A word to the wise: when you write an email...

With the advent of phone texting it seems that people everywhere have trashed well-written sentences and thoughtfully-composed emails. I recently pointed out to my wife the difference between two emails I had received. One was from an individual looking for professional advice, and the other was from a reader of my blog.

The first individual wrote in complete sentences but never capitalized and grouped all sentences into one very long paragraph. Considering that this individual was looking for my advice it would have come off far better to me if he had taken the time to make his message look professional. It is possible that he supposed it would seem less imposing and more friendly... I suppose.


On the other hand, the second individual wrote in a well-formatted manner with capitalizations. And the impression I had of this individual was that he wrote to me with great respect and consideration of my time.

Of the two individuals I would have expected the first to take the greater care with the composition of his email. He needed questions answered and I was willing to give him advice.

(Please note: I am not saying this to bash the first individual. I just want people to think about something many take for granted nowadays). In fact, I have received many other emails formatted in a similar fashion. But an email can and should reflect the nature of your attitude when you are approaching a professional.

A word to the wise: When you write an email consider how it will appear to the editor, agent, or author who is receiving it. We do notice those seemingly mundane details and they can make a world of difference in the validity of your correspondence.

The power of a sad ending

I don't know about you, but a tragic story can sometimes pull me in like no other story can. Such a story is one of my favorite films Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. The story follows a slight re-imagining of the Batman character known in the original animated series. He is heroic and steadfast, never seeming to waver in the purity of his heart.

In this particular film, the criminal masterminds were once part of a common brotherhood, but now someone is taking them out, one-by-one.

During the course of the film, Bruce Wayne's passionate love for Andrea Beaumont is revealed when she returns unexpectedly to Gotham. The movie shifts seamlessly between the present troubles and Batman's flashbacks.

The script for this is amazing. It grabs from the get go and there is no happy ending to the tale. And yet, it has become a cult classic, and I understand why.

This has made me sit back and re-evaluate the contemporary stories playing out on screen and in books. Most stories, especially the superhero type, have happy endings and there are few permanent losses that the heroes and heroines must endure. As storytellers, are we forgetting the power of a sad ending? Are we afraid to let a beloved character die, and are we afraid to make our heroes stalwart and true?

So here is a tip of my hat to the stories of yesteryears, and the tragedies that hooked me and stayed in my memory.

What movies and books had this effect on you?

Thoughts on book promotion?

As you all know I focus a lot of my efforts on hand-selling my books. But things are financially very tight right now and so I am trying to focus on other ways of spreading the word to new readers who will enjoy my series.

I am looking for an hourly job at the moment. Once I have secured one, I will look into doing some advertising.

But what primarily interests me is growing my online following. I would love to hear ideas from my fans on how to reach readers by growing my online presence. I know that there are ways to do it, but I'm not sure how.

For certain, I know that I need to exchange my current website (which is flash-based) to an html format. This is especially important due to the popularity of iPads, smartphones, and similar devices. Flash sites do not translate on those devices, and an html site can be optimized for better search results, thus driving more traffic to my website.

If anyone can recommend a good book for online marketing, please do.

I am skilled at sales. Now I need to translate out of my comfort zone and learn how to develop a truly impressive online presence.

Artists: Does a lack of organization come naturally to us?

I am a naturally disorganized person. It can be frustrating because, when I was growing up, I admired people who could keep everything they needed to do in its proper order.

As an artist, I tend to let things pile up instead of dealing with them in an orderly fashion. "Why?" is the question I've always asked myself. But I think I know the answer, at least part of the answer.

Whether you're a writer or an illustrator, you're an artist, and your art is very important to you. You nurture your art, mature it, then present it to the world. I am a homebody. I like to be left alone, for the most part, left to my writing. I bury myself in the story worlds I'm crafting.

In order to create, I bring together a lot of elements. Those elements are sometimes rough and unrefined. I sketch characters and creatures, and jot down character and plot ideas. Some ideas I toss aside for future reference or use, while others I expand upon. It takes a lot of material to create even one finished novel.

But the process to that finished product is . . . well . . . messy!

My mind is almost always working on story ideas. This post ties in, somewhat, to my previous post, because one of my solutions has ended up being the iPad. It serves as my alarm clock, sends me notifications of appointments, and allows me to add events to my calendars instantly. I highly recommend for those artists out there who struggle to keep organized, think creatively on how to take advantage of today's technology to better organize your writing life.

It has helped me.

Looking ahead Writing Projects

Today marks a landmark in my third The Sword of the Dragon novel. I passed 100,000-words! The novel is coming along beautifully with new insights into characters such as Ilfedo and Specter. The story is a bit daunting, from a writing perspective, but that is due to the loads of great story still to tell.
This novel will have been finished by the end of May and I have been seriously considering what project to accomplish next. So I have reached the conclusion that I will finish an offshoot novel to The Sword of the Dragon series. My plan is to publish The It'ren On Eiderveis River as a full-length novel this Fall. I will make it available in paperback and on Kindle.
Also, since I am planning to attend the American Christian Fiction Writers conference in September, I'm hoping to finish my science-fiction political thriller Starmist.

The Writer's Block syndrom

Working a full-time job plus overtime hours and operating my own publishing company is a big task. One of my readers recently requested I write a post about writer's block and, because that subject has been heavy on my mind, I think now is the propper time to address it.

Sometimes I believe that writer's block exists and sometimes I think it is all in my head. When I go to schools I frequently receive questions relating to how I create characters, how I invent the story ideas, and how I overcome writer's block. I like to say that writer's block does not exist and I sincerely believe it does not. Recently with all the work I've been doing outside of my writing I have not made the time to sit down and write. In some ways it feels like my creativity is cut off for a period of time and I'm just waiting for it to come back. But experience has taught me that I can always work out of writer's block. If I sit down to write and my mind simply blanks on the topic or manuscript I am working on, then I switch tracks to another subject.

In the past I have sat at my computer, mind blank. It may sound too simple, or even funny, but I wrote a letter to myself from my computer.

Computer: Hi Scott, how are you today?

Me: Well, I have some time to write, but my mind is blank.

Computer: What story do you want to work on today?

Me: Well, I was thinking about working on my second Sword of the Dragon novel. But I'm not sure what to write next.

Computer: Hold it! Slow down. Tell me what happened recently in the manuscript. What have you written so far?

This is one of the most effective ways I have found of working out of writer's block. It is my belief that the brain simply wears thin on frequently visited works, so you have to freshen it with something along a different story-vein, line of thought, or genre, etc.

I remember a particular day when I couldn't think of anything to write in my novel. So I started typing a story about a writer who had a deadline and couldn't get his imagination rolling. Before I realized it I had over a thousand words in a long short story titled Trapped In Imagination ...and that story is one of my fans' favorites.

So if your mind is burned out along one track, try refreshing it by thinking along another vein. The brain simply gets tired. Give it a rest, but make sure to exercise your writing skills at the same time. And remember to prioritize your writing. Other things (jobs in particular) pull me out of my creative vein and I have to work extra hard to get my writing done.

Hope this is helpful everyone!