Timothy James Dean's Blog
January 21, 2014
THIS WOULD MAKE A GOOD MOVIE...
"This book kept my attention. It made you feel as if you were there. This would make a good movie. The author..."
http://www.amazon.com/review/R2T4XEAM...
http://www.amazon.com/review/R2T4XEAM...
January 11, 2014
IT'S NOT JUST AN ADVENTURE, IT'S A LOVE STORY
"Mr. Dean's level of detail and knowledge of the culture, time and setting compare only to Michener in accuracy, and addicting enticement. He creates a breathtakingly real look at what WWII must have been like in the Pacific arena. It is not for the faint at heart, but it is also for the tender hearted..." http://www.amazon.com/review/R1EIXR46...
January 28, 2011
"I MISSED GOING TO BED BECAUSE OF THIS BOOK!"
"As a reader of 200-500 books a year it is not often that I wind up missing going to bed because I couldn't put a book down. But this one did it." MORE... http://www.amazon.com/review/R1OPJGSZ...
January 17, 2011
DON'T CALL IT BLOCK...
What's in a name? Almost everything. We writers shouldn't need to be told that words have a huge impact. We wield them like power tools every day.
Still - how many writers get stumped in a story and start to bray, "Stand back, Don't come near! I've developed a bad case of Writers' Block!" Sounds like an obstruction in the bowel. Surgery required!
In my opinion, slapping the label of Writers' Block on yourself is a mistake. In fact, you are using your own words to put a curse on yourself.
When I think of "Writer's Block," I see a great granite cube tumbling out of the sky to slam into my path. BAM! I face it, pen in trembling hand, looking at something real, huge, heavy. Downright scary. It stops me cold!
My advice - do yourself a solid. Don't call it by the Goliath name!
Try this, even (especially) just in your mind: "I'm a little stuck on this plot point. I'm not sure where I'm going from here. But I'm going to keep moving."
One technique to keep the wheels rolling is to pick another part of the story and work on that. Or I might flesh in a character's back story while my subconscious is working through my challenge.
Even more directly - sketch in point form a number of ways the story might go forward from your little hiccup.
In other words - don't panic. Don't magnify the problem. Be gentle with yourself!
What you call things counts. Don't curse yourself.
Still - how many writers get stumped in a story and start to bray, "Stand back, Don't come near! I've developed a bad case of Writers' Block!" Sounds like an obstruction in the bowel. Surgery required!
In my opinion, slapping the label of Writers' Block on yourself is a mistake. In fact, you are using your own words to put a curse on yourself.
When I think of "Writer's Block," I see a great granite cube tumbling out of the sky to slam into my path. BAM! I face it, pen in trembling hand, looking at something real, huge, heavy. Downright scary. It stops me cold!
My advice - do yourself a solid. Don't call it by the Goliath name!
Try this, even (especially) just in your mind: "I'm a little stuck on this plot point. I'm not sure where I'm going from here. But I'm going to keep moving."
One technique to keep the wheels rolling is to pick another part of the story and work on that. Or I might flesh in a character's back story while my subconscious is working through my challenge.
Even more directly - sketch in point form a number of ways the story might go forward from your little hiccup.
In other words - don't panic. Don't magnify the problem. Be gentle with yourself!
What you call things counts. Don't curse yourself.
January 10, 2011
RESOLVED:
To put my head down, close the door to my writer cave, and not really come out until Vol. 2 of the South Pacific Trilogy is done, edited, and published. Then - on to Vol. 3.
Both are drafted - both need massive re-sculpting! BUT, as you know if you're a writer, gutting out the entire first draft is the hardest part of the work. At least, it is for me.
Friends on Goodreads - forgive me if you don't see me around too often. I'll check in, but I have to be brutal in my control of online time! I can eat up entire days, talking fiction and writing - and reading - with friends!
I'll be checking in - but only every few days.
Both are drafted - both need massive re-sculpting! BUT, as you know if you're a writer, gutting out the entire first draft is the hardest part of the work. At least, it is for me.
Friends on Goodreads - forgive me if you don't see me around too often. I'll check in, but I have to be brutal in my control of online time! I can eat up entire days, talking fiction and writing - and reading - with friends!
I'll be checking in - but only every few days.
December 24, 2010
Merry Merry Joy Joy
Merry Christmas 2010! Happy writing and reading in 2011 - Feliz Navidad, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays...
God bless us every one - the world needs it!
God bless us every one - the world needs it!
December 8, 2010
WRITER - THE BEAR
I've been a professional writer for 30+ years. A friend just starting out to be an author asked how I ever managed to finish a book, with all the distractions: here's what I told him.
"You have to have a place to write, you have to have a schedule, you have to shut the door, you have to become a bear about interruptions. Everyone must learn to respect that daddy is a writer, and when daddy is in his writing den, others disturb on pain of injury! This is the first step.
Get anal about being in your room for your period of time every day.
And, in your writing time: never answer the phone, have your wife take messages or let them pick up. AND stay off the internet during that time! It will eat your life.
Also this - I learned it from Stephen J Cannell many years ago: never again start a story/novel that you do not finish...even if you know it's going to turn out badly. This will turn you from an amateur into a professional!
"You have to have a place to write, you have to have a schedule, you have to shut the door, you have to become a bear about interruptions. Everyone must learn to respect that daddy is a writer, and when daddy is in his writing den, others disturb on pain of injury! This is the first step.
Get anal about being in your room for your period of time every day.
And, in your writing time: never answer the phone, have your wife take messages or let them pick up. AND stay off the internet during that time! It will eat your life.
Also this - I learned it from Stephen J Cannell many years ago: never again start a story/novel that you do not finish...even if you know it's going to turn out badly. This will turn you from an amateur into a professional!
November 20, 2010
FREE NOVEL - BUT, WARNING...!
Thanksgiving is coming up - and to celebrate that, and my recent upload of my award-winning novel to Smashwords, I've got a FREE GIFT for you - the ebook version of "TEETH - The Epic Novel With Bite." Warning! the coupon is good only for 3 days - until Tues., Nov. 23."
I'm a world traveler, TV producer and fiction author. My sweeping WWII adventure, features 3 brave men and one enormous crocodile (based on a real monster). You can download it for your computer or your eReader (various formats).
You'll need this code to get your FREE "TEETH"... VA75R
Go to this link to read about the books - and to see some great reviews (including the one from Your Truly - I love this book!)... http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/...
Note: your "GET IT FREE" coupon WILL expire soon, so if you want it, go get it now!
I'm a world traveler, TV producer and fiction author. My sweeping WWII adventure, features 3 brave men and one enormous crocodile (based on a real monster). You can download it for your computer or your eReader (various formats).
You'll need this code to get your FREE "TEETH"... VA75R
Go to this link to read about the books - and to see some great reviews (including the one from Your Truly - I love this book!)... http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/...
Note: your "GET IT FREE" coupon WILL expire soon, so if you want it, go get it now!
November 11, 2010
Kindle Readers Up In Arms
Kindle readers are a vocal group! Especially on Amazon. There's a lot of misinformation, however. Some are blazingly unhappy that some Kindle books are priced beyond the $9.99 recommended by Amazon. As an indie author with some inside information, I added a post. Here's a taste - followed by the link to the full story.
Amazon would prefer it if no Kindle book sold over $9.99. In fact, they encourage (not just the Big 5 Dinosaurs), but all publishers, to sell between $2.99 and $9.99. Amazon puts their money where their mouth is: they will pay the publisher 70% of the sale, minus about 20 cents for download time (yes, the publisher pays for you to download the book in this scenario), if they will sell between those two magic numbers. 35% if not. I'm no math wiz, but if we do the basics, a publisher selling at $15 nets out $5.25. One selling at $9.99 who has elected the 70% split nets $6.99.
No-brainer! Selling for less makes more!
BUT let's not miss the big picture: what's going on here is WAR between the publishers, who had it all their way for a long, long time, and that upstart Amazon, which has become a mega-monster in its own right, with a great deal of power...
http://amzn.to/bqgBTO
Amazon would prefer it if no Kindle book sold over $9.99. In fact, they encourage (not just the Big 5 Dinosaurs), but all publishers, to sell between $2.99 and $9.99. Amazon puts their money where their mouth is: they will pay the publisher 70% of the sale, minus about 20 cents for download time (yes, the publisher pays for you to download the book in this scenario), if they will sell between those two magic numbers. 35% if not. I'm no math wiz, but if we do the basics, a publisher selling at $15 nets out $5.25. One selling at $9.99 who has elected the 70% split nets $6.99.
No-brainer! Selling for less makes more!
BUT let's not miss the big picture: what's going on here is WAR between the publishers, who had it all their way for a long, long time, and that upstart Amazon, which has become a mega-monster in its own right, with a great deal of power...
http://amzn.to/bqgBTO
