Tag Archives: AlexJCavanaugh

Dark Energy & Black Holes #IWSG #AmWriting

10 Comments
Join us https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.
The awesome co-hosts for the June 1 posting of the IWSG are SE White,Cathrina Constantine,Natalie Aguire,Joylene Nowell Butler, and Jacqui Murray!

It’s time for Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group post. Every month, we announce a question to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story.

June 1 question – When the going gets tough writing the story, how do you keep yourself writing to the end?

Margaret Atwood stopped writing The Handmaid’s Tale multiple times because she felt the story was too implausible. It would never be popular. Yes, she’s quoted on that.

90% of writing is powering through obstacles. There are mornings I stare at my computer and write copy, edit copy, review anthology submissions, or keep a problematic chapter going by thinking a played out 90’s Nike slogan. Really.

We all have dark energy. Dark energy is energy we can’t see. We just know it’s there. It’s there and we can’t let it get sucked into a black hole. Black holes are the crap piles on your desk. The ghosts of projects uncompleted whispering, “You sure you want to do this again?”

Black holes suck away energy. I once threw a black hole (stack of crap) into the bin next to my desk without even bothering with what was on the top. If I hadn’t looked at it in a week, it wasn’t important. I still have only a vague idea of what it consisted of.

Helpful quotes like, “One sentence creates an avalanche.” become a mantra. While clawing, scratching, and pulling crap out of the ether to spin into relatable thought provoking platforms of inquiry and discovery I have to accept this will not be enjoyable.

I can think of 100 other things I’d rather be doing. Cleaning toilets. Holding an open pillowcase as far away from my person as possible while my friend thrusts her angry snakes towards me with a handler stick. (This really happened.) Cleaning barnacles off a boat with a rusty scraper wearing leaky snorkel gear in questionable Bay Area water. Chores like that. I’ve put my head in my hands thinking, “I’d rather be drilling screws through my toes.”

Despite all this nothing feels as good as the hit of dopamine received upon completion. My name’s on it. I feel fulfilled. Feedback rereleases the initial hit. The memory of the feeling keeps me going back.

What keeps you writing? I will return comments promptly as long as my robots let me!

Audio Fiction and Alex Dolan’s Patron Saint of Suicide #AmWriting #IWSG @TheIWSG

13 Comments

It’s the 1st Wednesday of the month. Time for science fiction writer, Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group post. If you want to join click this link – https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html

April 6 question – Have any of your books been made into audio books? If so, what is the main challenge in producing an audiobook?
The awesome co-hosts for the April 6 posting of the IWSG are Joylene Nowell Butler, Jemima Pett, Patricia Josephine, Louise – Fundy Blue, and Kim Lajevardi!

I don’t have audio versions of my books, but I do have podcast episodes of a few horror shorts. Below is an episode I shared with co-host/writer, Keri Schroeder.

Link –

https://ghoulsjustwannahavefun.podbean.com/e/episode-11-happy-horror-holidays/

While I’m an unapologetic bibliophile, I love my audio stories! If Hulu’s major hit streaming comedy/mystery series on the popularity of podcasts is any testament, the rest of our device loving world does too.

Enter writer, Alex Dolan and his binge worthy Patron Saint of Suicide! He was generous enough to give me a brief Q&A located below the link and description of the series. Thank you, Alex!

https://www.suicidesaints.com/#:~:text=Created%20by%20author%20Alex%20Dolan,podcast%20thriller%20%26%20mystery%20audio%20drama.&text=Haven%20Otomo%20spends%20her%20spare%20time%20saving%20people%20from%20hurting%20themselves.

About the show –

Created by author Alex Dolan and produced by Audiohm Media, The Patron Saint of Suicides is a full-cast podcast thriller & mystery audio drama.
​
Haven Otomo spends her spare time saving people from hurting themselves. Possessed with unnatural powers of persuasion, she’s always been good at talking people in and out of things.
​
When a rash of suicides hits the city, a detective reaches out for her help on the investigation, and her insight into why people kill themselves. When the crime becomes more complicated, she must question the people she trusts most, and whether they are involved.
​
CAST
Elissa Park | Haven Otomo
Rob Schwarb |  Victor Blossem
Richie Amos |  Narrator
Georgia McKenzie | Zoey Gibson
AJ Beckles | Walking Sam, Turo Torres
Jason Webb | Wesley Pope

Adrienne Reiter: What were the main challenges involving production, and what are/were the biggest highlights?

Alex Dolan: This was the first time I’ve done a recording session where I wasn’t physically in the same studio. Impressed by the caliber of performances the cast brought to the show; working with actors remotely and hearing how a trained actor can bring writing to life was an amazing experience.

Working with producer Auidiohm Media gave me insight into how foley (sound effects) works, and how to bring a scene to life through sound. In season 1, there’s a pivotal shooting on a BART train, and we searched around until we found a good recording of an actual BART train. It’s a very specific sound. When we created the scene on the Golden Gate Bridge the team and I minimized the sound of the water (hundreds of feet below the bridge), and increased the sound of traffic (naturally very close to pedestrians). We then added horns for the cargo barges traveling under the bridge. That’s just one example. It’s subtle, but a lot of work goes into creating a scene convincing to one’s ears.

Thanks again, Alex.

Do you have audio books, serial podcasts, or short story anthologies? Have you thought about it? Please share in comments below. Unless abducted by aliens or kidnapped by Bigfoot, I always return comments on my fellow IWSG member’s blogs. Looking forward to reading yours!

Riding other writer’s rainbows. #Inspiration #IWSG @TheIWSG #amwriting

9 Comments

It’s the first Wednesday of the month. Time for another of our blog father’s (Alex J. Cavanaugh) Insecure Wrtier’s Support Group Post! Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG. To join us go to https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html
August 4 question – What is your favorite writing craft book? Think of a book that every time you read it you learn something or you are inspired to write or try the new technique. And why?
The awesome co-hosts this month are PK Hrezo, Cathrina Constantine, PJ Colando, Kim Lajevardi, and Sandra Cox!

What good would it do to mention Stephen King’s soul-baring memoir, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft? His first work, and in my opinion the best he’s ever written, completed after he almost died from a serious car crash. Should I even mention Anne Lamott’s, Bird by Bird? Her book on writing has gotten me through tough times, but so much ink has been spilt on these books. Precious ink from pens more important than mine.

Here’s what I can share. One of my treasures discovered after years of working in indie bookstores. How I Write is an essay anthology of writers like Jonathon Franzen, Joyce Carol Oates, Nicole Krauss and A.S. Byatt. It’s a collection of thoughts and epiphanies. The photography invites you into private work spaces filled with notebooks, walls of post-its, sacred squeaky chairs and more.

Why are there inverted commas around Oxford in the sign? Perhaps Inspector Rebus can be put on the case.
Joyce Carol Oates may have a talisman.
Bourdain wasn’t shy about his process.

How I Write is edited by the creator of the cult-literary magazine Zembla, and designed by art director Vince Frost. How I Write and Strunk, White, and Kalman’s illustrated version of The Elements Of Style are what I hold to my chest when I’m feeling lost in a sea words. It’s like flipping through coffee table books filled with glossy pictures of castles and pretending one’s a princess.

The Elements of Style – illustrated version. “He noticed a large stain right in the center of the rug.”

What is your favorite book on writing? Happy IWSG!