Noah Nichols's Blog

Five years in this writing biz. A lot has happened. So much stuff to do. My fourth novel releases in just under a few months. Grievance Gate's great. Hey...I'm a bit biased! In all honesty, I genuinely hope that my small sector of readers enjoy the upcoming story. Side note for fun: the fifth one's done already!

My fourth novel is soon to be surfacing, so I've decided to release the opening to it! Grievance Gate's a fun one that I think many of you will be surprised by. Enjoy...

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...

On 1/1/2020, a refreshing publishing company that won't be like anything else will surface up from the depths of this murky and digital abyss. Its name is Immerser. A campaign page presently lives here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...

I'd quite like it if you threw a few dollars toward it. Thank you kindly!

Being a novelist is a unique thing. Sometimes you don't talk to anybody for days...maybe even weeks. I'm guilty of that exact action. You just let yourself drown in intricate make-believe. For anybody who cares, I have worked on my third novel for nearly two years. It's something that I've put EVERYTHING into. I've driven my supremely supportive (and searingly smart) girlfriend completely crazy. I've closed myself off from society. Hell, I've also let this fic get me suspended. And I'm extremely proud of what I've done with it. All of it. The book is titled The Last Offender and come 5/23, it'll be available on Amazon. So go check it out once it hits; it's a treacherous trip!

https://www.amazon.com/Last-Offender-...

Attaining the motivation needed to make something of yourself is hard. I should know since I have been through absolute hell and back creating books that may or may not “do well” in this life of mine. But I don’t mind if they fail in the eyes of my peers. And yes, I don’t care if they succeed on a grand scale. It’d be nice if that happened, but it isn’t what I care about the most. What I do care about and will continue to care about the most is my seamless drive to create more.

You have to ask yourself if you want to branch out. I implore you to dig deep into your subconscious and scream hard-nosed questions at your psyche. What’s the point of writing a novel? What’s the point in making an album? What’s the point in making anything at all when you can just plop down on a comfy couch and be a lazy bastard? Well, I will tell you the point...

Someday, you will inevitably die. So I want you to think of what you’ll leave behind.
Right now. Go ahead and do that for me. I’ll give you a moment to mull it over.
All right, are you ready to tackle a few issues? Good, I’m glad.

Stop saying you’ll do something "one day," because that’s cliched tripe.
Stop saying you CAN’T pursue a dream since you have a full-time job, kids, etc.
Stop saying you aren’t able to hone your ideas into pieces of reality because of ???
You get the gist. I won’t spell it out, but I’ll yell it out.

STOP SAYING THINGS. START DOING THINGS.

Listen, do you honestly want to be that person who continually ghosts on friends and family online, only to find yourself doused in copious amounts of jealousy toward select individuals merely striving to create something special? There are people out there who are busting their asses to attain lofty goals. The very universal goals that many avoid at will like slothy assholes...
And why is that? Is it fear? Lack of self-confidence? Interrogate yourself!

Goddammit, you really don’t want everyone to view you as an afterthought, a feeble throwaway, an undiscovered shame who was too afraid to take that leap off of a personal mountain. I’d put money on that, I sincerely would. Bet me!
Look, I wrote my first novel in five months. I sacrificed free weekends, I frustrated close friends, I ruined relationships yet gained others because of it. Fuck, I was even mocked for my decision to write a book because I was previously known only as a musician/songwriter. In the beginning, the lay of the land wasn’t all that attractive.

But nothing (and no one) deterred me. I made myself write each and every day. Even when I completely despised doing so. I willfully went to libraries for hours on end, I put together the crazy fiction that I had stored inside my head like my life depended on it (and in a way, it honestly did). I happily lived in a budding world that I had fantasized and visualized about for months and months. I breathed all of it in and I still lovingly do with upcoming projects in the pipeline. Just what am I getting at with this? This is what I want you to DO. This is what I want you to BE. With whatever the hell you’re into, seize it immediately.

Don’t live for manufactured, plastic nothings that won’t ever last. Don’t stupidly scroll on a screen like a mindless zombie! It’s such a waste of time and personally, I think you’re a whole lot better than that. Live for the specific talent you possess. And reach for it even if it’s taunting you from above. ‘Cause once it’s plucked down from those self-inflicted barriers, it could very well lead to a true prosperity.
I’m waiting on your real effort. Don’t grow old with not a trail of any past passion.

Do not procrastinate. Just create. For whatever you believe in, make the most of it…
For we’re dead before we can reflect on how much we tried to live.

Even though many of you probably won't read this, I'd like to type about reviews for a moment.

They're important. Really important.

Authors need them and they don't need them for financial gain, they need them just for a mental boost sometimes. A writer pours their heart out with thousands and thousands of words...yet when it comes to reciprocation from the reader, a writer doesn't necessarily desire the same back. We sincerely receive such an adrenaline rush when a person leaves even a sparsely worded review.

That's all it takes most of the time. Just tell us how you felt about what we have slaved over for so long. It goes a long way. Trust me.

Your words mean a lot to us. No, they mean the world, actually. Positive or negative. Seriously. And it only takes a fraction of the time to write what you feel about the work; compared to the varying, stressful lengths of time it takes for an author to write what you so quickly consume.

I apologize for sounding a bit like an infomercial for fellow novelists or if I'm coming off as frustrated/starving. But I feel like it's absolutely crucial to open up about this subject. Everyone begs for reviews like a dog, but they don't seem to pause and survey their own habits in the process.

I have had several people recently hover over my book, whether they're close friends or they're distant acquaintances...I guess that it makes no difference. They're all around me right now. And even if a small percentage of them decide to leave a review for No Net, that would honestly be an INCREDIBLE help toward cultivating my dream, my passion, and my torturous journey through these literary waters.

And I realize that you do have to practice what you preach. So in these last few days, I've thought a lot about how there are simply hundreds of albums, books and films that I personally love and have cherished for years...but in all reality, I have sadly never stopped for a second to think of how I should document my feelings about them.

Well, I'm doing that this year. In fact, I'm going to go above and beyond. I'm going to review each and every single book that I read this year, regardless of if I was kindly asked to or not.

I strongly believe that we need to be a lot more vocal with our peers and with their work. If you expect praise to magically arrive at your feet once you release your debut novel, think again. In life, you have to network. You must find who believes in you and you must find who you can believe in yourself.

Please everybody, I encourage all of you to think of what has moved you in the past, what continues to move you in the present...and what will possibly entice you to display genuine tears in the future.

Why is it that so many authors have to put 'A Novel' onto the front cover of their book? It's become ridiculous to me. I've never liked it one bit and over time, it's become a crutch with others. Look at the best-of-the-year lists. Most of the novels selected have those two obvious words plastered onto them.

WHY?

When I order a pizza, it doesn't say A PIZZA anywhere on the box. When I get a burrito from Chipotle, it doesn't say A BURRITO on the foil. It's just silly.

That's why you'll never see that from any of my covers. My first book No Net is void of that bad habit. I have two rules for my front cover guidelines.

1. Have my name integrated into the actual world of the artwork.

2. Have the title of the book itself integrated into the actual world of the artwork.

That's it.

All I ever see when I'm at a bookstore is the same exact pattern playing out. Author name up to the top, lined up perfectly...or down at the bottom in the same fashion...and the title of the book mingling with the evil words A NOVEL. It bleeds familiarity, sure. But it is monotonous by now, don't you think?

In my opinion, it sucks. I can't be the only one who thinks so...

I believe it's time for a change.

I'm going on record right here. I will never do that. I'd like to see fellow writers think outside the box a little more in the future. Take risks, have fun. Be creative!

I truly hope that people follow my lead with this one day.

Just say NO to A NOVEL, everyone. It's bad for your health.

FYI! If you want to blame the culprit of this traditional literary custom, read this article about the origins:

http://annieneugebauer.com/2013/01/14...

Rest in peace, Emily Brontë.
1818-1848