“Stories are wild creatures, the monster said. When you let them loose, who knows what havoc they might wreak?”
― Patrick Ness, A Monster Calls
In the past I've discussed my stories with friends, loved ones, and occasionally mentioned them in fleeting tweets and Facebook posts. Never before had I talked so openly about writing that includes my history with the craft - my process, my failures and successes, my thoughts - with a complete stranger.
Until last night.
Last night, for over forty minutes, I took part in my first press interview regarding Seeing (out in the spring from Winter Goose Publishing). The interviewer for the Vestal Town Crier, Darla, asked questions regarding the book (I was quite generous with a description of the story - not too generous though) and then went beyond that. We talked about my two day jobs, my previously published stories, what kinds of stories I like to write and read, and even delved a bit into my unpublished work.
Having never been interviewed before, I didn't know what to expect. In the days leading up to the interview session, I'm not afraid to admit I worried about how I would answer some questions. The last thing I wanted was to stutter and stumble over responses (to have a lot of "Umms" and "Uhs"). Most writers are better writers than they are orators, this is why, I believe, it's their chosen profession (I believe I fall into this category). In preparation, I went so far as to have notes on hand to read from if it so happened I felt my words, my train of thought escaping me. What happened, though, over the course of those forty minutes was something I didn't expect. A kind of magic. My fears alleviated.
Not once did I look at my notes. Not once did I lose my train of thought. If anything, I was able to discuss a lot of things at length and found great comfort answering the questions posed. I may have even rambled. That won't surprise a lot of those that know me, my wife included, who knows how talkative I get when good ideas strike.
Anyway, I don't want to spoil any of the interview before it hits the stands. I hope it turns out to be a very interesting article and when the time comes for it to be published, I'll post on the blog along with Twitter and Facebook where copes of The Crier can be found.
For those out of the immediate Binghamton and Vestal area, I will do what I can to get it online.
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Saturday, September 14, 2013
Being a Tease (and liking it)
"I don't need an alarm clock. My ideas wake me." Ray Bradbury
So true. My ideas also keep me up at night. It seems the best notions always arrive when my mind is relaxed with nothing else to ponder. When surrounded by the dark, enveloped in its stillness and quiet, it's so much easier to visualize the scenarios and hear the voices of my characters continuing the story from where I last left off on the page. Just so happens I'm usually warm in my bed, or somewhere far from my writing desk when the good ideas start to roll in. I try to keep some paper and a pen or pencil on or near me at all times (or, if none happen to be stuffed in my pockets or on my nightstand, the very handy Note Everything app on my phone does nicely in a jiff) just in case.
And so begins another blog post. A good time for one, actually. With the change of the season comes the change in many things not just writing related for me but also the restart of a ten month cycle that comes with working in the field of education.
Before I delve into the present, this past summer was very...mellow? Yeah, I think that about describes it perfectly. My wife and I went to Aruba (yay, Aruba!), and a week away from everything (our phones were off and left back in the states) was pure bliss. That wonderful week away was at the close of summer vacation. Back at the end of June, I finished a draft of my novel, sent it to my publisher, then took some time to recharge the batteries. The end of the school year was around that time, and instead of trying to force myself to put anything down on paper or in Microsoft Word while waiting for edits and suggestions to come back on my manuscript, I just...drifted. My summer job began and it was about two or three weeks before any of those good ideas started trickling in.
I keep a stock of blank composition notebooks at the ready for when a good idea starts to gain momentum; stretching outward, becoming a spiderweb branching off the main idea. Within a relatively short amount of time I had more than enough notes and plot points for this new idea and felt the information was stable enough to support a story. In the past I would just write whatever idea came to mind, but now (considering time and the fact that I get easily distracted if a better idea comes along), there's this whole process to my storytelling before I start an initial draft. For the current project I'm working on, it was toward the end of July when I began the first chapter, and slowly now, as the new school year has started, I'm making the turn into the home stretch. In consideration of a time frame, I'd love to put THE END on this new work before mid-October, but we'll see. I'm purposefully keeping my writing schedule light (between 500 and 1,000 words a day but not stressing over it) because I don't want to burn out, especially when any day now I could get my edits back and re-shift my focus where it's needed most.
And that, my friends, would of course be the novel.
Constantly I think about it. The release nearing, even though it's tentatively scheduled for the spring, no date set-in-stone as of yet. I daydream about the cover, about how the insides will look, the flow of the words...all of it. Every piece is important.
Figuring the latest a spring release can occur is mid-June, that allows nine months for promotions. I really try not to overdo it when it comes to putting the word out on Twitter or Facebook, especially in that, up till now, there hasn't been much of anything to push beyond my website, this blog, and my author site at Winter Goose. I find it increasingly annoying when an author uses their platform just to sell and be so obvious about it. I'm of the mind that you must (must!) mix in a good portion of yourself. It can't always be sell, sell, sell. People see right through that. I do love to promote and find interesting ways to do it, but I also love to add humor in whenever I can (take a scroll through my Twitter feed and maybe you'll find something that'll make you laugh, or at least smile, perhaps even be offended!) and just be a real person. I use Twitter and Facebook for both business and pleasure because I love using them. They are wonderful tools, especially if used correctly. In regards to promotion, I honestly believe that if people like you or, at the very least, find you interesting, they are more apt to spend some of their time in getting to know more about you, and in the case of being an author, check out your work. Not because you told them to, but because they want to.
Maybe they'll even tell their friends (wink, wink).
OK, so, like I said, I have (give-or-take) nine months. Right now is a good time to begin what's called a "teaser campaign", which, for me, is about putting the idea of the book into people's heads - teasing them, if that wasn't obvious enough. This isn't the time for full-blown plot summaries or extensive reviews with potential spoilers. This is where I keep information of the book limited to a single sentence, such as the following:
A thirteen-year-old boy seeks the truth regarding his grandfather's most miraculous story.
That's it. When someone asks, "What's your book about?", that's what I say (in some variation). Oh, and the title:
Seeing
Much like how films are promoted (bits and pieces at first, then more and more gets revealed close to the release), that's how I plan to go about getting my work out there. Maybe it's the right thing, maybe not. I do like to tease. It's fun to get reactions when people know you're holding back. It's fun to watch them get excited and want to know more about it.
Anymore, books are promoted like films. They (books) even get their own preview trailers (like this upcoming sequel to The Shining from Stephen King that you can see on YouTube). These trailers run early - months before the release - to get readers hyped up in anticipation, and, as it just so happens, this past week, a teaser was put together to announce the publication of Seeing.
When it comes to pretty much everything, I'm a simple person. In regards to promotion, I believe simplicity sells. More so than anything extravagant and/or overt. Walking past the bookshelves at Barnes and Noble and Target, I'm bombarded by covers for books that are all the same, especially in regards to YA fiction designs. For Young Adult readers, the main color featured on the covers is (usually) black. Typically there's a shot of the main character(s) on the front (usually with their back(s) to the reader, and they're peering [and sneering] over their shoulder(s) like they know you're behind them and one of them has to fart and is now annoyed they can't do it because you are watching them - why are you looking at me??? their pose asks). Occasionally, there are lightning bursts or magical fog (which goes well with their clenched fart face) surrounding them in their doom-and-gloom, woe-is-me pose. It's all the same. That's not what I imagine at all when I think of Seeing on the YA shelves.
First, if I had to choose a color for Seeing that best represents the prose within, it wouldn't be black. It'd be white. I don't need smoke, lightning, fog, or dragons. Or sneering. Or fart faces. I'll take a butterfly. Simple.
You'll see why.
The best book cover I think I have ever seen - and one that influenced my purchase without having read a single line - is the one for A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. The art, by Jim Kay, is beautiful and haunting. Much like the novel between the covers. Kay chose to only use black and white when doing the designs for Calls, providing an odd starkness to compliment the grim tale.
For the minute-and-a-half teaser (above) I used the illustrations of a wonderful artist named Christopher Lloyd Wright. His designs are simple and thought-provoking. Everything you see in the teaser has meaning, even the things that seem so mundane. But I can't say anymore. ... Except that I can't wait for you all to be able to discover what Seeing is all about.
You just have to wait. Nine more months at the most.
Again, I like to tease.
So true. My ideas also keep me up at night. It seems the best notions always arrive when my mind is relaxed with nothing else to ponder. When surrounded by the dark, enveloped in its stillness and quiet, it's so much easier to visualize the scenarios and hear the voices of my characters continuing the story from where I last left off on the page. Just so happens I'm usually warm in my bed, or somewhere far from my writing desk when the good ideas start to roll in. I try to keep some paper and a pen or pencil on or near me at all times (or, if none happen to be stuffed in my pockets or on my nightstand, the very handy Note Everything app on my phone does nicely in a jiff) just in case.
And so begins another blog post. A good time for one, actually. With the change of the season comes the change in many things not just writing related for me but also the restart of a ten month cycle that comes with working in the field of education.
Before I delve into the present, this past summer was very...mellow? Yeah, I think that about describes it perfectly. My wife and I went to Aruba (yay, Aruba!), and a week away from everything (our phones were off and left back in the states) was pure bliss. That wonderful week away was at the close of summer vacation. Back at the end of June, I finished a draft of my novel, sent it to my publisher, then took some time to recharge the batteries. The end of the school year was around that time, and instead of trying to force myself to put anything down on paper or in Microsoft Word while waiting for edits and suggestions to come back on my manuscript, I just...drifted. My summer job began and it was about two or three weeks before any of those good ideas started trickling in.
I keep a stock of blank composition notebooks at the ready for when a good idea starts to gain momentum; stretching outward, becoming a spiderweb branching off the main idea. Within a relatively short amount of time I had more than enough notes and plot points for this new idea and felt the information was stable enough to support a story. In the past I would just write whatever idea came to mind, but now (considering time and the fact that I get easily distracted if a better idea comes along), there's this whole process to my storytelling before I start an initial draft. For the current project I'm working on, it was toward the end of July when I began the first chapter, and slowly now, as the new school year has started, I'm making the turn into the home stretch. In consideration of a time frame, I'd love to put THE END on this new work before mid-October, but we'll see. I'm purposefully keeping my writing schedule light (between 500 and 1,000 words a day but not stressing over it) because I don't want to burn out, especially when any day now I could get my edits back and re-shift my focus where it's needed most.
And that, my friends, would of course be the novel.
Constantly I think about it. The release nearing, even though it's tentatively scheduled for the spring, no date set-in-stone as of yet. I daydream about the cover, about how the insides will look, the flow of the words...all of it. Every piece is important.
Figuring the latest a spring release can occur is mid-June, that allows nine months for promotions. I really try not to overdo it when it comes to putting the word out on Twitter or Facebook, especially in that, up till now, there hasn't been much of anything to push beyond my website, this blog, and my author site at Winter Goose. I find it increasingly annoying when an author uses their platform just to sell and be so obvious about it. I'm of the mind that you must (must!) mix in a good portion of yourself. It can't always be sell, sell, sell. People see right through that. I do love to promote and find interesting ways to do it, but I also love to add humor in whenever I can (take a scroll through my Twitter feed and maybe you'll find something that'll make you laugh, or at least smile, perhaps even be offended!) and just be a real person. I use Twitter and Facebook for both business and pleasure because I love using them. They are wonderful tools, especially if used correctly. In regards to promotion, I honestly believe that if people like you or, at the very least, find you interesting, they are more apt to spend some of their time in getting to know more about you, and in the case of being an author, check out your work. Not because you told them to, but because they want to.
Maybe they'll even tell their friends (wink, wink).
OK, so, like I said, I have (give-or-take) nine months. Right now is a good time to begin what's called a "teaser campaign", which, for me, is about putting the idea of the book into people's heads - teasing them, if that wasn't obvious enough. This isn't the time for full-blown plot summaries or extensive reviews with potential spoilers. This is where I keep information of the book limited to a single sentence, such as the following:
A thirteen-year-old boy seeks the truth regarding his grandfather's most miraculous story.
That's it. When someone asks, "What's your book about?", that's what I say (in some variation). Oh, and the title:
Seeing
Much like how films are promoted (bits and pieces at first, then more and more gets revealed close to the release), that's how I plan to go about getting my work out there. Maybe it's the right thing, maybe not. I do like to tease. It's fun to get reactions when people know you're holding back. It's fun to watch them get excited and want to know more about it.
Anymore, books are promoted like films. They (books) even get their own preview trailers (like this upcoming sequel to The Shining from Stephen King that you can see on YouTube). These trailers run early - months before the release - to get readers hyped up in anticipation, and, as it just so happens, this past week, a teaser was put together to announce the publication of Seeing.
When it comes to pretty much everything, I'm a simple person. In regards to promotion, I believe simplicity sells. More so than anything extravagant and/or overt. Walking past the bookshelves at Barnes and Noble and Target, I'm bombarded by covers for books that are all the same, especially in regards to YA fiction designs. For Young Adult readers, the main color featured on the covers is (usually) black. Typically there's a shot of the main character(s) on the front (usually with their back(s) to the reader, and they're peering [and sneering] over their shoulder(s) like they know you're behind them and one of them has to fart and is now annoyed they can't do it because you are watching them - why are you looking at me??? their pose asks). Occasionally, there are lightning bursts or magical fog (which goes well with their clenched fart face) surrounding them in their doom-and-gloom, woe-is-me pose. It's all the same. That's not what I imagine at all when I think of Seeing on the YA shelves.
First, if I had to choose a color for Seeing that best represents the prose within, it wouldn't be black. It'd be white. I don't need smoke, lightning, fog, or dragons. Or sneering. Or fart faces. I'll take a butterfly. Simple.
You'll see why.
The best book cover I think I have ever seen - and one that influenced my purchase without having read a single line - is the one for A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. The art, by Jim Kay, is beautiful and haunting. Much like the novel between the covers. Kay chose to only use black and white when doing the designs for Calls, providing an odd starkness to compliment the grim tale.
For the minute-and-a-half teaser (above) I used the illustrations of a wonderful artist named Christopher Lloyd Wright. His designs are simple and thought-provoking. Everything you see in the teaser has meaning, even the things that seem so mundane. But I can't say anymore. ... Except that I can't wait for you all to be able to discover what Seeing is all about.
You just have to wait. Nine more months at the most.
Again, I like to tease.
Sunday, August 11, 2013
First Draft
"Pretend you're writing on a type writer. Commit. Learn to crave the flow. Not the words." M. Night Shyamalan
It's going to take a little while for me to adjust to blogging on a regular...semi-regular basis.
As it is I'm currently residing in a place I'll simply call "inside the cracks" - a spot where my (debut) novel has been formally announced (by myself and my publisher), my website/Facebook/Twitter/blog/workout schedule have been publicized online, but, beyond that, there's not much to say at the moment. It's too early to be discussing reviews (though I've done some research), signings/visits, and all the fun/exciting/nerve-wracking stuff yet to come. I know soon enough things will pick up. I just ask that you please be patient and I'll have more to talk about when that time comes. Maybe some of it will be funny. No promises. Some of it you may also find interesting.
Also no promises.
By the way, did you seriously click the link for my workout schedule expecting to see just that??
Weird.
So, why do I not have much to say right now? Well, at this time my current draft of the novel is sitting with the publisher so I'm awaiting their edits and suggestions to begin the next round of work. In the meantime, and while I still have the freedom of summer to dedicate the time, and a loving, patient wife who is always supportive of me finding free time to write (whether it's at 5am, 2pm, or 10pm), I've started work on a new project - an adult story - and have been grinding away on a first draft.
Usually I don't say much about a story until the first draft is done. No exceptions here.
Except that it's a strange story. Very strange.
Aaannnd...I'm debating saying anything further...but...oh, all right...I can never help being a tease. The story delves into how much of a mark marriage leaves on a person. Myself being very happily married almost two years (October 22), I've discovered how married couples young and old have their own "language" - their shared habits and displays of affection that are their own. These small things define them.
OK, enough about that. You'll have to wait for the book.
I'd like to talk first drafts though.
Many writers do their first drafts (and their writing) differently. We all have our own styles. For me, I want to get through a first draft as fast as possible - while the story is still fresh and exciting in my mind. After too much time my mind will linger to the next idea (I get A LOT of ideas - have a composition notebook full of them) and then it's very difficult to stay focused on the current WIP (work in progress). Suffice to say, on this current project, I've made a lot of headway in a short amount of time (my shorter summer work hours have assisted here) and should have a first draft finished by the end of September.
Side note: My dream would be to release alternate YA and adult novels.
Okay. Back now.
Recently, on Twitter, I came across this tweet, from @JEdwardPaul:
My first drafts are merely skeletons, hollow and weightless, that need the flesh of editing to come alive.
I love that. Because, for me, it's true. My initial drafts are sparse on details as I shape the story. Then they gain muscle, and usually a lot of fat. Then I try to find a good middle ground/happy medium through subsequent drafts, so I cut, and add, and trim, and binge until it feels like the right, healthy combination.
Just like with this blog.
On that note - more soon everybody!
It's going to take a little while for me to adjust to blogging on a regular...semi-regular basis.
As it is I'm currently residing in a place I'll simply call "inside the cracks" - a spot where my (debut) novel has been formally announced (by myself and my publisher), my website/Facebook/Twitter/blog/workout schedule have been publicized online, but, beyond that, there's not much to say at the moment. It's too early to be discussing reviews (though I've done some research), signings/visits, and all the fun/exciting/nerve-wracking stuff yet to come. I know soon enough things will pick up. I just ask that you please be patient and I'll have more to talk about when that time comes. Maybe some of it will be funny. No promises. Some of it you may also find interesting.
Also no promises.
By the way, did you seriously click the link for my workout schedule expecting to see just that??
Weird.
So, why do I not have much to say right now? Well, at this time my current draft of the novel is sitting with the publisher so I'm awaiting their edits and suggestions to begin the next round of work. In the meantime, and while I still have the freedom of summer to dedicate the time, and a loving, patient wife who is always supportive of me finding free time to write (whether it's at 5am, 2pm, or 10pm), I've started work on a new project - an adult story - and have been grinding away on a first draft.
Usually I don't say much about a story until the first draft is done. No exceptions here.
Except that it's a strange story. Very strange.
Aaannnd...I'm debating saying anything further...but...oh, all right...I can never help being a tease. The story delves into how much of a mark marriage leaves on a person. Myself being very happily married almost two years (October 22), I've discovered how married couples young and old have their own "language" - their shared habits and displays of affection that are their own. These small things define them.
OK, enough about that. You'll have to wait for the book.
I'd like to talk first drafts though.
Many writers do their first drafts (and their writing) differently. We all have our own styles. For me, I want to get through a first draft as fast as possible - while the story is still fresh and exciting in my mind. After too much time my mind will linger to the next idea (I get A LOT of ideas - have a composition notebook full of them) and then it's very difficult to stay focused on the current WIP (work in progress). Suffice to say, on this current project, I've made a lot of headway in a short amount of time (my shorter summer work hours have assisted here) and should have a first draft finished by the end of September.
Side note: My dream would be to release alternate YA and adult novels.
Okay. Back now.
Recently, on Twitter, I came across this tweet, from @JEdwardPaul:
My first drafts are merely skeletons, hollow and weightless, that need the flesh of editing to come alive.
I love that. Because, for me, it's true. My initial drafts are sparse on details as I shape the story. Then they gain muscle, and usually a lot of fat. Then I try to find a good middle ground/happy medium through subsequent drafts, so I cut, and add, and trim, and binge until it feels like the right, healthy combination.
Just like with this blog.
On that note - more soon everybody!
Sunday, July 28, 2013
My Debut Novel
"The scariest moment is always just before you start." Stephen King
Hello there! Let me welcome you, once again, to my website. At the best of times I'll try to keep things moving along and updated regularly (I'm not much of a blogger so we'll see how well I do). What you'll find on my site currently is a front page with all the news, a bio page, another page regarding what published fiction I have out there for you to get your hands on, and a Visitors page that's, well, all for those who visit my site. Naturally. I should mention I'm a bit of a tinker, and like to adjust things from time to time, so if something about my site looks a little different from your previous visit it's just me trying to perfect it.
With that bit of welcoming and introduction out of the way, I am quite excited to announce my debut novel will be published in the spring of 2014 by the wonderful people at Winter Goose Publishing.
My focus for the website right now is to journal the events leading up to the publication of the book and everything that happens after. Sound good? Good.
So a little about the book then? All right, here it is...
Seeing, a novel for both adults and young adults, is about a thirteen-year-old boy who seeks to find the truth behind his grandfather's most miraculous story. The book, when released, will be available in both print and e-book formats.
More features and pages are being planned for my website (www.josephfalank.com) in accordance with the book being published so visit often to see what's new. Like I said, some things may look a little different with each visit as I'm getting the feel for this and may be trying new things out. I'll try my best to lock it down.
Also, I have an Author page up at Winter Goose's site. Check it out! They were very kind to edit down my bio into something less rambling and much more concise than what I had given them.
And also, I wouldn't be doing this introduction justice if I didn't throw out (or up) the links to where I can be found in the world of social media.
My Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/joe.falank
My Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/JosephFalank
Well, I guess from here we just have to wait and see where all of this goes. Glad to have you along for the ride.
- Joe
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