Comicality

Monologues Do you guys remember those old James Bond movies, or hell...even the new ones, where our hero has finally been captured and somehow strapped into some super convoluted contraption that is sure to bring about his very slow, very painful, demise? A laser aimed at his penis or whatever...hehehe, something that looks like it took longer to build and test than anything else that our villain had been working on in his dastardly plan to take over the world. You know the ones. Now, of course, Bond villains are mostly narcissists beyond repair...so they can’t just kill him off and succeed where so many others have failed. So, when most authors think of writing a monologue into their story they always picture it as a long, drawn out, detailed description of the villain’s ultimate plan and a braggadocious way of putting their high level of genius on display. But there are other effective ways of using a character monologue in your fiction than as just an info dump for your readers. Monologues that can create a real bond between your audience and your work that really sticks with them and with the characters that you attach them to. And that’s what I want to focus on today. It really does come in handy, after all. Monologues can really be used for a variety of different functions when it comes to crafting a story. And I’m not just talking about using it for the sake of exposition. Not every monologue has to be thought of some easy to deliver an explanation to clue your readers on what’s going on. Many times, they’re pretty clued in on what’s happening already if your ‘show not tell’ skills are up to par and they don’t need the extra help to figure things out. And one thing that can slow down your pacing and bore your audience is giving an even longer explanation of something that they already know. However, monologues can be used to define and expose character. They can be used to set tone, or change tone if necessary. They can also be added to your project in a way that draws your audience in even closer than before and further invest their time and energy into a story that wasn’t really there before. It can be a bit difficult to explain, but it isn’t just a massive delivery of information all at once. It has a different vibe all its own, and I hope that the following examples will give you guys a better feeling of what I’m talking about so you can feel the difference too. First of all...when it comes to the kind of monologues that I’m describing are meant to be more for the story and the interaction between fictional characters than it is for the reader. I think that’s the biggest highlight of using this particular method in your story. It’s not like I’m trying to find a sneaky way to talk to my audience. It’s more about using the monologue to uncover the traits, flaws, and emotional position within the rest of the of the story. It’s a monologue, sure...but it’s not for giving any extra information in a static way. Remember...’show’, don’t ‘tell. It puts the character delivering the monologue in the spotlight all alone, but the purpose is to expose the character and allow my audience to grab all of their inferences and knowledge they need on their own. Not because I told them so, but because they can see it in my words. In my tone. In the actions and reactions of everyone in the scene. Does that make sense? For example, this is a really amazing monologue from Ben Affleck in the movie, “Boiler Room”. (Awesome movie! Check it out when you get a chance!) It’s a film about someone who decides to try to get hired and work for a stock brocking firm, and while Ben Affleck has a pretty small role in the movie as a whole, he KILLS this scene! He marches in, he commands the entire room with confidence and power, and you are immediately glued to the screen and perked up to hear every word that he says. Now, he’s not really hitting us, the audience, over the head with an info dump. This monologue isn’t about giving us extra details or treading over any of the previous information that we already know. It’s a very minimal part of what’s being accomplished here. Give it a look, and see how it’s more about him as a character, how other people respond to him, and how it heightens the level of intensity in the story just by having him there. One of the things I love most about this is the very simple line, “Don’t waste my time.” That fits in perfectly with what he’s doing with this monologue. There’s no back and forth going on here...this is what I’m telling you, and that’s all there is to it. Period. How does he get the opportunity to deliver his monologue, uninterrupted? Because this speech immediately commands a sense of authority. Who in that scene would dare to cut him off or ask a question? They sit back, almost in shocked silence, and attempt to absorb all that they can without missing anything. And that is part two of this process...authority. If your characters are going to suddenly lock themselves in and become a highly interested spectator in this scene, then the character ‘preaching at the pulpit’ should make it clear to anyone who might be reading your scene that they are deserving of their attention. It should be evident that this is someone who is in control and will be the centerpiece of that moment. It doesn’t take any yelling or aggression on their part either. Allow the scene to reveal your character and give off this vibe of someone who is in charge. Not just by giving readers a hefty dose of new information or by repeating or rephrasing old information. Even with most gentle voice and calm demeanor, you can create the same feel. Watch this scene from Patrick Swayze’s movie, “Road House”. (Also a great movie! Hehehe, I love it!) Very cool, very calm, but it still inspires a sense of authority and control. You want to hear what he has to say, and it’s not because you’d be lost or confused without whatever information it’s giving you. But because you’re now being brought in as a part of this world and being given a solid sense of character and tone through the monologue. For a monologue like this to work, the character speaking has to create an illusion of complete control. They know what they’re talking about, they’ve been through it all before, and if everyone else keeps their yap shut and pays attention...they just might learn something important. That’s the beauty of non-expositional monologues. It’s not really mean for you as a reader. You’re not there. At best, you’re a fly on the wall, taking a look behind the scenes at the interactions between your characters. Not a whole lot more. This doesn’t mean that the conversations have to be meaningless or disconnected from the rest of the plot. No, not at all. At the end of the day, you’re still attempted to concentrate on a fixed plot and move things forward in a certain direction without too many offshoots or distractions. But where exposition is using a character to push the plot forward...these monologues are meant to be closely connected to eveloping the character themselves. This scene from “The Rock” contains a bit more information for the sake of the plot, but more than anything...it reveals a lot more about the character himself, all while revealing his goals and motivations from that point on. Intimidating and threatening in its subtext, but delivered with the same calm and collected authority that says a lot about the villain that they’re dealing with here. And yet, it’s like there’s this underlying fury in his demeanor that he seems to be doing his very best to keep a hold on. Very well done, in my opinion. I hope that, when you watch these clips, you can get a sense of the difference between plot mechanics and character development. Between adding these monologues for the reader’s benefit and keeping them informed...and adding them to present a feeling of in your story that builds upon the feelings and tones that you want your story to have without just coming right out and flatly saying it with written text alone. There’s a big shift from one to the other, and they can work to paint a very different picture, depending on how you use them. I’m just adding this one last clip because it’s one of my all time favorite monologues in movie history. And it’s just a conversation between a troubled college kid and his therapist from the movie, “Good Will Hunting”. It has so much heart, so much meaning, delivers a bit of extra info that the audience didn’t have before (through hints and subtle language alone), and this is how you can really make an effective use of a great monologue between two people and really have it hit home. One of the most amazing examples that I can think of when it comes to plot, tone, and character. Again...the authoritative voice, the stunned silence in his response, and an expert delivery. This one monologue alone could be an article in itself. Alight, ladies and gentlemen...that’s it for now. When you get some quiet time, give it a little bit more thought, and maybe think about how you could create a meaningful monologue of your very own. In dialogue, I mean. Not in narration. Hehehe, that’s a whole other ball of wax, and much easier to explain. As always, I hope this helps! And fel free to share any thoughts or comments down below. K? Best of luck! And there will be more to come soon!

Underwritten The characters that we create with our fiction are meant to be treated with the consistent notion that they all have something to say. That they all have certain motivations, needs and wants, flaws and problems, of their own. At least that’s how I always think of them in my head as I position them in different situations throughout my own stories. Now, it would be impossible, or at the very least...incredibly distracting, for a writer to go through each and every single character and write out their entire life stories for everyone to get attached to while still sticking to the full main story that you’re trying to build from scratch. Even attempting to do so will leave you with a giant heap of useless prose that neither deepens or progresses the plot in any way and dilutes the focus of what’s supposed to be directly in your spotlight. So why is it there? Get rid of it, unless it has some unseen impact on the story in the future chapters before it comes to an end. But...just because you haven’t made any efforts to add these details to the story, doesn’t mean they don’t still need to be there somehow. But only if it’s necessary. Hehehe, Let me explain... I’m sure you’re all familiar with the term, ‘one trick pony’, right? It’s like...you advertise this amazing pony, a wonder among wonders, and smarter than all of the other animals like him. And people get there to see this magnificent creature, you say “Stamp your foot three times!”, and the pony does it. Amazing! What else can he do? “What do you mean what else can he do? That’s it. That’s the trick. Thanks for coming out, have a good night, folks!” Hehehe, wouldn’t you feel a bit cheated? One trick, and not one that’s all that mind-blowing to be honest. I have read stories, seen movies and TV shows, where some of their characters definitely fit into this category, and it comes from one of those mistakes that authors make from time to time. Exchanging the personality and humanity of an actual character for the practice of simply using them as a plot device to fill in the little holes in your storytelling that you need to tell in order to keep things moving. You may think that most readers won’t be able to tell the difference...but I assure you that they most definitely can. So don’t make it one of those bad habits that you train yourself to find comfort in. More often than not, it doesn’t work. And it ends up taking points away from a really cool story if you lean too heavily on it. I’ve done it myself in the past, and now that I look back and see it so clearly, it really does bug me. Ugh! Think of it this way...if you have a character in your story that provides a decent amount of comic relief to the rest of the story...ask yourself if that’s a character trait or a plot device? What’s the difference? One is an actual person with a humorous streak in them, and the other is something the story uses as a tool every time they feel the current situation needs a touch of levity to combat and control the readers’ attention. If you engage in pulling off the latter throughout the entire story, you’ve succeeded in taking a living, breathing, human being...and draining all the life out of them until they’re just a tool written in for the story’s sake. No more animate or ‘alive’ than a hammer or a screwdriver. You take it out when you need it, put it back in the drawer, and don’t think about it until you need it again. What this does is eat away at the very purpose of having this character exist anywhere in your story at all. Any one of your more well developed characters can tell a joke or two, but if you created an entire fictional entity to act as a vessel for that one particular trait, then you have to support their existence with something that isn’t quite as flimsy. Like I said, I’ve definitely written characters like this in the past and I’ve learned to avoid doing it if at all possible. It was all about how I was feeling about the story as a whole first, and then telling myself that this is what I needed to carry the story from beginning to end. What that led to was me building characters that were flat and not really interesting at all beyond their usefulness of the context of the story itself. I found myself thinking in terms of, “He can be the best friend, she can be the angry one, this guy can be the smart one...” Etc. Well, what does that mean in terms of them being a character? Smart about what? Best friend to who? And why? Angry because of what? These are all questions that I should have been asking myself when I thought them up. People who ‘felt’ as though they had a life and a reason for living outside of this one plotted story. I think it’s important to make the distinction between characters and plot devices to keep your story on track and eliminate wasteful writing on people who, ultimately, don’t matter in this world you’ve built. Meaning that the readers won’t care, and it’s just blank space being filled up with the echoes of a better story and more important characters. Keep that in mind at all times. I was watching a horror movie some months ago, where the main character was a photographer who was following the murderous deeds of a killer on a local subway system. He was checking his pictures, searching for patterns, trying to figure out what was going on, sharing his discoveries with local authorities, being completely affected by everything that was going on. He was the driving force of the story, and what I was most intrigued by apart from the actual killer himself. It turned out to be a pretty cool movie in the end. But then...he had a wife at home. And honestly, it kind of sucked a lot of the enjoyment out of the rest of the movie for me. Why? Because she was just sort of...there. You know? Like...she didn’t really enhance the plot in any way, she didn’t have any level of expertise or connections to help him solve the mystery, she wasn’t in any danger that she needed ‘saving’ from, she didn’t team up with her husband to look for clues or give him any ideas...she was just there. He would come home, and she was cooking something and said, “Hi, honey. Love you.” when he came back home, occasionally adding, “You look tired.” or a “This is taking a toll on you.” And that was it. And it began to annoy me after a while, because if she’s going to be a part of this movie and written into the plot...give her something to DO! Why is she here, other than to slow down the pacing and distract me from the main plot while I’m expecting her to be the key to...SOMETHING in the grand scheme of things. But nope. She was just there to be a wife and act as a exposition plot device to tell the audience that his obsession was changing him and that he should slow down. It was the quintessential underwritten character, and if she hadn’t been in the story at all, and the protagonist had just been a bachelor with a manic fascination with a deadly hunter on the subway, I think it could have made for a much better story. This is why underwritten characters have such little use in the stories we write. They fill such a tiny spot in the bigger picture that it’s often better to just erase them altogether and let the rest of story jut glide right over it. A great example? Lois Lane! Anybody who’s a fan of Superman knows who Lois Lane is and why she’s important. You feel like you know her. She’s got spunk, and wit, and she’s smart. And she’s a reporter, so if she’s in harm’s way, it’s often because she put herself there following he passion for investigative reporting. Lois Lane is an AWESOME character, and much more than a plot device to give Superman a familiar damsel in distress to save every week. You get a feeling that she exists outside of whatever story she happens to be a part of at that time. She has a backstory and a future. The character can stand on its own and you believe it because there are other facets to her personality that have nothing to do with that one twenty page comic book issue, you know? Now...who can tell us who Batman’s girlfriend was without going back to watch the movie? Don’t worry...I’ll wait. Vicki Vale. Fun fact...Vicki Vale was originally added to the Batman comic books, especially after adopting ‘Robin’ to be his sidekick, because everyone was worried that Batman might look too ‘gay’ for the market. That was basically her only reason for being there. No ambition, no real motivation, nothing in the way of helping Batman out or even hindering him by searching for his secret identity. Nope. She was just there to keep him from looking gay. There’s nothing to say about her at all. Nothing memorable or impactful. She’s just Batman’s girlfriend. His one trick pony. And nothing else. Whenever you’re writing your own stories, do everything that you can to create or give ANY attention that you can to your one note, underwritten, characters so that they shine a little bit and can add something to the mix. Or, quite simply...lose them. Send them all packing. You’ll thank me for it later, and your story will seem so much tighter and on point if you just avoid the fluff. I have stories where it’s obvious that my characters have other friends outside of the plot. They have teachers, some of them have jobs, all of them one or two parents or guardians at home...and I might mention them every now and then to the point where readers are aware of their existence...but that’s pretty much the beginning and the end of it. Why take the time to treat them like an actual character when they’re not serving as anything more than a cardboard cutout for the background. I have some stories where the parents are an actual part of the plot and have an important role to play in the development of my protagonist...but if they’re just going to be standing around doing nothing the whole time, then why bother? It’s a plot device that serves no purpose. Underwritten characters may have a function...but no purpose. And the story would be more focused without having to deal with them at all. Alrighty then...underwritten characters. Are you guilty of leaning on them yourselves? Let us know your thoughts down below. And I hope this article helps you out whenever you need it! Have a good time, you guys! And I’ll seezya soon!

Violence All stories...or at least the interesting and memorable ones...have one thing in common. And that is an element of conflict. There has to be some sort of motivation for your protagonist to chase after, a goal has to be established, and the conflict is whatever obstacle or antagonist that stands between the two of them. Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side. Ok, but where’s the story in that? Maybe there’s heavy traffic that makes crossing the road a dangerous task. Maybe the chicken has a broken leg. Maybe the chicken is being hunted by a predator and putting itself out in the open can mean certain death. Hehehe, whatever. It sounds like I’m thinking about this too much...but am I though? A story without conflict isn’t really a story. Conflict is the fuel that a story has to burn in order to propel itself from point A to point B. Without it...well you just kind of have a series of words floating around in the ether with no direction or purpose. And most people aren’t really interested in reading that. What could they possibly have to gain, you know? Now conflict can come in many different forms, from financial hardships, to fear of rejection, to a love rival, to a somewhat hostile environment. But that’s not what we’re going to focus on today. No matter what you’re doing or what genre of fiction you happen to be writing in...there may come a time when the major conflict in your story may reach a level where actual violence becomes a part of it, and depending one what it is that you’re trying to say with this violence...the devil is in the details. It’s important for every author to define for themselves and their audience what kind of effect scenes like this are supposed to have on the rest of the story going forward, or just on the story as a whole. It’s essential that you set the tone and the emotional impact, and that it matches what it is that you’re trying to do with everything surrounding it. Because if you get it wrong, the entire exercise of crafting your project can quickly and easily begin to spin out of control and send mixed messages to your audience. So let’s roll up our sleeves and get down and dirty with the concepts of violence in your fiction. Just as with any other conflict in your story...violence can be represented and delivered in a variety of different ways, depending on the theme and the situations surrounding. Violence can be a short punch to the face out of sheer frustration and anger, or it can be a drawn out battle as is typical in an action or fantasy based story. It can be as tame as a threat from a grade school bully...or as gruesome as having a monster rip someone to pieces in a horror based ghost story. There are levels to violence that all have a very different ‘feel’ to them, and if you practice using them all at one time or another, you begin to recognize that feel, and develop an instinct on how to determine what level is appropriate for that scene as it fits into the rest of the story. The first rule is to understand and plan for the impact you would want any scene create. In the story, “My Only Escape”, the abuse was meant to play a major role in the story...and so I wrote the violence in a way that would be very visceral and disturbing to the reader because that was the kind of impact that I wanted it to have. You could almost say that the violence is a character in itself, and it’s designed to be unsettling as well menacing throughout the entire series. However, I also wrote a vampire story spinoff called “GFD: Blade Of Shadows” involving a samurai who is wandering the lands and doesn’t want any trouble at all. He wants to leave the violence behind him and be done with it once and for all, but when his hand is forced...it ends in bloodshed. This is a case where writing out the details of the violence wasn’t meant to be disturbing, but I wanted the reluctant nature of this character to remain in the mind of the audience. Entertaining? Sure. But it was almost like a cut on his enemies was comparative to him making a cut on himself. If that makes sense. Then I have a horror anthology called “Darkness Waits” available as an ebook (https://imagine-magazine.org/store/comicality/) where violence was an actual part of the process, where I definitely put some effort into building up the ‘protagonist’ (if you can call them that) and giving them a sense of character that my audience can engage with...but even though the violence is dialed up higher than normal, it almost feels justified. So one feeling sort of plays a game of tug-o-war with the other, and they balance each other out. Every bit of violence that I’ve added to one of my stories was crafted in such a way where it ‘fits’ with everything else that’s going on in the story. I might have one of my high school romantic stories boil over at some point and end in an angry fist fight with someone else...but I wouldn’t have my protagonist stab the other teen in his stomach with a friggin’ butcher knife, as that would be a bit extreme. Those two vibes don’t necessarily match unless it’s something that I’m deliberately doing for shock value. So learning about the levels of violence and how to mold and manipulate them in ways that I can use to effectively express its purpose at that particular part of the story is what helps me guide all of the events surrounding it. One of my stories that I think best describes my point is “Gone From Daylight”. My protagonist, ‘Justin’, has never killed anyone in his young life. It’s not who he is as a person, and why would it be? He is, for intents and purposes, a sane and rational person. However, he has now become a vampire and dragged into a world of danger and darkness where such an insane idea has become a part of his character. Throughout this series I’ve used many different types of violence to move the story forward, varying in tone and intensity. Justin has become a very powerful vampire in an extremely short amount of time, and is forced to face many challenges in order to protect himself and the ones that he cares about. So...if comes down to some big battle with other vampires, soldiers, fighters...Justin gets to let loose and break them all down with whatever skills and weapons that he has at his disposal. The details are quick, savage, and to the point. It’s a fight, and the story treats it as such. However...Justin is still a vampire. And there are moments when he needs to feed on the blood of the living in order to survive. I definitely don’t want to demonize my main character or have him come off as some kind of monster...but I didn’t want to treat the issue with kid gloves either, as though the act itself doesn’t matter. So when writing those particular moments of violence in the story, the details tend to be a bit more graphic, the effects are more drawn out. The utter horror behind having to take a human life in that way while they helplessly flail and go limp in his embrace gets highlighted, and you really get a chance to feel the dark side of who he was and what he has become. That was something that I definitely wanted to concentrate on. And yet, he can walk into a room full of enemies, break arms and legs, bite throats, set them ablaze or electrocute them from the inside out...and it comes off more as ‘action’ instead of horror. More of a heroic assault than a traumatic crime. So, with this series, I travel back and forth between the levels of violence and their feel to hopefully create a sympathetic character that my audience can root for...despite the fact that he really is a serial killer now. Hehehe! And the way to adjust those levels is with the amount and the nature of the details that you use in your writing. To have someone fall out of a tree and break their arm is a painful experience, but depending on the story you’re telling...you can describe that moment in different ways. From simply hearing a ‘snap’ when your character hits the ground, to describing how the arms looks when it’s bent in an unnatural shape or even backwards, or you could take it up a notch with the sound of the character screaming in agony and looking at the arm in disbelief as bones poke through the skin and blood runs down to their elbow. How you explain the injury is what sets the tone. That’s what creates the feel, and determines whether or not it fits in with everything that you’ve written before it and what you might after it. Ask yourself if you want to crank it up to sound more shocking and painful in order to have a greater impact on the scene and the character. Or...ask yourself if it’s seems like a bit much and should probably tone it down a bit in order to keep it from sounding like it just came out of left field. If you’re reading ‘Golidlocks and the Three Bears’...I mean we get the gist of how that original story ended, hehehe! But you don’t want to suddenly go from comfortable beds and warm porridge to, “And with a single swipe, Papa Bear took the skin off of Goldielocks’ face while the other two hungrily lie in wait in to maul her to death.” Ummm...yeah, that’s a bit of a change up that some readers might find somewhat disturbing. So be sure to use your words in a way that conveys more than just what you’re picturing in your head, but in a way that either continues the tone of the rest of the story...or completely causes it to break and shift gears if that’s your intentional. But whichever way that you go with it, just make sure that your choices are deliberate and not just a mechanical reflex that ends up taking your readers out of the moment. That would be a bad thing. Anyway, I’m sure that there are many of you out there who have never had a reason to use violence in anything that you’ve written so far, and may not feel the need to use any in the future. And that’s fine. Plenty of great and epic tales have been told without it. But if you do come across a moment in your story where you feel it’s appropriate and don’t want to hold back or skip over it...whether it’s abuse, a war torn battle, or standing up to a school bully...I’ve found that discovering and maintaining certain levels of brutality though the details you use and the length of time that you spend lingering on the moment is definitely the way to go. It can be as harsh or as tame as you need it to be. Just make it ‘fit’. I hope this helps, you guys! Enjoy your writing, and absorb all of the tricks that you can along the way! K? Have fun! Stay beautiful! And I’ll seezya soon! Don’t hurt me! I’m fragile! Hehehe!

Story Intrigue I consider it one of the most difficult challenges that I have to face every time my fingers touch this keyboard. I definitely want people to remain invested and keep them riveted as much as I can from beginning to end, but I still want to give some hints, clues, and a touch of foreshadowing along the way. Going along with the principle of Chekhov’s Gun in crafting a story, “If a gun shows up in the first act, then it should come back for use in the third act.” I’m paraphrasing, but the idea is creating a rather nonchalant setup for future events that will serve a satisfying payoff to your readers at some point. One that they might have never seen coming. That used to be the fun part, you know? Not so much anymore. Hehehe! It’s a massive headache. Seriously. But I’m constantly trying to navigate my way around it. Any advice would help me out a lot, you guys. When I first started taking classes about film, I remember being really worried that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy and appreciate movies in the same way that I had been for my entire life up to that point. I got soooo much enjoyment out of being able to relax and let a movie take me on this incredible journey that I could be surprised by and explore as it pulls me along towards a climax that would be worth the energy and emotion that I put in to get there. I lived for it! (Still do!) Not only that, but I often watch reaction videos to movies on Youtube because many of them have a way to revive that energy within me when I get to see some of my all time favorite movies for the first time all over again through their eyes. Like, for example, there’s a channel with villagers (from deep in India, I believe) who have never ever seen ANY of these big budget, American made, blockbusters before. Some of the concepts alone are absolutely mind-blowing to them! Can you imagine them watching “Avatar” for the first time? Or “The Terminator”? Or “Back To The Future”? Indiana Jones, Predator, the Exorcist...it causes gasps of shock and surprise and when I see them watch something like “The Sixth Sense” all the way to the end, it gets me all excited again too. Just like they are. These are a bit long, so watch at your leisure if you like, but look at how they reacted to their first viewing of “Jurassic Park”! Not only had they never seen it before, but they didn’t even know what the movie was ABOUT! No idea! The shock of seeing a true to life dinosaur on screen for the first time is priceless! And that’s the kind of awe and inspiration that I wish I could create with the stories I tell. 000 What I love about stuff like this is that they still feel something as they’re following the story. They still get worried or scared, get sad, get angry, feel joy, smile when two people fall in love...there’s room left in their hearts to be amazed. And that means that every last ounce of effort that went into these movies and the writing gets a chance to really be center stage and appreciated to its fullest. So...why do I consider this such a horrendous challenge these days? It shouldn’t be so hard, right? Well, it’s because this is no longer the case for a lot of people who dive into media in all its forms and outlets and gobble it up multiple times on a daily basis to the point where I fear the act of letting the storyteller take the lead and guide their audience on this creative journey is becoming a lost art. Everybody has already seen everything before, or at the very least they believe they have. What can I possibly do? Creating mystery, secrets, plot twists, and intrigue, has become increasingly difficult in my opinion because the key to all of that lies within the unpredictability of the story. People can’t just involve themselves and ride along as a passenger anymore. They’re constantly trying to mentally jump ahead of the writer, and figure everything out for themselves before it happens. Hehehe, any of my friends or family members that sit down and watch a movie with me that I’ve seen before will tell you, I will NOT be an accomplice in that game! “What happens next? Is he the killer? Somebody’s going to show up to help aren’t they? How does he get out of this? Go on, you can tell me.” NOPE!!! Hehehe! Somebody put all of this effort into crafting a story and leading you down a particular path in whatever way they saw fit in order to entertain you. So it’s not my place to get in the way. If you relax and pay attention to what’s going on instead of mentally skipping ahead to the last page in order to cheat yourself out of the experience, then I’m sure your questions will be answered in time. Until then….shhhhh! Calm down. Answers are coming when they come. Geez... But it’s hard to get a lot of readers to do that anymore. Granted, it often takes me an unnatural amount of time to bring out a new chapter of the story they’re looking for, and it might be better to drop a whole story at once so they can race through it before they have too much time to really think about it...but still...I want to create a level of curiosity and intrigue in my stories as often as I can. I don’t want to be predictable, but sometimes I can’t help but to project some of my typical Comicality tropes and give the whole game away within the first chapter or two. So it’s something that I sort of wrestle with, but I’m trying. I can’t really create any intrigue without a bit of mystery and anticipation for getting a peek at what might be around the next corner. I can’t just have things happen at random, but the second that I try to set up future events...the story begins to fall in line with a particular ‘formula’. I mean, we all have an idea of how stories work, and it’s nearly impossible to get out of that format and not end up have things get really weird and unorthodox in ways that may not appeal to a wider audience. So how do you get around this? One tried and true method is the act of setting up red herrings to throw your audience off the scent of your true intentions...but, unfortunately, some readers have gotten hip to that trick as well. So, if your red herring ever gets revealed AS a red herring...the whole effect begins to immediately fall apart, and you find yourselves in the same predictable quicksand that you were in when you started. It’s like putting on a magic show for a group of magicians. They know the deflection, they know the slight of hand, they know the tilt of the mirror or the concealment of the chosen card in the deck. What do you do? It’s so exhausting sometimes! So...here I am, giving you a hint at a the very FEW tricks that I have left so that maybe you can perfect them and use them in your own writing. I give away my secrets...because I’m so smart. One thing that I try to use to my advantage is crafting a narrative that has two big questions or directions to go in, seemingly of equal importance. They’re not, but I try to keep up the appearance that that’s what is going on here. For example, I may have a teen who is happily devoted to his boyfriend and might be dealing with a rival for his affections...and at the same time, he may be struggling through the threat of being outed to his parents by a next door neighbor or family friend. Now, this is an extended way of going about doing this...but I can piece together the parts of the story that I want to focus on most, and just when readers start trying to ‘hack the system’ and begin thinking, “Ohhh, ok. I see where this is going. It’s probably going to be this, that, and this, then probably that”...I can switch to the other main focus of the story and let them tackle that one for a bit. And if I’m lucky, I can keep things bouncing back and forth for long enough where I get to tell my story and still, hopefully, have some surprises left to put together a decent and crowd pleasing ending. It doesn’t always work, but I’m still learning. Only practice will help me find the instincts I need to develop. Something else that I’ve found to work on occasion is to practice putting out a quick reveal and a quick payoff multiple times throughout the story. Before my readers have too long to really overthink anything. I mean, nobody can read a whole story all at once, right? They go page by page, minute by minute, from beginning to end. That’s what I’m trying to maintain in my storytelling. I obviously have a major arch in the whole story, but I try to get people to focus on one little condensed problem at a time, cause, conflict, and solution. Solve smaller little mysteries for now and then have them build up to a climax where everything comes into play and hopefully with a few surprises along the way. Basically, it’s just me trying to leave the appropriate breadcrumbs behind for an audience to follow...without really giving any hints towards the big picture. The struggle with this method, of course, is to keep things on track and not take any detours from what you’re trying to accomplish. You don’t want to let your story wander aimlessly and then try to waste time reeling it back to the main point. You just want the readers to work on how to solve smaller issues while you head towards your ending in the background. Attempting to avoid the curse of predictability is no easy task. Hehehe, do you see what I mean when I said it was a process that could be exhausting? And it’s getting more so by the day, it seems. But, as writers...we just do what we can. And maybe carry a few people on a fun journey along with us. Now, understand...sometimes people will pull out their Batman charts with the red strings and the thumbtacks and attempt to beat you to the point anyway. And sometimes you’ll just want to write a story that’s pretty straightforward and doesn’t need any intrigue to work. Especially if you’re writing erotic fiction. Just do what you do and hopefully you’ll interest and excite your readers either way. But if you’re trying your hand at a mystery, a thriller, or even just some big moments in a well written piece of romantic fiction...these are a few ways that I’ve been trying to perfect in order to make that work. If you’ve got any other ideas, I’d love to hear them! Because my bag of tricks feels a bit on the light side when it comes to this particular problem. I’ll learn one day. Just you wait and see! Hehehe! I hope this helps you guys out with your own writing, and that you’ll keep some of the useful parts of this post in mind and close to your heart. Feel free to discuss down below! And I’ll seezya soon! Or will I? Dun dun dun!

The Passive Character Roller coasters can be a lot fun, can’t they? Hehehe! Unless you’re deathly afraid of them like I was when I was a little kid, and then had to try them out and find a love for them a bit later on. That was when I learned to appreciate the twists and turns, the highs and lows, and the overall speed involved with the joy of getting onto one of those massive monsters and being tossed around like a rag doll for a little while. And whenever I’m writing something that I want to be thrilling or exciting or dramatic or packed full of action...I make it my goal to somehow find ways to recreate that same feeling in the hearts and minds of my audience. It’s almost as if they’re sitting in the roller coaster seat next to me and is following along for the ride. A very cool skill to have when it comes to creating a memorable addition to the world of storytelling. Sounds like a good time, doesn’t it? Now….let’s compare that to one of you guys hopping into a classic muscle car, revving up that loud engine, and slamming your foot on the gas to race top speed through an open area, gripping that wheel with both hands until your knuckles are white, screeching tires across the pavement, sliding around with the danger of possibly making a wrong move and flipping the whole vehicle over on top of you. Wind fiercely blowing through your hair as you finally stomp on that brake pedal and slide to a stop just inches away from a brick wall! They could both be fun, sure. But from a writer’s perspective, and especially from a reader’s perspective...there’s a pretty big difference between the two. Between enjoying the ride and controlling the ride. And that’s why I want to have a somewhat balanced conversation about the ‘passive voice’ in your projects when it comes to your main characters, and some of the weirdness that comes along with it. Because there’s just...a touch of weirdness. Hehehe, I won’t lie. But you can still use this to your advantage once you’re able to see it, even if it’s more practice to be used in the editing process than it is when you’re writing. So, let’s discuss... I’ll try to talk this out without sounding like a madman... I know that there are lot of experts that really discourage and condemn the passive voice when you’re writing, and they really do have good common sense reasons for avoiding it when you can, but I still find occasional uses for it when it comes to building your narrative up to what you want it to be. It’s that roller coaster effect, but taken a bit more literally when it comes to your protagonist and the other characters surrounding them. What is ‘passive voice’? I believe we talked about this once before a long long time ago, but it’s a voice that you use that turns your protagonist into a bystander or a passenger in their own vehicle. The vehicle being the story itself, of course. You sideline them, and might end up making them forgettable or even just plain boring. They’re called the ‘PRO-tagonist’! We’re supposed to be following behind them as they fight their way through this particular adventure or whatever. You don’t always want them to look like a bunch of rewards and consequences are just random things that ‘happen to them’ throughout your story. Basically, it makes for a much less engaging story if your main character is just standing out of bounds and watching everything around them without actually interacting with the rest of the story. It gets bland and it makes it harder for your audience to really get on your protagonist’s side. How can you sell them on a hero who isn’t really doing anything special to earn the title? You know? More times than not, ditching the passive voice for a much stronger showing from the characters that you’ve built your characters around is going to be the best way to go. Don’t allow their forward progression happen accidentally or just become some kind of fortunate stroke of luck. Have them get in there and do the work. Have them make things happen, and motivate them in a way that will demonstrate to your readers that they’re intelligent, or reckless, or driven in some way to take further steps towards their ultimate goal. This is all done with the way you write it out. Just a few words, here and there, can make a big difference. Tiny little details that most people won’t notice when they read them, but will ultimately give them a feel of control and purpose. Find ways to connect your words and the actions of every single scene to your main character somehow. It’s difficult to recognize the passive voice sometimes, because it’s written correctly, it feels as though it’s focused and still on task...but once you see it in your own writing and learn what to look for, you’ll begin to shy away from using it as often as you do. (Assuming, of course, that you use it at all) What you want to avoid more than anything is to have a main character that people are constantly watching as things are happening to them...instead of having some kind of action where they’re actually doing something themselves. Otherwise, your narrative becomes a spectator sport that gets old very quickly if it becomes too obvious. It puts your readers back in the passenger seat, watching the scenery go by without any sense of being involved or encouraged to take a part in what’s going on. One of the reasons that people talk about the ‘video game curse’ when it comes to making movies is greatly due to this very fact. How is that possible? Video games have extremely compelling characters and intricate storylines to go along with them. Not to mention a whole mythology and amazingly detailed amount of world building already done and locked into place. So just take all of that storytelling gold and create a movie based on a near carbon copy of the source material, right? How hard is that? Well, here’s the thing...you watch movies. You play video games. So you’ve basically taken an active character and made them a passive character. That’s the glaring malfunction in a project that believes it will be the same experience for old fans and new visitors alike. Bring your readers and have them be a part of what’s going. There will be many that might not agree with your protagonist’s decisions, but even if it causes them a great deal of frustration and disbelief...at least you’ve got their attention. And if they’re arguing everything out in their head, they will still feel like a part of the process. That’s the power of having an active main character. Even when they’re not fully in control of what’s going on around them...they’re still in control of what’s going on around them. And they achieve this by being an active participant instead of a bystander in their own story. In my story, “My Only Escape” (https://gayauthors.org/story/comicality/myonlyescape), my protagonist is only a young teenager and suffering his way through horrible physical and verbal abuse on an almost daily basis. Obviously, he’s not in control of what happens to him, and he doesn’t have any options like ‘leaving home’ or anything open to him in the story. But despite his powerless position, his mind and his actions and his defense mechanisms are in place to actively deal with the pain and fear that he’s trying to protect himself from. He’s not just sitting there allowing his circumstances to overpower him repeatedly while my audience looks on in horror. Do you know what I mean? There has to be something for him to DO while everything is going on. Even if it’s something as simple as trying his hardest not to cry out from the pain, refusing to give his father the satisfaction of knowing how close he is to being totally broken from the torture of it all. Connecting my character to the action, connects my readers to the action. And that makes for a more interesting experience than simply absorbing details and plot points through some well written prose. Not that the other way isn’t ‘functional’...but is it memorable? Ask yourself what the action is in the scene. Doesn’t have to be anything major or overly dramatic...just...what’s happening. Little additions or reworded sentences can make big differences. Something tiny, like...”There was an open window to see out of” can be strengthened just a bit by writing, “I walked over to open the window and looked out of it.” The first sentence is functional, but the second sentence has your character actually interacting with his environment. He’s doing something as opposed to just taking notice of something in the background. You want to deliver the same amount of information, but you want to give it a slight feeling of momentum when doing so. Does that make sense? Find the ‘action’ in every scene that you write into your story and focus on connecting it to what your character is doing to interact with it or react to it. Not just the details. The door is open, the car won’t start, the spider crawled up the wall...ok, so now how is your main character going to somehow become a part of that scene? Are they just there? What are we doing here? Bottom line...active characters are more dynamic than passive characters. Even if it’s only in a very quiet and subtle way. If you’re going to have one of characters take a passive approach during one of the moments in your story, make sure that you have a valid reason for doing so. And make sure that it doesn’t become that particular character’s defining trait. Because, ultimately...if they’re just going to be background noise, then why have them there at all? A few scenes are fine, if that’s what your writing instincts are telling you...but if one of your main voices is constantly wandering around in the shadow of other characters for no rhyme or reason...then that’s a waste. One thing that readers don’t have time or patience for is waste. I hope this helps, and at least made a little bit of sense...as it gets more and more difficult to write tips about things that you just have to ‘feel’ and learn to recognize on your own. It’s not really something that comes with a blueprint that I can give you. It’s just something that I notice and do what I can to avoid in my own writing as I continue to grow and change over the years. Never too late to evolve in a brand new way, after all. Hehehe! Happy writing, you guys! And I’ll seezya soon!

Ambiguous Endings Now, there are many many times that I get razzied by my readers for not having all of my stories wrapped up with a pretty little bow where they’re all finished and done with and folks can read them and then roll over and go to sleep without saying anything or even clicking a ‘like’ button. Hehehe! I’m always writing on all of them as quickly and as often as is humanly possible, and always try to put forth my best effort each and every single time. No shortcuts. I’d rather not release the story at all if it isn’t going to be a sincere struggle to complete it and have it be something special. You know? BUT...when I do finish off a short story, or even a longer one, and I give them what they want...hehehe, it’s like I’m still in the wrong. I just can’t win. “More, more, more! What happens next? Can’t you just add a few more chapters?” Ummm...no. The story is finished. It’s done. I said what I had to say, and I brought the plot to a close. Period. Don’t ask for any more...that’s the story. If the story was about a teen coming out to his parents and that was the point of it all...then him coming out to his parents will accomplish that mission and finish the thought. To go much further than that would mean having to come up with new conflicts and drama and a host of other challenges that will ultimately detract from the impact of what I was hoping to do with the story in the first place. That would be a bad thing in my opinion. So let’s put this baby to bed before it wears out its welcome, right? And this is where I might be much more likely to use the method of an ambiguous ending to achieve my goal. In this context, it’s basically my way as a writer to tell my audience, “The rest is left up to your imagination.” Done. It’s about being able catch that moment when the tale has been told. Learn how to spot it, understand it, and use it effectively in your own work. Not as a cheat or a quick escape from your own work...but as a way of knowing when the main mission of your story has been reached, the problems have been solved or at least dealt with, and the need or desire to keep going will feel overworked and gratuitous. I’ve seen stories ruin themselves that way, and it’s never pretty. Believe me. I wrote a story not all that long ago where the main character’s main battle was all about finding enough comfort within himself and his family, even in his community, and now that he had found himself a secret boyfriend to be with...he wanted to gain the courage needed to break that frustrating wall of paranoia so they could finally be truly happy together. Of course, I wanted to make the characters somewhat lovable and relatable so my readers could latch onto them and stay engaged from beginning to end. And once the threshold had been reached, the protagonist decides to take a huge leap of faith and just do it and the struggle takes a back seat to what he has to gain by giving it his all. Enough is enough, right? And that was the level that he was trying to get to. That moment right there is where a ‘wrap’ up was needed. So I made the creative choice to do exactly that. So...did I take the extra time to write out the dramatic showdown between him and his parents? No. I could have, but I didn’t. The story actually ends with him nervously taking his boyfriend’s hand outside of the house...and the two of them start walking towards his front door to make the big confession, with the love of his life promising to be there by his side through it all. THAT is an ambiguous ending to a story. Sure, there are people who might have wanted more, or wanted to sit in on the big revelation and the drama to follow, or wanted another ten to fifteen chapters to see both boys happy and enjoying their time together as an openly gay couple. More giggles, more kisses, more sex...yeah, I get it. But none of that other stuff feeds into the actual point of the story. The story was about the triumph of my main character over his biggest fear of coming out regardless of scary it may seem. Finding the strength to make a leap of faith. Mission accomplished. Beyond that, I didn’t want to open up any new gateways or possible issues for future chapters. I wanted it to end and leave it where it was most powerful in its impact within the rest of the narrative. Sometimes, that’s just the best way to go with a story that has already said what it needed to say. “But Comsie...what happens after that? Do they stay together? Do they come out at school? Do they get bullied? Do they grow into adults and get a house together in the suburbs?” My answer is always the same... ...I leave that up to your imagination. Don’t get me wrong...it is never my intention to cut a story short or to cheat my readers out of a satisfying ending. That would just be mean, especially after asking them to give me their time and attention to invest in the lives of the characters I’ve created. I would never advise anyone to do that with their work. What I’m saying is that there are going to be times when your story’s climax doesn’t have to be all explosions and fireworks. It won’t always result in a tragic death, or a marriage proposal, or the hottest sex scene that you’ve ever typed out on a computer screen. Sometimes it’s just a solution to the main problem that was introduced earlier on, and a proud sigh of relief when things work themselves and the idea of ‘then they lived happily ever after’ is implied. Period. I mean, I’ve seen enough happily ever after Disney cartoons where I just sort of let the idea drop there and I consider it a happy ending. But, at the end of the day...I don’t really know that for sure. Hehehe, for all I know Sleeping Beauty could have ended up being a total bitch and the prince spent the rest of his life miserable with the choice he made. Pinocchio might have danced himself out into the street as a real boy and was run over by a bus. Who knows? The end gets to be whatever I want it to be. But, due to the usual goodhearted nature of your average human being...it’s usually just assumed that everything turned out great for our favorite characters, whether that’s true or not. But the happiest of couples sometimes break up. The bad guys don’t always get punished for being awful people and are often rewarded for it. People get sick, people get hurt, and unforseen circumstances get in the way. Think of your typical zombie movie. How many of them actually have a ‘happy’ ending? Seriously...the most you can hope for is having your favorite protagonists get out of their current situation to escape to another place where...there is still an apocalyptic number of zombies still roaming the streets. But, you know...for now, the ambiguous ending brings that particular story to a close and allows everything else sort of fade into the background, depending on the reader’s interpretation. For me? My very first gay teen story, “New Kid In School” (https://gayauthors.org/story/comicality/newkidinschool) has been going on for many many years now, with a variety of different conflicts and issues and moments that can be seen as both good and bad over the years...but there IS an actual end coming for that story. And when it happens, I’m sure that it will feel like saying goodbye to some very dear friends of mine, and it will probably feel like that for a number of readers as well. But when the story has been told and I’ve touched on everything that I always imagined that I’d be able to tackle with their relationship...that will be the end of it. So, if you were looking for a “New Kid: The College Years”, or having them open up an antique store together on Main Street, or having them peacefully sharing a lemonade in a couple of rocking chairs on their front porch when they get old and gray...it won’t happen. Hehehe, just letting you know now. Not that it wouldn’t be fun to write that out, that wasn’t where the story started and it wasn’t the story it set out to tell. It’s about young love. First love. And figuring out the pitfalls of their very first relationship as best as they could without any kind of road map or open advice about how to handle it. After that, it becomes a different story altogether. And if it’s going to be a completely different story...then why not just write a completely different story? You know? The thing to always keep in mind when writing an ambiguous ending to your narrative is whether or not the story is actually finished with it’s potential. Whether or not you’ve actually covered all the bases for each and every one of your characters and wrapped them up as well. And then have a certain mood or vibe that will somehow guide your audience towards whatever assumptions they may have when thinking about it. If you’re looking for a happy ending, end on a happy note. One with a sense of hope and love and a positive outlook on the future...whether it was meant to be or not. You’ve done your job as a writer, and now you can push that spotlight into a place that lets your readers believe that the sky is the limit from here. Then again, if you have a story that ends on a down note or with some level of heartbreak...you can still guide your readers towards the feeling you want your narrative to have. You can focus on a long road back to ever getting over the pain and rejection of it all, or you can concentrate on a ‘Guess you can’t win them all’ idea, and have it hurt but still instill hope that your main characters will get past it at some point and love again someday. It’s all in your tone and the words you use to bring the emotions involved to life. However you see it, however you feel it...put it out there, and leave your audience to fill in the rest of that fantasy blank as they see fit. All you can do is give them a bit of a nudge and see what happens. What I think is so useful about these kind of endings is not at all about bringing the story to a close, but allowing it to live on by glorifying the story’s true intention and preventing myself from dragging it out to the point where the main highlight becomes deluded, or ends up as a faded spark in the background. Does that make sense? I hope so. Anyway, I hope this gives you guys a little something to think about when you’re writing and coming to the end of you your story, looking for it to come out with the goals and purposes shining as brightly as humanly possible. Find your main focus, decide the point where an appropriate ending should be, and then pad the landing without letting it linger beyond it’s welcome. Cool? Take care, you guys! And happy writing!

Writing About You As an author, writing can really be a personal activity. It takes time, patience, and tons of emotional energy, to really put together a great story with a good plot and populated with interesting dialogue and engaging characters. However, I have always believed that the one element that holds it all together and provides it with that particular shine is...quite simply...you. You are the adhesive that keeps it all focused and concentrated into a series of moments in time that radiate depth and feeling. Every story can have a bunch of crazy stuff going on all at once, and it’s supposed to be entertaining no matter what. As long as you’ve got the right formula, it should work, right? Not so. Stories need a ‘voice’. They need a perspective. They should feel as though every last piece of it is coming from somewhere, and not just a bunch of themes and tonal changes being slopped together on a plate like edibles at your local afternoon buffet. I believe that every author should be deeply threaded into the stories they tell. I definitely exist in some form or fashion in all of my stories. In my characters’ personalities, their sense of humor, their pain and how they try to deal with it as best as they can. All of that is in there. And you might think that this is going to be an article about how awesome it is to see yourselves in your own works... ...But that’s not what this is about. Not this time. See...the thing about writing about yourself means being extremely and unapologetically honest with your audience. Both with the good parts of yourselves and the bad. Nobody is perfect, and it makes for an unrealistic story that is certain to lose people’s interest after a while if you pretend to be. Maybe even if just a short while. So, while your story may get some bad feedback or criticism, it’s important not to take it too personally. I realize that this is a task that is easier said than done, but you can’t let that scare you away from the truth of who you really are. You’ll get through it, hehehe, promise! I say this because it’s very easy to kind of slip out of an honest presentation, and directly into our ego. It happens. No apologies needed, just make sure that you keep your eyes open when it comes to that kind of thing. I can be hopelessly optimistic more times than not. I love to smile and to laugh, I appreciate romantic gestures, I’m intelligent and outgoing enough to hold my own in a conversation, and I’m eternally grateful when it comes to compliments, gifts, or small acts of kindness. But...I can be a dick sometimes too. I get frustrated, I get depressed sometimes, I can be really isolated from other people whenever I’ve got something weighing heavy on my mind. Piss me off, and I’ll stubbornly do things just to spite you. And if I’m not in the mood, I can keep the whole world at arm’s like until I feel like dealing with them again. It’s a part of who I am, and if you read my stories, I’m sure that you’ll see all of the negative stuff too. But, so be it. More often than not, I’m probably using my writing to correct some sort of temporary damage in me that won’t leave me alone in that particular moment. But hey...better that than lie about the parts of myself that I’ve added into one of my stories and have it come off as being disingenuous. You know? I think that it’s a problem for some writers to pour themselves into a story and not completely paint themselves through the lens of rose colored glasses. It’s not really ego so much as it is a strong sense of self confidence...but it clouds your perspective sometimes. As I said, a story needs a direct vision for both the writer and the readers to focus on...but there’s a very thin line between having a distinct point of approach to a ‘fictional’ situation, and a matter of written self stroking, if you know what I mean. Hehehe! Knowing the difference can really help when you stand back and try to look at things from a distance. If that makes sense. I really do try to stay away from taking another author’s hard work and throwing it under the bus, but for the sake of having a clear cut example to use for you guys to know what I’m talking about...I want to talk briefly about Stephanie Meyers’ series, “Twilight”. I understand that it’s meant to be safe vampire fiction for young adults...like...I get it. But I just remember reading some of it and watching the movies, and that didn’t feel like a ‘new girl in high school’ story at all. I mean, has high school changed that drastically since I was there? I’m not one of those jaded people that thought high school was the worst, most horrible, experience that any adolescent could ever possibly go through growing up...but it certainly wasn’t like what this book was presenting as reality. God help any tween girl reading that and anticipated showing up for their first day of high school expecting it to be like that. Our protagonist, ‘Bella’, joins a brand new school...shy and alone...and on the first day she makes an entire group of best friends that are in for the long haul. And they all think she’s funny and so pretty and incredibly interesting. Boys want to date her, teachers are impressed with her, everybody knows who she is, the hottest boy in the whole school immediately gives her all of his attention, she has another shirtless hunk not far from her house who also wants her all to himself...it’s like, what the hell is going ON here??? Brand new school, brand new town, shy and standoffish? You’d be lucky if a group of high school kids even let you sit at their cafeteria lunch table without frowning and getting up to walk away. Or teasing you for your shoes or your clothes. Or just giving you the cold shoulder in general for no other reason than they don’t know you. What happened to all of THAT stuff that came with the teenage high school life? If you really look at “Twilight”, the entire series is just completely ‘Bella-Centric’ from beginning to end. Her friends instantly care about and love her, vampires are willing to die for her, werewolves are willing to die for her, her father outdoes himself trying to make her happy, the whole town is enamored by her...hell, even the villains are immediately fascinated by her in a really unnatural way. There’s a whole TOWN full of potential victims for them to feed upon...but nope! They want Bella. No other new girl will do when it comes to satisfying their lust for blood. It makes for a fun high school fantasy, I suppose...being the most beautiful, sought after, and popular, girl...well, EVER! But in terms of putting out a narrative that feels somewhat natural and realistic, I think that there’s got to be a little bit more balance in the storytelling. Some flaws, some mistakes, some self doubt, a few enemies. These are elements that all contribute to a feeling of connection between your audience and the characters that you’re writing about. How else can they invest a whole lot of emotion in someone like that, unless of course you were one of the most popular girls in school for four years straight? I’m not saying that Stephanie Meyers definitely modeled Bella after herself, who she thought she was, or who she always wanted to be. That’s not the point. The point is...we all have a true sense of self when we’re writing, and we can’t just cover our scars and blemishes with makeup and keep going. There is real gold in our flaws. Drama in our hard times. True lessons to be learned from our mistakes and our disappointments in life. Don’t horde them all to yourself. Thread them into your story and let people see them for what they are. You’d be surprised how many fans will end up relating to a flawed character much more than they would a perfect specimen who always wins without fail. Bottom line, no one wants to spend all of their valuable time looking waaaaay up at someone standing on a pedestal. Bring them down to Earth for them to meet your audience face to face, eye to eye. It makes for a better story. It’s easy to build a huge altar and a magical temple to someone who comes to you in the guise of absolute perfection, but to see someone’s flaws and insecurities being put on display and finding that you love them just as you are without judgement...how special is that? I think that this makes for an incredibly engaging story. And it comes from this deep seeded desire to be loved and cherished and good enough. But the truth is...I’m not perfect. And anybody who WAS perfect, or at least thought of themselves of being as such...probably wouldn’t want to have anything to do with me. Hehehe, or would exhaust me to the point of simply running out of the energy it takes to be with someone like that. So self confidence and ego aside, my big dream, and a dream shared by a lot of my readers, comes from the idea that we’re all good enough right here, right now, to attract and impress the unfathomably beautiful people, no matter what. Beautiful in our eyes, at least. That’s what it’s all about. Allowing me to be me in my writing without feeling the need to go overboard in order to have those same emotions reflected back at me or strive to live up to some weird idea of being so far above average that there’s nothing for me to latch on and relate to. That’s weird to me, hehehe! This is a song from an artist named JoJo called, “Joanna”. And I remember when she came out years ago, and she was singing and did some acting...not a huge mega star or anything, but definitely talented enough to raise a few eyebrows. She should have been more well known in my opinion, but that’s just how the fame game goes sometimes, I suppose. Anyway, this is like an open letter to herself and her career, and there’s just something about it that I really connect with. It’s honest. It’s heartfelt. And it’s not a braggadocious song about how awesome she is, or how she was ‘cheated’, or how everybody missed out on what she had to offer. You know? It’s just a humble vision of what she’s been through, and probably mirrors she’s had with other people over the years when she started as a young teen. I respect it. It’s a display of talent, and yet a touching moment of vulnerability as well. I would much rather hear a story like this than one where the protagonist is so nice, and so perfect, and so lovable, that anyone bringing any trouble their way must be a villain or simply misunderstand them for some reason. That’s not reality. People have flaws, they make mistakes, they get nervous or clumsy on occasion...and that’s far more entertaining than constantly reading about perfection. Give me something to latch onto. Give me a real human being, and not a fluffed up version of what you see when you look in the mirror every morning when you feel like you’re on top of the world. It gets old very quickly, trust me. Anyway, just keep in mind that conflict is interesting. Even inner conflict. You want to hold the attention of a mixed audience? Make your flaws your treasures when you’re writing. It always creates a bond between your story and its readers. Every time. K? That’s all for now. I hope this made a bit of sense, and that you can use it in your own work the way I use it in mine. Happy writing, folks! And I’ll seezya soon!

Callbacks As I might have mentioned in previous writing articles...I really am a fan of having my stories come full circle at some point in time. Usually, this takes place in the beginning of the story, and then at the very end. But not always. Sometimes you can create an entirely different flavor for some of your previous scenes and interactions, and even redefine the meaning that other characters and hardships that you focused somewhere (anywhere, really) within your fiction. And an effective way to do that is through the clever use of ‘callbacks’. Now, while there are many times that I purposely plan these things out way ahead of time, sometimes they work even better when they’re a bit more spontaneous. Whichever works best for your writing, that’s up to you decide while practicing your skills and challenging yourself when the opportunity presents itself...but it can have a major impact on your story either way. So I recommend trying both methods and figuring out which one works best for you. Or, at the very least, when to use one method or the other. Consider it literary exercise for the creative mind. I love to have fun with my characters, and I enjoy creating scenes where they seem to be having fun with each other. A ‘callback’ is like taking these scenes of character and story development in an earlier part of the story, and then mirroring that particular moment at a later point in the story. It doesn’t have to be something from the beginning of your story, and it doesn’t have to wait until the end or the climax before you call back to it. Nor does it have to be an incredibly significant event for it to be worthy of the effort. It merely has to be understood and displayed as a part of the story’s progression. It’s like...building blocks, laying down the foundation for what’s to come later, but being a little bit sneaky about it. Hehehe...you can build the most magnificent skyscraper on the city skyline...but nobody really thinks about important it was to lay those early foundations in the ground to make sure that the thing won’t fall over the second it gets hit by a heavy wind. So being sneaky doesn’t have to be all hamfisted and weird, it just has to be somewhat clever. For example, I was once watching this vampire movie called “30 Days Of Night”...and early on, the film made sure to show and focus on this machine with all of these incredibly sharp, rapidly spinning blades...and then they just went back to the rest of the story. Hehehe, well...OBVIOUSLY, somebody is going to get pushed into that thing and get totally shredded to pieces! Everybody is expecting it, so why even bother to hide the fact that they’re going to call back to bladed death machine? I mean, you can have fun with it, sure. Nothing wrong with that. But you won’t be fooling anybody, so don’t even try to trick yourself into thinking that you can. It’s technically a callback, but it’s a bit of a lazy one. Hmmm...a cool example of this would be from the movie “Real Steel” from 2011. There are actually a bunch of effective callbacks in the movie, from certain scenes and actions, to simple lines of dialogue. (And if you’ve never seen it before, I highly recommend it! SO underrated!) This one is fairly simple, but extremely effective. Makes me smile and laugh every time! I love it! So, the short version of the story is an estranged father and son are forced to spend the Summer together, while the father has a great amount of skill with operating fighting robots, and a horrible gambling problem that keeps him broke as he loses one match after another. The son finds an old abandoned robot in a trash heap and wants to rebuild him and teach him to fight. So, if you look at this scene below, you’ll notice that the robot hasn’t really learned much yet and has no real ‘moves’ to speak of. All it can do is shadow and mimic the movements of its user. As long as it can see the boy, it can copycat his motions to a tee, and not much else. So here we have the boy trying to get it to learn how to move in the ring, and while listening to some music, just as he’s getting frustrated...they have this really fun and sweet bonding moment where things begin to work in his favor. And...he’s a kid, so of COURSE he’s going to play with it like a brand new toy! (Just hit the ‘Play On Youtube’ link! They’re being….difficult.) The thing is, this could have been left alone and would have existed as a really cool scene in the movie, where a boy and his robot pal discover a certain connection and a kinship for one another. It would have been great. However, how much more of a bonus would your story have if you called back to it a little bit later? As the movie goes forward, and ‘Atom’ the robot begins winning fights, the boy develops an unshakable faith in him and his abilities (Notice how the robot went from an ‘it’ to a ‘him’ in the way I describe him now?), and the father begins to bond with his son. Bringing us to this moment below. The boy helps Atom learn how to loosen up and movie, and the father teaches his son a couple of moves so he can learn how to box like he did. And when they get their first big professional fight in front of a giant audience...they need a gimmick to hype up the crowd and get them on Atom’s side. So you’ve got the robot knowing how toge and weave, and a dancing boy who now knows a little bit about boxing himself. All of these elements come together in a badass introduction the immediately gets the people cheering and on Atom’s side. They’ve both evolved significantly since that first scene, and combined both levels of character development to create something truly special here. The callback? Wildly successful! By putting this callback in the story, you’ve accomplished a lot more than you may think you have. Either scene can probably stand on its own, but when you mirror the two scenes against one another...you change the effect and the impact that both scenes have on your project. Like I said, that first scene could have existed as a fun moment in a cool movie. And the second scene, by itself, could have made for a grin worthy surprises to suddenly see them come out dancing in front of the crowd, even without any build up to it. But as a callback...you instantly create a sense of history and connection. The first scene has now become a starting point for future events, and the second scene now has its own origin story, explaining where all of that came from. It adds another layer of depth to your writing that readers can ‘feel’ as they’re bearing witness to it. And we all know that layers are a good thing, right? Right! Hehehe! There’s a brief sense of nostalgia that comes along with it. Or perhaps it could be used for comedic effect. And sometimes it can be a part of a burn that is used in your story to point out a certain hypocrisy. It has quite a number of applications if needed as a part of your storytelling. For example...I have a series called “Untouchable” where the callback was meant to express a moment of pain and unfairness between a twenty three year old, Eric, and an underage teen. Earlier on in the series, Eric accidentally loses his driver’s license and has to go and apply for another one. Unfortunately, I speak from experience when I say that this can be one of the most frustrating experiences you’re ever likely to have on this planet. Because you’re trying to get a new ID, and the first thing they ask you is to let them see your ID! Hehehe, ummm...if I had an ID, I wouldn’t need an ID. Which isn’t an answer for them because they’re like, it’s hard to prove who you are without an ID. Yeah...tell me about it. However, in a future chapter, when he is fighting the shared feelings he has with this teenager...there are a ton excuses being tossed around as to why this shouldn’t happen and why they shouldn’t be together...one of which is that he has no idea what he’s doing and he can’t really process the matter of being in a relationship at his age because he’s never had one before. To which the boy shoots back at him with, “Oh, I get it. How can I get an ID unless I already have an ID.” Or something to that effect. I’m paraphrasing. But the idea is the same. The story is using a callback to an earlier moment, and it is now using that moment as a point of reference to connected to a progressive part of the story later on. Similar, but different. For anyone who was paying attention to the fun and playful vibe of their earlier interaction will see those words in a different context and will see how they relate to one another. You see where the comment came from, and you see how it’s applicable here. That’s how callbacks work. They can be challenging when it comes to using them effectively, but they’re far from being difficult to adopt into your writing style if you ever find a use for them. They work considerably well when you change the context or the emotion wrapped around them. From anger to sadness, from despair to silliness and joy, or from heartbreak to romance. This is another technique that I’ve used in plenty of my stories as well. I like to call back to past events or lines of dialogue for readers to think about and say, “Hey! I remember that!” I like the idea that my characters have this sense of history that connects them and creates a fully fleshed out collection of shared memories and events that binds them together. Even if it’s just a short story, it can be just as effective. Use them to give your audience the same opportunity to be a part of that connection in the same way that your characters are. You’ll be surprised how well it works when you add them in at just the right time. Consider it an added piece of flair. Take it to heart. And if you haven’t tried it out, I suggest giving it a shot. Another movie you might want to watch is the animated “Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse”. Now, that movie has a ton of callbacks in it (almost TOO many), and they are all expertly done by the end of the movie. That is a masterclass in how to do it right. If my explanation here doesn’t make any sense...maybe that movie will help. Hehehe! Alright folks! I send you back to your keyboards to start writing again! There are always a million ways to approach the art of crafting a story of your very own. Why not try them all, right? Enjoy! And stay beautiful!

Author Bio I fully understand that there are many of you out there reading this right now who might just be writing stories for fun or treating this as a fun hobby, or maybe even as a method of self therapy...but stick around, as this article can be a major win for you too! However, if any of you are looking to make some side hustle money by publishing your work professionally or perhaps self publishing online...there is one part of the process that seems like it should be easy enough to pull off without having it take up too much of your time. Then...you actually sit down to write it out, and you have that blank screen staring back at you...with the added frustration of that blinking cursor, practically asking you, “What are we doing here, genius?”...and you realize that even though it’s a short block of text, it’s nowhere near as easy as you, or many authors for that matter, might have expected it to be. Especially if you’re a first time writer who never really meant to make this a big part of your life and income. And even if you’re doing it for free, it can help to self promote your work when you need to. We’re talking about the easy/not easy practice of writing an author bio, ladies and gentlemen. Let’s get started! The whole idea behind an author’s brief bio might seem like a daunting task to some people, because you just want to write your story, leave behind an email address, and then be done with it. But there are some readers who really become engaged with your work and your characters, and they just want to get a peek at the person who’s behind it. Can this person really exist in real life? What are they like? How connected are they to the fiction that I’ve come to embrace and know and love sooooo very much? Where did their ideas come from? What if I wanted to get started on my own stuff? Would they read it? Inquiring minds want to know! I actually love talking to people when I can. It’s a lot of fun for me. But I write so much that it’s actually a bit difficult for me to get to my chatroom as often as I’d like to, but I’ve been told on multiple occasions by a variety of people that being able to chat in real time is a lot like talking to ‘Billy Chase’. (Shameless plug opportunity! Hehehe, sorry! Can’t help myself! https://imagine-magazine.org/store/comicality/) But there is a piece of ‘me’ in all of the characters that I write, and if my audience can relate to them on some level...then I’m hoping that they can relate to the real me on some level as well. And that’s what you want your author’s bio to reflect when you’re putting it together. You want to present yourself that’s honest, and yet will feel familiar to the people who appreciate your writing. Chances are, they won’t be all that far apart from one another. It doesn’t have to be all that long or super detailed. It doesn’t have to be fancy or poetic. All it is meant to do is connect you to your work, make it available to an interested party, and deliver some added information that people couldn’t find in your personal influence on the story they just read. And if you’re pursuing writing in any kind of professional capacity, it can introduce you to an agent or publishing house in a way that’s effective enough to give them a hint on how they might be able to work with you in the future if they choose to take you on. Geez, that was a long sentence! LOL! Yeah...don’t do that in your bio! Doesn’t look good. I can do it here because you guys already know that I’m an idiot, so mistakes are no surprise. But professionally, I would definitely be much more careful about stuff like that. So...author bios. What you’re trying to build here is a focused, close knit, overview of who you are as a person...but in a way that pertains mostly to your writing. That part is important. Adding some personal and interesting information is a bonus, and I wouldn’t really discourage you from doing so. But keep in mind that you’re not here to write your entire life story out on the screen. If your author bio takes up an entire page or more...then chances are you’re doing way too much. You’re either bombarding the reader with too much random detail that doesn’t have anything to do with...well...anything...or you’re beating around the bush instead of getting to the point. People don’t have all day. They’ve got other shit to do too, you know? Say what you need to say and let the info and the story speak for themselves. You’re not writing an extra chapter here. This is just a way to let people know that you’re a real person and your story didn’t just spontaneously spawn itself out of thin air. Take some credit. You deserve it for all the hard work you put in. That moves us towards the obvious question. What do you want to add to your text? What can you say that will give people some insight into you as an individual and convince them to maybe look for other work from you in the future? Well, first of all, you want to let people know what credentials you have, and why should the person reading your bio care about them? What have you written before? How was it received...meaning any awards it’s won, what reviews has it gotten, what successes have you had with one of your projects in the past? Now, this is a bit of a hassle if it’s your very first major story or possibly your first story period. So if you don’t have a list of writing degrees or story accolades to mention, don’t sweat it. Everybody with a long list of writing victories had to start off as a first time writer too. It might even help you out, as some folks are looking to discover new talent over falling back on tried and true favorites. Some people actually end up burning themselves out before taking a shot at going the professional route. So if this is your big debut as a writer, then use that to your advantage, and simply write about writing. What inspires you? What drives you? What are your goals and aspirations when it comes to your stories? What genres do you like to write in? Who are some of your influences? These are all questions that you have the answers to in your head, whether you’ve ever spent any real time thinking about them or not. So dig into that and find ways to put it on the page. This isn’t just for those of you trying to break into the professional market, but to all of you. For what you put here on Gay Authors, or on Amazon.com for ebook sales, or what you add on your personal websites or social media outlets. Let people know you as an author, and draw them in to be curious enough to see what the fuss is all about. Some people really do read the author bios first. Before they get into your story and waste their time with fiction that they don’t really enjoy, they may look at your author bio first and try to pre-judge your work by seeing if they like you first. It’s true. Sometimes, a well written (or poorly written) author bio can make or break you in the eyes of a potential new reader...especially if it’s on a professional level. So if you decide to put one together...make it count. You don’t really have to add any details about yourself that are extremely intimate if you don’t want to. You don’t have to ‘shock’ anybody. You don’t have to bring up your battles with alcoholism, childhood abuse, time spent in prison, or anything like that. Remember, you want the bio to be personal, but you’re trying to concentrate on the writing aspect of your work. That’s what they came looking for, give your audience that instead, and maybe just a little bit more. If you want to set up a blog or start a communication with one of your readers, then that’s fine. But despite the fact that you really really want to talk about dedicated work with the Peace Corps...I’d say that you leave that out of your initial author bio, and then maybe talk more about that in a place for people who come searching for other fun stuff to know about you. I’m not saying that your bio has to read like a static and boring police report or anything. Just try to avoid bringing up any parts of your life experience that requires more extensive explanation. That’s either going to make you ramble on for way too long to keep things concise and focused, or you’re going to have to cut it short and leave people who might be interested in hearing more feel like they’re lacking something. Stay in the pocket...and treat it like a job application. Even if it isn’t one. Be personable, but don’t try to be too friendly. Write your bio in the first person if you’re doing it yourself, but don’t waste time being friendly. Don’t start by saying, ‘Hello’. You don’t need to start with a joke, you don’t need philosophies or gems of wisdom, and being somewhat professional will help you out much more than being likable. Having both is a bonus, but you can be friendly later. The point of a bio is to deliver information and paint a picture of an author that this reader has never met before. Stay in that particular lane when it comes to that initial interaction. Hook them right away, give them the goods, and let them move on to reading your story. Feel free to add details about how long you’ve been writing, and if you want to add your age or gender, great. You definitely want to add you contact info and social media outlets. This is important, as you want readers to be able to give feedback, ask questions, offer some constructive criticism, and maybe even offer you some opportunities if they decide they really like what it is you do. So make that a ‘must’, and add it near the end of the bio so it’ll be the last thing that they read and remember. You want to be informative...but you don’t want to necessarily advertise. Meaning, this isn’t the place to go for the hard sell. Like I said, the story can speak for itself. And if you have a blog or social media presence...you can push your merchandise there. But save it for elsewhere, k? Otherwise you come off looking like a grifter or charlatan. Also...do NOT downplay your own work! I understand that there are many people, me included, who sort of have a self deprecating sense of humor on occasion. Not in a harmful or unhealthy way, but it’s a touch of humility with a bit of cynicism tossed in. It can be fun and charming in real life...but in an author bio, get RID of it! When you downplay your own work in front of new readers...they tend to believe you. Don’t do it. You don’t have to be grandiose and make it out to be the best story ever written, just don’t take anything away from it. Let them read it and make that decision for themselves. Last tip? When you’re finished writing it out and you think you’ve gotten it just right...edit the HELL out of it! Hehehe! No mistakes! Your author bio is a direct representation of what your readers can expect from your story. If you’re giving them spelling errors and missing punctuation in a small bio blurb, what is it going to be like to read a whole book from you? If you get ONE part of this whole pursuit right, it has to be the author bio. Mess that up, and everything else comes crumbling down around it. Alrighty then, and this is what I’ve learned about author bios so far. They matter. If you’re going to do one, do it right. I know that libraries and bookstores are a lot more rare these days than they used to be...but if you find any books near you, turn them over and take a peek at the author bios provided. I’m sure there are some on the books you see online as well. See what tips you can pick up from there. You never know when they might just come in handy. That’s it for now! Happy writing, you guys! And I’ll catch up with you soon! Seezya then!

Writing Comedy You know...if you were to ask most actors what’s really the most difficult emotions to pull off on screen, you might think that it would be intense anger, or being able to cry on screen during a sad or dramatic moment...but actually, it’s laughing. All blooper reels aside and how fun it looks behind the scenes, finding a way to convincingly laugh in front of the cameras...especially while adhering to a script that you’ve read and memorized a million times, is a true skill among some of the best actors out there. And they deserve applause for it. It takes a genuine feel for comedy, it takes timing, expert delivery, and a sense of humor that reaches way outside of the current situation. Humor is a very fickle taste for a lot of people. You can get your audience to rage with a fury, or tear up and cry over an injustice, as anyone with any sense of empathy can easily tune in and gain access to those emotions without much effort when given the proper context to the story itself. Humor is a bit different, though. Not everybody finds the same things funny. Some have a different sense of humor, some have to really be caught off guard to laugh, some people get offended easily...it all depends. It’s such a versatile area to work within that it can be extremely difficult for any writer to find a sense of balance that will be surprising and refreshing, while still being non-offensive. Does this mean that your sense of humor has to be ‘safe’ or tamed to the point of being completely sterile? Of COURSE not! The subjects that people laugh hardest at are the ones that people know they should probably feel BAD for laughing at! Hehehe...if comedy is a sin, then I’m sure that I secured an extra hot spot in Hell by the time I was ten years old! So don’t make that your number one concern when it comes to writing a comical story, or simply adding comical parts to a story that you’re already involved in. Honestly, the people that I’ve met and used to hang around with...who always have a smile on their faces and make fun of everything around them, much to our entertainment...they tend to be very dark people once you actually get a chance to sit down and talk with them. People with horrific pasts and issues that they have yet to deal with. This is the honest truth. Think about all of the comedians that you know and love in the public eye who can’t hold a family life together, or are dealing with mental issues, were abused or molested as children, or struggle with alcohol addiction and drug abuse. The cast of Saturday Night Live alone has had more overdoses, murders, suicides, sexual assault cases, etc, than you would imagine a cast full of fun loving, charismatic, and hilarious personalities would ever have. But the truth is...at least for a lot of the most popular comedians...it isn’t always an art. It’s a coping mechanism. It’s the shining light in a dark room of shadows, and it works. The darker the shadows, the harder they work to make the light shine brighter. No matter what. I don’t want you to think that everyone with a sense of humor is a deeply disturbed or depressed individual! Hehehe, that’s not true at all. There are plenty of people who are just naturally funny, and if you’re one of those people, then add it to your stories and let that part of your personality shine! Go for it. But for some...being able to make light of a truly fucked up situation, or to just use humor to deal with a severe amount of angst and anxiety that your main character may be going through at that moment, can often make for a few fun moments in your story, despite the implications of a much deeper problem. If your readers are fully invested in your characters and what’s going on with them, then the humor will come through naturally and make them smile. Tickle their funny bones! Hehehe, that sounds dirty. But it is what it is. Me, personally...I have a lot of bad history behind me. Some very sad and hurtful memories, a bunch of scars and attacks on my psyche, and probably more insecurities than I’d ever want to know about if I ever sat down and tried to list them all. So for me, my sense of humor was sort of born out of that madness...and it helped me survive it all. Which is probably why I joke around as much as I do and make fun of pretty much anything that there is to make fun of. And life is stupid….so there’s ALWAYS something to make fun of!!! But it was developed through my need to escape the pain I suffered growing up. And now I find the humor in everything, and it really helps me get through almost anything. Even when times are rough. And you can see that in my stories...in varying degrees, depending on what the story is asking for in order to work. But it’s there. You might see bits and pieces of it in more serious stories like “My Only Escape” (https://gayauthors.org/story/comicality/myonlyescape), but in something more lighthearted like “Jesse-101: Online Celebrity” (https://gayauthors.org/story/comicality/jessie-101onlinecelebrity) the humor is much more evident. I can really play around with it more because of the playful theme and all that’s involved with it. I would really love to take a chance at trying to write an outright comedy, you know? Like...full blown, just to see if I could pull it off and have it be a success. But for now, I’ve been sticking to just having humorous moments in my other stories instead. Especially when it comes to comic relief characters like ‘Preston Miles’ in the “Shelter” series, or ‘Wilson’ in “New Kid In School”. They work to sort of add some levity and fun to my writing whenever I feel things getting a bit heavy, and it’s a temporary break in a story with a darker theme, but I think a full blown comedy would be super fun to write some time!I’d love to try it out, you know? My first attempt at doing anything like this was a parody on the very genre of erotic stories in general. LOL! It was called “A Fool In Love”, and it was posted as an April Fool’s Day joke. I even got others to post replies and spread the word after they read it to say that it was the best story that I had EVER written, and that more people should check it out right away! Hahaha! Yeah, I had fun with that one! Read it if you ever want to just have a few giggles on me for free! (https://gayauthors.org/story/comicality/afoolinlove) Now, there are different kinds of comedy out there, and depending on your own personal taste and the overall theme and character personalities that you’re working with to bring your story to life should play a part in which flavor of humor you decide to go with. Make sure that it matches up with the people involved. Some people like jokes that are waaaay out of left field and come off as so downright ridiculous that they can’t help but to laugh. Just something random. Other people like slapstick humor with people falling down the stairs or getting hit over the head with a big wooden hammer. Others have a taste for something full of insults and sarcastic burns, and some like subtle dry wit. Then you’ve got dark humor, satire and parody, self deprecating, and more. You have to decide what you feel most comfortable with writing (usually whatever is closest to your own personal sense of humor), and attach it to the characters that embody that part of what you find funny. A shy and reserved teen boy isn’t likely to suddenly start making snarky remarks, nor is a dignified gentleman going to turn himself into a total goofball for no reason. Consistency is key when it comes to this kind of this thing, so be sure to stick with it. The one exception being one of your characters delivering a big zinger out of nowhere, which should be as much of a shock to the other characters as it does to your readers. It might be completely out of character...but in that one brief moment, the reaction itself becomes a part of the joke. So it works. Hehehe, is any of this making any sense? I hope it is... Basically, if you’re writing a comedic piece, or simply adding a few lighthearted moments to a regular story (Which I would recommend if you can pull it off, as it just makes things fun)...there are a few rules to keep in mind... #1 – The first, and most important, rule of them all? Learn to laugh at yourself before laughing at anybody else. I think this is a crucial part of having a comical effect in your work. If you can’t take it, don’t dish it out. Plain and simple. It’s not just a matter of being bulletproof when it comes to offensive remarks, and it has nothing to do with being a snowflake. Being able to laugh at yourself can act as a comedic ‘compass’ when it comes to engaging your audience. It allows you to draw your own lines in the sand so you can be aware of what you’re doing or saying with your writing. Self awareness sets boundaries. Stick to them. #2 – Make it quick! A great joke can be delivered with a single line of dialogue. The truth is...adding comedic elements to your story should carry along with it the illusion of spontaneity. You can have a little bit of build up if you feel it’s warranted, but overall...get to the punchline already. Don’t stretch a single joke out to the point where it needs to be a story in itself. After two or three sentences, it ceases to be funny. Get in, deliver the punch, and get out again to keep the story moving forward. K? #3 – Know where to place your humor in your story. Telling a joke at a birthday party, telling one at a wedding, and telling one at a funeral, are going to have different ‘feels’ to them. Don’t break up tension or an important emotional moment with a joke if it’s going to ruin the involvement with what’s going on. There are a lot of writers who use this technique to relieve some of the heavy themes being dealt with, and they end up sucking all of the life out of what is really important about that particular scene by adding humor where it’s in direct conflict with the rest of the story. Avoid that at all costs. There will be time for humor before or after it...but sometimes you have to allow other emotions to take center stage and do what they were meant to do. Don’t get shaky and start using humor to shy away from the heavy weight of the scene you might be writing at the time. In real life, this might be a coping mechanism. In fiction, its a wrecking ball to the scene itself. K? #4 – Understand that not all jokes are in good taste! If that happens to be a character trait, then fine...but make sure that you address that in your fiction. I understand that some people want to be edgy with their humor, and it may come off as being dirty or offensive. But don’t delude yourself into thinking that the rest of the WHOLE fucking world is just being oversensitive and don’t understand humor if they get upset over it. People need to stop that. You know what you said, whether it was because you can’t be funny without it, or you just did it for shock value...there’s a line. When you’re joking around like that, do so with a sense of ‘grace’. You’re in mixed company when you post this stuff online. And if you feel restricted or censored because you’ve offended more than half of your readers with your ‘jokes’, then I’m just going to assume that you’re an asshole. Hehehe, sorry, but it’s true. You’re a writer. And if you’ve got any real talent at all, then you should be able to deliver your comedy without pissing everybody off, or maybe not use it as a crutch at all. Practice. Entertain. And never think that you can just say ‘anything’ without challenge. Do you want a loyal readership or not? It’s up to you. Just be authentic with your sense of humor and have some fun with the material that you write. I LOVE to laugh! But, for me, the first step was learning to laugh at myself. Once I climbed my way to the top of that hill, everything else came easy. Comedy is just ‘surprise plus exaggeration equals giggles’. Keep that in mind, and use it to your advantage. Even if you’re not naturally funny...life is funny in itself. Point it out. Trust me...you’ll start laughing too. It’s inevitable. Hope this helps, you guys! I’ll always have humor in my stories no matter how dark or depressing they may seem from the first paragraph. I can’t help it. I have this vivid memory from when I was a little kid, and it was snowing outside, ice on the ground...and my dad slipped and fell on his back while I was sitting in the back seat. Hahaha, and I mean...this was like a full blown, Jerry Lewis, Looney Tunes, slip! Omigod! I couldn’t stop laughing for nearly an HOUR!!! I tried! God knows, I tried! Because I knew that he was going to beat me up and hurt me sooooo bad the next time we were alone. It was going to be an EPIC beating in terms of childhood abuse. But...for that ONE glorious moment...I laughed my fucking ASS off until I had tears running out of my eyes! And it was totally worth it! It really was! I took my angry beating with pride after that. Humor exists everywhere, in everything that we do. In everything that we are. Even in the darkest of times. And once you realize that, you have the power to translate it and put it into your fiction. So, yeah...do that. Hehehe! Just understand the nature of humor...what it is, and what it isn’t. Because using it wrong will cause more harm than good. Does that sound ‘funny’ to you? Seezya soon, folks! I love you lots! And keep smiling for me, k? It’s good for ya!

Loose Ends There is one thing that I think can be horrendously frustrating in a story! And I’m guilty of doing it a few times, myself, despite my efforts to avoid it at all costs...because it makes you want to tear your own hair out at the roots! Hehehe, but for one reason or another...I changed my mind on a few major plot points in my story that took me in a different direction, and it left a lot of plot points left to dangle without any answers. Now that I’m re-doing my stories to put them in ebook form, I’m correcting a lot of those unforgivable mistakes. But it sucks that they were ever there in the first place, you know? It’s just a scar on a story that didn’t need to be there if I had planned things out a bit better before I got all ‘deep in the weeds’ with it. I’m talking about loose ends in your storytelling. So let’s discuss, shall we? Because this can be a serious problem in some of the stories that I’ve read in the past. I can remember watching the third “Matrix” movie in theaters for the first time, and I was one of the biggest “Matrix” fans out there (Including “Matrix Reloaded”, which I still think is highly underrated)! So I was glued to my seat and doing my best to absorb every word. Now...there’s a scene in that third movie where some of our heroes go to this elaborate nightclub, and they’re trying to get to our protagonist. And one of the other characters basically says, “Fine. I’ll give him back to you...but first...if I’m going to help you, I want the eyes of the Oracle.” Oooh, what does that mean? Where is this going? Explain! And then they’re just like, “No!” And we have a shootout and an action scene...and it’s never mentioned again. But wait! What the fuck was that about??? You can’t just bring up something like the ‘eyes of the Oracle’ and not ever address it again. Wait! How? Why? What did they just do? How would he have benefited from this? What are the consequences of not performing that one particular task? What the hell is going on here? It’s like there’s an entire reel of this movie that is missing that should have been expanded upon and shown to the audience. Or at least built up to or foreshadowed ahead of time. It might have made for a cool plot point with a little bit of thought and unraveling. But it ended up being just an idea that kind of got tossed aside without any further elaboration at all, and so now we’ll never ever know what he meant by that or why the hell he mentioned it in the first place. It’s so weird, and I hate it because it’s all that I can think about now! Hehehe! This is the sinkhole that your readers fall through when it comes to having loose ends in your fiction. You end up leaving the story incomplete in the long run, and you seriously drag all of the life and meaning out whatever scene you put it in. All it does is leave people scratching their heads, wondering why you would take the time to think up and then write that scene out when it has no impact on the rest of the entire story beyond that point. The details that you put into your story are all about two things...introduction and payoff. You can’t really have one without the other. Not in any significant way. So why do it? Trying to have a payoff with no introduction feels like being blindsided or senseless sucker punched without warning. Where did this come from? And why? But to have an intro without a payoff is worse in my opinion, because it leaves a reader hanging...and going back to it makes it seem like fluff or filler that never needed to be there to begin with. Either way, it sucks all of the importance out of the major moments that you want your story to have. It’s fictional ‘pollution’. Not a good idea. So, in order to avoid this...what you want to do is plan these things out in pairs. Like bookends during certain moments in your plot. If you include some kind of big detail earlier on in your story...you want to make sure that it has some level of impact on the character or the story itself as a part of the evolution of your fiction. If it happens to be a point of interest for your readers, it’s natural that they’re going to commit these details to memory. Remember that your audience is reading the details of your story with a sense of forming an investment in what’s going on there. If you give a minor character a name...they will try to remember it. Almost as if it’s going to be on ‘the test’ later on. So...if you’re going to make it a part of your project, then you’ve got to have some sort of significant payoff further down the road to make retaining that little bit of information worth their while. You know what I mean? Don’t leave elements of perceived detail to dangle in the wind when you’re done. Like...let’s say that one of your characters was once a heavy alcoholic, and you want that to be a part of his back story. Ok, that’s cool...as a random mention or just a bit of added detail to give some depth to their character it works. That works just fine. BUT...if you’re going to concentrate on it in a major way, and on more than one occasion...then you’ll be missing one of your bookends if the story ends and it never comes up again. Not only does it leave your project dangling at the end...but it dismisses the whole point of you writing it into your narrative. And that part of the character you attached to it begins to crumble and burn itself out. Readers feel cheated. Wouldn’t you? Now...if you’re going to make it a focused part of that character or the plot of the story...then justify its existence in your text. Maybe your character is struggling with sobriety and has now fallen off the wagon...having a big impact on the story. Or maybe...you main character needs someone who can drink somebody else under the table in a shady bar as a distraction, and he’s the only one with a high enough tolerance to pull that off. Who knows what you’ve got in mind...but do you sort of understand what I’m saying here? You made the introduction into your narrative, and your readers got all engaged and invested into this being a part of the story that you’re trying to tell. Not a random bit of conversation or a minor backstory detail, but something heavier than that. So now you have to pay it off. Have it make sense. Why is it there? Why did you add it in such a not-so-subtle way? People will ask themselves about this...and hopefully, you’ll have an answer to give them. This is where the ‘bookend’ method comes in most handy. When you’re plotting your story out...and you come up with a spontaneous idea here and there (It happens sometimes, and it’s a good thing) always try to keep in mind that it has to ‘connect’ to something somewhere else in the story. Where is this going to come back and add something to the plot? How is it going to somehow explain its mention and focus earlier on in your story? It should be a fairly easy question to ask yourself and answer without too much mental strain. Hehehe, that should be the easy part, right? Why did you add it? What did that little bit of detail do to move the characters involved or guide the story forward? If you can’t immediately answer that...then what you have in your fiction is ‘fluff’. Pointless prose that doesn’t really go anywhere, and therefore serves no purpose other than padding the page count when you don’t really need to do that. The more attention you pay to that detail in the beginning...the bigger the payoff has to be in the end. Even if it seems like it would be cool for a few scenes here and then, adds depth to your character, or is a fun part of you doing some world building...if you bring attention to it once, bring attention to it twice. Don’t just allow it to be a loose end with no resolution. It’s frustrating. Something else that I’ve wrestled with in the past with my own work is the fact that my writing can sometimes be rather spontaneous in its presentation. Now, if you’re that kind of author...I definitely applaud you for that, as I feel like it often adds something organic to a writer’s work and brings readers into the moment. However, by making that a practice of mine, I’ve had to train myself to stay on point and not change the story’s path and my protagonist’s journey later on in the project. Because what happens is I start to set things up in a way that will send the story down one path...and later I end up impulsively end up following my gut instinct down a completely different path instead. So going rogue...it’s not always the most effective way of putting a story together. What that does is cause the plot to take on a whole new life of its own and you get an entire domino effect of events to end up as loose ends in a narrative that you’re no longer thinking about. I’ve done that a lot in my older stories, and I’m constantly watching my storylines to keep it from happening again. Live and learn, I suppose. Hehehe! Basically, you just have to keep in mind that minor details are fine...great even...but the more major defining traits of your characters, your plot, or the world that they inhabit, need a reason to be there. Well, technically, everything in your story needs a reason to be there...but certain highlights can’t just be mentioned in passing and never come back around again later to prove their merit as a part of your story. Think about how much certain details are going to stand out and possibly intrigue your readers and raise questions that they might want answers to at some point before you wrap everything up at the end. Those are the ones that you need to bookend with something else so it doesn’t feel pointless. It’s all guess work, so there’s no foolproof way to get it right every time. But you can improve your odds by improving your natural instincts with stuff like this. So keep it in mind, k? Anyway, as always, it’s good to see you guys again! Feel free to give your thoughts down below, and I hope this helps out a little bit! I still learn something every time I try something new. It keeps me somewhat sharp, ya know?

Character Empathy So what is the strong adhesive that keeps people glued to a story once they start reading? What can writers do to evoke emotion and conjure up the craving needed to keep reading all the way to the end without stopping? What makes them think about your story during the day when they’re away from the internet, in the car, on the train, or even while they’re hanging out with friends? It is such a powerful skill that you can wield as a writer to have your words and your ideas actually carry over into the real world and into the lives of people that you’ve never even spoken to before. It’s an incredible feeling. I can live the rest of my life off of that happy buzz alone. Hehehe! If you’ve never tried writing before...give it a shot! It’s a thrill that you seriously can’t match with much else in your everyday life! It truly is something special! The big question here, though, isn’t why...but HOW? What universal element can you tap into that can reach out and make contact with total strangers? They’re just words one a screen, representing emotion and reader involvement. Right? They’re not real. Ok, first thing...lose that whole frame of mind. I mean it. Get rid of it, as it doesn’t belong here. I think a lot of writers, even the phenomenally talented ones, sell their abilities short when it comes to the question of working this kind of magic. And a great deal of that comes from not understanding the impact that well written story can have. Which means that they probably don’t read enough to study the scenes, characters, and dialogue, that touches them in the same way. Hehehe, lord knows that I don’t! I keep trying to read other people’s stories and leave comments, and my life gets so damn tangled up that I either can’t read the stories I wanted to, or I get so far behind that it’s nearly impossible to catch up to where I was in the first place. This is something that I’m desperately trying to correct within myself...so I’ll be doing better by the time you guys read this, k? It just takes me forever to do much of anything these days. But the one thing that I think makes for an excellent story...is the woven in presence of empathy. Plain and simple. Even if and one of your readers is separated by distance, culture, religious beliefs, age, financial status...whatever. Empathy is a constant, and it is the gateway drug to everything else that you can add to your fiction. Whether it be for good or for bad or anywhere in between...empathy is the magic elixir that can make any story work and reach up to it’s fullest potential. That has been one of the most complimented and praised parts of my writing over the years. So definitely hear me out here! Because, no matter what you’re writing, no matter what genre, no matter if it’s a short story or an extended series, empathy is the skeleton key that opens all doors. Figure out how to use that magical tool in varying degrees...and your stories will always succeed in drawing in a loyal fanbase at some point. Always, no question. So...what is empathy? We all have a pretty vague idea of what it is and what it entails, but what is it, really? I mean the dictionary definition says “The ability to understand and share the feelings of another.” Which is very simple and right to the point, so it makes a lot sense, right? But, here’s the magic trick...how can a writer ever hope to create that for the characters that they have included in their current project? I mean, no matter what your characters are going through, it’s not like you could really force a single one of your readers to give a shit from the text on the screen alone. Your entire audience has to decide whether or not they want to offer that up to you of their own free will. All you can really do is inspire them to do so. And that means stepping your game as an author to make that happen. Right? Getting someone to empathize with your characters is a lot like introducing them to someone else at a massive party for the first time. It starts with an exchange of names and a few awkward handshakes and all, but moves into finding something a bit more relatable to talk about that goes beyond the weather outside and a few chunks of casual small talk that I’m sure we’ve all used to be somewhat social at one time or another, and then abandon all that for a conversation that impacts us on a deeper level than that once you get to know each other a bit better. Then you move into the realm of common interests….movies, music, video games, artwork, etc. In my own stories, this is something that can instantly bond two people together and start building a playful or meaningful interaction with one another. If they agree on certain things that they think is absolutely awesome...then GREAT! It takes my love interest beyond just being somebody who’s really cute, and therefore is only of a sexual interest to my main character. Not that there’s anything wrong with that...but I feel like people can read that anywhere. I want something more engaging. I want to empathize with the character and care to the point where I’m fully invested in seeing them get some kind of reward from the interaction. I want to be ‘touched’! Hehehe, get your heads out of the gutter! You know what mean! And creating that empathy in your story comes from one thing. Intimate knowledge of your main characters, inside and out. Both their attributes and their flaws. Both their goals for the future, and their embracing of their past. Their hopes and regrets. And then finding a way to connect to that to something that is essentially familiar to every audience. Something that they can really relate to and understand. When you’re able to do this with your story...you immediately shift gears. And it’s almost like you’re no longer just telling your own story...but you’re telling their story as well. This creates an empathetic vibe between the readers and your characters that will instantly give your fiction an instant boost that it might not have without it. And this is a big plus in the ‘win’ column. You do this best through their interaction with one another. Remember, show don’t tell. Even if you’re really great with your prose and imaginative descriptions...that can develop the plot and move the story forward, but it won’t create a sense of empathy. It can be used to introduced the characters to one another, but not to your readers. Try to avoid writing things like, “He was so shy. Soft spoken with a blush.” when you’re in the process of building them up as a character. There’s nothing wrong with that sentence, and you can effectively toss a sentence or two like that in your story later on with no problem. But during your audience’s initial introduction to that character...display their personalities in action first. Why is he shy? Show me. How is he soft spoken? Show me. Allow them to interact and ‘feel each other out’ in real time. By building that connection from the start, you begin to create empathy for anything that they may face throughout the length of the rest of your story. Having people discover an intimate knowledge of your characters is what builds the bridges needed for them to really engage with them...even if they don’t exist. It’s sort of like having someone hand you a super cute puppy. Hehehe! How can you not fall in love with a sweet little puppy, you know? If the puppy is happy...you’re happy. If the puppy is being playful and weird...you feel playful and weird. And God forbid if anybody were to hurt it or make it whimper and cry. It doesn’t matter what’s happening at that particular moment, because your empathy is tuned in. If you’re writing romance, if you’re writing a murder mystery, if you’re writing fantasy...these stories become more exciting and more impactful through the tension and confusion created by the stakes involved. And people aren’t really invested in the stakes if their not invested in the characters dealing with them. That’s why empathy is the gateway to everything else. Because being able to have people care (Not FORCE them to care...that’s not possible, remember?) is what keeps these characters, and thus the stories themselves, so close to their hearts. And why they think about them like old friends, even when they’re not reading new chapters about their personal journey towards being happy. Take the endearing traits, or possibly even the aggravating issues, that you want your readers to know about the people in your story...and spread them out. Leave little breadcrumbs behind for your audience to find as they piece together their own connections to the entities that you’ve created. Maybe they like them, maybe they don’t. That’s for them to decide. Your job is to make them memorable enough for them to affect the story in whichever way you see fit and have it matter. Even if readers totally loathe this character and are only sticking around to see him punished and finally get his comeuppance in the end...you can consider that a mission accomplished. Because they’re invested now, and they won’t let go until the story is over. And if you really want to up the stress factor...take the empathy that you’ve built up for the other characters in the story and how much pain and damage this one asshole has done to them. Hehehe, it’s a negative emotion...but it works. Just try not to ruin everybody’s day TOO often with your story! You don’t want them going off the deep end...because they will be thinking about it. So don’t make them too miserable, k? Throw a few puppy dog moments in there every now and then to balance things out. Think of it as a stressful mind massage. Bottom line, creating a sense of empathy in your stories is just a matter of making your fictional characters and you critical readers feel as if their of one mind. Bring them together and get them as close to one another as humanly possible. They should feel as though everything that is going on in your narrative is happening to them. Or, at the very least, to a good friend. And since the most intersting part of any story is its struggle and its conflict...you want to tug on their emotions and get them to feel it too. You can figure out your own methods on the most comfortable and natural ways for this to work for you, personally. Just know the goal, pick your method of travel, and allow your instincts to take you there. That’s my piece for today, ladies and gentlemen! Hehehe! Hope it puts you in the right frame of mind and gives you some ideas! Take care! And, as always...stay beautiful!

Burger, No Burger When I was in college, I got myself a job right there on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, where I packaged up stuff and got it ready to be mailed out to that company’s customers as quickly as possible. It’s not like it was Amazon or anything, but they prided themselves on being rather swift with their deliveries. And I was getting paid, so I had food and groceries and stuff that I needed to survive...and it worked out. However, let me tell you younger guys out there, you don’t know what ‘broke’ is until you go to college! LOL! Omigod...the best thing you learn after high school is how to struggle and ignore a hungry stomach! Trust me on this! Anyway, the buses and the trains in downtown are some of the best in the country, and run regularly no matter what. But they cost money. Money that adds up pretty quickly. So I knew where I had to go and what time I had to be there...so I started walking to work every single day. It was like...a thirty to forty five minute walk there, and after being on my feet all day...it was a thirty to forty five minute walk back to the dorms. Exhausting, yes...but I took my Walkman and got my tunes together to take my mind off of the trip, and streets were always full of cute boys and tourists, so my city pride kept me going from one day to the next. But after about a month of doing that...I began to carry a pen and a pocket notebook with me. That’s where this practice of mine came from. Because I started having ideas for stories, movies, TV shows, etc during these long walks, often fueled by the music that I was listening to, and the people that I saw walking all around me. The atmosphere was filling my head with so many ideas that I just couldn’t contain them all and remember them for later. I still have that notebook, but I couldn’t tell you how many awesome ideas I might have forgotten before I started writing them down in the moment. I remember when they first opened up the dock on Navy Pier for people to walk through and all, and I would sit on one of the benches and just write all of my ideas down in that notebook and try to get them down so I wouldn’t lose them all. And this was BEFORE Comicality! By a few years, at least. This was while they were still building the Ferris wheel and building spaces for the shops inside. Had I been writing Comsie stories at that time, I might have filled up too many notebooks to carry with me all at once. Hehehe! The goal was to come up with a brand NEW idea that I had never seen before between the time it took me to leave the dorm and walk to work, and then another one between leaving work and getting back to the dorm. A new idea...a new concept...new characters...twice a day, five days a week. My brain just sort of adapted to that level of thinking, and I started absorbing everything around me and keeping that mentality going as a matter of habit. And to some degree...I think it’s still there. As Morpheus would say, “It’s like a splinter in my mind”. Here’s the issue though... Every idea isn’t a tasty burger. Hehehe, or as I like to think of it. You have to look at all of your spontaneous ideas, even if they appear to be absolutely brilliant from a certain perspective, and see if they’re a ‘burger’...or NOT a ‘burger’. And this is the subject of the day. Because sometimes, the most incredible concepts don’t always make for the best stories. Don’t take your ideas and throw them away, as you might find ways to create great fiction out of those ideas later on. But for now, let’s focus on trying to determine the difference between a burger and nothing burger. Cool? The idea for “Gone From Daylight” actually came from one of many trips to a Pier much further North, but Navy Pier was clearly visible from there, and I called it “Midnight’s Child”. Justin was a heroin addict, who was now going to learn the meaning of life by becoming a vampire and being forced to take human lives in order to feed...and he was seeking out a group of vampires who were running a night club and could psychically absorb the life energy they needed from the dancing crowd, draining their lives without their knowledge. A skill that had to be learned over time through meditation and training to keep from drinking blood. That was my initial idea for the story, and like I said...this was a few years before the Comicality stories came about. Things changed, the details morphed into something that was much more ideal for the story that I wanted to tell, and ‘Taryn’ became a love interest that changed the entire vibe of the whole story. Not that my original ideas were all that terrible, and might have worked out just fine...but I felt MUCH more connected to this new version of the series, and I think I made the right decision in switching out the old ideas for the new ones. Why? Because the old version didn’t taste like a burger to me. That’s why. And by standing my ground on those changes, “GFD” has become one of the most insanely popular stories on my website. And I love it! But when I look back at my original notes for the series...they were actually pretty thin. There really wasn’t a lot to build off of in the long run. It might have made for a decent short story, or possibly two or three chapters of me doing something different from what I usually do...but nothing like the saga that it is today. There’s no way I could have carried that concept for more than a few chapters without it becoming tired or weird in ways that I wouldn’t be able to fix later on. That’s not to say that the “Midnight’s Child” idea is completely off the table and won’t ever get written. In fact, I’ve been thinking of resurrecting the idea to somehow tie into the “Gone From Daylight” lore further down the line...which I think would be really cool! But the point is...I had originally allowed the idea of a sweet concept get in the way of me wondering whether or not it would make for a good story. Which is fine when it’s just scribbled down in a mini notebook, but it’s different when you invest some real time and energy into writing out an actual narrative and making it more concrete and permanent. This is a problem that will not only show up later in your writing, but it can end up damaging your whole project and cause it to collapse in on itself if you’re not careful, or it might even cause you to abandon it altogether. So, like...DON’T! K? Hehehe! This reminds me of many of the Saturday Night Live skits that were fun to see on television and giggle over every now and then...and then they tried to make a movie version out of them. And they were, more often than not, pretty terrible. Hehehe! Because the premise and the concept was created for a five minute cold open and that was it. It wasn’t meant to be stretched out over a period of ninety minutes. It doesn’t really matter what the story is that you craft for it...the skit itself can’t last very long without wearing thin and running out of things to say. There are only so many ways to tell the same joke before it gets tiresome. The same goes for action. The same goes for drama. Even the hottest erotica has its limits. So, when you start taking notes and you feel like you’ve got this really awesome idea for a story...examine that idea and the most important parts of it...and think of it like the punchline of a joke. How long can you keep this joke going before it wears out its welcome? And if it does...do you have enough other situations going on to fall back on and round out the rest of the story? If the answer is no...then that’s not a burger. Keep the notes, and come back to it when you have more to say with your project. If I was writing a story about an assassin, there are many different adventures that I can add to my story and many different secrets to be revealed. But it can’t just be all action and intrigue for the sake of action and intrigue. He finds something out, he fights, he wins. He finds something else out, he fights, he wins. You can change up what’s going on in the scenes from time to time, but the concept remains the same. ‘He finds something out, he fights, he wins.’ And stories that cling to that formula don’t last very long before they get stale on you, and on your readers. What motivations are you working with? What hidden twists might you have waiting in the wings for your main character? What’s going on with their backstory, and how did it set him out on this path? What are the stakes? What does he stand to gain if he wins? What does he stand to lose if he fails? Allow these ideas to beef up your burger and swirl around until becomes satisfying enough to pen a really cool story from beginning to end and have it actually go somewhere. If the end of your story drops you off at the same level as where you began, then you’ve wasted a potentially great story. Always a no no. Basically, when building and smoothing out a story, I think it’s our job as writers to ask ourselves all of the questions that the readers are sure to ask once they settle in and get invested in the narrative. If we come up with very few answers, and they don’t really feel like they connect in any significant way...then your going to end up writing a very brief and simple concept, and then try to stretch it out and give it some meat by adding a lot of unnecessary ‘fluff’ that doesn’t mean much and doesn’t go anywhere in terms of giving the rest of your story some depth. Either it’s worthy of a lengthy or medium sized story, or it’s not. The other option is to break the story concept down into a much smaller piece and concentrate it on a single situation or a moment in time. Go for the short story instead. I have a couple of ebook compilations called “Daydreams & Lullabyes” on my ebook page (https://imagine-magazine.org/store/comicality/) where I did exactly that. One quick, short, story that takes place during a single moment in time. Those ideas fit perfectly in the space that I’ve given them, and then I make sure to end the story where it needed to be ended. Making them any longer than that dilutes the overall effect. I’d much rather have a contained experience than a bloated snoozefest, you know? Anyway, I’m hoping this was some much needed food for thought, and that all of you future works turn out to be the thick and juicy burgers that they deserve to be! Hehehe! Hungry yet? Keep those new concepts coming! You never know when you might find the project that will become your personal opera! Have fun! And I’ll seezya soon!

Wishing you well, dude. ((Hugz)) Get better soon/

Feeling much better today, but I've still got some things to fix up on my end. It's a headache, believe me. BUT...I can still find my giggles, regardless! Like...seeing what "Home Alone" might look like if it crossed over with "Gone From Daylight"! How awesome would that be?