Photo: Courtesy of Flickr / Creative Commons

There’s this invisible threshold we need to cross, either put there by ourselves or by what others define “a writer” as.

And a lot of times that threshold is ever-changing:

• “You’re not a writer until you finish a book.”
• “You’re not a writer until you’ve sold your first piece of writing.”
• “You’re not a writer until you make a living at it.”

I’ve believed all of those at one time or another.

mid 1980s

I’m in high school, writing feverishly in my notebook during classes, attempting to give meaning to an otherwise meaningless existence. I’m writing my heart out, attempting to build worlds and hoping someday someone will give a damn about them. Am I a writer yet?

The 90s

I’m working the graveyard shift at a gas station. A job so mind-numbingly boring, I could do it in my sleep. I’m writing. A lot. I’m anonymous, though. People look at me and treat me like I’m an idiot in an idiot’s job. I’m so much more than I seem. But am I a writer yet?

Early 2000s

I’m a bookkeeper and eventually a credit manager, a job which actually requires some skills and is quite stressful. The pay isn’t great, but it’s the best I’ve made. The only writing I’m doing is in a comic strip, which is seeing some small success on the web. I’m not writing fiction, though. And it hurts. I’ve traded the dream of writing fiction for the immediacy of accolades from a growing audience of my comics. Am I a writer yet?

Mid 2000s

I’m finally making a living writing! I’m working at a newspaper. I’m writing. A lot. Thousands of words per week, and I’m actually making a difference in my community in some small way. People compliment me, people insult me, and some even say they were moved. But I’m still not writing the fiction I yearn to write. Who has time when you’re working on a staff that is dwindling by the day? Am I a writer yet?

Late 2000s

The paper closed down. I’m blogging now, doing some freelance stuff, and ghostwriting for others. I dream of writing books again, yet I don’t have the time. Am I a writer yet?

2011

Together with my writing partner, Sean Platt, I co-wrote the vampire thriller Available Darkness, the post-apocalyptic serialized thriller Yesterday’s Gone, and just released a book of dark fiction short stories called Dark Crossings. We had the Number One Free Horror novel on Amazon for the first week of November. And in the past three months, we’ve sold a lot of books and received rave reviews. For the first time ever, my writing dreams seem like a reality.

Am I a writer yet?

The truth is, I’ve always been a writer. As long as I’ve kept moving the pen (and striking the keys), whether for myself or for an audience, I’ve been a writer.

Even after all this, I’m sure there some who would say I’m not yet a writer. I’ve not been signed to a book deal. I’ve not had a bestseller. I’m not a household name. Some people still view self-publishing as a “vanity thing” and demean it and take shots whenever they can, even though some of the biggest success stories in writing last year came from indie writers who are re-shaping publishing.

But I don’t write so someone else will consider me a writer.

I write for me. I write for my family. I write for you.

I am a writer. It’s what I do, whether I have an audience or not.

Am I a writer yet?

I knew I was a writer the minute I was too busy writing to consider the question.

* * * *

(Note: I’d like to thank all of you who have followed BloggerDad, despite my horrible attendance last year. I wrote more words in 2011 than ever. And yet, somehow I only wrote 26 posts here. Truth is, I had to take some time away to focus on my fiction. And I’m thrilled with where it’s at and where it’s going, as I mentioned in the post. Which means now I can come back here and write more often. I’ll be updating BloggerDad TWICE A WEEK in 2012. Thank you for your patience.)

* * * *

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Content is copyright 2012 BloggerDad.com. If you are reading this on any site other than www.Bloggerdad.com or your personal RSS reader, then you may be reading it on a site which steals content. And would you trust a site like that?

Yes, I used to watch soap operas.

There, I admitted it. All the guys in the room can point and laugh. The ladies, well, given the state of soaps today, you might be laughing, too.

I didn’t like soaps for the romance, the sleeping around, or betrayals. No, I watched for the adventure. Shows like Days of Our Lives, General Hospital, and my favorite, Santa Barbara, had some thrilling storylines. Murder, intrigue, mystery, and sometimes even supernatural (which was awesome when done well) stuff.

I’d always loved the serialized format — shows, comic books, or fiction with a jaw-dropping cliffhanger ending. But not many TV shows were doing that sorta thing back then. Except soaps.

MY OWN “SOAPS”

So, from 7th grade through high school, I used to fill spiral notebooks full of ongoing serials of my adventurous soap. It was awesome. It had an undercover cop, a billionaire evil dude, and all sorts of labyrinthine plot twists. It was awesome, even if I only showed a couple of of close friends.

These ongoing stories in my head were pretty much my only escape from a miserable, almost friendless existence. I loved thinking of cool new twists to throw into my heroes’ journeys. The only thing more exciting would’ve been if I was entertaining actual readers.

I wanted to show my stories to some more people, expand my readership if you will. But at the same time, I didn’t want to pass around some story that seemed like a soap opera on paper. I was already not the most masculine of guys. This would’ve put an even bigger target on my back.

Since I was also writing horror stories, I decided to try something new — add a serial element to my scary stuff.

And it was my first taste of having readers, even if it was just a few people digging the stuff I was writing. For a kid who tried to fly under the radar, and NOT stick out, this was a huge leap of faith to show other people (beyond my best friends) my writing.

And when they responded well, it was the most awesome feeling ever.

There was nothing more cooler than having people ask, “What’s gonna happen next?” or “Why did you end it like that?!”

For someone with few friends, little athletic ability, and no discernible talents that impressed anyone, this was nothing less than life changing. I was finally accepted (and appreciated) for something I did.

RESURRECTING THE SERIAL

After school, I kept writing, but I kept most of it to myself. I no longer had, or sought, an audience. And until 2005, when I get a job writing at a small newspaper, I thought I might not ever realize my dream of writing fiction.

Then, in 2008, I met my writing and business partner, Sean Platt, and we decided to try co-writing an old story idea I had in serial form (Available Darkness). Time constraints, the scope of the book, and the format (we tried blogging it) made serialization difficult and unnatural, though. So we scrapped the serial idea and just wrote the book (which came out in August.)

A few months ago, we got to talking about wanting to do something new for the Kindle audience. We knew we wanted to do a series, and had a few story seeds we’d been watering over the years. But then we had another idea.

What if we did a whole new series, from scratch, and in serial form?

Sean and I are huge fans of serialized drama. Our two favorite shows are LOST and The Wire, the gold standards by which all serialized drama should be judged.

What if we wrote our own serialized show? But in book form?

We’d write 100 page books (or “episodes” as we’re calling them), each of them with a killer cliffhanger ending. We’d start with a cool premise — what would happen if everyone else on the planet vanished all at once? Not a rapture “Left Behind” sort of book (which I’d never read), but something altogether different.

The format seemed PERFECTLY built for Amazon, and as far as I know, nobody else is doing this sort of thing on this sort of release schedule (though I could be wrong.)

Sean and I began to plan, plot, and hatch our schemes of six-episode seasons. Episodes would be published every three weeks at Amazon.

We kicked off with the first episode of Yesterday’s Gone a few weeks ago. And now, we’re thrilled to announce Episode Two.

If you like serialized shows, serialized books like Stephen King’s The Green Mile, or ever stayed home sick from school just to catch an episode of your favorite soap, I’d love you to check out Yesterday’s Gone. It is a character-driven series with tons of thrills, chills, and mysteries to unravel. And we’re aiming to make each ending a cliffhanger worthy of our favorite shows.

You can buy current season episodes for .99 cents at Amazon or at Smashwords (where you can download it in just about any format for any type of reader you have.) We’ll have versions available at other retailers such as Barnes and Noble and Apple soon.

So please download a sample today, and if you like it, buy it. If you love it, please leave a review where you bought it, review it on your blog, mention it on Facebook or Twitter, or tell a friend. Just like TV shows need viewers to survive, we need readers to check us out.

The more people we can get reading, the more time we can invest in bringing this series to life. With a bit of luck and support, maybe we’ll last several seasons! Or who knows, perhaps it will become a proper TV show?

Click any of the links below:

Yesterday’s Gone Episode 1 at Amazon

Yesterday’s Gone Episode 2 at Amazon

Yesterday’s Gone Episode 1 at Smashwords  (2 is coming to Smashwords later this week)

I’ve been holed away finishing the first Available Darkness book, which I co-wrote with Sean Platt.

We started the vampire thriller as an online serial back in 2009 over at Collective Inkwell. Each week, a new chapter, always “to be continued…” We loved the concept of serializing the story, even if reading a book online is a bit of a chore.

While a handful of readers followed faithfully along with each week’s new installments, most people emailed us asking the same thing – when would the book be available in print? Recently, the question has been, when will there be a Kindle version? Even my friend, Lisa, who loves everything I write, said, “I’ll wait for the print version.”

I get it. Fact is, I hate reading books online, too.

The original plan was to publish it online, then edit it, then print it in book form. However, our plan was derailed a bit in 2010 when business picked up and we were writing for everyone but ourselves.

So we put Available Darkness on hiatus indefinitely.

It was a tough decision, as we didn’t want to leave our readers hanging. But it was also an easy decision, because we were busier than ever with paid work. We’d worked hard to get to that point with our ghostwriting business, so we weren’t about to abandon what got us there.

We promised ourselves (and each other) to get back to writing Available Darkness when time allowed.

While our book sat in purgatory, undone and abandoned, a funny thing happened. New readers started to discover it …

even though we weren’t promoting Available Darkness.

Even though we hardly ever wrote about it.

People were finding it by word of mouth, or running through our archives. And we got more email, this time from new readers asking where the rest of the story was. When would we finish it?

To be honest, I wasn’t sure when we’d finish it. Or even if.

I had wanted to get back to John, Abigail, and Caleb. But then I always got busy again.

Then something interesting happened. Friend and partner, Lori R. Taylor read the first half of the book and convinced Sean and I that we HAD to get back to this book. She loved it and wanted to see the rest. Lori has a contagious sort of personality which can get you excited about something. She’s a natural born speaker, leader, and great sales person, and … she sold us on our own book.

And the time has never been better for writers.

Self-published authors were suddenly finding amazing success at Amazon selling eBooks. Amazon has revolutionized the publishing industry, allowing unknown authors to compete with mainstream successes. When you’re an indie author printing your own books, it’s hard to make a living at it. You won’t get good pricing, so you have to price print books higher than big publishers can sell theirs for. Then there’s the matter of getting the book into a store as shelf space seems to be ever-decreasing. And then you’ve got to deal with bookstores returning books. And profits can quickly fade away.

However, eBooks allow anyone to sell their books without having to jump through hoops or compete for shelf space. And writers can sell books at their own prices, which is great because while our print book will have to be higher than I’d like, anyone can afford to buy our eBooks.

And if there’s one thing I want, it’s to make our stories available to as many people as possible at as low a price as I can.

Back Into Darkness

So, a few months ago, we jumped back into the world of Available Darkness, re-reading it from the beginning, going through the notes I’d originally made when mapping it out, and changing a few minor things (such as the suggested name change of John – too many J’s – to Caleb). And two things struck me while going through the book. One, how much I missed the characters in it, characters that have been in my head for more than 20 years. And second, how damned good the book is!

And I’m thrilled to say that Sean and I are finally done with it, and it’s in the printing process!

Available Darkness will be published in eBook (at a very reasonable price) AND print. I’m waiting for the proofs now, but the book should be for sale within a couple of weeks. And while Sean and I have worked on a million things together since we first hooked up, this is our first story as a team. And I can’t wait to have it in my hands!

And for those of you who were reading it online, we’ll still post the entire thing for free on the web, so we don’t leave you hanging any longer. We’re also planning to release the second book of the trilogy next year. And next time, we’ll wait until the whole thing is done before posting Chapter One on the web!

Anyway, that’s what I’ve been doing. And I’m thrilled to get back home to Blogger Dad and look forward to posting much more regularly. Now that I have some time.

Here’s a look at the cover.

**

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Content is copyright 2011 BloggerDad.com. If you are reading this on any site other than www.Bloggerdad.com or your personal RSS reader, then you may be reading it on a site which steals content. And would you trust a site like that?

“Freeze this moment a little bit longer; make each sensation a little bit stronger.” -Time Stand Still by Rush

You might have noticed (or maybe you didn’t, but I’d like to think you did) that I haven’t been around for the past month. I’ve been having a bit of a minor mental breakdown. You see, in one week, I’m going to be Officially Old. Not official like in Logan’s Run, where the government kills people once they reach a certain age. See, a Logan’s Run reference – proof of my oldness! And I’ve not been dealing well with it. But official by Seven-Year-Old Me’s standards.

The Big 4-0 is creeping up on me with all the stealth of an atom bomb, and I can’t help but wonder, what the hell happened?

I’m barely ready to face my 30’s gracefully, and here I am knocking on 40’s door. I’m not saying that all my readers who are over 40 are old – but just that I’m not ready to be 40!

When I was seven, I used to think how incredibly ancient 40-year-olds seemed. I figured by the time I was 40, I’d have written 10 books, I’d have a family, would have my life figured out, and most importantly, I’d be flitting around in one of those Jetson’s flying cars.

Somehow, through some kind of dumb luck and not at all due to my charms, I managed to have a family. But, I’m no closer to having life figured out. Nor do I have 10 books written, though I have half of one book I’m co-writing in progress and a book of my comics published (which is all kinds of cool in itself). And as for the Jetson’s car? Well, that part’s not my fault.

Long story short, I’m facing 40 as I faced 30 – full of regret for a life not lived.

But, unlike age 30, I am no longer crippled by the same fears I once had. And I actually believe in myself a bit more than I did. I’ve actually done some incredible things this decade, things I would’ve never thought possible from where I was at age 29. And the regrets don’t sting as much when I’m actually moving toward something.

It with those mixed feelings of regret and blossoming confidence that I told myself I would have a book done by the time I turn 40. So, last week, I started it. Yes, I’m writing a book in two weeks, so take that, Na-No-Wri-Mo!

To be fair, the book is being co-written by my partner, Sean Platt (who has also been absent from his site, surely further advancing rumors that he and I are the same person) and I. However, unlike Available Darkness (which isn’t dead – just on hold) we aren’t writing it together chapter-by-chapter. I am writing the whole thing then passing it to him for him to work on. So, technically, I am writing a book. In two weeks.

The story began with an idea he’d been storing in his Vault of a Million Ideas.

Sean pitched it to me a few months ago about something we could someday work on. However, something about the story resonated with me long after our discussion. I suggested some changes which really made it the best of both our ideas – a truly magical idea that I don’t think either one of us would’ve written solo.

The story is different from my normal fiction. For one, it’s geared towards fifth or sixth graders. Second, it’s humorous. But where the story really shines is the relationships between fathers and sons. It has something serious to say, something that adults can also enjoy.

I’d love to tell you more, but I’ve got a book to get back to. I’m not getting any younger, you know.

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Content is copyright 2010 BloggerDad.com. If you are reading this on any site other than www.Bloggerdad.com or your personal RSS reader, then you may be reading it on a site which steals content. And would you trust a site like that?

If so, you MUST check out this new site launched last week by Shane Arthur – Editor to the Web’s Stars, Sean Platt – Ghostwriter to the stars and myself, poopie cleaner to a future star. The site is called Creative Copy Challenge and the concept is simple – we post 10 words and you write something short which ties them all together.

For instance, the most recent post contained the following words:

1. Winnie the Pooh
2. Prior work history
3. Bathroom
4. Song
5. Head-shot
6. Authorities
7. Lawsuits
8. Propaganda
9. Twitter
10. Orange Juice

How would you tie these words together? How did other writers? Check it out.

This exercise is not only helpful but lots of fun to read what other people come up with. No matter what your experience level, you’re sure to have some fun, so come and check us out and tell some friends, eh?

A Christmas Followup

Some of you have emailed me to ask how the Christmas Coupon thing went over. Was I able to come up with 41 things my wife will like (I know, I originally wrote 40, but it was, in fact, 41)? How about 41 good items? Find out on Wednesday.

Like this post? Please consider tweeting it and telling others about it.

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Content is copyright 2009 BloggerDad.com. If you are reading this on any site other than www.Bloggerdad.com or your personal RSS reader, then you may be reading it on a site which steals content. And a site like that is probably up to all kinds of no good.

From time to time here at BloggerDad, I’ve talked a bit about creativity. Whether it be my comics or my fiction writing, I’ve enjoyed the conversations in the comments section and emails with you.

However, this isn’t the ideal forum to talk about creativity or showcase my various work. This site is a primarily a parenting blog and a humor blog and it feels a bit self indulgent to go on about subjects some readers may not be interested in.

So, on Monday, Writer Dad Sean Platt and I are launching a blog devoted to not only our work, but also to the creative process. It’s called Collective Inkwell and it goes live on Monday.

I’ve always been drawn to creative people and learning more about their crafts – whether it be the drawing techniques of my favorite artists, writing advice from quality fiction writers or the way photographers create the perfect shot. And also, how bloggers create quality posts which make you think, laugh, cry or get under your skin.

When I started this site last summer, I didn’t know a whole lot about what goes into making a blog. I’ve since read lots of blogging advice – some of it good, some of it not so good. There are no shortage of sites with this information.

I want to contribute to the blogging landscape in a slightly different way.

I want to talk to creative people about what makes their work tick and what inspires them. I want to learn more about the people behind their blogs and I want to discuss ideas and practical techniques which will make your writing, and your blog better.  We’re also going to talk to people in other arts because inspiration can come from anywhere – why limit your sources to only bloggers?

Sean and I have been working behind the scenes on Collective Inkwell for several months. It’s kept me pretty busy and I thank you all for your patience for my lack of comments on this site and on those that I follow.

As for Blogger Dad, this site isn’t going anywhere. I’ll keep updating with stories about my son, why women make horrible shoppers, juvenile drawings of rejected children’s books, and of course, tales of my woeful attempts at being handy for as long as you care to read them.

I look forward to seeing you Monday here and at our new home, Collective Inkwell.

as always, thank you for reading,

david

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Content is copyright 2009 BloggerDad.com. If you are reading this on any site other than www.Bloggerdad.com or your personal RSS reader, then you may be reading it on a site which steals content. And a site like that is probably up to all kinds of no good.

So here’s a comic instead. If you like it, feel free to tweet it.

Site changes

I took down the winter header on my site and put up a new one. I’m still tweaking the site, but I’d love to hear what you think of the new header.

Four Seasons delivers!

If you’re not a member of Writer Dad’s (Sean Platt) mailing list, then you are missing one of the best short stories I’ve ever read. Sean is sending out short stories each month which are part of a bigger overall piece called Four Seasons. Each story is named after a different month. February is absolutely magical! He sent me a sneak peek last night and I was blown away by its subtle beauty and inspirational energy which stirs the soul.

If you haven’t already signed up, it’s free to do. Check out his post today to learn more.

Speaking of stories…

Sal at Everyday Thoughts is doing an Endless Story where he started a story and his readers are continuing it in the comment section. I wrote a piece of it last night and love the story taking shape. Check it out and help write the story!

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Content is copyright 2009 BloggerDad.com. If you are reading this on any site other than www.Bloggerdad.com or your personal RSS reader, then you may be reading it on a site which steals content. And would you trust a site like that?

Sarah McLachlan – Building a Mystery

(Note:you can read part one of this post here)

So there I was with my weathered brown expanding file folder full of story seeds.

It had been 14 years since I set foot in my story garden. Weeds and thick roots twisted underfoot while many of the trees had grown wild blotting out the sky. Still other trees were merely skeletal remains of what had been. With a bit of time and care, I could nourish this garden back to life.

The folder contains four stories immediately worthy of taking root and several saplings which could someday be something beautiful.

I’d love to guide you through the garden and point out the flora, but it‘s not quite ready. There is much work to be done, new seeds to plant. And to be honest, telling you about these stories would take away from the thrill of bringing them to fruition.

There is one story, I’m ready to talk about, though. It’s a vampire story, of sorts. A man wakes up naked, bloodied and left for dead inside a coffin. Oh yeah, he has no memory of anything prior to waking up.

Suddenly, the idea sprouted wings.

Who is this man? Who left him for dead? What happened to him? What was going to happen? I spent nearly three years on his tale and the story took many surprising turns and twists as it revealed itself to me.

Like the title of the song in the opening quote, I was building a mystery. Actually, I was building a vampire-like mythology. A far reaching tale unlike the standard vampire fare. One that will stretch across several novels (though I envisioned the story more as a television series when I started).

The only problem with the story is that I haven’t had the proper time to devote to it. I’ve been writing another book, working on this blog and working on my comics. I have more ideas than time. I was going to let it sit in the garden a while longer. But then something happened.

I met the perfect writing partner.

While I consider myself fairly humble, and definitely see the shortcomings in my own work, I do have an artist’s ego. I have a story to tell and I don’t want another artist tinkering with it.

As I mentioned before, Sean Platt and I have worked on a few things together in recent months. In our standard working arrangement, he handles the writing and I handle the graphics. During the past few months, we’ve collaborated increasingly more on writing – checking and sometimes editing each other’s work and offering suggestions. Our strengths and weaknesses seem to compliment each other perfectly.

On Halloween, we had our first true writing collaboration. It was an awesome experience. Together, we came up with something better than the sum of the parts. One day we got to talking about serialized fiction and how much we enjoyed reading it back in the day.

I’d always wanted to present something in the format. Sean was equally excited by the prospect. That’s when I thought about the folder – I had a perfect story waiting in the garden.

I sent Sean the first mini-chapter of my vampire story. It was a rough, ROUGH edit. Something I wrote late at night just to get the ball rolling. When I woke the next morning, Sean had turned my rough draft into polished prose.

And it gave me chills!

My first instinct was, damn, he wrote this better than I did. A bit of artistic jealousy flared up, I’ll admit. But that feeling subsided quickly because it’s Sean, someone I’ve come to know, like, trust and respect during the past few months.

It’s a good working relationship – the kind I never imagined just prior to my starting Blogger Dad.

More importantly, he gets the story, gets what I am trying to do, and is reading it as I provide the chapters – first as a reader, then as a writer before working his own magic. And it is magic, as this story might not have seen the light of dawn for several more years if I hadn’t met someone who I trust as much as Sean to help me bring it to life.

We’ll be bringing you to the garden in February when we present the as-yet-untitled story in serialized form.

This is a working draft, a taste of what is to come…

His body tensed from a sudden sound.  He pulled himself upright and peered through the darkness.  He was in the midst of thick woods.  Tree branches pierced the gloaming like ink stained daggers, barely illuminated by the pale silver moon. Shivering, he finally registered his nude, blood soaked body.

He would have screamed for help if the whisper had not risen inside him.

He pulled himself from the casket, his numb foot sinking into the cold, moist soil.  Beside him lay a hole, three feet deep and long and wide enough to swallow both he and the casket whole. A shovel bulged from a mound of dirt; an invitation for whoever had started digging to come back and finish the job.

Reminder: If you’re interested in a one-of-a-kind custom written and drawn holiday gift for your favorite person, time is limited. We’re taking orders on a first come first served basis. Check out the details here.

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