CHARLES IS CURRENTLY WRITING: ORIGIN EXODUS BOOK III OF THE ORIGIN TRILOGY...

CURRENT STATUS 40%

Friday, August 27, 2021

The Fight to Win World War II will be Fought… in Space.

 NOW ON SALE!! The Doomsday Blitzkrieg

An adventure from the Greatest Generation


The fight to end the war starts with D-Day across enemy lines deep in the Austrian Alps. 

When the crew of the Flying Rebel fights for the freedom of the world, they battle unimaginable odds, horrifying evil, and the supreme technology of project Aries of the Third Reich. 

Little do they know however that their mission will take them beyond the confines of the planet Earth and to the stars. There they will form a bond with beings from another world. Establishing an alliance that is spawned from the treachery of Oberführer Dominic Hydron. 

A madman hell bent on overthrowing Adolf Hitler and laying claim to the Nazi war machine with designs of world domination and to be the emperor of all mankind under a Fourth Reich with the Aryan race in complete control. The battle rages on in the moon base of Lazarus. An adventure that will shape the destiny of all mankind and will change the world forever!

With 2 great covers…

Saturday, August 14, 2021

Show, Don't Tell

I left this post over on my FB group:

WRITING TIP 101

- If your character has to tell the reader who they are, you’ve lost the reader.
- Show who the characters are through actions. If handled correctly your reader will know them, and by doing so will draw them further into the story.

I thought I would embellish a little on this, and the reason I left that post.


I went to go see Jungle Cruise with Dwayne Johnson, and Emily Blunt. It was a roaring romp adventure yarn set during the First World War with a lot of action, and some pretty decent dialogue. I felt that Blunt's character, a plucky woman out to find a tree of life to help better mankind was solid, but the character, Lily Houghton was, what has been coined today as a "Mary Sue". She could do no wrong and everything she touched went her way. Since Miss Blunt is a damn fine actor I overlooked it, her chemistry with the Rock was fun and they made a pretty good duo.

On their adventure up the Amazon, Lily brought with her, her brother MacGregor Houghton. He was sort of comic relief, who brought extra luggage into the Amazon with him filled with extra clothes, foods, perfumes and the such. His performance was good, and by the way he portrayed the character, it didn't take much for me to understand he was a bit fairer than most men and it told me all I needed to know about MacGregor. But when he "came out" to Johnson's, Frank Wolff, the writer dropped the ball. Telling your viewer, or reader what the character is, in this case gay, you took me out of the story.

NOW. Before you start, I'm not homophobic. The character being gay isn't the point. How the writer had to take the time for him to say it rather than let the actions of the character tell me. That one scene destroyed the character for me in some degree.

As a writer it is your duty to draw the reader into your story. If you have to tell me your character is a chronic liar or a womanizer, or is afraid of his own shadow, or gay, you've dropped the ball in your storytelling. Who your character is, should be seen through their actions, not coming right out and saying, "I can't stop stealing, I'm a kleptomaniac." Show me why he or she is like that. some call it deep POV, I just call it, mastery of your art and it's something I try to do. Sometimes I succeed, and sometimes I fail, but I am aware of it in the back of my head. You'll hear this a lot as a writer "Show, don't tell."

As for Jungle Cruise, it's a fun movie, not great, but entertaining, and if you get a chance chesk it out.


Charles F. Millhouse is an independent writer and publisher. He has written 25 books in the science-fiction, action & adventure genres. His newest book: Captain Hawklin and the Invisible Enemy is the 9th book in the New Pulp adventure series. Find your copy 
HERE 


Sunday, August 8, 2021

Smacked by the Wall.

You know there are times when a writer hits a wall. You ask yourself a question: "Is this the best I'm ever going to be? Is there no more from me?" Writing can be a lonely place. Your friends and family can't even begin to understand what you're going through. As a writer, you pour your blood and sweat into the project you're working on with the little hope someone will find it and embrace it as much as you. An independent author thrives on input from their readers, and when that doesn't come to them it sends them down this path of darkness, and into the dark forest of despair. 

The reason I'm writing this, is I've hit a wall. (like all writers do from time to time). I have so many things I want to accomplish not just in writing, but in promoting, generating readers, and finding outlets for my work. You realize there is only so much you can do, only so much time that you have and you need to prioritize what the most important thing is.

For me, the number one goal is writing. Without fresh product, people will forget about you. You can promote all the time, but if you're promoting the same thing again and again readers will get bored because they've seen it already. So, make sure writing a new project, (novel, short story, whatever) is at the top of your list, and get it published.

Promoting is another thing that is important. In a fantasy world you can promote everyday, but in the real world, it's just not possible. Pick one or two days and call them promoting days. I'm really bad about this. I usually pick Sundays to work on promoting. Either a new show appearance, or my new book, or something as simple as a blogpost, like this one.

New ideas. Come up with new ideas as often as you can for getting your brand out there. this can be something as simple as creating a QR code, so people can scan it and be taken to your webpage of links. Or, you could create a new bookmark, or business card. 

Sometimes new ideas can get a little expensive, so decide which is the most important thing for you with a new idea, rather it be a big book show to set up at, creating an audiobook, or deciding on maybe the money could be used elsewhere. Everytime you come up with a new idea, it might may not work for you, but if you don't try, you'll never know. A friend of mine says "throw it at the wall and see what sticks."

Hitting a wall can be hard, especially when you try to take on too many things at once. Figure out what words for you. FOR ME it was writing this post. It hasn't eased my mind with decisions I need to make when it comes to my writing career, but it has helped putting some thoughts down. I should do more of this.

Maybe putting more of my thoughts out there, might help you, and if you feel like you'd like to comment on any of my posts, you might help me too.

Have a good one friends. 


Charles F. Millhouse is an independent writer and publisher. He has written 25 books in the science-fiction, action & adventure genres. His newest book: Captain Hawklin and the Invisible Enemy is the 9th book in the New Pulp adventure series. Find your copy HERE 

Find links to his social media and more 


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