Good lord, I need a break.
I think I've fried my brain... Honest. It's nothing more than a smoldering pile of ashes and discarded story ideas at this point. I've spent so much time fighting for the words to Revival's sequel, lately, that I've completely forgotten how to relax and enjoy the process.
...Which is why I decided to drop by the blog today, instead of spending another afternoon crying into my keyboard over that disaster of a chapter I can't quite seem to finish.
You know, back when I started up the blog, I had all these grand plans for it. Music! Movies! Writing advice! Delightful non sequiturs! My little corner of the web was totally going to have it all.
Aaannndd then that horrid promo-machine took over and I gave up on trying to put more me in the blog. I forgot that it was okay to post random links to videos that have nothing to do with anything at all.
Stuff like this...
(Because videos of hillbillies dancing with their pet raccoons should always be shared with your friends. It's an unwritten law of the Internet.)
So today I'm going to put together the sort of random post I'd originally planned at the outset.
Gird yourself. This time around, there will be no flailing of limbs or neon signs pointing toward websites where you can purchase my last book . (Not that there ever was before, really. Although even the smallest bit of self-promotion feels that way to me... Sadly, it's a necessary evil when trying to promote a self-published book.) Instead, I'm going to introduce you to some awesome things that you may or may not find interesting.
First up: In My Headphones
Want to know what I've had on repeat lately?
This.
It's Greg Laswell's delightfully mellow track Comes and Goes.... A little secret about my writing process? I like to find songs that I can play on repeat for hours without it driving me crazy. I have iTunes play counts that are in the hundreds for certain songs.
Music while I write is something of a necessity, but it also helps if it's a song that I can easily tune out when I need to focus... This song is perfect for that.
Next up: On Writing
My writing advice for the day? It's this—If you're a writer and you're not already following Chuck Wendig's blog at terribleminds.com, you kind of need to get on that.
...No, seriously. Go follow his blog.
Right now.
It's okay. I'll wait.
*strums fingers on keyboard*
*whistles*
*dances to I Knew You Were Trouble while no one is looking*
....
Back now? Fantastic.
Wendig's blog is a treasure trove of fantastic writing advice, all of which is imparted with his trademark sense of humor. I guarantee you'll find something useful to your writing process from each post—and odds are you'll also find a lot to laugh at along the way... Which is always the best way to learn something new, if you ask me.
(Also, Wendig has a new novel out this week — Under the Empyrean Sky (The Heartland Trilogy, Book #1) in case you're looking for a new YA dystopian to read!)
Last, but not least: At the Movies
Way, way back in the inaugural post of this blog, I mentioned that I had a penchant for bad sci-fi movies. And, my hand to god, this might just be one of the best bad movies I've ever seen:
("Wherever you go, well... There you are.")
It's The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension... This movie has it all, guys. A superhero that's a rock-star/physicist/neurosurgeon/adventurer, John Lithgow as the evil Dr. Lizardo, Red Lectroids from Planet 10, Jeff Goldblum dressed in furry chaps...
(No, really. He's dressed like Roy Rogers for almost the entire movie.)
What's not to love?
Here... Have a trailer.
'Nuff said.
Before I go, I feel like I ought to leave you with something profound.... But that's so not happening. So here — have this instead. (BA-NA-NAAAA.)
Yeah. That's all I've got right now.
See y'all later! I have a novel to finish...
