One Year Later...

"...Must write, must write, must write, write, write, write..."

So, as it turns out, I happen to be a pretty decent narrator. During the summer of 2014 I made a pretty big decision. I decided to toss my hat into the world of audio narration, after several people told me I should use my voice to my advantage. After 20 or so auditions, the offers began to increase. All of a sudden, I was paying bills with this kind of work. And because of that unexpected turnout, I decided to take a sabbatical (or dry spell, really) on all of my writing. I just completely cut it off.

All the story streams, thoughts, urges, everything...I suppressed them.

Now, after having done 50+ books, narrating everything from zombies, dramas, suspense, horror, action, erotica, you name it....the itch to write has returned. And it has grown stronger than ever.

At this point, I have about 8 books that need to be finished with production by the end of the year. I can think of no better time to jump back into writing than right now. Writing has always been my solace. It warms me, comforts me, calms me. Very therapeutic. It's sort of like playing Chess with yourself. I've always had a knack for figuring out sticky situations and I love to entertain people in the process. And hey, if I make a couple of bucks with it, all the better, right?

Therefore, I hereby declare that my self-inflicted writing ban has been lifted. Now, at least by making a blogpost about it, that will give my mind permission to unlock the flood gates that have been building up for so long. It's kind of exciting when you think about it. Will I be able to ride that wave of creativity again? Or will I wipe out and need to refresh my memory.

In other news, even though I have 8 books that I have to finish narrating, I have been thinking about turning some more of my works into audio editions.

The first of my works, I narrated myself, a short novella called Village Americana. You can listen to it by clicking on the cover below.

The second was a short story called Ye Olde Idea Shoppe. I wrote this for my daughter and had it narrated by the talented Maxine Lennon. You can also listen to it here.

But I would love to produce audio editions of For What It's Worth, Worth a Second Look, Mr. Dead Eyes and Wearing Donnie Torr. I've always wanted to narrate these titles myself. And who knows? If I start writing more, I could start narrating more of my stories. Then I would feel the full accomplishment of being a full-time Storyteller.

;)

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Is It Too Late To Come Back?

I write this post, trying to gain some new ground. I'm pretty sure I haven't written a word of fiction for a year. And yet I have a box filled with half-finished fiction.

Just seems so hard to come back to it. Did Hemingway have dry spells? Vonnegut? Heller? Bradbury?

I'm 25,000 words into a crime fiction caper and have been dying to return to my characters. I've also been itching to write Mr. Dead Eyes 2. I'm also working on a sci-fi thriller involving visitors from the future.

Right now I'm fully focused on narration. 30 different projects. I've read some good books this past year, and each one has been needling me to finish my own writing projects.

But after a solid year of no new words?

Is it possible?

Maybe I should finish all my narration gigs first. Or should I just jump back in, guns blazing?

What do you think?





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New Blog!

Hi Guys,

I know that for the past few months it's been radio silence on this blog, but that's because I have been very busy. I've taken a break from writing and have actually been narrating other people's books on Audible.com.

By the end of 2015, I hope to have reached 100 narrated titles.

I wanted to list them but I wanted to give that it's own blog.

So, if you are curious as to what audio book you should listen to next, just go here:

Firstpersonnarration.wordpress.com



Titles updated as they go live.



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Let Me Just Give You The Highlights

Alright. I know I haven't blogged in a while. But these days my life is just about filled to the brim with endless tasks. As a wise man once said, "Life is what happens when you try to make plans." So instead of droning on and on about my life, I figured on just giving you the highlights.

1. As far as new eBook titles go, production has come to a halt. I'm not quitting writing or anything. I have several projects on the back burner. It will just be a while before I publish them. Maybe by the end of the year I'll have a new title up. Who knows?
2. On the writing front, I've got a stock pile of words. To date I've written 467,018 words of fiction. (That's the equivalent of 9 full-length novels) 
3. The last time I wrote a word of fiction was April 6th of this year. Currently 26,000 words into my crime fiction book. I've been debating whether I should stick to my quota of 500 words a day or bump it up to a chapter a day. By the way, this is the first novel I'm writing that has a first person narrative.
4. We had to ditch one of our cars. The green Kia Optima. The thing was ten years old and fully paid off but it just kept on stalling on us so we had to cash it in and get rid of it. Now we are down to our red Ford Focus. It's been in one accident but hasn't broke down on us yet.
5. Our little girl, Sophia, just turned one. And you know what that means...
6. We're moving. Yes, we loved our current apartment and have enjoyed ourselves daily on the sights and activities within the complex. But we just need more space. If all goes well, by the end of June, we will be all moved out and into a two-bedroom apartment. It's a bit farther from my day job but it will definitely give me peace of mind having all that space.
7. For the longest time, people have told me I have a voice for radio. I've tried sending samples to various places but no one was biting. So, in an effort to blend the best of both worlds, I've decided to narrate audio books on audible through ACX. So far I had two auditions that fell through but I have my eye on ten audio books that I will audition for.
8. As far as blogging goes, I will continue to blog from time to time. I've been thinking of continuing my "Writing with Cinematic Style" series because I have a lot to say about the subject. Other than that, I may just turn this thing into a journal, chronicling my strange life and observations.

That's all for now. In the meantime, KEEP WRITING!!!



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Writing With Cinematic Style Part I

Before I was a writer, I was a filmmaker. But the problems that I faced were always budget. Granted, with a reasonable budget, you can make a decent film. And that's if you have that cinematic eye. Which, sadly, not many people have but continue to make films. 

So when I stashed all my ideas in a box, I let them sit.

Then I got the idea of adapting one of them into a short story.

Then I began on a novel.

Now, whenever I adapt one of my ideas into a book, I feel like I am working with unlimited sets and billions of dollars in budget.

So for this series, I figured on showing you how you can take your film-making skills and adapt them to novel writing.

Let's start with the first chapter.

Think of the first chapter as your first scene or a cold open. This is your first impression. Your first chance to win the audience. You have to hook em. In order to hook em you have to toy around with thier emotions, make the scene visceral and cause an emotion. Because if the audience feels nothing, why would they continue with the rest? Your 1st chapter or prologue is what comes before the title credits. And in that short amount of time you have to establish the following:

SETTING, TIME PERIOD, CHARACTERS, GENRE, THEME, CONFLICT, HISTORY, RELATIONSHIPS, MOOD, DIALOGUE, NARRATIVE VOICE, PACING, IMAGERY, DIRECTION, STRUCTURE, SURPRISES, ETC.

It's a lot to set up in a short amount of time, but if you have a clear view of what the story will look like and the direction it will take, then you will succeed in transporting the reader there.

I tend to focus on imagery the most. My wife and my in-laws have told me that I write with a cinematic style and, knowing that, I have a better understanding on not only how to write but how to keep the audience engaged.

Even though writing can be a solitary venture on just using words to tell your story, it is a very visual medium.

So start your first chapter today.

Take us to another world.

The world of your imagination.