Year of an Indie Writer: Week 13

Well, let's call this Bat-Week, shall we?

Yeah, I know I posted four blogs last week about a 1976 four-issue run called Batman's Underworld Olympics, but this was the true Bat-Week.

The Caped  Crusader is now eighty years old, and man, if he doesn't look a day over twenty-nine. I wrote my Gen-X life with Batman and me, while I reviewed Detective Comics 1000 on Thursday.

A Podcast Worth Your Time

Not sure how many Generation Xers we have in the audience, but yesterday, I wrote a piece about one of my favorite podcasts. TechnoRetro Dads is a clean, positive ray of sunshine celebrating the glory days of our Gen-X childhood, a reminder of how good we had it back then, and how awesome we Earbuds have it today.

And they've inspired me to  eat some sugary cereal. How? Read the review.

Book Descriptions

Back in Week 9, I discussed the challenges of writing the book description of HELL DRAGON, the second Calvin Carter adventure. Well, this coming week, I'll be publishing "Amber Alert," a short crime story set in the modern day, and it's just as difficult.

But I tried something different this time, and it proved to make the process just a little bit easier.

Without thinking too hard or too long, I let my fingers fly over the keyboard and, before I knew it, I had crafted five descriptions. Each were slightly different. With each new variation, new light began to shine. I started to hone in on the best words to convey the character and the plot.

Then, I started cherry picking sentences. A bit like the technique of writing songs using cut-up pieces of paper like David Bowie or Bob Dylan.

When you write a book description and the focus is on a character, one method is to show the character as he is, present the problem, and leave with a choice that should compel the reader to keep reading. That's the format I chose for this description.

I ended up with the "As He Is" from the third, the "Problem" from the fourth, and the "Choice" also from the fourth.

Thus, we ended up with the following:

Griffin Lynne had locked away his old life and thrown away the key. He used to be an enforcer, hurting people and enjoying it. Now, he holds down an honest job as a carpenter. He rides a motorcycle, reveling in its freedom. He even found God. 

In short, Griffin's life is about as perfect as could be for an ex-con.

Until he sees the Amber Alert sign. Kidnapped child was bad. Worse, based on the license plate number, he knows the kidnapper and where to find him.

Griffin knows what he has to do. But to find the little girl, he'll have to find that old key and unlock the evil. 

But when his old life reemerges and takes hold of him, will Griffin Lynne be strong enough to hold them back?

The title of this little tale is "Amber Alert" and I'll have an excerpt later next week.

New Month. New Story

Monday starts a new month and a new quarter. I plan on completing at least one novel and one novella this quarter. It might only take me one month, but I'll allow myself at least six weeks to get those things wrapped.

What are your plans for the month of April?