And we're back for the 46th installment of Sometimes I Get Asked Stuff… WOW. 47 of these things. Who woulda thunk it? You can check out all of the past installments of Sometimes I Get Asked Stuff... here. It's been quite a while since the last time I did one of these so let's dive right in, shall we?

Q: "To be a writer you must write everyday." Agree? Disagree? Just Don't Care?

And we're back for the 46th installment of Sometimes I Get Asked Stuff… WOW. 46 of these things. Who woulda thunk it? You can check out all of the past installments of Sometimes I Get Asked Stuff... here. It's been quite a while since the last time I did one of these so let's dive right in, shall we?

Q: What inspired you to write your first story/novel?

There was this urge to tell the story and I wanted to see if I could do it.

Q: Why do so many writers care about the small and irrelevant things, [ex] Page count , and font to name a few? Quality not quantity. Writing is a way to express your views, to open and build worlds. If you want a short story to have 2 pages, great! If you want the same story to have 50 pages , awesome! But it shouldn't matter how long it is, how many words it contains. It should be the quality of immersion of the world. Word choices don't truly matter , nor does even word correctness , ( Think of Shakespere , who invented words and slang ), just write. Worry about the small things after you are happy.

I can't speak for all writers, but I work for publishers. Those publishers set the word count based on pages and cost to the reader. If I want to write for publishers, then I have to tell the story within their guidelines.If writing is your hobby and you are doing it for fun, then by all means, do whatever you want. If your goal is to be published and your books distributed for sale, there are guidelines that you have to adhere to if you want to make that goal a reality.

Q: Are you interested in creating characters that reflect your political beliefs? Should you create characters that reflect your political beliefs?

I try to avoid politics because it never ends well. Politics makes even the nicest of people turn into raging assholes, no matter which end of the political spectrum they fall.

That said, I write thrillers, sometimes political thrillers, and when writing about politicians, politics will be discussed. My job is to be as honest as possible. I'm not here to preach or push an agenda. I'm here to entertain.

And we're back for the 45th installment of Sometimes I Get Asked Stuff… 
You can check out all of the past installments of Sometimes I Get Asked Stuff... here.
Let's dive right in, shall we?

Q: Why do you write?

The ideas keep coming and I need to get them out. Plus, I love the challenge of crafting a story, getting to know characters, and hopefully entertain readers.

Q: HOWS YOUR YEAR GOING? Are you where you want to be yet? How does next year look? Too early?

It's not been a good year for many reasons, not all of which are writing-related and most of which I won't go into here, but things start to turn around. On the writing side of things, last year has been just okay. I have fallen behind on deadlines due to the things I didn't go into detail on, but I am working on catching up. My output has been less than previous years, but new books do come out. I'm already booking writing gigs for publishers into 2018.

Q: What are your 2018 writing plans/goals?

At least 8 novels/novellas and a graphic novel are on the schedule to write, plus stuff already at the publishers waiting their release. There are other plans in place as well. Hopefully, I can write more comics.

And we're back for the 40th installment of Sometimes I Get Asked Stuff… That's right! It's the BIG 4-0! I know I’ve said it before, but thank you for the questions. I love answering them so please, keep ‘em coming. Oh, and a Big Ol' Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there, including mine.

You can check out all of the past installments of Sometimes I Get Asked Stuff... here.

Q: What literary pilgrimages have you gone on?

Sadly, none. Unless trips to conventions count. Maybe I should look into taking a trip like that. Could be fun.

Q: What is the first book that made you cry?

To Kill A Mockingbird, I think. Although, I will admit, the movie gets me more than the book.

Q: What is the most unethical practice in the publishing industry?

There are publishers out there who will try to take advantage of authors and ask for fees from the author. That is not how publishing works. The money should flow from the publisher to the author, not the other way around. Same with agents. Money is made when books sell. That goes for writers, publishers, and agents. http://pred-ed.com is a good resource for looking into publishers, agents, etc. They are currently revising their information, but it will give you an idea of praises and complaints against publishers.

I saw this meme on-line and thought it was too good not to share. It's actually great writing advice.

I have had some remarkable stories spin out of starting a story this way. Follow your character down a blind alley or into a mall and see where it takes you. Remember, there is no right or wrong way to tell your story. Tell it your way, especially the first draft. You can always tweak in edits and later drafts.

Use your first draft to get the story down. They you can edit and revise to your heart's content until you are happy with the finished piece... or you hit your deadline, whichever comes first. Ha!

An example: this is from a novel that is not finished yet called Blood Shot (although, that could always change between now and publication). 

I needed a break from my two main characters, who we have been following for several chapters. I felt this was a great place to switch to another character, but everyone already introduced was tied up. I was stuck for what to do, but I knew there was a thief we would see later, a bit character, but important. I thought this might be a good time to introduce her.

I started writing the chapter focusing on a man, a new character who was spinning out in the writing with no real planning. I wrote a whole chapter with him, introduced the thief, showed her steal his access card, all bits that needed to happen, but I still didn't know how this guy fit the story. He felt too important a detail to simply be the way in for the thief. I liked the chapter, but didn't know if it fit. I set it aside and went back to the story points focusing on the leads. 

Two chapters later, I knew not only how the guy fit in with the story, but his presence became integral to the plot and to one of the main characters. It all worked as though I had planned it out.

Sometimes it pays to follow your gut.

Bobby

I joined Sean Taylor's Writer's Roundtable discussion again this week. This time around we're talking about favorite time periods to write.

"My preference is to do stories set in modern times so I can explore the world outside my window." -- Bobby Nash

This week's Writer Roundtable is another from the open call for ideas and topics. With many of the writers I know and love being period writers, this one really grabbed my attention when a reader suggested it. So keep those suggestions coming and we'll keep sending them to the roundtable for the peanut gallery to respond to. 

Read the full article here.