Self-Publishing Struggles!

Douglas Clark
-Head writer, The Inspiration Engine

Sometimes I don’t care. I mean I just don’t give a damn. It’s not always and the feeling goes away pretty quick, but it happens nonetheless. I mean, devoting all your time and energy to positive thinking is great and all, but sometimes, it just doesn’t work. Sometimes you just have to say screw it. Forgive me if that’s blunt and crude, but it’s true. That negativity seeps in and takes hold; it’s like a poison. And in real life, every once in a while it wins. 

The trick is to make sure negativity’s win is only once in a while.

Right now, I’m struggling to get my book ready for publication. It’s a long, slow, involved, long, slow, difficult, long, slow, and stressful process. Anyone else who’s been through it can attest to that. And it feels like it’s going to take a thousand lifetimes to get finished. Keep in mind, the story is actually finished. Right now I’m just working on getting it ready for readers to actually enjoy. I mean, I’d love for you to read The Odyssey of Ryou Un Maru right now! But you can’t, because it isn’t ready… yet. Anyway, the point is, it’s hard and I’m struggling with the thought that even after all this, I’m still motivated to get it out there albeit much later than I originally planned.

Also, there are times when I ‘just want to write’, but that’s only a fantasy I indulge in periodically. Part of being a writer is marketing what you’ve written. It’s not the most glamorous thing but it is necessary. It’s a weird dichotomy but a necessary one for anyone that wants to make it as a published author. I know that, but it still sucks. In a perfect (read: fantasy) world, I’d just write the books and a legion of editors, proofreaders, and publishers would do all the grunt work of getting it to press. But that is just not the case, especially since my name isn’t StephenKing, JK Rawling, Dick Francis, Dan Brown, Jackie Collins, or any other best-selling author you could name off the top of your head. It’s when I compare myself to these successful folks, look at what they’ve accomplished and then look at my small body of work I get disheartened and just want to quit. A little guy voice in my head starts whispering negativity and cynicism and I start to believe him.  That ‘just screw it’ attitude sinks in and I want to quit. Man I Hate that guy!

I listen to him every once in a while and agree. It’s then I wish I had someone to smack me in the face (proverbially… or maybe actually). I hate failure; I hate not even trying waaaaay more. So I cry a little bit, sniffle, feel sad for a while and then do a ball check and suck it up. Because I just can’t quit.

I have found a few things to keep me going. The latest book I’ve taken the time to read is Self-Printed (3rd Ed.): The Sane Person's Guide to Self-Publishing by Catherine Ryan Howard. It’s pretty much a how to combined with a personal experience book about how she managed to get through the whole publishing mess that is self-printing. There are lots of useful tid bits and it’s nice to read about others that struggle with the same issues.

Even though it’s taking a billion billion times longer than I want or could have believed, I’m still on my mission to be a successful writer. Hell, I might not ever make it, but I just won’t give up. Is that pathetic or perseverance? I don’t know, I guess maybe success is the only way to answer that for sure…

Thanks for reading. Questions and Comments are welcome!

http://stephenking.com/

http://www.jkrowling.com/

http://www.dickfrancisbooks.com/

http://www.danbrown.com/

http://jackiecollins.com/

Hey California, Let's be Water Smart!

Douglas Clark

-Head writer, The Inspiration Engine

Let's be Water smart.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/universityofcalifornia/2015/03/30/how-one-scientist-is-helping-plants-survive-californias-worst-drought/

Thanks for reading.

DouglasHClark.com

Merry Christmas!!!

Douglas Clark
-Head writer, The Inspiration Engine

Merry Christmas!!!!

Enjoy the time you have with your family and friends. 

Thanks for reading.

DouglasHClark.com

5 reasons the Force Awakens Trailer is Terrible

Douglas Clark
-Head writer, The Inspiration Engine

I’m sure I’ll piss off a lot of people with my opinion. Truth is some people should really just get over it. First thing to remember is this is just a teaser trailer, nothing more. Everyone is a critic and you can’t please them all. So I’m not going to try.

I didn’t like either Star Trek movie J.J. Abrams made, and it’s looking like I won’t like the Star Wars movie he’s working on right now either. I’ve kept in mind that this trailer is just a teaser, but from what I’ve seen so far, read so far, and previous movies made by Abrams, he’s not going to do anything revolutionary.

1.  Overreliance on CGI

CGI is a great tool to get a shot done when it just can’t be done in ‘real life’. The thing is for Star Wars, everything the Millennium Falcon, X-wing and Tie fighters, speeders, and droids do can already be shown in model and stop motion. We’ve seen it before in the Original Trilogy. The little bits of CGI thrown into the Special Editions of the originals were great and really enhanced what was already there. But in this new age of technology, CGI is turned to more and more. 

There’s a bit of realism lost when it’s employed, rather than models. I know models are hard, damned near impossible really considering what people expect nowadays, but the sterile, ‘clean’ look of the second trilogy still haunts me. Granted, at least the storm troopers are really there, wearing actual armor, so that’s at least something. But weren’t we promised a throwback to the Original, gritty look and feel? Guess that was too much to hope for. 

2.  Incoherent and short cut scenes

Thirty seconds into the teaser trailer and we had at least half a dozen, if not more quicker clips, flashes of scenes cutting from one location and character to the next. Nothing about these cuts tells us anything about these new characters, what they are really doing, or (more importantly) why we should care. 

Okay, so we get a look at a few things we haven’t seen before, but without any contexts or reason to care, it all falls flat. (See reason 5 for more detail.)

3.  Complete lack of plot or story line

For a second, the somewhat sounding Benedict Cumberbatch narration made me think I was watching the Star Trek: Into Darkness trailer again. And it has been revealed that Andy Serkis spoke the lines. But if you really listen to what he’s saying, he basically states the title of the move. There’s an awakening of the Dark and Light side of the force. Well thanks, we knew that from the title of the damned movie. 

How about having a character say something important about the struggle he’s about to undertake or what’s at stake for loved ones, or maybe how scared or concerned he is about someone or something. How about something like: I want to come with you to Alderaan. There's nothing for me here now. I want to learn the ways of the Force and become a Jedi like my father.  See, we don’t get any of that.

4.  Ineffective and comical use of Nostalgia

I know the Falcon is bad ass. We’ve all known that for more than 30 years. Han Solo risked 3720 to 1 odds and successfully navigating an asteroid field to show us just how friggin’ incredible that ship is. Oh and if there were any doubt, Lando whipped that thing through the guts of Death Star number two (albeit with a minor scratch) and made it out in (almost) one piece. Showing the Falcon’s aerial acrobatics is nothing new, and as much as I’d love to see that hambuger–shaped hunk of junk fly all day long, there’s more to the story (or at least there should be) than that.  How about in addition to those acrobatics, show us some new menacing ship the dark side baddies have, maybe something our heroes have no answer for. That would certainly build tension. 

Also, although it’s great to see Tie Fighters, X-Wings and the like, if this movie takes place 30 years after Jedi, ship designs probably would have changed just a bit. Couldn’t we see some of that instead of more of the same. I get there’s a bit of homage payment due considering the prequels were atrocious, but 30 years have passed since Yavin. Show it.

5.  No emotional impact or development of engagement

I really paid attention to this trailer, hoping there would be an emotional punch, or at least a hook that drew me in. I didn’t get that. Each shot shows the supposed main characters alone: Boyega in the desert, the comically rolling droid, Daisy Ridley on the Speeder, Oscar Isaac in the X-wing, the cloaked figure in a forest, heck, the storm troopers were the only ones in a group. 

The lack of interaction here may be sending a message of detachment or the need for our heroes to ‘come together’ but to me, the way it was presented, it only showcases (poorly) that these people are in the movie. How about we see them talking, or fighting together, or something, anything…

Here's Hoping the Movie is Better

The original Star Wars trilogy set up a definable story arc that propelled the plot and drove the narrative. Character interaction played a huge part in making the story memorable and lovable. When the first Star Trek movie by JJ Abrams came out, I hoped that the magic of the original series and the movies would be captured, at least a little bit. 

What I saw, carried over to Into Darkness as well, was weak storytelling, borrowed plot points, lame McGuffins (Red Matter…Really? WTF) and rehashed elements of stories previously told. Into Darkness turned out to be a soulless and uninteresting retelling of the Wrath of Khan, which was an emotional, powerful and damned good story.

My guess is JJ Abrams is going to borrow similarly from the Original Star Wars trilogy without investing any real emotional depth or feeling, essentially pandering to Star Wars fans while simultaneously cheapening the underlying greatness of those stories. 

As I said in the beginning, this was just a teaser trailer. But from the efforts previously offered by Abrams, there’s little hope something new, inspiring, and profound is on its way. We shall see next year.

Let the blood letting and flaming begin!
Thanks for reading.

Questions and comments are welcome.

Aspiring Writers Should Be Heard!

Douglas Clark
-Head writer, The Inspiration Engine

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to actually get your writings published? Have you ever just had an opinion or idea you wanted to express and share with others? Well if you do, make contact with the Inspiration Engine. 

We welcome new and aspiring writers and would love to hear what you have to say. Submit an essay, opinion, or review and we'll totally consider it for the Inspiration Engine. 

Thanks for reading, and submitting!

Questions and comments are welcome.

DouglasHClark.com

Mustang Madness!!!

Douglas Clark
-Head writer, The Inspiration Engine

I thought for Sunday, it would be a great time to share some pictures of my favorite car: The Mustang. I always thought they were really cool cars, but didn't truly appreciate them until I got one of my own. I've had it for about seven years now and plan on keeping it until it's a classic. 

I'd also love to buy a vintage one and restore it. That's the kind of project that could keep me occupied and interested for a very long time. Until then, I'll just have to admire the work of others. And you can too, with all the pictures here.

Enjoy!

Thanks for reading, and looking.

Questions and comments are welcome.

DouglasHClark.com

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Douglas Clark
-Head writer, The Inspiration Engine

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Don't eat too much, but remember to enjoy the time you have with family and friends.

Thanks for reading

DouglasHClark.com

Where Am I Going?

Douglas Clark
-Head writer, The Inspiration Engine

Have you ever been working on something so long you kind of lose sight of the point of it all? It’s kind of like wondering if everything you’ve done is really leading you somewhere or perhaps every choice you’ve ever made is just some random ping pong like course you’re chaotically leading through life.

I’m going to be completely honest with you. I have six months to go before I’m 40. For a long time it didn’t make any difference to me. Most of the time, age is just a number. But the more I thought about it, and the closer it approached, I realized 40 is more than my age. On May 15^th, it will mark the fact that so far, I’ve had 40 years to accomplish everything I’ve ever dreamed of.

Now that’s not to say I was on a deadline and not finishing by my 40^th birthday means I failed. Actually, it reminds me of all the time I’ve wasted. You see, I like to be busy, the more I have to do, the better I can do everything (up until I burn out that is). When I’ve got all the time in the world and I don’t have to rush or worry, or even really care what the clock says, I kind of just procrastinate. 

Remember that old cliché, “If you want something done, give it to a busy person.”? Well that is me, at least where work is concerned. When it comes to my personal goals, well, I kind of slack off. You know the feeling right?

Granted, I’ve written two novels, a host of short stories and poems, and two plus years of blog posts. But in my head, I remember all the times I didn’t write, all the times I didn’t capitalize on the few minutes here and the few minutes there I could have written just a little more. Also, I think of where I’ve been, the places I’ve visited, how far I’ve advanced (or not advanced depending on your perspective) and sometimes I wonder if I’ve shortchanged myself.

Even when I failed miserably, couldn’t achieve the goal I set, got tired, etc., I usually feel like I could have done better, or if I tried again with a different approach, I could do better. I don’t think I’m a perfectionist, but I am persistent. Putting all this together, though, I still wonder, where am I going?

To put it another way, the question I’m faced with is this: How efficient have I been with my 40 years of life? Will I do better going forward?

I could have done better; I could have done worse. The reality of it is I am where I am, simple as that. As happy or dissatisfied as I am with my life thus far, I can’t change it. The only thing I can do is try to make the next 40 years, or however much more I have left better, more enjoyable, more fulfilling and fruitful.

The future has no form. It’s my job to mold my present to help make tomorrow more to my liking.

Do you know where you’re going?

Thanks for reading.

Questions and comments welcome.

DouglasHClark.com

Thank A Veteran!

Happy Veterans Day!!!!
Thank a veteran, they deserve it.

Thanks for reading. 

A Quote Worth Thinking About

Douglas Clark
-Head writer, The Inspiration Engine


"Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength."
- Corrie Ten Boom


If you find yourself worrying about something so much it takes over your life, it's time to let that thing go.
Think about it. 

Thanks for reading.
Questions and comments welcome. 

DouglasHClark.com

Happy Halloween!

Trick or Treat!!!
Have a good one and enjoy your candy.