Do you have a story idea I can borrow, please?

Where do your story ideas come from? How do you decide on what it is you’re going to write about? These are questions that writers and authors are frequently asked. For myself, I have no true rhyme or reason for the conception of any particular story. Many times my stories start out as nothing more than a few scribbles of rambling words in a notebook. Ah, there’s an idea, I may think and then jot it down. Or, ooh, I like that concept, and make note of it on scrap paper, or on whatever is available at that time.

The real answer to these questions is that story ideas linger everywhere. You just have to look around you. And there is no systematic plan for acquiring them. I, for one, cannot go anywhere without the possibility of a potential story jumping out at me. I literally cannot close my mind’s creative eye. I’m always inconspicuously observing people and their actions, mannerisms, dialogue, and so on. Whether standing in line at the movie theatre, or sitting in the waiting room at the doctor’s office, I’m constantly taking mental notes of my surroundings and looking at what it might have to offer, artistically.

Many times ideas filter into my brain at such a rapid rate that I sometimes become overwhelmed. So, what do I do about this creative overload? How do I rifle through all these characters and plot lines? It’s simple, really: I pick out the ones that fascinate me the most. I try to work on the stories that often stick out in my mind; the ones that constantly yell out: What are you waiting on? Write me, damn it!

Other times stories simply originate from a writer’s own life experiences. Maybe last year’s family trip sparks an interest for you to write a post-apocalyptic thriller about a family’s vacation to Miami. While there, they discover flesh-eating zombies that haphazardly lurch along vile-ridden streets of chaos and destruction. Or if that is not your cup of tea, maybe you’d rather pen a happier tale about that first hunting trip you and your dad took together when you were only nine-years-old? It could be the groundwork for a classic coming of age story. Or maybe the beginning to a nifty fairy tale about a young hunter who goes into the forest, only to discover that the woodland creatures talk back to him. The possibilities are endless. It’s your world, your vision. Only you can decide how the story is told.

If you are an aspiring fiction writer – who is not sure what to write about – merely think of your own interests and passions. Think of the stories and books that you yourself enjoy reading the most. Cultivate a story line or an engaging character from these personal fascinations and go with it. Don’t hold back. Turn off your inner critic and write freely, letting your ideas spew onto your notebook or your computer screen. Save the self-critiquing for your rewriting session/s. As long as you hold a passion for storytelling and a desire to create art, there will always be stories to write.

Learning and Loving the Trade

A few weeks ago I passed my one-year anniversary for having stepped into the independent publishing field. I have to confess: I’ve learned a vast amount about this business in the passing year. Some lessons were learned the hard way, some came a little easier. Most importantly, though, I learned, and I’m still being taught day in and day out.

In my first year I produced 14 products, 9 original short stories in total, some of which dip into the western genre, kids’ fiction, and the coming of age spectrum. Basically, it’s been whatever I’ve felt the urge to write. It’s that simple and I love this business for that reason.

I love the freedom that comes with independent publishing. Never being tied down to a specific genre is great. When I feel a period of burnout syndrome I can easily switch over to an entirely new topic to write and can publish it just the same.

I’m not sure what it is that lures me to writing fiction. I guess it’s the power to create any world I wish to, one that I could make at any given moment. The power of imagination has a lot to do with my writing motivation, I guess. I adore pushing my imagination to its max, seeking out the unknown caverns in my mind, pulling from those deep, dark holes new characters, conflicts, protagonists, and antagonists. To create art is indeed the best feeling.

I have many planned projects I want to unveil in 2013. I hope that everything I’ve learned in my first year will help expand my readership to an entirely new level. We shall wait and see. It’s been a wonderful first year and I have no complaints. After all, how could anyone ever complain about getting to do what they absolutely love to do the most? For me, the thought is just not fathomable.

With that said, I want to wish everyone a safe and Happy New Year.

--Jeremy

 

Grizzly Rendezvous (excerpt)

Description: (Short Story, 25 pages)
No one ever told the McCarty brothers the western frontier would be an easy place to live. This time, an ornery grizzly is on the prowl, making life tough for a few that happen to get in its way. However, Lucas, who also has a personal stake in this, has had enough. It's up to him and an old trapper named Jude to track down the beast and set matters straight.

~~~

 

Northwest Louisiana Territory, October, 1826

The young trapper named Lucas McCarty stood knee-deep in the cool waters of the Rocky Mountain stream. Bending over, he lowered the Newhouse trap to the streambed below, into which he anchored the device securely. With his hand, he clumped and stirred the mud, concealing the trap’s powerful steel jaws. Next, he pulled his knife and with it he honed the end of a willow sapling to a fine point. Shoving the pointed end into the muddy bottom, he positioned the leafy end above the water, directly over the steel apparatus. Lastly, he fumbled inside his leather possibles bag and removed a small bottle filled with the beaver castoreum. Lucas pulled the cork and splashed the leaves thoroughly. When finished, he waded fifty-yards downstream and stepped up to the dry bank where his sorrel had been waiting patiently.

“That’s the last one, ol’ boy,” he said to the horse, as he wiped his bare feet on the grass. “Now we just have to wait for Henry to get back with our supplies.” The horse snorted and bucked its muscular neck, appearing to agree with the remark.

While Lucas sat on the ground, wiping the rest of the mud from his feet, the sun was on the verge of sinking behind the mountain peaks to the West. The young man of twenty had learned a great deal about this frontier, which he and his older brother had traveled to only three years before. He had also realized early on that the western frontier wasn’t to be taken lightly. Vicious, cruel intent lurked where one least expected it. However, he also had discovered that the Rocky Mountains held more majestic and natural beauty than he’d ever seen before in his entire life.

As Lucas climbed back to his feet, the sorrel whinnied and flared its nostrils wide, showing signs of fear and distress.

“What’s wrong, boy?” whispered Lucas. His eyes scanned the thicket of fir trees in front of him. Behind him a loud roar erupted from a beast that snapped and bored through trees branches with ease. Unexpectedly, a giant grizzly sprang from the shadows.

Panic stricken, the sorrel jerked, reared, and darted through the trees with the Lucas’ long rifle strapped to its side. Instinctively, with a smooth jerk from his belt, the frontiersman swung his pistol level and fired. The lead ball plunged into the bear’s chest, igniting a roar from snarling teeth.

Undeterred by the shot, the grizzly commenced forth, and Lucas pulled his hatchet, sliced the air with a downward chop, opening a deep, bloody gash at the animal’s shoulder. Again, the beast roared and a swooping paw soon followed, thrashing Lucas against his chest, knocking him to the ground in a daze. Trying to escape, Lucas dug his feet and hands into grass, pushing himself in reverse. The bear charged, exhaling short grunts and roars while frothy saliva hung from its mouth.

“Go on. Get out of here!” Lucas yelled. His chest burned with fire as he flailed his arms in an attempt to coerce the beast to run away. But the bear charged ahead.

Lucas stumbled once and then rose to his feet. With another swipe, the grizzly’s claws ripped tender muscle on the mountain man’s left shoulder, knocking him to the ground once more. While the bear paused, Lucas raised his hatchet and came down with another swing. The forged steel struck solidly, splitting the grizzly’s nose, causing blood to spew. With another venting roar, the grizzly shook its boulder-sized head and, unexpectedly, fled down the bank, and up the mountainside. As it tromped out of earshot, Lucas fell back.

Gasping, he tried to evaluate his physical condition. His canvas shirt was in tattered rags, barely covering his thick torso. His left shoulder pulsated with burning pain and poured blood. He glanced to his chest and found the same horrid affliction. His mind stirred with crazed emotions and panic began to set in. Trying to stand, his enfeebled body wouldn’t allow it, and he collapsed to the ground yet again.

“Maybe I should rest a spell,” he said, easing his head back on the soft bank. His chest heaved in and out, and his heart raced while the gentle rush of the stream’s water flooded his mind. Then, heavy eyelids caused his world to slowly blacken in front of him. As he lay at the side of the mountain’s stream, Lucas’ mind swirled and faded into a darken void. He lay there alone, unprotected, and at the mercy of a frontier that was known for turning on a man in a split second. And unknowing to Lucas only a few moments before, this savage frontier had indeed turned on him too.



Update on Latest Writing Project and New Releases

Hey, everyone. I wanted to give a quick update on my latest writing project and new releases. Here’s what’s happening:

Recently, I independently published the third standalone story in my western series “Brothers of the Mountain” entitled “Grizzly Rendezvous”. It’s approximately 6,200 words, and right now it’s available for Kindle, Nook, and all desktop e-readers. Hopefully within the week, it will also be available through Sony, Kobo, and the iTunes store. Also, I’ve added two kids’ short stories to my eBook catalogue – although I think they could be a fun read for any age group. You can purchase those separately, or bundled together, which is significantly cheaper.

I have many, many works-in-progress. As for my current WIP, I’m about 1,700 words into a new “weird western” series. Although, I’m not sure what kind of fan-base it will conjure, the story itself has still been fun to write and see develop as it goes along. My intention is to loosely model the series after the average T.V. show, releasing one “episode” (10 to 15 thousand words) each month. I never have high expectations for any of my work, but I’m secretly hoping this one will really take off. I’ve been putting a lot of time into character development and the arching storyline.

Well, that’s all for now. If you get bored and have absolutely nothing else to do, check out my catalogue. You can do so by clicking on the 'connect with me' links on the right. And as always, thanks to anyone who has ever bought, shared a link, or just told a friend in passing about my eBooks. It means a great deal.

- JP

The Great American Novel: A Falsehood

The Great American Novel is the crown jewel that many authors aspire to write. However, I’ve often asked myself why. Is this literary milestone that important? Is it to achieve some sort of artificial immortality, like Mark Twain or F. Scott Fitzgerald? Is it to pacify greedy self-fulfillment?

Whether you feverishly desire to write a novel, the act itself should be the result of seeking a creative portal, one that you can enter at any moment.

The impression that a lot of writers implant on the world today is they seek nothing more than fame and riches. The self-publishing extravaganza is heavily to blame for this upheaval. Every writer, scribbler, and wannabe has come venturing out of the proverbial woodwork.

Writers should write because they want to entertain. They should produce their prose because of the creative lure. I’m referring to a lure that has unbound proportions and an undeniable force, which stirs deep inside, empowering you to relay your feelings and possibly your darkest days. I welcome that sensation.

Maybe all writing is nothing more than subjective gibberish. If so, I really don’t care. For me, it’s like painting a picture to display so others may discuss and contemplate its meaning, its existence. It’s the joy of inventing a make-believe world out of words so thoroughly structured that its vividness holes-up in a reader’s mind forever. To me, this is utterly mind-blowing.

Write the words that satisfy your psyche. Write the words that will forever change someone else’s molecular structure. Write intricate settings, crisp imagery, and characters that no one will likely forget. There is nothing to do beyond that except learn from it, hone it, and write your next story better than the previous one.

If you’re lucky, by some act of grace, many will read your words. And if you are one of the real fortunate participants, many will appreciate your work and push you into some unexplainable god-like atmosphere, and possibly remember you for a many years to come.

Many have their reasons for which they write, and I’m sure they are irrelevant to my own. Whatever your reason, remember this: write because you love the process; write because it gives you that incredible natural high. Be loyal and respectful to the structure of words and just write. It can be rewarding, even without creating the next Great American Novel.

~Quotations for You~

"Hide not your talents, they for use were made. What's a sun-dial in the shade?"

- Benjamin Franklin

~Quotations for You~

“In fact, the problem of compression in a short story is so acute that every passage must perform three or four functions at the same time–advance the plot, add to the characterizations, introduce background information, and so on–like a juggler keeping three or four balls in the air at once.”

--Damon Knight, Creating Short Fiction