The Writing Mind

Do you ever have the experience of waking up in the middle of the night with some wild idea or are of taking a walk and some thought strikes you out of the blue? Well, after years of this happening, I began writing them down. Now I’m turning them into short stories and novels. I have a manila folder full of these thoughts and ideas. I’ll never run out of material to write about. And the best part. Who needs a therapist when you can be a writer?

Dedication Versus Compulsion

As anyone in the writing profession knows, it’s a lot of work, difficult, frustrating, lonely and disappointing. On the other hand, it can be the most rewarding and fulfilling avocation possible. As I continue on the writer’s journey, one of the aspects I struggle with is dedication versus compulsion. Here’s the dilemma. Writing requires constant diligence, focus and perseverance. I try to write every morning I don’t have meetings or am not traveling. Then there’s all the promotional aspects: Facebook, Twitter, my blog, my web site, the fourteen Yahoo email loops I belong to, speeches, book signings . . . the list can go on. I’ve been fortunate in being able to follow the advice of John Vorhaus’s character Vic Mirplo in the book Albuquerque Turkey to “procrastinate later.” My challenge is the voice in my head that says, “You need to do more.” This is the voice that says, “Write for another hour,” “Send five more query letters,” “Post more messages on Facebook,” “Call six more organizations to set up presentations.” This can be a never ending battle that consumes all day and night. So what’s the answer between sloth and hyperactivity? I feel it’s necessary to remain dedicated to my writing career, but I need to find a balance that avoids compulsiveness. I’m trying to ask myself what needs to be done? If I have a deadline, work on it to complete a commitment. Prioritize my to do list and focus on the “A” items. There is always more that can be done, but there is a time to stop, get some exercise, spend time with my wife, and read a good book. This also relates to perseverance. I sold my first short story on my 112th submission. What if I had quit at 111? Again the answer is balance. I need to keep going but pace myself. I’m currently seeking a new agent. I’ve been sending off query letters regularly. I’m not going to quit, but I’m not going to pull an all-nighter trying to send as many as I can either. The best answer I can come up with is to seek the golden mean—be dedicated without becoming compulsive.

My Life of Crime

Two days ago I was arrested six times and handcuffed five times. No, my mystery writing has not led me to a life of crime. I volunteered to be a role player for training new police officers of the Boulder Police Department. We assembled at a local park, and I received my props and took a position in one part of the park. My role was to be a disgruntled employee who had a pipe bomb. When the police officer showed up, I acted erratic and complained that I had been unjustly fired but would get back at them. Several times I had the simulated pipe bomb lying under my pack and others times it was stashed in the pack. The officers interviewed me, kept me away from my pack and once they found the pipe bomb arrested and handcuffed me. I learned several things from the trainers when they debriefed the officers in training. The police can’t open a backpack without the owner’s permission. Once permission is given, if they find something threatening they can take action. If there is an open backpack on the ground, they can look inside but can’t open it further. Once a bomb is found, the best procedure is to take the suspect away from the bomb, preferably at least three hundred feet and to remove anything from the suspect that could be a detonator such as an automobile car door opener, cell phone or even pen. Even though the suspect is unstable, the suspect would be taken to jail first, not to a mental hospital. From jail if a mental evaluation is deemed necessary, that can then be orchestrated. I was impressed with the new officers. They used a firm commanding voice to take charge but did so in a polite manner. I learned a lot and hopefully helped the new officers prepare for a situation when they encounter someone wackier than I am.

Speeches

As a kid I was introverted and painfully shy. Over the course of a business career and now being an author, I’ve come to enjoy speaking. I give talks to service organizations, retirement communities and writers groups. I recently came across a youtube video of a presentation I gave to the Denver Rotary Club titled, The Secret of Growing Older Gracefully. You can see it at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eTEdLeoaD8

Grandkids Round Two

After spending six days with our other set of grandkids, I’m now completely fluent in two-year-old-speak. I’m also an expert on fire trucks, tractors, and any other vehicle that makes noises. With our four-year-old grandson, I learned how to build airplanes, helicopters and giraffes out of TRIO building blocks. I never knew a grandfather could be so versatile. Now it really is back to writing before the launch of my third Paul Jacobson Geezer-lit mystery novel, Senior Moments Are Murder, in August.

Enjoying the Life of a Two-year-old

My wife and I spent the last week visiting and taking care of our two-year-old grandson. What a treat. I’m now an expert on animals. My grandson and I spent hours talking about animals whether on matching cards, in books, stuffed or real. I learned you don’t need to say it exactly right as long as you’re enthusiastic. Some of the translations: monkey was “buddy;” lion became “ion;” sheep, “ship;” and dog, “goggie.” After a day of learning the words, we communicated clearly. What I found interesting is the learning process. An animated cat or a photograph were identified immediately as “kitty.” I also experienced what, in a positive sense, could be considered tenacious or in a negative way be called stubborn. With a cut on his finger, “boo boo,” he constantly then wanted “car,” which was a Disney Car movie band-aid. Whenever one band-aid fell off (five minutes after attaching it), he immediately said, “boo-boo,” followed by “car.” Grandparents learn as quickly as a two-year-old, and he soon had us trained. The other thing that has changed since we raised our kids—every piece of plastic in the house spoke or sang. I’d bump into a plastic farm set and it would immediately serenade me with “Farmer in the Dell.” When we travel, I take time off from writing. Now I’m reenergized and back to my normal writing schedule. That is until our next grandkid trip.

Tags When Writing Dialogue

As a writer I’m always trying to improve my craft. One thing I’ve learned is to develop a balanced approach for using tags in dialogue. The simple and most direct is to write she said as in:
“It’s time to go to the movie,” she said.
Common practice is to use this rather than an exaggeration such as he expostulated. Dialogue can also be identified by movement or idiosyncrasies of a particular character:
“Make my day.” Sam raised his shotgun
Tags can be underused. I’m in two online critique groups, and once in a while I read a manuscript where dialogue goes on for a number of paragraphs with no tags, and I lose tract of who’s speaking. On the other hand, not every element of dialogue needs a tag. Robert B. Parker is a wonderful writer, and I enjoy his stories but listen to one of his novels as an audio book. Nearly every line of dialogue ends with he said. After fifteen minutes of listening, this grates on the nerves. As a result, I always read my manuscripts out loud on my last editing pass. There is nothing like hearing what you’ve written.