1. 2 days ago 

   On Stephen King’s book, “On Writing”

   First, I’d like to announce that this is my fourth day in a row waking up before 7am and exercising. Insomnia? Bite me.

   As you can probably tell by the title of the blog, I’ve just finished reading (via audiobook) On Writing, by Stephen King. It’s pretty much on my top list of things a writer should expose themselves to if they really want to do this seriously.

   There are tons of good messages to be had from the book, but from my own current state of figuring out what to do next, there was only one message for me. I wish I’d received it when I was first graduating High School and was confronted by some unsavory people telling me I’d never succeed at this. The message, themed repeatedly in his book, is this; Write with the door shut, and edit with the door open.

   This means you write the first draft for yourself, and nobody else. You write without worrying how it will be received, or how that awesome writer friend of yours, the one who seems to be the epitome of eloquence, will react when they read this part. You write without worrying if this is really representative of the State Police of Pennsylvania, or whether dogs can look up.

   During the editing phase, you write with those things in mind, but I’ve never much struggled with editing. The hardest, but also the most exhilarating part of writing, comes when you’re first playing around with your keyboard or pen and paper. You’re having fun with it. You’re telling a story.

   There were, of course, other phases to addressing my Writer’s block. A technique I think all writers who write must have mastered, is being able to honestly take a look into yourself and figure out why you aren’t able to write right now. Sometimes it is classic Writer’s Block, one of “I don’t know what comes next”. As often, or more often, you might find that there are things pressing on you to get done, or that you’re simply afraid of something. (My most common fear is that I’ll put so much energy into something that sucks.) Sometimes, you just need to grab some lunch before you can focus.

   The trick, I believe, is the honesty. Being able to look inside and ask yourself, “What is it that is keeping me from writing right now? Am I afraid? Is there a more pressing matter that is bothering me?”

   To some extent, people have to deal with this kind of honesty if they want to get anything done. When you go to practice your music, art, or to exercise, you might just need to ask yourself the same question. Bullying yourself into the “I must do it anyway!” attitude is very American, but it’s like pushing snow. You push and push and you feel it give for awhile, but eventually the mound of snow you’ve gathered will prove too much, and you’ll collapse.

2. 6 days ago 

   The Science of Being Goofy Writer People

   So I can’t write. I think it’s been too long, and some rust has built up. Despite all of business Sam’s yelling, it’s not happening. So, on to the next best thing.

   Reading?

   I think so. Reading always gets those gears turning, and gets me all excited. Nothing exhilerates me more than reading an excellent book and wanting to write my own, or reading something that is almost excellent, but with things I would do differently.

   Honestly, the move and the stress and the crap of this summer has been hard, but what killed me on writing was TV. I can’t believe how much time it is easy to waste in front of the darned tube, watching things I don’t even like. I keep trying new things, thinking “oh, this might be good” just because I don’t feel like turning it off. Turns out? It’s usually no good.

   I am a big fan of DVR. However, that’s expensive. Nothing felt cooler than telling DVR - “Hey, catch all those Avatar, Psych, Mythbusters, and other shows I happen to actually like for me, so I can watch them whenever I want.”

   The cool thing about that was, watching them was under my control. It didn’t kill my writing, because I could decide when my TV breaks were without having to catch the good shows when I know they air. (Actually, I don’t even know when most of those shows air anymore, which is half my frustration with TV nowadays. None of the stuff I like airs when I turn the thing on.)

   I’ll have to figure out an alternative. Hulu might work.

   In any case, I need to read more than I watch TV, that’s for sure. As far as reading warming me up for writing, it’s worked in the past, so hopes are high.

3. 6 days ago 

   More Schitzo-Sam

   Hello, deep dark internet. It’s your friendly neighborhood… um, Sam. We really ought to give you a better name. Mine is still cool though. =)

   So. I’m pretty much killing time until the pool opens. I can’t focus on reading, and I don’t want to play video games. I want to write. I want to give you guys Chasing Clouds, because I keep promising it to you, and to myself. I feel frozen though, since I’ve never written anything like it before.

   I don’t know what else to do, though. If I don’t write that, then what? World of Warcraft had another contest recently, and I just couldn’t come up with anything. I want to write my own fiction, not fan-based stuff. I was on a roll during the semester, but got thrown off completely by the move.

   So, what to do?

   I’ll tell me what to do. (By the way, for those of you new to the show, Sam is a total schitzo. I think Business Sam is about to take over.)

   Business Sam: Write it. It’s going to suck, man. Just deal with that fact and get it out there. Assume it’s going to suck and write it anyway. You just might look back at it and realize, “Man, that SUCKS… but I really got better because I wrote it.” Hell, you may even look back sometime far in the future and go, “Man, that SUCKS, but it doesn’t suck as bad as I thought it did.”

   Artist Sam: But… I don’t WANT it to suck?

   Business Sam: What do you want more, to write something that sucks and get better, or to never write anything at all because you’re acting like a pansy about it?

   Artist Sam: *Sniff* … the second one…

   Business Sam: Damn straight. Now go swimming and eat something. You can’t write when you’re hungry.

   Artist Sam: Ok, thanks business Sam. I love you.

   Business Sam: Shut up and get outta here.

4. 1 month ago 

   Video Games and Migraines

   I seem to have formed a two-way psychic connection between video games and migraines. Dale Carnegie talks about this kind of connection between acting happy and being happy - we believe the acting comes after the feeling, but he thinks it goes the other way too. It seems to be this way with video games and migraines.

   Generally speaking, playing video games too long will often give me a migraine. I have not been in the mood to play video games for more than a week now. Even my insomniac moments have been full of reading and internet browsing, or full-time fretting. Now here I am, 4am, and it wasn’t until the migraine kicked in that I got this irresistable urge to just… shoot some zombies.

5. 1 month ago 

   Falling Behind

   When I was thirteen years old, I took the placement tests to get into High School, and ended up skipping eighth grade. I was quite shocked. I struggled with developing good habits for study and homework, but otherwise did quite well in school. By my Junior Year, I was considering taking college classes. I decided against it, in favor of the social aspects I felt was important. I ended up going to my Senior year at the right age, taking all sorts of easy classes, specifically to enjoy things like Prom and etc.

   The weird part is, I never remember bragging. I have always caught on quicky with book learning… but I’ve always made that distinction as well. Book learning. Most of my life I have always felt somewhat behind other people in some unnamed aspect that I couldn’t ever label.

   By the time I divorced at a young age and, struggling with debt, was unable to make it to school - I really felt like I was behind. Behind in education, behind in monetary issues, and behind in that unspoken thing I could never put a word to.

   Since returning to school, I have experienced quite a few affirmations to my character, to my talents, and to my intellect. I don’t take these as, “Oh, I’m smarter than other people”. They are simply, “Oh, I am actually pretty good at _____. I never thought I was good at anything…”

   I was really irked in class today when this eighteen year old kid in my Sophmore English Class said, “I’ve always been much smarter than other people my age.”

   He continued to go on in much the same fashion, and everyone in class pretty much tuned him out. I thought back. Why would you ever say that? I had skipped grades, and still never said that. It blew my mind.

   And then another one of those affirmations came to me. I could have gone to college at 17 too, and been ahead in education. Instead I have dealt with life, whether those random tragic things that just happen or the consequences of my own bad decisions, and I have grown from them. I am not behind at all. In those things that are most important to me, I am a capable person - and that’s all that matters.

   Besides. I could have been that guy.

6. 1 month ago 

   Long time, no blog.

   It’s been a while since I’ve sent one out there into the deep, dark internet. There’s a few reasons for that; The advent of summer has brought with it many stresses. Move. Summer school. The need for money. Sleep has been elusive to me for over a month now. Indeed, I count it a victory that I woke up today at 7am, groggy, but nevertheless ready to face the day.

   Summer school has been going as well as I think it can. I probably got an A in Philosophy. The subject has been a lot cooler than I originally thought it would be. It wasn’t just some professor standing up and yelling at me about how there’s no God, or about how all reality is a dream, or ice cream, or whatever. My teacher is what we call an epistemological optimist. This means, as a philosopher, he is more interested in asking questions and using inductive reasoning to get closer to the truth. Other epistemological optimists include Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Charles Sanders Peirce, all of whom we learned about this summer.

   My writing has been on vacation with my sleeping habits. However, I’ve kept up my podcasts, and being involved with some local Role-play activity has helped make sure that writing is not dead. Simply resting. However, I still feel a strong need to write this romantic comedy some time soon - and not just so that I won’t look like a flake to my friends. It’s this vividly awesome story in my mind, the way I’ve dreamt it up - I think I’m afraid of seeing it turn out to be less than I hoped.

   I’ve been thinking about politics. I feel like things are bad, and getting worse, and that I don’t have any control over the matter. This led me to a bit of searching, and I found that there are Senator elections happening this November 2. This is what I can do, and you, and “we the people of America”. I won’t proceed to tell you which party to vote for (I have little faith in parties anyhow), but I would encourage you to look into finding out what you can, and vote this winter. Right now it seems like we appeal to the loudest minority. I think the majority could be a bit louder.

   I’ve been thinking about putting an Address list together. First of all, Sara and I are getting married in about a year or so, and we’ll want that address list. But also, I’ve been thinking about getting a letter-writing habit going. Like real letters - pen and paper. Real letters are like gifts. They start out as awesome because they’re an envelope in your inbox that is not a bill - but they become even more important after they are read, perhaps even saved, and read again some years later. Their value matures like a good wine.

   Avatar is coming… and I mean the real Avatar. I have nothing against the scifi movie, except that they should have named it Pandora, and left the Last Airbender their rightful name. That cartoon is seriously the coolest thing on TV right now. It’s a kid’s show for sure, but the entire thing is something an adult can really enjoy. For once we can follow the growth of characters who really mature, in a family-friendly way, with the fun of japanese anime, but with jokes and meaningful lines written in our own language (and therefore nothing being lost in the translation). It’s enjoyable for all ages, much like Harry Potter, and I aim to own the DVD set for my own kids in the future.

   Whether the movie will live up to that - I can only hope, but the teasers look promising.

7. 3 months ago 

   Tracy Hickman on Writing Excuses (LTUE)

   Tracy Hickman: “Writers basically believe that they are never going to be or are already has-beens. The thing I try to tell writers all the time, and I have to remind myself is that we have not yet written our best work. The best is yet to come. It could be that next book, it could be two books away, but it’s in our future because every time we write we improve our craft. Every time we put word to page we improve our craft.

   
   The fact of the matter is the first books you write are not going to be good. They just aren’t, ok? Sorry.That’s just how it is.
   
   The first book I wrote was in fourth grade, I decided that the way that you wrote a book is that you kept writing a little more every day, and when you had enough pages you had a book. So I wrote this book about a destroyer that went to the South Pacific and was attacked by 50 planes and sank - on page 2. I had writer’s block in fourth grade, I didn’t know what to do with it, I mean - the boat sank. The boat was the main character, man!

   
   I tried to fix it, writing on that big chunky paper with those dotted lines so that you didn’t go too far with those little letters - but I couldn’t do it. The point is that your first stuff isn’t going to be as good as the second,  and the second thing you do is never going to be good as the third. You make rag shoes to begin with, and the second thing is going to be better. You just have to keep going.”

    - Guest Starring on Writing Excuses at Life, the Universe, and Everything. (Season 2 Episode 24)

8. 3 months ago 
   
    
9. 3 months ago 
   Short Story - "Have a Nice Day"

   Charlie is on the way to meet his online girlfriend for the first time. What does the day have in store for him?

10. 3 months ago 

    Writing Exercises

    Here are some Writing Exercises I just came up with for myself. They are each designed to be done in as little as 5 minutes, yet expandable (If you really get into what’s going on you could go on writing for hours). I thought I’d share them - if they inspire any writing exercise ideas from you, feel free to share! =)

    Word Association; Pick a news article (online, serious or funny) and take a subject from the headline, then brainstorm words associated with that subject. Take one step further by choosing one of the words from that list and repeating the process. (Missing Person - Runaway, Arrested, Kidnapping. Kidnapping - Child Custody, Ransom, Poisoned Candy, Aliens…)
    
    Character Creation; Start filling out a character profile much like you would for a game. Ask yourself questions to delve further into that character. (Sex, Age, Job? Good job? Like job? Family? Married? Good or bad marriage? Why is it bad? Kids?…)
    
    Character Viewpoint; Figure out a short scene where something happens. (I.E. Some people are riding through a medieval town and are halted by a funeral procession). Write out the scene two or more times, from different character viewpoints. Make each scene different by what that character notices or finds important during the scene.
    
    New Plot; Pick a favorite character or historical figure. Figure out one major concept of that character, and twist it around to get it’s opposite. Now write a profile for that character. (I.E. Aragorn, instead of what happens in Lord of the Rings, takes the ring for himself and becomes the next Evil Warlord… i.e. Arthas from World of Warcraft)
    
    Motivation/Quirk; Add three motivations or quirks to the list of motivations/quirks. I.E. Character wants to record and organize compiled lists of all the grasshoppers in the world. Character has a caffeine addiction. Character’s personal hero is Bill Clinton.
    
    Resolution Exercise; Start with “(Name) is (doing something) but is interrupted by (?)…” – Now turn that into a plot arc and finish it. (This is the hook, figure out a resolution, the plot step to get there, and a pinch.)
    
    Dialogue Exercise; Cast a character in your head (feel free to steal the voice from any story, movie, game, etc.) And write out something that happened to you this week, as if that character were telling you. If you want to take it to the next level, cast two characters and write the second’s reactions to the first one’s story.
    
    Transformation; This can be used to expand anything you’ve come up with from the “New Plot” exercise. Take any kind of word association topic and figure out it’s opposite. Write those down, then write down one thing that might help in getting from one to the other. Then, repeat the last step. This can be a plot (a selfish man becoming more altruistic) or an opposite of something we’ve seen before (Mistborn). (I.E. Demon – not a demon. One might become a demon by selling their soul for revenge. One might want revenge if they found out they were cheated on.) (Another I.E. Magic City – Desolate Ruin. A Magical city might become a desolate ruin if the source of magic were cut off. The source of magic might be cut off as a result of some natural disaster. See Elantris.) (Last I.E. Prophesied Hero of Ages to defeat evil – Hero fails to defeat evil… see Mistborn.)

    Scene; Take a result from any of the previous exercises and write one scene, around a page or so, that is associated with the results of that exercise.

    Detail; Find a picture of something - a person, place, or thing. Describe that picture in a paragraph of disgustingy complex detail. Use a thesaurus to make the paragraph as convoluted as possible. Next step; Sum it up in one sentence, with only one adjective. See if you can do without that adjective by using a different verb or noun.

Sam Loveland - The Protector of Italian Virginity

Fiction @ http://samuelloveland.livejournal.com/
Facebook @ http://www.facebook.com/ssloveland

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