Posts

Showing posts from July, 2018

Placebo Effect

Image
I heard a news report where they gave a set group of people a new drug, and then another set a placebo--a pill that is either nothing, or a sugar pill.  Most of the time the placebo results come very close to the drug results, but if there is a tiny bit more of a percentage, I guess that proves the case for that drug.  But that's another story.  This one is about the power of your mind.  Just think; the same way that a placebo somehow worked on the set of people given it and not the actual medication, you can use your mind to do anything you want.  Anything.  There are so many methods to deploy. You have to be positive, believe in yourself. We can do this, it's all about staying focused. Don't listen to negativity.  In the end, those who have stuck it out will achieve their goal. But positive affirmation doesn't hurt. Use your mind to make you believe.  Now get out there and do your thing!  WCM

Relax, There's Time

I'm thinking about a time when I devised plans of attack for my stories. It was as though I found a time warp and froze the moment. Sure things were going on around me, but I paid them no mind. I looked at other work, thought about what could be done to improve it, and thought some more.  Fast forward to my older years and I find I'm frantically trying to catch up to something that never ran ahead in the first place.  Worrying what this one or that one would think, mostly imaginary characters I've made up in my head based on all critics, I would water down my stories until they were cardboard. Dull and tasteless.  No more.  Cut all the outside our--at least that which is having a negative effect on you.  See most of the boundaries we face are in our head. And it is very possible to do this, it just takes time, trial and error.  Learning.  So get to it and don't rush. Look, over there!  It's right up ahead, perhaps hiding in the trees. Do you see it

Practice What You Preach

I'm sitting here before my computer screen and thinking about my Friday post--about being halfway through and to keep going until the end.  There are other times I can go back to the beginning, but get through it, jump over the part that's giving you trouble--but first highlight.  It's interesting how even when you know what has to be done, it's  still possible not to do what you know should be done. I'm going to force it. Forcing myself over the parts that stick will be hard. But I really do feel in the long run I'll be better off.  Even those who give the advise may find there are times when it is hard to follow.  I'm going to put an end to that right now.  I'm going to practice what I preach.  Lets go.  WCM

Halfway There

Image
It may be scary to pick up a story from where you left off, maybe edited halfway, feeling everything is going perfect, but if you edit just a few more paragraphs you'll screw everything up. I have these fears quite often, and I have to do something about them otherwise things won't get done. I freeze up, then say I'll put it off for next time. But when next time comes I put it off, that YouTube video is so much easier to watch.  I'm tired.  I have to check my social media.  Etc.  So what I'm planing is to read the whole story through. Just push on through and get the entire story back into my mind.  If there is a part I get stuck on, I'm going to push past it and keep editing until I get to the end.  Maybe I'll highlight the part where I was stuck, or for a sentence that doesn't sound right.  I'll then go back to it later, after I've gone through the entire story. Now it's fresh in my mind. I know where it's going.

Underlying Themes

Image
What is an underlying theme, I ask myself. This is part of the key to how I will stand out.  Is it called theme, or is there another name for it? It's sort of like a story that plays out throughout an arc of the overall body of an artists work. You know who that artist is when you see this.  Sometimes it's planned, sometimes you can run with it.  Examples: The metal band Korn is a good example where it's laid out almost in plain sight--well, if you relate to them, I guess. They use stories and mental visuals of sexual exploitation on the bands lead singer, Jonathan Davis, as a theme that comes up many times over just about all of their albums. This is a true thing that happened to him, though some say it's not exactly as he says. But something definitely did happen. He took that and used it to draw upon creatively. There are other examples with this particular band, but that is the most prominent.  It's sort of like when you hear the sa

Blogging Saves Lives

Never did I think I'd ever be doing something like a blog. I never thought I'd be down to post my thoughts for the world to potentially see. I wanted some sort of a reason, like some write about tech, some about video games. But to give enough news about those subjects you'd need more than just one person, and there would be many posts a day.  Well, you could have your average tech fan who writes an article here and there--similar to what I'd probably do when the feelings arise. I love tech, but have so much going on it would be a lot. Though, I used to really keep up with it, and video games.  Then you can have the person who is successful at, lets say, writing. They put out a blog to fans, but this consists of their personal life--because the fans may care about that sort of thing.  You can have the blogger who shares their daily experiences of what they go through on their path to becoming what they want. Writer, artist, musician etc.  I guess that's th

A Quick Bout

A quick bout of feeling blue. Tomorrow I should be okay. Sleeping it off makes things better.  As I've ventured this subject before, things can get pretty overwhelming. There are so many writers out there, so many pieces being put up on sites and in anthologies and magazines and e-zines. Then there are the traditional publishers, where your game has to be pretty solid.  But there are bright sides here. We are the best versions of ourselves. We have what it takes to make it. Our stories are unique. Of course there is hard work that has to be added in this equation, but I'm starting to think remember what this is about.  See, this blog helps me in more ways than one.  Sometimes if you tell someone something, you solidify it in your mind. It's a mental technique.  You know what has to be done and what you're capable of. When you tell someone else, or say it out loud, you remind yourself of your goal and the magic is renewed.  WCM

Restrained Feeling

Image
Sometimes it's easy to feel restrained,especially when I work the day job and find no time to work on any of my projects. Sometimes the only writing I get done are the blog posts. And that's good. I look at it as many things, but one major thing the posts do for me is keep my writing brain active. But there are times when it can feel overwhelming. I jget home and I'm so tired all I'm thinking about is eating and sleep. And eating seems like too much some nights. This feeling is a reality by most writers, though. I've read countless articles about how writers cope with this.  Just writing this--running around getting changed to start work--is making me feel better. I can't say it enough, but my phone, with Word on it, is one of my best friends. I can sneak some words here and there--like I'm doing now. And get ideas out onto a document I can easily open later when behind a conouter--if I don't pass out from exhaustion first.  A lot of the th

Just Around the Corner

Image
Yesterday I went to Michael's and exactly what I was waiting for happened.  I saw Halloween items.    A week or two it was only fall placards and pumpkins and such. This time I found actual Halloween products.  And even some Christmas and holiday decorations down another isle.  It's a strange phenomenon, but I enjoy the consistency of it. We are getting ready for the next seasons.  Mind you, I do understand it's also marketing. They want to get the next season planted inside your mind, so when it comes time you're ready.  Some people, like myself sometimes, purchase next seasons products for fun. Usually cheap things like the dollar jack-o-lantern I bought the other day.  Or, for instance. I love candy corn. In my older age I cannot have as many as I used to, but a handful here and there--closing my eyes and thinking about the taste bringing me back to my childhoo--is a wonderful experience.  Of course, now I try to get the healthier versio

You Are Better Off than you think

Image
You can always find things that are wrong, but really look at your life. Stop. And just look. You have it better than you think.  There are people in this world who have to worry about where their next meal is coming from.  Yes, there are situations that have to be overcome. Sometimes you need to work certain jobs to survive. But you have that opportunity. You have all your limbs.  And if you don't have all these things, and are still creating and doing your thing, kudos to you!  I respect you greatly.  This post is for you.  When I feel I can't go on, I think of those who really can't.  I think of Stephen Hawking.  First of all, he overcame the odds. According to doctors he should have been passed on long before he did. He survived the odds.  This was a man who had no way to move, to speak. He could barely twitch a cheek to set off a sensor in his glasses to type to speak. He has an electronic wheelchair.  point is this man overcame it all.  He had h

Hours of Work for Minutes of Joy

I was at the supermarket when my little one started acting up. She wanted to know how we made money, because parents were supposed to just give it to kids for toys--lol.  I, of course, go into the speach of how you have to work for the things you get in life, for money to live, for toys, and how much work goes into the things that bring small amounts of fun when compared to how much work was put into them.  Like books. How the author has to think up and write the story, and the illustrator has to create the pictures, and the publisher has to put everything together, among other things.  I hope it made her realize a little that all that gives quick fun is not always easy. There is work that goes into it.  Writing the story, reading it over and over and editing it to get everything bad out, to make the sentences flow, the hours, days, months, and sometimes even YEARS, that go into the story just so someone can consume it in a day to a week.  But it's worth it, in the end. 

Changing Seasons

It's the middle of summer, but I'm looking forward to the fall.  I love that feeling of the weather changing over. The chill in the air slowly forming. The wonderful breeze that feels full and alive.  The trees start to turn colors and the supermarkets start to carry carving pumpkins. That's when you know the consensus has given over to the change of the seasons, reluctantly give up the warmth and humid odor of the summer which, similar to a dying star, has spent the last of it's energy before totally blowing off between the brittle branches.  I'm one of those people who go to the supermarkets and other places to see when they start putting up the seasonal merchandise.  Back To School sales, then after Memorial day the  Halloween candy makes it's appearance and builds up to around sometime in mid-September where the pumpkins come out.  After that, Thanksgiving decorations and fall things. Food advertisements. The turkeys have to be careful.  Somet

Horror with Marchese and Buller

Image
This Sunday on the Horror with Marchese and Buller show we have on the ladies of the Calling Darkness podcast.  This should be a fun show, if not entertaining to see how Skype holds up With  8 people on at once.  You can post questions on YouTube in the live chat during the show.  Go here: www.youtube.com/Wcmarchese to subscribe, and hit the bell to get notifications when the show is on, or for other videos posted on my channel.  Tune in at 3pm ET and 8pm UK.

How Do They Do It?

Image
The writing game can get a bit daunting. There are so many writers out there and here you are looking out at them from behind your computer screen.  You can see things from a slightly skewed manner. Or maybe that's by design?  So many trying to do the exact same thing you're doing.  Well, for now.  Once you truly know what you want to focus on, what twist you want to bring to the table, maybe even a writing sub-genre, you can break off and go your own way. similar to Korn and other bands being alternative Metal (they're metal, but have a different sound). At this point that's the best example I can think of. When they first started you could hear what they were to become here and there. They had a metal sound, but you saw the little hints of what would become Korn.  Maybe someone heard them and saw it, or they were cultivating something that morphed into their content today.  Either way, they took what they knew and blazed their own path. At least that

Never Too Late

You're older, or getting older. You see many young writers starting out with their promising careers.   You've put off writing for a bit, but come back to it years later. Or you're in the middle of a hiatus and worry you won't have the imagination any longer?   Please, of course you will.   I was reading an article where a lady published her first book at 55. She had put her dream off to focus on other jobs and ambitions that brought her close to her dream of writing, but they were only boosting her self-esteem. She started on her path, and then went off it a few times. But my point is, those chances were always there. They never left.   Yeah there are songs that say you only get one shot, and perhaps in certain circumstances, for certain goals, those sayings may be correct, but nowhere does it say you can't start from scratch, you can always rebuild. The stories are still in your drawer,or wherever you left them. You can edit. You can write new sto

Writing Classes

Can writing classes mess with your writing?  This is something I think about quite often. I think there is something raw, if you were meant to be a writer that is, that presents itself. It can be coal that is formed into a gem, but it's there, you can see it. A natural story teller, if you will.  Grammar and basic things can only make that better, studying other writers and techniques, okay. You're treading on thin ice with the techniques at times, but if you know what you're about then those can help--in my opinion.  But then there are schools and classes that "teach" you how to write.  There is a distinct difference between learning the craft, and the tools you need to unleash what you have, or what you're leaning--a certain way to learn, if you will. Creative writing I guess you can say.  But then there are classes that attempt to teach you how to write.  There are good and there are bad ones.  Most are gimmicks and depend on how far along you

Cafe Time

Made it to the cafe fairly quick. Been driving in because it's faster on the highway I take due to kids being off from school. It's quite nice.  The only problem has been the garage being slow. But today they okay.  I say cafe, but it's this place that has public seating. There is a cafe, but it's full and I don't feel like waiting for 15 minutes and then not getting a seat.  So I grabbed one and here I am.  A fellow author had asked a question the other day, maybe i'll drop this link in that post as the answer.  I guess when I'm feeling down a bit, the feeling of even just thinking about a cafe gets me going.  I know it sounds cliche. The writer sitting in a cafe typing, sipping coffee after coffee.  I like the leaf they do here, but I don't even have a coffee this morning. It's strictly work.  I think it's a deeper meaning. Like when I was working in retail, or other jobs that weren't so fun (not that the one I work now is m

Note 8 or 9?

So far from what I've heard and read the Note 9 is going to be a pretty formidable device. Currently I am using the Note 4, which I still love. The only problem being it's showing its age. With only 3 gigs of RAM and an older processor, while still a powerhouse, the phone freezes a lot. I am heavy on my devices and need that extra power. Between Word, TV, YouTube, the camera to shoot videos, my art program to make billboards and thumbnails, among lots of other things, I really need the extra space and power an upgrade would provide. I'm excited about the Note 9's possible 8 gigs of RAM, but now I'm reading some places reporting it will only be 6--the same as the Note 8. Add to that I'm also hearing it's not much of a difference and now I'm thinking I should save the money and buy the 8 on Black Friday. I'm sure minor things will be better than the 8, but compared to my Note 4, the 8 will be a great upgrade already. I bought my N

What Do I Have To Offer?

When I think of social media and where I fit in it becomes a bit daunting. Last night I was thinking about this, and it can get you down when you're most vulnerable. Luckily it was night and I was able to sleep it off, as I usually do and become refreshed the next morning. What I mean by daunting and being blue is what do I have to offer? But we all have something to offer, we just have to find what that something is. What do I have to offer? Well, off the bat I can give my opinions. I can tell you what I'm thinking and what I'm going through. I have been through a few things and have conducted research. Chances are there are more people experiencing my issues that I think. It's also important NOT to look at everyone else, but to look at everyone else. Yeah, that smells like a gimmick, but think about it. For every person who does a podcast, or publishes a book, there are hundreds, if not thousands, who are doing the exact same thing--and on th