Back Home Again

Well, we have been gone from home a little more than a week, but are now back. There was a gathering of family, my Ma’s Sister’s to be exact, that we had been invited to. We travelled to Otwell, AR, just outside of Jonesboro, and there, through the week, arrived about 37 others to feast and congregate. I must say, being a loner and preferring time alone, it turned out being almost overwhelming. I had the privilege of meeting some people I had not known before, and met others that, so I’m told, I knew when I was very young. To my mind, most all were new faces. Names and relations got passed along, some I could remember, others not so much. Sometimes my memory, or lack thereof, really causes me embarrassment. So, in the 8 days there, I was convinced to eat much more than I am usually comfortable with, met with more people than I can remember meeting in such a short period, and had the opportunity to play with some young cousins (probably more than I should have, given my back problems). In all, I must say it was an experience. Yea, that’s a good word for it.

Something New

I am trying out a new Windows program called “Windows Live Writer”. It is, or so it says, made to enhance blog posts. Also, one can post pictures and videos through the same program. We shall see…

 

Hickory dickory dock, someone knock off my block...

Howdy all! The current time is 1:25 AM, just one week before Halloween. This will be my second here in glorious Grenada, MS. Can you feel my excitement...(yawn). 

Well, as of my last post, I did get the Barbarian story submitted, and my instructor seems to have liked it. I sent him 1933 words, and after the suggested changes, it edited to 1963 words. I would love to post it here for anyone who happens by to enjoy and/or comment on, but if I hope to submit it for publication in a magazine, it has to be virgin material. I can, however, offer it up to any who comment and leave me their email address. For free. Yes, you heard me: FREE!!!! I just need more people to read  (and hopefully like) some of my stuff. Who knows; maybe an influential person will want to see more and ask for other stuff I've penned.   It could happen...

I am now in process of writing the next part of "The Barbarian" (tentative title) for Assignment 9. It will be up to 3000 words as well, and I am one third the way there. It is due by the middle of November, so I cannot take too long on it.

Anyway, I'll leave it at that. I'll try to "Tweet" the link again tomorrow. Let us see if I get more views and maybe some comments. If this is your first visit, please read other posts, and let me know what you think, even if you think I'm the stupidest blogger around. 

Fear, anyone?

Yes, it has been a while. I admit, as I have said before, I am not real good at this blogging thing, nor with Twitter, Facebook, MySpace... Should I go on? Nay, I digress. 

This post is on fear. Some people deny having any kind of fear in their lives. Most, however, admit to at least one kind or other. But the fear I am talking of is the purely unjustified kind. Irrational. Unfounded. Phobic, even.
I, myself, have many such, but the one foremost in existence right now is " fear of rejection". Allow me to explain:
As some may already know, I have two stories in process; a Fantasy/Adventure called "Barbarian Tales" and a Science Fiction called "Challenge of The Velah". In both, I have just over 13,000 words, and most who have read them state they are quite good. Now, I do not flatter myself by saying they would be 'Best Seller' material as-is. 
Problem is, I have stalled out on both of them. I know kind of where I want them to go, and popular suggestions are that the word count should total, at the very least, 50,000 words or more to achieve novel length. (Okay, there is another fear; Inadequacy) When I first learned this, I felt overwhelmed. I thought I did well getting the word count I had, and then I find I am less than one third through. Wow.
I have gotten hold of one of Robert E. Howard's "Conan" books, and through trial and error copy-and-paste, found it had some 21,000 words. Now, I realize his works were made, what, seventy-five years ago? More or less. Plus or minus. So, I am left to wonder: are times really that much different? "Well, yeah," you might say. "I mean, movies back then were maybe an hour long. The folks in today's world have the need for more information." And yet, a lot of the writing advice I see tells one to edit, condense, not over explain so as to give the reader a chance to discover some things for themselves. So, how does one get so many words and please the "writing suggestions" of those who are supposed to be helping? 
Again, I digress. We're talking about fear here. What I have come to suspect is that I have subconsciously halted my writing. Perhaps my brain (yes, both brain cells, when they are not playing 'superconductor) figures that as long as the work is not finished, I will not have to submit it, therefor evading the inevitable "Sorry, we are not interested at this time" response. 
I have always battled the rejection fear, and have dealt with so much rejection in my life that I should be used to it. So why the fear? I mean, no one goes through life being consistently accepted and never rejected. Everyone has been rejected at least once. (HA! At least one hundred times would be an understatement) So, again, why the fear? 
I have a few short works that I have tried submitting to online magazines. I have been rejected each time. No explanation, just refused. No encouragement to revise and resubmit. I hear tell that there are some rejection notices which offer advice on what needs changed, or why the piece was rejected. This remains to be seen as far as my experiences. Yes, I understand the hundreds, even thousands of items pass through a given submission desk and there is no feasible way for all of the rejected items to be analyzed and commented on. Hopefully, one day someone will look at some of my writings and tell me exactly what I am doing wrong. Or what I can do do finally get a work accepted. 
Well, I will leave you with that for now. I am still hoping to post more often, but I figure that as long as I am, apparently, the only one visiting this blog, all is for my eyes only. Looking at my stats, I have one subscriber, and two people commenting on what I put here. Kind of like my website, www.johntmherres.com for the most part only has comments from family and people I know. How I would love to see a favorable comment from someone I have never met, or asked to visit. Hell, I'd even welcome constructive criticism from a stranger. Oh, well. I guess if it is meant to be, it will happen. 

Peace! Till Later; enjoy what life has to offer.

Wet Weather

There are storms moving through our area today, long awaited and a near deluge. While looking at Facebook, a poem tossed through my noggin, and I could not Tweet it, so wanted to post it here instead. So, here goes:



Rain is falling all around, 

soaking into hard-packed ground. 

Lightning flashes, thunder booms, 

rattling things in every room. 

The light is dim and skies are grey, 

but it won't always be that way. 

Enjoy it while it lasts! 

John T. M. Herres, 08/09/2012

Exploring the origin of the Barbarian

While getting part of "Barbarian Tales" ready to submit for one of my lessons, I decided to actually take a different track; to write the beginnings of the Barbarian in a separate story. There are clues to older histories in the world I am creating, and the wary reader will be able to hash them out. I don't want to explain in detail his family history, since he will not know it himself, so the readers will have to do some deductive reasoning. I am hoping this will lead to a deeper plot. I would like to think today's readers do not want everything spilled out on page; that they desire to make some of the discoveries for them selves and have a hand in discovering the world they imagine from what they read. Or, should I just put down in writing all the inferences I am making? 
     Since I have not gotten a single comment on any of my past posts, I am not really expecting one here. It would be nice, but let us be realists here. Obviously, my blogs are tiresome and no one really gives a damn about what I put here.

Lethargy Strikes...

Here I sit, too near the due time of the next assignment in my course, and my 2 brain cells are just not cooperating. Each time I pull up the document to conclude, or even continue it, I draw a blank. I know what I want to happen, but seem to lack the enthusiasm to put it in words. Lethargy, I believe it is called. I renew my resolve to complete it and still get too easily distracted. It could be from considering all the tasks that I want to accomplish, and not being able to prioritize. Take, for instance, now. I have it opened and ready for my words to go into it, but I am here posting a blog instead. Sometimes, the story just flows, even overflows, and my fingers have a hard time keeping up. Other times, I have to force the words out, and it sounds flat and uninteresting. And then there are times like now; I know what I want, but sitting here to do it, nothing works right. If only those pesky brain cells would just get along, I could pen a story in record time, and it would be a best seller. Is that too much to ask for?

Google+

Howdy to All! If anyone has deemed it necessary to read my posts, I am eternally grateful! Once again, here is my website. I have not updated it in a while, but will soon, as I am getting ever closer to getting off my patootie and submitting one or more of my works on smashwords.

I have joined my blog onto my Google+ account. Hopefully, this will give some people a little more incentive to read my posts. It may also get me to posting more frequently. Never know!

Hope things start to improve! I know it is (mostly) up to me, so here's to progress!   Cheerio!

Traffic

I wonder what it takes to attract more people to not only come to read, but to comment and (I wish) subscribe to my blog. I have posted on Facebook when I've made new blog posts, I've even tweeted notices. But it seems that, if anyone actually has read them, either they aren't interested, or I'm going about it the wrong way. [Nay, I say, not "wrong", but "incorrect"] The problem is, even though I have asked a few people, read several articles and even other blogs, I have gotten no clear indication as to how to write a blog and make it interesting.

I figure, with more people showing interest in what I write, I would definitely post more, and would even give excerpts of some of my WIP's. How, about it, Gentle Reader? Any tips or comments?...