Million Dollar Question" is a question that I think all readers and writers would ask if they were me. I think that you want your reader to love your story, to feel like you are writing it just for them. You want to answer their questions and make them feel like they are the only one who matters. Make your story matter. My second story, "The Big One," uses suspense for tension. We have this guy going through the motions. He feels as though he is living a normal life until he has the sudden realization that everything is not what it seems. We get this sudden shift in attitude and it is an interesting change. If you had your story stand out from the rest of the pack, what would it be? "The Big One" is about a guy who thinks he is normal. His mind is not playing tricks on him. When he gets stuck in traffic he does not think about dying. It is his friend's story. It is not his story. When a freak accident brings his life crashing down around him he realizes that everything is not what it seems. It brings everything into focus for him. If you had your story stand out from the rest of the pack, what would it be? What advice would you give to new writers? Always keep an eye out for anything that you can use to write an article, to help you sell your next project. Always keep your eyes open and your mind focused on ways that you can make your story stand out. If you have a vision, always keep it in mind. Also, if you have a passion for what you do, that is very important. Find your voice. Make the work your own. If you want people to love your story, make them feel like they are reading it for them. Do not try to play in someone else's sandbox. If you have a chance to go to your local libraries or schools and give them an evening of entertainment, try to make sure you do not speak about anything that would give away your story. If you do not know a story about a guy named Joe, name it Joe instead. Let the story speak for itself. If you want your work to stand out, write with your heart. Write for your audience. Make them feel like they are a part of the story. If you make them feel like that, the story will stand out on its own. Saturday, March 16, 2013 I was very lucky to have been invited to be part of a panel on the writing craft at the Phoenix Comicon. We discussed what it takes to break into comic writing in a field that was dominated by the old guard, and what new writers can do to make themselves stand out in the genre. We talked about the different types of story tellers, and about what it takes to tell a story about someone you may never meet. We talked about how to avoid stereotyping and how to get a message through in an entertaining way. Our panel was moderated by the great Jay Faerber. Thanks Jay! We shared our favorite stories. I told about an idea I have been working on for a graphic novel/comic about Frank Zappa's death. I told the story of what happens when Santa gets a hold of Mr. Bones' skeleton and gives the skeleton a face and personality. Zappa was a musician who would also sell his bones to other people who wanted to make skeleton decorations. He had his own TV series about his journey around the world in which he met with many types of people. My story is his journey around the world as a skeleton. Our panel moderator Jay Faerber found it interesting that there were different genres of story tellers that are present today in our world. I explained that there are several types of stories you can tell with comics. Just as in prose fiction there are a large number of ways to create a story in comics. There are a variety of story tellers who write in comics. I told my story about the difference between what we think of as prose fiction and what is defined as comics. I explained that in comics you are seeing the medium of prose fiction on a different platform. It is a different medium with some different tools. A good story is the same regardless of the medium. You have to follow the audience's reaction to see if they are drawn in to your story. Jay asked me about a scene I was working on in a current project. In the scene the main character turns around and it is a little girl sitting there in a chair behind him. He was waiting for a friend to meet him. The idea of having a little girl on the same scene sent me into a bit of a panic. It is something that would not have happened in prose. The reaction I got from the audience was one of surprise. One of them said that it did not read like a comic. I realized that because I had to give the reader an experience and I would have to provide a lot of detail to go with the little girl, and it would not have been the right place for me to put in a little girl, it would make the story confusing. Most of my panel session talked about how and why to write. My next interview is with a comic book writer and artist. Friday, March 1, 2013 I can hear the voice inside of me yelling, "Come back! C'mon, write! I will be quiet for a little bit." I just wanted to write. I have had to work full-time, I have had a son who was born this month, and I have not written anything new except for little bits and pieces. I have been working on many projects, I just need to find a writing window. Today I just did not feel like writing. But then I remembered why I had a new release on January 24, 2013. It is because I have learned something. It is because I have gained something from myself and from others. It is not only that I have gained knowledge and skill with writing, but I have also gained wisdom. It is what we can gain from adversity that changes us. In writing, we are the ones who are doing the adversity. In these trying times we become more focused, we have more drive. We are now doing better work. We may not write as much as others, but we are still working. We still have something to offer. I read an interview with George R. R. Martin a couple of weeks ago. He stated that when he was first starting out in his craft he was not writing every day. However, when the days were so long that he could no longer write on the day before or on the day of, he would write every day, all the time. Every day he was writing, then when the time came, he would write all night long. That is the way I used to be. I used to work on stories for weeks or months and not get them down. After doing this for a few years, you write for months and months and then you get stuck and so you do something else. Now I write and write every day. That way I do not have to write for weeks or months or years in order to see progress. That is why I can write a complete book in a day, but then not come up with a new idea for many weeks. I have to focus on my work, and in doing so, my writing becomes a job that I must do. It is hard work, but a good kind of work. A kind of work that we can learn from our greatest artists. Like them, I have to push myself to be better. I have to work hard and study a great deal of work to be able to write. In writing I must push myself, and in order to write, I must push myself. "Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen." -Winston Churchill About Me I'm the owner of Mount A Comics & Books in Enfield, Connecticut. I've been selling comics since 1988 and running this store since 1990. We specialize in selling new comic books, trading for your comics, selling back issues, and having a great time talking with everyone who walks through our doors. I'm a geek, a dad, a husband, and the most contented guy in the world.