Musings of Two Creative Minds

Sorry for the delay in posting this second section, but I’ve been having issues with the Kindle version of my first novel “The Bridge”.  Amazon has been alerted to the problem and are working hard with me to get the problem resolved.  I’ll be creating another post here sharing what happened and how we got things resolved shortly.   In the meantime, back to our discussion about working and juggling multiple stories… So where was I?  Oh yes, why finding that I could work on multiple stories was such a big deal for me.  Anyone who is creative will tell you that when you have that creative mindset going it gives them a surge of satisfaction that’s like no other.  Our minds love to be active and focused on something.  But for artists, writers, musicians, anyone who’s got a creative mind, not having the brain working on something can be frustrating.  You start to feel stale, or like you’re not doing your part somehow.  This is a b...

When I started out on this writing journey, I never saw myself as someone who could a whole bunch of writing projects going at the same time.  That kind of thing was reserved for some of the great prolific authors like Isaac Asimov, who was notorious for working on multiple projects on a regular basis.  The man insisted on having a portable typewriter or two wherever he went.  And if he couldn't get his hands on a typewriter, he'd pull out a pad of paper and a bunch of pencils/pens and wrote the old fashion way, long hand. But me, I could never picture myself even thinking about working on more than one story at a time.  In fact, the very first novel I started working on was set in the early 1800's and I had gotten about 2/3's of the way through the tale when my wife pointed out that a historical piece would be harder to market.  On hearing this, I gave it some thought and put the story aside and began a whole new piece which eventually turned into my fi...

A quick Vlog entry about book covers and what to watch for in making your own from scratch.  I don't recommend necessarily doing one yourself, unless you are an artist.  It's fine to maybe make a rough sketch and get an artist friend or even hire someone to do it for you.  There are plenty of artists who specialize in doing book covers and you can find them all over the internet, or through friends on FB.  In my case, I am an artist, but also my cash flow is very tight.  So I basically HAD to go this route.  So this vlog entry is about the thoughts I put into the image and how it would appear to the casual reader going through a bookstore, or skimming through Amazon or Barnes and Nobles' websites. I would also point out that there are a number of very good book cover programs available on the internet, including through Createspace, Smashwords, Lulu and the others.  The nice thing about those is that they are already formatted to fit whatever stan...

As you probably already saw in my previous entry I've been working on the book cover for my Paranormal/Mystery/Sci-Fi novel "THE BRIDGE".   It's been an interesting experience.  I do not recommend it for everyone unless you're an artist yourself.  I'm loving it because I have way more control over the creation of the image that is going to basically be my "Introductory Handshake" to the world.  I've seen images used on books that I thought were interesting but did not always have all that much to do with what actually happened inside the story.  There were some with a scene displayed on the cover that never appeared, even remotely in the story and I always found that a bit frustrating.  I know we all want to capture the audiences imagination and interest, but I want to make sure I'm being fair about it.   Now given that the title of my novel is "THE BRIDGE" I could've just gone with a bridge from around the right time-frame...

Greetings all.  I'm sure everyone has been noticing I've been putting up more and more videos lately as opposed to my usual entries.  Well, part of the reason for this was to get more traffic to come to my Vlog on YouTube.  But there is another reason. Those of you who watched the video on my last entry:  http://allankrummenacker.blogspot.com/2012/09/another-entry-about-creating-characters.html  will already know what I'm about to say.  I have a chronic pain condition.  I can still see the doctor who diagnosed me with it 12 years ago as he gave me a sad smile and said, "The good news is that it won't kill you.  But you'll be in pain the rest of your life."  The condition is known as Fibromyalgia and based on my own research over the years and from speaking with experts, I've had this since childhood.  I've always suffered pain more readily and easier than my peers back in grade school.  No one ever believed me when I told them how...

This latest installment not only deals with creating characters, but also explains a bit why I haven't been making as long an entry as I'd like lately.  I hope to do a more proper entry shortly.  Thanks...

The move is over, I'm settled in.  It's time to get back to the business of blogging and writing.  Thanks for all your patience everyone.  In today's Blog/Vlog installment, you'll get to meet an artist who helps me explain how to create characters in your stories, who feel more like real people.  Enjoy.

It's finally here. My new Vlog entry "CREATING TENSION IN YOUR STORY" is up. My apologies for the delay. I had to do a lot of editing and then it took 2 tries to get it uploaded onto YouTube.  As the title implies, this is a detailed  and visual exploration of how to generate tension in your writing.  I cover several levels and types of tension, along with detailed explanation of one terrifying scene from my current novel "THE SHIP".  I hope you find this enjoyable and informative.   Enjoy...