Category Archives: About Writing

AUDACIOUS: My YA Autism Novel Is Ready for Traditional Publishing

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Why I Wrote AUDACIOUS: A Personal Connection to Autism

Good news, I’ve finished my third novel, AUDACIOUS. It took a few years to complete, but I’m incredibly proud of the result. Writers are often told to “write what you know,” and for this novel, I took that advice to heart. AUDACIOUS holds deep personal significance because it draws from my experience raising a son with ASD.

Autism can be an isolating condition. I wanted to explore that loneliness, the hunger to feel “normal,” and the unique strengths that come with neurodivergence. The story of Xavier, the protagonist, reflects this inner battle in a world that often misunderstands him.

Getting Feedback: How Critique Groups Shaped My Story

Each chapter of AUDACIOUS was workshopped with my writing critique group, the Lesser North Texas Writers. Their honest feedback during the first round of beta reads helped me refine Xavier’s voice and the emotional arc of the story. (See my post on critique groups for writers here.)

Querying Agents: My Steps Toward Traditional Publishing

Believing the manuscript was ready, I began querying YA literary agents. Here are some milestones from that journey:

  • Attended DFWCon 2024 in North Texas, which re-energized my publishing mission.
  • Pitched to agents at the conference, but no full manuscript requests.
  • Hired former literary agent Mark Malatesta to review my query package. His feedback was incredibly valuable and led me to revise my materials and deepen my story’s appeal.

Craft Books That Shaped AUDACIOUS

Mark recommended three books that influenced my final revisions:

1. Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass

Maass teaches how to elevate fiction with high stakes, emotional resonance, and layered conflict. His insights helped me push past clichés and dig deeper into Xavier’s motivations and inner world.

2. Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody

Brody’s storytelling “beats” helped me realize I had intuitively followed most of them. I made two key adjustments:

  • Xavier’s “lesson” is now spoken aloud by his nemesis, Todd, a choice that adds tension and irony.
  • I strengthened the moment where Xavier decides to act, triggered by bullying and a troubling police encounter.

3. Story by Robert McKee

I’m still reading this one, but even the first 25% has helped me analyze structure and emotional truth. I plan to finish it during the next revision cycle.

The Current Query: AUDACIOUS – A YA Contemporary Novel with a Sci-Fi Twist

Here is the core of my query:

AUDACIOUS is a 74,000-word YA contemporary novel with light sci-fi elements. Xavier is an autistic teen obsessed with being normal. When his social skills leader dismisses his therapy, he rebels, stealing his neurotraining equipment and modifying it to work with his gaming console.

His stutter fades. His confidence soars. He even wins over Julie, his crush. But when his synesthesia evolves into auditory hallucinations and he loses his only friend, Xavier must face a harsh truth: he can’t gamify his way out of being himself.

What Sets AUDACIOUS Apart

If you liked Marcelo in the Real World or Every Last Word, you’ll recognize the emotional honesty and character depth in AUDACIOUS. But Xavier’s sci-fi-enhanced neurotherapy and his rebellion against being “special” give this story its own fresh identity.

What’s Next: Indie Publishers or Self-Publishing?

So far, no full requests from agents. My next step is to query smaller, independent publishers who champion unique YA voices.

Self-publishing remains an option, but it will require a solid marketing plan, something I didn’t fully have for my last novel. I’m exploring better strategies this time.

Other Works in Progress: Second Coming of Bruce

I’ve also completed and begun querying The Second Coming of Bruce, a 21,500-word middle-grade novel based on true events from my father’s childhood and his unforgettable dog, Bruce.

It blends historical fiction, humor, and a lightly omniscient voice (including Bruce’s inner thoughts). If you enjoyed Because of Winn-Dixie or Shiloh, this story may hit the same emotional notes.

Final Thoughts: Writing the Right Story at the Right Time

Publishing is never predictable. But the obvious next step is to keep writing. I’m also working on:

  • A New Age novel centered around past lives
  • A middle-grade fantasy with light horror and magical realism

Every story brings me closer to the right fit, the right time, the right agent, and the right readers.

Want to Read More?

Check out my other posts on writing, publishing, and inspiration at dukedroste.com.

Dream Across This Mortal Coil

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ON – SALE NOW on AMAZON KINDLE – Click Here!

A Metaphysical / Science-Fiction / Dreampunk novel was published on Friday, June 17th, 2022. It’s available in both paperback ( You get this shiny artwork for your bookshelf ) and Kindle formats.

If you know me, then you get the chance to discover what crazy stories are rolling around in my brain. If you don’t know me, then you get the chance to find out what crazy stories are rolling around in my head.

Either way, support your local self-published authors and take a look. If you like it, then provide a review (good or bad). One of the things about writing anything and pouring hundreds of hours into the creation of a string of letters into words into sentences into paragraphs into chapters to tell a story is that someone other than yourself might read it.

It is a potentially soul-crushing endeavor, but one that must be explored to share one’s verbal art outside their little sphere of critique colleagues. You want to share it with the world and discover if anyone connects with it, or views things differently after reading it.

Dream Across This Mortal Coil – Published Date 6/17/22

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Dream Across This Mortal Coil – Paperback Cover

Self-Publication Journey

Droste Effect Press will release my second novel with Amazon on June 17th, 2022. Both paperback and eBook versions are available. This novel has stuck with me for a number of years. Tens of tens of years to be more precise. I had the seed for the novel but not the experience to compose and capture the story the way it needed to be told. It took me many years of short stories, starting and stopping several projects, and many years with my critique group. I finished Saint Jim and my third novel, Audacious, and came back to this one.

My Origin Story

I attempted to publish it through normal literary channels:
The author signs with a Literary Agent
Literary Agent drums up interest with a Publisher
The publisher assigns an Editor
Editor requires a Rewrite
Rewrite leads to Publication

The problem is that I could never interest an agent in representing my work. I tried several times, but either the work or my experience level wasn’t a literal match, so once again, I am going the self-publication route. Putting myself through a rigorous editing regime, I condensed and slogged through multiple revisions. I did my best to be objective. The goal, this go around, is to get creative with my social media and work it from multiple directions.

Support Your Friendly Neighborhood Author

If you’re interested, then please support me and every other self-publishing author like me. Purchase a copy, read it, and provide a review (good or bad) on Kindle. Also, comment on any social posts you happen to come across. It will help me progress in my dream and further the art of writing.

By the way, I feel (no I believe) it is one of the best things I’ve ever written. That doesn’t mean it will be the best thing you’ve ever read, but I hope you might enjoy it.

Critique Group for Writers – Help Yourself and Others

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A critique group for writers is a luxury I have missed.  Since the pandemic, my group has not met for over six months, and I miss them all.  I have been an active member of the Lesser North Texas Writers’ Group for a little over nine years.  My experience with them has exponentially improved my writing skills and helped me to see my work through others’ eyes.  I have completed reading all three of my novels, and they have been beneficial in honing my voice.

Picking the Right Group – This is critical to your success as a writer.  You want a group that will nurture while at the same time doesn’t coddle you.  This is a delicate balance as you have to be honest yet not hurtful.

Develop a Thick Skin – Here is the hardest part.  Accept negative criticism with grace.  In our group, we recommend a hard copy be provided so that marks for grammar and comments can be given.  Time permitting, each person in the group will give a verbal summary of their thoughts.  Sometimes the reaction of the group may not be what you’re expecting, but remember it is representative of another reader’s thoughts, which is the exact reason you write–for others to read.  Now, maybe you feel that those people are not your target audience, but the critique is still valid.  The challenge is to let their comments simmer.  Take some time away from the chapter you wrote and then look at it with new eyes.  Most times, you will find the critique has value.

Take What You Want – This is a case where you have a variety of reviewers, which gives you a range of potential readers.  You can determine who from the group is not your target audience.  You can choose to prioritize other reviewers’ remarks before theirs.  Also, remember that with hard copies, you can always get grammatical or typographical suggestions.  Even if someone is not your target audience, they can spot problems and logical disconnects.  Which means: everyone’s critique has value.

Don’t Change Just Cause Someone Says So– Sometimes a writer can get confused with all the suggestions from their critique group.  Take all of it and think about it.  Don’t believe you must update your chapter to appease all the reviews.  Remember your target audience.  Remember that you are the god of your story.  And as god, you can decide whether to adjust your writing to fit things together as you believe.

Karma: Help Others While Helping Yourself – At times, I will read something and think, “I can write better than this”.  But most other times, I realize that OMG, there’s so much work I have to do with my craft.  I can’t stop.  I have to keep pushing forward.  Critique groups help you mature quicker as a writer.  You can’t write in a vacuum.

Be Polite and Helpful – Remember to critique but not bash your fellow critique member.  If time is tight, speak to the bigger things and mark the little ones like: Grammar, POV, Tense, Passive Voice, Echos, etc.

Writing Must be a Verb First Before it can Ever be a Noun – No one can critique a blank sheet of paper.  You have to get it out of your head and onto the page.

Cobra Kai – An Exercise in Writing Villains

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“The Karate Kid” franchise is a perfect example of writing villains. I recently got the opportunity to watch NETFLIX’s “Cobra Kai”, the sequel series to the 1984 hit movie, “The Karate Kid.” It was a fun trip down memory lane. The characters again enter into each other’s gravitational field and circle each other in combat.

Watching the movie “The Karate Kid”, it was clear that Johnny was the bad guy and Daniel was the hero. After watching Cobra Kai Season 1 and 2, I got an entirely different perspective. Johnny perceives Daniel as the villain.

Recap from Johnny’s Perspective

1. Daniel makes a move on his girlfriend, Ali. Johnny steps in and attempts to get Daniel to back off with a little shoving. Daniel punches Johnny in the face. Game on, and Johnny smacks Daniel down. Johnny loses Ali.

2. Later at the Halloween Dance, Daniel feels compelled to turn on a hose, dousing Johnny in a bathroom stall. Johnny and his friends chase Daniel down a hill and trap him in a fenced area near his apartment complex. While Johnny administers the beating Johnny believes Daniel deserves, Daniel’s neighbor, Mr. Miyagi, steps in and thwarts Johnny and his underage friends.

3. Johnny respectfully leaves Daniel alone while he trains for the All Valley Karate Tournament. Johnny gets lucky, and Daniel faces him in the finals. Finally, he gets his revenge. Johnny regrets sweeping Daniel’s hurt leg, but Johnny’s only obeying his sensei. Daniel then does an illegal Crane kick to Johnny’s head and wins the match, making Daniel the champion. Regardless, Johnny remains the good guy and congratulates Daniel on the win.

Johnny’s POV in his own words.

Flash Forward to Cobra Kai

The “Cobra Kai” series begins thirty-four years later with Johnny as a beer-guzzling, newly unemployed handyman. The loss to Daniel all those years ago sent Johnny on a downward spiral. He is at rock bottom. In a reversal of roles, he becomes a Miyagi-like character and saves his nerdy apartment neighbor from school bullies. The experience makes Johnny realize that he misses the discipline and confidence his training gave him. He decides to resurrect the Cobra Kai school.

Daniel believes he cannot allow Cobra Kai to infest the minds of new students and does some villain-type moves to destroy it. I won’t spoil the series, but this is essentially the setup.

Application to Writing Villains

Why is this interesting? Writers are told that to write a believable villain, you must make them three-dimensional. They can’t be just crazy. Crazy has only two dimensions. Crazy is flat and boring. The villain must believe their actions are justified. They are only doing what is required for their character to survive. The best villains must view themselves as the hero of their story.

“Cobra Kai” allows this duality to come into the forefront. Both Johnny and Daniel are heroes. Both of them are also human, so they have parts of themselves that are less than heroic. If they could visualize themselves through each other’s eyes, then they might become friends. This makes the NETFLIX series work. The viewer wants them to become allies, but fate and thirty-four years of bad history make this a difficult proposition. Besides, conflict drives the story, and without it, there is no need for Season 3.

Both of these characters reside in grey areas; neither exists completely in darkness nor light. The series is entertaining. I believe the key to its success is the writing team, who have created a complicated and multi-layered world. If you enjoy writing and want an example of writing villains, then check out “Cobra Kai”.

Looking forward to Season 3.

Chicago ’71 – Short Story

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After “Chicago ’71” was published upon winning the 2014 Grand Prize at the Texas Writers Journal, the rights reverted back to me.  I just have to provide a first publication credit to TWJ.  So here is the link and credit to the piece for those who are interested:

CHICAGO ’71 – Duke Droste

NOTE: I’ve been asked what is history and what is family lore.  The story is a collection of historical facts about how families survived the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.  Parts that are mixed in from family stories passed down to me:
– Herman was my Great Great Grandfather.
– A canary was found and kept in a jar.
– The furniture was buried in the dunes.
– The oriental rug was a fixture of my Grandmother’s house for a long as I can remember.

Chicago ’71 Wins Grand Prize for Texas Writers Journal

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I was just notified today by the Texas Writers Journal that my short story, “Chicago ’71”, was selected as the Grand Prize Winner for 2014.  The piece was selected for the quarterly publication in July, which made it a finalist for the 2014 Annual Competition.

TWJ is only for Texas writers, and I’m really honored that my short story was selected by them as their annual winner.  It helps to receive validation that one’s writing has merit.

Chicago ’71 is a historical fiction based on family stories passed to me from my mom’s side of the family, who survived the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.  I mixed it with research I did on the fire, how it spread through the city, and what some people did to survive.

The prize was $500, an Award Certificate, a year’s subscription, and a copy of the 2014 Annual publication.  I’m really excited. This is the first time I have received actual money for my writing.

Texas Writers Journal's Grand Prize Winner for 2014

Chicago ’71 – The Texas Writers Journal

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Just wanted to announce that I got a new publishing credit.  My historical fiction short story of the Great Chicago Fire, “Chicago ’71”, was chosen for the quarterly publication in the Texas Writers Journal for July and is eligible as a finalist for the overall winner of 2014.

The story is based on family lore handed down through my mother’s side about the Chicago Fire of 1871.  I mixed it with research I did on the fire, how it spread through the city, and what some people did to survive.

I’m excited about getting a new publishing credit to add to my bio for my agent queries about my YA paranormal/fantasy novel, “Dream Across This Mortal Coil”. Every little bit helps.  

Chicago '71 - Texas Writers Journal

Dream Across This Mortal Coil

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DATMCTheDrosteEffect1x16_04302104

This is my second novel.  I have finished my second draft and will soon send this out for beta readers. Still working the query/synopsis below, but here is a start.   I have updated it, so take a look:

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Fifteen-year-old Lucinda is always awake in dreams.  Once a sanctuary, her dream world makes a dramatic shift and twists out of control, blurring the line between sleeping and waking—maybe even sanity.

It’s hard enough being a high school sophomore without being the girl who nods off during Spanish and wakes up screaming on the classroom floor. Lucinda fights for normalcy, but her dream reality has other ideas as unwelcome guests bleed over from the other side, wrecking her social life.  Her only comfort is seeing glimpses of her mother’s soul.

David, a boy from her dreams, introduces Lucinda to others, who claim they will teach her to control these nightmares.  They remain wary.  Her homegrown abilities and her lack of training makes Lucinda the equivalent of a toddler playing with a loaded gun, and anyone in either of her realities could get hurt.

She’s torn between balancing the intricate life of a high school student with the complex realm of her dreams.  When her powers make a quantum leap, warring factions in her dream world compete for her allegiance.  She is a weapon, but for which side?

DREAM ACROSS THIS MORTAL COIL is a YA contemporary fantasy novel with a metaphysical bite, complete at 80,000 words.  I’d compare my potential audience to readers of “The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer”, “The Iron King” with a slice of “WICKED”.  I’ve been an active member of the Lesser North Texas Writers for over three years.  This is my second novel.  I’ve written several short stories.  Three are currently published: “Medium Medium” at Dark Media Online and “Lotto Man” at the Nautilus Engine.  “Chicago ‘71” is an annual finalist selected for publication in The Texas Writers Journal, appearing in the July 2014 quarterly issue.

 

Jim Valvano: A Life of Inspiration

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Jim Valvano giving his 1993 ESPY Speech
Jim Valvano at the 1993 ESPY Awards

I caught an episode of 30/30 that reviewed the 30th reunion of the 1983 N.C. State NCAA Championship. As I watched the show, it became clear that it was also a tribute to their coach, Jim Valvano.  The man had a gift to motivate and squeeze every bit of guts and determination from his players.  They all loved him.

It followed the team throughout the ACC championship and the March Madness of 1983.  His team came from behind multiple times and beat opponents that no one would have expected.  When they won it all, Sports Illustrated claimed it as the greatest college basketball moment of the 20th century.

As I watched, I was amazed at the man’s charisma and his gift of speech.  At the age of sixteen in a basketball camp, Valvano heard a speech from the Reverend Bob Richards, a pole vault Olympic gold medalist.  Richards looked over the group of kids and said, “The Lord must have loved ordinary people because he made so many of us.”  Valvano said he was sitting there thinking he was special, and these words momentarily crushed him.  Then Richards gave the line that Valvano said had changed his life: “In every single day, in every walk of life, ordinary people do extraordinary things.  Ordinary People accomplish Extraordinary things.”

The following are some quotes from Jim Valvano to take with you into your daily life:

“There are three things we should do everyday.  Do this every day of our life.  Number one is laugh.  Number two, you should think.  You should spend some time in thought.  And number three, you should have your emotions moved to tears: could be happiness or joy.  Think about it.  If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that’s a full day.  That’s a heck of a day.  You do that seven days a week, you’re going to have something special.”

“My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me.”

“Cancer can take away all of my physical abilities. It cannot touch my mind, it cannot touch my heart, and it cannot touch my soul.”

Jim Valvano fought hard in his battle to beat cancer. He lived a beautiful life, and many wondered why such a life had to end. The Jimmy V Foundation he started, has raised upwards of 100 million dollars for cancer research.  Through his death, the impact he made on those around him, and his foundation, he has extended and saved the lives of many others.

Here’s to Jim Valvano: An ordinary guy who did extraordinary things with his life.  He inspires us all to do the same.

 

Meeting Your Novel’s Character in Real Life

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Healing Hands

I am currently on the last revision of my first novel, SAINT JIM.  It has been a long road of culling passive sentences, removing useless words, fixing connection points, etc. I have read it so many times, I think I have parts of it memorized.  The story is about a homeless man named Jim, who develops an ability to heal.  He comes upon this gift by accident, but is reluctant to use it because he wants to remain anonymous.   The gift, however, has a mind of its own and compels him to help others–almost like an addiction.

I had completed the first draft of my novel in 2010, with all the places and characters complete, and was in a hospital helping my wife as she recovered from a surgical procedure.  When I arrived at the refreshment area on that hospital floor to make my wife some tea, I found an older white-haired gentleman there in his patient gown getting some water.  I asked him how he was doing.

“I have my faith in the Lord,” was his response.

I found him interesting, so I struck up a conversation.  Now, understand that I never brought up my novel or healing in any way during our talk.  I asked why he was in the hospital, and he said that he had cancer and was recovering–the Lord willing.  He volunteered that he had been reborn and even a healer at one point.  This caught my attention.

The gentleman told me that he had been given the gift of healing when he re-dedicated his life to the Lord after being away from the Church for a long time. He remarked that the power of healing was real and beautiful at the same time.  He claimed to have healed one particular man of a deadly disease.  He told the man that he would remain healed on the condition that the man turn from his dark path within a year.  The man was healed, but a year later abruptly passed because he remained unrepentant.  The gentleman told me that he had lost this healing gift after he once again had a lapse in his faith.  He no longer could heal, but his trust in the Lord remained strong, so he assured me he would be all right.

I asked that man his name.  Somehow, I knew what he would say.  He said, “Jimmy.”

This gave me a small sign that maybe I should complete my latest revisions and somehow get it published. I never saw Jimmy again on that floor, as my wife was released soon afterward.  That was two years ago, and I’m thoroughly amazed, even now, that every time I read my latest draft, there is still some typo, unconnected detail, or polishing to be done.  The time has finally come, though, for me to wrap it up.  It’s like an old friend you spent several years with who’s moving away to another city.  I don’t want that relationship to end, but I have to give it up.  Who knows, maybe we will reconnect someday.

 

I Wrote a Novel – Now What?

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So you’ve suffered through a grueling, lonely journey and have a first draft novel to show for it.  Now what do you do?  Hell, if I know.  I’m still trying to get my first novel published, but I have learned some things along the way that new writers might take note and see if it works for them.

Understand the Rules – Some have said that you have to be unique and that coloring within the lines is a cookie-cutter form of existence.  There is some truth to that thinking, but for a new writer you need to know what the rules are, so you can later bend and, at times, break them. A good reference book is “The Elements of Style” by William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White.  The book is less than a hundred pages, but it’s packed with the basic rules for writing the English language. If you know where the lines are, you can artistically draw over them and not make a mess of your art. Remember: Writing is just painting with words.

Cull Out the Passive Voice (As Needed) – I thought I understood what people meant by write in an active voice and avoid the passive.  It wasn’t until I had someone ( other than a family member) read a few chapters of my first draft.  She asked if my novel was a literary work.  When I told her no, she explained in a polite way that I had used a lot of passive voice.  After recovering from the embarrassment, I started looking at ways to identify the passive voice.  The best passive example I’ve heard is, “The road was crossed by the chicken.”  The active version being, “The chicken crossed the road.”  The passive voice is something people from a technical background like myself, have a hard time recognizing and killing from their prose. Look for these word patterns:  “was” or “is” followed by a verb ending in “ed” or “ing”  You can use Word to help you look for the pattern.  A friend showed me this trick using wildcards:

In Word, open the Find window. Select the “More” button.  Then check “Use wildcards,” and type the following wildcard in the “Find what:” line:
     was ?(ed)>
Then repeat your search using two question mark wildcards, then three, etc.  Repeat the whole process again looking for the (ing) verbs.

Understand that the passive voice has its place.  If you wish to convey doubt or uncertainty of a fact, the passive voice works, so don’t remove all of it.

Stop Repeating Yourself, Avoid Saying the Same Thing Twice, and Remove Repetition (You get the point) – Repetition is a problem a still struggle with in my writing.  I would make a statement in one sentence and then follow it up with saying the same thing in a slightly different way.  What I realized was by repeating myself, I demonstrated a lack of confidence in what I had written. It showed me I needed to make one strong sentence and whack the other.

Join a Writing Critique Group – You cannot write successfully in a vacuum.  The whole idea of writing is to get people to read it.  Having your family read your novel is a start, but you need to get feedback from others who fall outside your immediate circle of influence.  These are people who don’t care if they hurt your feelings.  This doesn’t mean you have to be a sadist and belong to a group of jerk wannabe writers.  It’s about finding a group of other authors who have a variety of experience and learning to see your work through their eyes. Carol Woods is the lady who runs the critique group I belong.  She calls herself, “The Benign Dictator,” and has been a big help to me in understanding my writing style and ways to make it better.  My fellow members each bring a different POV to their critique of my work and I to theirs.  Over a nine month period, I read to them all the chapters of my first novel.  Afterward, I sifted through all my critiques, took some of their suggestions, ignored others, found a ton of typos, and when finished, I had a much cleaner, tighter manuscript.  She explained that those that actively participate in a critique group significantly escalate their pathway to getting published.  Most groups are free and others require only a nominal fee to join. Search the web and visit.  Look for a group to call your own.  You’ll know when it’s the right one.

Edit Edit Edit – Writers need to edit their manuscripts multiple times looking for the basic typos, the grammatical errors and the structural story disconnects.  You would be surprised at the number of typos you can find when you read your work out loud.  The Benign Dictator suggested the people who read out loud and in front of a mirror get the best results.  The process of verbalizing your work allows the opportunity to feel where the words struggle and where they flow.

Read Read Read – Writers need to read.  Not their work, but others. For the same reason you can’t write in a vacuum, you have to read another author’s work to feel what pacing is, what prose is, and all the other things you’re trying to emulate.   If you are writing YA, then read YA. If writing Romance, then you need to read Romance ( But read other things too, ’cause reading that stuff can make you go bald, I’m told ).

 

Lotto Man – Published in “the Nautilus Engine”

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Lotto Man @ The Nautilus Engine
Lotto Man @ The Nautilus Engine

Wow, great news comes in twos.  My short story, LOTTO MAN, was published Monday, May 7, 2012, on the Nautilus Engine, a webzine of speculative fiction.  I didn’t think I would get two stories published in the same month.

This one is a little more of a thriller with a crime element.

Eric figures out a way to increase his odds in the Texas Lottery.  After he pulls a hat-trick, he gets attention from someone that most people would try to avoid.

Read it here:  LOTTO MAN @ the Nautilus Engine

My Short Story – Medium Medium is Published

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Medium Medium @ DarkMedia Online

DarkMedia Online published my short story, “Medium Medium” in its May issue.  This is my first publishing credit, and I’m pumped about it.  I’m marking this day down.

A big thank you to DarkMedia for accepting my submission.  Check it out here:

DarkMedia Online

Anyone Can Write – Just be Brave Enough to Try

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Image Created by: Karen Droste McGowan
Image Created by: Karen Droste McGowan

I always wanted to write a novel.  There were several ideas roughly formed in my head that I kept in a journal on my nightstand.  Although I amassed several concepts, I didn’t get very far.  The problem was that I was thinking about writing and not actually doing it.

As I explained in my “About Me” page, I found Stephen King’s book, “On Writing,” and realized that there are other ways to tackle the art of writing a novel.  If I dwelt on the fact that it would be a lot of work, nothing would get done.  If I let myself be paralyzed with fear over grammatical things I’ve yet to learn — I won’t write anything. If I spent all my time thinking about it, my novel would never exist.

The realization hit me that no matter how good or bad my writing was going to be, I couldn’t improve it if I had nothing written down. Nobody can fix a blank sheet of paper.  There would be nothing to give others to critique and help me see the error of my literary ways or receive the encouragement needed to get over that creeping thought that plagues all first time writers: “I don’t know what I’m doing, and my writing sucks.”

I decided to just write and force myself to get the story out of my head and into a document.  I had the concept for a homeless man who acquires the gift of healing.  Nothing more than just some ideas on how the story might go.  I wrote the first chapter like a short story, introducing the four main characters who would drive the novel.  It was strange how these same characters came alive only when I wrote.

I kept my writing secret from everyone in my family until I had several chapters done.  I didn’t want to proclaim, “I’m writing a novel” and put that kind of pressure on myself.  Soldiering away on it for almost a year, I got sidetracked several times.  When I didn’t know where the story was going next, I skipped ahead to a scene I could visualize.  It helped me fill in the blanks and get moving again.  Before I knew it, my first draft of “Saint Jim” was done.  It was one of the more difficult things I have ever done, but definitely satisfying.

There is a magic that is truly wonderful when you start writing.  Ideas and situations come from nothingness.  I had read about this magic, but to experience it firsthand was surreal. There is a muse that comes.  At times, it may be silent, and one has to push through those moments where it seems the work has no soul to get to the moments that feel as if they were divinely inspired.

In the immortal words of Nike Marketing: Just Do It!