For years, I've been questioning the purpose of my blog. Scroll down through my posts from this date you'll see a few sporadic entries with chasms of time between. I've add other blogs. Other things to do. Still, lots of gaps.
My reason for this has been my inability to answer the question: who cares?
Who cares about this blog?
I'm not being self-deprecating. It's just that there are lots of writers and lots of blogs and I'm another writer and this is another blog. I think the essential question to ask and answer is: what makes me and this blog different to all the others?
Everyone is unique, like snowflakes and fingerprints, right? And people have varied ways of viewing the world and existing within it. But how different do I need to be to make this worthwhile - not for me, but for you?
Perhaps people could be said to be the accumulation of all their experiences. This seems to be borne out by my interest in dreams. If a thousand people were to dream about a goldfish, no two dreams would be quite the same. Because not everyone owned a goldfish. Not everyone won a goldfish at a fair. Not everyone had a goldfish that jumped out of the tank and died (RIP Moby). Not everyone believes that goldfish are mystical creatures and not everyone has seen the Last Airbender. Not everyone has fears about those eyes that never blink. Not everyone has eaten a goldfish for a dare. Not everyone speaks french and understands a goldfish as 'possion rouge'.
Experiences may be similar, but not quite the same and so, at least in that way, yes, you could say that everyone is different.
But so what?
Well, I've had a look around in my head and I have discovered, shining, at least three reasons to keep this blog.
First of all, a lot of people agree that maintaining a blog is a good way (many would say essential way) for a writer to sell, promote and market their work.
I have a love/hate relationship with self-promotion. I love writing and I enjoy telling people about my stuff and having them read it. If I can do that here, then that's great, but at the same time it physically turns my stomach to type the words 'sell, promote and market' like that.
Writing is a business (or at least it can be) and I am in it for lots of reasons, but having readers and making money is one of them. It's a major one. It's the thing that's going to allow me to continue writing. I need people to buy my books so I can keep enjoying this privilege of doing what I love. If I'm good enough, people will do just that and I will make money. I've accepted that I can't just shovel coal, I have to toot the horn as well. And, really, I think everyone understands that too. It just doesn't feel right.
So there it is. Out in the open, like it wasn't already. I'm writing for $$$MONEY$$$ Oooooh, what a sin!
Join my mailing list. Buy my book. Read some free stuff and tell someone if you liked it.
Secondly, people have enjoyed what I've said on this blog so far. People, ie. more than one person, have told me, unprompted to my knowledge, that they enjoyed my posts and wished that there were more of them. You know what? That's enough reason to continue. People are looking at it. Some of them like it. A lot.
I'm very happy for this blog to be a conversation, so do comment if you feel like it.
Thirdly, I've decided to get back into blogging to find out what happens in the end. This is also one of the main reasons I enjoy writing stories. I don't know precisely what this blog is about yet or what my niche is exactly, but rather than intellectualise it or deploy marketing hobbits I'm going to write the blog to find out.
It would be nice if this blog helps people, but I'm not going to attempt to advise. I'll start by talking primarily about two things that I need to do to stay even. Writing and Meditating/Dreaming.
After 3, 6 or 12 months, maybe they'll be something I wasn't expecting here.
I hope you come with me for the journey.
Thanks for reading.
For more about why I write, you could check out my interview by Kim Terrell over at http://kimterrell.com/2015/01/07/dean-clayton-edwards/
For stuff to read, go look at my writing/work page by clicking in the nav bar or here > http://deancedwards.blogspot.fr/p/blog-page.html
Monday, January 26, 2015
Monday, January 19, 2015
Dream Journey - surreal, serial fiction, 7000 words and counting
https://leanpub.com/dreamjourney
Dream Journey is approaching 7000 words now, comprising 5 fiction chapters over 5 locations, and some non-human characters, notably two vultures who were pretty scary, but seem to be friendly and some lizard men, who were not that scary, but immediately destroyed a peaceful poolside scene leaving carnage in their wake.
The good news, perhaps, is that my protagonist, Richards, has learnt how to start fires just by thinking about it and he can fly ... or sort of levitate really well ... too.
He could go on a variety of adventures at this point. There are people to avenge, a little girl to save (although she's pretty savvy and may not need saving, even from the lizard people) and, of course, there's the little issue of finding his body, which was initially the driving force for this story, but was the one thing that was forced and therefore somewhat artificial.
As I write the story, I'm learning to let go. As a consequence, it's sprawling but still coherent and I'm thinking that future dreams will add depth to the scenes.
Read it here: https://leanpub.com/dreamjourney
Or email me at mail at deancedwards dot com for the latest epub, mobi or pdf file.
Comments welcome.
Dream Journey is approaching 7000 words now, comprising 5 fiction chapters over 5 locations, and some non-human characters, notably two vultures who were pretty scary, but seem to be friendly and some lizard men, who were not that scary, but immediately destroyed a peaceful poolside scene leaving carnage in their wake.
The good news, perhaps, is that my protagonist, Richards, has learnt how to start fires just by thinking about it and he can fly ... or sort of levitate really well ... too.
He could go on a variety of adventures at this point. There are people to avenge, a little girl to save (although she's pretty savvy and may not need saving, even from the lizard people) and, of course, there's the little issue of finding his body, which was initially the driving force for this story, but was the one thing that was forced and therefore somewhat artificial.
As I write the story, I'm learning to let go. As a consequence, it's sprawling but still coherent and I'm thinking that future dreams will add depth to the scenes.
Read it here: https://leanpub.com/dreamjourney
Or email me at mail at deancedwards dot com for the latest epub, mobi or pdf file.
Comments welcome.
Saturday, January 03, 2015
Dream Journey, a work of experimental fiction, by me
Excerpt from Dream Journey:
"The building could have been a metal barn or an aircraft hangar. A place for the homeless to find shelter.
Inside were three bodies, hanging in the dark like cattle.
He peered at them through his binoculars."
Click here to read more.
Be warned, however, that I'm deliberately going for dark imagery here and so the content is for adults only.
I've been writing stories since I was single figures and I've also been into dreams for many years, so it's only natural that these two interests should meet. Or collide. Or absorb each other.
Hence, Dream Journey, a work of experimental fiction, by me.
Dream Journey is an ongoing story led by dreams. I update the story every day, incorporating that night's dream or dreams into the overall story so far. It's surreal. It's dark. And it has a life all of its own.
This is a real departure from my normal writing routine. This is a work with no pre-conceived end nor a pre-conceived structure. No map. Just a full tank of fuel and the desire to find out.
After a month of writing, my dreams really are doing most of the work.
It's currently free to read and you'll receive regular but infrequent email notifications whenever a significant amount has been added, say every 1000 or 2500 words.
Read the story so far by downloading the book (for free or donating an amount of your choice). I'd love to hear your comments.
The book is published over at Leanpub, which allows for books to be published before they are finished. Readers effectively subscribe to the book and they can read it as the author creates it, providing feedback if they so wish. This is a good way of making technical manuals and serial fiction available, among other benefits to readers and writers.
So go, now, download and share with anyone you think may enjoy it.
Leanpub lets me know when people are reading the book, but not who these people are, so if you'd like to receive updates about all my work, not just Dream Journey, freebies, discounts and other news, use the contact form or my mailing list form on the right.
D
"The building could have been a metal barn or an aircraft hangar. A place for the homeless to find shelter.
Inside were three bodies, hanging in the dark like cattle.
He peered at them through his binoculars."
Click here to read more.
Be warned, however, that I'm deliberately going for dark imagery here and so the content is for adults only.
*
I've been writing stories since I was single figures and I've also been into dreams for many years, so it's only natural that these two interests should meet. Or collide. Or absorb each other.
Hence, Dream Journey, a work of experimental fiction, by me.
Dream Journey is an ongoing story led by dreams. I update the story every day, incorporating that night's dream or dreams into the overall story so far. It's surreal. It's dark. And it has a life all of its own.
This is a real departure from my normal writing routine. This is a work with no pre-conceived end nor a pre-conceived structure. No map. Just a full tank of fuel and the desire to find out.
After a month of writing, my dreams really are doing most of the work.
It's currently free to read and you'll receive regular but infrequent email notifications whenever a significant amount has been added, say every 1000 or 2500 words.
Read the story so far by downloading the book (for free or donating an amount of your choice). I'd love to hear your comments.
The book is published over at Leanpub, which allows for books to be published before they are finished. Readers effectively subscribe to the book and they can read it as the author creates it, providing feedback if they so wish. This is a good way of making technical manuals and serial fiction available, among other benefits to readers and writers.
So go, now, download and share with anyone you think may enjoy it.
Leanpub lets me know when people are reading the book, but not who these people are, so if you'd like to receive updates about all my work, not just Dream Journey, freebies, discounts and other news, use the contact form or my mailing list form on the right.
D
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