp breath and stumbled away, shaking his forearm where an angry red mark formed. The surrounding lamps flickered and dimmed.
“What the—?”
“Just come back later,” Daniel snapped.
Jabril’s desperate eyes pleaded with Daniel.
Daniel turned his back before the look could thaw his resolve. I will find what I’m looking for.
Jabril left.
Daniel kept reading.
Jabril reappeared a few minutes later. Something about his tank top and joggers tickled the back of Daniel’s brain.
“I’m worried about you,” Jabril said.
Daniel rolled his eyes and picked up the next book. “Mom won’t mind if I’m late to dinner.”
“Dinner was yesterday,” Jabril said.
Yesterday? Daniel shook himself. “It doesn’t matter. Once I figure out how to heal her, she’ll understand.”
“What if it isn’t possible?”
Daniel glared at Jabril. “If you were my friend, you’d understand how important this is to me.”
Jabril left in silence.
Over the next few hours, Jabril returned less frequently. Each time, he pleaded with Daniel to leave. Daniel tried to be patient, but why couldn’t his friend understand how close he was to a solution?
Then Daniel found it.
He held the leather book with reverence, hands trembling as he traced the embossed title: Foundations in Transplants via Entanglement.
“It’s time to go,” Jabril said. He wore a gray hoodie, matching sweats, Converse, and ski gloves, despite the library’s warmth.
“Almost,” Daniel promised. “I found the book! I just need to read it before we leave.”
“Do you have no idea how long it’s been?”
Jabril grabbed Daniel’s bicep with alarming force and hauled him forward.
“What are you doing?” Daniel demanded.
Jabril didn’t answer. Smoke wafted from the glove where it touched Daniel’s arm.
Daniel fought back. “I can save her!”
The glove caught fire. Jabril snatched it off with his free hand, then grabbed Daniel’s other arm. Daniel tried to break free, but Jabril was too quick.
Daniel’s mind clouded in panic. He screamed and flailed. It slowed them, but Jabril dragged him on.
Smoke curled from the second glove. Jabril dragged Daniel around corner after corner, but the exit was nowhere in sight.
“Your hand is burning!” Daniel cried. The foul stench stung his nose.
Tears spilled down Jabril’s face. He pressed on.
“Jabril!”
With a cry of pain and frustration, Jabril dropped Daniel, then used his hoodie to smother the fire consuming his hand. He stood still, taking ragged breaths. His hands shook. Sweat covered his dark face, rolling over wrinkles in his forehead that hadn’t been there just hours before.
“What—”
“I hope the book is worth your life,” Jabril spat.
He turned and left.
Trembling, Daniel found a comfortable spot among the books and began to read.
He finished the book just as Jabril approached.
“I need to tell you something,” Jabril said.
“I’m ready to go!” Daniel exclaimed. His heart was light with joy and relief. I finally did it. “I know how to save her!”
Jabril ran his burn-scarred hand over his short gray hair. Tears pooled in his eyes. “It’s too late.”
Fear lanced through Daniel’s chest. “What do you mean?”
“I should have told you before.” Jabril’s lip quivered. The strong boxer seemed to disappear before Daniel, replaced by a weary, aging man. “Your mom died over a decade ago.”
Daniel dropped onto the nearest pile of books, starting a miniature landslide.
She’s dead. Gone. Over a decade ago. How…? But somewhere deep within, he knew.
“Daniel?”
Numb, Daniel stood and waded through the books.
“She asked for you.” Jabril’s voice was thick with emotion. “I didn’t know what to tell her. She died asking for her son.”
Daniel picked up a book and examined it.
“Daniel, did you hear me?”
Daniel nodded. “I know I saw something in here about resurrection.”
He barely noticed Jabril leaving for the last time. [...]
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November 4, 2022Originally published on gohavok.com.
Hanu flattened the parchment on the grass and reviewed his handwritten spell for the final time. Proper exit condition for the main loop? Check. Clearly defined energy conversions? Check. Timeout in case of emergency? Of course.
“This is it,” he said.
The maple trees surrounding the clearing rustled in response. Birds above exchanged chirps. Rabbits darted through the thick grass in a game of chase, a dandelion exploding into white as they passed. A curious squirrel watched Hanu from atop a root, munching on a nut.
“Shoo!” Hanu shouted. “You don’t want to be around for this.”
Hanu pulled a thick tome from the old leather bag resting in the grass behind him. He flipped to the last of a dozen bookmarks. Following a diagram at the center, he removed a piece of wire from his pocket. He wrapped one end gently around his forearm and poked the other through the corner of the parchment.
“Compilio,” he whispered.
A jolt of electricity circled his forearm.
Hanu let out a sigh of relief. It works.
“We’ll see who’s too young for magic now,” he said to himself as he untied the wire. He stowed the book, spell, and wire in his bag then sat cross-legged in the middle of the clearing, palms down so that the tall grass brushed his fingertips.
“Scatter!” he shouted at the squirrel who continued to watch him. “Trust me, you’ll want to give me some space.”
Hanu leaned back and turned his gaze to the Giant Teeth Mountains beyond the forest. They had a particular way of calming him. The tallest of the mountains had an irregularly shaped peak, as if a god had taken a bite out of it. Hanu liked to imagine himself moving there. He would use magic to build a cabin in the middle of the toothy gap. It tugged at him in a way he couldn’t explain.
Deep breaths. Ten of them.
“I will learn,” Hanu muttered.
His heart pounded. His hands trembled.
Another deep breath. The name of the spell had to be spoken clearly.
“Sustained growth.”
Life flooded into him. The grass turned brown under his folded legs. Then black. The darkness spread.
Hanu smiled and closed his eyes.
Energy and euphoria filled him. He could accomplish anything with this power. And it only grew stronger.
Hanu opened his eyes. Dandelions shriveled and fell into the circle of death. It continued to grow.
And grow.
Soon, it reached the edges of the clearing. Alarm replaced ecstasy. How long had the spell been going? He counted in his mind.
Ten seconds. The darkness reached the trees.
Thirty. Their leaves turned brown like autumn. Then black. A shower of ashes settled on Hanu’s head.
One hundred. The limbs cracked and crumbled.
Panic seized Hanu.
It should have triggered a timeout!
He ripped the spell from his bag and skimmed to the exit conditions. His stomach sank.
“If a timeout occurs and the energy quota is reached,” he breathed.
It should say “or” you idiot!
Thick branches fell, shattering into a thousand pieces all around him.
Surely the spell had exceeded the energy quota by now. Both conditions should have ended it minutes ago.
Hanu resisted the urge to crumple the spell and flipped it over to check his calculations. He read it three times before he spotted it. A miscalculation in the unit conversions.
He’d multiplied by six over one instead of one over six.
Thirty-six. The spell was off by a factor of thirty-six.
Animals fled. The soil dried and cracked. Trees fell. Energy continued to pour into Hanu. Too much energy. A headache pounded against his skull. His body trembled, every part of him burning as if in contact with hot coals. He couldn’t take it. A scream tore from his lungs…
A wizard and his apprentice found the young man curled in a ball, surrounded by a sea of black. The wizard would have sensed that level of magical energy tens of leagues away, but at just a few miles, it had blazed like a beacon. It’s no coincidence, so close to the mountain.
“I thought it was the Delvers for certain,” the apprentice said. “But he’s barely more than a child. Serves him right, dabbling in arts he doesn’t understand.”
The wizard knelt and felt for a pulse. It was faint but steady.
“He will live,” he said. “He must have a strong pool within him.”
Stronger than either of us. He scooped up the young man and cradled him against his chest.
They made their way back through the piles of ashes and dried-out animal bones. The empty sky gave the moist air an unnatural, suffocating feeing.
They soon reached the edge of a lonely village. Once, it had been surrounded by trees. Now it was an oasis amid a sea of flat destruction.
The boy stirred and opened his eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“Without our wards, this village would be gone too,” the apprentice said, his voice low and hard.
The wizard spoke in a more calming voice. “You must learn your limits. We may be able to help.”
The apprentice scowled. “I say we leave him to make his own mistakes. He’s a danger to anyone near him.”
As they waited for the guard to open the village gate, the wizard’s gaze traveled to the Giant Teeth Mountains. They landed on the highest peak, its missing chunk yawning to the open sky.
He sighed and closed his eyes. No, he would not leave anyone else to suffer that fate. That which rested within the mountain must have drawn the boy. He will need my guidance if he is to have any hope of surviving the encounter.
The gate opened, and the party made its way inside.
“What happens now?” the boy asked in a shaky voice. “Will I be punished?”
“You will have the night to recover,” the wizard instructed. “In the morning, you begin your training. You must learn to restore, not destroy.” [...]
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September 23, 2022Your author website is the central hub of your work, the landing page to draw in new readers and welcome back old ones. It’s a must-have for authors, and while maintaining one can be expensive, it doesn’t have to be.
By the end of this article, you will be equipped to make informed decisions on where to create your website, and you will know exactly how much you should expect to pay.
Why does an author website cost money?
Purchasing a web domain. To have a website URL like calebarobinson.com instead of calebarobinson.wixsite.com, you’ll have to rent a domain from a registrar like GoDaddy or Google Domains.Building the website. Unless you want to create your website from scratch (and know how to), you’ll need to use a website builder. While free ones exist, they are often limited or don’t let you use your own domain.Hosting the website. Ever wondered where a website “lives”? The simple answer: on a web server, which someone has to maintain.
These costs are often bundled together. Let’s look at the individual price points before we get into some bundling options (including the one I chose).
Buying a Domain
Here’s the breakdown for purchasing tommy-robinson.com from some of the most popular sellers. Some have special offers for the first year, so we’ll look at the 5-year cost.
Google Domains— $12/year ($60 over 5 years)IONOS— $1 for the first year then $15/year ($61 over 5 years)GoDaddy— $0.01 for the first year then $19.99/year ($79.97 over 5 years)SquareSpace— $20/year ($100 over 5 years)
Winner: Google Domains
Note: prices may change. Use this as a baseline.
Carefully consider what you want your website URL to be. You can change this later on, but that would break any links on the internet pointing to your old URL (unless you want to pay for both domains).
Building and Hosting a Website
This step is more complex than buying a domain as there is more than just a flat fee to consider. For my personal research, I spent hours navigating each platform (where you manage your site) and using their editors (what you use to build your site).
The pricing models are a bit complicated, so we’ll use the monthly cost for each as a baseline.
Wix
Cost: $16/monthPros— Plenty of modern templates specifically for authors— Good built-in elements such as a newsletter signup or testimonial block— Decent editor that produces attractive websitesCons—Editor/platform load slowly— Can be hard to find your way around the platform— Expensive
SquareSpace
Cost: $16/monthPros— Great user interface throughout— Plenty of modern templates—Excellent editor that produces solid websitesCons—Can’t search templates, though there is filtering— Expensive
Weebly
Cost: $9/monthPros— User-friendly editor— Good user interface throughout— CheapCons— Not as many quality templates— Editor is somewhat limited and produces sites that feel less modern
WordPress
Cost: $9.99/month (with BlueHost)Pros—Essentially unlimited templates— Tons of support/tutorials online— Endless customizationCons— Steep learning curve for the editor— Requires more manual work in editing, customizing, etc.
Note: WordPress is technically free. However, hosting and setup is not included. For that piece, I used BlueHost as the baseline since it’s listed first in WordPress’s recommendations. Here’s the full list.
Who Wins?
Choose SquareSpace if you don’t mind the extra costs and want a very modern website that is relatively easy to create.Choose Weebly if you don’t want to spend much and don’t need anything overly complex or modern.Choose WordPress if you’d like a cheap option that gives you tons of customization in exchange for more upfront effort.
My Choice
I chose WordPress because I’ve seen a ton of really nice sites built with it, and with BlueHost, I pay a lot less over a 5-year period.
Of all the editors I used, WordPress did take the longest to learn. That’s partially because I’m a perfectionist, and it gives you so many options, from template selection and page types to blog preferences and more. The online community for WordPress is massive and very helpful, so any time I was stuck, a quick Google search yielded the answer.
Overall, I actually really enjoyed making my site on WordPress!
Cut Costs With Bundles
If you are able to, pay annually for whatever platform you decide to use. It’s usually about 30% cheaper. Wix and Weebly offer even bigger discounts if you pay for 2+ years upfront.
The bundle I chose is from BlueHost. They host my site for $2.95/month and installed WordPress for free. While the link below is an affiliate link, I reached out to BlueHost after conducting my research and choosing their platform for my own site.
Build and Host your site for $2.95/month with BlueHost and WordPress.
I hope that my research saves you some time and money. If you do end up going with WordPress and BlueHost, I’ll be posting a step-by-step guide on how to set everything up. [...]
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December 31, 2020Stephen King once said to “read and write four to six hours a day” to become a good writer.
That’s ridiculous.
Most of us work full time and have a hundred other responsibilities from our homes, social circles, and families. What does being a productive author look like when we don’t have those 4–6 hours a day? In truth, all you need is a few minutes a day, some simple techniques, and determination.
How long does it take to write a novel?
Some simple math reveals astonishing results: if you write just twenty minutes a day, six days a week, you will end up with the equivalent of Fahrenheit 451 and the first Harry Potter book in one year. That’s with two weeks off for vacation.
Photo by Joshua Earle on Unsplash
I assumed a writing speed of twenty words per minute. The average person can type 3–4 times that fast, but writing a novel or a blog requires a lot more thought than just spitting random words onto the screen. Twenty WPM is still reasonable but only if you’re doing the right things while you write.
Give yourself a launch-pad
A lot of writing time is spent catching up on where you last left off and determining how to continue. To avoid this, end in the middle of a paragraph or even the middle of a sentence. You will instinctively fill in the gaps when you return and save yourself a few minutes of recap.
End in the middle of a paragraph or even the middle of a sentence to give yourself a head-start in your next session.
Another similar trick is to open your word-processor right before you go to bed (or before your next writing session) and open it to your current project. The fewer barriers you have to start, the better.
Shut out distractions
If you write for twenty minutes a day, you can easily produce two novels in a year. However, many spend time “writing” with Facebook open in another tab or with their phone sitting face-up next to them. They’re one tap or click or notification away from a ten minute rabbit trail of Tweets and responses, posts and comments, videos and recommendations. Just like that, their writing time is gone.
Photo by Joshua Earle on Unsplash
Leave your phone in another room. Put you laptop in airplane mode. Shut out social media and entertainment for twenty minutes. You’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish.
Finding 20 minutes a day
You may need to sit down and re-evaluate how you’re spending your time. Try to think of the unhealthy, neutral, or even healthy things you can cut out of your life to make time for that which is even more important. Social media, naps, video games, social events — they’ve all got their time and place. After writing.
Try to think of the unhealthy, neutral, or even healthy things you can cut out of your life to make time for that which is even more important.
Somewhere in your busy schedule and hectic life, there is twenty minutes you can use to write. The average person spends 2 hours and 24 minutes on social media. Even if you aren’t average, there’s a good chance you can cut out half an hour of Instagram to pursue your dreams of being an author.
Photo by Joshua Earle on Unsplash
No matter what your situation, you will need to make priorities. Ideally, you could just eliminate unhealthy habits and use that time to write. However, you may need to pick and choose from a few places in the beginning. Later on, you can continue to cut back on unhealthy things and reinstate other healthy habits.
Sticking to your writing schedule
A “schedule” in this sense refers to a birds-eye view of how you’re going to write your two books this year. The calculations I mentioned earlier have built-in breaks. Once a week, you can take a day off. Use it to avoid burnout. If you’re in a busy time of your life or just need a vacation, take a week-long break. If you feel guilty taking a break from writing, you’ll avoid returning. Writer’s block will only compound the longer you’re away. These breaks are there so you don’t feel guilty when you need to step away for a time.
If you feel guilty taking a break from writing, you’ll avoid returning. Writer’s block will only compound the longer you’re away.
Use your time off wisely. Do your absolute best to stick to your timetables so you can write two novels this year!
When inspiration fails you
If you’re depending on inspiration to carry you to the finish line, you’re in deep trouble. Inspiration is wonderful but unreliable.
“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.”– Jack London
A daily or weekly routine or even just the habit of writing in spare moments or in huge chunks on the weekends (whatever works best for you) will trump inspiration 9/10 times. You have to sit down at the keyboard even if you know every word you to write will be uninspired and dull. Even if the words are a jumbled mess, they’re better than nothing.
“You can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page”– Jodi Picoult
Twenty minutes a day of focused writing, two hours of nonstop effort each weekend, or 120 minutes scattered throughout the week. That’s all it takes to write two novels in a year. Anyone can do that. You can do that. [...]
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August 18, 2020There’s a novel waiting for you — a novel that requires your unique experiences, voice, and skill to write. If only you knew exactly what it was. Often, a writer’s only hope is to approach a book idea with care and deliberation. We explore the possibilities in our daydreams and jot down the thoughts that flash by like lightning bugs. We allow the book to come to us. Sometimes the distance between author and story closes at a steady pace as world-building pieces are laid down like roadwork in an industrial city. Sometimes, progress is much, much slower. What can authors do while our ideas simmer, while we prepare them with all the right ingredients?
Keep your writing skills fresh with short stories
It can be tempting to put all your effort and energy into developing a novel idea while neglecting the act of physically writing. Especially when it’s your first book. But few things are worse than finally sitting down to type that first sentence and realizing you haven’t written anything in months. You’re out of practice, and now your skills aren’t up to the task of bringing your carefully crafted world to life.
The best way to avoid this is to keep writing while you wait for ideas to settle. Writing short stories is an excellent way to do this. They can be challenging and will push you to your limits as a writer. Best of all, writing short stories prepares you to write your book. After all, each chapter is supposed to be a sort of short story on its own. When it comes time to write that first sentence, writers who have continued to hone their skills will be more than ready to jump right in.
Read as much as possible
Writers who don’t read are surprisingly common, and I can usually tell one by reading their work; they tend to write stories that feel like words on a page instead of engrossing tales. I can’t imagine a film director who doesn’t watch movies or a singer who listens only to instrumental music. How would they know what audiences expect? How could they understand the necessary techniques?
Writers who don’t read tend to write stories that feel like words on a page instead of engrossing tales.
Reading consistently does not make you a good writer in itself. It is, however, a necessity. It allows you to recognize flaws in your own work by pure instinct. Not to mention, reading is an excellent source of inspiration.
Perfect your writing style
In my first year of being a writer, I probably read a dozen articles on “voice” alone. It seemed as if I needed to completely rewire my brain to produce unique-sounding sentences or witty dialog. The truth is, finding your writing voice is nothing more than practicing your craft in a variety of styles. I wrote serious short stories with dramatic diction and sweeping sentences that spanned half a page. I tried playful biographical pieces recounting humorous events in my life. I wrote informative, non-fiction pieces with an academic (and somewhat pretentious) tone.
Finding your writing voice is nothing more than practicing your craft in a variety of styles.
Eventually, I found I could keep a consistent, familiar voice across many different genres and mediums. I discovered what I was good at and worked to strengthen these skills. The planning stage of a novel is the perfect opportunity for writers to establish their voice.
Work on side projects
Every experienced writer knows how dangerous this piece of advice is. Pursuing a “pet” project can clear up writer’s block and inspire new content in your main work in progress. However, some of us end up with a second pet project, and then third. Then a fourth. Soon, our time and energy are stretched between a half-dozen ideas, and none of them are getting the attention they need to really turn into something worthwhile. I would advise no more than two projects at once. Three if you must. Beyond that, it can be more harmful than helpful. Nevertheless, a side project can be extremely helpful for developing your skills and helping you through times of writer’s block.
Pursue other hobbies
Photo by Anne Nygård on Unsplash
95% of my world-building occurs when I’m nowhere near my laptop or notebook. There’s something profoundly beneficial about letting your mind wander while you do something you enjoy. I’ve solved countless plot-holes while shooting a basketball or building something with LEGOs. Engaging in a tactile hobby that leaves room for daydreams and simple problem solving is an excellent way to brainstorm, plot, and world-build.
Keep an open mind
Until that first draft is written, a story is hardly more than a vague mental map and a scattering of notes and words documents. This a beautiful stage in its lifetime, one that allows a unique level of flexibility. You are free to do anything without having to make edits or rewrites. Want to swap out the main character? No problem. Would this story work better as a trilogy? Not too late to make that decision. You could even switch genres entirely or decide on a different tone or target audience.
The point is, don’t set your heart on anything. Allow everything to be questioned. Open yourself to changes that will improve your novel, its characters, and the way you present it to your future audience. Because once your story is on paper, changing things becomes much harder. Sure the manuscript will mutate in the months to come, and rewrites are inevitable. But making those changes now can only benefit you.
Open yourself to changes that will improve your novel, its characters, and the way you present it to your future audience.
Pursue your own life
One of the biggest mistakes a writer can make is this — missing out on your own life. The best writers are those who are keen observers of the world around them, who understand their emotions and the things that cause them to shift, who understand people, who spend the weekend with new and old friends, who aren’t afraid of adventure. The best writers are the ones who can be productive and still find time for new experiences.
Preparing to write a new novel is often an immense task, especially when inspiration and direction elude us. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to stay productive in the time between. [...]
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November 27, 2019How LEGOs Shaped My Career
I wouldn’t have a Software Engineering internship right now without the skills and lessons I learned playing with LEGOs. I doubt I would have 62,000 followers on my author Instagram either. I certainly wouldn’t have written two novels during college.
I remember shouting with glee when my mother told me I was old enough to graduate from Duplos to LEGOs. I was three at the time. What started as a way to spend time with my brother and sister quickly grew into an obsession. Every dollar I earned doing chores I spent on LEGOs. Every Christmas, my list consisted of the different sets I wanted. I even convinced my parents to install shelves in my bunk bed so I could build my creations right up to lights-out. At the time, I could hardly believe they agreed to it. Now I understand what they already knew — LEGOs stimulated the creative and logical parts of my brain better than any amount of schoolwork or piano lessons ever could.
My love for LEGOs only grew when I discovered MOCpages, a website where people posted their MOCs (My Own Creations) and even told stories with them. I uploaded my first post within hours of discovering the platform. I had no idea how much I would learn because of it.
The first story I told using LEGOs featured Boromir and Faramir from the Lord of the rings
Skills I Acquired Because of LEGOs
While the creativity of building with LEGOs has plenty of its own benefits, I gained much more than this. Many of the skills most fundamental to my career and to my passions now were a direct result of the little plastic bricks.
Web Development
The website on which my stories were hosted allowed users to customize their posts and their user homepage with HTML. This was my first taste in web development. I learned to create links from one creation to the next, customize my fonts and backgrounds to fit the mood of the story, format paragraphs and titles, and much more.
<!-- A snippet of the first custom HTML I wrote at age 12: --><p style="font-size:72px;color:green"> ISLAND LOCKED</p>
This simple introduction into the world of development helped me realize the internet wasn’t an unknowable black box. I understood that people like me could contribute. I even created a website on Weebly to host a Choose Your Own Adventure game. It featured a man who woke up in the back of a police car with no memory. It took me weeks of writing, building, photographing, and editing to create.
A website I “designed” on Weebly to host a Choose Your Own Adventure game.
I actually found the website if you want a look inside my teenage brain and play the game. Fair warning, it’s a bit gory.
These first tastes in the world of web development would subtly guide me to my field of study in college seven years later: computer science.
Photography
As I continued to create stories for my surprisingly large audience (most of my posts on the website received over 2,000 views and dozens of comments), I learned how to take better pictures so the audience wouldn’t get distracted by blurriness, shadows, or bad angles. I learned to light the set better, to use the settings on my camera, and to touch up the images up in Photoshop later.
You can see the improvement made over the years of building and photographing LEGOs
As my stories delved deeper into sci-fi and fantasy, I reached the capacity for what I could do with LEGOs. I learned to use GIMP so I could create my own visual effects. It taught me the basics of extracting elements from photos, adding blurs, adjusting shadows and lighting, drawing over empty sections, and much more. I use these skills on a weekly basis in my own design projects now.
A space ship exploding created in GIMP
Writing
From the onset, my goal was to tell captivating stories with the visual aid of LEGO figures. The sets I built were to enhance the story and were never the focus of my efforts. I started off telling “forgotten” stories of my favorite fictional heroes from the Lord of the Rings, Narnia, and other classics. I soon tired of this and drew up characters of my own and placed them worlds I’d dreamed up. Thus began a lifetime storytelling.
My early stories were riddled with grammatical blunders like this one:
“He looked around himself, he was sitting in sand, surrounded but a few pants.”
As I wrote more and as my audience continued to point out my errors, my writing and proofreading skills improved. But the most beneficial aspect of my new hobby was seeing the kind of stories people did or did not enjoy. The comment sections were always filled with other kids my age talking their favorite character, the most recent plot twist, or about how such-and-such didn’t seem realistic. Over the next 4–5 years, I absorbed this feedback and tuned my craft accordingly. I didn’t realize how lucky I was to have dozens of free and involved beta readers. Most authors would pay good money for that kind of feedback.
Design
I quickly realized that stories with eye-catching covers grabbed readers’ attention. This concept became the foundation of my design knowledge — knowledge that would help me create stylistic social media posts in the future. This process forced me to download new fonts, watch tutorials on generating paper textures in GIMP, research lens-flares, and create countless other effects most kids my age had never even heard of. I enjoyed every moment of it, and it taught me an incredibly valuable lesson — you can learn anything on the internet.
A few of the designs I made in my early teens.
Stop-Motion Animation
For about a year, I spent most of my free time animating LEGO “movies” frame by frame. While it’s not exactly a skill I use day-to-day, it taught me other, more transferable skills. I learned that a good product takes patience (often, a ten-second clip took hours of work). Constantly having to redo shots because of a single misplaced piece taught me to pay close attention to detail and continuity. These videos were also my first venture into running a YouTube channel and growing an authentic audience, both of which are skills I use regularly.
via GIPHY
Lessons I Learned Because of LEGO
Just as important as the skills I learned from my years of building stories with LEGOs are the lessons I learned. Without them, I may not have enjoyed as much success in college or in my career.
“I Can Figure That Out”
This is the mindset every good programmer has. There is no feasible way to know every programming language, algorithm, framework, or methodology. The beauty (and value) comes from the ability to continually teach yourself anything and everything.
If I needed to make adjustments to my camera’s settings to capture night scenes for my stories, I Googled it and figured it out. When my computer was too slow to run Photoshop, I found out how to de-fragment the disk and to uninstall unused programs. If I needed to add a rain effect to my image or make the LEGO flames come to life in post, I pulled up a tutorial on YouTube. This process gave me a love of learning no formal education could have instilled.
One of my more ambitious post-production shots featuring a burning house in the rain.
The Flow of Community
When I first joined MOCpages, it was all about me. How many likes would my next MOC get? Would more people join the official fan group? How long could I stay on the homepage? As the years went by, I learned to have a broader perspective on creativity. After I had established myself on the site, I took the time to leave positive and helpful feedback for other creators. I learned to be a supporter and a fan too and not just another desperate kid trying to get people to add him to their “Favorite Builders” list.
These lessons transitioned remarkably well to my Instagram page. I was already accustomed to the give-and-take nature of the platform and quickly built relationships with other, book-minded users. It was through these early followers and their support and feedback that I built write_or_left to where it is now.
One-Man-Brand
My stories were always a one-man (or boy) operation. I built the sets, took the pictures, added the visual effects, wrote, formatted, and uploaded the story, and promoted the post. That’s a lot for a 12–15-year-old to figure out. It gave me an independent mindset from a very young age that prepared me for my current job as a full stack developer.
The Value of Hobbies
I have more hobbies than I can count or keep up with, and I will never change that. I love creating and learning new things. I can’t imagine coming home from work every day and not engaging with a project or researching a new idea I have. These things give me so much joy, and I owe them to my first hobby — LEGOs. In fact, it’s still a big hobby of mine. Building with my hands does wonders for curing writer’s block and relieving stress. Some of my best ideas come while I’m creating something else.
I never fully realized the full extent of LEGO’s influence in my life until I wrote this blog. It’s strange to think so many of my interests — and even my career — started with a few LEGO figures, a camera, and my mom’s laptop. I’ll forever be grateful for the experiences, skills, and lessons I gained from the little plastics bricks. [...]
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November 16, 2019Write a Hook That Captivates
I am proud to announce that my first book has now been rejected by over 20 agents, none of which asked to read beyond the first chapter.
The most recent rejection was from an agent I was sure would sign me. After 9 weeks of checking my spam folder “just in case”, I received a response. This is what I learned from it: my ideas are original, my platform exceeds expectations, and my writing is almost not horrible.
Almost.
I realized I have a lot to learn. That night, I bought several books on Amazon on self-editing and selected two-day delivery to ensure I’d be a master of prose in no more than a week. The first of my research agreed with some advice I always heard but assumed didn’t apply to me: Generous readers give your book three pages to captivate. Most give you one sentence. Agents aren’t rejecting my project without cause. Maybe this is one of the reasons.
Generous readers give your book three pages to captivate. Most give you one sentence.
Let’s analyse my first sentence:
“Evan checked the bathroom to make sure it was empty then ducked into the nearest stall, latching it shut behind him.”
I can think of two good things to say. First, it makes you wonder (if even just a little) why he needs the bathroom to be empty. Second, it is grammatically correct.
Let’s focus on what successful authors have done and steal their techniques. These examples are from books I grabbed from my shelf at random. They all share one thing — their first sentences are flipping awesome.
Scythe
“We must, by law, keep a record of the innocents we kill.”~Neal Shusterman
This is the type of writing that makes me want to both salute and stab the author. It’s so good, I have to respect it, no matter how jealous it makes me.
“By law” coupled with “innocents we kill” is instantly enthralling. What kind of society allows murder?Cold, business-like narration characterizes the author of this journal entry and generates more curiosity.We infer whoever is doing the killing does it frequently enough to necessitate record-keeping. Now we have to read on.
The Hobbit
“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.”~J.R.R. Tolkien
Beginnings don’t have to be jarring to be interesting. A simple sentence like this is enough to make a reader think, “What’s with these ‘Hobbit’ creatures?” and then keep reading. That is the primary goal.
The Glass Castle: A Memoir
“I was sitting in a taxi, wondering if I had overdressed for the evening, when I looked out the window and saw Mom rooting through a Dumpster.”~Jeannette Walls
Here the author starts with character, and it works wonderfully. We get a contrast between two important people in the story: Jeannette and her mother. Even more important, we’re drawn in by their relationship. If Jeanette is wealthy enough for a cab and fancy clothes, why is her mother rummaging in the trash?
The Eye of the World
“The palace still shook occasionally as the earth rumbled in memory, groaned as if it would deny what had happened.”~Robert Jordan
I don’t care if it’s cliche to say, this sentence gives me chills. It perfectly portrays the colossal scale of the series and hooks the reader. We must know what was so horrible it caused a literal earthquake.
Fixing my book
Let’s look at it my first quote again.
“Evan checked the bathroom to make sure it was empty then ducked into the nearest stall, latching it shut behind him.”
It doesn’t hold up. Not against the simplicity of Toklien’s opening, the scale of Jordan’s, the characterization of Walls’, or the intrigue of Shusterman’s. What can we do to make it better? Here is a question stolen from Stein on Writing that may help:
“Can you make your first sentence more intriguing by introducing something unusual, something shocking perhaps, or something that will surprise the reader?”~Sol Stein
As it happens, there is something intriguing in the first paragraph of my novel:
“…He held the book cautiously under the light. The cover was embossed with intricate gold trim, and each page was made of perfectly crisp, old-fashioned parchment, like something a medieval king would use to record his valiant deeds.”
Not a horrible description, but is it enough to capture the reader in its current state? Not if over 20 professionals have anything to say about it. Let’s try adding this old, fancy book to the first sentence, leaving out the description.
“Evan tucked the book of a dead warrior’s memories under his arm and slipped into the vacant bathroom where no prying eyes would catch him reading.”
I’d say this is significantly better, but not sufficient. We have something unusual and we have someone acting suspicious. There’s still no clear conflict, however, and it’s too wordy. Let’s fix the first problem:
Evan’s book was capable of transporting him to the memories of a dead warrior, but at the moment, he had to escape his friends’ prying eyes.
Finally, the hook has some good content. We’ll clean it up just a touch. First, here’s the original:
“Evan checked the bathroom to make sure it was empty then ducked into the nearest stall, latching it shut behind him.”
Now, the finished product:
“Evan’s book could transport him to a dead warrior’s past, if only he could escape his friends long enough to use it.”
While I’m sure there are a dozen ways to improve it, I think we can agree my new first sentence is exponentially better than it was before. Along the way, I’ve learned the basics of crafting a hook, and hopefully you have too. remember, a good first sentence compels the reader to continue. Use intrigue, conflict, surprise, and contrast, but make it brief. [...]
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October 31, 2019Only a Fool
NaNoWriMo is short for National Novel Writing Month — an event where writers all over the world attempt to do what professionals generally take months, years, and even decades to accomplish: write a novel.
The official goal is to write 50,000 words in November. 1,667 words a day, 30 days in a row.
If you ask me, it’s borderline foolish. Especially if you don’t prepare.
But it can be worth it.
Should You Participate?
NaNo can significantly boost productivity if done correctly. Here’s a simple flow chart to help you decide if this event is right for you.
Photo by Robert Baker on Unsplash
If you have even 30 minutes a day, I’d recommend joining the party. Lower your goal to something more reasonable for your current circumstances and stick to it! You’d be amazed at what 30 minutes of writing for 30 days in a row can yield.
How to Succeed
Succeeding in NaNoWriMo requires simple prep-work, a system for making time to write, and a whole lot of perseverance.
The Prep Work
If you’re a Plotter, you likely have your own system for planning a novel. Make sure it’s completed before November 1. Pansters, here’s what I recommend for prep:
Find a character that intrigues you and drop them into a premise that excites you.
I also recommend daydreaming throughout the day and thinking of possible routes you want to take with the story. Just having that rough skeleton will help when you sit down to knock out those first 1,667 words at the start of this coming month.
The System
Some people sneak out of bed every day before the earliest bird has its worm so they can reach their word count before work. Some type quietly in the guest room as the candles slowly burns into the night. Others like me find random pockets during the commute, while we eat lunch, or after the kids are in bed. There’s no ‘right’ system except that which works for you. Try a few things, settle into a routine, and stick to it.
The Mindset
This is going to be a difficult task. Few complete it. My advice: prepare to succeed, but know that writing 30,000 words in one month is still amazing. You’re not a failure any other month for cranking out 20,000 words, why should this month be any different?
The whole point of this is to make progress on a novel, to focus your efforts more than any other time of the year. If you do it without ‘winning’ NaNoWriMo, you’ve still succeeded.
Final Tips
Here are some other ways to improve your NaNo experience.
Tell friends and family you’re participating (as a warning to them and for accountability).Convince a writing buddy to do it with you.Don’t neglect reading books you enjoy.Don’t neglect your sanity.If you’re ahead, STAY AHEAD. Don’t skip a day unless you have to.Ignore editing until December.
A Note to Writers Currently Editing: I recommend participating in NaNoEdMo — National Novel Editing Month (I thought I made the term up, but apparently it exists). The goal here is to edit for 50 hours during the month.
This is a fun yet grueling time. Remember to keep the end goal in sight: make progress, make progress, and make progress — no matter how ‘trivial’. [...]
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September 14, 2019My Instagram account reached 50k followers a few weeks ago. Was it worth the time and effort? In some ways, no.
Any aspiring author these days knows that having a platform is no longer optional. With the advertising side of publishing falling more and more onto the author, it’s no wonder.
Platform is no longer optional.
So we build our platform. We blog. We post funny writing memes. We Tweet about our struggles and victories. We do goofy polls on Instagram. And slowly, more and more people stop by and decide to stay. But is it worth the effort?
I like to think of building platform as a local band in the days before the internet, trying to build an audience. They start passing out flyers and play cover songs at local coffee shops and pubs. Word spreads over the months and slowly, they interest people with snippets of their abilities and clever advertising. They manage to book an auditorium which seats 1,000 people. Even crazier, they actually sell out! Everyone shows up excited to hear this new band. They could be the next big thing! When the band members step on stage, the whole room buzzes with electricity and anticipation.
Now I want you to imagine that this fresh band has one small secret — they haven’t written a single song. In fact, they haven’t even practiced in weeks. They have no idea what they’re about to play.
It’s not hard to picture how this will end.
This is what getting caught up in “marketing yourself” can do to aspiring authors. It’s necessary to build a platform. But it’s ultimately useless if you have nothing to give your audience. Like the band, we need to start early with flyers and snippets of our abilities (or in our case, social media and blogs). But none of that matters if we fail to actually write our novel. Learning our trade comes before anything else. Progressing chapter by chapter is more important than posting on Instagram. Short stories are more valuable than any Tweet, no matter the retweet count. Even a simple word sprint will at least stretch our abilities more than posting a handful of pointed memes and funny Tweets.
It’s necessary to build a platform. But it’s ultimately useless if you have nothing to give your audience.
But can’t this be said of any hobby or activity that isn’t writing? Isn’t Netflix or Hulu or HGTV even worse? At least building a platform achieves something valuable.
Ah, but that’s the trap. Building your platform gives you the illusion of having completed your writer-ly duties. Tell me if this sounds familiar. “Should I write a chapter tonight? Nah, I already made a pretty lengthy Tumblr post about how to write sword duels.” Or how about, “Dang, I gained a thousand followers last month. If even 1% of them buy my book, that’s 10 extra readers!”
Building your platform gives you the illusion of having completed your writer-ly duties.
The pitfalls are subtle but dangerous. Posting on Tumblr and gaining followers are good things. The problem occurs when you allow it to substitute actual, old-fashioned writing.
I’ve had my Instagram for four years now. In that time, I’ve posted over 1000 times. I’ve also written two books, the second of which I have rewritten four times and drafted seven times. I’ve posted blogs, made YouTube videos, and queried dozens of agents. But yet I’ve written only one chapter in the last four weeks.
So what changed? How did I go from managing my platform and writing/editing frequently to just managing the platform and nothing else? I’ve got two words for you:
Numbers and scrolling.
I catch myself obsessing over the growth and engagement of my account. How many retweets am I averaging? How many people followed me yesterday?How many claps did my Medium blog get?
What value do any of these numbers give me? A shot of dopamine, quite frankly. There’s miles of research on the subject, so I won’t get into it. But honestly I’m just patting myself on the back when I head to the stats page. Or when things aren’t going so well, I agonize over them. But this knowledge of my growth of lack thereof changes nothing. I’m still going to post once a day regardless. My content is still going to be somewhat funny with a touch of inspiration. I’m still going to have conversations with my followers. The knowledge literally adds no real value to my life. Usually, it just subtracts from it.
Scrolling is worse for most of us than checking numbers. I know we’ve all been there. We get on Instagram or Twitter to post a funny “writer’s moment” like this one:
Photo by Hugh Han on Unsplash
And then instead of hopping off after checking in with a few of our writer friends, we just…scroll. And scroll. And scroll. And
s
c
r
o
l
l
Before we know it, it’s been an hour and a half and we’ve used our writing time to consume Tweets. We’ve got work or school in the morning, and we’ve written one Tweet and 0 words.
At this point, the question must be asked: how do we have our platform and it eat too? Or something like that.
First, we have to be aware of the problem. That’s where this article comes in. If you find yourself nodding along like, “Ah yes, I too have fallen victim to Instagram’s uncanny predictions of what content I like,” then you know it’s a problem. For me, the reminder came, surprisingly, from a sermon.
Step one, acknowledge the problem.
The sermon lead me to these questions: what was I made to do, write or scroll through Tumblr? Write or obsess over numbers? Write or “research” on YouTube by watching “Irish People Try American Breakfast Cereals”.
Second step, fix it. But how? Honestly, I’m still figuring it out. It’s different for every person. Maybe for you it’s creating specific times set aside for you to post, interact with followers, and genuinely build your platform. Then you move on with your day.
One thing I do is set my phone across the room. This was my wife’s idea, actually. And man does it reveal how dependent I am on that thing. I find myself subconsciously pawing at my pockets or patting the bed around me before I stop myself and return my focus to what’s at hand.
I’m still figuring this out, and I know you’ve got places to be. So here is a burst of ideas to help you balance platform building with writing.
Write first, build platform later.Set a timer before you get on to check/post on social media.Have a set purpose when you open the app (e.g. “I’m only going to reply to comments on my most recent post then get off).Unplug your router or turn your device on airplane mode while writing.Set your phone password to “4-8-15-16-23-42” so you can’t log in subconsciously.Have a writer friend who will keep you accountable.Honestly, whatever you find that works. There’s a million ways to do this. The most important part is to decide you’re going to prioritize writing.
That’s all I’ve got. Just write more, yeah? Social media is a tool and a classic Indiana Jones trap — there’s a shiny jewel, but you gotta outrun a boulder of un-productivity before it steamrolls your writing time. [...]
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July 13, 2019It’s been your dream to be a non-writer ever since you were a little girl reading during the long summer days at your grandmother’s farm. You remember basking in wonder at the new worlds you could explore from the comfort of the living room, thinking, “Gee. One day when I’m all grown up, I’d like to be a sales analyst.”
Or maybe not.
I’m convinced the desire to write is not some slight nudge toward a blank document on your laptop. It’s more like an unbreakable elastic band that won’t let you leave for more than a few weeks before it snaps you back into its grip. For many of us, writing is inescapable. For others, it’s the only thing that gets us from day to day. For a select group, it’s what puts food on the table. But those are the lucky ones.
So how can you survive long enough as one of the “unlucky” ones to become a career author?
Read
I’m always surprised by how little some writers read. My compulsion to write stems from my love of reading. Deep down, I know I have a story other people will fall in love with. I want to give back to the community that has given me so much happiness and enjoyment.
But not everyone has time to read. I get that. I might respond with the annoyingly overused quote, “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have time to write,” but I don’t necessarily agree with that. Instead, I’d like to throw an alternative quote at you:
If you don’t have time to read, you won’t know how to write, nor will you have the motivation to be a writer.
It comes down to this: being a writer is being in love with story telling. If you’re at a point in life where you don’t have time to tell your story, reading is an excellent way to quench your story needs. Furthermore, it draws you into the land of stories and takes you on a journey. It fills you with motivation to get your own book out there. On top of that, reading gives you technical/stylistic knowledge that can sometimes only be known on a subconscious level, taught by years of consuming good stories and learning how they sound.
If you’re at a point in life where you don’t have time to tell your story, reading is an excellent way to quench your story needs.
Play the long game
It’s difficult for me to plan more than 20 minutes ahead. It’s nearly impossible to consider a decade into the unknown. But I must. All people should, but especially writers.
S.E. Hinton may have written The Outsiders in high school and published it early in college, but you likely won’t experience such early success (and if you do, please teach me your ways). Writing is one of those things where you could make slow progress for 15 years and finally get where you want to be or make no progress for 20 years then suddenly find yourself a bestselling author. It’s impossible to know.
This is encouraging because it means you don’t have to stress about seeing results. Should you be building your platform on social media? Yes. Should you be writing blogs and short stories? Also yes. Should you expect to have your first novel published? No, probably not.
Working 40 hours a week anywhere is tough. Working 40 hours a week at a job you’re not passionate about is emotionally exhausting. Getting rejection letters on top of that? Brutal. Just remember these three things:
Any progress is good progress. Rejection means you’re trying. Success is almost never instant.
So when you’re out of energy at the end of the week and the most you can manage is a paragraph of poorly written garbage before your brain splits in two and leaks out your ears, give yourself some credit. Most people go to work, and that’s it. You’re trying to do what they do to survive, and on top of that, kick off an entirely different career. Be patient. Stay focused. Play the long game.
Enjoy Life
It’s so easy to be discontent.
You’re underpaid. No one reads your work. Bills are somehow getting more expensive each month. You feel tired all the time. Your dreams seem to be slipping away.
Life can beat us up sometimes.This is especially true of people who aspire to do something great. Writing a book and/or pursuing a career in a highly competitive field which pays very little simply because you’re passionate about it, that’s noble. But sometimes, we forget that isn’t the only thing we were made for. Other parts of our life can become nothing more than unwanted distractions to us. This isn’t healthy, and it will rob us of joy.
When you find yourself without time to write, try not to see this as a bad thing. People are more important than your book. Whether you’re doing something fun like having a game night or something mundane like grocery shopping, try to enjoy it. Yes, even if you had planned on spending that time catching up on your blog. The better you are at living your own life, the better you will be at writing real characters your audience will truly care about. But becoming a better writer isn’t the only motivation. Maybe when you become a full time author with huge book deals you’ll look back and long for a time when no one was waiting on your book and you could just shut the laptop and go play some Chutes and Ladders with your kids. Enjoy what you have now.
The better you are at living your own life, the better you will be at writing real characters your audience will truly care about.
Don’t give up being a writer. If you’re discouraged, don’t worry. You’re not alone. Try to remember that you’re making progress, even if you don’t see it. You’re improving your craft and building your platform. Don’t expect instant success. If you want to make it as a full time writer, you’ve gotta make it as a full time non-writer first. These are the proving grounds, and you’re doing just fine.
Thanks for reading! Feel free to follow me on Medium! [...]
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April 11, 2019I don’t feel like writing. And yet here I am, typing away at an advice article on how to push through those days where literally anything sounds better than staring at a screen with vacant eyes and an empty brain. So how can you crank through that word count when your brain doesn’t want to?
First of all, let’s think about other professions for a moment (yes, I understand this is a hobby for most of us, but bear with me). People push through grueling tasks every day. Mechanics don’t just toss their tools in a bin and call it a day because they’re “not feeling it”. Doctors perform surgery even when they’re not “inspired”. Hardworking custodians show up every night, despite not feeling “passionate” about toilets. But we writers seem to think there’s a special rule about writers that says, “Oh yeah, they only do stuff when they’ve been blessed by the Holy Muses.”
I can already hear you saying, “But I only write as a hobby. Why would I write if it’s not enjoyable?”
That’s a fair question. As with most things in writing, the answer is subjective. But I’m going to do that annoying thing where I answer your question with a question of my own: “Don’t you want to want to write?”
I think the answer for most of us is a clear “yes”. As writers, we desire the desire to write, but we don’t always know how to get there. I have a few tips and thoughts that might help get you rolling.
As writers, we desire the desire to write, but we don’t always know how to get there.
1. Set an easy goal
When I say to set an “easy” goal, I mean easy easy. Easy as in, “I’m going to write three sentences and call it a day.” Easy as in, “I’ll find a source for this research project then do something else.”
The biggest problem for many of us is simply beginning. Setting a simple goal allows us to do so without pressure and often continue the flow without effort. If I sit down to write one paragraph, I’ll more than likely think of what happens in the one after that, then the following paragraph. Before I know it, I’ve written a few pages all because I sat down to write 1/4 of one!
Setting a simple goal allows us to begin without pressure
In the cases where you sit down, grind out a paragraph, and still feel like you’ve got nothing to give, that’s okay. You’ve made some progress. And that’s infinitely better than none. Not only that, but you’ve kept up your habit of writing daily, which many consider to be the most important thing in a productive writing career.
2. Reconsider the content you’re writing
I would say at least 50% of the time I don’t want to write, it’s because I know I’m not going to enjoy the scene/article I have next on my list. Here are some questions to ask yourself to get to the root of the problem
Why do I feel obligated to write this? This is often the start of your lack of enthusiasm. If you feel tied to the scene because it’s vital to the plot, consider a more appealing alternative that allows the story to progress but in more fun or interesting way. If it’s a topic you promised to cover in an article, try to approach it from a different perspective (e.g. change the tone from purely informative to partially satirical).Would this interest me as a reader? If it wouldn’t, think about what you’d want to see instead. This question is what made me rewrite nearly half the scenes in my current novel. As I edited, I thought, “Geez, when is this going to get interesting?” Had stopped to evaluate my own interest during the first draft, I would have enjoyed writing it a lot more, and it would have been a better project in general.How can I change this piece and still meet my goals? Sometimes, the problem is hard to pinpoint. Adding simple changes might fix the problem by chance (it works more than you’d think). Some quick examples of this: writing a scene from a different perspective, adding a storm in the background of a more dialogue-intense chapter, tweaking the problem you’re addressing in an article, or anything else that might reinvigorate you!
3. Rewards
Photo by Andy Grizzell on Unsplash
I went hiking recently and saw a mother and her child trudging along the spiraling road at a surprisingly quick pace. The secret: every few steps, the mother would give her kid an M&M as a reward for not complaining. Sometimes, writers are like toddlers — we need some M&Ms to keep us going. This can be as literal as you want. If M&Ms work for you, go for it. For me, the reward is usually engaging in a different hobby, sleeping, or anything food related.
Sometimes, writers are like toddlers — we need some M&Ms to keep us going
The difficulty with this trick is self-control. It requires you to be honest with yourself and not skip the grind of writing by going straight to the reward. Sometimes, it’s tempting to say “screw it” and just pull up Netflix. Don’t. Every time you cheat, it diminishes the effectiveness of the reward process.
4. Just do it (Please don’t sue me, Nike)
Sometimes, no amount of tricks will motivate you. It’s these times that you have to remember why you started this in the first place. I’m a big believer in finding the source of your efforts and continually coming back to it for motivation. But sometimes even that won’t work. That’s when I have to change my mindset by reminding myself of one thing:
“If I fail as a writer, I have no one to blame but me.”
Woah. That should hit hard. It does for me. Yes, getting published requires a good portion of luck. But the truth is, all the luck in the world won’t matter if you don’t have a manuscript or the skills needed to write a good one, skills gained from practice. And I understand that many people only write stories for themselves. It’s an amazing form of therapy, relaxation, and joy. But you can’t get the intangible benefits of writing if you don’t ever write.
This is a continual battle of self-motivation. Whether you dream of a publishing deal, better mental health, or a simple story to show your friends, remember this:
No one can write for you. No one can make you stop. This is a competition between the diligent you and the unproductive you. [...]
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January 10, 2019In 2018, I wrote well over 100k words in drafts of my novel, maintained a 4.0 during my junior year of college studying computer science, worked part-time, grew my Instagram account by 13k followers, and designed my first website from scratch. (I’m not normally this arrogant, I promise. But I want you to see I had what most would consider a productive year).
Here’s a quick guide on how you can achieve the same level of productivity.
Minimize time wasted on social media
Set limits on Instagram from within the app. There’s a picture below on how to do this. You can set your cap anywhere from 5 minutes to 24 hours.
Set Reminders from Instagram
Delete Twitter from your phone. Unlike Instagram, Twitter works essentially the same from your computer. The app is just a bonus (or a time-waster for many of us), so you can delete it.
Use News Feed Eradicator for Facebook. A bit extreme, but it will replace your news feed with inspiring quotes. This is really good for those of us who can get stuck in the endless scroll-loop of Facebook. You’ll still be able to access the rest of the site.
Image from the News Feed Eradicator Chrome App
Use Free Time Wisely
Engage in hobbies for breaks. Instead of watching Netflix, spend your short breaks playing an instrument, writing, knitting, woodworking, or whatever else interests you. You’ll find yourself much more refreshed and ready to work.
“You often feel tired, not because you’ve done too much, but because you’ve done too little of what sparks a light in you.” ~Alexander Den Heijer
Set a Netflix schedule. Anything from “1 episode each evening” or “2 episodes a week” could work. Make sure you don’t break it, not even once! Opening that door is dangerous.
Only game with friends. The best way I’ve found to keep from wasting hours at a time on video games is to only play when my real-life friends are online.
Volunteer weekly. Serving others is one of the best ways to renew your energy. Doing it on a weekly schedule makes things easier.
Sleep Better
Wake up at the same time each day. Getting enough sleep is important, but there’s a surprising amount of research that shows waking up at a consistent time is more important to productivity than the actual amount of sleep you get (provided you’re not attempting 4 hours of sleep or something else absurd).
Ditch your phone at night. 30 minutes to an hour before bed, plug in your phone across the room and don’t look at it again. You’ll fall asleep faster and be more productive during that time.
Reading
Photo by Samuel Zeller
I’m not going to bother explaining the importance of reading. Hopefully, you already get it. Here’s how to make time for it.
I won’t ____ until I’ve read. No Netflix, social media, etc until you’ve read a given number of pages/minutes. You’ll be surprised how effective this is.
Read during your commute. Whenever you have 5 minutes here or there, resist the urge to get on your phone. Read instead!
Audiobooks. For those of us who drive frequently, this is a life saver! Audible is a great option, but you can also opt to buy books from other sources instead of paying for a subscription.
Other Tips
Eat 3 meals a day and don’t snackUse StayFocused for ChromeListen to podcasts during your driveExercise at lunchGet an app that monitors phone usageDrink more waterBuy a planner
Hopefully, the 3 minutes you spent reading this will save you plenty of time in the future.
Thanks for reading! [...]
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December 29, 2018The new year is just around the corner, and across the globe, writers are drawing up resolutions to get their novels finished, short stories published, and coffee drinking under control. Goals can be powerful tools, but they need to be both challenging and attainable. This begs the question: for a writer, what are reasonable goals?
Baseline
I know every writer is in a different place in life, so the benchmarks I’m going to present will vary drastically from person to person. But for now, I’m going to assume you’re not a full-time author. I’m also going to assume you either work, attend school, or manage a household since I think that’s true of most of us.
Word Count Goals
Measuring your progress via a numerical value can be very appealing for those of us achiever-type personalities. The alternative is measuring your productivity by time committed. I’ll get to that soon, but for now, let’s talk about reasonable word count goals.
Beginners
If you’re relatively new to writing (maybe you decided to start this year), you shouldn’t expect yourself to output the same level of production as the more seasoned writers. That will come with time, but for now, you should write at least 250 words a day. This comes out to be about one page if you’re working on a novel. For most genres, this will get you through the first draft of your book in a year! That sounds like a long time, but many people spend much longer than that on their first attempt. In terms of articles written, you can easily do one per week at this rate — a formidable goal for new-comers.
Intermediate Writers
If you’ve been in the game for a little longer, 250 words is a good start, but it won’t challenge you enough. A first draft in one year might be fitting for a newbie, but for the second draft or even second novel, you want to shave that down a lot. If you have a bit of experience as a writer, 600 words is a good minimum to shoot for. I would recommend more, depending on your ability and speed, but again, that’s for you to decide. In terms of a novel, this will allow you to complete a draft in ~5 months.
Seasoned Writers
Many professional authors pump out a book year, sometimes more. Columnists and/or writers here on Medium manage 3–7 articles a week. These prolific writers accomplish their goals through a consistent routine, not through sporadic inspiration. If you’re serious about writing, you should write at least 1,300 words each day. It’s a challenge, I know, but a doable one. As far as novels go, this is a draft in about 2.5 months. That’s exactly what we want, according to Mr. King.
The first draft of a book — even a long one — should take no more than three months, the length of a season~ Stephen King
For nonfiction, this could easily amount to 3 lengthy articles or a half a dozen shorter ones.
Time-Driven Goals
These goals are ideal for writers in the midst of plotting, researching, constructing characters, or just about anything related to writing that isn’t actually putting fingers to keys. It can also be fitting for beginners who aren’t as fast and might get discouraged by low word counts.
Beginners
The trick when you start out is to find an amount of time that allows you to get into a flow without burning out. When I first started, around 20–30 minutes a day felt right, and I would recommend the same for others. If this seems too short and cuts off your creativity before it gets going, by all means, go as far beyond this as you like. Just be careful to choose a pace that’s maintainable day-to-day.
Intermediate Writers
By now, your writing muscle can withstand more work without burnout. Ideally, you should be able to find a place in your day to dedicate 45 minutes to one hour to writing. It’s around this time that you start to hit your stride as a writer, and your words will flow without pause.
Seasoned Writers
Read and write four to six hours a day. If you cannot find the time for that, you can’t expect to become a good writer.~ Stephen King
Boy does that advice hurt. While I doubt this is 100% accurate, it still shows us this craft requires dedication.
But the truth is we don’t all have that kind of time. I wish I could just spend my days reading and writing. But I can’t. I have a job, I have classes, I have relationships, and I have a life.
Let’s remember what we’re evaluating. What are attainable goals for writers? 4–6 hours is not attainable for most working citizens (sorry Mr. King). So what should we shoot for instead? If you aim to make writing your career, you should consider spending a minimum of 1.5 hours a day writing with additional reading on top of that. I would say shoot for 2 hours whenever possible. Writing is a competitive field, and only the hardest workers and most talented are able to leave their day jobs and pursue it as a career. Give yourself every advantage by practicing as much as possible.
Writing a competitive field, and only the hardest workers and most talented are able to leave their day jobs and pursue it as a career.
10 tips for accomplishing these goals
I might write a full article on this later, but while you’re here, I want to give you some ideas on how to make these goals a reality.
Write before you start your day.Do weekly goals of the same proportions as above.Schedule times on your calendar to write. Don’t break this obligation.Tell your friends and family about the goals so they can keep you accountable.Spend less time on Netflix. I know it’s hard.Read often to find inspiration.Remind yourself why this is important to you, why you have this dream.Write during lunch breaks and commutes. You’ll be surprised how much you can accomplish.Switch things up and write in a notebook on occasion.Sleep less. Not ideal, but sometimes necessary.
This year might not be the year you become a published novelist, and it might not even be your best writing year yet. But with reasonable goals, this year can be the year you improve the most as a writer. Go out there and make it happen. [...]
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December 17, 2018Outlining versus winging it. This is one of the most debated topics in the writing community. Every writing group has that guy whose method consists of sitting down after a quick smoke and just “letting things flow”. But for every “flow guy”, there’s the hardcore planner. She insists that no good novel will ever be written without a solid outline. Both of these characters are probably more than happy to share their opinion on the subject, but what do some of the greatest writers of all time have to say?
I always have a basic plot outline, but I like to leave some things to be decided while I write.~ J. K. Rowling
One of the all-time best-selling authors of this generation seems to take a bit of a middle ground. Plan, but only to a certain degree. But there are others who strongly disagree with her stance.
Outlines are the last resource of bad fiction writers who wish to God they were writing masters’ theses.~ Stephen King
Harsh words, but did we really expect anything but an honest, blunt opinion from Mr. King?
The truth is, while their wisdom is often invaluable, even the best authors aren’t right 100% of the time. No author, regardless of his/her greatness, has the right to tell you what’s best for your novel. It’s your project, your dream, and your choice. That doesn’t mean you can’t hear the wisdom of the greats. You should, but don’t assume it’s wisdom for you.
Authors who plan
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The crafts of writing and carpentry are deceptively simple. The carpenter has to begin with a plan; the writer must begin with a thought. There must be at least the germ of an idea. Before the first board is nailed to the second board, or the first word connected to the second word, there has to be some clear notion of where we expect to be when we have finished nailing or writing.~ James J. Kilpatrick
This is why I started outlining in the first place. Without a guide, my stories seemed to dance in circles, reflecting generic plots that rarely had any substance. Subplots where almost non-existent, simply because my brain can’t store all of the information needed to execute them. If you’re having trouble keeping timelines straight, thinking of small things to fill the chapters, or your story seems directionless, you might want to give outlining a try.
In order to write something big, it really helps me to think of the constituent parts. What are the basic units or elements? What are the chapters? That helps with my research — filling up my chapter files. And it helps with my drafting — writing one chapter at a time.~ Roy Peter Clark
One reason why first-time novelists fail to complete their book is that they don’t plan properly. Sometimes, even just a one-page outline can keep stories from stagnating.
Prose is architecture. It’s not interior design. ~ Ernest Hemingway
This summarizes my views on the subject perfectly. If writing a novel is building a house, then planning is drawing up the house’s blueprints. Structuring the first, second, and third act is laying the foundation, building the support walls, and constructing the roof. Writing the novel is pouring cement, nailing down the boards, and shingling the roof. Editing is when the interior design comes into play — where you make it beautiful and sparkly.
The first sentence can’t be written until the final sentence is written.~ Joyce Carol Oates
Authors who wing it
If you’ve been in the writing community long enough, you’ve seen this next quote enough times in enough different but equally dreadful fonts for it to be obnoxious. Don’t let that ruin the message and freedom behind the words. The first draft is about you and the story. Nothing else, and no one else. Make it what you want, and don’t worry about how others will perceive it.
The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.~ Terry Pratchett
Oh yeah. This also seems to support not outlining.
For me, writing is exploration; and most of the time, I’m surprised where the journey takes me.~ Jack Dann
Free-writing is one of the best things an author can do to hone his/her skills. Even the most rigid of planners should take time to write short stories, flash fiction, or journal entries without any constraints and without a plan. If you don’t frequently do this or haven’t tried before, I would recommend it. There are literally thousands upon thousands of prompts online to get you started!
I’m a strong opponent of outlining. It’s deciding in advance what the story will be, and then just bolting the whole thing together like something out of a hardware store. Tortured transitions are the mark of an outlined story.~William Blundell, author, The Art and Craft of Feature Writing
As a planner, this hurts my soul. Not because I disagree, but because I feel the truth in it. My biggest struggles with the first book I ever wrote revolved around the story’s flow. The transitions were awful, and the conversations felt like each character was a video game NPC, only capable of saying what would advance the plot. This warning is a vital one for us planners to hear: don’t let the outline turn your story into an equation.
For pansters (as they have so affectionately named themselves), you’ve got nothing to worry about. Transitions should be a breeze! (Go ahead, put the tally in the “pros” column. I know you want to).
I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.~ Douglas Adams
For both camps
Authors will never agree on which way is superior. Mostly because both methods (and everything between) can produce fantastic results. Whatever route you take, there is at least one thing you should know: your character and his/her desires. Every story needs a strong anchor. Planners and pansters alike should understand their protagonist better than anything else in the story — yes even the plot.
So, in the hopes of ending on an unbiased note, I’ll leave you with this wonderful quote by one of my favorite authors.
First, find out what your hero wants, then just follow him!~Ray Bradbury [...]
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December 11, 2018Over the past two years, I’ve written two complete novels — one of which is currently on its 7th draft — while attending university and working part-time. It’s a good feeling to make strong progress, but I haven’t always been this productive.
When I first started writing, I could never seem to finish a project. I bounced from story to story and didn’t really find my groove. Until one day when I sat down and wrote out everything that kept me from reaching my goals. These are the four traps into which I fell and an explanation as to how you can avoid them.
A quick note: each writer is different. I’m not saying my way is the only way to succeed. But it just might be what you need to kick-start your progress.
1) Editing too Much
Writers are often perfectionists. We don’t want to move on to chapter 2 until chapter 1 is flawless. I get it, and I was the same way for a long time. But stopping to edit disrupts the flow of the story and often causes the writer to doubt their abilities.
Think of it like this. Almost all professional athletes watch film of their own games to learn how they can improve as players. But imagine if they did this during the game — every time they sat down on the bench. They’d lose track of the score, and the failures of the previous play would chip away at their confidence.
As writers, we should be prepared to edit. A lot. But only at the right time — not during the first draft. If you spend weeks or even months perfecting the opening chapters, you’ll never finish the story. This quote by Jane Smiley should offer some encouragement.
All the first draft has to do is exist. It’s perfect in its existence. The only way it could be imperfect would be to NOT exist.”~ Jane Smiley
You have to let yourself move on to chapter 2 because chapter 1 is perfect by existing.
2) Improper Planning
Notice how I didn’t say, “not enough planning”. That’s because planning is a unique balance for each writer, and only you can discover what works best for you. During my early attempts, I didn’t plan enough. I sat down and wrote myself into plot stagnation until I trashed the project and moved on to the next one. It wasn’t until I planned my story and gave it direction that I found a way to move seamlessly from chapter to chapter.
Planning is a unique balance for each writer, and only you can discover what works best for you.
But there are others who plan too much. They figure out every minute detail of the story, to the point where they sit down to write and aren’t able to find any joy in the process. There’s no mystery left, nothing to discover. I had this problem with my second attempt. It took a few tries to get that planning sweet-spot.
If you lose interest in your story before you finish or don’t know how to progress the plot, I would suggest switching up your planning methods.
3) Not Making it Your Priority
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Writers are rarely just writers. We’re parents, students, employees, community members, and many other things. This makes prioritizing writing tough, to say the least. I can’t tell you how to run your life more efficiently. But I can refresh your perspective.
Remember why you began in the first place.
Your motivation is unique, and it will carry you through the toughest of writer’s block. I write because I remember the wonder of traveling across worlds with friends like Bilbo Baggins, Percy Jackson, and the creatures of Redwall. I want to help kids find that same love for reading and give them an adventure where good wins in the end.
Whenever I am struggling to find the time to write, I remember why I started, and suddenly other things become less important. If I’ve spent too much time on homework or browsing Instagram and haven’t found time to write, I ask myself, “Is this more important than my dream? More important than my message?” The answer is almost always no. That’s where you have to choose to put your novel first. That sounds easy now, but the truth is, writing often requires sacrificing something — grades, pay-raises, and “downtime”, among many other things.
I ask myself, “Is this more important than my dream? More important than my message?” The answer is almost always no.
4) Writing the Wrong Story
Yet another balancing act for writers: finding stories which interest us that will also sell. When a project has lost its appeal to me, it’s often because I’m writing something I think fits market trends, even though it doesn’t interest me. For obvious reasons, this is going to result in a subpar delivery.
The trick is to think of stories that have done well recently that you enjoyed.
Maybe you even thought, “I’d like to write a story like this.” Well, do it! But be careful. Don’t rewrite bestsellers. Henry Porter and the Large Cup of Lava isn’t going to leap off the shelves. Instead, think of the elements of that story that you liked. In Harry Potter, for example, I loved the slow introduction to the hidden, magical society. I connected with the main character — an underdog kid with an epic destiny. The large cast of rich characters made me care about every scene, no matter how small or big. Once I know why I liked it, I can transfer these concepts to a new story and make it my own, make it something that will keep my interest.
Don’t rewrite bestsellers.
Final Tips
Writing is a creative, dynamic field with hundreds of different approaches. I can give you all the hints I know, but at the end of the day, you have to learn what suits you best. Here are a few things you might want to try.
Schedule writing sessions in your calendar and don’t compromise.Join a writing group and be honest about your progress. They’ll keep you accountable.Unplug for a week to focus on your story. Log out of Instagram, Netflix, Facebook, Twitter — everything.Read terrible flash-fiction online to boost your confidence.Use writing apps that don’t allow you to edit. There’s a handful out there that will keep you from backtracking.
I know I’ve addressed this several times already, but I want to emphasize it one more time before you go. Writing is an art of passion. To succeed, you have to genuinely care about your story. You can set yourself up for success with the tips from this article, but in the end, nothing else is more important.
Writing is an art of passion. To succeed, you have to genuinely care about your story. [...]
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November 30, 2018Writers are notorious for not writing. We often have “dry spells” during which we simply can’t get a single word typed. When these periods of non-productivity get out of control, we may wake to find it’s been weeks, months, or even years since we last put pen to paper (or fingers to keys).
This is a guide for getting back into writing. Or, if you’re new to it all, a guide on how to get started.
1) Read
If you’ve been slacking in the creative department, chances are you haven’t been reading as much as you ought. No matter what genre or medium you write, reading is essential for finding the motivation to get back into the game.
If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot ~Stephen King
Reading teaches you the craft like nothing else. It trains your brain to recognize good writing versus bad. If you write novels, it will help you understand the trends of the market — what stories are selling, what styles are popular, and what genres are “in”. It will help you understand how to write prose, dig deeper with character motivations, and create strong plots with sound structure. If you have a blog, reading others’ will teach you formatting standards. It will give you a feel for how long articles should be and show you how to condense information.
Reading trains your brain to recognize good writing versus bad.
Additionally, reading will inspire you. I often find ideas for characters or settings from the books I enjoy. Sometimes, I’ll realize how to fix a broken character or think of a solution to a gaping plot hole just by enjoying stories written by other professionals. The same concept applies to non-fiction — reading helps you solve problems, and it makes you want to write.
2) Warm Up
After you’ve been reading for a while, the desire to write will slowly emerge within you like homesickness in a man whose journey is nearing its end. Let that longing settle in, and use it to knock the rust off your skill-set (or develop it for the first time if you’re a new writer). Do this one simple thing, and you’ll be on the right path:
Every time you have the urge to write something, stop what you’re doing and fulfill that urge.
If you think to yourself, “Oh, that would make a cool short story” or, “I know enough about such-and-such to write a quick article on it”, do it! Don’t worry about how poor the quality is — the only thing that matters is that you write.
Listen to me carefully. This next part is hard for many writers to hear. But it is very important. This is what you need to do when you finish a side-project:
Delete it.
Yes. Get rid of it. Don’t edit it, don’t re-read it, and definitely don’t try to publish it! These quick exercises are like a goalie warming up for a soccer game. It gets his/her reflexes up to speed without any risk: the shots he/she fails to save don’t count if they hit the back of the net. That’s what makes it a warm-up. The same concept applies to these side projects. The stakes are low (it will never be published), so you’re free to let your creativity take you where it desires.
3) Plan
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While you continue to read as much as you can and warm up with small chunks of writing here and there, you should begin planning your first real (re-)entry to the writing scene.
No matter what you’re writing, you absolutely cannot skip the planning step.
For novels, this step is much, much longer than for most other forms of writing. It means world building, outlining, drawing up characters, and spending way too much time picking out actors/actresses to play them if it were ever made into a movie. I understand some people need a lot of time for this phase while others can sit down and start a novel without having a clue about where it’s going. That’s fine. But at the very least, you should know who your main character is, what goals he/she may have, and what stands in their way.
For non-fiction, the planning stage is usually consumed by research. Be thorough, and when it’s done, be sure to organize your findings into a proper outline.
Short stories will take a similar route to novels, only much more condensed.
4) Write
This is the big moment. You finally get to start that project. You’ve learned the techniques by reading, warmed up with some practice runs, and patiently planned out your work. All you have to do is write.
But how do you start? What happens if it’s terrible? Will you ever be as good as “the greats?” Why did you ever think this was a good idea?
So much pressure.
Except that there’s really not. As writers, we are our own worst enemy. That’s why we’re in this mess to begin with, right? Just relax. It’s okay to write garbage, especially when you’re starting something new. Remember, you’re going to edit this later. Right now, all you have to do is mash some keys on your keyboard. Start writing and don’t look back until you’re done. When you finish that first draft (whether it be a 500-word article or a 50,000-word novel), you can go back and fine-tune that garbage until it’s a work of beauty.
Right now, all you have to do is mash some keys on your keyboard.
Hopefully, this process will help ease you back into the world of writing. Notice the word “ease” there. Don’t burn yourself out by diving in too fast. Take your time, trust the process, and realize that it’s going to take practice to get the results you want. And a lot of editing. So much editing. Seriously, way more editing than you thought was possible.
All that said, writing should be something you enjoy. This process only works if you’re working on projects for which you have passion. So if you’re still having trouble writing, think about this quote I read recently from one of our generation’s most beloved story-tellers:
If you write something that pleases yourself, it can be genuine~Stan Lee [...]
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