I've started writing! It is unbelievable how invigorating it is to express myself through written word. I feel like the burdens are lifted off of my shoulders and a peace takes over me. Maybe it's because I can pretend I'm the character I'm writing about or I can shift my darker thoughts onto the shoulders of the nemesis. Regardless, it's good to be doing something.
On the other hand, I find myself rewriting each paragraph everytime I read it. I need to focus and bang out a lot more copy before going through that process. Ah, the learning experience is in full swing!
Until next time,
~NitroDad
Friday, May 30, 2008
Friday, May 23, 2008
Transition
Some people call it fate, others refer to it as destiny; I prefer to view it as God's guiding hand. Whatever your beliefs, we have all experienced times when it seems there was a reason events occured. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to spend two hours having coffee with a guy who helped open my eyes during my search for the ultimate end-game. Marc Warnke has been extremely successful in his life and has written a book about what he calls "ONO", or Options Not Obligations in which he hopes to teach others not how to do, but rather how to think. Check out his blog (www.marcwarnke.com/blog) for details on the book and his expert advice.
Prior to our meeting, Marc and I both had different expectations for the meeting. It had been set up through a mutual acquaintance, so Marc and I had only met briefly at a workshop. I was looking forward to meeting an author and someone who had successfully matched his personal brand to his career. Marc thought I was an entreprenuer looking for a joint venture. But as we talked, we each came away with a different experience than what we expected. While I did get some great insight into the writing and publishing world, I found the conversation encouraged me to continue reflecting on what I am trying to accomplish with my life. It gave me ideas on how I want to live my life, and how I want to be able to have -- to quote Marc -- options, not obligations.
As I've shared in other posts, I feel like I am in a transition in my life. I am too young to be having a mid-life crisis (though I do have a tremendous urge to go purchase a new 'Vette), so I prefer to believe that I've reached a fork in the road. Both paths lead to different forms of success, I just need to--if you'll allow the motorcycle analogy--point my handlebars down the path best suited to my bike's performance abilities. It looks like both roads run parallel for now, so the decision is more simple; I can just cross the median if I choose. But soon, I know that one road will turn East, the other West, and there will be no turning back.
Until then, hold on tight, there are curves ahead.
~NitroDad
Prior to our meeting, Marc and I both had different expectations for the meeting. It had been set up through a mutual acquaintance, so Marc and I had only met briefly at a workshop. I was looking forward to meeting an author and someone who had successfully matched his personal brand to his career. Marc thought I was an entreprenuer looking for a joint venture. But as we talked, we each came away with a different experience than what we expected. While I did get some great insight into the writing and publishing world, I found the conversation encouraged me to continue reflecting on what I am trying to accomplish with my life. It gave me ideas on how I want to live my life, and how I want to be able to have -- to quote Marc -- options, not obligations.
As I've shared in other posts, I feel like I am in a transition in my life. I am too young to be having a mid-life crisis (though I do have a tremendous urge to go purchase a new 'Vette), so I prefer to believe that I've reached a fork in the road. Both paths lead to different forms of success, I just need to--if you'll allow the motorcycle analogy--point my handlebars down the path best suited to my bike's performance abilities. It looks like both roads run parallel for now, so the decision is more simple; I can just cross the median if I choose. But soon, I know that one road will turn East, the other West, and there will be no turning back.
Until then, hold on tight, there are curves ahead.
~NitroDad
Friday, May 16, 2008
What If...
I've spent the last several days thinking a lot about how to best proceed as I make my attempt at becoming a world-famous author. Well, at least a published author!
The questions posed in my earlier post are challenging and have led me to wander through many paths in my dreams. Ultimately, though, I must write about what I have a passion for, and that passion fits best with an adult audience.
Without going into great detail yet, I must admit this will be a challenging subject to write about. The subject matter will very likely cause me to have nightmares (no I'm not writing a horror book -- well not a Steven King type horror book), and will probably make me question a lot of my personal beliefs.
But ultimately, that's why I want to write -- to make people think about the "what if's" that present us. My book will ultimately make people wonder what they would do if a situation presented itself, make them question the morality of mankind, make them wonder, "What if..."
Until next time,
~NitroDad
The questions posed in my earlier post are challenging and have led me to wander through many paths in my dreams. Ultimately, though, I must write about what I have a passion for, and that passion fits best with an adult audience.
Without going into great detail yet, I must admit this will be a challenging subject to write about. The subject matter will very likely cause me to have nightmares (no I'm not writing a horror book -- well not a Steven King type horror book), and will probably make me question a lot of my personal beliefs.
But ultimately, that's why I want to write -- to make people think about the "what if's" that present us. My book will ultimately make people wonder what they would do if a situation presented itself, make them question the morality of mankind, make them wonder, "What if..."
Until next time,
~NitroDad
Monday, May 12, 2008
Pen to Paper (Well Keyboard to Microsoft Word)
Here lies my next greatest challenge: What should I write about?
I’ve made the commitment to begin writing my first book, but what should I write about? I have several topics floating around in my mind, yet picking one seems to be challenging. The two leading topics at the top of my mind are galaxies apart, and I have a passion for both, but I can only work on one at a time. One is slightly ahead in the race to the page, but should it be held back until the next round?
Of no lesser importance, who am I targeting with my book? Should I write for kids, youth, or adults? On one hand, I’d love to be able to read my story to my kids at night. On the other, the topic leading my aforementioned race to the page is not at all appropriate for kids.
Hmmmm…..
~NitroDad
I’ve made the commitment to begin writing my first book, but what should I write about? I have several topics floating around in my mind, yet picking one seems to be challenging. The two leading topics at the top of my mind are galaxies apart, and I have a passion for both, but I can only work on one at a time. One is slightly ahead in the race to the page, but should it be held back until the next round?
Of no lesser importance, who am I targeting with my book? Should I write for kids, youth, or adults? On one hand, I’d love to be able to read my story to my kids at night. On the other, the topic leading my aforementioned race to the page is not at all appropriate for kids.
Hmmmm…..
~NitroDad
The First Step
What does it take to be a writer?
It's a question I've pondered since my first stab at storytelling on an old Apple IIe back in the '80s. I had been given an assignment by my teacher -- though I can't recall exactly, I believe it would have been 5th or 6th grade -- and I was to write a story. That was it. No subject. No guidance. Simply "write a story."
So I sat down in front of the blank screen and started pecking away at the keyboard, watching the green letters flash up on the screen with every keystroke. An idea had formed in my head and my hero -- Marley Tuesday -- set upon finding his wife and son after they'd been kidnapped by some unknown menace. Where it went from there, I can't recall. But I was hooked. I loved watching my idea become transformed onto the paper.
After turning in that assignment, I found myself writing other stories. I tried various themes, different plots. Anything to download my mind onto paper. Secretly, I saw myself as the next Louis L'Amour or Franklin W. Dixon (author of the Hardy Boys series). I saw myself as...a writer.
Today, a quarter of a century later, I'm still fascinated by putting word to paper. But today, I no longer write stories about a father in search of his family. Instead, I try and convince the reader that one type of product is better than another. That one should hurry in so my company can sell you something better than the competition. Flowery prose, marketing trickery, fancy adjectives, word games, whatever it takes to get the buyer in the door.
But I want more. I crave the days when I wrote for fun, or told a story. I love telling my children stories about growing up on a farm. Or complete fantasies, such as my life as a pirate, sailing the seas in search of treasure. So what do I do? Can I become a story teller? Or will my soul continue to wander, waiting for me to take the next step?
Again, I ask: What does it take to be a writer? I don't know, but I'm going to find out. I attended a tremendous "Personal Branding" workshop last Friday by the guys at Tricycle (www.thetricycle.com). It really made me think about who I am and what I want to be when I grow up. I want to be a writer, and now is the time to start branding myself as such.
Going forward, this blog will become my personal diary, a journal of my effort to tell the world a great story. This blog will become my conscience, my publicist, my editor….and perhaps my salvation.
~NitroDad
It's a question I've pondered since my first stab at storytelling on an old Apple IIe back in the '80s. I had been given an assignment by my teacher -- though I can't recall exactly, I believe it would have been 5th or 6th grade -- and I was to write a story. That was it. No subject. No guidance. Simply "write a story."
So I sat down in front of the blank screen and started pecking away at the keyboard, watching the green letters flash up on the screen with every keystroke. An idea had formed in my head and my hero -- Marley Tuesday -- set upon finding his wife and son after they'd been kidnapped by some unknown menace. Where it went from there, I can't recall. But I was hooked. I loved watching my idea become transformed onto the paper.
After turning in that assignment, I found myself writing other stories. I tried various themes, different plots. Anything to download my mind onto paper. Secretly, I saw myself as the next Louis L'Amour or Franklin W. Dixon (author of the Hardy Boys series). I saw myself as...a writer.
Today, a quarter of a century later, I'm still fascinated by putting word to paper. But today, I no longer write stories about a father in search of his family. Instead, I try and convince the reader that one type of product is better than another. That one should hurry in so my company can sell you something better than the competition. Flowery prose, marketing trickery, fancy adjectives, word games, whatever it takes to get the buyer in the door.
But I want more. I crave the days when I wrote for fun, or told a story. I love telling my children stories about growing up on a farm. Or complete fantasies, such as my life as a pirate, sailing the seas in search of treasure. So what do I do? Can I become a story teller? Or will my soul continue to wander, waiting for me to take the next step?
Again, I ask: What does it take to be a writer? I don't know, but I'm going to find out. I attended a tremendous "Personal Branding" workshop last Friday by the guys at Tricycle (www.thetricycle.com). It really made me think about who I am and what I want to be when I grow up. I want to be a writer, and now is the time to start branding myself as such.
Going forward, this blog will become my personal diary, a journal of my effort to tell the world a great story. This blog will become my conscience, my publicist, my editor….and perhaps my salvation.
~NitroDad
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