Category Archives: Writing

Step 3 Continued: My Best Self

Posted on by
Reply

Step 3 – Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to a power greater than ourselves

Photo: Bresson Thomas

I have a hard time with the God idea. I wish I didn’t. Lots and lots of people find amazing solace in the idea of a divine presence with their best interest at heart. For me, though, since I have a hard time with the God idea, and since I get overwhelmed, I’ve really embraced the third step as being me living as my best self.

My best self.

Not the self that whines and hides and runs away. Oh, love that guy. Yeah, chicks dig that guy. Nothing quite so disgusting as a whining escape artist who’s never around. Self-pity. The other day, I heard a woman talk about the brown Jacuzzi. How warm and disgusting it is. I won’t go into detail. You can connect the dots.

Not the self that is better than everyone, who is just so wonderful, he probably doesn’t need a critique group or beta readers. I love it when after writing, I feel like a genius, that I burn with raw creative fire. Generally, I race to my wife and say, “Will you love me when I’m rich and famous?” She always says yes. I think it’s the money part. Fame is like poison for the soul, if you ask me.

My best self.

My best self is the person who I was born to be, the good, kind, caring, selfless fearless person who is ready for any obstacle, who asks for help, who works without complaint, and helps whenever he can. Who is more interested in giving to the universe and serving the world than his own ego and drama.

When I am in the third step, I am striving to be my best self. And I know when I fail and I know when I succeed because my vision of who I am is stuck in my head.

And that’s the thing that trips up a lot of people. You will always fail in trying to be your best self. Hell, if you didn’t, you’d be a Greek-frakking god. We’re human. We will fail probably as much as we’ll succeed. But the trick is to make the commitment and keep working at being your best self.

Because the rewards are not fame and fortune. When I am striving to be my best self, my life falls into place and things work out. I think that’s why the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous says that when we get ourselves right spiritually, we straighten out mentally and physically.

But this takes honesty. If I’m not taking care of my family, or my day job, and I’m writing all the time and striving to be my best self, that might at times feel like the right thing to do, but again, it’s about being of service and being selfless. I need to remember that it’s all a balancing act.

And, when you are relationship with other people, they will generally tell you when you’re not being your best self. That kind of honesty is a terror. But it’s also a gift.

Intro to the Third Step: The Writer in the Wilderness

Posted on by
Reply

Step 3 – Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to a power greater than ourselves

So if the third step is about turning our will and our lives over to something greater than ourselves, oh, bubba, there are about a million and five things greater than us. For me, it was not only a higher power, divine, sort of presence–the Force, if you will–but it was also my critique group, writers’ conferences, the whole process of writing and getting published. I had to admit that I couldn’t do it, other people could, and I would have to take direction. I would accept help.

Oh, how I love the Clint Eastwood-man-in-the-wilderness-hardcore-stoic-poet-warrior ideal. The man with no name, facing the banditos alone, with nothing but his courage and his six-guns. Dagny Taggart single-handedly saving her railroad from the looters. Yeah, I could go on.

I’m not that. Most of the time I’m a frightened little man living a frightened little life, and yet, I overcome crippling fear every single day. Every single day I am given the gift to live courageously.

Because if I surrender to a power greater than myself, then I don’t have to be in charge. I can do the next, simple thing. Simple things I can do, generally, but if I have to run the universe, well, I get overwhelmed.

In some recovery circles, the third step is boiled down to committing to finish the rest of the steps. That makes sense to me. When I try and figure out what God wants me to be, what He wants me to do (capital H), what kind of cereal I should eat, I freeze up. Does God want me to eat Captain Crunch? What about the high fructose corn syrup? Are there trans fats? Okay, what about an egg for breakfast? Probably factory farmed. And the cholesterol. Yeah, there’s that to consider. Okay, what about toast? White or wheat? Rye? Okay, I’ll have an apple. Hurray, I have done God’s will for me. Nothing wrong with an apple. Is it organic?

So trying to figure out God’s will is a rough one. Some people keep it easy. Just do the next, right thing. Just the next one. Okay, breakfast. Just eat a breakfast. Better to eat than not eat. It is the most important meal of the day, doncha’ know. Okay, breakfast. Should I go smoke crack now? Prolly not. How about taking a shower and going to work? Yeah, probably. Let’s do that.

With my writing life, that can be a powerful tool to use. I’m generally working on about a thousand projects on any given day. That can freeze me. And I have the marketing to do. And my social media. And decisions about how to present myself. And there’s that short story that’s been nagging at me. And I have to write my million-word epic literary fantasy about the penguin army fighting through a mongoose colony. Yeah, that. I should work on that today. But what about my current project? What about my edits to the novel with my publisher? Ugh. Don’t want to do that.

So half of the things I’m terrified to do. The other half I don’t want to do. And the other half…oops, ran out of halfs. Drat. Well, the other non-existent half is the stuff I love to do. So I have to take it easy, one step at a time, the next right thing. My Watership Down with mongooses and penguins is important, but first, my current work in progress that needs to be finished. And next, the little marketing I do everyday. And slowly, I work through my writing day.

How horrible it is to have too much to do and to freeze. It doesn’t help. Some would say breaks are important. I can’t. Every day I don’t write or work on my writing is a day I’m not living the dream. I don’t want to miss out. Better to do anything with my writing than to miss a day. It’s the life of a monk, of an aesthete, or a madman.

But it’s the dream. Gotta live the dream today.

I Get Empathic and Stutter with Publishing Icon Heather Savage

Posted on by
Reply

I met Heather Savage from Staccato Publishing at Romantic Times this past year and she is a nuclear explosion of power and publication. And caring. Can a nuclear blast be caring? Most definitely, if you’re talking about Heather, who like many of us poor writers, started out in life scribbling and when her day job turned slow, started her YA Paranormal novels, the Empath trilogy. Which lead her into the world of publishing, and while most might have turned all their attention to their own work, Heather started Staccato Publishing, to help the rest of us.

When I asked her which she wanted to focus on, the Empath trilogy or Staccato Publishing for this interview, she said one lead directly into the other, so this is going to be a blended interview. Like a Frappuccino. Yum, it’s summer, Frappuccinos. Okay. Must. Focus.

HK Savage has been a voracious reader of anything she could get her hands on going back to the second grade when she would set her alarm two hours early to read before school. Her passion for the written word has continued and flowed into writing going back nearly as far. Her books have fans in twenty countries on six continents with hopes of attracting attention on Antarctica if for no other reason than to check a box.

Staccato Publishing

Currently, HK is a mother, wife and black belt in Karate as well as an avid dressage rider. Her three dogs: a Doberman she uses for therapy dog work and two ancient Doxies keep her busy when she is not writing or working or whatever else.

In addition to editing for the past ten years in advertising, HK has been an editor for several newsletters over the years; her favorite being for Heifer International where her ideas were put into effect and complimented by those on high. Currently her skills are being focused on clients in the writing world.

Paranormal is her favorite genre and science fiction because both address the possibilities we have not yet realized and the darker things we have. Her favorite premise: “what if?”

Aaron: Heather. Hit me. Our conversations started out with what you studied in college. What did you study? How has that helped you in dealing with writing and authors?

Heather: I started in Biology until I realized it was hard so I switched to something a little easier: Psychology. With a minor in Religion I think the combo is a perfect setup for life and the bizarre writer’s mind that now controls me.

Aaron: Like many, when you get sucked into writing, you become extremely focused. No sleep. No food. IV fluids only. Before you know you are going to get into a project, are you ever reticent, or do you look forward to the obsessive madness?

Heather: Funny you ask that. Next week I’ve cleared the decks to start work in earnest on the follow up to my new series, The Path (March 2012). The Empath Trilogy is done and I’ve put it to bed but people are begging for more Claire and James as well as some of their other favorites. I’m honestly having a hard time getting my thoughts straight. Usually I am singularly focused to the point I turn off the phones and if it weren’t for an energetic puppy I would never even put on pants and go outside. I know that once I’m in that mode it will take over and I will have a terrible time pulling out. It’s almost painful to not be able to write once I get started. The guilt is somewhat assuaged by making dinner for the family and spending a few hours with them before packing them off to bed and staying up all night because “I’m on a roll.” My husband is very understanding.

Aaron: If I were the beleaguered father of three triplet toddler boys still mourning the loss of my wife who died in childbirth, how would you pitch the Empath trilogy to me?

Heather: I’m actually really bad at selling my books. If you were that poor man I would probably offer to watch the kids while you went to get a cup of coffee and do nothing but drool on yourself for an hour. No longer though, seriously, three boys? Sheesh!

Aaron: Since you have a ton of experience dealing with writers, which one of your characters from the Empath trilogy do you think would make the best writer? Which one would make the worst?

Heather: I think the best writer would have to be Henry. He’s crazy old and has had tons of experience and has a lot to be sorry for. His deep secrets and pain would make him a dark, brooding type while his revelation (sorry, can’t give you much but you learn WTH in book 3) would make it an inspiring read.

Worst would be Gina. She’s a little more than a bit player in books 1 and 2 but she’s balls-out crazy. It would read more like a manifesto and no one should read those except as case studies.

Aaron: Why did you start Staccato Publishing? Temporary madness? Cocaine addiction? Or did the angels come a-callin’?

Heather: If only I did coke then I could refuse to ever succumb to sleep. No, I started Staccato out of a need to help. It is the double-edged sword that I endlessly cut myself with. When I started down the writing rabbit hole I learned a lot. Not all of my mistakes were bad and I’ve learned a ton. Hearing other writers struggle as they navigate the landmines made me think that since I came from print advertising and editing, had a decade’s knowledge of printing, and now could add figuring out ISBNs to my repertoire, this progression to full on publishing nut was natural.

Aaron: In the writing community, there are those who read all their reviews, good and bad, and there are those who don’t. Do you read your reviews? I read mine, and I hate them all. The good ones aren’t good enough, the bad ones not scathing enough. But my grasp on reality is tentative.

Heather: I don’t think any fiction writer has a solid grasp on reality. Otherwise they are the Nicholas Sparks of the world and they blow. Did I say that out loud? Sorry. I prefer my mindless drivel a little more, I don’t know, bitey. In the beginning I read them all. The first fifty or so were great and then I got my first 3 star and was inconsolable. Yep, serious neuroses here. If they found a flaw then certainly I was a failure. Nothing I wrote was worth the megabytes it took to store. I’ve stopped reading reviews and have done some signings. The most recent one, a fan drove over an hour in a rainstorm to come see me and said that I was her favorite author and made me pose for a picture; possibly the only picture of me as HK Savage in existence, by the way.

The most meaningful review/comment though came from my husband. He was traveling and wanted something to read. He’d read my trilogy and loved it as well as my standalone, Life Blood (written for my mom who hates paranormal- it’s a paranormal disguised as a thriller). But he took The Path with him. I was thinking of fulfilling a lifelong dream and enlisting in the Navy, going for an Intelligence position. He said that I couldn’t stop writing because I’d found my voice and it was good. Really good. Whether he didn’t want me to go away on deployments, knew I was struggling, or just wanted to be kind I don’t know. But his voice comes back to me when I worry I’m not good enough and the kind people who read my work are out there writing god awful things I’m not reading. Someone likes what I’m saying so if nothing else, I’m writing for him.

Aaron: What is the best part of working with writers and getting their stories out in the world? Notice, I didn’t ask for the bad parts. I’m all about the positive.

Heather: For me it’s about the positives too. Trust me, there are negatives but I see them as obstacles. We are in this to build careers and develop audiences. The first book might take a little while to catch on, but we will find the audience whether it’s out on the internet or hiding in the back room of a Joann Fabric. My favorite part of publishing is sending the advance copy of an author’s first book to them and getting that call or email. We send out bookmarks for each author to hand out as business cards and I ask for a signed bookmark for myself and each member of our staff. They are some of my most prized possessions.

Aaron: Here is where you tell me everything Staccato Publishing can do to make the world a better place. I started with nuclear holocaust, let’s end with a voice of hope and happiness calling out in the wilderness. Yes, hope. Better living through Staccato Publishing. What services does Staccato offer us?

Heather: Staccato Publishing can paint your house, weed your garden, walk your dog. Wait, we’re holding off on that until they threaten to turn the lights off. For now we offer editing (yes, you need professional editing, not Aunt Edna who “reads a lot.”) We’ve recently participated in a local book festival and run both a publishing workshop as well as an editing workshop with our lead editor, Sara Johnson. Both were full and got great feedback. We told them the same things I can tell you. Edit professionally, have someone do your promotions and develop your online personality. Be a reviewer, don’t just pimp your books or people will see you coming and run the other way, calling you a spammer. Staccato edits for those who we publish as well as offering our services freelance. Additionally, and equally important, we do promotions. That’s getting you locked into over 350 bloggers and reviewers and sending out to them weekly. We don’t just hit all of them in the first month. We prefer to build you up so we promote for about 9 months and then let things cool so that when we come in again with book 2 and hit them they say, “oh, I’ve heard that name.” It’s all advertising. You are your own brand and we help to manage that.

Aaron: Thanks so much, Heather!

Heather’s author page at Staccato Publishing
On Amazon

From Amazon, I grabbed the Empath summary:

Claire Martin is a young woman with the unwanted talent of empathy. She’s lived her entire life as a slave to a constant barrage of emotions that aren’t hers. Leaving for college, she hopes simply to blend with the crowd. Instead, she meets Stephen Andrews, a fragile-looking boy who instantly recognizes Claire for what she is. Through Stephen, Claire meets James, a vampire with a talent of his own. As soon as they touch, their abilities connect in a way that has not occurred in over three hundred years, forming a bond that cannot be broken.
Empath is book one in the Empath Trilogy.