The Curse of Creativity

Last night, I was all alone in the house that I am watching while its owners are away.  This house is big and ritzy and, to be honest, a little creepy.  The other night, I was getting ready for bed and I noticed this doll sitting on the shelf across the room.  I’d never actually seen this doll before, and I have no idea how long it’s been there, but it might actually be the scariest thing I’ve ever seen.

Anyway, as previously stated, last night, I was all alone in this big empty house and the power started surging and flickering.  It went off for a few seconds and then came back on again.  This morning, I noticed that the streetlights close by were flickering, so I’m guessing there was some sort of neighborhood power outage, but last night, I was freaked out.  That house is spooky enough without flickering lights, but being of the creative mind, flickering lights are not necessarily just faulty power lines.  They could indicate anything from ghosts to aliens to a serial killer lurking in the attic and messing with the wires.

Creative minds are fortunate in the sense that possibilities are limitless.  We do see the things that other people overlook.  But because we are not burdened by logic, we are no protected by it either.  At least, I’m not.  I know logically that a power outage is nothing to worry about, but the creative mind immediately assumes the worst, even if the worst is impossible.

I remember once, I was driving and I accidentally made eye contact with a guy waiting for a bus.  It would have been logical to think, “Oops… hope he doesn’t think I’m a creeper.”  Or maybe not think anything of it at all.  My first thought, however, was, “Oh no… What if that guy isn’t a guy at all?  What if he’s actually a demon and he latches on to the first person to make eye contact with him?  What if he follows me home and starts haunting me and torturing my family?”

Sometimes, being a creative mind is exhausting.  Most of the time, though, it’s pretty awesome.

In other news, here are a few fun and interesting things I have found around the internet and around town.

1) Gollum Sings “Let It Go”

No, seriously.  It’s on iTunes.  And this guy actually sounds like Gollum.

2) “The Fault in Our Stars” soundtrack to pre-order

I need dis.

Oh!  And if you’re interested, there’s a meteor shower tonight!  I wish I lived further away from city lights.  Maybe next time, I’ll be able to drive out to the country to watch.

Have a great evening, everyone!

All the Best Actors Play Rosencrantz

Apparently, BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH also played Rosencrantz in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead!  I must find a link to see this beautiful work.

So now, we have Shakespeare and Harry Potter and SHERLOCK!  Could the fandom gods possibly love me more?!

My Attempt to be a Good Blogger

I have a friend who just began working a job in social media and marketing and advertising.  Tonight, she told me that the best way to get a lot of hits on your blog is to post every day.

I guess a good writer/author/blogger would never admit that she has nothing significant to write about at the moment, but that’s what I’m going to do.  I’ve written a couple of deep blog posts this week, and right now, I’m a bit tapped out, so I’m basically just writing the first things I think of that are even mildly interesting.

1) Sherlock is on TV.  I love Sherlock.  I’m trying not to watch it though, because I really want to make some good progress on the book annnnd if I watch Sherlock, I literally will not do anything else.

Seriously, who can NOT watch this show?!  Or pretty much anything when Benedict Cumberbatch is on screen?

Okay sorry, my Inner Fangirl is beginning to emerge.  I’ll try to reel her back out.  Honestly though, this series is so good and all the actors are simply brilliant.  And of course, there are so many Smaug and Bilbo jokes to be made (if you’re also a Tolkien nerd, which I am).

2) I’m really trying to connect with more authors and aspiring writers, so if you have written a book or want to write a book, please follow me here or on GoodReads or anywhere else.  I love helping other writers.

3) I’m also really hoping to get more reviews on Cemetery Tours.  Of course, I’d love it if you bought the book and read it and gave it a review, but if you have some free time and you like reviewing books, I’d be happy to email you a manuscript in exchange for good and honest reviews on Amazon and GoodReads.  Barnes and Noble would be awesome too, but I think Amazon and GoodReads are key.

4)  I got another really great review from another fellow blogger.  Thank you so much, http://tjwiltshire.wordpress.com!

5) Apparently used copies of Cemetery Tours are really valuable in the UK.

I hope everyone has a super spectacular weekend!  I’m off to work on my book.

And watch Sherlock.

Just Keep Writing

One of my main objectives in attending last weekend’s Indievengeance Day book-signing at Half-Price Books was that I wanted to see what I could learn from independent authors who had once been where I am now and who have made it.  Of course, I ended up spending more time talking with them about what all authors tend to end up talking about: books.  I did get some advice, however.

Just keep writing.

While marketing and advertising and getting the word out there is a HUGE part of being an independent author, every one of the authors I met told me the same thing.

“You have to keep writing.”

It’s a good thing to remember.  It’s so easy to get caught up in how many people are (or are not) buying and reviewing your book.  You want to tell the world your book.  You want to fall to your knees and beg everyone who’s read it to write a glowing review that will inspire other readers to buy it.  You want to market and advertise until your limbs fall off.

But here’s the thing.  Independent authors are so much more likely to be successful if they have more than one book out, especially if those books are in a series together.  The only way you’re going to get more books out is if you sit your butt down and write them.

I’m finally making some real progress on the Cemetery Tours sequel.  I’d love to have the first draft finished by the end of NaNoWriMo (November for those who’ve never heard of National Novel Writing Month).  I’ve always wanted to participate, and I hope it’s not cheating that I’m already nine chapters in (and will hopefully be at least halfway through by the time November actually gets here).  The funny thing is I’ve known what would happen in the sequel much longer than I knew how I would even begin Cemetery Tours, so theoretically, this book should be a lot easier to write.  Unfortunately, sometimes when you’ve built something up in your head for so long, when the time finally comes around to write it, you’re afraid that you won’t be able to do it justice.  I’m pretty happy with the first nine chapters though, and I’m looking forward to what happens next, so I think I’m doing okay.

Something else I’ve learned after having just published my own book exactly one month ago is that while writers will always want to write (it is what we do, after all), we also really like to take time to kick back, relax, celebrate a little, bask in our accomplishments, drink wine, and so on.  However, when it comes to being an independent author, you are doing all the work yourself.  You do ten times the amount of work as an author who signed on with a fancy publishing agency and guess what?  You’re barely making any money for it.  What I’m trying to say is it’s good to celebrate and feel good about yourself.  An accomplishment like a published book is something worth celebrating!  But amidst the fun, keep one foot on the ground.  Stay focused.

I usually do most of my writing at night.  I’ve always been a night owl, and even though I wake up early every morning for work, I’m always up until at least 1 or 2 working on my books (or my blog).  Most of the marketing and advertising I’ve done so far has been online.  That’s a little tricky, however, because of how many distractions there are online.  You can use Pinterest to plan out your next book or to plan out your wedding to that guy you haven’t actually met yet.  You can use Facebook to get people to “like” your book, or you can use it to creep on the all the drama-mongerers whom you haven’t talked to in years but whom you secretly like to keep tabs on for entertainment purposes.

You get the idea.

I guess I’m writing this post for myself more so than anyone.  I’ve been trying to figure out recently how to get (and keep) people interested in Cemetery Tours.  It’s easy to get discouraged, but the thing that every independent author needs to remember is that you have to keep going.  You’ve been swimming against the tide for this long.  You might as well keep going.  The journey doesn’t end with your first publication.  That first book is just a stepping stone.  A pretty awesome stepping stone, but a stepping stone nevertheless.  The only way to succeed in this business is simply to keep writing and keep trying.  Never give up.

I’m pretty sleepy now, because I just got back from a Bon Jovi concert.  For the record,  Jon Bon Jovi is an awesome guy.  Great performer, very charismatic, and fun to watch.  However, I would like to add just one more image so I can actually use the phrase “Superwholock” in the tag section below.

Goodnight, all!