Tag Archives: Writing

The Next Big Thing

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Back in November, when I was knee deep in NaNoWriMo, Sydney Aaliyah tagged me for a blog hop. I promised I’d get to it once NaNo was over but then December turned into writing for the Orange Karen anthology and then the holiday season around my house (and a few billion other households around the world). 


With all that craziness behind me now, I am pleased to be able to answer a few questions about my upcoming book:

What is the title of your Work in Progress?

I have been writing this story in one form or another for close to a decade. It’s finally taking proper shape as a novel that has gone from being untitled, to having several crappy titles, back to being untitled, and finally landing on “No Known Cure”. 


Where did the idea come from for the book?

The Darwin Awards! No, I’m serious. Back in 2002 I submitted a “Personal Account” to the Darwin Awards website that garnered Top 20 status in votes the following year.  Once I saw those 450 words in print I knew I had to tell a bigger story. What started out as a film about a subtle plea for gun control as told through the eyes of God has, ironically, evolved into a novel about a few people playing God in an effort to control humanity.


What genre does your book fall under?

Mystery Suspense 


Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

  • Peter (first half MC) – Jay Baruchel
  • Roger (Peter’s father) – Dan Aykroyd 
  • Sandra (Peter’s girlfriend) – Zooey Deschanel 
  • Dana (Peter’s co-worker) – Ellen Page
  • Jim (second half MC) – Tim Roth (minus the accent)
  • Sherri (Jims wife) – Lea Thompson


What is a one-sentence synopsis of the book?

My story is about a government agency searching for a man with an astonishing secret whose only goal in life is to remain anonymous and what happens when the two worlds finally collide. 


Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I am going to try taking the “conventional” route first and see how it goes. I’m actually looking forward to writing my first of many query letters 🙂


How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

A decade! 🙂 Having a full time nine-to-five job, plus two kids who each take on two activities every week, plus a loving wife that deserves attention, plus a couple other hobbies/businesses (my band and my photography), and time left for writing is pretty slim. The bulk of the novel was written during NaNoWriMo this year. It was supposed to be two books, the second of which I started last year but haven’t completed. I switched gears and now that former WIP will be some later chapters of this book (possibly, we’ll see. There are months of edits ahead for this novel). All told, this book will take about 90 days of actual writing to complete the first draft.


What other books would you compare this story to in your genre?

Think of  Robert Ludlum’s “Bourne” trilogy ,with a hint of Steve Berry, and a little Dan Brown’s “Digital Fortress” thrown in for shits ‘n giggles. I can only dream to be in the same ballpark as these guys some day. For now I’d be thrilled if anyone suggested we were even playing the same sport!


Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Being able to give my parents a copy of my novel is definitely a driving factor. My Dad was an English major and a school principal and my Mom was a teacher, so being able hand them a copy of a published work of mine would be a big deal. Ultimately, I just need to create. For as long as I can remember I have been following a pretty standard path: I got a degree, got a job, got married, bought a house… Everything was all very “normal”… and then my wife and I had children. Everything changes once you have children and for me it brought forward this passion to create. I take such great inspiration from how my kids view the world – and behave within it – that I feel compelled to create and give something back; and show them that they should follow their own inspirations with dedication and passion, and if they do they can be truly happy.


What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

  • 1 cup: Conspiracy
  • 1 cup: Likeable geek gets girl
  • 3/4 cup: Good people setting good examples
  • 1/2 cup: Quiet, introverted genius sticking it to The Man
  • 1/2 cup: Cat & mouse 
  • 1/2 cup: Cloak & dagger 
  • 1/4 cup: Psychological drama
  • 1/4 cup: Bad guys getting away with it 
  • A pinch of torture 
  • A dash of murder


Next up on the blog hop:

~

    The Night Was Poorly Lit and Tumultuous

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    I am what could be classified as a ‘new writer’. Aside from a two page anecdotein the humorous collection “The Darwin Awards III: Survival of the Fittest” I have never been published. I write this blog, of course, but these posts are mostly just random thoughts that eject from my head like the Oort cloud spitting out a comet. Many have come, but only a few have ever been considered wonderful. 
    I have a full time job, and a family, and several other interests outside of writing, but for some reason I am drawn to the art of dreaming up a fabulous story in my head, and translating those thoughts into words, and organizing them in such a way that they transport the reader to a world that is not their own.
    I had this idea to write a screenplay, so I could see my story come to life, but a friend suggested I write it as a book first. He knows me well, and though I fought the idea for some time I eventually came to the same conclusion. So off I went; to write a book. I wasn’t really concerned that I’ve read exactly zero books on how to write, or that I haven’t studied English, literature, or anything remotely related to writing in almost two decades. I’ve read Lynne Truss’ “Eats, Shoots and Leaves”, insist on a single space after a full stop, and will fight to the death over the Oxford comma. That should be good enough, right?
    There are many schools of thought on how to begin writing a book. There are thousands of books/websites/classes/opinionated snobs that will tell you this but in my opinion Kurt Vonnegut sums it up better than anyone else: 

    “You cannot edit a blank page.”
    So, I’m writing a novel and a trilogy of short stories and both are marching along slowly but surely. Then, I heard about the Orange Karen Anthology. Writing communities are close-knit and when one person in this community suffers they all suffer. They also all rally behind each other providing the support necessary to help people through tough times. When a friend of ours was struck by a terrible illness, and racked up ridiculous medical bills in the process, her community rallied to create an anthology with all proceeds going to help her out with the financial costs that have come with surviving.
    In awe of her courage and determination, and proud of the support from her community, I was inspired to submit a story for consideration in the book. Taking a page from Mr. Vonnegut I just wrote it down. It was a story based on real-life events, and it was an emotional one to tell. I had mentioned I was writing it in a Facebook group  and another group member, a friend who wrote alongside me during NaNoWriMo this year, offered her assistance with editing. I happily accepted her offer.
    At first she had some reservations. The topic was very close to me and she didn’t know how I would accept her feedback. But, we both plugged through those uncertainties, fears, and doubts and several versions and emotionally gut wrenching re-writes later we had a finished story to be proud of. It was exhausting, and it was completely worth it. 
    Jennifer Gracen was my editor and she guided me through this process gently, but with expert precision. I am beginning to think it’s no accident that you can find the word “grace” in her last name and the fact that she is a compassionate mother of two beautiful children served her well on this project. From her initial suggestion to write in the third person (I stared by writing it in first person) to her final “I like how you re-worked this”; every bit of red ink on that manuscript was a learning opportunity and it would have been a tragic waste of time for both of us if I would have considered it anything less.
    Jennifer’s job was to tighten my sentence structure, fix my grammar (and my god forsaken tense mix ups), suggest alternate wording, prevent orphaned or complex dialog, and otherwise tease, coax, persuade, charm, lure, sweet-talk, or cajole the right words out of me using whatever methods she felt would work best. Looking back at that first brain dump of words and comparing it with the final version you wouldn’t know that it was written by the same person. 
    My editor made me a better writer.
    I am beyond thankful for all the effort she put into this and I sincerely hope that I will get to work with her again. My only concern now is that she will read this post and notice that I have ignored a lot of what she just taught me. Don’t worry, Jen, not every comet gets to be wonderful.

    It is with all my heart and the utmost compassion that I extend a thank you to my dear wife. The story is more hers than it is mine and she didn’t just let me write it – she gave me the strength to write it and for this I am eternally grateful.

    NaNoWriMovember

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    The month of November is a busy one for me. First, it’s my anniversary on the 6th. This year would mark 13 years of marriage to my wonderful (and wonderfully patient) wife. 


     Then, there is Movember. Movember is an annual charity fundraiser in which men from all over the world shave their face clean on November 1st and then grow a moustache for the entire month, the whole time raising awareness and money for men’s health. This is my 3rd year participating in this event and while not even the cats will come near me for the last half of the month, it’s for a great cause and I’m glad I participate. 

     Finally, November is National Novel Writing Month as defined by The Office of Letters and Light. Every year they issue a challenge to writers everywhere, experienced or aspiring, published or not, good or bad: Write a novel (50,000 words or more) in 30 days. Their tag line for the challenge is “Thirty days and nights of literary abandon,” and is referred to on The Internets simply as NaNoWriMo and this was my 2nd year participating.

     Over the course of the month I experienced many highs and a few lows but when it was all said and done I have to say that it was one of the more successful Novembers I’ve had in a long while. I am not talking about the milestones or experiences either. It would be all fine and dandy if that was all there was to it, but it just so happens that I’ve learned a few things along the way. It is because of this that I can truly say the month was successful.

    A few things I have learned:
    • My kids do not like daddy with a moustache
    • I have a very beautiful, intelligent, and supportive wife
    • I can grow a very creepy looking moustache in 30 days 
    • I can write a novel in 30 days
    • There are millions of people who want to raise awareness and money for men’s health
    • There are millions of people who write, many of them are writers, and a very large number of those people are awesome

    It doesn’t stop with just those items either. Oh no, there is more. In fact, I could go on for several blog posts, but I’ll spare you the time to read all that and just give you the highlights here.

    A few other things I have learned:

    • Writing is hard
    • Writing is easier if you have awesome people around you  
      • This is true for more than just writing. ANYTHING is easier if you have awesome people around you
        • This is where I have to point out that my wife, my friend Susan, everyone in The Lounge on Facebook, and my core word sprint team of Janelle, Amy, Jennifer, and Karen, really helped me out. I can’t thank them enough for their support (but I will try)
    • It is possible to do everything you want if you manage your time properly
      • I suck at managing my time
        • NaNoWriMo helped with this more than I would have thought

    Last year I had an event derail my NaNo efforts mid-month and I never got back on track. I could have, the thing only upset my flow for a day or two, but I didn’t. I cut bait on the whole thing and spent the next 11 months kicking myself and in a rut (writing wise).

    This year’s NaNoWriMo experience challenged me in ways I never thought possible. For starters, let’s take time management. Here are a list of all the things I managed to do in November and approximately the number of times or hours I did them:

    • Eat (1.5 hours/day)
    • Sleep (8 hours/day)
    • Commute (1 hour/day)
    • Work (8 hours/day)
    • Prepare food for family (1 hour/day)
    • Practice guitar with the kids (20 minutes/day)
    • Swimming lessons (1.5 hours/week)
    • Guitar lessons (1 hour/week)
    • Watch movies (2.5 hours/week)
    • Watch TV (2 hours/week)
    • Put up the Christmas lights (once ~3 hours)
    • Attend concerts (Stars & Metric: ~5 hours to get there, watch, and get back)
    • Hockey games! (2 of them: each about 4 hours to get there, watch, and get back)
    • Anniversary dinner (~4 hours to get there, eat, and get back)
    • Snow tire appointment (~1 hour)
    • Dinner out with wife and kids (~1 hour)
    • Dinner at in-laws + Santa Claus Parade (~5 hours total)
    • Take kid to dentist (~ 1.5 hours once)
    • Parent/Teacher interviews (~ 1 hour once)
    • Lydia Herrle’s homecoming (~1 hour once)
    • Social events (~5 hours over two events)
    • Quiet time alone or with my wife (none of your damn business)

    Even with all of that, if you do the math (and trust me, I did the math) I end up with more than an average of 5 hours per day of available time. I wrote an average of 2 hours a day on weekdays and 4 hours a day on weekends and I still have a couple hours a day unaccounted for. Even if I low-balled the math on the above items that means I still had some free time.


    So there you have it. It is possible to do everything you want and still do a lot of things – and not be selfish about it (if you’re like me and my friend Tess you’re not shellfish about it either). The key is in managing your time. With a little forethought, discipline, and help from your friends… the world is your oyster (or non-oyster substitute for those with allergies).

    NaNoWriMovember: The Video!

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vZwBKg8_1g?rel=0]

    Kev Makes Good

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    If you read this blog you know about  my history with the writer/director Kevin Smith. It’s been a hot & cold, up & down, tumultuous & tenuious “relationship” that has been going on for more than a year. Well, last night in Toronto, in front of 500 die-hard fans and countless thousands of others on the big screen in over 500 theaters across North America, Kevin and his organization did what they do best, and in the process provided me with some much needed closure.

    Upon hearing of his live show in Toronto I sent Jordan Monsanto and Meghan Quinlan an email asking if my art swap deal could be realized. In what can only be described as “lightning fast” reply Jordan indicated she’d put the request in to the venue to have myself  +1 put on the guest list. That was Monday. I was assured a response by Friday. It came and a friend and I were off to the show.

    Trying something different, Kevin was doing a live podcast with Jason Mewes (Jay and Silent Bob Get Old) at a movie theater and simulcasting it to theaters all over North America (I’m told over 500 screens). After the hour long podcast Kev and Jay would do a Q&A taking questions from Twitter as well as the live audience.

    A few weeks before the show I received an email from Jordan indicating that the venue had oversold the show and were eliminating everyone’s +1’s from the guest list. At first I was a little miffed, but I still had a ticket and I had a friend who was already going (more on that in a second) so I wouldn’t be flying solo. Arriving at the theater I realized something: the venue has control. The bag check, pat down, electronic wand treatment they were giving people was ridiculous. According to Jordan, they weren’t even allowed a merchandise table, which is unfortunate as I was going to leave Kev a gift that I made from my alphabet photography:

    “SMOD” by Andrew F. Butters
    http://andrewsalphabet.com

    I lied and said I was only in the possession of a cell phone, and no camera and took my seat. Front row, just to the right of center:

    Row AA is good, right? Why yes it is!

    Kev doing his thing. Mewes lounging on the couch.

    I decided in advance that I would not go to extraordinary lengths to get Kevin and Jay my photography, or to get to the mic to ask a question. I was going to just sit and enjoy the event, and am I ever glad I did. I had a front row seat to a one of a kind event surrounded by TV cameras and hundreds of other great fans. My friend, who recently quit his job and is now writing full time had other plans.

    Robert Chute wrote a book, Self-help for Stoners, and really wanted to get to the mic and give Kevin the book (to whom he had dedicated it, along with Joe Rogan). Well Robert had his moment, and he didn’t make a giant douche of himself (which is easy to do when your host does a lot of poop jokes). I completely failed Robert when I didn’t get a picture or video of it! For this I completely apologize and can only say that Kevin was completely gracious upon receiving the book. I was so close to the stage that when Robert handed the book to him I could see Kev off point to the cover and then hear him say, “Oh yeah, I know you!”. So, go read this book (I’m talking to you too Kevin!) Don’t let the title fool you, even if you’re not into smoking pot, the book is great.

    So one thing Kevin wanted to do with the show was get in a lot of questions. This would probably be the only downside I saw to the event. Personally, when I go see Kevin Smith I go because he often answers a question with a 45 minute anecdote that leaves you gasping for air, holding your sides, peeing your pants laughing. Because he was answering rapid fire questions in an effort to get as many in as possible (presumably to ensure interaction and continued interest from the remote theaters watching) the responses, while well put together, genuine and honest, just weren’t the type that are in Kevin’s wheelhouse. As such, moments felt rushed, which is hard to do for a 3 hour event, and he didn’t get the chance to really work up the audience and deliver many “hit ’em out of the park” punch lines.

    All in all though, it was a remarkably enjoyable experience, and Kevin’s love for Toronto and Canada in general comes through quite naturally, even when he’s not plugging his final movie, a Canadian tale about hockey titled “Hit Somebody”. I can say for sure I’ll go see it, and so will at least a few thousand other Canadians who watched Kevin and Jay rock the stage at the Scotiabank Theater last night.

    ~

    Lend Me Your Words

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    Update!

    A new site is up and running specifically for this project. You can find picture #2 along with the results from picture #1 here. Future pictures will be done through the other site in an effort to keep my personal work separate from the project.

    Thanks,
    Andrew

    So while suffering from post-concussion syndrome I got this idea that would allow me to explore some creativity without me needing to be on the computer for too many minutes in a row (screen time hurts the head).

    I wanted to put the adage “A picture is worth 1000 words” to the test. I posted an original photo of mine and asked the people of the internet (mostly Twitter, but also the blogosphere, Facebook, and Google+) to lend me 100 of their words in response to the picture.  Once I had received 1000 words I would then edit the submissions and post the completed work as a little bit of “flash fiction”.

    The only rules were that people submit 100 words (or thereabouts) in the form of full sentences and that I would only rearrange full sentences and not just grab words here and there to create new text.

    I am pleased to say that in less than 24 hours my post became the 2nd most visited page on my blog (next to the one Kevin Smith did a shout out for on Twitter – to 1.5 million of his followers) and I received just over 1000 words from 10 different people. I’m in the process of editing and I plan on having something complete soon.

    At any rate, this has spawned a new idea for me that a couple friends think has some legs. I want to put a whole bunch of these 1000 Word Pictures together, a hundred words at a time, from anyone and everyone who wants to contribute (and hopefully some well-known / famous people) and publish the collection, or display it as an art exhibit, and use it to raise money and/or awareness for a worthwhile cause.

    So what do you think? Do you have 100 (or so) words rattling around in your head just itching to get out? Do you know Margaret Atwood or Rick Mercer, and can you get them to spare some words? (please say yes, that would be SO cool). If so then please, email me at thousandwordpicture@gmail.com or comment directly to this post as I present to you the 1000 Word Picture (100 at a Time) #2:



    I’ll Take “Words” for a 1000 Alex…

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    Another Update!


    The final results from the first photo are in and can be found here (at the new site).
    Thanks to everyone for participating. I look forward to seeing where this takes me…

    Update!

    This was a huge success. So much so that I’m going to continue with this project and eventually put a collection together to raise money/awareness for charity. I have started the 1000 Word Picture (100 Words at a Time) #2 here. Once I get roughly 1000 words submitted for that photo I’ll post another, and so on…

    More information to come on the project as a whole and the charities / foundations it will help support.

    Thank you everyone!

    Out with a concussion and unable to string together more than a half hour on the computer (and having deplorable handwriting) I’m in a bit of a creative holding pattern. Then I got an idea… maybe it’s not even a new idea, but it’s new to me, so I’m running with it.  It is said that a picture is worth 1000 words and I’d like to put that to the test.

    Here’s the picture (thanks to Instagram for the iPhone – and yes, that is me):

    Now, I need 10 people out there to each lend me 100 words of their own based on what they see. I need exactly 100 words in the form of complete sentences. As few or as many sentences as it takes, but totaling precisely 100 words when you’re done.

    Post them as a comment here or email them to me or Twitter DM them to me or whatever, so long as it’s electronically transmitted to me somehow and there are exactly 100 of them I’ll take it. I’d prefer if they were written in isolation, free from the influence of other responses (I must try to maintain some semblance of scientific control over this experiment, you know)

    I will then rearrange the complete sentences as I see fit (without taking single words here and there) to put together the 1000 words that this picture is worth. Read my blog, go through my Twitter feed, send me an email asking questions… all good ideas to start the words flowing. All I need is 100 words from 10 people, and I’ll do the rest.

    I’ll post the completed work here and then credit each contributor with a link to their original words in a footnote. Please let me know if you are not OK with that and I’ll omit you from the list.

    Go!

    Making Progress

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    In typical form this post started out as a bunch of randomly jotted down half sentences. Even as I typed this was not sure where it was going to end up. I’m considering the fact that words were typed at all as some kind of progress. In fact this is the first week I have instituted a word count target. Not necessarily daily targets but I have split them up into three categories: Blog, Novel, and Short Stories; each one with a modest target assigned per week along with a suggested breakdown of which one(s) get attention on which day(s). Monday’s (when this was written) would have normally been a “Novel” day for me but my head was not in the right space for it so the blog post won. 

    It’s amazing what a little progress can do for a person’s motivation. I mentioned my word count targets to a friend (a non writer) and their response was, “If you have to meet a target, won’t that start to feel like work?” You see, I have a day job, a regular 9-to-5 if you will, and I am just doing this to fulfill a creative desire, and because writing is something I truly enjoy doing, it never feels like work. How does that saying go? Find something you love to do and you’ll never work a day in your life. Something like that. As you can see, I’m not so good at research.

    Speaking of which, Albert Einstein has a great quote which I like to pull out for various occasions, this being one of them: “If we knew what we were doing it wouldn’t be called research“. I usually pair it with another quote from my favourite scientist, Richard P. Feynman: “Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts.“

    I pretty much live my life according to these two quotes (along with another great one by Niel deGrasse Tyson, “When scientifically investigating the natural world, the only thing worse than a blind believer is a seeing denier.“) As modern, evolved humans, every day we challenge and interact and learn. Input. Observe. Change. Input. Observe. Change. If you don’t have some kind of end goal, if there’s no measuring stick in the ground, it’s easy to get lost, or worse, caught in a circle where it feels like all you’re doing is work but you’re not actually getting anywhere. There needs to be progress. 

    In order to show progress you need to know where you are going and where you started. In order for that progress to have any meaning you need to know how to measure it, and what makes things really interesting is that as a society there are billions upon billions of individual goals all scattered about. Each one of us, knowingly or not, willingly or not, charting a path from Point A to Point B and often with very little regard for what impact our progress may have on the progress of others. When progress towards a goal doesn’t align with someone else’s progress towards a goal we end up with conflict, and any good storyteller will tell you that conflict makes for a good story. 

    So go and do something right now. Create a goal, chart a path, interact with others, learn, adapt, change,  measure your progress, and above all else – challenge. If we had no way to measure progress, if no one was ever challenged, if there was never any conflict… I dare say that there wouldn’t be much to write about (and I’d already be behind on my word counts for the week.)