February of this year is when I finally embraced making writing a major part of my day to day existence. I had been writing my whole life as a fun hobby and for it’s therapeutic implications but it was time to work, to be better, and to change the world. I told all of my friends, “I’m getting serious about this thing.” I accepted I was a baby, a student, a beginner and wore that badge proudly. I needed to learn from the masters, harness the craft, deal with personal anxiety, figure out what my philosophy toward this new monster would be, and most of all, I needed to always try to be better. My behavior changed in that I started writing and recording ALL the time. That was six months ago. Now I get asked the same question constantly, “How is the writing going?”
The short answer – “Great! Fun! I’m grateful to have reassurance that this is indeed what I am most passionate about. Things are forever changing. I’m learning so much, exploring everything freely, and dissolving all limitation. I’m doing it.”
The long answer –
Things are going fantastic!
At first my intention was to sit in the wings and observe. I’d watch the blogs of J.C. Hutchins, Scott Sigler, Mur Lafferty and all the other influential authors in the podcast novel space. All the while I’d work on my masterpiece and blow them all out of the water when it was ready. After a very short while I figured out this was not going to work. I was sitting in my hobbit hole scribbling but no one was reading it and I wasn’t learning anything about the craft like I wanted. So I started searching for low-risk ways of exposure. This is where the 100 word stories podcast came in and GreatHites. Weekly contests where people voted for fun on the stories and your story was syndicated in a podcast. It was simple: if people didn’t like your story they didn’t vote for you, done. No one screamed at you and no one told you it sucked, it was bliss but also not enough to move forward.
I did that for a while and I started to educate myself more about the writing industry. I subscribed to Writer’s Digest and every podcast I could find about getting better at this writing thing.
So that is where it started and things evolved way faster than I thought from there.
So, where are we now?
I think an itemized list will be more effective than a long hunk of wordy prose.
I think that covers all the bases for now but things are forever changing in this world so who knows what the next day, week, or month will bring.
Thank you all for your constant supportive words and encouragement. That stuff really means a lot, truly.
That is how the writing thing is going. 🙂 – Danny
Danny Machal July 30th, 2009
Posted In: Personal, zEverything
Tags: danny updates, pop, writing
Give Blood and Thanks: Chapter 10 and 11 – Download PDF
Chapter 10: Coffee and steak make Arthur Martian’s gears turn.
“Refill sir?” the waitress asked.
“Sure,” Arthur scooted his cup toward the edge of the table. She filled it and spilled a few drops on the packet of Snoogin’s utility records.
“Hey, watch it,” he said.
“Sorry.”
Her sharp features turned a shade of pink. The girl couldn’t be more than nineteen years old. She looked at the ground, paused, then turned to walk away. Short cropped black hair bounced in rhythm with her slim hips. He recognized that type of behavior. Pausing like that, it indicated she was waiting to be dismissed by him, the man. Arthur could only guess what sort of asshole broke her. If he had a dollar for the head of every stepfather he slammed into a door or a wall he would probably have close to a hundred. His eye’s stayed locked on her as she gracefully floated back behind the counter.
(more…)
Danny Machal May 31st, 2009
Posted In: Give Blood and Thanks, zEverything
Tags: Give Blood and Thanks, pop, short story
Man, it has been way to serious around here lately. I ate about half a roll of bubble tape and turned on the flipcam just to mess around. I ended up blowing a MASSIVE bubble gum bubble.
Danny Machal May 12th, 2009
Posted In: Personal, zEverything
