2013…A Goal Odyssey

It's here…January 2013.
Still kind of feels like the future, but the future has arrived.
We survived yet another apocalypse AND the holidays.
Now all we have left is to figure out what we want to do over the next year.

...and then DO it.

I am the worst at making New Year's resolutions.  Actually I'm not so bad at making them…I really suck at keeping them.  It just seems so cliche…make your resolutions in January and break them all by spring…blah, blah, blah.  Seriously, why bother?
A year is fairly long-term…allowing more time for us to give up on our resolutions.  I think we should start setting shorter terms for those resolutions.  And maybe call them goals instead of resolutions.  It sounds less gimmicky that way…or at least it feels like less pressure.

Yeah, the goals should probably be more specific than that. They should be specific and quantifiable…no general terms…we don't just need direction, we need a destination or we're setting ourselves up for failure.  But sometimes even so-called failures can turn out to be better than we thought.  Think of all those times in your life you were devastated because something didn't work out the way you planned…then think of all the wonderful things that came into your life because it took that turn you weren't expecting.  Call it a blessing in disguise, an unanswered prayer, fate…whatever you want.  Just don't be so quick to mark down a failure on your list of goals for this year just because you didn't get where you thought you'd be.  If your goal was writing 300 pages, but you only wrote 100, that's not failure.
You wrote 100 PAGES! =)
It's not nothing…it's progress…it's success.

I read an article recently by Dean Wesley Smith that expands on this thought and is very inspiring…you can read it here.

So make your goals and I'll make mine…we'll make them reasonable…we'll make them specific…and I just might post mine here.  But only if I put it as one of the goals on my list…otherwise I'll probably procrastinate. ;o)

I hope y'all had a great time over the holidays…and I wish the best for you in the new year!

Oh, and Happy Easter!


paxamo,

Solitary Sky ~ Free!

Doomsday Giveaway!New post… #free e-book. =)shannontaylorhodnett.com#giveaway #apocalypse #MayanCalendar #doomsday

— ShannonTaylorHodnett (@shanonaryder) December 18, 2012

paxamo,

Trailer Hitch

I love book trailers......and movie trailers. Sometimes I like them even more than the actual book or movie, but that's not where this post is going.  Over the past year or so I have looked at maybe hundreds of book trailers, before and after the making of my own.  Some were remarkably well-done......others were remarkably, well......unremarkable.  And there were a few that were outstandingly bad, to the point where I began to think it might be on purpose for comical effect. ;o)

This was not a surprise to me as the books they represent run the same gamut......but no matter their quality (or lack thereof), they mostly kept with a similar format:  pictures and/or video, words across the screen, and mood music all put together in various, creative ways.  Some had narration, but not many--narration is a hard thing to pull off well.  And then there were the ones that bucked the book trailer norm...... movie-like trailers by authors with a big publishing house behind them, or plenty of $$$ to put into their production. They were amazing 〜 animation and live-action......actors & actresses......memorized lines & plenty of drama.  It was like watching a mini-movie, but without a conclusion.  I have to admit that one of them did get me so intrigued I actually felt like I had to rush out and get the book......so I did. =)

I have to say, though......there was one tiny thing that bothered me as I watched the really well-done mini-movies. They didn't feel like book trailers......they felt more like movie trailers.  They left me wanting to see the movie more than read the book.  Also, the typical book trailer leaves a lot of work for your imagination......with these types of trailers, it's all laid out for you.  It's like watching the movie before reading the book (which I don't mind doing, but I know a lot of people do).

From a creative standpoint, I enjoyed the challenge of representing my story through pictures, video clips, music, and limited wording.  It definitely was a challenge, but I enjoyed every second......and fraction of a second of it. ;o) If I had a huge budget, I don't think I would've gone the mini-movie route. The only thing I might've done with a larger budget is hire a male lead for pics & video......and maybe make a few more videos...they really are fun to do. =)

I don't want to give the impression that I don't like them.  They are hard not to like and usually pretty impressive.  I guess I'm coming off with a purist-sounding attitude with regard to book trailers......but I can't help it.  It's partly a visceral reaction for me......and I know it's all subjective......progress and whatnot. ;o)
That's why I want to know what everyone else thinks.  Is it just me?  Do you get a different reaction from seeing a movie-like trailer versus one made in the more standard format?  List three reasons why or why not in paragraph form......or you could just comment. ❤


xox paxamo,


photos courtesy of-- Copyright: Frode Evensen, Norway & publicphoto.org

Would you like a Happy Ending?

I am conflicted.

Life is not overflowing with happy endings.
So when I'm reading a work of fiction, I like having one.  I hate when a story I've become deeply involved in ends on a sad note.  I feel cheated...heartbroken...the story doesn't feel complete to me.
I realize not everyone feels this way...and an unhappy ending doesn't mean an automatic dislike from me...but I do prefer them.
All my favorite books have happy endings...or at least not unhappy ones.

When I became a writer, I had an unspoken understanding with myself that all of my stories would have happy, or "complete" endings.  I don't want readers' hearts to break at the end of my stories...I want them to be uplifted...and/or affected...tearing up in a good way, not a bad one.

Therein lies my problem.  I'm currently writing a short story that has  [gasp]  a sad ending. =(
And it's not just a sad ending.
It's a gut-wrenchingly sad ending.
And it's making me crazy.

You would think that, as the writer, I could just make some adjustments to the plot and have the story turn out less tragic...but it's not that easy.  I have tried to come up with ways around it...but the story is it's own entity now...and it's not budging.  The problem is that it's not just some random short story I thought up one day.  It's a prequel to the next series of books I'm writing after Solitary Sky.
The tragic ending has already happened inside my head...it's unavoidable.

I'd like to know what everyone else thinks.  Is a happy ending necessary?  Is a tragic end a deal-breaker?  I keep telling myself that readers will forgive me, but can I forgive myself???

I read somewhere recently that as a writer, you have to be a little sadistic in order to do all the horrible things you must do to your characters.  I don't think there's a sadistic bone in my body...maybe I'll just have to grow one.  ;o)


♥ paxamo,


✻ photo courtesy of Scott Freiheit ~ http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Comedy_and_tragedy_masks.svg

Night Writer

I am a night owl. I hate mornings (the getting out of bed part...not the amazing sunrise part). All throughout high school and college I had trouble getting to bed at a decent hour and often overslept. When I had a baby, I was one of those awful moms that let her baby stay up later than 8pm...but the bonus was I didn't have a baby that woke before sunrise. ;o)

When I started writing my book, I had a tendency to write all night long. I went to bed as the sun was coming up and my early bird husband was going to work. It seemed crazy to other people (hi, mom!)...but for me, those were prime writing hours.  Writing during the day was just not the same...and writing in the morning was out of the question.  Everything just flowed better at night when the house was quiet (except for snoring) and there was nothing else to distract me from my writing.  

Everyone I know either claims to be a morning person (like my husband) or a night person.  My mother (a definite early bird) thinks I'm the only one who does this and that I am doing great detriment to myself by staying up all hours of the night. I try to tell her that it's not just me and it's ok as long as I'm getting 8 hours (and don't schedule any morning appointments)...but seriously, it's a waste of my breath.

I googled it and read studies that say early birds are not just annoyingly chirpy people in the morning, but happier overall...and they're more successful in business because their "chronotype" is more geared toward a corporate world.  However, we night owls might have some advantages...according to this article, "...studies reveal [night people] tend to be smarter and more creative than morning types, have a better sense of humor, and are more outgoing..."

But we are woefully out-of-sync with the corporate world.  I disagree that this makes us less successful.  It just means we pursue other avenues to success, and perhaps have a different definition of success than what this article implies.

What do you think?  Are you a morning or night person?  

Early bird or night owl?

And do you really think it matters?

paxamo,