Trying to figure it all out.

As I mentioned in a previous post I relaunched the website and wanted to make it more of central hub for things that involve my writing. One of the reasons for doing that was wanting to use the blog feature of the site more. I have often held back on voicing my thoughts about random things on social media because people tend to lean away from long winded post. It causes too much of a point and click reaction as well. I wanted this to be a place for me to delve into things that may not always 100% be about writing. A place where you can get to know me as a person and how my ADD addled brain works. These post may be funny, poignant, serious or a little bit of everything. I just hope my readers and friends can get some sort of enjoyment out of these entries and maybe even learn a thing or two from time to time. Or maybe, you'll just roll your eyes and go, WTF is this guy thinking? Either way, thanks for reading.

One of the things I have found as a writer is that no one does things the same way. Sure we might take someone's advice or an idea on how to approach writing and run with it, but we really don't do it exactly alike. Each of us finds our comfort zone and tends to stick with it. It's often a challenge to branch out beyond that and see things from a different point of view.

Finding your voice amongst the advice, ideas and input is a very challenging task. Think of it as a long road with a whole lot of tourist attractions along the way. Just when you think you've found yours and got it down that shiny billboard advertising Dr. McStuffin's land of ideas comes along. I'll stop and take a look, what will it hurt? The next thing you know you're changing your perspective or taking what you learned and applying it to what you're already doing. This is many cases changes your voice. Maybe just slightly, but often times in a drastic manner. For better or worse it is part of being a writer. One that often causes more confusion than helps and in my case on more than one occasion causes massive amounts of self doubt about what I am doing.

The last year and half has been a challenge for me. I went through a terrible bout of writers block where I couldn't come up with or do anything that I was happy with. One of the positive things that came out of that time was I learned a lot about writing and different approaches to it. Several long discussions with fellow writers and many articles later I managed to pull myself out of that funk and had one of the most productive years I have ever had. I finished my novella The August Devils, as well as the short stories CHUM, The Bad Trip & the newest Santa Claus: Monster Hunter story Santa Claus: Monster Hunter Vs. Xan'Chi The Huntress. I published my short story collection Into Darkness and almost finished my first draft of my next novel Normal. I also started another novel that is yet untitled which I plan on going back to once I am finished with Normal. I also made my very first Horror convention appearance which was a eye opener for me and I very much enjoyed. I hope to do more of them in the future.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is we never really figure it out. We adapt, learn and apply constantly. Even if we're not aware of it. This applies to a lot of things in life that we pour our hearts and souls into, not just writing. When we stop learning and stop trying to better ourselves we often fall into a rut, one that sometimes we feel we can't get out of. When you are feeling negative about something, take a step back. Pull into your Dr. McStuffin's land of ideas and take an outsiders view into something that may not be your normal everyday thing. Let it inspire you and lead you further down the road.