Neil Gaiman: "How to be a Writer"

"Write the ideas down. If they are going to be stories, try and tell the stories you would like to read. Finish the things you start to write. Do it a lot and you will be a writer. The only way to do it is to do it. "

Seriously. That's the whole thing. Also, don't plan to make a living at it. Plan to enjoy it. There are seminars and books on "how to write a best seller" ... typically they involve you writing non-fiction self-help books full of shit for 99cents on Kindle.

Faster way to suck the love for something into a dried husk of death.

The only advice I'll give is to please STOP writing fiction that looks like a movie  script. A script is not a story. People writing anime-themed fan fiction seem to be particularly awful about this. You have to immerse the reader, describe the environment, what are they wearing, what is the weather like, etc. But not as an information dump, weave it into the descriptive prose little bits a time in between the dialog.

The air is cold so Tsika wears a coat. "Is god damned cold!"

*vs*
Tsika shivered in her coat and stamped her feet. Her ears hurt from the frosty air. "Is so fucking cold it hurts to breathe! Why the fuck do I live where it hurts to breathe, damn it?!"

Neither one is perfect but I'll take the latter one any day because the character no longer feels distant.

Sometimes a radio interview can go wacky ... especially in the world of Rocket Science

Gloom clouds seem to be dissipating, mostly by me not giving a crab's ass about FB and its unprofessional untrustworthy lame excuse for "social communication" (Next Big Thing, now please). Back in the world of It Really is Rocket Science, Musicians do radio interviews, pod cast interviews, magical ether interviews. Exposure to new ears and thanking the existing fans is important. Sometimes, though, things get out of hand. 
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Disk Jockey: "So what does the Rocket Science band like best about their chosen instruments? Kpau?"  

Kpau: "Drumming burns energy almost as good as sex! I like sex! When you get right down to it, there's no point to anything. But sometimes you get to eat candy and have sex -- so that makes it all good! What was the question again?"

Sashiko: "F***in' Texas Moo! He's askin' about music! Ah dinnae ken how yer brain gets from point A ta point B without sex! I don't talk 'bout sex, ask another question. Wait ..."  

Glycerin: "Is this m-m-mike on? ... ... ... bloody ... is he ask-asking us ab-about s-s-s-sex, love? ... We has to go the 'loo! Now!"  

Blar: "I like drums and now I have to go retrieve our lead guitarist. Be right back."

 Tsika: "Am surrounded by circus clowns! Idiots! Bass guitar is my beloved instrument! Love the f***ing feel of the sound vibrating my bones! Is nice public way of feeling like being f***ed! What the f***! Is engineer f***ing bleeping me? G** D*** f***ing H***. You are **** *****. How dare you F***ing censor straight talk! Is ****ing **** *** ***!! **** YOU!!!! Interview is OVER!"  

Disk Jockey: "Anddddddd we'll go to commercial break now."  
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(imagery courtesy of creating avatars of the characters in RB3)
The book series is available at Amazon in both paperback and Kindle. Also available at other book retailers.
http://www.amazon.com/Brad-H-Branham/e/B00GBM1T0Q
 

GOODREADS Book Giveaway Drawing

There's a contest on FaceBook for the entire series. Just visit FaceBook at the page,
https://www.facebook.com/BHBranham .
The pinned post is the contest - SHARE the post to your fan page or personal profile


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You can also win the first book of the series, "It Really IS Rocket Science" by entering the GoodReads contest.
All you need is an account on GoodReads. Winner will get the book signed and shipped free of charge.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

A Rock'N'Roll Fantasy

by Brad H. Branham

Giveaway ends September 16, 2014.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Prose to Drawings to Cartoon to Reality

It's kind of cool seeing a character I've described in a story I've written spiral into drawings, to cartoons, then to real breathing jawdropping life. I put together a couple of montages trying to convey that to use in banners and such. The one I did for Glycerin (Elisanth) worked out well. I don't really have enough pictures for Tsika (as modeled by Mamiko) to do that one properly. But she and I are going to fix that over the next few months. I know now what it costs to do it right. I'm okay with the cost. The results will last for years.
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Cartoon music videos

When I was writing the story about my rock musicians, it occurred to me it would be fun to implement them in RockBand 3. I've implemented the characters in other games (these characters have been floating around in various incarnations since tabletop D&D days of the '80s).

It was not only fun but kind of amazing to see the characters animated. I also figured out how to "game" the output to improve the result.

This is a video as the band might appear in the upcoming volume 4 of the series.