December 2020 – WildernessPunk

Author’s Note:

Hi folks. I was interviewed this week in regards to my experience being an author. It will later be published @Two Blue Stockings, but I figured I’d also throw it on here, just for fun. It is a little gloomy in regards to giving a spark of inspiration to new authors, but if you want un-realism watch a Disney Special or listen to a Trump Speech.

Enjoy

Author Interview

Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?

Doing what readers want is for authors with large audiences. I have been reviewing other author’s novels for over ten years now and there are perhaps writing trends such as dialog over description, but human taste varies and trying to find a key which would open the interest of the swirling masses of people seems a fool’s quest.

I use an approach to writing which Robert E Howard spoke of. I write like the characters are standing over my shoulders and telling me their story. In a sense writing the novel is similar to reading a book to me.

What’s your favorite under-appreciated novel?

This is harder for me to answer for I have read dozens of indie books which have impressed me, but no one has even heard a hint of. If pressed I would pick Escapology by, Ren Waron. This is an amazing novel. Waron’s writing style is beyond compare. She paints a vibrate world that both compels you and wants you to flee screaming. Her prose is colorful and yet dark. The characters are strong and move together to interact in a cyberpunk setting of malice and cynicism

What advice do you have for writers?

Volunteer and get involved with other writers and publishers. In life, you get what you put in. If you support other authors, they might end up supporting you. Being involved in a writing community makes it more fun and people will also be more open to publishing a person they know. In this world of the infinitive internet quality is better than quantity. If you think your twitter account with 3000 followers will get you more sales than being in a book club, in most cases I would say you are very wrong. Going at the publishing business cold is rough and the author will just find themselves another of the millions of people with a laptop who thinks everyone’s heads need to snap to attention because they wrote a book.

Do you view writing as a kind of spiritual practice?

In the sense it relaxes me and helps my mental health, yes. I focus on the Jungian archetypes which appear throughout most cultures and religions. Figures like the grey-haired leader, the trickster, the young adult in danger, and the wise woman appear throughout history. I feel these images and ideas strike a chord with people. Then the idea is to turn the concepts on their head and deal out a few surprises to the reader. However, I do have a blog where I have several hundred spiritual/motivational poems. You can get to that here. Mystic Archetypes

What is your favorite childhood book?

I enjoyed fairy tales and legends as a child. My grandmother read most of the Grimm Fairy Tales to me. My favorite book was D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths.

Where do you get your ideas?

I am a storyteller. If I am not writing fiction, I am keeping the oral tradition alive by recounting the adventures of myself, and friends both known and unknown. For me, the ideas are already there. Some of my novels share complex magical systems I have used through multiple series. I also have novels which veer in a totally different direction. I never experience writer’s block, the only thing which blocks me is lack of time.

What does literary success look like to you?

I have published novels and at one time this was much more than I imagined I would ever get. I have some comedy vids on YouTube I wrote. I have a blog, WildernessPunk, which explores environmental and psychological issues from a fact-based perspective which is mixed into wilderness exploration and survival. I think enjoying myself and making a few people happy is great with me.

Have you read anything that made you think differently about fiction?

James Silke wrote the Gath of Baal, Death Dealer books. I found it a powerful series of novels. He wrote, “The night was as dark as a buried stick.” I like the image.

A few links;

Dalsala Den https://amzn.to/2KVUf7H

Skinjumpers https://amzn.to/3hwr47y

You can check out my main blog here. https://michaeldgriffiths.wordpress.com/

Thanks for making it this far.

MDG

Author’s Note:

I know this isn’t WildernessPunk in the Classic sense. But These videos were a fun part of my existence before my life crashed into WildernessPunk in 2016. It took 3 years for us to shoot one again, but now things are better. My life is about a 100 times better. My kids live with me full time and yes, we have started up our videos again, much to the disappointment of You Tube and the general public, so sit back and enjoy…

Before you and I start down this road, let me state I am certainly not the most qualified or popular guy working with a team to shoot comedy videos for the web. However, if you aren’t either, this discussion could be more useful to you than to some internet celeb who has already quit his day job. Also, a lot of the technics my team and I will discuss would help in any sort of smaller video project such as a book promotion video or a ‘How To’ piece.

7. Focus more on Ideas than Dialog

Face it, we aren’t working with Brad Pitt and Meryl Streep here. Most of your crew might have a hard time remembering a long series of lines, and even if they can, they could have a hard time saying them naturally. Sure if you found some good one liners keep those in your head, but if you focus on the outline of the joke and go through it with your own words and voice it will come out better than forcing yourself through 6 takes to get some cardboard line out which might not have fit your character anyway.

6. Let your Props Create a Joke Instead of the Other Way Around.

We may need to acquire and make props, but instead of thinking about what you don’t have and then using time and money to bring it to a shoot, look around at your house, the local area, and your team’s homes. Most of us have odd items laying around. How can they be used to spark your creativity and make their way into a video? Can a Viking drinking horn become an 1830s hearing aid? Perhaps the hair you just brushed off your dog could be a fake mustache.

5. Be Creative with Scenery

Instead of filming a bunch of scenes in your living room try to never shoot in the same place twice. The world is full of chaotic and interesting places and most of them are free. Don’t worry about getting the A+ places into your videos either, since they are more likely places some people may have seen. I also say a B- place no one has found beats an A+ place everyone knows about which is full of people when you arrive.

4. Give Your Friends and Allies Small Roles

People will either want to be part of your team or be camera shy, but we are shooting for something in the middle. Get a pal or two to fill in a brief role. Maybe a non-speaking part works for some folks. Others might like the idea of speaking off camera better. They don’t need to have a reoccurring character, but an extra…er, extra in every video is going to help more than many would think. Also, you could use our trick and put them behind a mask or in a costume and just run after you growling.

3. Keep the Same Characters

Of course, you can always do what you wish, but this isn’t Saturday Night Live and many of us don’t have a wide span of acting skills. Also, with the glut of millions of videos and people competing with you, it might be better to focus on a certain theme or thread. Since getting well known is beyond difficult, in my opinion, you increase the chance to have a following by having running characters and some sort concept. With the pure chaos of the internet already in effect, creating more yourself could just get you completely lost in the entropy.

2. Use Voice Overs

Voice overs are a lot easier to get right than remembering a paragraph of dialog and nailing it. They can be great for adding extra jokes or connecting the plot to the footage. Voice overs also tie in odd ideas and help them make sense within your tale.

1. Write to People’s Strengths

Face it, if ‘acting’, and I use the term loosely, is someone’s 5^th most important project, they probably have more on screen weaknesses than strengths. Common issues could include not remembering lines, stiff acting, not talking loud enough, and the list continues.

Focusing on their weaknesses isn’t going to help things, so focus on what they can do whenever possible. Could the guy who can’t remember lines be good with expressions? Is the soft talker great with voice overs? What about the guy who falls down a lot but can’t pronounce things? Use what you have going for you and try to ignore the rest. If this isn’t someone’s career or life passion, they aren’t going to be good at everything.

The Takeaway

We find ourselves living in a time where more people than ever can be in videos, bands, write novels, and other creative pursuits. This means there is more competition than ever before. If you are going into making comedies or really any other creative project, it might be better to look at it as a hobby with perks more than a profession or a revenue earner. If you are just going at it to have fun, then you will be happy when you achieve such a goal. If you are trying to compete against the endless masses, become famous, or turn a buck, well, good luck, but don’t come around me to spill your sour grapes, because my friends and I just made some wine.