Guest Blogger: Brian K. Morris Where For Art Thou, Muse?

Welcome everyone to week three of my guest blogger series. Today we have a real treat. The multi-facet, multi-versatile and multi-talented Brian K. Morris. Brian is an independent author who has written everything from Horror, to comedy to pulp heroes and more. His writing is vivid, well-constructed and highly-entertaining. If you haven’t treated yourself to some of Brian’s work (which you should) you must read his Skyman Battles the Master of Steam, and Valcana: Rebirth of the Champion, you’ll be glad you did.

So, without holding this up any longer, take it away Brian…

"O! for a muse of fire, that would ascend the brightest heaven of invention." William Shakespeare, famous playwright.

I never understood waiting for one's Muse.

Granted, I used to do just that. I recall sitting at my desk at the campus newspaper one Friday night, in my college days, as we dutifully assembled the latest weekly edition. I needed to write my usual column of unpopular opinions, but my wellspring of good ideas yielded nothing. Even my bad idea well went dry.

I did the only responsible thing a writer could do … I rested my elbows on the desk, placed my chin in my hands, and stared into the distance. It wasn't until someone came back into my office after twenty minutes to loudly announce that I'd not moved an inch since he left that I realized I needed to find and install an idea generator.

Sure, it took a while. I eventually located that generator, but I had to build it before anything else.

"Most people wait for the muse to turn up. That's terribly unreliable. I have to sit down and pursue the muse by attempting to work." – Nick Cave, musician.

The summer after I graduated from college, I met a comic book writer who was asked the Eternal Writing Question, "Where do you get all your crazy ideas?" His reply was, "Everywhere." He read newspapers, watched the evening news (yeah, before the 24-Hour News Cycle), listened to music … in short, he filled his head with ideas, facts, concepts, anything that could form the foundation of a story.

He said to select an incident in the daily news. Add the hero that would be perfect to solve the challenge, then give him/her a flaw that must be overcome to save the day. Change the genre, the setting, whatever … add your own touches, toss in some plot twists. BINGO!

From that point on, it became a matter of training my brain to LOOK for story ideas, then write them down. Soon, I had more ideas than time to write them, given I had a nine-to-five jay-oh-bee by then. However, I didn't find the time to write, I MADE the time.

And fueled with ideas, the writing came to me more quickly. I moved from working pro bono to actually getting paid for my efforts.

"Sixteen years as a freelance features journalist taught me that neither the absence of 'the Muse' nor the presence of 'the block' should be allowed to hinder the orderly progress of a book" – Jim Crace, novelist.

Eventually, I built up a sideline as a playwright, copy writer, and pop culture reporter. I figured out the ways to network and forge relationships with my interviewees, my employers, and my peers (CLUE: it's also called "making friends"). And the more I wrote, combined with my other efforts, the more I found to write about. Now, I couldn't turn off "the generator" if I wanted to, which I didn't. I was having too much fun.

The money and comp copies didn't hurt either.

"Anyone could sit and wait for inspiration. Talent was being able to conjure it up, to GET inspired." – Paul Stanley, musician and cultural icon.

Then in 2012, I made one of my few New Year's resolutions. I promised that I'd spend the year working harder on my writing career in the hopes of building that money to a point where it exceeded my primary income.

In March of that year, I was brought into my District Manager's office for a talk. He complimented me on my work ethic and my talent. However, since the company's stock underperformed on the New York Stock Exchange, twenty-seven people in the state of Illinois were going to be let go so the company gave the impression of "handling" their expenses wisely. It turned out I was one of those fated for "downsizing."

I panicked. Who could blame me? I had a mortgage, regular bills, and a wife to support.

Then it hit me … I also had a Plan B! Now I had to make the writing work. I went through all six stages of Kubler-Ross in 45 seconds, eager to leave and begin this new phase of my life. The "generator" revved up until all gauges ventured deep into the red zone.

"I'll show you the bills and you'll get inspired." Bill Aucoin, KISS' original manager.

Part of my severance package included being placed with a re-employment agency. While taking in their numerous webinars, I found one on Electronic Publishing and booked a seat for the lecture. When it ended, all I saw was the potential. No more vanity press. No more pushing your manuscript into the mail again and again until you found an agent or a publisher who's accept it. No more waiting on other people to make things happen. I became evangelical in my fervor for the current state of publishing.

To this day, I shudder to think where I'd be if I'd not attended that webinar. Now my "generator" had a place to move its output. I'd publish my own work until it got noticed by enough people that I could make a living at it.

Beginning my new occupation by releasing a book through Kindle Direct Publishing, I wrote a story using a Valiant Comics character I liked so I could plug into an established fan base. Then I wrote Santastein: The Post-Holiday Prometheus because I had a rejected 10-minute stage play that I could expand. From there, I created other, newer works. Through relentless marketing, I gained new friends in the independent writing field, both writers and editors. This led to more work and more exercise for "the generator."

Now, I'm a "hybrid" writer. I've published myself, which led to others wanting to use my work.

I still send out stories to other editors. However, if they didn't want it, I knew one publishing house who'd print anything I wrote: ME!

Has it been easy? No more than trying to pull yourself off the ground by your own hair. It's been uphill and it's still uphill to this day in many ways. The field changes constantly and there's always something new to learn.

Naturally, I wouldn't have it any other way.

I still recall that (much) younger me, sitting at my desk, literally paralyzed by an inability to devise a reason to write. I still see that person in so many people who ask me how to take that first step to becoming a paid freelance writer and I tell them what many people told me on the way to Now.

Manage your time wisely. Learn to prioritize. Remove your distractions. Work like you have 30 days to live. Make a plan of attack and reward yourself when you reach your benchmarks. Respect deadlines, yours and those of your editors. Never stop learning. Stay on top of changes to your profession. Make friends in the field because they're awesome and have much to teach you. Learn to be patient … well, as much as possible.

And build that "generator."

"You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club." – Jack London

NEVER THE END 

Brian K. Morris is an independent publisher of books and comics with his Freelance Words and now, Rising Tide Publications as well as a freelance writer, "award-winning" playwright, occasional actor, frequent convention guest and public speaker, as well as a former morticians assistant. His latest book is The HauntingScripts of Bachelors Grove and his newest comic book release is The Ghostly Tales of Spencer Spook #1, featuring the classic character from Columbia and ACE Comics.

He lives in Central Indiana with his wife, no children, no pets, and too many comic books. Follow his Rising Tide page on Facebook. He's also on Instagram and Twitter, along with his own website, RisingTide.pub.

Guest Blogger: Todd Black. How to Keep Writing When You're Just Not Feeling It

Independent comic books are more popular than ever. If you ever get a chance check out Facebook, or Twitter, or journey to a comic book con and I daresay you’ll find more choices than you would have imagined. Making the convention rounds is creator Todd Black, a graduate of DePaul University in Chicago, who is the writer of Guardians a highly entertaining superhero series and this week’s guest blogger here on Stormgate Press. He's a great guy full of energy and a damn good writer too. Take it away Todd...

When it comes to writing, you're going to hear a lot of different opinions about both how to go about it, how to format it, and what to do when you're "done", but one question I get asked a lot is, "How do you keep writing when your heart is not in it?" It's a hard question, because everyone is different. And I know how much life can bring you down when you're not expecting it. So how can you write when you feel like crap?

Personally? I feel that if you don't think you're up to it, don't write. I believe in mental health making good stories. However, if you FEEL you need to write, then do this: 1. Get everything done for the day, don't think about the writing. 2. Set a time at night, close to when you want to get ready for bed. 3. Tell yourself how long you want to write for, I suggest at least 30 minutes. 4. Write.

I know it may sound simple, but the fact is, if you're focused, you can get a LOT of writing done in 30 minutes. Plus, since you're doing it at the end of the day, you won't have to worry as much about your writing "interfering" with your daily things. Setting a time will also give you the chance to clear your mind before getting your "writing zone".

And the best part? While it's great to set yourself a "time limit", if you start to feel the flow, you can go beyond it. Case and point, I'm writing the fourth book in my Sherlock Holmes novel series, and I did a 30-minute writing period to try and get some work done on the final chapter. But as I started to write, I found myself wanting to see what would come next. By the time the feeling was gone, the chapter was done, and the book was "finished". So now, when I return to it, I'll be working on edits and revisions.

You've likely heard people say that you should "write every day!" And I'll admit, when you're riding high, you probably should so you can capitalize on what's going on. But I know that life can suck, you can get a low blow out of nowhere and feel demoralized. So when that happens, and you feel like you still want to write, just set out a little time, get everything else done, and write during that period. The rest will take care of itself.

Check out Todd Black's Guardians and visit his Facebook page and give it a like.

Guest Blogger: John C. Bruening. One Man's Roadmap

Happy Friday to all of you, and welcome to the first of what I hope will be many guest blogger posts. Over the years I have met a number of talented writers, and I’m fortunate enough to call them all friends. We writers are a unique bunch who have chosen this crazy profession because we are passionate about telling stories and entertaining through our words. 

One such writer who is passionate about storytelling is John C. Bruening, the author of Midnight Guardian: Hour of Darkness, a New Pulp adventure book set in 1936 in Union City. John's descriptive settings, and on-point dialogue has set the standard for which all New Pulp stories should be told. I believe that anyone craving a high-adventure story should treat themselves to Midnight Guardian: Hour of Darkness, I'm sure you won't be disappointed. 

I was thrilled when John agreed to be my first guest blogger, and I gave him free-range to talk about his writing procedure and give some insight to his creative process.

So, without further ado, I present John C. Bruening. 

One Man’s Roadmap

By John C. Bruening

First of all, thanks to Chuck Millhouse for inviting me to step in and contribute to his Stormgate Press blog. If you haven’t read any of the books in Chuck’s Captain Hawklin series yet, you really should check out at least one. Go ahead. I’ll wait…

Okay, having done that, you might wonder how Chuck does it – or how any other writer goes from a blank page to a complete novel. I can’t speak for Chuck’s process, and to the best of my knowledge, there is no “best way.” There are as many ways to craft a story as there are writers, and as long as the job gets done and the end product is engaging and entertaining, who’s to say what’s right or wrong?

Some writers prefer to start typing with just a fragment of an idea and see where it takes them. For these folks, building characters – and building a story around those characters – is a very organic, exploratory exercise. There’s something to be said for this approach. From beginning to end, it keeps things fresh and surprising, and the writer is continuously open to the kind of unexpected twists and turns that can make a story interesting.

I am not that writer.

Don’t get me wrong. As a writer and a reader, I like well-developed characters in a story with unexpected turns and surprises. But I’ve never been the kind of guy who’s comfortable just winging it. My great fear is that I’ll burn up precious time following paths that could potentially go nowhere. Before I even get started, I need a fairly clear sense of where it’s all going. I need a map. I need a plan.

For me, that fragment I mentioned a minute ago is the beginning of a more structured process with a couple middle steps. The fragment is the seed of an outline – a series of separate and distinct paragraphs, each one describing dialogue, action, interaction and other plot developments. Generally speaking, each of these paragraphs becomes the blueprint for each chapter of the story.

For long-form fiction, I tend to follow the classic three-act structure. Entire books have been written about this, and there are plenty of places online where you can find a good explanation of what it is and how it works. The three-act structure actually goes back thousands of years, and it has become a widely accepted guide to tell the writer what needs to happen at certain points along the way to create the tension and resolution that make a good story.

Again, I’m not suggesting this is the only way to build a story. There are others. But the three-act structure is an approach that has worked for some of the greatest storytellers, novelists, playwrights and screenwriters in history. I’m not about to question their methods or their success.

So once I have twenty or thirty (or more) paragraphs in an outline that takes the story from “Once Upon a Time…” to “The End,” I’ll start expanding on the paragraphs. This is where characters start talking and doing stuff. This is where decisions and actions and reactions and consequences start to push the story along to The End. I might take a couple brief detours along the way – because some of the coolest stuff can happen on the detour – but I can save a lot of time and avoid frustration if I keep at least one eye on my destination.

When I get to The End, I have a first draft. It’s usually a mess, with plot holes and continuity problems and a guy named Bill on page 43 whose name mysteriously changes to Steve on page 127. But it’s a first draft, and most writers agree that the first draft is the hardest part of the process.  

At this writing, I’m finishing the first draft of the second book in my Midnight Guardian series. It already looks a lot different from the outline I started with a few months ago. And I can already tell you that things will change even more by the time the final draft is completed and the book is published. But that evolution has been manageable because the map I drew at the start of the journey helped me get where I wanted to go.

This is what works for me – or at least this is what has worked for me so far. But I’ll make this point one last time because it’s so important: the process I’ve described above is just one man’s approach. I’m the last person to suggest a right way or a wrong way. For those writers who prefer to wing it, more power to you. I admire your courage to take that kind of leap.

At the end of the day, if you have a good story, it doesn’t matter how you tell it. What matters is that the story gets told.

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John C. Bruening is a fellow Ohioian and resident of Cleveland. He has been a professional writer since the 1980's working in Journalism, editing, publishing, marketing, advertising and corporate communications.

John's works can be found on his Amazon Author page and through the Flinch Books Facebook page