Ch-Ch-Changes!

We’ve all heard phrases that begin with, “Life has a funny way of...”

Well, not only does my life have a funny way of taking unexpected detours that I could never have seen.  My writing often does this and with concerning regularity.  While writing a fantasy trilogy (which will probably never see the light of day; sorry) I had a secondary villain predict, at his public execution, declare that whoever killed him would never live if they crossed a certain geographical boundary of that world.  Well, the villain quickly overpowered his guard, grabbed a sword and was going to kill the king he’d betrayed.  A major character, who I had plans for long down the road, decided to jump in the way of the charging villain, deflect the strike, and he killed the bad guy. 

There I was, writing the scene out, thinking the whole time, “What are you doing?  WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?”  And when the damage was done, I had to figure out a new way around things.  It worked in the end, probably better than had I gone through my with initial idea, but man it was unnerving to have a character act on his own.  (Lends itself well to jokes about writers being crazy.)

So, I’ve been editing two completed novels.  During the course of cleaning up the second one, I began to wonder if the ending should be changed and instead of leaving so much hanging that could lead to major story arcs, long term plotlines, and such that would tie down any future novels, I found myself wondering if I should just wrap up all those storyline in the second novel and allow myself some breathing space. 

After pondering it for a few days, I talked with the missus and came to the conclusion that that would be the best thing to do.  Almost immediately, I had a new stand-alone idea for the third novel develop over the past 48 hours that has more potential than the previous idea for novel number three (and idea I haven’t abandoned, but one that I think with a little more work could be fun to do).  

As of now, I’m keeping with my plan of releasing Guidry Number One and Guidry Number Two sometime late this fall or early winter.  This while working on Guidry Number Three, the Ancient Corinth Novel, and continue slugging away at turning my thesis in to a Scholarly Journal Article for submission.

The Glamorous Life of a Writer

It’s not only summer along the Texas Gulf Coast – which means near-smothering humidity combined with the heat – it’s also a dry spell for things to do (it seems).  My Master’s thesis is not only completed, but I have my degree in hand and applications for work as an adjunct instructor are out to a few of the local community colleges.  We’ll see what happens.  I do have a Plan B if nothing pans out.

After all that research and writing for my thesis, the idea of writing and revising anything was the last thing I wanted to do for a quite a while after it was over.  Now, though, I’m pulling myself back into the swing of things and the creative mind never, ever rests (no matter how badly you want it to shut up!).  So, while my hands were busy gaming on computer, my mind was developing a new idea to write up during the course of the next year or so.

So, here’s what’s on my plate for the next year and what I hope will be in your hands within the next 12 months:

The first book in the Mike Guidry series – Paint it Black – has come back from my editor – my father – and I’ve gone through it so I have lots of changes to consider and possibly incorporate.  So, now it’s strictly about editing, cover design, and eventual publication.  I hope to have that one ready to go by the end of Summer.

The second book in the Mike Guidry – title forthcoming – has lain finished in the first draft phase and now I’m going through the first round of editing with it.  It picks right up where the first book left off and speeds ahead into the story arc that will dominate the series for the next several books.  I would like to have that book out within a month of the first book.

The third book in the Mike Guidry series is in its infancy and the plot will take it off the track of the first two, but no good story arc ever sleeps. 

I’m developing a historical fiction (probably a one-off) that takes place in late-1^st Century A.D. Corinth.  The story line will follow a series of people – Christians and non-Christians (both neutral and hostile to Christians) as a new governor for the Senatorial Province of Achaia takes the reins of government.  I will be using historical figures as characters in the story alongside my fictional characters.  It’s going to require a lot of research (on top of what I’ve already done) and may prove to be a slower, more deliberate work than some of the things I’ve written within the past year or two.

Lastly, but by no means least, I’m acting on the advice of my thesis advisor and I’m working to turn my thesis into an article for publication in a scholarly journal.  I have found that rather than editing, it requires significant recreation of the wheel since the language of a thesis is vastly different that than required for an article.  I’ll definitely let y’all know if gets accepted.

So there you have it, and that just what I’m writing.  It doesn’t even count what I’m reading.  Glamorous life a writer, huh?

Learning More Than Cooking From Cooking Shows

The last two months of writing my thesis were the roughest simply because I was not only presenting data in the three most crucial chapters, but extrapolating assertions from them.  Needless to say, I was stressed day-in and day-out; sleep was crap; and I was constantly in need of diversions.

So I started watching cooking shows.

Not just any cooking shows.

First I ran through a season of “Cutthroat Kitchen” on Netflix.  Alton Brown’s enjoyment at offering up culinary twists and monkey wrenches for contestants to buy and use against each other made that show well worth it.  I always got a kick out of the low laugh he’d let loose when saw a trouble-making item and knew that of the people in the room, he was the only one who knew what it meant. 

Then, when my episodes CK ran out, I turned to Gordon Ramsay and the U.S. version of “Kitchen Nightmares.”  Watching one of the most intense and intimidating chefs in the world work with floundering food establishments to bring them up to spec was very interesting.  I not only learned a little about the inner workings of a restaurant kitchen, but I learned that Gordon had a softer, human side that doesn’t get the attention that his rants and swearing do.  After watching some of his YouTube channel videos, seeing how he worked in the kitchen and describing what he was creating, tasting, and smelling, I discovered that there was a intense passion to go with his intense temper and that the temper served one purpose: shock people into reality.  Gordon Ramsay is the Gunnery Sergeant Hartman of culinary world.  He’s tearing down poor habits in chefs and owners to build up chefs and owners who have passion for their work, their food, and how they serve their customers. 

So, interestingly enough, while working on my thesis, I was also learning some fascinating life lessons from Alton Brown and Gordon Ramsay.

First, never let a setback or the metaphorical curveball get you down.  As a writer, working in both fiction and non-fiction, that’s critical.  Chefs have a wealth of experience and knowledge and the employ that work their way around roadblocks.  Writers who have been working at the craft for a long time develop similar traits and using a depth of knowledge as well as looking back on experience gives us perspective for dealing with the current issues.

Second, give a damn about your audience and the product you’re putting out.  Respect the craft.  If it’s crap, and you know that and don’t care about it, do you really expect people to keep coming back for more?  I mean, there are masochists out there, but NOT that many.  Also, it makes you look pathetic and can you really expect your audience to respect a pathetic person?  What do you think?

Thirdly, treating people like human beings in all you do goes a very, very long way to success.  If you treat those you work with and work for like crap, they’ll lose all respect for you, even if what you do is great work, making it very unlikely that they’ll want to invest any more time with you or your product.  In a world where not all that glitters is gold, the Golden Rule goes a long, long way.

Finally, everybody – and I mean everybody – struggles and falls on bad times.  I’ve been there, done that, and buried the t-shirt.  But, I was reminded that not all struggles are equal, but all suffering is the same. 

It’s important to be a decent human being.  Life is too short to ignore the people around you.  If you can, give back to those you’re journeying through life with.  Gordon Ramsay has 21 restaurants across the world, three Michelin stars, millions of dollars, but he helps small, family restaurants because he wants to.  Yes, it gets good publicity for him, but the simple fact of the matters, if he didn't want to do it, he doesn't have to do it.  In the end, he’s imparting knowledge and guidance to people who need it in the hopes of making their lives, their work, and their relationships with other people better. 

It’s amazing what watching cooking shows can teach you besides how to make a decent hamburger or lasagna.