Friends, 

Almost a year ago I started a little project, an experiment if you will, to connect with other writers and to learn from their experiences and life journeys. At that time, I was trying to write full-time and found it a relatively solitary experience. But, I was convinced it didn’t have to be that way.

I didn’t know where my project would take me, or if people would be willing to participate, but I decided to at least give it a try. “Give it a try” is a big motto in my life. Because, how can you really know until you try?

So, I started reaching out to people that I know and love and asked them if they’d be a part of my new idea. My baby, #WritersQuick5 - an interview series where writers of all genres and ilks gave us the answers to the same five questions. I figured the continuity of always asking the same questions would give the interviews a rhythm, and the readers would know what to expect, and the writers could compare and contrast their own experiences.  

I am happy to report that the people in my life are just as amazing as I knew they were and they said yes. And soon, the ball was rolling. More and more people said yes. And #WritersQuick5 quickly became an awesome way for me to get to know other people, people from the Channillo family, people from the Chicago Writers Association, people from the writing community at large. Friends of friends, folks on Twitter, the list goes on. Every time someone said yes I was excited and humbled and still feel that way. 

And here we are, almost a year later, and 36 incredible people have taken the time to tell us all a little bit more about their lives and their writing experiences. 

I am incredibly grateful to each of them and to all of you for reading. The “Where Are They Now?” post from a couple weeks ago was one of the most read posts, showing me that a lot of people are interested in following-up on this amazing crew. 

But, as TNG as taught us… “All good things…”

(and if you get that reference, I love you even more)

Truth is, recruiting people to be part of #WritersQuick5 is a joy, but it’s a lot of work. It actually takes me more time to recruit that it does to post the interviews. And, as we come up on the holidays, and as I’m really getting rolling in my new full-time job, I’ve had to face some hard truths and admit to myself that I don’t actually have time to do everything right now. Something, something had to give. 

So, I’ve decided, for the moment, that #WritersQuick5 is that thing. I can’t bring myself to say it’s over, so I’d rather phrase it like this - we are at the end of Season One. And, following in the footsteps of Netflix, no one (not even me) will quite know when Season Two will start. But, hopefully it will be sometime in 2018, and I’m sure Season Two will be just as great as Season One. 

So, as I always say, stay tuned. There are other things coming up for me in 2018 writing-wise that I’m very excited about and I can’t wait to continue to share all of these experiences with you. 

And thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for everyone who was a part of #WritersQuick5. It has been a true highlight of my life. 

XOXO and Happy Holidays!

Welcome to a special week of the #WritersQuick5 series - where we learn about writing from fellow writers.

This week I decided it was finally time to post my own answers. It’s a little scary to put myself in the ranks with the rest of the amazing people that have been featured, but it’s good to do scary things!

Over the past year, I have been inspired, I have laughed, but mostly I have been in awe of the incredible talent of all the writers who have shared their journey. And, I have been equally touched that 36 people have taken time out of their day-to-day lives to provide answers and take part in this interview series. 

Next week I will be post a special “Where Are They Now?” edition of #WritersQuick5 that catches people up on some of the incredible accomplishments of the writers featured since their answers have posted. I’m super excited for that so stay tuned. 

As for me, I will forgo any long intro to my work except to say that I completed my novel, THE CUBE earlier this year and am still trying to break into the agenting world to get it published. I also write a serialized fiction series called AMACHE’S AMERICA on Channillo.com. AMACHE’S AMERICA was recently named the Best New Series and the Best Historical Fiction Series in the 2017 Channillo Awards. 

I also wanted to add that I do a fair amount of writing in my day job. IT management and project management require a completely different set of skills and I am writing policies, procedures, scope documents, discovery reports, requirement documents, etc. etc. every day. I’m glad that I can bring my skills as a writer to the field of IT. I just wish I had more time to do things like put together a department newsletter! (never say never). 

Okay, so… without further ado… let’s see what I have to say… :) 

Question #1 - Where do you write and why do you write there?
If I have the time, I write in my home office. I have multiple screens where I can pull up my notes and write at the same time. I usually like it to be very quiet, no podcasts, no music. I mostly like writing at home because I can let my guard down (and, truth be told, go to the bathroom whenever I want without having to pack up all my stuff). 

If I’m on the go I have a couple favorite spots, including the Drawing Room at the Chicago Athletic Association Hotel. 

Lately, I’ve been popping into my writings at work when I need to take a break from my day job. Fifteen minutes here or there, maybe a whole lunch break (although that’s rare). That’s why I do a lot of my writing in Google Docs so that I can open them up whenever I have the chance. 

Question #2 - What is unique about writing for your particular genre?
I write in several genres, but there is a through line. I like to write about good people. Good people who love other good people and who do good things. It sounds corny, but writing about people that I can believe in and that I would love if I knew them really helps me. This sometimes means my personal challenge is where to find the tension and where to create the challenges for the characters. 

For THE CUBE, the unique quality came in the concept itself. It is something I can see so clearly in my head but took many attempts to get across on paper. High-concept sci-fi requires knowing when to do a deep-dive descriptive paragraph and when to let the reader’s imagination take over.

For AMACHE’S AMERICA, I needed to draw the line between the fictional characters that I write about and my own family’s story. Also, the serialized nature of it is definitely different than sitting down to write a novel. Every two weeks I jump to a different character’s viewpoint and jump to a different format (audio recordings, journal entries, exposition) so it makes the writing very fresh and I find that what I produce is often colored by my mood at that time. I think the story overall would be quite different if I was just sitting down and writing it all at once. I like that it flows along with me. 

Question #3 - What are some of your grammar or punctuation pet peeves?
Honestly, it depends on the platform. On Twitter or social media I have none. Anything goes. People type quickly and so typos and word mistakes are par for the course. In prose, I think it should be okay to end a sentence with a preposition and I find it awkward when people bend over backwards to try and make a sentence end without one. I will say though, when I get a text message with “your” instead of “you’re” - even though texts are as ephemeral as social media - it does bug me. One final thing - it’s spelled “whoa” not “woah.” 

Question #4 - At what point in your writing process do you start to bring other people in to review your work?
​For THE CUBE, I brought people in every step of the way, relying a great deal on my editor, Laura Alsum. She reviewed my outlines and gave me feedback on chapters. It was invaluable. For AMACHE’S AMERICA, there just isn’t the time, so as scary as it sounds, I write it and post it and that’s it. I sometimes have waking nightmares that there are glaring errors in the book series, but let’s hope there aren’t! Ideally, I’d like to write a large chunk of the work and then get feedback. 

Question #5 - What advice would you give to a new writer about the writing process?
Patience is key. You will need to be patient while the ideas come to you. You will need to be patient when you are writing and when you are revising. You will need to be patient when you are waiting for feedback from anyone. You will need to be patient when you are working on getting things published. You will need to be patient as your readership grows. 

Aside from that though, I would say that you should write what you love. If you love dogs - write about dogs. If you love spaceships, write something set in a spaceship. If you love the topic, you will love writing about it. DON’T write for what you think someone else will want to read. If you want to read it, and you love it, that’s all that matters. 


Thank you to everyone who has followed along on this #WritersQuick5 journey and for allowing me the self-indulgence of writing up my own answers. It’s been an amazing year and I am so grateful to each writer that has participated and to each of you that has followed along. I hope you all have learned as much about writing as I have! 


***
If you would like to be featured as a writer in the #WritersQuick5 series, please just reach out and let me know. I’d love to promote your work as well!

For updates on #WritersQuick5 and other info from me, please follow me on Twitter or check back with this blog for all the latest.

Welcome to week thirty-six of the #WritersQuick5 series - where we learn about writing from fellow writers.

This week I am thrilled to bring you screenwriter Jeremy Palmer. Jeremy writes for stage & screen and has been published by Next Stage Press. He also just received his MFA from USC School of Cinematic Arts. Congratulations Jeremy!

If you would like to check out some of Jeremy’s work, he wrote and curated the Cinevox webseries for Phamaly Theatre Company. “The Phamaly Theatre Company (formerly known as The Physically Handicapped Actors & Musical Artists League) produces professional scale plays and musicals year-round throughout the Denver Metro region, cast entirely of performers with disabilities across the spectrum (physical, cognitive, emotional, blindness, deafness…etc.).” Its mission is to “ inspire people to re-envision disability through professional theatre.” Learn more at http://www.phamaly.org

Let’s see what Jeremy has to say...

Question #1 - Where do you write and why do you write there?
I write at home, either on my laptop or desktop (which sits on a folding card table while I write from a folding camping chair) because I need mostly quiet and focus.

Question #2 - What is unique about writing for your particular genre?
I don't have a genre within screenwriting. I have intentionally cast a wide net over multiple genres and have yet to find one I like above all others. I do like to insert disability issues whenever possible assuming it fits in with the story naturally.

Question #3 - What are some of your grammar or punctuation pet peeves?
I recently realized that lots of people put apostrophe s onto words as a contraction for "is". Like they'll say "Billy's crazy" rather than "Billy is crazy" when the 's should ONLY be added to pronouns to avoid confusion with possessive 's as EVERYONE KNOWS!!! But that's about it.

Question #4 - At what point in your writing process do you start to bring other people in to review your work?
​Once I have a complete first draft, even though I know it will need lots of revision.

Question #5 - What advice would you give to a new writer about the writing process?
I think there's never any one right way to do something, from outlining to rewriting and everything in between. One person's wrong way is another's breakthrough method.

Thank you Jeremy for these lovely answers. And I agree - there’s no right way to do something. From time to time, I get feedback about this writing series, saying you can’t learn about your own writing from someone else. But for me, it’s the opposite. I learn so much from hearing about what other people do - even if it’s nothing like what I am doing myself. Publishing these interviews fuels my writing. One could say #WritersQuick5 has been a breakthrough for me. Thank you Jeremy for being a part of that!


***
If you would like to be featured as a writer in the #WritersQuick5 series, please just reach out and let me know. I’d love to promote your work as well!

For updates on #WritersQuick5 and other info from me, please follow me on Twitter or check back with this blog for all the latest.

Welcome to week thirty-five of the #WritersQuick5 series - where we learn about writing from fellow writers.

Today is my joy to bring you insights from one of my best friends on the planet, the incomparable Sara Russell. Sara is a storyteller, a podcaster, and a social media expert, all of which is interwoven into her own personal sales business via Arbonne.

Sara tells her stories in live performances, through her online posts, and most recently through a new podcast called ‘Sarakeet: In My Car’. She also writes trainings for sales and small business consultants. 

I can tell you from personal experience, Sara weaves her life into a tapestry of meaningful lessons and she gives great advice. She is also an avid reader and has given me many amazing book recommendations over the years. She is a renaissance woman. 

Let’s see what Sara has to say…

Question #1 - Where do you write and why do you write there?
I write from home. I like to write early in the morning whenever possible. I need quiet to hear my own thoughts. I start early before the day distracts me, before I need to tend to a child or a dog. Often times, I have moved my laptop to the dining room table. The sun coming through the front windows of my house lets me know how much time I have left.

Question #2 - What is unique about writing for your particular genre?
Personal stories walk a line between self-indulgent and entertaining or helpful to others. While writing can be healing personally, those of us who share our stories with others always have to check that there is some insight or, at least, entertainment value for others as well. 

Question #3 - What are some of your grammar or punctuation pet peeves?
As a performer, I tend to read aloud. I don't notice grammar and punctuation errors like some writers. I do get irritated when the same word is used over and over throughout someone's work, though. There are a lot of great words. Get a thesaurus. 

Question #4 - At what point in your writing process do you start to bring other people in to review your work?
​I am a big reviser. I write a whole lot of junk and then pick over words and sentences many times. By the time I let someone else read what I've written, I feel pretty solid about where the piece is going. I ask for help when I'm not sure how to end a piece and have a couple writer-friends who always make good suggestions. 

Question #5 - What advice would you give to a new writer about the writing process?
Get started. Write what you know. Write what you remember. Then, cut your first draft in half.  That's the part the rest of the world needs to hear. 


Thank you Sara for these incredible answers. It’s always good advice for people to write what you know. Even if they are in a world of science fiction, what the characters are going through has to be rooted in the familiar. And it cannot be said often enough: I’m glad that I know YOU. 

Please be sure to check out Sara’s website for more information on her stories, performances, and her sales. Also be sure to subscribe to her new podcast via Apple Podcasts or on Sound Cloud. 

You can also follow Sara on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

***
If you would like to be featured as a writer in the #WritersQuick5 series, please just reach out and let me know. I’d love to promote your work as well!

For updates on #WritersQuick5 and other info from me, please follow me on Twitter or check back with this blog for all the latest.

​Welcome to week thirty-four of the #WritersQuick5 series - where we learn about writing from fellow writers.

This week it is my pleasure to bring you sci-fi, horror, and psycho fiction author, Joe Prosit. I know Joe from his short stories series, Vulpine One on Channillo. Yay for the channillo network of amazing writers! Joe has also been previously published in Sanitarium, Under the Bed, Freedom Fiction, Dead Gun Press, and on the Dead Oaks Podcast. 

Joe lives with his wife and kids in the Brainerd Lakes Area of northern Minnesota. If you’re an adept stalker, you can find him on one of the many lakes and rivers or lost deep inside the Great North Woods. 

Let’s see what Joe has to say...

Question #1 - Where do you write and why do you write there?
I write everywhere, whenever I can be alone. Deer stands, bars, I've use a dictation app to write during long drives, hotel rooms are great, my ice fishing house... I'm actually writing this right now on my phone from a mechanic garage in Sweden. Of course I have my big desk with dual monitors in my house where I edit and re-write, but I can do first draft stuff anywhere.

Question #2 - What is unique about writing for your particular genre?
I write both sci-fi and horror, and I think both of those genres play off fear and uncertainties. With sci-fi, the future is scary and uncertain. With horror, often it's the past that is scary and uncertain. But at the end of the day, it's really about the main character's insecurities and fears about themselves that take root and make a good story.

Question #3 - What are some of your grammar or punctuation pet peeves?
Mostly my own ineptitude regarding grammar. Or when a publisher requests some unique formatting guidelines other than Shunn's industry standard of formatting. Triple spaced with two inch margins in Wingdings? Seriously annoying.

Question #4 - At what point in your writing process do you start to bring other people in to review your work?
​Earlier in my writing journey, I'd crank out a sketchy first draft and wave it around for anybody who'd give me the time of day like I was a 1930's newsboy yelling "Extra extra extra!" Now days I've learned to be a little more patient and give it a good solid second draft before anybody lays eyes on it. You don't want your critiques and beta reads to focus on all the dumb typos and senseless plot holes you could have fixed yourself.

Question #5 - What advice would you give to a new writer about the writing process?
Enjoy the ride! Don't live in a bubble. Join a writing group, online or in meatspace. Critique others. Have them critique you. Grow a thick skin. Take in all kinds of fiction, especially in your genre, cram them into your mental blender, hit purée and pour out the fictional smoothie into your writing. And have fun! If you're not having fun you're doing it wrong.

Thank you Joe for these fantastic answers - submitted from Sweden no less! I agree with you that you that it is so important to have fun. And growing a thick skin is a big part of that. There is a great community of supportive writers out there. Find your clan and have a blast!

Be sure to check out his website at JoeProsit.com or follow him on Twitter, @joeprosit.

***
If you would like to be featured as a writer in the #WritersQuick5 series, please just reach out and let me know. I’d love to promote your work as well!

For updates on #WritersQuick5 and other info from me, please follow me on Twitter or check back with this blog for all the latest.

Welcome to week thirty-three of the #WritersQuick5 series - where we learn about writing from fellow writers.

This week brings us fellow Channillo.com writer (and so much more writer) Brian Dykeman. Brian’s series Carcerated Grammar is one of my favorites on Channillo. It is a series of letters he’s crafted about/with another Brian Dykeman he met while on a cross country road trip. He combines art and writing from a point of view that only Brian could produce. I love what Brian has to say about his own writing and writing style, so I’m going to turn the rest of the intro over to him… 

When asked… what kind of writing do you do?
“The easy answer would be to I dabble in fiction, concept work and Auto-Biographical stories. My scripts typically have a comedic drama bend to them with an aim at dialog and terms or phrases I haven’t heard before. I just discovered the word ‘piles’ means hemorrhoids. Now everyone I tell that to says: “You didn’t know that?” Here I am, thirty-three and feeling like I’m from a different dimension because even when you type ‘piles’ into a search engine; Oh, by the way use DuckDuckGo, people, Google isn’t god, but they’d like to track you like one would and also… It’s DuckDuckGo, how silly is that? You have to use it. I’m not a shareholder, just saying. But now I’m going to look into it. Ahh, it’s a private company. Well, good on them. I have even more respect now. Anyway, ‘Piles…’ even when you type it in in a search, that’s what comes up. Hemorrhoids. Turns out it goes back to middle ages. Pila meaning ball.

Back to topic, I’d say you could compare my writing to all sorts of different genres and styles.  Though I know that doesn’t exactly answer the question. Let’s just say I appreciate minimalism, but am used to working up convoluted messes. I also don’t shy away from using a thesaurus, not to always sound smart, but mostly to find what sounds the best and appeals to the aesthetic without losing the meaning.  Oh, I like tangents too. If you hadn’t noticed.

I haven’t really been ‘officially’ published, so to speak. Might never be considering I don’t think I would work well with what someone else wants for ‘my’ projects and people don’t like aimless tangents. But there is stuff up on the internet; a subscription sites and a blog that’s probably lost to the aether. And I imagine I’ll go the self-publishing route at least once in my life. But I also just haven’t reached a point where I need to cross that bridge.”

You guys are hooked already, right? So am I. 

Let’s see what else Brian has to say… 

Question #1 - Where do you write and why do you write there?
It used to be I would lay down and work in the notes app on a 3rd gen iPod. But, so much of my series is done on paper and on the computer that that is where I ‘have’ to be. So as of recently I work wherever I can set up a computer; usually in the home office or at the kitchen counter. Laying on my bed and writing on my iPod is where I prefer to be though. Most of the magical, creative writing happens there. It’s having to go through emailing it to myself and hence having to put everything into a word document later that I run into the hassle that comes with that particular means of writing. I realize it’s a seemingly insane method but you can’t fight where you find the fool’s gold once you’ve figured out how you best bring it up from the river. Pyrite is priceless, people.

Question #2 - What is unique about writing for your particular genre?
Knee jerk answer, I’d say nothing. Whenever I open a book I run into something I’m doing that another author has already pioneered, and they typically executed the maneuver much better. But I’m not too hard on myself when I find such examples; number of authors out there, number of books, obviously there is going to be some retread. I suppose as long as the destination and mileage varies there isn’t too much of a problem. Actually, one of the reasons I stay away from reading very much is that very reason. Parallel thinking sets me back on my heels when I discover it has occurred, keeps me from fully exploring an idea the way I had been. Which is good too though, it just sets the writing back though. 

I suppose my overall approach to the work might be one of the most unique things about my writing.  Almost everything I do comes about as a result of asking questions, coming up with answers, then asking more; something I can probably attribute to my Philosophy degree. I’d say I have an overwhelming desire to try and make things as different as possible. Throwing in twists bends or slants people wouldn’t otherwise expect or necessarily come away from in an appreciative light. But thanks to my six years in the Marine Corps I’m already well ahead of the curve in that regard since we think about the world in terms that are dramatically different than the average citizen or even other military -non-Marine- members would; Marine’s inherently firing on a weird ignition timings. Honestly though, I gravitate towards anything that keeps me interested and engaged. I mean, I’m passively working on putting together a coloring book of all things. But, I’m very hard to entertain or impress, so I try to put out or invest myself in material that I see some sort of personal or social value in. Basically, I try to focus my life and art around Pirsig’s question ‘What is Quality?’ You know, the question that drove him insane and underlines the entirety of ‘Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance’ then on into his next book ‘Lila,’ life on a sail boat and the answers he arrived at. Basically, why do something if it doesn’t have quality? To paraphrase Pirsig: we all know when something has quality, but we can’t definitively say why it has quality. So, I try to gravitate toward things I feel are at least noble efforts towards achieving that benchmark; the dynamic versus the static if we are to apply Pirsig’s Metaphysic of Quality found in ‘Lila.’ I also often think of life in terms of my not living to see tomorrow and time passing by, ideas found in the Bushido, but largely instilled in me from potentially life threatening situations encountered while in the military. So for me, there is a concern about whether whatever I’m working on deserves the next day, week, month or years I have left to live, time being our most valuable commodity. 

Does my work meet those expectations? Almost never. But I strive for it and am always thinking about it. And unfortunately for other writers -for better or worse- it’s something I hold them to also. I realize a lot of times this is their job and what they do to make a living and feed their kids. But I don’t have a lot of those concerns so I suppose I’m more concerned with the art than the cash. It’s a nice problem to have, I imagine they’d say, even though, for me, such concerns probably consume the same amount of time and focus they probably give to said kids and other concerns. 

The thing with my work is, from the outset, I don’t really believe folks are going to think what I am doing has any quality. I feel like I can almost guarantee that. But I endeavor to have at least something being answered; whether it’s a question outright asked or not, and to provide something entertaining in the interim.

Question #3 - What are some of your grammar or punctuation pet peeves?
Probably the people that voice their concerns with it.

I suppose seeing incorrect it’s/its; you’re/your; to/too; there/they’re/their usages. But those things have more of a spelling error feel to me than grammar and they slip past me all the time even though I’m well aware of the correct forms.  

I’m a horrible person to ask that question. I literally have specific punctuation styles for different projects where I use it in specific ways or in ways it’s not necessarily meant to be used. And I am a person that agrees with Cormac McCarthy in his minimalist feelings towards punctuation, they are just silly marks on a page afterall. But I do like to use it in artistic ways, ultimately relying upon the reader enduring enough of it, for long enough, to start getting used to what I am doing. But I also do that for certain reasons I’ve deemed help better frame what I am trying to accomplish or look more aesthetically pleasing to me or for the project. My usage of semi-colons and commas and the various hyphens is also highly suspect.

As for Grammar, first of all, I’ve never taking a Grammar 101 class that focuses strictly on grammar. If such a thing even exists. So, grammar in our society is a failing of the education system in my mind. If you are thinking English class, I’ll contend there hasn’t been a single English class I’ve taken where that was anything more than a passing concern. It was only addressed sporadically, but then hammered down upon as if you committed any sins against it. I think it’s a sad state of affairs because as far as I’ve experienced it is something you have to study on your own. And that is a time suck and a half without a teacher.

That being said, I’d say consistency is of the utmost importance. You can be dead wrong in how you write something, as far as the rules are concerned, but as long as you keep doing it, well at that point it’s part of your style. I suppose the struggle would be keeping readers who hate what you’re doing invested and being okay with looking like an idiot. You might disagree, but you need look no further than the current application of writing, for better or worse it evolves/devolves depending on popular usage.

In my application, however, I come more from a Linguistic/Universal grammar appreciation versus the stricter Element of Style philosophies, because at that point it might as well be music theory. A study which, you lose if you don’t use. It’s kind of like counter-point, you can approach a piece of music and not necessarily be wrong in the chords within the scale you’ve arranged across the measure, but from a counter-point standpoint, be dead wrong in what I guess you might call the ‘eloquence of composition’ because of the inversions or fingerings of those chords you chose; “the bass note of the Major III not leading to the…”; “it would have been better if you had used the second inversion here and the third here…” (or some such), again I haven’t used it in so long I only really remember I was in over my head when it came to terms of counter-point; walking away with an overabundance of red pen marks. But all the inversions and all the proper chords within the scale had been annotated correctly, that was a huge win; had those fundamentals been wrong the professor couldn’t have even moved on to putting the counter-point on blast— In grammatical terms: I may not know what the name of the grammatical error causing the problem, but I know when it sounds wrong.

All this said, I still aim for and am an advocate for proper grammatical usage, but not having a well-versed knowledge of it I can’t exactly break down what I’ve been doing shot gun style and figure out/speak to the finer points of what I’ve been doing, even with my own writing.

Question #4 - At what point in your writing process do you start to bring other people in to review your work?
​Point of sale. 

I’m a complete cynic thanks to the overwhelming percentage of people who haven’t read things I’ve sent them. I’m at a point where I’m convinced the only time folks are going to read my work is if it’s been printed and bound. At which point, they’re paying for it. They kind of had every chance to read it otherwise.

Question #5 - What advice would you give to a new writer about the writing process?
Don’t write just to write. I mean... do, but have a purpose that you think speaks to advancing the dialectic/Universal consciousness. I don’t care if you’re new or been doing it for twenty years. Put reason to the writing. Just being good at it isn’t enough. Find a reason for telling that little anecdote to give it that much more purpose. Depth and meaning are huge.   

I would much rather work on something with a relevant aim ‘badly,’ than something that does nothing more than serve as a definitive form of escapism ‘well.’ What are you trying to contribute to the cultural paradigm? Ideas and betterment or candy and euthanasia? Remember, our time is limited even though baby needs a new bottle and bonnet. My opinion of you as a writer is also riding on this. Choose wisely. Or better yet… invite the dialectic into your life and find a synthesis between the two. There’s no reason you can’t get your diabetes from something relevant. 

I don’t mean to sound arrogant, I like consumable, page turning writing (when I’ve read it), but I don’t necessarily strive for it myself, because, well, there’s too much of it already and someone is already doing it better than I could ever hope to. In fact, I made a decision to stay away from anything that isn’t considered literature for the most part because of that fact. Am I missing out, I’m sure. But I’ve also never actually really liked reading, if you can believe that, so I don’t feel like I’m missing out. Also, If I’m going to participate in something that generally puts me to sleep, I find there’s more benefit in picking up a subject that directly concerns something I’m working on or in trying to understand what masters of the art have done to command such a consideration.

It’s funny, one of my background projects I will release in two forms, the so-called: ‘complete intended tome’ and the ‘condensed consumable’; think of it like a hearty stew versus a can of Campbells.  I sometimes spend days and hours on chunks of marbled meat narrative to get their comedic philosophical and convoluted facets to read in a somewhat coherent fashion; work which will ultimately be ‘cut from the consumable,’ for fear of choking the reader and, if I’m being honest, because they don’t deserve the choice cuts of meat if they don’t want to put in the work to dissect them. But I will often read them once they are done to my mother, then explain the jokes and the layers and she’ll figuratively pull her hair out. “No one wants to do work when they read!” Broad generalizations aside, I’m sure there is some merit to the comment and I understand where she is coming from, But I think there is something to be said for work that is layered and must be broken down and analyzed, just try to make sure that smallest nested egg is a golden nugget. No one likes digging for no pay off.

Writing to me is more often like homework than it is magical; probably why I work so slowly, I’m always fighting it, but when it is magic and all the -sometimes months of- tedious work come together, nothing beats that fleeting three second moment where I’m laughing my ass off and vigorously rubbing my hands together. Synthesis is a great thing. That’s ultimately why I’ve decided to apply myself towards it, even though for the most part, I’m not a huge fan of doing so.

Yeah, so, I basically write for me; see my answer to question number four for the reason why, and I suggest you do so for yourself also. Because if you are happy with what you did, nobody can take that from you except yourself or a house fire. So, don’t burn candles.

Oh, and look up the words you use, even if you’re sure you know what they mean. I can’t count the number of times they haven’t meant something I knew in my bones they did (There are probably a few words that I missed in this interview that stand as prime examples). See ‘Piles.’ The only reason I found out I was wrong was happenstance editing or really listening to what Mel Gibson said to the dog on the beach in a televised airing of Lethal Weapon 2.


My goodness, aren’t these answers incredible? This is going up on my quote board: Because if you are happy with what you did, nobody can take that from you except yourself or a house fire. So, don’t burn candles.

If you want to keep track of Brian and the wonder of his writing, you can check out his Carcerated Grammar on Channillo.com. You can also follow Brian personally on Twitter @dizzyke. On Instagram he is @jasper.pdog. 

One last note from Brian: “The other Brian Dykeman who I call the ‘Real’ Brian Dykeman is @BrianDykeman on twitter. Give him some love and tell him the other Brian Dykeman sent you.” 

Thank you Brian!

***
If you would like to be featured as a writer in the #WritersQuick5 series, please just reach out and let me know. I’d love to promote your work as well!

For updates on #WritersQuick5 and other info from me, please follow me on Twitter or check back with this blog for all the latest.

Welcome to week thirty-two of the #WritersQuick5 series - where we learn about writing from fellow writers.

This week I am so thrilled and honored to jump back into the world of songwriting with the incredible Schuyler Miller. While primarily a songwriter, Schuyler writes poetry and short stories as well. Along with writing her own music, Schuyler does a lot of songwriting with/for other artists, as well as for licensing and placement opportunities (commercials, TV shows, movies, etc). 

Be on the lookout for more from Schuyler soon too. She’s currently working on her own solo projects and her debut EP will be released in January 2018. YAY!

Let’s see what Schuyler has to say… 

Question #1 - Where do you write and why do you write there?
I write wherever I am. Generally, I carry around a journal with me wherever I go so that I can write things down when the ideas strike. I don't really trust technology - I prefer good old pencil and paper. Oddly enough, I have a lot of ideas come to me in dreams, so there are quite a few late-night notes scribbled on pieces of paper floating around my bed. The first song I ever wrote came to me in a dream. When I woke up, I remembered the first line and ended up writing the rest of the song that day. Recently, the title of short story came to me mid-slumber and I literally jolted out of bed at 3:30 am and wrote the whole thing.

Question #2 - What is unique about writing for your particular genre?
I think that songwriting is such a beautiful, magical thing. I write for all different genres of music, but I feel like there's always something in there that you could trace back to me. I work with a lot of different songwriters and it's always so interesting to see people's styles come out in their songs. Little things that make you go "Oh! That's definitely so-and-so's melody."

Question #3 - What are some of your grammar or punctuation pet peeves?
When it comes to writing lyrics, or poetry, I think you can pretty much do whatever the hell you want. That's part of the fun. But I definitely get annoyed by grammatical/punctuation errors when I'm reading an article or a novel. Maybe I should be more understanding.

Question #4 - At what point in your writing process do you start to bring other people in to review your work?
​I used to be so hesitant to let people hear my songs, because I held them so close to my heart. I was very much of the mindset that everything I wrote was special and came through me and onto the page for a reason, and I didn't want anyone to tell me otherwise. To some extent, I still feel that way but I'm much more open to sharing my work now. My songs are my art; my way of expressing myself and working things out emotionally, so it can be difficult to hand that over to someone and say "Here, what do you think of this?" and open yourself up to criticism. But I think that ultimately, it makes you a better writer when you can take critiques of your work and go back and revise what you've done. Because at the end of the day, even though my songs are very special to me and I ultimately want to be the one that curates the end result, I can still recognize the fact that I want them to be accessible to other people. They're my thoughts and my words, but if you can't connect to others through those words then you don't have much. So these days, I share my songs pretty early on in the writing process. I have a lot of people around me whose opinions I respect and trust, so it's great to be able to get that feedback.

Question #5 - What advice would you give to a new writer about the writing process?
As corny and cliche as it sounds, I'd say "Be true to yourself". It's so easy to get caught up in things and compare yourself in a negative way to other people that are doing similar things, but you have to remember that you're the only "you" there is, and your voice is worth hearing. Also, it's okay to be shitty at stuff sometimes. You gotta be willing to trudge your way through the shit if you wanna get to the good stuff.

Thank you Schuyler for these incredible answers. I had my idea for my novel, The Cube, in a dream just like your songs! And I LOVE your advice: remember that you’re the only “you” there is, and your voice is worth hearing. Gosh that’s great. Love love love. 

Be sure to follow Schuyler on Instagram and on Twitter and stay tuned for January 2018 when her debut EP is released!

***
If you would like to be featured as a writer in the #WritersQuick5 series, please just reach out and let me know. I’d love to promote your work as well!

For updates on #WritersQuick5 and other info from me, please follow me on Twitter or check back with this blog for all the latest.

Welcome to week thirty-one of the #WritersQuick5 series - where we learn about writing from fellow writers.

And we’re back! 

After a few weeks of summer break I could not be more thrilled to be back and to be sharing out more of this #WritersQuick5 series. 

I am particularly honored and excited that our first writer back is none other than my dear friend Melissa Joan Walker. I’ve known Melissa and her family for many years; we’ve shared amazing life adventures together. She is an incredible writer and I’m so stoked for you all to get to know her better. 

Melissa is primarily an essayist now, but she’s published fiction and poetry, too. Her writing has been published on The Manifest-Station and Modern Simplicity; and in Sentence; Chicago Arts Journal; The Denver Quarterly; Banshee; Parable Press; Yes, Poetry; the NewerYork; After Hours; Orion Headless; Ignavia; Wunderkammer Poetry; Disembodied Text; Words & Images; Split Rock Review; Telophase; and Tablet. 

Isn’t she amazing? She also has an MFA in Writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and you can read more of her current essays on her blog... and subscribe!

Let’s see what Melissa has to say… 

Question #1 - Where do you write and why do you write there?
I get up super early and write in a corner on my sofa in the living room. I like that I can sit here as long as I want, and I don't have to pay for coffee or worry about my computer when I get up to use the restroom. I can choose the music. I usually start with one song that I play to begin my day. 

Question #2 - What is unique about writing for your particular genre?
Essay is interesting, and especially my subject area, which is spirituality, because it's so personal. Cheryl Strayed talked about this with Wild, how the criticism of personal essay or memoir is often not about the writing but about YOU, the author -- critiquing your choices, your outlook. 

I find with my subject area people hold such personal ideas about spirituality, God, the Universe and it's often critical to their identity, so they are offended more easily than they would be if I just was writing fiction they didn't like. But I love talking about things that are important to me, and are really critical for most of us -- these questions of how do we get through the day spiritually intact with all the craziness in the world? How do we stay open and engaged with the world, without letting it overwhelm us?

Question #3 - What are some of your grammar or punctuation pet peeves?
This is a hard question for me to answer. The truth is I get turned off when I see grammar and spelling errors online, ones that seem out of sync with the author's image online. So, if they're an "expert" in a particular area, but they have these grammar issues, I am not so sure about their other expertise either. 

But the issue of "correct grammar" is often an issue of privilege. I am not talking about choices that are intrinsic to the voice. There are some authors I love who use a different grammar system from the one we were taught in school. I'm just talking about carelessness. 

Because we can publish ourselves online, I see a lot of carelessness in email newsletters and on personal websites. If I see that, I just bail because it cuts through the author's credibility for me. I certainly make mistakes, too, but I don't blame people if they question me for it. Usually it's an issue of me not proofreading carefully enough.

Question #4 - At what point in your writing process do you start to bring other people in to review your work?
​It depends. I sometimes bring people in very early but then I often just need a cheerleader for the project, so I'll be very clear and just say "Can I show you this piece and you'll only tell me good things about it?" If I get the feeling they won't be able to do that, I take it to someone else. I have enough experience with feedback to know that much of it is just based on personal preference, so I try to take the piece to someone who is a reader I'd want. So, if someone really loves sci-fi and I hate sci-fi, I wouldn't ask them for feedback on my fiction. 

In the essays I'm doing now, I show them to one particular person when I've done the first draft, especially if I see a problem in the piece and I'm not sure how to fix it. It helps to have someone else read the piece and then in the brief discussion that follows, I often get a clearer idea of how to fix my problem. 

Question #5 - What advice would you give to a new writer about the writing process?
I'd say to start submitting and publishing as early as possible. I was really shy about this in the beginning but I wish I'd been bolder. I did an internship at a publishing company in college and they passed on a book that I KNOW all of my friends would have bought. So that helped me see that these decision makers have their own tastes and they make decisions for all kinds of reasons, and they also make mistakes. They're not God. 

So go ahead and start submitting. You'll get a lot of rejections, but even the rejections feel like evidence that someone has read your writing, you're a "real writer" now -- you're submitting and well, yes, maybe getting rejected, but you're learning about the process and you're participating in the full process. As you start to get some publications, you'll develop more confidence and this will help you gain momentum in your writing. 

If you don't submit, you can be sure you won't get published. And just keep at it. I read a long time ago that a successful writer is just someone who didn't quit. That helped me.


YES! I love this advice. Submit your work! Let other people see it. I love the idea that a successful writer is just someone who didn’t quit. I needed to hear that!

Please check out Melissa’s website and blog. You can subscribe to her weekly newsletter. You can also follow her on Twitter. 

Thank you for your words Melissa. I miss you!

***
If you would like to be featured as a writer in the #WritersQuick5 series, please just reach out and let me know. I’d love to promote your work as well!

For updates on #WritersQuick5 and other info from me, please follow me on Twitter or check back with this blog for all the latest.

Welcome to week thirty of the #WritersQuick5 series - where we learn about writing from fellow writers.

This week brings you insights and answers from fellow Chicago Writers Association (CWA) member Mary Wagner. I’ve had the pleasure of talking to Mary at several CWA events, most recently at this year’s Printer’s Row Lit Fest. 

Mary has had such a long and incredible journey with writing, I wanted to let her describe her path to authorship in her own words… 

“OMG, what a long, strange trip it's been! I started out writing as a stringer for the second-largest daily newspaper in Wisconsin while I was still in college, and then stepped up to the staff of the largest one  after I graduated. Then I married, and became a full-time mom to four kids...but essentially became self-syndicated, writing about PBS programming for a bunch of magazines around the country. THEN I went to law school at the age of forty, and thought my writing days were behind me except for legal briefs. I was WRONG! Friends who realized how much I missed creative writing talked me into blogging, which led to starting my "Running with Stilettos" blog at the end of 2006. The blogging led to self-publishing several essay collections that won a bunch of awards (Running with Stilettos, Heck on Heels, Fabulous in Flats and When the Shoe Fits). And now I've turned my attention to writing a series of books for young readers about a rescue kitten who finds a home in a small-town circus museum. I self-published and illustrated "Finnigan the Circus Cat" in June, 2016, and I expect to publish the next one in November, 2017. Early on when I started blogging, I joined both the Chicago Writers Association and the Illinois Woman's Press Association, and both of those groups have been incredibly kind and rewarding for me. As has the Florida Writers Association--Fabulous in Flats was their Royal Palm Literary Awards BOTY back in 2011, and the unpublished manuscript for Finnigan took first place in its category in their 2016 contest.”

Thank you Mary for this great example of how writing is a part of each leg of our life journey and how varied and fruitful it can be! Mary has a lot more to share with us too… 

Let’s see what Mary has to say… 

Question #1 - Where do you write and why do you write there?
Over the years that has shifted so often! I have literally been known to scribble essay notes on the back of used manila envelopes in the car when inspiration struck. A couple of years ago I moved from my large empty nest in the country to much smaller digs in the city where I work, and so I'm still mourning the loss of my writing corner in the family room which looked out through large windows over fourteen acres of woods and fields. But I'm now very close to Lake Michigan, and find a lot of inspiration there. I can sit at the shore with a pen and notebook, and the sound of the wind and the waves both crowds everything ordinary out of my mind and sparks new ideas for stories and dialogue.

Question #2 - What is unique about writing for your particular genre?
I should probably be the last person to ask because I usually jump first and think about what I got myself into later. When I was writing for newspapers, the challenge was to be short and concise about complicated situations, and lead with the most important stuff. Then when I wrote for magazines, I had to stretch myself to allow some creative flow and a more sophisticated vocabulary and sneak in actual opinions or personal observations  at times. Blogging essays has been the easiest, because it's nearly a stream-of-consciousness process. But writing for kids, wow! I feel like I'm on a tightrope sometimes, aiming for a storyline that a child can follow, but with some twists and turns and grammar and ironic humor that adults would enjoy if they're reading along. Every once in a while my natural inclination is to use a four-syllable word when a two-syllable one would do...and most of the time I leave it in. It does a young body good to look something up in a dictionary once in a while!

Question #3 - What are some of your grammar or punctuation pet peeves?
I think the misuse of "comprise" and "compose" makes me absolutely crazy. And I feel like I'm in a losing battle, when I see the number of established websites and organizations that screw it up on a regular basis. Oh, and I am a staunch believer in the Oxford Comma. 

Question #4 - At what point in your writing process do you start to bring other people in to review your work?
​Mostly, I don't. Newspaper writing of course has to go through a copy editor, it's the nature of the beast. But the blogging I've done has come straight from the heart, which is why it has been so liberating for me as a writer. I even kept the first Finnigan book very close to the vest. I would run occasional plot twists past my daughter if she happened to be staying with me at the time, but when it came to the writing, I got to the very end before I shared it with just two people. One was a friend who works with young kids, and the other was someone who works with a circus museum. Both had very kind things to say, which really lifted my confidence that I had a created a story to believe in.

Question #5 - What advice would you give to a new writer about the writing process?
Two things, really. One is to sit down once in awhile with a pen and a pad of paper and let the words just flow. I have found in my own experience that what comes out in that linear fashion, when the words racing in my mind have to slow down to the pace where I can put them on paper, can be subtly, or even dramatically, different from what I would type at the speed of light at a keyboard. And the other is to get out and participate in some "live lit." Or even, if your confidence isn't where you can get up and read in front of a group, at least get out there and listen to it. There's so much energy, and synergy, to be gotten from that environment it's truly amazing. Being a writer can be a very lonely, solitary existence, and we can get lost in the existential wormholes of our latest project or our second thoughts about what we're trying to do. Live lit is a great antidote and source of joy and inspiration to counter that! Here are links to a couple of essays I wrote about it, one is about reading an an "open mic" at a place called The Beauty Bar, and the other was at Great Lakes Tattoo for the series "That's All She Wrote."  

Thank you Mary for these incredible answers! I love the advice to go out and experience Live lit. Hearing words out loud is such a rich and different experience from reading or writing. I wholeheartedly concur!

To learn more about Mary, please check out her website and her books on Amazon. You can also find her across social media. Follow her on Twitter!

​***
If you would like to be featured as a writer in the #WritersQuick5 series, please just reach out and let me know. I’d love to promote your work as well!

For updates on #WritersQuick5 and other info from me, please follow me on Twitter or check back with this blog for all the latest.