There is So Much Out There to Read

I discovered a used bookstore a few weeks ago in the shopping center I am training at. For a used bookstore I found their prices a bit high, but maybe I am used to buying my books from resale shops and places like Goodwill. These days I don't ever pay much more than $1.50 for a hardcover. There are just too many books out there to read, and being that I am a slow reader, I will only ever read about 6-10 books per year. (Maybe I should take a speed reading class)

Outside of this used bookstore, they keep a small rolling rack of books they know they can not sell. So they have a sign on the front of the cart with the word "FREE" written on it. I have taken about 10 minutes at least once a week looking through this cart. Yesterday I found a few old volumes of "Reader's Digest Condensed Books" I picked up two of them that seemed to be in really good condition. Then this morning, I started reading one of them.

The story is called "The Secret Project of Sigurd O'leary" by Martin Quigley. It was included in the second volume of the 1959 edition of Reader's Digest Condensed Books. It is set up as a journal, written with a month and date for each entry. It is about a boy and his older brother making a life for themselves after both of their parent's died.

The story was set in the 1920's. I am finding a lot of the little things written about fascinating. The boys were punished for low marks on their report card by missing dinner. If they made a B, they missed one dinner. If they earned a C, they missed two consecutive dinners and if they got a D, they missed three dinners. If they failed a semester, they would go all week without dinner. I suppose they would be given breakfast in the morning. I also think dinners were lighter back then. You ate more for breakfast because you needed the energy for the day.

Their main transportation was the Railroad. They hopped on an open car with the hobos. The camped in the woods till they found an abandoned shack to live in. There was no electricity. They heated their homes with coal fires. They ate a lot of beans and bread. It was an interesting time I think.

So, what does this all mean?  I have been told time and time again that I should read a lot if I want to learn how to write. This book has already given me an insight for some of the setting I want to include in a short story I am writing right now. I have found that the more I read, the more I want to write. Just look at the length of this post compared to the posts I have written the last few days.

Also, I really don't like to spend a lot of money on books. I have always thought $28 was a lot of money to spend on a hard cover book. This is why I spend time in the thrift stores in their books section. You will be amazed at what you can find. I find Stephen King books all the time. I found a copy of Anthony, Robbin's book "Unleash the Giant Within." I also found a bunch of Dale Carnegie books. Those are classic and many of them are still relevant in today's market.

If you don't like going to the thrift store, check out the Amazon Kindle store. They always have several dozen books you can download for free. That doesn't include all the public domain books that are available. I recently listened to the "Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin". It was extremely insightful. You will be amazed at what you can learn by reading anything you can get your hands on.

"In" From "Carrie the Musical"

If you have not taken the time to check out the new Musical of Stephen King's masterpiece "Carrie" You should find a way to watch it. I know you can watch old footage from the musical when it played back in 1988. From what I understand is that version of the musical only lasted through 5 performances. It got such bad reviews that it didn't last but about a week.

I have been looking around at the reviews of the new version of the musical. They are saying that the theme is important. Today our youth are plagued with bullies, Kids are afraid to go to school, or they get into fights that get them into trouble that they normally would not get into. I am not sure what this story brings to the kids other than if you are a bully and you continue to push your classmates, eventually they will break and something bad will happen.

The reviews also say that the music is top notch. The performances are amazing and if they could only make the climax of the play as potent as the novel or even the classic movie, then maybe they will be able to create something that will stand the test of time. The problem with the play is the lack of climax. They can't destroy the set every night. That would be too costly. There are not enough effects to make the scenes believable or even scary. Honestly, I still want to see it. Next time I'm in new york, I will make an effort to go see it, Or I will try to get a copy of the DVD when they release it.

Finish and Submit Something You've Already Written

After finishing and submitting the last two flash fiction pieces, I wanted to try something a little bit longer. I came across an anthology wanting short stories between 7,000 and 10,000 words. The theme they were exploring was fights. They wanted to read stories about battles, arguments and fights of all kinds.

I sat down and thought about it. I wanted to come up with something that would make a great addition to the Anthology. I took long walks with the dog thinking about it. I sat at the dining room table with my composition book and worked on a brainstorm tree, hoping something I wanted to write about would come out of it. Needless to day, I didn't find anything worth my while. There were a few good sparks, things that might develop into something later, but nothing that intrigued my passion right at this moment.

This morning, I was thinking about the challenge again, trying to figure out what I wanted to write, when the thought of a piece I was already working on; a piece I intended to turn into a novel popped into my head. What I was writing was a battle between two foes and what their battle was doing to my main character. The thing was, I was already planning to make this section of the novel independent. It was already going to be about 10,000 words. Now I have a reason to finish it and focus it to meet the requirements of the Anthology.

I wonder how many other pieces I can go back to and adjust them to fit what magazines and anthologies want to offer in their markets. Don't get me wrong, I still plant to write new pieces, but when something doesn't come to mind right off the bat, I should be able to find something else that I trunked or is still waiting to be sent out again.

The Art of Darkness

I am visiting a city that I am not familiar with this week. Today I stopped at a shopping center to get some new earphones for my iPod. When I parked and started to walk towards the store, I noticed there was a thrift store next to the Dollar General I was heading to. So I went into the thrift store.

I always go into thrift stores when I come across them. I know that I can sometimes come across clothes that I could use or books that I can't find anywhere else for the price point that these store provide them. Today I spend about a half hour looking through the books at this Resale store. I came across an old book about the writing and life about Stephen King.

I am excited about reading this book. It is focused on the first few books that he wrote. It talks about the first dozen books up to the collection called Night Shift. I am looking forward to seeing how and why Stephen King wrote some of these books. As I read it I will talk about what I learn as I read it.

Flash Fiction Earns Pro Rates

I spent about an hour last night working on a piece short flash fiction for a children's magazine that I found on Duotrope.com. As I stated yesterday, I have been looking for a market I could write a story for. The first market that I looked at only wanted flash fiction. They wanted pieces that were 650 words or less. I took that as a challenge to write something right then.

The first thing I did was a little research on the subject they wanted me to write about. Then I came up with a short premise that could be squeezed into short form fiction. Then I just started writing. At first I was a little worried that I would not be able to keep the story short. By the time I finished writing, I was 20 words below the limit. I was proud of what I had written.

I went back through the story twice and made the edits I thought it needed, then I put the document together by following the instructions on their submission guidelines. Everyone I have ever listened to about submitting a story say that you need to follow the submission guidelines to the letter. Then I mailed it off to them. Now I move on to the next piece of fiction. The funny thing is that the next market that I found, one I think I could enjoy writing is also flash fiction at 500 words or less. Sound like a good project for tomorrow night.

Finding something on Duotrope

I decided I wanted to take a break from some of the things I have been writing and see if I can do something a little shorter. I wanted to see if there is something I could submit to a magazine. Maybe I might be able to sell something to a professional market and make a little bit of real money. 

I have used Duotrope.com a few times. If you don't know what this site is, it is a website that keeps track of all the magazine markets that are taking submissions. The nice thing is you can filter the results to show you the markets you are interested in writing for.

As for me, I want to write something in the science fiction or fantasy realm and I figure if I am going to write anything, I would like to be paid like a pro for it. So I have been looking at the pro markets. The first one I am going to submit to only wants submissions that are, at most, 650 words. They want short folk tales. I am curious what I can come up with to send to them.

I Think I Need to Write

I want to write. I need to write. I sit down and can't seem to make myself think straight so I can write something worth while. I have decided to start putting something down in words everyday. I don't really care if it is a story or not. I just need to write.

How does this pertain to Meeting Stephen King? I think I am going to have to become a famous writer to finally meet him. I am going to have to travel in the same circles to find a moment to talk to him more than just a fan. So now comes the hard part. Writing millions of words that will be published, get me noticed and maybe lead me to a function where I can meet my mentor.