A Western back East?

European friends often tease me about the unbridled optimism of Americans.  This sentiment increases the further east you head.  Poland, is an underrated gem of a country.  They appreciate freedom there, and have experienced dark times on a scale many of us in the States simply can’t comprehend.

As we sit early in the third month of the second COVID lockdown, it’s starting to feel like that movie Groundhog Day. In a way, the singular lesson of a young 2021 is careful what you wish for.   The days are short. The nights are long, it’s cold out. COVID can’t end fast enough for any of us.

 Like most of us, the focus is keeping loved ones safe, while maintaining sanity amidst lockdown. As mentioned before, daily time in the great outdoors, seems one of the few effective and permissible activities. 

The recent, insanity at the US Capitol last week, is enough to get any one’s attention.  Politics is better left to others, than this blog. In writing, it always seems there’s a wrestling match with plot credibility.  The year, 2020, and the initial events of 2021 sure seems too farfetched for any Hollywood script. 

 A sole thought is America doesn’t need a blue or red wave, she needs a red, white, and blue ocean. Now.  There is no vaccine for the budding intolerance from either major US party, anything but a lawful peaceful transition of power is insanity. 

Back to books.

On the writing front, the sequel to The Eagle Feather was somehow much faster to write than the first book. It’s up to you, gentle reader, to determine its quality.  The first draft is in the hands of trusted beta-readers, so a short break from writing is here. A Q1 2021 release seems reasonable.

Half of writing is reading. Growing up in Texas, and on the Great Plains of the Midwest, a good Western always appealed to me.  Once again, European friends will ask me, What’s the point of this rugged individualist cowboy mentality?

Cultural differences, I guess.  I still get dirty looks here, for jaywalking a red light, without a car in sight, at o-dark thirty.  Perhaps it’s time spent in NYC?

I usually reply, “There are no cars in this zip code, and you don’t get this time back.”

Then again, Europeans seem more relaxed.

Regardless, a sunny day is an excellent opportunity to combine nature and reading. In hopes of not completely embarrassing myself, with the Western I’ve always longed to write, it’s research time!

So, I’m the guy re-reading classic westerns in the chilly winter woods. On a cold January day, it’s quiet enough to think. There’s nothing around but red squirrels, and grand old deciduous trees. Pack a thermos full of strong black coffee, and away we go.

A research focus is also US Civil War historical fiction (given recent events at the Capitol let’s hope this genre remains both.) 

For example, details of the battle of Antietam in 1862, may seem dull to the masses. However, have you heard the story of a young man from Ohio, who while under fire, personally and without orders, risked his life to serve hot coffee and food to his men?

Such a man, can go far in life.

He did.

His name was William McKinley, and he became the 25th President of the United States.

 There is also something really cool about reading a book about the outdoors, when outdoors.

 So, I guess for now, a break from The Eagle Feather Saga. 

 A Western novel is in the works.

Xmas Eve 2020

It’s the home stretch for the Holiday Season, Xmas Eve for those who celebrate it. Stateside, maybe if you were good, you get to open one present tonight. Christmas morning is the big day, at least as a kid, it couldn’t come fast enough. The Germans, do the whole shebang Xmas Eve. Either way, every year is precious time, though 2020 for the world seems like that classic Xmas ballad, “All I want for Xmas is my two front teeth.”

There might be a bit of symbolism in 2020 the sad old tree, sitting unadorned, and solo by an oldtown gate. No lights, no hot cocoa, or gluhwein, or kids playing, or friends catching up in the wonderfully, cozy European Xmas Markets. It’s alive though, some years you thrive, others just survive.

This has been the darkest year for the planet collectively since WW2. The pandemic shows despite the astonishing technology advances since 1920, we are still quite susceptible to Mother Nature’s whims. It’s hard to grasp that through Blue tooth headsets, on an iPad, on a plane at 30k feet… (OK riding a Peloton bike), or whatever it is healthy people do under lockdown.

All things being equal, while we followed the guidelines, COVID-19 became real for me when a dear friend from New York and his family got it. They ended up fine, but that’s when it hit home. In addition, some of the ugly divisiveness and riots back home this year, must have been impacted by the frustrations of lockdown, and IMHO the echo chambers created by overreliance on social media. Frankly, FWIW this is higher on my radar than COVID.

This was an apt demonstration of the fragility of the American republic, despite unmatched massive economic and military resources. At some level if we lose the ability to agree to disagree peacefully, I’m not sure there is a pending vaccine coming for that.

One of the philosophies in The Eagle Feather originates from Americans who volunteer to be in harm’s way for freedom. It’s the philosophy of “Good.” It’s quite simple actually, which is quite different from easy. No matter what comes, you just say “Good” then adapt, improvise, and overcome. So simple, yet so immensely powerful. 2020 tested this to the max.

Despite all of the rough events, and suffering in 2020, it also seems we’ve witnessed unsung acts of courage, selflessness, and humanity. After 9/11, as a New Yorker you wanted to buy every fireman in sight a beer. This is how we should feel about the healthcare workers, and the folks who bravely stock the food shelves, so a pandemic doesn’t turn into one of those trendy dystopian shows.

While the focus here, is primarily books and writing. If we can keep our discipline, there seems to be imminent light at the end of the tunnel vaccine wise. Put another way, no one wants to be the last COVID case, at this point if possible. In addition, we’ve glimpsed what humanity is capable of, when we roll our sleeves up, and work together to beat a common enemy. COVID certainly is that, it should be a significant force for unity across the globe. Unfortunately, geopolitics isn’t a Disney movie.

A few decent reads (besides The Eagle Feather…naturally) if you find lockdown dragging these winter months;

A Gentleman in Moscow- Amor Towles. - This is a human survival story in its own right, amidst a multi decade long, chilling lockdown.

We Few-Nick Brokhausen.- The best SOG memoir I’ve read. I’m deeply grateful our nation can find such people, and I see a kindred spirit in him. (This is a bit disturbing because, despite having my profound respect, the author, or anyone who did what he did for a living back then, is clearly crazier than a dog in a hubcap factory.)

Finally, I’m very close to finishing the rough draft of the sequel to The Eagle Feather, and hope someone will want to read that too, as lockdown ends, and we all go roaring into 2021.

Be safe, Everyone.

Published!

As of midnight, Pacific Standard Time today, I’m a published author. I realize this fact and $5 can buy you an overpriced latte.  Anyone can do anything, though somethings come easier to everyone. In hindsight, I wish I’d done this twenty years ago. It’s almost exponential how much easier writing gets after the first book. I’ll let the gentle reader opine on quality. Quantity wise, I’ve written 80% of the sequel to The Eagle Feather in about 20 days (Yes, it’s been home office, and Corona Lockdown since November here.)

In contrast, I’m told I’ve been a voracious reader since age 2. I always enjoyed writing. Every job I’ve had, they ended up having me write all the monthly client letters. I wanted to be published author as a life goal, so many stories to tell. Though in 40 plus years, I never had the discipline to stick to it, and have at least four partially written books lying around gathering dust.

It’s not my profession, but in part due to forced lockdowns, it’s evolved into a cathartic hobby.  It’s now at times, a flow like state, like the simple beauty of some colorful fall leaves around a grand old tree. I’m relaxed and two hours has flown by.

A few writing related tips that help me.

1)  Leave in the middle- I read this tip somewhere, and it seems to work.  I force myself to stop writing every day with an unfinished paragraph, or train of thought.  This notion of unfinished business, undoubtedly bugs me, and compels me back to write the next day.

2)   Edit Out Loud with Paper- It’s really hard to self-edit on a screen. I did four careful rereads of the first book, and still missed typos, etc.  Then I went old school and printed out the pages and read them out loud with a yellow highlighter. I found more typos, and tuned up the writing better and faster than the four screen-based reads combined.

3)  Coffee Tonic- This probably means less to people who aren’t addicted to coffee, but I rediscovered the coffee tonic. I’d first tried one years ago on Polk Street, back home on Russian Hill, but forgot how much I like it. It’s just an espresso shot with ice cubes and tonic water. It’s one of those things that just works, it tastes much better than it sounds. Cold coffee drinks are a proven writing aid.

Finally, I wrote my first book for my son to have someday when he’s older. It’s a young adult novel, but draws heavily from things his grandfather taught me.  I was able to reconnect with some old friends who had teens and young adult children. Their feedback was some of the themes in the book would be good for their teens to read. This gave me a completely unexpected sense of fulfillment.

All of this helped me.

Long walks, Editing, and Burritos

Long walks are generally a good idea, but especially during Pandemic lockdown. We’re a few weeks into then second lockdown of 2020. So far, it’s not as severe as the first one this spring. we have a better idea of what to expect, but doing the right thing to keep everyone safe can lead to cabin fever. Something as simple as a long walk at dusk, snapping a few pics, and a take away burrito can work wonders.

2020 has been such a crazy time for the world. Ironically, given some of the recent divisiveness back stateside, it’s always a thrill to hear American voices overseas, even in a nice place like Europe. These were my thoughts as I stood wearing my mask outside in line for takeaway at the only California style burrito shop in the city.

I’ve often read outdoor walks/runs benefit the creative process, there seems to be something to this. A few tips which helped me finally finish writing that first book follow below.

1) Wait to Edit-The cliché is just write, and it’s mostly true, but for me the temptation to edit too soon stifled significant progress. Editing is half of writing, but it’s not writing. I’d write a few pages or a chapter and then go back and edit to sharpen things up. A month later, this chapter was tuned up nicely after countless rereads and edits, but it can still always be better, and twenty chapters could have been written in this same time period. This worked for me, otherwise I’d still be on chapter one.

2) Volume leads to better edits-As much as I tried, it’s still easy to fall into the trap above, but the concept of “scarcity value” helped my writing. When you only have 2,000 words on paper the idea of cutting two pages that clutter or confuse the story is tough! It’s half of what you’ve written. On the other hand when you are 200 pages into your book, cutting, moving, or replacing ten pages to improve the story is psychologically much easier. Simple and easy are not the same thing. If you have the discipline to just write your entire first draft, and then go back and edit the living daylights out of it, we need to hang out.

3) Work on two books at a time- This came from an article on Don Winslow. His process is get up early and just write then go for a walk. He always works on two books at a time. This made sense since writer’s block can ebb and flow. Writing is like a muscle, exercise daily and the benefits are exponential. The old masters can teach us a great deal.

4) 20 Books to 50k-This is a Facebook writing group I wish I’d discovered ages back. I’m still new and don’t know enough to add much, but there is a treasure trove of information on every aspect of writing, publishing etc. to soak in. It was recommended by a friend, and I really like the fact they don’t allow self promotion. There are all sorts of websites out there with advice, courses, and books on self publishing etc. I’m sure some are great, though I don’t know enough to gauge value. I do know from my industry, the real experts rarely peddle how to guides. Regardless, some of the senior members of this group are retired military, and thus have that frank, no nonsense tone I grew up with and understand.

These tips helped me.

How a first book finally got written.

There’s an ancient Chinese curse, “May you live in interesting times.”   The global COVID Pandemic seems to meet this criteria.  First, deep condolences to anyone who has lost friends or loved ones to this virus.  We will beat Corona, it’s a test of our discipline until our best and brightest minds develop a vaccine.

There’s a silver lining to every cloud, and as rough as lockdown can get, it does seem to lend itself to reading and writing.  Hemingway, Barbara Tuchman, Cormac McCarthy, Don Winslow, and Orhan Pamuk are writers, as are Voltaire, and any of the Russian greats.  I’m just a guy who finally finished his first young adult novel after decades of excuses and procrastination. 

The initial inspiration was our little boy’s excitement over all things Prehistoric, so much so, we had a Stone Age themed birthday party for him. The highlight here was a gaggle of rambunctious toddlers gleefully smacking me silly with plastic clubs. Maybe it knocked some inspiration my way? I started what became The Eagle Feather that day, but as so often happens life just got in the way and a few years passed with glacial progress. This is a nice way to say I made up excuses and procrastinated.

The cliché is write the book you want to read. I finished writing a book I hope my toddler reads as a teen or young man. Author Steven Pressfield, has this concept of “Resistance” or internal excuses/dialogue we need to overcome to finish a project like a book. I knew this was true, and I knew writing is a habit. Knowing and doing are two different things as are “simple” and “easy”.

 Two things got me over the hump, into the daily writing habit.   People and frankly the Pandemic.

First, it’s so obvious in hindsight, as social creatures we evolve the characteristics of those we surround ourselves with.   I’ve always been a voracious reader with the goal of publishing a book someday.  There are a dozen stories I want to write that just never got done.  As it turns out, though not by design, the expat friends I’ve made recently all love to read and are working on their own books.  It’s quite possible the excellent coffee in European cafes was also a hidden catalyst.

One of these friends turned me on to The Story Grid by Shawn Coyne.  He’s an editor, and the book broke down the characteristics of good stories.  There was something so familiar about him, then I was excited to realize he works with Steven Pressfield.  I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting either gentleman, their approach particularly the “Foolscap Method” just clicked with me.

Second. the Farnham Street podcast episode with Hugh Howey was very helpful.  He comes across as bright, down to earth, and an expert on the self publishing path.

The Pandemic lockdowns were frankly a big part of the process as well.  We were all stuck at home trying to stay safe and sane.  This environment reinforced the things that mattered, family and work, and a lot of other distractions just fell by the wayside.  In addition, no matter what our obligations we all need some personal time to recharge and reflect.  The only time I had to myself was the early mornings, and jogging and writing became my stress relief, and then cathartic.   I set a goal of either writing or jogging every morning for a week. 

I learned writing is like a muscle, just like running it gets easier with practice.  This may be obvious, but I was initially spending many an O’dark thirty gawking at a blank white page like a hog staring at a wristwatch.   I wanted to accomplish something positive during The Pandemic, something I could control.   Finishing, The Eagle Feather is the result. 

We are creatures of habit, and forming a new one is easier if there is a reward.   It was coffee for me.  I wrote this down on a piece of paper. 

“For one week, I’m going to wake up, brush my teeth, and then write for 30 minutes. Then my reward is coffee.  Big Boy rules, no writing no java.”   

This started the habit. One week led to two, 30 minutes a day led to longer writing, and while I’m not running as much as I like, the writing habit is catching on well.

 So, it’s fair to say caffeine addiction and a once in a lifetime (hopefully) Pandemic are largely responsible for finishing my first book.   This was the process that helped me.

Bravo Dak Prescott!

This blog is generally focused on writing, books, etc. However, especially on this historic date, IMHO it made sense to discuss an important timely topic. The Eagle Feather was written to share lessons from my late father to his grandson. Courage, Honesty, and Grit are prevalent themes.

As a lifelong Dallas Cowboys fan, I follow the team closely.  For my European friends, or those unfamiliar with American Football. The Dallas Cowboys are one of the most famous and successful NFL franchises. The position QB for the Dallas Cowboys is one of the highest profile sports jobs in America.

Dak Prescott the Dallas QB is a 27 year old who has displayed class and character both on and off the field. He is deeply respected as a leader by his team mates.  He is best known for putting his body at risk in a spectacular head over heels flip to win a playoff game for his team.

Dak came from a broken home, his mother was taken by Cancer when he was in college, and his brother recently committed suicide. Dak recently came forward about suffering depression as a result of COVID lockdown, and his brother’s suicide.

Skip Bayless who is 68, runs a sports talk show, is an avid Cowboys fan.  Skip’s livelihood depends on saying controversial things.  He is occasionally entertaining, but the man’s job is to chirp. The media headlines indicate Skip stated a lack of compassion for Dak’s depression revelation.

My $.02 on this, Skip isn’t seeing the forest for the trees here.

First, people should actually watch what Skip said, while I disagree with his opinion, it wasn’t nearly as callous as portrayed in the press.  He basically said Dak shouldn’t show weakness in a prominent leadership position for multiple reasons. Coming from a military family, I understand this concept. In times of crisis, we look to our leaders for inspiration and strength.

Winston Churchill, the legendary British Prime Minister who courageously defied Hitler when all the chips were down, also suffered from depression.  He referred to it as “The Black Dog.”   A nation’s leader in wartime is clearly more important than a football player. It made sense for Churchill to keep this under wraps, when his people were looking to him for strength, while the Luftwaffe bombed them daily.     

This however isn’t war, but just sports, which is entertainment.  What Skip misses is two things. First, times change, the younger generation of men is more expressive about their emotions, which for better or worse is what it is. 

However, the most important thing here is though a sports figure, Dak Prescott is one of the highest profile Americans on the planet, and the pandemic is a troubling time for the world.  Any number of American’s are experiencing anxiety, depression, etc.  these days.

If just one life is saved kudos to Dak.  If just one person of any age, wrestling with the dark weight of depression looks to Dak Prescott’s courageous example and seeks help in time, it’s worth it. 

This is what Skip is missing. 

In the COVID era, sports and other forms of entertainment are clearly needed more so than ever. 

The message is clear.  Depression doesn’t care if you are the Dallas Cowboys Quarterback, a young, rich, sports hero, it can affect us all.

There is no shame in getting help.   Bravo Dak!