Stop Hating on the Haters

We've all heard people talk about them on social media. They're despised, mocked, and treated like pariahs. Mention them, and you'll receive encouragement to avoid them at all costs, and not even bother with hearing them out. Look at artwork shared on Facebook or Twitter, and you'll probably see them lambasted. To teachers of the therapeutic, they are considered the vilest creatures alive.

I'm, of course, talking about the dreaded haters.

Granted, I've never really seen anyone who uses this term pause to define and explain it. I suppose most would imagine angry people sitting behind the anonymity of a keyboard, insulting and trolling others left and right with their arsenal of personal jabs and ad hominems; in this regard, I suppose the term is fitting enough. At the same time, I've noticed some uses of this term center around people who criticize your work, or point out the errors therein. Are you doing something wrong? Did they point it out? They must be a hater! Are you incorrect about something you've stated as fact? Did they point it out? They must be a hater! Could your work use improvement? Did they suggest that? They must be a dirty, low-down, good-for-nothing hater!

Authors and artists alike, let me give you one piece of advice: stop hating on the haters!

Why should you stop hating on the haters? Let me give you a few reasons...

First, you're being a hypocrite. You're becoming a hater yourself. It's like people who despise intolerance to such a level that they become intolerant bigots themselves. It's also like those people who respond to any criticism with "STOP JUDGING ME!", even though by definition they're starting to judge the other person. In this same vein, you're not helping anyone by being so vehement against the haters out there. You yourself are hating, just from a different direction.

Second, you're deluding yourself by placing all your critics into one collective group. Some people out there can be mean, yes. Some people out there just want to insult other people, yes. However, some people want to offer constructive criticism, even if it's tinged with bluntness. This might shock you, but some people can disagree with you and not think you're hot stuff, and not do so in a spirit of spite. It's unfair to lump the internet troll with the person who just wants to help improve your book.

Third, let's just call this mentality what it really is: deflection. You're basically taking this mentality of, "It's not me who's the problem! It's those haters! That's all they do is hate! That's the only reason they don't like me!" Did you ever stop and think that maybe they have legitimate reasons for disliking you or what you've done? At least consider what they're saying and see if there's anything positive you can take from it. If they really are just trying to hurt your feelings, then ignore them; but don't delude yourself into thinking that you're this semi-infallible demigod. Some of the best people I had in my life were the ones that said, "Dude, man up," or, "You suck at this; do this more." They helped me focus on my strengths, forgo my flaws, and review where I was headed. Sometimes the words hurt, and sometimes it's difficult to chew, but that's part of maturing. If we forsake that, then we remain immature children.

So in conclusion, let me repeat that we should stop hating on the haters. After all, you just might learn something from them. And if that's the case...

Let the hate flow through you...

Why I don't get too political

Those who have followed my Twitter account, or even this blog, might notice I don't often get into topics of politics, religion, etc., if ever. There's a good reason for that: I don't ever intend to do so. That's not to say I haven't let little things slip every now and then, or there haven't been hints of my opinion towards certain topics, but by and large I've tried to avoid engaging in any sort of discussion that might cause people to foam at the mouth and go crawling up the walls. That's also not to say that I'm afraid of ticking people off (I have in the past), but there are some good reasons I've sought to avoid contention as much as I can.

As usual, let me clarify (as has to be done, because this is the internet) that I'm not trying to control people. Yes people are free to act however they pleased. I'm not saying you're any less of a person if you don't do things exactly the way I do.

That being said, here are some reasons I tend to avoid controversial topics on Twitter or this blog...

1) I don't have an interest in discussing politics on this account. Do I have political opinions? Sure. Do I have strong political opinions? Sure. But I made my Twitter/Gmail/Whatever-Else accounts for the specific reason of sharing my work, finding assistance from others, and interacting with readers and fellow authors alike. I'm not interested in spending all night debating about this topic or that. Frankly, I need to be in the right mood to have a detailed discussion on something. Otherwise, I'd rather just chat, joke, and assist fellow writers, and/or have a friendly conversation with my readers. If anything, that's what I enjoy about this account. It's the primary purpose. Some people, on the other hand, use their accounts in such a way that I want to tell them to just drop the author shtick and make themselves political activists.

2) My work should speak for itself. If anyone wants to know my opinion on a topic, then it's amazingly easy to find out. You can simply do one of two things: you can just ask me, or you can read my work. Obviously, every author's writings are influenced by their worldview, one way or another. That's not to say there aren't works that exist solely for exploring topics, or were written just for fun, but worldviews sneak in, one way or another. If you read enough of my work, you'll probably figure out pretty easily how I see the world, or at the very least have some taste of it.

3) I don't want my work connected to my opinion. Some people might contest my first reason by saying that people like J.K. Rowling or Stephen King get very political on their social media accounts. Keep in mind, however, authors like them already have an established fanbase. No, let me rephrase that: they already have an established cult of personality. Rowling or King could probably come out and deny the Holocaust, and you'd still have fans out there ready to defend them to the death over it. And if you deny that possibility, keep in mind that people like Roman Polanski or Woody Allen still have die-hard fans out there ready to defend them as great artists (heck, even some die-hard Michael Jackson fans were defending his "sexual choices" up until his death). I, on the other hand, don't have the cult of personality that Rowling, King, Polanski, Allen, Jackson, or loads of other artists out there have. I'm still fairly new to this scene. If I goof up early, it'll probably be what I'm marked by for the long-term, just as some people like Andrew Dobson or Chris-Chan have learned the hard way. Again, it's not that artists can't have opinions, but I don't want to be known as "that conservative author," "that liberal author," "that communist author," "that Libertarian author," etc.

4) I don't want to tempt myself. I've written before about authors who become drama llamas on social media because they follow or have followers who hold (GASP!) contrary opinion. My goal is to keep myself from falling into that same trap. It's not that I would easily succumb to it, but if I permitted myself to get too worked up over this conversation and that, it would become easier to get into that mindset. Right now I've gotten into a good personal habit of seeing a post that makes me want to begin a "well actually..." response, but in the end I simply pass by it. Combine with this the fact that a lot of people tend to get pretty nasty online when it comes to hot topics, and revert to insults and petty attacks rather than civil discussion - again, I just don't want to get myself involved in anything like that.

"Gods on the Mountain" Sequel Announced

To all who read (and I hope loved) Gods on the Mountain, I have excellent news: 2016 will be the year of the release of the sequel to my first fantasy work!

It will feature Edmund the Enchanter and Diane the Dagger Maiden in a new adventure. A few characters from Gods will appear as well, including Celia and Fulk (Celia especially will get a much larger role).

The title of the sequel is The Merchant Rebellion.

The exact release date isn't decided upon yet. I hope to do it mid-to-late year. I still need to finish it, but I have perhaps 20-25% of it done already. Keep posted here and on my Twitter account for updates. Plot description and further details will likewise be posted at a future date.

One of Those "Year in Review" Posts

Everybody does them, right? Especially authors. Especially Indie Authors. Why? Because we can.

And this is my blog, I can do what I want with it. Ha!

It's been a great year so far. Not only did I start publishing my own work, but I managed to get a few decent works out. What I got accomplished this year:

• In April, after pushing back the release date for beta reading and editing, I finally published Gods on the Mountain, my first fantasy work featuring the characters Edmund the Enchanter and Diane the Dagger Maiden. 
• In June, I published Raw Head, a novelette that was my first entry into the horror genre.
• In September, I published Daddy's Girl, a horror novella about a girl in college protected by the spirit of her deceased father.
• In October, I published The House That Homed, a comedy-horror novelette about a bunch of teenagers and addicts going into a haunted house.

Here are my goals for 2016 thus far:

• I intend to edit and publish my current horror work-in-progress, which most of my Twitter followers know is currently named Deadly Whispers (though this might change). It's already written, I just need to review it, get it edited and beta read, and then it should be good to go. I hope to do that within the next few months.
• I intend to finish and then publish the sequel to Gods on the Mountain, whose title will be released in the near future. I've written maybe 20% of it so far, and I hope to finish it, get it edited and beta read, then finally published by the middle-to-late of 2016.

Of course, those are my two main goals. There are other projects I have on the side, or that I'm working on when I'm in the mood. However, I do want to focus on getting those two accomplished.

In the meantime, I'd like to thank all my blog readers, as well as those who read my work!

Comedy-Horror Novelette: "The House That Homed"

A new novelette of mine was released. This one is a bit different than some of my previous works - namely, it's a comedy horror. I wrote it on a whim, and with inspiration to write something more lighthearted...so needless to say, I don't take it too seriously at all.

The novelette is entitled The House That Homed, and is about four young adults that venture into a haunted mansion with some dark secrets. Two addicts soon enter as well, looking for stuff to loot. In terms of writing, it was probably 40% planned, and 60% improvised. Still, it was immensely fun to write, and I decided to release it for Halloween.

Here is the cover:

You can get it here!

Horror Novella: "Daddy's Girl"

My new horror novella is out, and available on Kindle for $0.99 on Amazon. My last horror story was a novelette...maybe my next horror story will be a full blown novel? Who knows...

Any way, enough of that. Here's the cover.

The synopsis:

Alex lost her father as a baby, and has only known him through stories and photos. Since his death, something seems to have always been in the shadows, protecting her through her childhood. Now that she's in college, she wants to just be a grown woman and take care of herself. However, when four classmates assault her, that unseen force again lashes out.

With a vengeance.

Soon begins a night of terror.

Get it here!

Why I got into horror

I currently have a fantasy novel out in print and Kindle format. A lot of people have followed me because of my fantasy book, as well as my comments regarding fantasy. I started writing because of my love for fantasy. Most people probably still think of me as a "fantasy author."

Why, then, did I start to dabble in horror? Why have I published a horror novelette, and why do I have a horror novella on the way? A while ago I saw a graph showing the popularity of various book genres. Amazingly enough, horror was listed near the bottom, while fantasy was near the top. The horror niche, while popular, isn't considered popular enough in terms of marketing. Certainly a lot more people have bought Gods on the Mountain than they have Raw Head, even though the latter is cheaper than the former. Clearly, if I want to make money, I should probably push more into the fantasy genre than horror.

The truth is, the reason I got into horror was I wanted to explore ideas and concepts I couldn't with fantasy. I wanted to explore supernatural and perilous elements that would be harder (though not impossible) to do with fantasy. It likewise permits me to explore stories set in our own world. Plus (if I may be excused for using a ten-year old's argument), I just felt like writing in horror.

The wonderful about being an author (especially an indie author) is that you can adapt your writing focus. You're not bound to write this or that. Granted, this can be seen within reason: if your fans want you to write a sequel to a popular book, it might be good to write said sequel; if you're seen as a Christian author, writing violent erotica might shock your fanbase and loose you readers. However, for the most you are completely free to explore and develop your style however you see fit.

And, frankly, authors should be permitted to do so, so long as they do it without looking down on their fanbase or forsaking those who supported and loved them during the early days.

Horror Novelette: "Raw Head"

I know I haven't updated this blog in a while, and it's running dangerously close to the trope of yet another author's blog that's gone into Neglect Land. I apologize to my followers and those who visit this blog, and I'll try to update more often from now on.

One thing I did forget to post about was...well...I wrote something. I wrote a horror novelette entitled Raw Head, which is available on Amazon for $0.99.

The synopsis:

A serial killer is brutally murdering children. Susie Hansen is nearing the end of her pregnancy, and is beginning to worry that the serial killer may be after her child. Worst yet, she thinks the serial killer may not even be human...

It's available on Kindle here.

Featured: The Inspired Writers

Gods on the Mountain was featured by Merrie Housdon on her blog The Inspired Writers. She's running a genre theme each month, which happens to be fantasy for June. Check it out!

Also check out the rest of her blog. She does a lot to promote indie authors and their work.

Writing Characters with Depression

A character in Gods on the Mountain has at least three episodes of great depression described in the book, one of which is in a flashback. These happen after three separate incidents, including the death of a friend. When I say he gets depressed, I mean he gets depressed hard. He shuts down. He's unable to do anything. He wallows in misery. All self-confidence is zapped out of him. He sees his talents and his worth as being lower than dirt. Even though he's nominally one of the heroes, he doesn't see himself as a hero, and he doesn't bear any of the cockiness so prevalent in many fantasy or science fiction heroes.

I based this largely off of my own experiences with severe depression.

Let me clarify that I'm not describing bipolar disorder, which is something else entirely, and which I've been told I don't have. There are other (non-genetic) reasons for my habit of depression which I can't go into here without turning it into a whiny sympathy-fishing-fest. Suffice to say, there are factors from my history that lead me to get the way I often do, but with the help of my selfless wife and supportive friends, I've been steadily recovering and trying to manage it. However, it's something still very real that I struggle with every now and then.

Is there anybody out there...?

When I try to articulate how I feel in such depressive episodes, I find it's a difficult condition to try to explain for others, because it's more than being "bummed out." Telling a person to "man up" in such a situation won't work. What's more, it's not possible to simply come out and say, "Yeah, I'm feeling down, and here's why." It's like your body just shuts down, mentally and emotionally. Whatever accomplishments you've made that day feel like nothing. It's like writing a 50,000 WIP in one day, only to have your computer crash with nothing saved - everything you've done, according to your depressed mentality, suddenly has no meaning. That's what it feels like.

I had one such episode this week, when during the evening I got into an argument with a friend. Without giving too much away, I said something poorly worded, and as a result they felt insulted and shut down the conversation. I felt bad because my intent wasn't to be mean or insult anyone, especially a friend. I didn't have anything else to say to the person, because my mind literally locked up, and I didn't know what to say. The guilt became stronger. I realized I couldn't get any sleep. I think I only got about two hours of sleep that night. Worst yet, I was struggling with myself on the inside, saying, "Just apologize," or, "Stand up for yourself." Part of me said, "This is stupid. You have bigger things to worry about. Move on with life." Even these internal voices fell on deaf ears. I'm writing all this as just as an example of how difficult depression can be for those who struggle with it.

When I wrote the depression scenes with the character mentioned before, I didn't just leave him depressed. There's a way out. Things happen that lift his spirits. I tried to show that there are ways out of depression, and we don't need to see it as the end. It's not the same for everyone, and for many it's harder than others. My hope is that it's carried across well in the story itself.