Category Archives: Blog

Blog

Want to get published?

Occasionally someone will ask me about how to get published. Here’s what I say.

First off, I recommend self publishing. Here are a few good articles about why.

And here’s a recent report analyzing the Amazon revenue for various publishing approaches.

If you decide to self-publish, everything you need to know to get started is in this book.

If you decide to go traditional, there are hundreds of books and articles on the subject. Here’s a good one.

My path to getting traditionally published won’t help, because an editor called me when I wasn’t trying to get published.

As far as developing content going forward, find a compatible critique group. If you’re in the Austin, TX area, this is a good one that meets on second and fourth Sundays from 1:30 to 3:30. We always welcome new members.

Blog

Subtext

There’s been some discussion of subtext among my fellow writers. I’m speaking in terms of the second definition from Collins English Dictionary.

subtext, n
1. an underlying theme in a piece of writing
2. a message which is not stated directly but can be inferred

I ran across an excellent example while watching Inspector Morse. Here’s the setup:

Mary married Trevor, the oldest son in a wealthy, traditional family. Mary has been having an affair with her husband’s younger brother, Steven. A few days after Trevor’s murder, Betty, her sister-in-law, shows up at Mary’s house. Mary answers the door. They are both the outsiders in the family.

Betty: I thought about phoning but then I thought, well, that was the easy way, so . . . here I am.
Mary: Do you want to come in?
Betty: How are you bearing up?
Mary: Alright. Don’t think it’s sunk in, yet.
Betty: Family rallying around?
Mary: Yes, everyone’s been very kind.
Betty: Good. If Stephen and I can do anything to help, then you will let us know, won’t you?
Mary: Thanks. You’re very kind.
Betty: We wouldn’t want you to be alone, unless of course you prefer it. One of us could stay with you if you like.
Mary: No. No, that won’t be necessary.
Betty: You sure you don’t want me to send Steven round. I mean he could sleep on the sofa or something. Just until you’ve over the worst of it.
Mary: I wouldn’t dream of imposing on him. He’s got enough on his plate as it is.
Betty: He wouldn’t mind. He can sleep anywhere. It makes no difference to him. Shall I lend him to you for a while?
Mary: Dangerous. I might want to keep him.
Betty: I don’t think so. He is very unreliable, you know. A lot of unexplained absences.

The solution is left as an exercise to the reader.

Blog

Dear Mr. Whittington

1 Comment

Dear Mr. Whittington,

I have been reading your book Welcome to Fred aloud to my children at night. Sometimes, I take it in the truck with us to read aloud as my husband drives us around town. (Sometimes we drive around to get the baby to sleep, other times to soothe the grown ups.) Most of the time, I sit in the hallway between the children’s bedrooms and read to them as they settle in for sleep.

I chose your book because my oldest son has just turned 14 and I thought he would appreciate the point of view afforded by someone around his age and stage in life. The younger two are not far behind in age and they all loved The Wonder Years. I figured this would be a light-hearted way to introduce a variety of subjects that they might have on their mind but not know how to bring up. Also, I am a preacher’s kid myself and I thought it might be nice to help them understand what is wrong with their momma. 🙂

I just wanted you to know that there has been a lot of laughter and good conversation. The-10 year-old has taken to saying “Bingo was his name-o!” as if it was his very own idea.

And I wanted to thank you for last night.

You see, three days ago we buried a friend of ours. He was killed suddenly in an accident at work. (Electrician) His name was Donald and he was a very good guy. He could always be spotted around the ball field with a great big smile. He was a friend to my kids but also to everyone he met. He always had a cooler full of Gatorade or ice water to give out to the kids who were running around the park all hot and thirsty. And a pocket full of bubble gum too. He was only 42. He left behind a teenage son, friend and teammate to my 14 year old.

It has been a sad week at our house.

Last night we landed in Chapter 15 where “Old MacDONALD” was in a tragic accident, and the town of Fred buried two people whose time was up too soon, and Sonia’s feelings mirrored many of the same ones we’ve been taking turns with around here this week.

I wanted to tell you about how the kids were drawing out as much from the chapter as they could to relate to their own pain. How they moved from lying in prone and supine positions to perched on the edges of their beds Indian style, leaning toward the hall to hear better, asking me to read a part again, looking for more connections than existed. (“Mom, what was the day of the week Mr. Donald died again?”)

I will admit, I had to stop and compose myself a few times in order to keep reading without a trace of tears in my voice. And then, from his fictional pulpit, Pastor Cloud spoke real words of comfort and understanding to a couple of real-life kids in their bed. Like in The NeverEnding Story where the ChildLike Empress begins to speak to Bastian.

Anyway, thanks for the timely words.
~jc

Blog

Cover for Postcards from Fred

In case you haven’t heard, there’s a new Fred book on the way, and once again Amanda has created a great cover. Here’s the final cover for Postcards from Fred, coming out in October. Click to see it full size.

Here’s the book description:

Ever wonder what would Jesus do? On a date?

It’s been a bad weekend. Mark Cloud’s dreams of romantic bliss have been cruelly obliterated, and his friendship with the local moonshiner has drawn unwelcome attention from the local Pharisee, Deacon Fry.

Then two girls enter his life: one a lovely and sold-out-for-Jesus preacher’s kid who just might be The One for him, the other a prodigal wild-child who just might give Deacon Fry the ammunition he needs to rid himself of this troublesome pastor and his vexing family.

Mark’s romantic aspirations and his vow to fly under the church-politics radar crash into his vow to live his life asking the seductive but inconvenient question: What Would Jesus Do? His response will determine not only his dating life but possibly the future of his father’s career.

Sign up for the newsletter to get notified when it’s available, and also to get sneak peeks and freebies. The next issue goes out next week with freebies for the insiders.

Blog

The Great Gig in the Sky

This is what happens when you’re trying to sneak up on a writing session. You know it’s going to take a deep dive, a full plunge into the zone, and even though it’s the thing you really want to do, you’re dreading the energy it will take to get there. So you futz around reading your RSS feeds and such.

“The Great Gig in the Sky” is one of my favorite tunes, one of the few that can bring tears to my eyes. Because I’m not much of a fan-geek, I never knew the background of the tune. Turns out the vocal melody was completely improvised by Clare Torry, a singer they hired to come in and sing something over the track they had recorded. I had always assumed that the basic melody had been written, not made up on the spot while recording.

As a teen I was blown away by Dark Side of the Moon as an album, and “The Great Gig in the Sky” was the crown jewel for me. I played it for my Mom and she said, “How can you listen to all that screaming? That’s not music.” [Ed 10/7/2013: This just in from Mom. Her opinion remains unchanged 40 years later.]

You should listen to these with a good speaker system or headphones. Laptop or smartphone speakers just aren’t going to do the trick.

The studio version from Dark Side of the Moon.

The making of. Warning: The audio on this is twice as loud as all the others, so you might want to turn in down.

An interview with Clare Torry about the experience of recording it.

Here’s a killer live version with three vocalists, none of which are Clare Torry.

Blog

I Dream Weird Stuff

1 Comment

I dreamed this new business model Thursday night. It combines pizza and home mortgages.

Let’s say you like two kinds of pizza, say pepperoni and hamburger, and you’re eating with a friend of similar tastes. Then you get pizza from my business, Shake and Twist Pizza. The slices come in rectangles just the right size to fit in the palm of your hand. You palm a slice of pepperoni, crust side to the skin. Your friend palms a slice of hamburger. And you shake hands. Now the slices are like a sandwich between your hands. You both slide your hand down to grab your end of the pizzas and twist, pulling away your half. That’s Shake and Twist pizza.

But that’s not the best part. At Shake and Twist Pizza, we will give you a micro home equity loan to pay for your pizza. Every time you order a pizza, we just add the cost of the order to the principal of your loan. Painless and tasty, too!

Yes, I dreamed that whole thing Thursday night. You want in?

Blog

Writer Critique Groups

I had three traditionally-published novels released before I ever attended a writer’s critique group. It’s not easy to find a critique group that knows what it’s talking about and fits your personality. Fortunately, Austin is a writer’s town, so it’s a little easier to find a decent group than in other towns where I’ve lived.

If you’re in the Austin area and looking for a critique group, you should check these out.

If you’re looking for a good screenwriting group, Austin Writer’s Workshop is one of the best. Currently meeting Monday nights at Opal Devine’s at Penn Field. I attended this group for four years before I abandoned screenplays to return to novels.

I can’t imagine a better novel critique group than Novel in Progress, which meets the 2nd and 4th Sunday from 1:30-3:30 at the Austin Recreation Center near 15th and Lamar. Facebook. Website.

I’ll be submitting my current work in progress, a return to the Fred stories, in the coming weeks.

Blog

Writing on the Air and Endless Vacation

On Wednesday I’ll be on Writing on the Air on KOOP radio at 6 pm CDT with Jeremy Grigg talking about Endless Vacation and future projects. You can listen online or on the radio at 91.7 FM.

I discovered just how long I’ve been working on and talking about Endless Vacation when I went back to the Writing on the Air archives looking for my previous appearances and discovered I’ve talked about this story with these guys since 2009. Here’s a list of the other times I’ve been on if you’d like to give them a listen.
Dec 9, 2009: Endless Vacation and Escape from Fred (This one has some bumper music by Daniel including a rare live track from Jan 1, 2000.)
Rock on and check it out.