Musings Of A New Southern Man

I have to admit I have had a little help in my writing sessions for the past few weeks. No, I haven't asked a noted author to serve as ghost writer. I have invited Mozart, Beethoven, Rossini, Dvorak, Tchaikovsky and many of their friends along for the ride. Their help is invaluable. It is a matter of creating the correct atmosphere to write. I have some unwritten rules when it comes to music while I create. First, no lyrics. I don't want words from a song distracting me. Second, the music has to fit who I am. I have heard from one author of horror stories that he loves to have heavy metal or hard rock playing. Good for him, but it's not a fit for me. Third, the music has to lead me along. As much as I was raised on Clapton, Hendrix, et al, the classical composers form a bond with me. Maybe it's my upbringing. I thank God I had parents who presented me with a wide range of performances to view when I was very young. We saw Polish dance troupes and Scottish marching b...

Lots of authors flock to their local writing club, etc., in part for a chance to join critique groups. I avoid them. It's not that I'm afraid of criticism. I'm a journalism copy editor, so I know the application of criticism is a valuable tool. I just think that critique groups, like so much of the publishing world, tends to pen authors into a middle ground and rejects the truly original. There is a second part to my hesitance. I know my first novel will be trimmed and bolstered by an agent and editor, and I am fine with that. In both cases, I tip my hat (and lower my tendency for hurt feelings) because the input comes from professionals. The critique group? I don't see that level of professionalism there. Let me illustrate. I sat down with another author and gave a short synopsis of my first novel. That novel has two story lines, is complex, my characters are conflicted and challenged constantly, the plot wanders across genres as I create little vignettes in both s...

My blog has suffered, weighed down by holidays, job responsibilities and lots of time spent on writing my second novel. It's time to break through the malaise. Do other authors who deal with violence have trouble writing those scenes? I have to be honest: I am no Stephen King. I don't feel comfortable with a parade of situations in which somebody gets whacked. However, as an author, I have to occasionally write such scenes. And when I write such scenes, I find myself with two realities. The first is that discomfort in facing the situation. The second is that the scenes are very easy to write once I enter into them. Go figure. I just completed a scene with a high level of violence. It's not Hannibal Lecter-level violence, but it concerns circumstances that will make anyone wince. Why? Because the principal antagonist in my second novel is that much of a bad ass. I have to prepare a counter to my antagonist in order to provoke tension and set up all the "black mome...