Being a Writer

Writer Zen Garden Posted on by
Today happens to be an extremely exciting time for me. While considering what to write for this very blog post, coincidentally, I received my first ever payment as an author!

Although this is just one more step on my chosen path, I thought it fitting to share what this humble writer thinks constitutes the title.

If you have a million dollar, multi-book deal, you’re a writer. That states the obvious.

However, there are many unpublished people out there with notebooks and hard drives overflowing with stories. Is he or she any less of a writer? I don’t think so.

If you, dear writer, have the courage to share your tales, however that might be accomplished, I commend you. For those of you who’ve not yet taken that step, I hope you’ll change you’re mind.

Bring your gift into the light of day and brighten someone’s existence. If you’d like suggestions on where to take your stories online, mention it in a comment and perhaps I or someone else can give you ideas. It can be scary but there are some wonderful places out there.  And the world can never have too many storytellers.

Happy writing!

Book Review of “Kelland”

Writer Zen Garden Posted on by
Just hours ago I finished the novel “Kelland” by Paul G. Bens, Jr. I’m still sorry it’s over, actually.

I would call the book a drama first, with minor supernatural elements. The biggest of these is, who is Kelland? Man? Woman? Child? Lover? Priest?

Kelland is all these things, depending upon what the interacting character needs for his or her part to play out. I honestly don’t even know what Mr. Bens would say Kelland actually is! Angel? Devil?

All I can say for sure is that I was drawn into the stories of the five main characters from the start. It didn’t matter that the vignettes jumped back and forth through time and from person to person. Never once did I feel at a loss from beginning to end. Rather, this reader loathed putting the title down. At the same time, I could do so and come back to where I left off without confusion setting in.

There is a dark side to each of the story threads, and they culminate into something any reasonable human being will find sadly disturbing and downright infuriating. But rather than being a depressing tale, I found in “Kelland” an exultant scope of hope and redemption. It’s a story of forgiveness.

If you’re looking for pirates, ghosts, or lots of steamy sex scenes, don’t buy this book. If, instead, you want to read compelling drama about believable people in real situations, “Kelland” just might be for you. I appreciated all 250 pages and wanted more when they ended, so I would definitely recommend this for the reader willing to walk down those twisting alleys of the human psyche.

Size Matters

Writer Zen Garden Posted on by

Just like a lot of things in this world, stories come in all sizes. When I was younger, nothing short of a novel length tale really got my juices flowing. Whether it was because I had more time for such an investment or perhaps my imagination needed more time and complexity to take flight, I suppose I’ll never know.

Once I started writing, I became drawn to more succinct pieces. A whole serial came out of my imagination before I even realized how short each segment turned out. Now I enjoy reading short story collections more and more, too. It’s as if I find more of a powerful punch in brevity.

The trick with authoring such material is finding a publisher. I understand that the endeavor, while not impossible, can be especially tough depending on the genre. That said, a very encouraging mentor suggested I write my own short story anthology. The challenge is intriguing. Selling a collection as a fledgling artist might be a real trial in its own right, but the reward of writing cannot be discounted. I hope you’ll wish me luck.

What about you? Whether as a reader or a writer, do you have a preference about the length of story you would rather read?

Don’t Give Up

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I recently received a very bittersweet email.  A mentor of mine and I were commiserating over low e-book sales.  I confessed to letting a few disappointed tears leak out before moving on.  Apparently, my lamentation caused him to think I would give up writing!

Immediately, he responded by telling me not to give up.  His own sales were down 30% between this December and December of 2009.  That’s dire, especially when he’s been working toward a full-time writing career.  After twenty years, he was there in my imagination.  That goes to show what I know.

Still, he gives advice on what else I can do.  One of them is to bundle three related short stories for a Kindle book.  I’m even told that his colleague would be willing to do the cover art for me.  She is both very talented and extremely affordable.  I swear they’ve both taken me under their wing.

So that tells me I should just keep plugging away.  Honestly, to stop writing altogether is unfathomable.  It feels good to know that’s the right thing to do.  Write?  Right.  Best of all is having someone halfway around the world pulling for this fledgling writer.  Thank you, my friend.