Technology in Writing

    I took the plunge yesterday, bought into the hype and drove to the Apple Store. I came out with a shiny new MacBook Air. It has an 11.6" screen, a fair amount smaller than my 13.3" MacBook, but I'd tried it out a couple of times in the store and thought it would work. It has a bigger brother with the same size 13.3" inch screen as the current MacBook Pros.

    Macs have long been my computer of choice. In fact, my first one was still in 1984, the year the first Macintosh commercial debuted during the Super Bowl earlier that year. It was a tall, foot-square box with a 9" B&W screen and 128k of RAM. It had a single floopy, but I splurged and bought the upgrade: the external floppy drive. I was a happy man with two disk drives. No hard disk.

    All computers were a challenge in 1984, but the Macintosh caught on due to its graphical user interface (GUI), which changed the way computers worked. For a few years, it was touch and go for Apple and the Mac, but the good times are rolling now.

    After the better part of two days, I've got a clean system with only the software I need installed. I even spent a little time at the Cambria library today doing some writing. All my writing files, bookmarks, mail, etc., are in place and working. And I have my backup set up.

    Let me say that again: I have my backup set up.

    After having a hard drive fail several months ago, I never take backups for granted (I'd just done a full backup the night before the failure).

    For a few posts I'll touch on technology and the MacBook Air, specifically as it pertains to writing. But first let me tell you about something I recently learned about: Dropbox (www.dropbox.com).

    Whether you use more than one computer or just need someplace to store files for backup, Dropbox is pretty cool. 2 GB free. I'm using it to hold a copy of my latest work in progress. After I close the doc, I just drag it to the Dropbox folder and it's stored locally as well as up in the cloud at my free account with Dropbox. I can get to it from any computer. Check it out.

ACFW Contest News

     The 2010 American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) annual conference in Indianapolis, Indiana, was held the third weekend in September. I knew I was one of five finalists in the Mystery/Suspense/Thriller category of the Genesis Contest, so I figured I had a 20% chance of winning, right?

     Unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend due to a conflict, but some thoughtful conference organizers arranged to have a live blog feed posting the award banquet happenings. So it was Sunday afternoon at an inn in Sonoma, California, where I watched the blog postings flow by, announcing the genre categories, the list of finalists, the runner up, and then the winner of each category. About 650 people were at the awards dinner, and another 120+ like me tuned in online.

     As they say at the Academy Awards, it's an honor just to be nominated. It really is--and lot's of fun, too. And it was fun as my name came up on the list of 5 finalists: Rich Bullock, Storm Song (my latest book and my entry for the contest). Seeing the book's title in print on the computer screen makes it that much more real. You see, I've lived with this story for over a year, laboring over every line, crafting every character's past, present and future. I know the people in Storm Song better than I know many of my live friends. So, because it's only a manuscript on my computer (and dozens of backup copies!) and not a printed book, sometimes it doesn't feel quite real. But here it was, my book title flowing by on a national blog post.

     Then they announced the runner up: wasn't me. Then they announced the winner:

     Rich Bullock, Storm Song.

     I had a little trouble breathing. Sheryl let out a little scream (didn't want to disturb the other guests at the inn). Wow. I'd actually won the contest category. We went out to a very nice dinner that night!

What it means:

     Well, it doesn't guarantee a publishing contract, nor is there a sizable check in the mail. But a lot of key people saw and heard about it. I have hope that the agents and editors I've contacted will take a second look now.

     Thanks for everyone who says they can't wait to read the book. That's exactly what I want, too!

     Thanks for all the support and congrats from so many. You are so incredibly valuable to this whole writing process.

Fiction - The Great Teacher

At noon today I took a walk in the old Cambria cemetery. Since it's an old California logging town from the mid-1800s, there was a section where the Chinese were buried. But their graves weren't marked or preserved.

Many others' were, however, and some of the headstones told tiny, interesting stories. Babies and young children were perhaps the most poignant. One from the late 1800s, and another 90 years later.

Most headstones didn't have epitaphs, although many had military service details: WWI and WWII, the Spanish American War in 1898. A lot of people died in the 80s and 90s -- that's 1880s and 1890s. I also discovered a lot of people in the 1800s who lived into their 70s and 80s. They probably walked a lot more than we all do today.

I found the Reverend Henry C. Thomson's headstone who died in 1928, a year before the Great Depression. "A faithful servant of the Lord Jesus Christ." 

But one thing all had in common: they all had died. That may seem obvious, and I don't say it to be funny. And, except for the younger ones, I imagine most considered what legacy they would leave after they were gone. 

I wonder about that. Do you?

From a fiction writer's perspective, legacy is a powerful motivator for characters, both negative and positive. Some waste their lives on frivolous pursuits, and others build a business that none of the kids want. Still others live as "A faithful servant of the Lord Jesus Christ." 

Fiction has been said to be true stories that haven't happened. I believe we learn best from the stories of others. And that's why fiction is such a great teacher. 

Special Edition - Press Release

Great news! While on our recent road trip – 2700 miles through Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Washington, Oregon, and back to California – we got stuck briefly at the Jeep dealership in Las Vegas with a minor AC problem. (By the way, I highly recommend Chapman Dodge.) Well, that wasn't the good news and it cost us some bucks, but ...

... I was sitting in the waiting area when my cell phone rang. It was American Christian Fiction Writers, letting me know I was a finalist in the Genesis Contest for my current suspense novel. I'm one out of five finalists in the mystery/suspense/thriller category! I've entered twice before, but this is the first time I've made the finals.

We'll know who won in September, but check out the press release on my website. VERY encouraging.

Thanks for all the support of my writing. Many ask how it's going. Today I can say it's going GREAT!

From Mount Hermon - Saturday

   Greetings from Beautiful Mount Hermon, CA, in the Santa Cruz mountains. I'm joined by about 300 other writers amongst the azaleas and redwoods to soak up writing skills, network, and reconnect with friends.

   My task this year is to make as many contacts as I can. With two completed manuscripts and another one rattling around in my brain, I'm anxious to get on the publishing trail. I submitted Storm Lake to two agents for publishing review (one got back to me a few minutes ago and wants to talk with me) and have an appointment set up with another on Sunday.

   The tag line is getting some attention: "Nothing's quite as peaceful as a mountain lake retreat. Unless it contains your ex-husband--and a killer."

   I'm in a mentoring group of eight, led by author James Scott Bell. We each "get" a turn on the Hot Seat where, for 30 minutes or so, we receive feedback and critiques of the others. Humbling and informative--and just a bit intimidating!

   Besides the mentoring group, there are 70 workshops from which to choose. That's enough to overload anyone!

   I also have two buddies this year--two first-timers who I helped get ready for the conference. Both great guys.

   But the best thing about the conference is connecting with friends. Pictured with me is Rebecca Miller. Becky and I met six years ago at Mount Hermon. We've been in a critique group together and she's a great writer of fantasy. You can read her blog at A Christian Worldview of Fiction.

Published yet?

Are you published yet? I get asked this just about every time people find out I'm a writer.

The short answer is: No.

Longer answer: It takes a while. You work on the craft for years, polishing and honing, and then you network and make contacts until the planets align. Right now the planets are crashing into one another.

The publishing world is in upside-down chaos these days, sort of like the Poseidon Adventure, only less fun. Both Barnes and Noble and Borders are hanging onto bricks and mortar book stores, but they are hurting. People are browsing, then buying online from Amazon or other e-retailers. This means they are having a hard time making the building lease payments, which pressures the mall owners, etc.

But what this all really means is books are being sold for less than ever--either p-books (printed) or e-books--from online retailers. Even physical books sold at Walmart and Costco pressure the price. That puts the squeeze on the publishers' profits, which further cuts into the authors' receipts. Pretty soon, it just won't pay to write books. Oh, wait...that's pretty much the way it is now, at least for most authors.

Check out the well done blog on this topic by literary agent Steve Laube: "Is This the End of Publishing?" He has some links to rather discouraging blogs about the state of publishing, but also a very creative video that gives some hope.

Now, does all this doom and gloom mean no one will write books? No. Writers write--gotta do it. It's like a bad habit: once you pick it up, it's hard to put down.

So I'm excited about the new publishing world. We're going to have many more choices of where we get our reading material. Sure it'll be confusing for a time, but the possibilities are almost endless.

And those possibilities take me one step closer to publication.

Making Characters Real

How do you make characters real?

    Lots of opinions and methods around this one. Some writers sit in malls and observe people for hours, others record dialogue in restaurant booths or use acting techniques to go deep into the motivations and mindset of the character. Whatever combination of tools, the character must become a real person whose story unfolds.

    I joke that I know my characters better than my friends. Sadly, it’s not a joke at all, but I think that’s okay. You see, by the end of a book, I know everything there is about my characters. I know their hopes, dreams, fears, failures, guilt. I know how they feel when someone loves or slights them. Their favorite foods are different than mine, but I understand their tastes and cravings. 

    What’s revealed in the book is only a small part of the “real” person. You don’t see all the backstory that made them who they are: breaking a tooth in a bike fall as a kid, being picked last for the grade school team, having your toy accidentally broken by your drunken father, watching as a kitten gets run over in the street. Oh, wait...those are all my backstory.

    Friends ask me if real people show up in my stories. Well, contrary to all the disclaimers in the front of books, the answer is a qualified yes. My mom shows up a lot. She’s a funny person with a flamboyant personality. Who better to include? However, it’s not really her in the book. I might include a funny line of hers, a mannerism, a story, but the character has different goals and abilities, more or less money, and usually isn’t as entertaining!

    Characters are as complex as real people--and as a writer, I have to know them better. The good news is if I get tired of them I can change them or write them out of the story!