When people write, be it a screenplay, novel, story, or song, they incorporate parts of themselves as well as morsels of real life events they have experienced.  My writing is no exception to that practice and is what makes part of the experience so enjoyable.  To be able to use past experiences, both good and bad, is a blessing, especially when you can redeem the more unfavorable ones; however, at times I do find myself slipping in something nostalgic that is for me only and not the reader, at which point I realize it would be in everyone's best interest if I highlight it and hit delete. 

In Kristen Lamb's most recent blog entry, "Description - How to Make Readers Fall In & Never Escape," she refers to use of words that give feeling to a description rather than just riddling the paragraph with an abundance of adjectives and nouns.  She reflected on when she was a new writer and her inability to describe something without "info dumping;" describing every last detail in a room as if the reader cared at all, when in actuality the obsessive descriptiveness turned out to be for her and not the reader. 

I don't feel I have a problem with this descriptive diarrhea, but it was her words "novels are for the reader not for us" that made me realize I suffer from a different case of diarrhea:  Nostalgic diarrhea.  Thankfully the delete button helps to firm up that paragraph making it flow smoother for the reader and sound more regular.

I must apologize.  I'm a man, and sometimes no matter the age we must resort to toilet humor and poo puns.

This morning I woke to two very important emails that were each contributory to the hour-long smile I wore.  Firstly, my story "The Cross Examining" will officially be in the horror Christmas anthology tentatively titled "Twisted Christmas" due out November 1st of this year by Dressing Your Book Publications.  I'm very proud of this story and what I was able to do with it given the theme (a horror story with a Christmas setting). 

Secondly, I received an email from Crystal Lake Publishing concerning the Tales From the Lake contest I entered.  The judges liked my synopsis/story beginning and have chosen it among 34 others for the final round of the contest.  If I place, this could mean very big things for me, as my story will be gracing the same pages as some well-known names in the horror genre (Ramsey Campbell and Jack Ketchum among others). 

Stoked is a word that comes to mind.  I now have 25 days to write a story that doesn't exist.  I got this!

Last month I had an exercise in writing that was almost a spiritual moment, but first this: 

My wife makes fun of me because when I look at a picture I don't just use my eyes for 10 seconds and move on.  I critique it, dissect it, and make observations others may not.  I'll spend a good 5 minutes with my eyes locked in on the cover of a magazine before I even crack it open.  I take it all in, and then some.  I do this even more so with Google maps, in particular the street view.  I love to visit other states and cities or even just "cruise around" my own town looking at different houses, landscapes, people walking down the street, etc.  There's something about Google maps that triggers my imagination.  To see these endless panoramic still images filled with places I've been and places I'd love to be. 

Several weeks ago I toyed around with what is known as "flash fiction."  I'd written some years ago but didn't know it had a name until most recently.  The pieces I had written were either small events based on real life experiences or quickly made up stories.  All the pieces were under 100 words.  I suppose that could even be considered "micro fiction."

While on Google maps I came across a person sitting on their apartment balcony that overlooked a small wooded area and bike trail across their street.  I couldn't make out much detail in the person or exactly what they were doing but that was the fun part;  giving life to something otherwise inanimate and taken for granted.  The imagination is a beautiful blessing.

Getting Calm Before a Storm
She sat on her third-floor apartment porch waiting for the storm to roll in.  As she sipped on her stiff screwdriver, she watched the bicyclist ride the trail across the street.  A familiar envy filled her as she watched.  She knew her lungs couldn’t take that kind of activity anymore.  Though only 40 years had passed since her birth, she had the skin, hair, and liver of a 70 year old; working overtime against the pollutants she fed it.  She felt peace in the middle of a storm.  Perhaps it was the way there was still a beauty in all the chaos; much like herself.  A neighbor in the apartment next to her stepped out on their balcony.  The woman tipped her alcohol at the neighbor with a genuine grin that said “I have love to share.”

Reflecting back on my first entry where I confess my dream of being a writer and my declaration of taking steps to make that a reality seems so long ago, yet less than two months later here I sit next to a box of printed and published books with my story living within the pages....Less than two months. 

In that time period I have acquired a handful of new relationships, learned a lot about the publishing world, written more stories, and have more pieces being published before the year is up, but most importantly I have found myself feeling very passionate about something that I've found I would like to take a step further; something that is literally keeping me up at night too excited to sleep, leaving me staring at the glow-in-the-dark stars all over my ceiling (Hey, they were there when we bought the house and decided to keep them).

While in bed last night, I read a few articles on making a living writing.  As awesome as my current job is, I would love to be in a position where within a few years I could retire from it and write full time.  At the present, I'm only able to write so much, yet I have so many ideas stored away.  From that angle, my job is a hindrance. 

This I ask of you, the reader.  Because I would like to turn this into something much bigger than it is, I ask that you would continue to read and to share my blog with those you think may be interested.  "Word of mouth" goes an extremely long way, especially through the internet.  I ask that you would help me to establish a reader base as I consistently continue blog entries and write stories, and of course I shamelessly implore you to purchase either the print or Kindle version of Shadows & Light #3 here:  www.amazon.com/author/chadlutzke and let me know what you thought of my story, "One for the Road". 

In the meantime, I will continue staring at those stars while excitement and ideas stir within me.

What's in a name?  Apparently for me quite the time investment.  Whether I'm naming a band, a song, a poem, a story, a blog entry, a short film, my own children, a pet, and even a character in a video game, I sit and contemplate; sometimes for a ridiculous amount of time.  I want to come up with the perfect name.  I have found the older I get the more I contemplate (or over think) and the longer it takes for the whatchamacallit to receive its name, in particular my stories.

The name has to be subtle, hinting at the story's plot without giving too much away and to be mysterious and intriguing enough that the title makes one wonder what the story is about yet by the end of the story you know exactly what the title is saying.  What you don't want is a movie trailer title, and by that I mean no one likes the movie trailer that shows entirely too much of the film leaving you feeling like you no longer want to waste two hours watching said film because it already feels digested.

Just this week I finished my final draft for a story.  By the time the draft was done, I still had nothing but a generic working title whose sole purpose was to identify the saved file on my computer from all the rest.  The working title alluded to way too much of the story's plot, but again, I knew I would never use it for the final.  I wrote approximately 30 titles down on a piece of paper; most were horrible but nevertheless, I wrote them down in hopes of obtaining even more ideas.  One by one I gave the titles to my wife letting her chew on them.  We went back through the "highlights" of the list and finally I settled on one.  The next morning I didn't like it so I changed it slightly keeping the root of the original idea, and if I want to change it again it's too late, as I've already sent it out and submitted it for consideration in another anthology coming out this winter. 

Now on to naming this blog entry.  This may take a minute. 

A note to the reader:  I sincerely thank you for taking the time to read my blog.  It has meant a lot to find it's getting read and enjoyed with some even anticipating the next entry.  Most of my feedback/comments are given in person, Facebook, or email but I also encourage you to leave comments through the blog itself.  Again, my sincerest gratitude.