Tag Archives: stories

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17 June, 2025

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determination, published, storyteller

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Standing in My Own Way

Amazon box person sad in the rain

Blelo evwebody.

It is rainy. It is always rainy these days. It does not feel like summer.

And I am doing it again. I am starting to feel like I am not writing enough. I feel like I should be more prolific. I keep beating myself up because I haven’t gotten around to writing those short stories floating around my head, or starting those other novels.

I also feel like I haven’t been published enough to be taken seriously. I looked at my “Published Work” page and although it makes me happy, I feel like it’s “not enough.”

Of course this is all nonsense, but I just want to do this author thing full-time and pump out lots of stuff and have people all over the world read it all and love it. ❤ That would be nice.

What I should do (instead of pouting), is just sit down and write something, gahdammit! The next time I think about one of those short stories, well golly gee, I might as well start writing the damn thing. :o| Makes sense, eh?

No one’s stopping me but me, after all.

Hope summer weather comes soon.

Happy writing,
-J

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28 January, 2024

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determination, storyteller, writing

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BElieve In YOUrself

For the longest time (months, years even), I have struggled with my writing. I have had a hard time picking up the pen or typing on the keys. I have felt my writing is, quite frankly, utter shit.

I have constantly been comparing myself to other writers. Whether it’s not writing as prolifically as others or thinking their work is better, I just seem to have been measuring myself to everyone else. And I’ve been doing it for a long time.

I’ve also been making ridiculous, unattainable, unrealistic goals. Like, I have to write 5 books and 20 short stories, no excuses, by the time I’m 40 (which is only a few years off). Why? Because apparently that would make me a *real* writer/author. *That* would make me as successful and comparable to other authors.

You can kinda see where this makes you become miserable as a writer. The other day I realized, guess what? Somewhere along the lines here, writing stopped being fun. It started to become a chore and work. And I already write and edit for my day job so I definitely don’t want to feel that way about my personal life.

Because writing…writing is my soul. I am meant to write. I am meant to tell stories. I’ve always known it.

So when that stops being fun. Well, that’s a problem.

I told M about this and he agreed completely and said he saw this in me. So the other day I just said “F it,” and I just went for it. And I ended up writing about 3500 words to my sci-fi crime drama. And you know what? It felt amazing. I had fun. I didn’t care. I just wrote my story and I loved it.

And I still feel that way. I’m just going for it. I’m gonna write when I want to. I don’t care what so-and-so is doing or how many books and stories whoever put out, or how whatshername’s book is doing on Amazon. I’m going to write my stories.

And I’m gonna publish my stories and books when I’m good and ready and I know people will like them because I believe in them. And I believe in me.

-J

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29 April, 2020

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determination, fiction, self-portrait, storyteller, writing

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Spring in My Step

Albany-Bench-1

Hello everybody! It’s springtime here in NY!

I have been gone for quite a few months. Just work and things. Kinda haven’t felt the very best in terms of being confident about my writing, either.

It seems now is a perfect time to write, read, and talk about writing with what’s going on in the world. How are you all doing with COVID-19 and being isolated? M and I have been doing well; we are watching lots of old movies and going for walks. I thought this would be a great time for me to break my writer’s block, but I haven’t done that as of yet, and we’re starting week 7. I have been reading, though, which I’m happy about.

I used to have my nose stuck in a book all the time growing up. I kinda stopped reading as I got older. Now I’ve gotten back into it. I’m glad. I love reading. I’ve gone through 4 or 5 books so far. Right now, I’m currently reading Raven Black by Ann Cleeves. It’s a mystery thriller. I’m liking mysteries right now.

I was scrolling through Facebook last week and I came across a competition that the Writer’s Digest is holding. It is the Writers Digest Self-Published Book Awards. I caught it just in time; the deadline for submitting work is May 1. It’s an expensive entry fee, but I talked to M and we decided I should go for it! So I sent in The Underground Dogs. I’m not holding my breath, but I’m hoping for honorable mention!

Speaking of The Underground Dogs, sales have been okay. It seems they’ve slowed down. I thought they might pick up due to everyone being stuck at home. I might have to change my ad strategy. It’s a double-edged sword; I hate having to pay for ads because it gets expensive, but it’s the only way to get people to find my book on Amazon. So far, 12 people have reviewed it and I have a 4.5 star rating. If you haven’t checked it out yet, I encourage you to go get it. Its dystopian fascist themes are reminiscent of what’s going on in today’s world. It has some thrills and humor, too. I am sure you’d all enjoy it!

I also discovered people are rating and talking about The Underground Dogs on goodreads. I had no idea! It has a 4.33 rating on there! And there are 8 people who are currently reading it or want to read it. How amazing is that? It made my day! I feel somewhat ignorant and naive I completely overlooked goodreads. It seems like readers very much like that site to talk about and rate books. I will have to make an author profile over there. If you have a goodreads account and have read The Underground Dogs, please consider rating and reviewing it there! I’d be very appreciative.

So, because of those things (Writer’s Digest competition and ratings), I feel more motivated to work on my novels and start writing again. My psych and M have been telling me to “just do it” and write something. It is much easier said than done, of course. I am really going to try though. I have set myself a somewhat lofty goal: I want to self-publish (with Amazon) 4 more books before I am 40. Without telling you how old I am, know this is doable, but ambitious. BUT! This also means I have to move my butt, stop feeling sorry for myself, and actually WRITE! I am hoping to do so ASAP.

I am also thinking about adding a section to my website here about self-publishing. I am thinking of putting together some FAQs and How To’s. There is so much information out there and I figured out a lot of stuff for myself. I think I’ll put together tips and tricks in one spot to help others that have no idea where to go.

Well, that’s what is going on with me. Let me know what you all have been up to!

-JCDK

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16 January, 2019

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determination, short story, The Novel that Will Get Me Published

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Ten Spoons of Spinach

Hey weberverse. How have you been? I haven’t been doing well lately. I haven’t been managing well. It has been a hard fall-now-into-winter. My heart longs for spring.

I do have some cool news about writing. I have a new plan on getting published. I am going to self-publish (yes, like every other Joe Schmo) The Novel That Will Get Me Published and I have several ideas on how to market it/myself. I am hoping a pub. company will get wind of it and then I’ll get offered a contract from that point. Hey, it could happen.

I also have a new sci-fi short story I am working on. The idea came from a co-worker, so I’ll be sure to credit her, but her idea is too good not to write down. I’m going to work on that and add it to my sci-fi collection. I’ll probably self-publish that, too. That way, I’ll have a couple different things for people (soon to be fans, I hope) to read.

I have several new ideas for novels, too. I think I mentioned one of them already, but now I’ve come up with another one. So I hope to be starting work on those, too…

M and my psych have been encouraging me to write more. I haven’t actually sat down and written anything in many, many moons. I suppose I can say half of it is because you never want to do anything when you have depression, but then I guess the other half, is I don’t feel I’m good enough so why bother. I think I talked about that before, too. But right now I just want to finish some stories to read them and make myself feel better. That’s the whole idea, right there.

So that’s where I am right now. I hope I can start to manage my illnesses better this year and I hope to write and read a lot more. I guess those are my “resolutions.”

Stay classy, San Diego.

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14 July, 2016

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Wr.Tu.Th.: The End?

This Writing Tutorial Thursday has been a long time coming. (My fault. Sorry.) Finally, we’ve reached….THE ENDING.

Writing Tutorial: The End?

Disclaimer: The information presented herein is based on what I, personally, have learned in my educational and professional careers. This tutorial is simply meant to offer some helpful tips.

INTRODUCTION: You’ve done it; you wrote your novel. You—wait a minute! What about the ending?

Admittedly, I have such a hard time with endings. And it’s one of the most important parts! It’s where you tie everything up; where your resolution happens; where everything comes together. So how do you write one? Here are some tips that have helped me in the ending-writing process.

1)As mentioned, the ending is where you resolve the central conflict. It’s also where you tie up loose ends. Make sure you’ve fixed the problems, solved the issues, etc. You shouldn’t leave your readers confused and wondering, “Wait, so what about….?”

2) Nothing new. The ending isn’t the time to introduce a new, surprise character or subplot. Unless these things were foreshadowed in early chapters, they shouldn’t be included. They just make things confusing.

3) Let your reader do the imagining. Try not to get carried away with descriptions of “what happens after.” You don’t have to write a neat and tidy ending; you can certainly let your reader figure it out.

4) Make sure your ending mirrors something in the beginning (or at least ties back to a crucial part of your story). Did your main character grow emotionally? Did he/she learn something since the beginning? Accomplish something? Do that one thing you wanted them to do? Be sure your reader can recognize that your ending somehow relates to an earlier theme or idea presented in your novel.

Hopefully these will help you craft some stellar endings. Do you have any other suggestions? Questions? Let me know!

Keep practicing and happy writing!