The power of the subconscious

Well I’ve started work on the third Prosper Snow novel and I have some interesting ideas.

But the thought process itself is a strange beast as it takes place behind closed doors, in the subconscious. It’s like when you’re trying to think of where you’ve seen someone before, or when you’re trying to think of a word for a crossword puzzle. If you concentrate on it too much, it just becomes frustrating, but then when you stop thinking about it and let your subconscious do the work, that eureka moment strikes when you least expect and the answer comes rushing to the surface. I often have problems with plots where I think ‘How the hell am I going to get my character out of this?’ but then I go and do something else, like go for a jog or do the washing up, anything to stop thinking about the problem, and then that eureka moment will strike like a bullet between the brain and the answer presents itself. Sometimes there even seems to be something else at work as the answer might come from a television program or a newspaper article. These are what I think of as moments of serendipity when something you want to find out about presents itself through another media.

But there are other ways that you can make your subconscious work, namely by making requests before you go to sleep.

Step 1: Before you go to sleep, close your eyes and take one minute to make a request to your subconscious. It can be anything, but try not to make it something that is unobtainable or virtually impossible. Try small things, such as wanting to get lots of writing done, or winning a race that you are entering.

Step 2: Take two minutes to visualize yourself actually able to do this thing. Say it’s the motivation to write. Imagine yourself getting up the next day and then picture yourself at the computer or with a pen in hand. Then see yourself effortlessly writing words. See the pages flowing down the screen. See yourself in the groove, the prose pouring out of you.

Step 3: Take two minutes to imagine how you will feel when you are able to accomplish this aim. How do you feel when you see how productive you’ve been? Thrilled? Happy? Now imagine that you have already created this emotion inside of yourself. Let it sink in, then go to sleep and let your subconscious do the rest of the work.

You might not sit down the next day and write a masterpiece, but if you are fired up to start writing, then that’s a start. This process can be used for any situation. Entering a race. Going for a job interview etc. Just remember that the mind is a powerful tool, and it wants to help you. 

The many masks we wear

I’ve been thinking about masks. The masks we all wear to be precise. You see, we all wear different masks around different people. Take for example a character I shall call Derek Macmillan.

Derek is married with two children. He works in a factory.

His parents call him Derek, using the name often when addressing him. Derek never swears around his parents and even though he is in his late thirties, he would probably get a clip around the ear if he did so.

His wife on the other hand rarely calls him by any name as she has no need of such appellations, although she sometimes calls him Del when needing to speak to him directly (when she’s angry she calls him by his full name). Derek only swears in front of his wife when he is really, really pissed off, which gives the profanity more significance.

Derek’s son calls him Dad. Before he turned eight, he called him Daddy. His daughter calls him Dad too. Derek has never sworn within earshot of his children as he doesn’t want to set a bad example.

At work, they call him Del. He swears like a trooper at work, mainly using the cussing in the form of light hearted banter. He also says things at work that he would never tell his wife.

Derek also has a close circle of friends that he grew up with. To them he is known as Mac, an abbreviation of his surname. He has no problem swearing while around his closest friends, but he doesn’t overdo it.

To those who address him formally, he is called Mr. Macmillan. He never swears around people he doesn’t know very well as he doesn’t want them to judge him by his use of bad language. He also adopts certain airs and graces with people he doesn’t know, trying to make himself sound more eloquent.

So here we have one man with five masks in the forms of Derek, Dad, Del, Mac and Mr. Macmillan. Each name gives Derek a different personality, although at heart he is one and the same.

I guess this is why authors should explore every facet of their fictional characters, and take into account what mannerism they adopt when wearing each mask.

Help needed from readers.

As a writer it’s hard to know what does or doesn’t work where trying to promote books is concerned, and so I would really appreciate it if anyone who has bought one of my books could let me know where they heard about it and what made them decide to purchase a copy. If you don’t want to post on a blog, please email me as I’m really interested in knowing what works and what doesn’t where promotion is concerned. Thanks in advance.

thekult_4(at)hotmail.com

So where do you think stories come from?

Well I’m a quarter of the way into my new novel, but there’s still a long way to go. I have a very rough outline, but to be honest, most of it is written off the cuff, so what happens in the story and to the characters is a surprise to me too. But that’s what makes (at least for me) the writing process so interesting, because I often feel like I’m an instrument whose sole purpose is to write the story down, but that the story is something that’s already happened. That in some respects it’s real, and that the words that appear on the screen have been channelled through me. I mean, inspiration has to come from somewhere, so who’s to say that in an alternate universe, the worlds and people I create don’t really exist, and that really I’m writing their story, not mine.

Another scenario: The creation of imaginary worlds or fictional universes is often called 'world building', so what if by writing about them, these worlds and people are brought to life in an alternative dimension? If that's the case, the author of the story would be a God who has given life to his creations. Thereby we could be someone's fictional creations. That would mean our God(s) would then be struggling authors too.

I just wish I could create my world in 7 days. And for the record, no illegal substances were consumed or injected while writing this.

So where do you think stories come from?

Voyeurs and the clichéd dead

I posted about it before, but the lettered deluxe edition of Voyeurs of Death is available for preorder. There are only 26 copies available, so it could become highly collectible if I get off my arse and make something of my writing. Or I could become famous for some crime or other (perhaps they’ll find the bodies) and the same thing happens, which could be an eaiser route to take. Either way, the people who bought a copy will be onto a winner, and of course I’m sure it will be a great looking book too: http://bit.ly/bwQEH4

And if you buy a copy, until tomorrow, Monday (11/22/2010) anyone who places an order for a Limited Hardcover edition of any of the Dark Regions books will receive one Dark Regions coffee mug of their choice while anyone who places an order for a Deluxe Lettered/Thirteen Hardcover edition of any of their books will have their choice between a t-shirt and a mug from the Merchandise section!: http://www.darkregions.com/news/22/Buy-a-Book,-Get-a-Shirt!.html

Now for anyone who missed it, I had an interview go online the other day. It was fun to do and it would be great if you could check it out. Just remember to come back after checking it out:
http://thegingernutcase.blogspot.com/2010/11/100th-post-interview-with-author-shaun.html?spref=fb

So who’s been watching The Walking Dead? I have, but to be honest I’m not that impressed. The characters seem a little clichéd, and the plot lines do too. This weeks episode supposedly had us believe Merle cut his own hand off with a hacksaw. Was he that dumb he couldn’t cut through the pipe he was handcuffed to? Some people suspect he might have been rescued by the people in the helicopter. Again, what sort of rescuer cuts someone’s hand off when he’s shackled to a rusty bit of metal? I’ve seen other people suggest he’s gone crazy after being left chained up overnight. No shit! The whole thing just seems drawn out too much for my liking. I realise the writers are trying to build their characters (and they’re probably following the graphic comic book that the series is based on, but as I haven’t read it, I don’t know), but to me they are not coming across as natural and more like set pieces in a game of chess that’s afraid to deviate from its path. The clichéd hicks. The clichéd wife beater etc. Or then again perhaps I’m just reading too much into it, but when I saw the week before that our 'hero' was trapped in a tank, you know a bloody tank, designed to enter battle, and he sits there wondering how he's going to escape, and I'm thinking just drive the bloody thing!!!!!

On the writing front, I’m currently nearly a quarter of the way through my latest novel (and hopefully avoiding the clichés). Still a long way to go but as always when you write something, it’s proving to be an interesting journey. What I do like is when you write yourself into a corner, and you think, ‘how the hell am I going to get out of this?’, and then either the answer jumps out at you, or as in my last instance, I reread what I’d already written and discovered that the solution was already there. As I’ve now hit another wall, I’d better get rereading.