Accomplishments of 2012

It is the last day of the year. This is when I like to look back and see what has happened. I’m not into resolutions, but I like to see what I have accomplished and see if there is anything I need to improve.

This year I feel has been a big accomplishment with my writing. At the beginning of 2012 I discovered that I actually like writing and I was told by some academics that I am pretty good at it. I decided to set out on my new adventure of becoming a writer. I think I have actually accomplished something with my writing. I have developed sixteen story ideas. I have been working on three different stories, which have accumulated about 95,000 words or 190 pages, most of that in the latter half of the year.

Then there has been this blog I started in November. I don’t have legions of followers and I’m not winning any blog awards, but people are reading this blog and I thank all of you for following me. I thought it was a given I would have readers in America and maybe Canada, but it has just blown me away all the people in Europe and Asia, who also have read my blog. I’m a Global Sensation, Baby! Not really. Just kidding. I’m just really impressed and thankful for all those who have taken the time to read my postings. I hope all of you get some kind of entertainment out of it.

So, you are probably thinking, “Is this some kind of shameless promotion?” Yes. Yes it is. My crowning achievement of 2012 was publishing my short story “Pain & Paranoia.” For those of you who have not read the story, it is about a young man who is tortured by two miniature goblins. He can see the goblins, but no one else can. The young man’s friends think he is going crazy and is hurting himself. The question becomes, can he defeat the tiny goblins before he ends up in a psychiatric hospital?

I know several of you that have read this blog have taken the time to download my story and read it. I thank you. I would love to have more of you read “Pain & Paranoia” and then let me know what you thought of the story. https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/244583 
Here is the link to where you can download it. In closing, the following is an excerpt from the story. I hope everyone has a great 2013.

Instinctively, Jason popped his head up. Painfully, he winced and slowly laid his head back down on the pillow. He heard something move. Jason’s mind raced. Was it a burglar? How perfect an ending that would be to his painful day. He laid still and listened. He heard it again. It was a shuffling. Something was pulling on the edge of the blankets. It started creeping slowly across the bed.

Jason shot up and turned on the nightstand light. The light splashed across the bed. Staring back at him were two little green men. The first one was the large bellied creature that had smacked him in the head. He was still carrying the same wooden hammer. The second green creature was an inch taller than the first. It was skinny, but also had a pot belly and four fangs poking out of its mouth. The skinny one leaned against a spear. It had dirty brown hair and wore what looked like a tattered plaid doll skirt.

The skinny creature looked at the round one, “Ya know, Garl, I never get used to how these humans jump up and look around sometimes.”

Garl chuckled, “Yeah. Every once in a while they can get a sense of us. I like it. It’s fun to see them freak out.”

“Yeah.” Lank said, with a chuckle, “You remember that one back around 1941 who could actually see us? Oh grief. The look of fear and how she just froze, while we beat on her.” Lank stiffened up like a board and then relaxed into a laugh.

Jason reached out to the green creatures, “You things are real.” He poked at the round one. It jumped back and swung his hammer. Jason quickly pulled his hand back, barely escaping the hammer.

Garl slapped the skinny one, “Hey Lank, this one can see us.”

Garl and Lank stared at the human. Jason stared back at the two green creatures. Garl and Lank looked at each other, shrugged, and charged screaming at the human. Jason leaned forward and smacked the green creatures down with his hands. He held them in place on top of the bed. Garl and Lank tried swinging their weapons at the hands that held them, but could not reach around the fingers.

“What are you?” Jason asked in complete shock.

Garl and Lank stopped struggling and stared at the human. There was not much else they could do, but answer the question.

Lank offered, “We’re Goblins.”

“Can’t be. Goblins are huge.” As Jason spoke the words, he realized his statement was absurd. He told himself Goblins were not real, but here he was holding a creature that claimed to be one.

“Oh, you’re thinking of our cousins.” Lank chuckled, “Yeah. One of them mated with a Pixie. Don’t get me started on how they managed that one. Blows the mind. Anyways, we little Goblins were created.”

“Did one of you bite me?” Jason demanded.

Garl laughed loudly, “Yeah. That was me. I love that stuff. I took a bite and you thought it was something like a rat. By the way, you’re pretty tasty for a scrawny one.” Garl struggled and grunted trying to wriggle loose, “I wanted another bite, but you jumped up too quick.”

“Why the hell are you doing this to me?” Jason leaned on them more.

Lank grunted, “Don’t bother trying to hurt us, you can’t.” He replied to the added pressure on his chest.

“What do you mean I can’t hurt you?”

“You’re not from the magic realm. Only things from the magic realm, like our weapons, can hurt us. As a matter of fact, you shouldn’t be able to see us. But, every few decades there’s a story of some human that can see us. They usually go mad.”

“I guess I’m one of the lucky ones.” Jason spat at them, “Why are you doing this?”

Garl shrugged, “It’s nothing personal, kid. We just do this for fun.”

“Fun?!”

“Yeah. It’s one of the sports we have at our club.”

“Club?! You hunt humans?!”

“No, no, no. We just come out here and mess with you. Back at the club there’s a magic pool that shows the stuff we pull. We have competitions to see who can come up with the best way to screw with one of you.”

Lank laughed, “Yeah. You remember that time Slar swung from that ceiling fan chain and sliced that guy with his sword. The guy was like a foot from the fan, but he thought he hit his head on it.”

Garl cracked up, “That was one of the best. My favorite was when Twag pushed on that gas pedal so the girl ran over her fiancé’s foot and broke it.”

“Oh, yeah.” Lank’s eyes brightened up at the memory, “He called off the wedding and they were getting married like two days later.”

Jason sat back in horror, letting go of the Goblins, “You guys are sick!”

Garl stood up and brushed off his pants. “Well, boy,” hefting his war hammer over his shoulder, “not as sick as you’re gonna be.”

Lank and Garl charged at the human again. Jason swiped at them. Lank jumped over the swooping hand. Garl took the full brunt of the back hand and flew across the room, smacking against the dresser and flopped to the floor. Lank landed on Jason’s leg and raced up the thigh, dragging his spear behind him. A trail of ripped sweat pants and blood followed the spear.

Christmas Geek

It is an amazing feeling when your refined geek tastes are recognized and appreciated. I’ve always loved the gifts I have received and I am thankful for the show of love, but it means so much more when you are given a gift that says, “You are a geek and we love you for it.”

Let’s be honest, shopping for us geeks is not easy. We write down websites and draw directions to stores, so our loved ones can get that limited edition Vash the Stampede statue We give PowerPoint presentations to explain how important that collector’s metal box edition of Gurren Lagan is. In desperation we plead for gift cards, so we can buy the volumes of Gunslinger Girl that we don’t have. In the end we smile and happily say thank you when given the hottest new video and some sleeper pants.
I know that sounds horribly ungrateful. I do not mean to. It’s just that this Christmas meant so much when my sister-in-law gave me a Lego minifigure of Admiral Akbar. She paid $5.00 for it. She told me how she tried to grab the last Darth Maul minifigure for $20.00, but someone beat her to it.
It says how much my wife loves me when she tells me of her E-Bay adventures to outbid someone for a Lego Death Star, but almost broke the bank. It stills means so much to me when I received a Stormtrooper Nutcracker and a smaller version Lego Star Destoyer.
It makes me feel really good when my family lets me hang my Star Trek Communicator ornament on the tree, for all to see. It does not really fit with the silver and gold balls and shinning Christmas ornaments. It does fit with who I am and my family is happy to let me show off my geekery.

It’s the same for everyone, no matter what the interests. It makes the receiver of the gift feel really special when they are given a gift that defines them. It’s easy to get your dad a Raider’s sweatshirt. Your sister always loves it when you get her a new season of Grey’s Anatomy. For a geek it means a bit more when they receive a special geek gift, because it is hard to find things for us geeks. If you are a geek, I hope your geekdom was recognized this holiday season. If you are a friend of family of a geek, I hope you showed how much you love their geekness.

So, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Geeking to all.

Thanks to:
            "I Wuv Stuffed Animals" by Indui @ deviantart.com

Escaping

As a nation we have had some unimaginable horrid tragedies over the past few months. I do not wish to go into details. We have all heard the gruesome stories. Just like all of you, I have failed trying to make sense of it all. We have also spent too much time listening to other people try to make sense these tragedies. I do not want to waste your time lamenting what has already been discussed. Instead I would like to talk about human’s greatest capability; escapism. I believe we are the only creature that can dream, imagine, and pretend. I also believe it is times like this when we feel overwhelmed by such evil that it is acceptable and should be encouraged to escape into another reality. These alternate places we escape to not only help us to relax, but also help us to process.

I don’t care how serious you think you are, everyone has played pretend or fantasized. Our earliest memories are filled with childhood games and adventures. Come on admit it, you’ve played “The Floor is Lava!” We’ve been princesses, knights, war heroes, doctors, police, and space explorers. We’ve climbed to the highest peaks of Middle Earth, made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs, done emergency surgery on our dogs, baked a feast for the king, and sped through the streets of Gotham in the Batcar. These were the ways we have played, but they are also the ways we have explored ourselves. We have learned who we are, even from that first box we crawled into.

As adults (or adult-like) we still use our imaginations and we still play pretend. We still do so for entertainment, but we also escape into these other realms to cope. Everyone has had to deal with upheaval in their lives. Those trials have left us confused, beaten, and exhausted. There are several ways we deal with these events. The one way is to escape into a book, movie, TV series, or hobby. This escapism allows us to recharge. Through our favorite protagonist we are able to find inspiration and the strength to carry on. A sub-plot possibly gives us an idea how to deal with a problem.
Escapism allows us to ask questions that normally are inappropriate to discuss in public. I think one of the best examples of this is Battlestar Galactica (2004). It was great to instantly jump from star to star with FTL and it was exhilarating taking down Cylons. The show did so much more. We all hate the idea of torture, but we were shown the possibilities of desperate need to get information. The actors gave us a taste of being under the strain of constant combat and made us think of what real soldiers are up against. There are also the less social impacting discussions. How many of you can thank “50 Shades of Grey” for giving you new ways to use your Catwoman outfit and Indiana Jones whip? Not really a topic you can bring up at the dinner table, but thanks to escaping in this book now you know.

The one warning about escaping to a better reality, is knowing when to return. Plain and simple we all have to come back to this reality and we have to do what is necessary. Not coming back will ruin your life. Just know when you are in this reality and you are facing your challenges Gandalf, Catwoman, and Dr. McDreamy are right there and they’ve got your back.

So boys and girls, it’s alright to dream and escape! Go dust off your old Transformers and run them around on your desk. Draw fake sutures on your dog’s belly. You will feel better and you just might figure out some answers to your challenges. At the very least you will have some fun. 

Thanks to: 
         The Floor is Lava! by Derek Hunter @ deviantart.com
         And Then Comes the Dinosaur by AnimeXGirlX @ 
                                                              deviantart.com

Lego Geek

Legos are an amazing thing. Just six 2 X 6 blocks can be combined in 915 million different combinations. They have become the most iconic toy known to mankind. It’s unimaginable that there might be a person who has never played with Legos. They produce 306 million tires per year, making them the largest tire manufacturer. There are approximately 6 billion Lego minifigures, making them the world’s biggest population group. Finally, there are 62 Lego pieces for every man, woman, and child on Earth.

A quick Google of Lego pictures show smiling children with their humble creations that have inspired me to steal all of my son’s Legos and attempt to recreate the universe. Then there are Google pictures of absolutely jaw dropping amazing constructions of buildings, people, ships, and anything you can imagine, which make me humbly stick to the Lego building instructions. I think everyone has dreamed creating amazing Lego art. It all starts with snapping a couple of bricks together. I am a modest Lego Geek with a couple thousand pieces that actually belong to my son. Like most people I started out as a little kid with a bucket of random pieces and a booklet full of pictures you could build from. Around ten years old my parents gave me my first set. It was one of the first Lego Space sets. This was way back before they had licensed sets like Indiana Jones, Star Wars, or Ninjago. I still think these old Lego Space sets are some of the best. As you can see from the picture, they didn’t have special pieces. I know they look pretty boring compared to the modern sets. And yes, I know I am letting my age show.

Secretly I have encouraged my son to collect Legos. Yes, I think he has had fun with the Legos and in a lot of ways have been educational for him, but honestly I wanted to play with them myself. Of course I have always opted for the Star Wars Legos, but unfortunately he has preferred Bionicles, Hero Factory, and Ninjago. My son is five. He has not developed good taste yet. This past year was dubbed “The Great Lego Hunt of 2012.” When I saw the discombobulated pile of pieces my son’s Star Wars Legos became, I decided to rescue them. I have spent countless hours hunting for the tiniest pieces. I have put all of the sets back together, except the X-Wing. I think I am going to have to order the missing pieces to finish it. I finally admitted my Lego geekdom, which my family rewarded me with a Lego Millennium Falcon, Tie Fighter, and Y-Wing on Father’s day. My family’s love and support of my geekiness means so much to me. Unfortunately, their love and support has limits. I am not allowed to spend $300.00 to buy either the Lego Death Star or Star Destroyer.

It is my dream to become a Lego Artisan one of these years. I could build large historical mansions and sculpt statues of the famous. Maybe I would build a life size car out of Legos that would be noteworthy in the Guinness Book of World Records. I’d be satisfied with building very large starships. I have a couple of art books of spaceships. It would be awesome to bring them to life with Legos.

So, how about all of you? What Lego art have you created? How many Legos do you have? What are your favorites?

Lego facts found at http://natgeotv.com.au/tv/megafactories/lego-facts.aspx

Inspiration

The saying goes, “10% inspiration and 90% perspiration.” Anyone who has sat down to write more than a page about something and make it meaningful knows it takes a lot of work. Maybe some perspiration if the air conditioning is out. But, it does have to start somewhere and that is where inspiration comes in. Some people make lite of the inspiration, but really it is the foundation to everything, especially in the case of writing.

I believe the job of inspiration is not done once we have an idea and run with it. Inspiration keeps us running. Those dark times when we think everything we write is horrible and no one wants to read it, inspiration is there to pick us up and move us along. My question is where does all this inspiration come from? I have some thoughts as to where the inspiration comes from, but the question actually stumped me when I thought about my own inspiration.

Inspiration for Ideas
The most obvious way we find inspiration for our ideas is all around us. Everything we see, hear, smell, touch, and feel emotionally will inspire us. Think about what is around you. Have you ever written a scene where a character breaks an arm? When you described the pain, did it come from when you have been hurt? Have you written about a special kiss? I am willing to bet your description did not come from some video.

Of course it is not enough for us to wait around for life to give us our next great line for a story. We need to mine through all kinds of different materials to find inspiration. The first place I am going to say we need to dig through are books. I talked about this in an earlier posting, but it does not hurt to say it again. Books are going to be the best tools we have to learn to write. In this instance you might read about how a werewolf tracked down a deer and leaped at the prey for the final kill. Reading that scene will teach you how to describe everything that happened. But, books are not the end all for inspiration. We have movies, music, and dreams. I personally love reading manga and watching anime. I get all kinds of great ideas. It is because of anime, I have been inspired that the good guys do not always win.

All of these different ways to find inspiration and ideas for stories has all led to a rule I was taught; “Write what you know.” Does this mean you need to put your entire life into your story? No. You take little pieces here and there and slip them in. I had a job where I spent eight hours a day living in a cubicle and dealing with unhappy people. This was great material that I used in the beginning of my story “Pain & Paranoia.” I have been told by readers they really feel like they are sitting in the cubicle with me. This rule also means do not write about stuff you do not know. If you live in a little town in Idaho, then do not set your story in New York. Your readers are going to know if you have ever been to New York or not. This also means you need to research your topic. I grew up around San Francisco, but that was a long time ago. A story I am working on right now takes place in San Francisco. I have been studying street maps and Googling businesses and looking at pictures, so I can remember and have a more convincing story.

Inspiration to Motivate Us
The most obvious motivation for all of us is we want our stories to be read. After all, what is the point of writing if we never let anyone read our stuff? Also, we want to be paid for our writing. It is completely awesome if we can write full time and earn enough money to pay our bills from our stories. These are the things that everyone wants, so let’s put those motivations aside and look at some more original and maybe personal inspirations that keep us writing. This is something you will have to take time and discover on your own. No one can give you your motivation. The only thing I can suggest about your personal inspiration is it has to be able to carry you and up lift you when you get tired and want to give up. For this posting I actually was stumped as to what my personal inspiration was. I realized I have several things I turn to that help motivate me to keep writing. The first one is a high school friend. He was loved by everyone. He knew how to enjoy life and do what he loved. He passed away a few years ago. His life has inspired me to do the things I want to do. Is there someone in your life that you look up to?

I have several quotes pinned to the wall above my desk. These quotes I have read in books, I have heard them in songs, and seen them in movies. I think an appropriate one is, “You can’t become, if you only say what you would’ve done.” It’s not good enough to say you are a writer. You have to do a lot of writing. Maybe you have a quote that moves you? I love listening to music while I write. I hear lyrics that make me feel good, so I’ll download that song. One of my favorites right now is “Home” by Phillip Phillips. It reminds me the best place to be is at home where I have friends and family. Another favorite is “F***ing Perfect” by Pink. This song helps me to remember to be accepting of myself the way I am. One trick I do try to pull off with my music is to set a mood for the scene I am writing. If the scene is all action I listen to hard rock. Then back off to some smooth Jazz when writing a love scene.

Some people say writing is a good way to get something off your chest. I have to agree. Writing has helped me to express some difficult feelings. Things that I normally am not comfortable talking about. The last inspiration I have for my writing is escapism. When you read you are able to escape this world and your troubles for a while. The problem is you are escaping to a world someone else created. With writing, you can escape to a world that you create and is filled with characters you know and love. What you write is your adventure with your characters.

Inspiration comes in many forms and from all kinds of places. I am sorry I cannot say go here and do this and you will be inspired. Inspiration is going to be different for each person and it is going to be personal for each of you. What inspires you one day may do nothing for you the next day and you will have to find new inspiration. So, what inspires you today? I would love to hear your stories of inspiration and motivation.

Thanks to:
           Inspiration by Felolira @ deviantart.com
           Music is My Stress Reliever by Mersof Gali Phormez  
                                                      @ deviantart.com
           Escapism by YaminHikari009 @ deviantart.com

To Date or Not to Date the Geek?

There you sit in the Cafe, pondering various things. Off to one end of the room you see a guy with thick dark hair. He’s dressed in the latest fashion and well built. He sits with a couple of friends and laughs. Off to another corner of the room you notice another guy. He’s wearing an over sized t-shirt that has something to do with a video game. He’s scrawny and wears glasses. He is working with a friend on some homework. As a woman, with fine tastes, your initial reaction is to be drawn to the cool guy who is laughing with friends. However, you have been pondering various things and you begin to wonder if dating the geeky looking guy would be better. While you think this through, let me be a voice of reason. After all, I have been a professional card carrying geek, since Star Wars was originally in the theaters. Sure, the cool guy would be fun to hang out with, but the geek has a lot going for him. It might be better for girls to date geeks.

Just as the two terms, cool and geek, suggest there are very opposite qualities to each type of guy. Probably the most obvious quality is looks. The cool guy will be well groomed, dress in the latest fashions, and is athletic. Sounds great, but every other woman around you also thinks it sounds great. You are a beautiful woman, but you still have to compete to keep the cool guy’s attention. The geek is not horrible looking, he’s just not attention grabbing. He has good features. Maybe all you have to do is give him some fashion tips on dressing. That is if you can get that gamer t-shirt off of him.

What if you went on a date with the cool guy, what would it be like? He picks you up, 20 minutes late. He’s dressed in jeans, t-shirt, and a cap. You took time to put on a nice dress, put on make-up and fix your hair. He says you look nice, but doesn’t like the color of your dress. At the restaurant, the waitress flirts with your cool guy. He’s shocked you ordered so much to eat. At the end of dinner, your cool guy acts surprised and says he forgot his wallet and asks if you can pay. Sound familiar? If this hasn’t happened to you, I’m sure some of your girlfriends have described these kinds of dates. As a geek let me assure you of what would happen on a date with a geek. He would show up right on time. Geeks are notorious for being timely. He will be stunned by how nice you look. Inside the geek’s head he is thinking, “Wow! She dressed up for me!” The geek will be dressed in jeans, maybe slacks, and a dress shirt. A geek will try to look nice for you. At the restaurant you won’t have to worry about the waitress flirting with your date. At most she’ll remember he helped her with her math homework. The geek will be excited that you ordered the kind of food he likes. The most embarrassing thing your geek date will do is slip the cashier a coupon, like it’s a fifty.

What kind of fun do you think the cool guy and the geek are going to have? Cool guys invented the word party. At parties there is going to be drinking, music, dancing, and sometimes it turns into skinny dipping in the neighbor’s pool. Geeks know how to have fun. They love playing video games, movies, role playing games, dressing up, and… well, OK, the cool guy might have us on this one. At the very least you will have fun watching the geek dress up as a stormtrooper, for a Star Wars convention.

Geeks are smart. I’m not saying the cool guy can’t get straight A’s and he might be successful, but the odds do favor the geek being more successful, for example; Bill gates, geek; Steve Jobs, geek; George Lucas, geek; Nicholas Cage, looks cool, but he is a self-described comic book geek. A geek will always be successful and will always have money, even if he doesn’t look like it. The cool guy is going to have a new sports car and the latest clothes. He is probably up to his eyeballs in debt. The geek will always have money. He knows how to invest and save. After all he has a lot of hobbies to support.

The cool guy is going to know how to fix your car. Part of being a cool guy is to know all about cars and that includes fixing them. The geek has to give that one to the cool guy. Geeks don’t know how to fix cars. However, the geek can install your entertainment center, fix your laptop, program your smart phone, and call AAA to pick up your car to get it fixed.

There is one last thing to look at and that is devotion. The cool guy has always had girls around to date. The cool guy will always be looking to upgrade. The geek is lucky if a girl will talk to him. This means the geek believes you are the top of the line and wants to do nothing to lose you. The cool guy will want you to do things for him, while the geek will treat you like a princess. The geek will do what you want.

The cool guy has a lot going for him. He has good looks, is fashionable, and charming. That’s just on the surface. On the surface the geek is scrawny, he doesn’t know how to dress, and he plays with toys. If you dig down below the surface, you might find some different things about the cool guy and the geek. Cool guy might not be reliable and not care for you the way you would like to be cared for. The geek is a nice guy and he will always treat you right and will always be there for you. As the voice of reasoning, while you have been pondering, I think the geek would be better to date.

Thanks to:
           Reiko Hoshino by Toto the Cat @ deviantart.com
           Punk by xXjannatXx @ deviantart.com
           Braun by Nikogeyer @ deviantart.com 
           First Sight by Autumncry @ deviantart.com
           Geek Pride Day by Cariman @ deviantart.com 

What Do You Need To Write

When I first started to write it was obvious to me what I needed. I got those things and started pumping out gibberish. Since then I have come across pieces of advice and wisdom that have reminded me of things a good writer needs. I would like to share with you what I believe those things are.

To start off, let’s talk about the basics every writer absolutely must have to start putting their thoughts down. Are you ready for this? All you need is a chair, a table, paper, and a pencil, that’s it! Yes, this list is archaic. This day in age it seems a writer needs a computer, printer, and the internet. I actually talk about those things later on, but let’s be honest there are still people in the world that cannot afford a computer. Those people feel as if they have been handicapped. I’m here to tell those people you can still chase your dreams of becoming a writer, you have everything you need.

There is one more requirement for every writer; books. I know, you are thinking “Duh!” I feel it is important to bring this up because I have come across many professional writers who have preached about the importance as a writer to read. I think Stephen King said it best, “If you do not have the time to read, you do not have the time or the tools to write.” When you read, you are going to pick up on styles of writing and add those to your own way of writing. Your vocabulary will increase as you come across new words. You will also find inspiration for your own work. Personally, I love reading manga and graphic novels. I finally forced myself to put them down and read some novels. Almost immediately I saw an improvement in my writing.

It seems to me that most burgeoning writers just plop down wherever they are and start cranking out what is firing through their imagination. I strongly believe every writer has to have their special place they can go to write. For me I just cannot write where there are a lot of people around. The noise and conversations distract me. I’m weird, but being out in public scares me. So, my special place to write is a room at home I have dubbed the “Geek Cave.” This is where I can go to feel safe and not be distracted. I have also found when I sit down at my desk it is like going to work. I switch into writing mode and my thoughts for my stories kick in. Where it is best for you to write will be different for everyone else. J.K. Rowling has a favorite coffee shop she hangs out in. Stephen King has an office he drives to. There is always a library or somewhere else. It is important that this place is where you can go and comfortably concentrate on your writing.

As promised, let’s talk about computers and other wonderful gadgets. I have a trusty laptop that has been by my side since the beginning of my writing. Is it the fastest? Does it have the latest? No. When I bought it my laptop was top of the line and the brand was highly recommended. Which is what I wanted, because I knew it would be reliable. The only other thing I can confidently recommend for your computer is internet access. It has been a life saver for me. I have published all of my work online. When I need a name for a character or to look up a place in the world, it has been so easy to jump on line and look for those things. If I have a question, it has been wonderful to e-mail someone I know and ask them.

If you are using a computer, of course you are going to need a word processor. Immediately everyone thinks of Microsoft Word and a lot of people freak out at the cost. There is a good alternative. Try Open Office. It is free and on line. Open Office is compatible with Microsoft Office and looks a lot like it. I used Open Office for the longest time and had no trouble. You can find it at openoffice.org

One last gadget is something to write quick ideas down on. I suggest this because it has been nice when I am running around and I get an idea, I can jot the idea down and then use it when I get back to my laptop. Smart phones and tablets are great. You can always use a note pad and pencil. I used to send myself text messages with ideas. 

It may seem like you are on your own when it comes to writing. You are not. I do not say this lightly. I am a person who is afraid of people, but I still have friends and even a mentor I can go to for help and guidance. Even your family and friends who know nothing about writing, still know how to read and can help you a lot. Use your friends and family to bounce ideas off of. Have them read your stuff. They can edit and point out things you may have missed. If you want to find other writers, there are hundreds of writing groups on line. I belong to two of them on Facebook. In my town there are a couple of writer’s groups that meet at the libraries. They are wonderful peers who can help review your work and make suggestions. These other writers have helped me a great deal with little pieces of advice. 

The last thing you need is somewhere to put your writing. I believe the purpose of writing is to share your ideas and thoughts with other people. At the very least keep your writing in a journal, for the purpose that someday someone will read it. Today it is incredibly easy to put your writing out there for people to see. You can build a blog, such as this one. There are several on line e-publishing companies and most of them are free. I use Smashwords.com. They have been great to work with. They have staff that has been very willing to help me with posting my story (hopefully soon to be stories.) Of course there are the traditional ways of publishing. I suggest you look into the small local publishing houses. If nothing else, give your writing to your family and friends. That is what I did in the beginning. It is because of my family I got the courage to finally publish one of my stories. One crazy idea I was given by someone was to printout my stories and leave them lying around in public places, like restaurants, waiting rooms, and schools.  

So, do you have everything you need? I’m positive you at least have the basics. With a little time and effort the other needs I mentioned will come along. Maybe you do not need these things and that’s fine. Maybe you have other needs for writing. What is important is your needs so you will be comfortable, distraction free, and inspired to write.

In closing I would love to know what things you need or do not need so you can write. I would love to hear your comments.

Thanks to:

            Hi I’m Dead Hiskarin by meteorleopard @ deviantart.com

            Hon No Mushi by JohnSu @ deviantart.com