Where's the Motivation?

I'm in a slump and cannot seem to find my way out of it.  I have had little or no motivation for the past several weeks to write.  Just look at the date of my last blog post...  I will wait.  Sad isn't it?

I don't know what's wrong with me.  Just before Christmas, I was writing more than ever.  I even had a paying gig.  I wasn't too excited about the topic, but I was motivated by having a paying gig.  Since then, I can't even get motivated to write my own stuff, which I love doing.  Is this some kind of mental slump or do I have the dreaded writer's block?  Is it my subconscious trying to hold me back for some reason deeper than myself?

Whatever it is, I need it to go away soon.  I want my novel to move forward so I can work on the plethora of other ideas that have been popping into my head.  I want it to be finished so I can move on to the next one, but I simply cannot get motivated to write.  Perhaps the prospect of actually finally finishing my life's project, thus far, has bogged me down.

Something's got to give somewhere.  Motivation has to be hiding somewhere in the clutter of ideas and torment.  I know where my novel is going, but I seem to be holding it back for some reason...  If anyone had any ideas or some words of motivation and wisdom, they would certainly be most welcome.

Motivation of any sort would be helpful.  Even the sick and twisted kind of motivation that Anne  provides for Paul in Misery sounds helpful right now.  I could do without the hobbling...

Let's Not Kill Anyone Shall We?

I find it rather upsetting that, every year on black friday, someone gets killed, usually at a Wal-Mart, because of senseless morons rushing into a store for some material item that will be forgotten about within a month or so.
     People are getting injured, getting into fights and even getting killed becuase they want to be the first ones in the store to 'get the deals...'
    Yes, I am going to go all cliche on everyone here: what happened to Christmas being about family and friends? Now, this sorry excuse for a society has turned Christmas into a 'keeping up with the Jones' charade where getting the right gift for someone is more important than just seeing that someone on Christmas.  Who cares about getting stuff on Christmas?  That's not what it is about.  Let's stop killing people just so you can save 50 dollars on the lowest quality electronic gadget that will be out of date before you even get it out of the store. 
    Wal-Mart and other such stores that feed into this kind of behavior should be under strict regulations.  Obviously people are going to be stupid and run around the stores like a maniac looking for the best deals, but let's try to come up with some way to control those maniacs.  Maybe put a leash on them or make someone follow them around with a taser.  Some people can just be so oblivious to their moronic behavior sometimes.
    Also, I believe that the companies making these electronic gadgets...AHEM Nintendo, that say they will no be able to have enough of the product...AHEM Wii, to meet the demands of the crazed public, should stop lying to everyone and assuming that absolutely everyone is a moron.  Granted there are quite a few morons out there.  However, we all know that there has been a warehouse slap full of nintendo Wii's since before they came out.  Obviously, you could send out more to your distributors so that these morons that don't have any self control over themselves on black friday don't kill anyone.  But, I guess that would mean you may have to wait an extra year to get that new yacht.
    So, since the money hungry, whore mongering imbecils that oversee these types of companies aren't going to do anything to help control the morons, then maybe we should try to use our common sense this year and not go crazy over some material item that has no real value in life any way.  For all of those people that are tired of seeing the senselessness of black friday get out of hand, if you happen to be out and about on friday and see one of the morons, do us all a favor and slap them in the face.  Back handed or front handed, it doesn't really matter.

   Now that my random, and probably hard to follow, ranting is over... I would like to wish everyone out there, even the morons, a Happy Thanksgiving and a safe black friday.  Let's not kill anyone shall we?

The Evolution of a Character

I started writing one of my fantasy books when I was in the 11th grade. When I was a freshman in college, I actually had a completed first draft and I felt better than ever about it.

Now, I am 26 years old and that same book has changed so much that I can't even remember how the original story played out. My writing has matured greatly since 11th grade and my characters show that. I don't fancy ever going back and reading that completed first draft from college. I know, from the parts of it that I do remember, that it is certainly laughable. It did feel great to have a complete draft in my hand, nonetheless.

One of the main things that I remember from that first failed attempt to write a book is a very insignificant character named, Matholis. Matholis from the old story was a character that all the rest of my characters were supposed to hate. I did portray that quite well. He was played off as being an annoying drunk with no sense of morality.

In a later rewrite, Matholis ended up playing a more significant role in helping the same characters that hated him in the first draft. As I dug deeper and deeper into Matholis' past, I found that there was something golden in him as a character. For some, unknown, reason I was able to flesh out this 'insignificant' character more than any other character in the book.

In another rewrite, Matholis, with a dark past, is actually the main character of part 1 of the book. He is a messenger of the gods. Before I even finished that rewrite, I knew that I needed to explore his dark past. It is a past worth telling and it is, indeed, very dark. Now, I am on chapter 13 of a novel focusing on his life from childhood all the way up to the beginning of that unfinished rewrite.

Now, the insignificant character that will, in the future, play a vital part in the main series as a whole, is living out his dark past. The drunk that nobody likes and has only a few short appearances in the very first draft of a novel, is now the most fleshed out character and the main focus of a whole new story.

I have learned that it is okay for a writer's characters to lead the way for the story. If I had tried to fight Matholis' lead on my story, I would never have created one of my finest characters and would still be stuck with that laughable first draft full of undeveloped characters.

Has anyone else had this' evolution of a character' in their writing? Certainly, I can't be the only one... Let's hear about one of your characters that took the lead in your novel.

Different Web Browsers and building your own Website

Everyone has their favorite web browser. Personally, I like to use Internet Explorer and FireFox. However, recently, I built a website for my Freelance Writing and Editing services and the several different web browsers options have been a major issue.

I'm not a master website designer, however, I am great with HTML and CSS and a little bit of JavaScript. I am self-taught in all of them and have been creating simple websites for nearly eight years now. www.dawritings.com is my first major website that I am actively trying to get traffic through and, so far, it has been going alright. However, I got a call the other day from someone who uses FireFox and found my website. Their were words and headings and pictures all over the place and overlapping each other. I created the site using Internet Explorer and checked it periodcially on Safari (thinking that most mac users would be using that).

Well, my mistake was that I didn't verify that my website was working properly on all web browsers. The potential client didn't seem too impressed by the look of my website on FireFox and I spent most of the next day fixing that error.

I could have hired someone to build my site, however, I am just starting out in the freelance writing and editing industry and have a pretty tight budget. Beside, I enjoy creating websites and was perfectly capable of creating a simple site for what I needed.

My question is this: Why can't all of the browsers just all get along? Wouldn't it be much easier if they all just interpreted the code the same? I guess that would defeat the purpose of competition though.

Has anyone else had any issue with their website on the different browsers? What browsers do you use? I have tested my site on IE, FireFox Safari. Any other major browsers out there that I should know of?

A Freelancer's Best Friend(s)?

I have been working in my home office for quite some time now and have discovered something rather interesting.

I have two dogs: Louie, a beagle; and Zeus, a yellow lab. They are the two most loyal dogs anyone could ask for. In fact, they are so loyal that they like to be at my feet 24/7; not the worse thing in the world, but sometimes annoying.

Eventually, they will crawl out from under my desk and go out in to the living room and play with each other (usually until something gets knocked over or broken) and then pass out for a good two hours (sometimes more).

However, by the end of that two (or more) hours, I am usually growing weary of something that I am working on and need a break. Somehow, they can sense that and they come into the office and check on me. It is like clockwork. They let me work for a while and then come in and remind to take a break (and that they would like to go outside for a bit.

So, while some freelancers disapprove of any kind of distraction at all throughout the entire day, I more than welcome these two furry friends in to my work day. They keep me from going crazy over a project on which I am working.

Does anyone else have 'good' distractions like this? Let me know...

ECU vs. NCSU

Everybody just calm down. I will give you a moment… Good, now that we are back to the reality that NCSU never actually had a chance at a BCS Bowl let alone a (chuckles at the ignorance) National Title, and that Russell Wilson is certainly not Heisman material and never was, we can look at this situation with a, down-to-earth kind of mentality.

NCSU is definitely a good looking football team. They were the sleeper team in the ACC and surprised the hell out of everyone at the beginning of the season. Bravo! Then came VT. Of all the monstrosities to have ever been brought into existence, VT is the worst of them all (followed very closely by UNC). NCSU should have won that game but they didn’t… We all know the story, no sense in repeating it. However, NCSU was humbled greatly and reality set in that they never actually had a real chance at doing anything special. The story goes the same way for VT, who is constantly overrated at the beginning of every season and then blows it all.

Then came ECU; apparently, “EZU” is not as bad as everyone always assumes them to be. ECU is always the underdog, no matter who they are playing and especially when they are playing NCSU, UNC, VT and the like. Then, out of nowhere, those teams who overlook them and count on them as being a automatic win are stunned by them. NCSU was the one to get it this year because, obviously, UNC and VT did not overlook them. We all know this story too: NCSU loses to ECU in overtime because of bad play calling and coaching. Even though NCSU fans decided a week before the game that they could easily score over 50 points on any NC team. Now, my friends, or enemies, NCSU has been humbled again and the fact that they never really had a shot at doing anything special and that RW is certainly not, and never was, Heisman material, has shown itself again in a dark haze of purple.

Play the loss off as “inconsequential” all you want, it is still a loss and a humbling one. Now, all of a sudden, that “easily score 50 points on any NC team” mentality is diminishing and UNC is starting to be feared, and possible wins over FSU and Clemson are slowly fading from memory like a bad dream. Tell yourself that a loss to ECU doesn't matter, you're right. It doesn't matter, until NCSU wants to go to a bowl game and ends up one win short of eligibility.

You may predict all you want, however the truth will arrive soon enough.

Patience and Amnesia for Freelancers

Freelance writing takes a lot of patience and a bit of amnesia.  You have to be patient, especially when first starting out.  That first job won't be the first one that you query or apply to.  Oftentimes you will get rejected.  That is where the amnesia comes in.  You just have to forget about the rejection and keep moving forward.  It will take a lot of querying and a lot of applying to get that first one.  With each job you get, however, it seems to get just a little bit easier to get the next.  Though it's still no walk in the park, you will become a little more comfortable with yourself and have more confidence in the work that you are trying to sell.  As a beginning freelance writer, I have this kind of mentality as I head out into the land of freelancing.  There are several tools that can help you on your way.  Websites like Elance.com make finding jobs rather simple; you just have to know the right price to quote.  They are also the sponsors of the first International Freelancer's Day (link below), which is an online conference beginning on September 24th and running through September 25th.  By signing up for this event, I have already seen six very helpful videos and am excited to see the other speakers talk about how to become a successful freelancer.  Share your freelance success stories on this blog and let other know your path to success and what kind of tools that you found helpful.