Are We Reading Bizarro? (Part 2)

This week, in my ongoing series, "Are We Reading Bizarro?" I've decided to dig a little deeper to see if I could pull the number of people reading Bizarro fiction up. In the first week I used purely anecdotal evidence from my Goodreads feed over the course of a few weeks to surmise that only three of the people I am connected to on Goodreads were reading Bizarro or Bizarro adjacent titles.

Are We Reading Bizarro?

This week I decided to up the ante a little bit. I am still using Goodreads as my measurement but instead of relying solely on what passed through on my news feeds, I dug through my friends list (812 members as of this posting), page by page to see of those reporting the titles they're reading, how many I could count off that were Bizarro or Bizarro adjacent.

The number I wound up at: 5.

Digging In Deeper For The Numbers

An interesting thing happened while I was combing through all twenty eight pages of friends statuses, There were far more than five people who's status reported they were reading a Bizarro or adjacent title. The problem was there were more of those status updates that were year old (roughly in the range of 2013 through 2017.) Obviously, I couldn't count those as people currently reading Bizarro. What I can say is that there are way more of those old statuses reporting reading Bizarro than there are currently.

I can't say that means anything or not. But, it could be an indication that we were reading much more Bizarro years ago looking at those snapshots back over years past than we are now. Again that is purely circumstantial evidence and obviously not concrete. 

I can also say that, after my first blog post in this series, several people stepped up to report that they were currently, recently or intend to soon, read a Bizarro or adjacent title. That is encouraging.

I myself, am about to finish up my first experience with Kurt Vonnegut and I have two Bizarro or adjacent titles up next in my reading queue.  As always, if you're reading Bizarro or adjacent let me know! I know someone reported trouble replying directly to the blog so let me know on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads or wherever we interact!

Up next for Mr. Frank

It's a weird time to be alive but a great time to get in more reading! Be well and read weird.

Avocado And Eggs (Part 1)

Once again, Central New Jersey has become the cradle of horror fiction. I find myself back at a Central Jersey Panera writing the morning away. It's a different Panera this time. It's a different view and the company has changed a tad as well. At the behest of my writing guru, Chuck Buda we have assembled once again to write in the company of one another. This time the uber-pretty Tim Meyer was able to get out to join us.

I like my coffee like I like my fiction, in a cup.

I was able to jump right into the writing the morning. Im taking a moment to write up this blog post during one of my little breaks. The other two gents are busy tapping away at their work so I won't interrupt them for now. 

Chuck has the earbuds in and he's playing air guitar furiously and flashing the devil's horns at his computer screen where he's supposedly writing erotica scene's inspired by my libido. Nice!

Chuck is gettin' all sassy up in this Panera.

Tim has been in the zone, writing non-stop since he polished off his breakfast sandwich.

Speaking of breakfast sandwich, that's what this post is ultimately about. See, I got the same exact sandwich that Tim and and it's also the same exact sandwich that I got at the previous Panera writing retreat. An avocado, egg white and spinach sandwich on sprouted grain bread. Fuckin' fancy right? It tastes pretty damn good and I'm fairly certain that it has more nutritional value than Mr. Buda's enormous (and I'm positive, decadently delicious) cinnamon roll.

Tim is a little too excited about writing the evisceration scene.

I've heard like a bazillion writing blogs, podcasts and shit talkers say that a good piece of writing advice is to do things to make it a habit. Well, not this hyper nutritious, super duper yummy and highly snooty sounding avocado, egg white and spinach on sprouted grain bread has become my writing habit. 

All hail the writing fuel!

What do you fuel up on to write? I HAVE to know. Let me know in the comments!

Kickstart My Fart [Part 2]

How'd it go? Depends on who you ask I suppose.

In case you're not up to speed. This morning Chuck Buda and I sat down at a Panera Bread in Central Jersey to conduct a writers retreat of sorts. We were originally supposed to have author Tim Meyer join as as well, but as you'll find out if you haven't read Part 1, things changed just a tad.

The long and short of the plan is that we would spend the morning writing in a sociable setting utilizing good company and motivational chatting to kick our writing output into high gear. If all went well, we would treat ourselves to a pint or two at one of New Jersey's many local breweries. Sounds like a good way to spend a Sunday, don't you think?

The music ambiance is terrible here.

So, how'd it go? I enjoyed the hell out of the experience. It was the first time I wrote in a social situation. I was surprised to find it wasn't very distracting. Chuck and I chit chatted a bit while we ate some breakfast. Once I put away my breakfast sandwich, I popped open the laptop and got to work.

I started out by writing the blog post from this morning. I like to use the blog format to get my mind wound up into writing gear. It worked like a charm. After snapping a few shots for the blog and posting it up, Chuck and I engaged in some more writerly banter. Then it was time to get into the main project.

Normally I try to use a kitchen timer and write in 15 minute bursts but since we were trying this casual writing situation, I skipped on the timer and figured I would write in a burst that lasted as long as it would last.  I spit out a good chuck of words and I really have no clue how long the burst was.

Chuck struggled to find the words today.

I refreshed my cup of coffee and got into some more writerly conversation with Chuck. Between writing sessions we talked about what we were working on, our approaches to self-publishing and even some podcast chatter as well. It was nice, I felt productive even when I wasn't tapping away at the keys.

It went back and forth between writing and talking for about three hours. By noon I'd written better then 1500 words (never even kept accurate count from where I started to where I ended.) I could see Chuck was tapped out as well. I suggested either changing locations or grabbing lunch elsewhere or even getting to a brewery a bit early.

Chuck said he just wasn't feeling up to much else on the day. I was cool with that. We'd spent three hours together. We'd done what we set out to do even if there were some bumps in the plan. We both agreed it is something we should do again sometime soon.

Lots of writing: Happy. No beer: Sad.

So when our schedules clear and the Meyer household is back in good health, we'll once again assemble and write the next Great American Novel around a table at a cafe somewhere in New Jersey.

And I'll be sure to bore you with all the details as a selfish writing exercise. Until then keep reading and keep writing.

GOAL!

On April 1, 2014 I set out to accomplish something I never have before. It seemed like a daunting task at the time. I knew it would take time and I set a time frame and a minimum pace in order to archive that goal. On the first day of April, I set out to write my first book.

As I've stated, ad nauseam by this point, the way I was going to accomplish this was to write 1,000 words per day for fifty days. The goal being a first draft of fifty thousand words (at least) by May 20, 2014.

Am I happy to announce that today, May 13, 2014 I crossed the fifty thousand word mark. Seven days ahead of schedule. There is still some story left to write, so I'm not stopping here. I should have the entire first draft complete by my May 20th deadline so there is still a small victory for me to attain. But the main goal has been reached and I actually feel accomplished.

At times I've felt like I was zipping along. Other times it feels like I've been at it forever. But really, when I take a step back and look, its only been a month an a half. At that rate I could write eight 50,000 word first drafts in one year. That's kind of impressive to think about though I would never be so mad as to try it.

Thing is, I know there is still a lot left in the process of getting this book out to the public. When the first draft is done I have to go back and do the part I dread the most, self-edit. Then when I'm sure I've got it as clean as I can it will be shared with a few select others for some more clean up. Then we reach the point where I have to make a final decision on whether I want to shop the book around to indie publishers or tackle publishing on my own.

So there is still a way to go before I can get this out to the wide world. If all goes as I hope BRATS IN HELL will be available sometime in the Fall 2014. Winter the latest. I hope.

Thanks for following along on this trip to 50,000 words. Please stick around. There is a lot more to come.

PLEASE sign up for my newsletter as well. The sign up is in the upper right of the blog menu. Everyone who subscribes will be the FIRST to know about new and exciting news in Frank J Edler world.  You'll be the inaugural members of my fan club. In the future there will be special offers and giveaways available exclusively to newsletter subscribers. AND the first big piece of news will be coming out this Friday, May 16th so don't wait, sign up now!

Little Victories

It's been awhile since I checked in with you all. The first draft of BRATS IN HELL is now 75 percent complete. It's also May1st which means only 20 days remain to complete my goal in time.

Can I do it?

Oh, you betcha! I'm a little more than 37k words into the story. The goal is 50k by May 20th. So at my current pace of 1k words per day I should cross the finish line with a few days to spare. Certainly, I won't stop dead in my tracks there. If there is more story to be told obviously I will go until it's done.

Have I been honest with myself and suck to writing a minimum of 1k per day? Honestly? No. BUT... by and large I have and then some. Even on days where I have come up short, I've always written something. I think my worst day was still a little more than 500 words. Plus, weekends have proven fruitful at times where I've pumped out over 3k words over the course of two lazy days. In the end, it's all even out pretty much.

The story itself has just reached the end game. The battle for Hell is about to go down. The most exciting part is that someone has to die, I'm just not sure who yet. I have to wait for the story to tell me. That had been the most fun part of all this. No matter how much I plan, outline and jot down notes, the story doesn't really play out until I actually write it. Often the story has given my outlines and notes the middle finger. The story says "F You! THIS is how it goes down!" That is when is been strongest too.

To round out this update with a bit of happy news, I've had two short stories accepted into two different anthologies. Just before I started to write BRATS IN HELL, I wrote these two stories. They are both for a series of anthologies called STATE OF HORROR. Each anthology focuses on one of the states. The first two are for New Jersey and Illinois. I managed to get a story into each. Look out for them this summer!

I imagine my next post will come when I cross the finish line. I'll talk to you all then.

FJE

Finding A Routine

Thanks for checking back in! BRATS IN HELL is progressing nicely. As of this post I am over 15,000 words in. It feels like the right time for an update on my progress. Although I am only one third of the way in, it's been an experience very different from my short story writing experiences. Despite all my preparation, I was not prepared for all the forks I've encountered already.

The first three things I wrote down in my initial outline were:  Beginning, Middle and End. From there I kept breaking down each part into more and more detail to get the skeleton of the book. I can safely say I'm now into 'The Middle'. There was no magic delineation point, no particular chapter that says 'ok, this is the middle.' It's just a feel based on what's going in in the story. The same way NASA can say Voyager is now in interstellar space. There was no defined line, it was just based on a feel of where the craft was based on its surroundings.

I didn't set out with any specific sub plots. There are three that have developed naturally through the story telling. I'm really happy where the story is going and when I read back what's been done, I think it's pretty dang good. Though there will not be a story reveal any longer, I can say that before this blog series is over I will have a more thorough synopsis of BRAT IS HELL before it is done.

I've also been hitting my 1k/day word count with no problem. Surprisingly I've been doing this with no set routine getting it done. Everyday I seem to get there a bit differently than the last day. Typically I'll sneak in a couple hundred words in at work then come home and polish off the count. However, some days I'm so busy running kids around to this, that and the other thing that I have to find every precious moment to tap in a few words where I can. Then when I finally get home, make dinner and eat, I have to pray I have enough umph left in the tank to shoot out the last few words.

I have to admit, one day my count only came in at 989. I was outta gas and any more words would have been frivolous. I called it a night knowing that the night before I finished with close to 1400 words and generally I'm about 1100 a day.

 
So I'm not letting the little things bug me. I keep reminding myself  'you're not going to finish in one week or two' and that I just have to keep plugging away and tell the story. There's still a long way to go but when I look at that word counter sitting over 15,000 I feel accomplished coming this far.

FJE

Beware The Ends of March

I am on the eve of my official start to writing Brats In Hell. It's rather anticlimactic seeing as I've already started writing. Still, I figure now is as good a time as any for an update.

I have the Prologue and Chapter One done. I've just finished up the first half of Chapter Two. I'm just shy of 7000 words. In some ways I feel accomplished: two and a half chapters down already. In other ways I'm not yet impressed with myself: my current word count is right about where most of my short stories finish up. I think when I hit 10k I will feel like I've broken through to a new level. That word count will represent the single longest piece I've written to date and it will start to feel more like I'm writing a book at that point.

Early on in this project, I'm surprised how far off from the original outline I am already. The original outline did not call for a prologue. Not only do I have one but it is the second one I wrote, the first attempt felt stale, the second feels way better as a opener to grab your attention. I am still glad I did an outline. I need a map. It has a lot of great notes on direction, characters and world details. I don't think the words would be flowing so easily nor would I be able to sit down in front of the keys so confidently day after day without the outline to guide me through this story. I remain a fan.

Your story reveal this time is a longer form description of the story:

Satan rules the Nine Circles of Hell with an iron fist and the best damned bratwurst this side of the River Styx. That is until the Bratwurst King of Wisconsin, Otto Van Der Noodle, is cast into the Pit of Hell. Now Hell's Kitchen isn't the only game in town.

When the demons of Hell get a taste Otto's award winning brats, Satan's minions begin to pick sides. Satan feels the firm grasp of his reign in Hell begin to slip. The stage is set for the ultimate battle for Hell.

Will the humble Bratwurst King from Milwaukee wrest the throne of Hell from Lucifer or will Satan crush the only challenge to his reign over Hell?  Take the demonic journey in BRATS IN HELL to find out whose brats will be a cut above the rest.

FJE

Drawing Inspiration

I want to talk a little bit about somewhere very special I've been drawing inspiration from. Author Armand Rosamilia started a campaign to collect new books from authors and publishers to ship over to the brave men and women defending our country in Kuwait and Afghanistan. The drive is called Authors Supporting Our Troops 2014 and Rosamilia's efforts have harvested over 1700 books from over 200 authors thus far. If you are a writer or a publisher I implore you to join and participate in this worthwhile cause.

I, myself, do not have a book to donate to the cause. I have four short stories published in four different books, but none that I can call my own just yet. Part of the kick in the ass I've got to change that is inspired directly from the ASOT 2014 event. Armand Rosamilia has been posting tons of pictures daily of myriad books spanning all genres and interests. It is awe inspiring to see the generous outpouring from the writing community. But there is another inspiration there as I see the books stacking up and the list of contributors getting longer and longer, these are people who buckled down and got it done.

So everyday I see a handful more pictures of books sent in for our service men and women to read somewhere in the desert a world away. A little opportunity for a piece of home and a moment to escape the realities they face. I am driven to write my own book that, hopefully, if there is another book drive next year, I too will be able to donate to and join in this always inspiring writing community.

As for the writing update: I continue to tap away at the prologue. I actually started a new prologue entirely. The first stab was a straight forward narrative that just felt full of useless detail and was not really going anywhere. Today I started anew writing what amounts to a television news report of the scene. I can better visualize the scene playing out this way and the words are flowing more freely. So I feel justified in the early start now as I've taken one step forward and two steps back. I'm sure there will be more of that to come.

Your story reveal today is the short description:

" In Hell, The Devil makes the best brats. His demonic minions can't get enough of them. That is until Otto Van Der Noodle, the Brat King of Miliwaukee is cast into Hades Pit."

FJE

The Calamity Begins Prematurely

 The more I post in this blog the more I find a need to do everything I hate. Just talking about what I'm writing seems so lame. I'm the only one interested yet I feel compelled to do this for no other reason then to keep myself honest and on track. This blog serves to make me accountable for my own promises.

Now I am compelled to post one of those silly progress meters as well. One more thing that is only of any interest to me. I guess I'm going to have to learn that I am my own biggest fan. I'm routing for me. I am okay with that.

On to progress news: I've started writing ahead of schedule. Tapping out the prologue at the moment. I'm not doing it on my 1k/day rate yet. Just dipping my toes in and finding my voice in the story. I feel alot better getting on with the meat of the matter. There is really only so much preliminary outlining one can do. I've come to realize I am going to have to launch with what I have. I've no doubt that even with outlining will have to be retooled as things progress. I guess that's my big lesson for this week. Nothing is written in stone until it's published.

And even then...

Story reveal for this post. With just over a week before the official start of writing I guess it's time to release the working title. Keep in mind, the title alone may conjure one image and not that of the true story. The plot will be forthcoming this week. Please, play some fanfare in your mind:

BRATS IN HELL

FJE

The Journey of Fifty Thousand Words Starts With One Keystroke

I had an idea. I can't really remember what birthed it. It was small at first and kept growing the more I paid it some mind. Now this idea has expanded into what I believe will become my first novella length story. In order to see this project through to the end, I've taken many early steps. This blog is one of them.

OPINIONS ARE LIKE ASSHOLES AND I HAVE ONE will serve as one of those vehicles to help me keep focus and honest to this writing project. Obviously, it's mostly for me but if you find some sort of interest in following this process then welcome aboard. I used to scoff at writers who put their progress out to the public as if we somehow care about anything other then the final product. I would be remiss to not recognize the efforts of rookie writer, Tony Baker and his tireless dedication to sharing his progression from start to finish of his first book. And with a great deal of success which I hope to use as a model for some aspects of my own writing project.

At this time, to keep it at least somewhat intersting to anyone following along, I won't reveal many details of the project. I'll start out by giving you this much: 

• This is projected to be a 50,000 word project.
• Initial outlining of the story is already taking place
• I have set a firm start date of April 1, 2014
• My goal is 1000 words/day for fifty days to complete the first draft.

Lofty? I'd like to think I'm being reasonable out of the gate. I know the words per day rate I can handle based on my output writing short stories. I have never utilized an outline for a story before but the size of the project coupled with my expected output really necessitated it I felt. I think having a map will help get this done withing my self imposed time frames. I will do everything possible to stick to my own rules but I think I've given myself enough wiggle room to allow for unforeseen circumstances without frustrating myself during the long haul.

That's about all I'm going to talk about in this first installment. Check back as I will reveal more about the plot, the title and the process as I head toward the April 1st start date. Then keep checking back as I write this bad boy out and check in here with how things are going.

FJE