My Writing Environment (Blogging Every Day #4)

[4] Suz Baldwin, my editor / proofreader, asked about my writing situation - what sort of environment do I require when writing?

I wrote a large part of the first draft of  "My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain," at my local Starbucks, and on hour-long train commutes to downtown Los Angeles. Required tools of the trade are my iPad and wireless bluetooth keyboard. I usually have a coffee or bottle of water nearby. General ambience - normal conversation or the rumble of the train - generally don't bother me, so I don't typically feel the need for earbuds. However, if there's abnormally loud, distracting conversation or music, I'll put on earbuds and listen to something in keeping with the mood of whatever I'm writing. This "mood music" must be instrumental - I find vocals distracting.

I've adjusted my habits a bit with the second volume of "Food Chain," as my extended time writing the first volume at Starbucks generated a larger universe of acquaintances there, and so created a more (distracting) social environment.  Now, much of my writing occurs in my home office or at the kitchen table. I don't play music or watch television. On the other hand, I don't turn off my phone, close all other windows on my desktop, or otherwise enforce isolation upon myself.  Allowing myself the occasional controllable distraction is an opportunity for brainstorming.

I'm not a stare-at-the-screen-for-eight-hours guy.  I most often write mid-morning and late evening, but rarely in the afternoon.

How about you?

Writing and Racing (Blogging Every Day #3)

[3] Today, I took some time off from my various projects and anxieties for a bit of R&R, which included a bit of indoor kart racing....

When I'm in a writing mode, as I am now, intense experiences like racing inspire my imagination, though not always as directly as you might think. In a race (or race-like environment, in this case), senses are heightened, and the driver is more intimately connected with the world around him - other drivers, the track, the race officials, the operation of the kart itself, the fit of the helmet, or even visibility through the helmet visor.  

Part of the fun I have with the writing process is creating the layers of texture that make a story truly immersive.  Human beings don't live a vacuum, after all. How we proceed through out day, or interact with one another may be reflective of our personal experience, our relationship with the other person, the environment in which we are interacting, and many other factors. Discovering what those factors are, and how they might influence characters in a story is a great adventure - and can sometimes change the entire direction of a plot line.

By adding intimate detail, I'm placing characters in a real world, and seeing how they react. For this writer, that's where a tale comes alive.

Greatest Strengths = Weaknesses (Blogging Every Day #2)

[2] I enjoy following Gary Vaynerchuk, an entrepreneur whose insight into effectively applying social media tools in achieving personal and professional goals stands apart from many of the "get-rich-quick" style books and websites.

Too often, social media is seen only as a destination, rather than a means toward an end. We've all "liked" Facebook Pages that remain mostly static. If you're a Twitter user, you've certainly followed users that only push out content, and seem to forget the interactive aspect of the platform.  Gary's the author of Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion , which I consider a primer on developing a constructive attitude toward using the ever-expanding universe of social tools. I'm currently reading his most recent book, Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World, which consists largely of case studies of businesses small and large that have failed or succeeded in using these tools.

Most importantly, thought, I enjoy Gary's perspective as an active entrepreneur (as opposed to the ever-present "social media expert").  This morning, he posted a YouTube video in which he was asked during an interview to offer an example where a one of his strengths is also his weakness. His answer - he likes to "scale the unscalable." It's a good lesson, and worth a minute of your time:

Blogging Every Day (and Why)

[1] On YouTube, there are a number of traditions (or challenges) variously called VED (Vlog Every Day) April, December (choose your month), in the name of promoting vlogging and individual YouTube channels.  As I'm really not creating many YouTube videos at this point, I thought I'd give BED a chance (Blogging Every Day, though sleep is always an option!), and see what happens. For now, I'll call this BEDJ - Blogging Every Day January, and see what happens from there.

Some entries will be short - others quite lengthy. At no point, however, will I create a placeholder entry just to be able to declare that I accomplished my goal. My intention is to create something interesting and readable every day during the month.

I have several objectives:

First, I'd like to revitalize my blogging activity. I've been slowly moving back toward blogging again, recognizing it as a tool to pursue my writing related goals, and let people know what I'm up to in an interesting, ongoing basis.

It's also a good central location to share videos (on the rare occasion I create them!), photos, and other social media.

This blog began as a discussion about the relationship between social media and traditional media. With the publication of my book, I'm recognizing that social media has been the primary tool and motivating factor in understanding, creating for, and reaching an audience. I hope to share what I've learned - and what I'm continuing to learn - in the days and weeks ahead.

See you tomorrow!

Storytelling, Twitter Style - The Results

I've completed my first experiment in "Twitter Storytelling," @NoWedgiesForMe, consisting of forty-one tweets between December 12th and 20th in the voice of Alexander, the protagonist in my book, "My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain."

In concept, I find the idea fascinating: telling a story in "real time," through the intimate perspective of a fictional character and the 140-character brevity of a tweet. Minimal description, combined with what is essentially a stream-of-consciousness illusion could create an engaging story.

In practice, I enjoyed the creation of forty one tweets, which told a uniquely "Alexander" story, in which his wildly active imagination led him to the conclusion that he would be the victim of a horrible prank on the last day before school was out for the holidays. His panic builds until the last hours of the last day, when he's not the recipient of a horrible prank, but a mysterious wrapped gift from his supposed enemies, and a request "not to open before Christmas." With that cliffhanger, I concluded the test.

This wasn't a wide test - @NoWedgiesForMe has only seven followers - but putting the concept into practice left with with several questions to consider:

1. How might this concept best be applied? Is this Twitter account an opportunity to tell an entirely new, ongoing story - or should it reflect the existing (and future) book more directly? 
2. What is the ultimate objective? Is this simply added-value content?
3. Should Alexander's story exist across several platforms that cross-promote - Twitter, and a blog, for example? Instagram and other platforms might also be part of Alexander's world - but naturally require a much larger investment in time and resources to create a photo record of Alexander's fictional life.
4. How can I make sure that people actually see these tweets? While the real time concept is intriguing - a Twitter feed is constantly moving. The "authenticity" of Alexander tweeting in real time probably translates into the fact that most followers would never see his tweets. Most Twitter users don't search back in their timeline too far.  Will anyone really see what Alexander tweets at 7:30 or 10 am? 

Gary Vaynerchuk, one of the most well-respected experts on the use social media (Crush It, among other titles), recently posted a opinion in favor of tweeting the same message multiple times - to make certain that users in different time zones might see the same message (i.e. a 9am tweet on the east coast is likely to be missed by someone on the west coast, so that same tweet might be repeated at 9 am Pacific time).  This would make sense in the case of @NoWedgiesForMe, but a second phase of this experiment would need to explore a new methodology in order to maintain Alexander's voice.  After all, he wouldn't have typically retweeted most of the 41 existing tweets.

I'm considering the lessons of the small, first attempt, and in the new year I'll adjust the concept and try again - stay tuned!

Have you seen a similar concept in practice?  Let me know!

Previous blogs on this topic:
Getting Real: My Protagonist Tweets!
Alexander's Tweets @NoWedgiesForMe (Update)

Alexander's Tweets @NoWedgiesForMe (Update)

Almost a week ago, I began an experiment in, for the lack of a better term, Twitter Storytelling. I've created a Twitter account [@NoWedgiesForMe] for Alexander, the central protagonist in my novel, "My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain." I know that there are numerous experiments going on that are along these lines, and I liked the idea of creating a supplementary "reality" for the universe by the book and it's upcoming follow-up. 


The big question - will people actually see these tweets? I don't usually search back on your earlier tweets - I'll read what you tweet now. Do I need to make Alexander a habitual repeat tweeter, so that people will actually see these?  Or, do I simply use the Twitter account as a basis to create updates elsewhere (here, or on the Facebook page, for example).  If a reader is more interested, then they can follow on Twitter directly.  What do you think?

The Story So Far:

As winter vacation looms, Alexander gets nervous that bullies might plan something on the last school day before the holidays...

Getting Real: My Protagonist Tweets!

One of the greatest challenges I have as an independent author is continuing to build word of mouth for my book.  For the first few months, the book is new and that, in itself, can be considered newsworthy.  As of this writing, it’s been nine months since the book first appeared in ebook form, and seven months since it was available in paperback. I’m currently writing a follow-up volume to “My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain,” but that won’t be ready for several months.

As we approach the end of the year, I’ll be initiating several new efforts to keep the book alive in the minds of readers - and, perhaps, reach new readers in the process.

The first step in that effort begins today, with the launch of a new Twitter account, @NoWedgiesForMe - tweeting in the voice of Alexander, the central character in the “Food Chain” books.  He’ll tweet about his day-to-day life, as many people do, but followers will also be able to follow an entirely new story as it unfolds day to day in “real time.” If followers choose, they can also interact with Alexander, and he’ll respond.  Alexander’s quirky personality and skewed observations of the world around him are a central highlight of the novel, and I believe he’s nicely suited for a life on Twitter. While related to the world portrayed in the novel, Alexander’s experiences on that platform will be original and independent of the original and upcoming novels.

I’m excited about experimenting with this new form of storytelling, and, like the entire process of writing and releasing a self-published book, I’ll be curious about how this approach might engage readers, and, perhaps, help build an audience.

I invite and hope for your involvement - follow Alexander @NoWedgiesForMe