Not Hearing the Inspiration to Write

I didn't grow up aspiring to be a writer. My love was focused on art, specifically comic books, and the mythic figures drawn onto the page. Spider-Man, Batman, Superman, and the X-Men drove me forward and allowed me to believe I could become much stronger than I was.

I copied the best stances of my favorite heroes from the page. I drew Venom so many times that my dad believed I was into witchcraft and demons. I wasn't, I was into cool looking badasses. I drew every day, not thinking about discipline, or where this was going to take me. I didn't think about how much money I could (or couldn't) make, or how hard it might be to break into comics. Even the fact that I loved the stories presented as much as I loved the art escaped me. I accepted that I was going to be a comic book artist, and that was okay. I became a webcomic artist, of my own creation, for about 19 strips. That endeavor made me a grand total of $.75.

Being a writer never occurred to me in my teens despite my seventh grade teacher giving me all A's on my creative writing assignments, and my language teacher being impressed with all my reports. Those were just…things…homework I had to do, even if they were easy. I never stopped to wonder why some of my classmates had so much trouble finishing these types of assignments. I certainly never had a teacher specifically tell me "You need to go into writing."

Blaming others for my current insecurities would be easy, but pointless. Real life doesn't happen like it does in the movies and TV. Until it does. While in college, my language professor DID tell me I should get into writing. She even tried to get me into this special workshop where you met people in the writing industry. I should have gone. Instead, I made a baby, and decided to play it safe by quitting college and working full time to support my new family. At Wal-Mart. Real life can happen like it does in the movies and on TV; but you must be awake enough to realize it while it's happening.

I didn't grow up aspiring to be a writer. Now that I am a writer, an author even, I wonder where I'd be had I been listening to what my teachers had been telling me all this time: You're meant to put words on the page that let people feel something, James. Go. Do it!

To my teachers, to my professor I failed so horribly, I'm sorry I didn't hear the real message you were giving me with your small praises. I'm putting in my time now, and I'm not giving up. Every word I write is meant to inspire.

I'm not the best yet…but I'm working hard and giving my writing everything I've got.

James Neal is the author of these stories:

Of Blood and Blade; a dark fantasy novel on Amazon

Paints the Invisible Eye; a dark fantasy novella on Amazon &

Divine Right (linked to Smashwords); a free fantasy short story available on Smashwords, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, and other digital bookstores.

The Blacksmith's Reaper: a FREE fantasy short landing on April 21, 2016 on Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, and other digital bookstores.

I'm social! Join me on:

Twitter

Facebook

Tumblr

LinkedIn

New Information Dealers are Showing Up Where Big Media Won't

Currently, when you think of being an American, chances are good you think about the inequalities running rampant through our aged, non-progressive system. You have to fight to be heard. The battle to actually change the system is staggering. Yet, post Occupy Wall Street, the younger generation is mixing old rights with new technology to exact the changes they want to see. How successful are they? The war is young…but tempered with young hearts and ideology, it is far from over.

Utilizing social media is not new for the millennial generation. This "new" technology has been around since their birth, they're growing up with social media as part of their every day, where they share everything from memes to what they're having for breakfast.

Ideas are also being shared. Important ideas such as how the government is unfair to certain races and how big-money owns what policies get passed into law. The influence of these individuals over social media is strong enough, their voices loud enough, that they forced gay marriage to become a reality.

Think about that for a moment.

The Young Turks logo

DemocracySpring.org has set up at least two protests already. Today, on the steps of the White House, 400 people out of a five-thousand man protest were hauled to jail. The protest was about repealing Citizen's United, the law which allows corporations to donate money to political campaigns as a citizen instead of as a company. TYT (The Young Turks) provided a livestream from their Facebook page, which showed not only peaceful protesters, but also calm police. Unsurprisingly, none of the major media brands were there to broadcast this obviously big story.

Why is it a big deal if major media brands weren't there? Essentially, they gave the story to young people, to propagate its meaning however they want. If major media plans to ignore these types of stories, they are giving power to those who will cover them. Which is fine, for now. The longer they refuse to acknowledge the presence of new information dealers- who are going to become the source of information for an ever-growing portion of the nation- the harder it will be to come back up when the scales tip away from their favor.

America's "normal people" are rising. They demand, in loud and clear voices, fairness and a right to live by standards people living in a country considered a superpower should be able to live. And sure, there's some entitlement there. Overwhelmingly, that entitlement is proving to be less geared towards the individual as it is towards the rights and fairness to all.

God bless America, stay strong out there.

James Neal is the author of three stories:

Of Blood and Blade; a dark fantasy novel on Amazon

Paints the Invisible Eye; a dark fantasy novella on Amazon &

Divine Right (linked to Smashwords); a free fantasy short story available on Smashwords, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, and other digital bookstores.

The Blacksmith's Reaper: a FREE fantasy short soon to be released

I'm social! Join me on:

Twitter

Facebook

Tumblr

LinkedIn

Writers Must Listen

Go on, use those things on the side of your head.

Writers have an interesting mindset: when somebody tells us a part of our work is wrong (or bad, or isn't working, or or or or), we assume this person is referring to the entire work. Whether it be a blog post, ad copy, a novel, or whatever- we begin to think about sabotaging that work, grinding it up, shredding it into tiny pieces and throwing those bits out of a speeding vehicle careening across a tall bridge.

Whoa tiger, or should I say Jaguar? At least that’s still a car.

I had this experience just yesterday. My editor had gone over a short story I'm preparing for release. There were a couple of things that he noted needing my attention. Y'know, to make it better. My immediate- if internal- thought was to feed this story to the fish. No, literally. I wanted to print it out, tear it into tiny pieces, make them into spitballs, go to the lake, and fish with them.

I don't even like fishing.

What's my point? Well number one, I did NOT go fishing yesterday. I slowed my brain down and listened to my editor's actual words. Which were (slightly abridged):

"I loved the story. You have a tendency to repeat certain words over and over again in the same paragraph. I put in hyphens when you used commas incorrectly. Your main character's voice got weird for a moment. I loved (a certain part of the story). Don't use the same word over and over again. Did I mention I love how you have an observation about life, and a commanding morale to the story?"

If you're a writer, are you thinking that maybe I should set fire to this story? I did, but when I forced myself to listen, I realized how many times he told me this story is amazing, but parts needed extra work.

As writers, we have a tendency to be tellers. We tell stories. We tell facts, observations, and tidbits that "normal" people would never think to put on paper. That's important. It's also important that we listen. If we forget this crucial element, we slide into one of two trains of thought:

"I am the best writer in the world and don't need any help," OR

"I am the worst writer and should burn every piece of paper along with every computer so I'm not tempted to try this again."

I've been on both trains, and believe me, neither thought is correct. Listen to critiques with an open mind. Most people are only trying to help your work get better. Also, don't only hear the negative components. Hear the compliments, and let those get you through the rewrites. You're a good writer…allow yourself to grow regardless of which train you jump onboard.

James Neal is the author of three stories:

Of Blood and Blade; a dark fantasy novel on Amazon

Paints the Invisible Eye; a dark fantasy novella on Amazon &

Divine Right (linked to Smashwords); a free fantasy short story available on Smashwords, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, and other digital bookstores.

The Blacksmith's Reaper; a fantasy short, will be available FREE soon.

I'm social! Join me on:

Twitter

Facebook

Tumblr

LinkedIn