Category Archives: Writing

Why do I write?

Posted on by
Reply

I’m sure people wonder why a writer writes. It’s often not for the money, as it’s often tough to make money as a writer (not impossible, and the chances are better today than ever, but still, it can be tough, especially during the first few years to the first decade of professional writing).

To be a writer you’ve got to like being alone and using your imagination. Those were two things I enjoyed from a young age, so no problem there.

You have to love words and reading – again, no problem, as I was reading at a young age and developed a love for words and books that is still with me.

And you’ve got to like to tell stories and get into the world of the characters you write about. That seemed to come second nature to me, so good there as well.

In the end though, ask any dedicated and true writer and they’ll often give you an answer like this: I write because I need to. It’s a creative outlet for us, without which we don’t feel as alive. It can even be a spiritual path and experience – I know I’ve felt that way many times.

I just think writing is a wonderful thing, as is reading; the two go hand-in-hand. It was a natural progression from my love of reading to try my hand as a writer. I’m so glad I did, as it brings me a lot of joy! I’m also glad that others enjoy reading what I’ve written – I’m ever thankful for my readers and hope you will come along on many more tales and adventures with me!

And writing is an adventure for me, too, as I often don’t know where it’s going or how it’s going to turn out until I get to the end. That keeps it entertaining for me as well, so you can’t lose with that!
—

Blog Post Streak Count: Day 9

Tip Jar: If you like what I write, you can help me do more of it by clicking on the Paypal Donate button below. Thank you!




What do you want to do with your life?

Posted on by
Reply

I knew from a young age that I loved writing, reading, and words. So, it’s no surprise that I followed those interests in my life. I knew early on that I wanted to be a writer.

Some people have a hard time figuring out what to do with their lives, and I haven’t really had that problem. I’ve done many things in my life, but it’s always come back to the writing, primarily.

Writing was something I did as a child because I enjoyed it. I would often draw pictures to go along with the stories and imaginings. It was fun! I would see my favourite movies, then make up stories about them. Maybe this was early fan fiction?

Many of the jobs in my life were directly writing related, and I think this was a natural progression. I find writing comes easy to me, usually, no matter the type of subject matter. I guess you can call it a gift; I certainly think it is, a talent I was given. I wrote before I got paid to do it, and I would still do it if I didn’t get paid. So, you can say I found my vocation and passion. I am grateful for that.

I know some people struggle with their purpose in life, and if you are, I would say to follow what Joseph Campbell, author of The Power of Myth series said, and that is to “follow your bliss” and it will lead you to your purpose and passion.

—

Blog Post Streak Count: Day 6

Tip Jar: If you like what I write, you can help me do more of it by clicking on the Paypal Donate button below. Thank you!




The Blank Page

Posted on by
Reply

It’s said that the blank page puts a feeling of dread and horror into writers. This can be true, but only if you have a lack of ideas. I seldom do.

I tend to get asked a lot “where do you get your ideas from?” Well, what do you say? I think it’s best to tell them the truth that I don’t really know, but that’s seldom the answer they are looking for, as they don’t seem very excited when I tell them.

I consider myself fortunate in that I have many stories I want to tell, enough to keep me busy for many years – and I get ideas for new stories on a regular basis. So the problem becomes what to write first, and how to find the time to do it?

The best way I have found is to make steady progress, a little a day if that’s all you can do. It will add up! If you get a chance to go on a bit of a writing binge, that can be good, too. But doing too much at one time is hard to maintain, and I think constant progress is where it’s at, even if the word counts are lower per writing session.

This writing observation has been brought to you by the letter Y. Because.

Blog Post Streak Count: Day 3

Tip Jar: If you like what I write, you can help me do more of it by clicking on the Paypal Donate button below. Thank you!




Blog Post Streak

Posted on by
Reply

This marks the 2nd blog post written in a row that I’m keeping track of as part of my blog “steak” (and for those thinking about running around naked, no).

Some writers keep their blog steaks going for years, not missing a post per day (inspiration goes to Dean Wesley Smith). Let’s see how long I can keep mine going!

I took a long walk through the wet streets tonight (the snow is thawing here, after a couple of days above the freezing point). There were still a lot of Christmas lights out, reflecting off the remaining snow – magical! Quite a few people were out in the streets, smoking, making phone calls, smoking while making loud phone calls, and just moving about after some very cold and snowy weather has kept many of us cooped up indoors for too long.

I like nights like this with the sound of water running into drains and dripping from roofs. It put me in the mood of my D.U.M.B.s series about things hidden underground. Book 7 in the series has been calling me, so those of you waiting for it, don’t worry; it’s on the way!

I revamped the look of this site tonight, hope you like it!

I also added a Paypal button marked “Donate” as a Tip Jar (can’t tell how to change the wording on that).

Blog Post Streak Count: Day 2

Tip Jar: If you like what I write, you can help me do more of it. Thank you!




Halloween Sam: The Candle Man

Posted on by
Reply

Halloween in June? Sure, why not! Just published “Halloween Sam: The Candle Man” – a short story/animation script.

Previously only available in my short story collection “Short Stories Volume 1,” this story has been a favourite of mine for a while now.

I’d love to team up with some animators and make this into a short movie one day! Maybe even expand it to a feature. I think the vivid imagery and musical elements (the character of Halloween Sam sings throughout the story), would make a stand-out film.

Like a free copy? Here’s a little contest! The first 3 people who can tell me who said “Everyday is Halloween” get a free copy! Leave a comment to win.

If you’d like to buy a copy, it’s at Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/2t5WRCD

Also, you can buy it from many other ebook stores: https://davidsloma.com/book-stores

Happy reading!

What it was like to be a writer before the Internet: Markets

Posted on by
Reply

Before the Internet rose to mass use through the 1990’s, just finding a list of places to -maybe- send hard copies of your writing to involved a trip to the library (or the purchase of an expensive directory that listed writing markets), and a lot of time to go through a thick book (or several) and try to find out which publishers to contact. Then, hope they were still in business by the time your material reached them in the mail!

Today, we writers have got it comparatively easy as far as getting our work to readers is concerned. We can self-publish electronically, or submit our writing to publishers for consideration without even having to print out the manuscripts, pay for postage, envelopes, and return postage (and ink for the printer), and then wait a long time for an answer that may not come. Today, things are much faster and easier, and cheaper!

Here’s a video where I talk about it some more and show one of the writing market directories in book form that I used to use: