My Father's Day essay - what kind of a Father?

As a person, I have observed many examples of ‘fathers’ and regrettably more bad than good.  On a positive note, I was particularly struck by two recent* pieces related to fatherhood, one by LZGranderson at cnn.com, and the other by Dominic Utton at the Mail Online.

As an author, I have often created characters in a father role.  In certain of my books, the father is described after his death. In Playing the Baseball Card, the protagonist describes his father as a man who ‘made sure that his children were the most important part of his life.’

In Aiden’s Arrival: Honor Before Gold, a now-grown son describes a man who assumed a father’s role by marrying a women with two young children.  “None of us; my mother, my sister, my nephew, my niece; were related to our father and grandfather by blood, but that didn’t matter to him.  He showed us, by his example, that family is about loving people, and caring about people, and living together in a supportive way.  Not always in harmony, but always caring about your family more than anything else.  He lived that kind of life, and today we carry on with that legacy.”

In Zac and the Reluctant Prince, Book 1 of the Prince David series, the father is described this way:  “The example of his life teaches us the lessons of responsibility, obligation, commitment, dedication, loyalty, patriotism and also compassion.  In his life, he strove to be the best son he could be, the best husband he could be, the best father he could be, the best officer he could be, and the best man he could be.”

If you know your father, what do you think of him? If you knew your father, how do you remember him?

I believe a real father is one who looks into the eyes of his children, and says to them, “My life improved the day you came into my life, and my life gets better every day that you are still in my life.”  I also believe a real father is the kind of role model I’ve described in the excerpts from my books, above. 

If you have the chance to be a father, or if you are a father, how do you want to be remembered? 

To all fathers, everywhere, Happy Fathers’ Day.

*This essay was originally posted for Father's Day 2012. It has proven to be the most-viewed of my blog posts of all time, and so I re-post it again this year to honor the memory of those who filled a father-like role in my life: my dad and my granddad.  

Wil

Refining the way I write...

I've had a whole hit and miss thing going on with my writing, recently.  Over the Easter long weekend, for example, I managed 15,000 words as I try to complete two works in progress.  (The second and third books of the Prince David series, if you have to know.)  But, at other times, I've become bogged down, and I struggle to turn out 1,000 words in a week. 

Of course, it doesn’t help that I have a demanding full time job, as well, so my writing time frequently becomes very limited.  But, a lot of the problem revolves around the fact that I’ve been also been slow to adapt to some important skills involved in writing.  As in, writing novels. 

It’s not that I can’t write, because I can.  It’s just that sometimes I get into the heart of my work-in-progress novel, and lose my way.  I find that I haven’t researched properly, or I need a name, or I lose track of what I really want out of this story line.  To help resolve this issue, I’ve started doing more outlining of my stories as I write.  However, I also realize that I need to do more of this.  Outlining, that is.  And, research.  Most importantly, I need to better outline and research before I really get going.  That way, as I get on a roll and as the words flow, I can really keep going and not have to stop for things that I should know already. 

So, having been thinking about this a bit, recently, I was quite pleasantly surprised and pleased to see a recent April 4th post by Amanda Hocking, on her blog, in which she tells of (some time ago) hearing Gary Paulsen (she thinks) describe the need to outline.  Amanda goes on to talk about what works for her, and I am certainly going to take notice of her advice.  So, now, with a big thank you to Amanda Hocking, I will redouble my efforts to plan and outline my works in progress, and let’s hope I can speed up my production a bit.  And, just for the record, here’s what I’ve got on the go, right now.

Happy Reading,

Wil

Zac and Prince David's word cloud

Zac and the Reluctant Prince, Book 1 of the Prince David series, free for a very limited time, until 4/4/12.  Follow the link to Smashwords and enter coupon code CB33E at checkout.  (The word cloud is taken from the book's short and long descriptions.)

Zac and the Reluctant Prince, Book 1 of the Prince David series, FREE for a short time

The brand new Young Adult fiction title Zac and the Reluctant Prince, Book 1 of the Prince David series is now available in multiple eBooks formats on Smashwords.  It is FREE for readers of this blog, but only until 4/4/12!  Simply enter the coupon code CB33E at the Smashwords checkout.

Zac and the Reluctant Prince, Book 1 of the Prince David series, introduces David and the Bolithos, an unlikely but effective combination of young men and women who desire to do right, but who also want to be normal teenagers.  Is that even remotely possible?  Will they find the courage to succeed in spite of being nervous and scared of what lies ahead?

     David has unexpectedly become the royal heir. David has also become an orphan. Those two overwhelming problems confront teenager Zach and his family, who simply want to protect David and help the younger boy deal with his destiny.  A contemporary story about keeping friendships, seeking adventure, overcoming challenges and making history.

Prince David, Book 2: High Adventure (the NaNoWriMo novel for 2011)

I've been very actively engaged in writing the second book of the Prince David series, as part of NaNoWriMo for 2011.  The first two-thirds of the month went quite well.  I wrote a lot, I became one of seven writers profiled on The Huffington Post, and I believed I was on track to hit the 50,000 word goal by November 30.  

However, things don't always go according to plan.  For the last ten days of November, I had to travel unexpectedly for work, and although I managed a good 90 minutes of writing on the first plane, it went downhill after that.  The travel and work have been just too intense, and I simply have not been able to get my mind in the right creative mode to write.  

This book, Prince David, Book 2: High Adventure, is an important book for me, as it is the first time I've actually worked at a sequel.  In this case, this is a sequel to Prince David, Book 1: Enter the Heir.  I have even planned a series and have written the final 6,000 words of Book 5.  In any event, I want to make sure I get Book 2 right, and I'm not about to write words just to achieve the NaNoWriMo goal of 50,000 words.  In fact, Book 2 is about 75% written, and I will complete it, but at a slightly slower pace.  With some extra time looking to be available in the next month, I hope to complete the initial draft of the book by the end of December.

By the way, Prince David, Book 1: Enter the Heir, is being edited, and I hope to publish it early in 2012.

Thanks for reading,

Wil

A Novel in a Month? Yes, says Huff Post: Me and NaNoWriMo

Who actually writes a Novel in a Month?  Well, according to Huff Post, I do.

So, I will now admit that I’m trying to write a Novel in a Month.  Okay, actually, I’m one of seven writers profiled on The Huffington Post about writing a 50,000 word Novel in a Month, so I guess the secret is out.

Why, you ask?  What’s my personal motivation?  Hmmm…

I really need to get moving on the second book of my Prince David series.  It's about a contemporary young prince who, with the help of a small group of boys and girls, confounds the adults around him, deals with a dysfunctional family, helps others, and gets involved in challenging and diverse adventures around the world.   The first book, Prince David, Book 1: Enter the Heir is done and being edited, and the second book of the five-book series awaits.  

I really like the characters I've created, and I've got a lot of action already planned for the remaining four books, but now I need to sort out what will be in Prince David, Book 2: High Adventure.  I've been slow to work on the planning of the series so far, and being part of this NaNoWriMo will force me to get moving on this and get it done!  I know I can do it if I just keep going and don’t get distracted.  If you want to track my word count, there’s a link on the left side of the page, or click here.

How helpful is NaNoWriMo?

First off, the long title is National Novel Writing Month. As to the usefulness of NaNoWriMo?  Apparently many writers across America and around the world want try it, and many succeed.  It’s a good way of setting out time to make the writing happen, and there is a lot of support among writers, on the NaNoWriMo site and other places such as #NaNoWriMo on Twitter.  In fact, over the last few years, many very good books have been written in a short time, according to the Huff Post story that includes me.  Some have been best sellers.  

As for me, back in 2008, before I started publishing any of my work, I tried out NaNoWriMo for the first time.  The result, after a great deal of editing and worry, is A Family Legacy: The Watson Works.  It now sits in a sales rank of the top 1% at Barnes and Noble.

Will I make it?

Will I make the 50,000 words of NaNoWriMo this year?  I'll update this blog at the end of  this month.  In the meantime, follow the progress of National Novel Writing Month at Huff Post, or my tweets, or track my word count by clicking here.