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To Inspire, To Create: Character Development

Smiley FaceBy David Akseizer

In a recent interview, I was asked how it felt to hold the very first copy of The Legend of Pearl Cave. My answer, “Though I’ve never given birth myself, on account of being a man and all, I’d have to say the feeling was probably similar to having a baby. You gain weight, lose sleep and at times have mood swings. Every moment leading up to the book release is uncomfortable, nerve racking and painful.But when you finally hold the book in your hands, it’s the greatest feeling ever. [Read more…]

An Exclusive Interview with David Akseizer

Assistant Publisher Nadine Cauthen sat with author David Akseizer to discuss a few questions about the making of The Legend of Pearl Cave.

Author David Akseizer

Author David Akseizer

NC: When did you first decide you wanted to become a published author?

DA: Back in high school when dreaming big was all I did. My friends and I were gathered around a circular kitchen table playing cards on a Friday night. We bet with cookies of course, not real money. That’s the moment I first shared the idea of one day writing an underwater adventure novel. Everyone laughed at me, mostly because that’s what guys do, we poke fun at one another. I tried not to take it personally. Besides, I don’t think my buddies were laughing at the idea behind the novel. I think they doubted the possibility that one day I’d become an actual writer. And here I am, a published author who’s still not afraid of dreaming big. [Read more…]

To Inspire, To Create: Plot Twists

The Legend of Pearl Cave on eBook Reader

The Legend of Pearl Cave on eBook Reader

By David Akseizer

Welcome legend fans! Life is good. Correction. Life is great! The Legend of Pearl Cave is mere weeks away from being released in both digital and print formats. Now is when the hard work truly begins. The time has come to hit the pavement running. I’ll spend all my spare time promoting, marketing and advertising this powerful read to the masses. What’s that you say? Did you just ask how you could be of help? How generous of you to lend a helping mouse click. Simply click SHARE and select LIKE to help spread the word. I am forever grateful for all your support.

Last time, I provided a few tips on plot development. We discussed how the main plot is the core of your story; the essential drive for the main character. I cited specific examples from my upcoming release The Legend of Pearl Cave to help readers understand the basic concepts needed to develop a plot, as well as sub plots. Lastly, I mentioned excluding characters, wasteful dialogue, unnecessary scenery, and other non-essentials that have nothing to do with supporting the main plot.

Lesson 5: Plot Twists

The perk of being an author is that only the author knows how their story will unfold. This advantage provides authors with valuable opportunities to trick and fool their audience. And if executed properly, an author can add the type of irresistible twists that readers crave when cozying up to a novel.

How many times have you read a great book and found yourself saying, “Well…that just happened” or “Wow. I wasn’t expecting that.” With the right technique an author can deliver shock factor to every reader, convincing them to become a loyal fan for the many books the author plans to release.

Helpful Twisty Tips: 

  1. For every written conflict ask yourself whether you want your audience to read what they’d expect or if you should provide them with an unexpected outcome or plot twist. Write down five to ten outcomes for any given conflict and choose a believable resolution that you consider to be the least obvious.
  2. Release only bits of information at a time. By taking this approach, you control what comes next. This technique helps build suspense. When it comes time to deliver the final blow, follow step 1.
  3. Reversing the role of the protagonist can deliver a great plot twist. In the end, the hero becomes the villain. I just got chills.
  4. Kill someone off in the most shockingly horrific possible way you can think of. Choose a character the reader has deeply bonded with and get ready to anger your fans in a delightfully evil way.
  5. Leave the reader hanging and drive them to the brink of crazy town. Finish, I mean don’t finish your story by leaving it open-ended. This allows your audience to try and figure out what happened on their own. This option also provides the author with an opportunity for writing a sequel.

Tune in next time when I’ll discuss character development. Every character needs a personality and every character counts!

If you have any questions, please visit www.davidakseizer.com and shoot me an email. You can also follow me on twitter at https://twitter.com/akseizer and send me a message. Until then, BE BRAVE!

To Inspire, To Create: Plot Development

By David Akseizer

Stack of Books

Stack of Books

Howdy legend fans. I have great news! The Legend of Pearl Cave is off to the printers. Be on the look out for Figlo Press’ blockbuster marketing campaign starring yours truly (wink). We’re in the process of releasing exciting news updates along with amazing discounts off the purchase price for you and all your friends.

Last time, we discussed the importance of creating a beginning, middle, and end. Whether you’re focusing on building arcs in a single chapter or the grand arc relating to the book as a whole, the tips I shared should help keep readers engaged and turning pages. Hopefully you’ve applied my brief and crucial advice to your writing with positive end results.

Lesson 5: Plot Development

The main plot is the core of your story; the essential drive for the main character, also known as the protagonist. In addition to the main plot, a writer can also choose to add sub-plots to the storyline.

For example: In The Legend of Pearl Cave, the main character, Samuel Waters, is challenged with saving an underwater kingdom from an evil ruler and his ruthless army. The main plot is for Samuel to overcome this challenge by finding courage from within. The stories sub plots include a love interest, a tragedy, and a quest.

Typically the main plot follows a specific pattern. I develop the main plot by determining the goal of the protagonist. Then I ask myself what obstacle or set of obstacles are in the way of achieving the main goal. In the end, the goal is either achieved or not achieved, possibly because you’re ambitious and have a sequel in mind.

Lastly, all of the characters I’ve developed in The Legend of Pearl Cave are there to support the main plot. These characters help Samuel achieve his goal or work against Samuel and prevent him from achieving his goal. All supporting characters should effect the outcome of the main plot in some way, shape or form. Characters that have nothing to do with the main plot should not be included in the novel. Writers should also exclude wasteful dialogue, unnecessary scenery, and other non-essentials that have nothing to do with supporting the main plot.

Tune in next time when I’ll discuss plot twists. I’ll provide you with some interesting tidbits.

If you have any questions, please visit www.davidakseizer.com and shoot me an email. You can also follow me on twitter at https://twitter.com/akseizer and send me a message. Until then!

A Fountain Pen, of Course

By Obie Yadgar

Fountain Pen

Fountain Pen

“My two fingers on a typewriter have never connected with my brain,” said author Graham Greene. “My hand on a pen does. A fountain pen, of course.”

That is precisely my sentiment about the fountain pen. It has been since the moment I called myself a writer. Not that I dislike the typewriter, and now the laptop computer, but the fountain pen brings another dimension to the way I think about the written word, especially the novel.

Writing a novel is one of the most intimate acts one can perform, and writing with the fountain pen adds the candlelight and the soft music. When writing at my desk, local library or coffee shop, I slump over the writing pad, fountain pen in hand and elbows resting on the desk or table. If I could get any closer to the paper, I would, for I think it is that sense of oneness with the fountain pen, the paper and the written word that pulls me into this magnificent world of imagination.

The intoxicating fragrance of the ink, black for writing and red for editing, frames my humble literary ritual.

The laptop computer gives me speed and precision in editing. Yet I feel a physical, and sometimes mental, distance from the keyboard. Who ever heard of slumping over the keyboard? When working on short pieces and especially under a time constraint, I do the entire work on the computer. Longer pieces, and especially the novel, need that physical closeness for the first draft — and if the first draft is done, the rest is easy.

The first draft of my novel Will’s Music, due to be published soon by Figlo Press, took me a year to write, and it was written exclusively with the fountain pen. When the writing tablet was cumbersome to transport, my little pocket notebook served the purpose — I don’t recall ever being without a pocket notebook and fountain pen. Some chapters of Will’s Music were actually written in my little notebook.

That happened when visiting my daughter in Grand Junction, Colorado, where she worked as a hospital dietitian. I spent the shopping mall expeditions with the family slumped over a table at the coffee kiosk writing in the little notebook. And on several occasions in the Denver shopping malls, I took leave from the family and faded away with my little notebook and fountain pen at the coffee kiosk or in a comfortable seat. For such occasions, I always carried two fountain pens filled with ink and ready to go — I don’t particularly care for cartridge ink. Later, when the manuscript was typed on my laptop, I did all the editing with my fountain pen.

I realize writing with the fountain pen is relatively slow. That is slow in today’s society when computers provide astonishing speed. But I’m sure the great masters of the past did just fine with the feather quill and inkwell regardless of how long the writing took. For instance, the composer Felix Mendelssohn wrote letters to many people. On one occasion he wrote 27 long and detailed letters in one day. Tolstoy’s wife Sophia Tolstoya copied War and Peace seven times in longhand before the novel was published.

I figure if writing in longhand was all right for the great masters, writing in longhand with the fountain pen is all right for a pilgrim like me. Yes, writing with my fountain pen is slow and the pages sometimes cluttered with strikeouts, but I, too, feel somehow that the fountain pen connects better to my brain than does the laptop. And just as well, too, for I have always considered myself slow and methodical in my thinking and creative process.

Occasionally, when ideas pour out of me and I find myself writing as fast as my fountain pen allows, my script becomes illegible, but one way or the other I figure out what I have written. So all is not lost. In recent years, however, I try to slow down during such bursts of energy knowing that much of what I have written will have to be chopped off.

The fountain pen and I go back a long time. Living in Tehran until my mid-teens, if memory serves, we used both pencil and fountain pen in school. At one time — I believe it must have been in the first or the second grade — a couple sales reps for the Pelikan, the renowned German fountain pen, lived on our block.

What I particularly remember about these kind gentlemen is the fabulous German cookies they made for neighborhood kids. When they baked, the heavenly perfume of those cookies permeated the soul. Not only that, but the gentlemen also handed out inkblots with the Pelikan logo that came in handy in school. That is one of sweetest memories of my youth.

Again if memory serves, they also gave me my first Pelikan. Or perhaps my mother bought one for me from the store, I don’t recall, because it was so long ago. Either way, I am almost certain my first fountain pen was a Pelikan. That is why the Pelikan has always remained my favorite of all the fountains pens I have used through the years.

That Pelikan fountain pen is long gone, but I have two others that my wife bought for me some years ago. Today, my small collection of fountain pens includes, in addition to the Pelikans, Mont Blanc, two Parkers, Waterman and Schaefer. And all are well used in rotation. As I prepare to start my new novel, my fountain pens are filled with black ink and ready to go.

A writer can write with any writing instrument, be it a computer, ballpoint, rollerball or fountain pen. I imagine somewhere around the world there is that distinct writer who would not think of writing with anything else but a feather quill and inkwell. And all the more power to him or her. What is important is to write — every day and everywhere. That is what I do. After all, I am happy as long I have my fountain pen in hand and a pad of paper in front of me.

To Inspire, To Create: The Beginning, Middle, and End

Smashing Piggy Banks

Smash Your Piggy Bank

By David Akseizer

Hello Legend fans. I hope everyone is doing well and preparing to smash their piggy banks to fund the purchase of their very own copy of The Legend of Pearl Cave. Now, I know I promised the release of The Legend of Pearl Cave this summer, but with any project worth launching, there will be missed deadlines and unforeseen snags. No author or publisher intentionally goes out of his or her way to create delays, but issues arise which may slow down the process. These minor delays are only for the benefit of my fans and it is my fans I aim to please. Let it be said, I am working very hard to write this novel to perfection and my publisher will release this masterpiece when every magical word on every crisp white page is just so. When you read The Legend of Pearl Cave for the first time, it will not disappoint. I am very proud of this magnum opus and cannot wait until it is in your hands.

Last time we discussed the importance of the “hook”. By “hook” I’m referring to your opening line as well as the opening paragraph to a story. We reviewed the importance of making a good first impression and how the first few sentences of a story are the most crucial.

Lesson 4: The Beginning, Middle, and End

Every paragraph, every chapter, and every book has a beginning, middle, and end. These three parts make a story whole and worth reading. There are other pieces of the puzzle, like plot and character development, but every great book has a beginning, middle and end.

The beginning of a book, starting with the “hook”, is what captures the reader. The first section of your book should propose a problem, establish a theme, introduce a character or group of characters, and build a setting the reader can easily envision using their imagination.

The middle of a book is where the author writes most of the story. It is where all the details of the story are unveiled. The middle is written to hold the readers attention, get them thinking, and build questions in their minds they must have answers to when they reach the end of the story. Another element is the climax. Think of the climax as the most exciting point in a story. A good climax occurs when the conflict is resolved and appears toward the end of the middle of the book.

The end of a book is just that, it is where the story ends. To write a great ending, an author can wrap up their story with a happy ending, sad ending, or somewhere in-between. In some cases, the author will leave the reader hanging, but this always angers me, and seems unfair to the reader after all the time they invested reading a story. The end deserves a conclusion and a solution the problem the author posed in the beginning of the book.

Tune in next time when I’ll discuss the importance of plot.

If you have any questions, please visit www.davidakseizer.com and shoot me an email. You can also follow me on twitter at https://twitter.com/akseizer and send me a message. Until then!

To My Young Grandsons

read-booksBy Obie Yadgar

May you blossom into gentlemen . . .
Stay strong . . .
And follow your own path . . .
Have a keen intellect . . .
A kind heart . . .
And a sense of humor . . .
Discover profound love . . .
Take all you can . . .
And give all you can . . .
Accept people for who they are . . .
What they are . . .
And don’t pass judgment on them . . .
Listen to great music . . .
Read quality books . . .
And write a sparkling sentence . . .
Enjoy easy conversation . . .
Learn to listen . . .
And don’t interrupt . . .
Love tasty food . . .
Fine wine . . .
And an occasional cognac and cigar . . .
Choose a good shave brush . . .
A good shave soap . . .
And a sweet straight razor to shave with . . .
Choose a Stetson over a baseball cap . . .
Remove it in the presence of a lady . . .
And at the dinner table . . .
The rest . . .
Well . . .
Figure it out for yourselves . . .

Lady Dog

C-Ration Cans

C-Ration Cans

By Obie Yadgar

I was resting against a wall of sandbags and forcing down cold spaghetti and meatballs from a C-Ration can when I noticed her sitting on her hind legs a few feet away and wagging her tail. She was some non-descript dog, a mutt, and all black except for a white spot on her chest, and if I didn’t know better, I think she was speaking to me. War plays with the mind, you know?

A pungent smell of vegetation and musty earth mixed with cordite and sulfur made my lunch even less appetizing. In the distance, sporadic crackle of small arms fire and heavy weapons reminded me of the war’s different faces.

“Well, Lady Dog, I suppose you’re happy to be here, too,” I said, hearing the sarcasm in my own voice. Why I called her Lady Dog I don’t know. The name just popped in my head, and I meant it in the way one would address a lady of noble birth. I can’t explain it, really. Maybe I saw something noble in a mutt that had survived a senseless and painful war and still wagged her tail.

Her Ladyship gave me a little bark and inched closer, still wagging her tail. Even a mutt welcomes a friendly voice, I thought to myself, and said, “Would you join me in this gastronomical pleasure?” I found a piece of palm leaf and spooned out half of my spaghetti delight onto it, extending my hand toward her. She moved close without fear and lapped the contents, licking the leaf and my hand along with it. From that moment on, Lady Dog and I were war buddies.

I had landed in Vietnam on Christmas Day, 1967, and now, early in 1968, the brigade to which I was assigned had just moved into the big basecamp at the coastal city of Quy Nhon and the four of us combat correspondents with the public information office were awaiting orders to set up our temporary tent. A short time later the brigade planned to convoy to Kon Tum in the central highlands, and little did I know Lady Dog would go along, and that we would have many conversations.

Lady Dog rarely left my side, except when I went out as correspondent on patrol and search and destroy missions with the infantry. During day, she would disappear for a time, to socialize with her dog friends or whatever she did, but you can bet she showed up at breakfast, lunch and dinner times. Since she was not allowed in the mess hall tent, I always brought her half of my food to share.

At night, she slept at the foot of my cot in the tent, although occasionally I heard her barking outside. I don’t know where she went, but feared one night she would wander around the guarded perimeter and blow herself up by a mine, or that her silent movement and shadow would invite a burst of machinegun fire from a soldier on guard in a bunker. Fortunately that never happened.

When the brigade set out for the central highlands in a long convoy, with helicopter gunships flying cover, my group rode in an open jeep somewhere in the middle of the convoy, two in the front seat and two in the back with Lady Dog in the middle in the back. The blinding red dust choked despite the bandanas we had tied around our nose like bandits in western movies.

Lady Dog had no such protection. I carried an extra canteen of water just for her to drink, pouring it into my steel helmet, and also used some of the water to moisten another bandana and wipe the cake of dust from her eyes every few minutes. For her food, a short C-Ration can was ideal, and she ate what I ate. Now and then when the convoy halted momentarily, I improvised a leash and let her out of the jeep; then it was back in and on the road again.

I do not remember how long the trip took, although I do remember arriving in Kon Tum before dark without an ambush or any other incidents. Throughout the difficult journey, Lady Dog rode along without causing us any problems in the jeep. She was a lady all the way.

Somewhere on the trip I remember saying to her, “Well, Lady Dog, it’s not exactly a ride in a Rolls Royce, but better this than chasing the convoy and chowing on dust.”

Lady Dog answered with a feeble bark.

“My thought exactly, dear lady,” I said wiping her eyes.

By the time the convoy arrived in Kon Tum, the central highlands red dust had turned Lady Dog’s coat gray. My new olive drab fatigues now were much lighter in color, as they would look months later, and the hot sun and the dust had shaded the uncovered part of my face in various colors. I was housed temporarily in a tent with a long-range patrol (LRP) team — about the gutsiest group of American soldiers I ever met. Lady Dog had already claimed her luxurious suite at the foot of my cot, and guys were gracious and noble enough to put up with her.

For the next few weeks, life fell into a routine, if you can have routine in war, that is. During the day Lady Dog did her usual disappearing act, showing up for breakfast, lunch and dinner. My cot was also my desk and I wrote hunched over my portable typewriter, Lady Dog snoozing at my side. Now and then I read a line aloud and said, “What do you think, Lady Dog?” If she lifted her head and looked up at me, I knew the line was good, and if not, I re-wrote it.

Lady Dog and I held numerous conversations about life in general, the arts, the war, and they were like playing chess with myself where I did the talking for the both of us. Then I was transferred to the division basecamp some distance away and to the main public information office and could not take her with me. It broke heart to leave her there, for we were war buddies, but war causes a stream of heartbreaks. I hugged her goodbye at the helicopter pad, fighting tears, and boarded the chopper with its rotary blades spinning in a deafening noise.

My last image of Lady Dog was sitting on her hind legs with her tail wagging — the way we met. I never saw her again, although the guys sent me a photo of her some months later showing Lady Dog with puppies. She was a sweet dog and I still miss her.

My Vietnam was a long ago, but I still think about it a lot, about the stupidity of it and the waste in human life and resources. And about the friends and the acquaintances I lost. Some things are foggy in my head, the dates and the sequence of events, but war has a way of lingering for life. The scars remain.

Every war leaves behind the heavy burden of memories, mostly bitter and painful, with a nugget or two of sweet. Lady Dog was such a nugget.

To Inspire, To Create: The Road Map

Road Map

Road Map

By David Akseizer

Whew! I just finished the last round of revisions for the upcoming release of The Legend of Pearl Cave and boy are my fingers tired. Rim shot (a little humor for my readers)! As I reach these final stages, I must have read and edited my novel a hundred times over. You will too when you get published. The good news is, that after all this time, I still enjoy reading The Legend of Pearl Cave. I can only imagine what great times my fans will have when they finally get their hands on a copy in just a few more months (end shameless book plug).

Last time we discussed the importance of developing a great idea, tapping into your creative side, and choosing to write a story that will leave your readers thirsting for more of your literary genius. Have you thought of that million-dollar idea yet? Oh you have. Well that’s great! Chances are you haven’t hashed out all the details of your novel just yet. Not to worry. I’m sure you’ve filled your notebooks with worthwhile scribbles and doodles that will take your work to the top of every bestseller list. Keep your fingers crossed.

Before we hit the open road, get a blank piece of paper, and with a pen or pencil, jot down a brief storyline or synopsis of your grand idea for a best selling novel. Go ahead… I’ll wait. Ready? Great let’s begin.

Lesson 2: The Outline

People rarely drive without a destination in mind or without knowing how to get to that destination. Every road trip requires planning on some level. Some people use a traditional map, while others use a GPS System to guide them accordingly. Road maps help reduce travel time, keep drivers from getting lost, and eliminate the need for guessing. This is also true for writers. Take the time to develop a road map or outline for your novel. An outline will keep you focused as you begin to develop each chapter and organize your thoughts. Outlines keep you grounded when you find yourself getting lost or straying from your original idea. I’ve been known to free write large portions of my work, but in the end, I always refer back to a detailed outline to stay on track and meet important deadlines.

An outline can be detailed or simple, and it is entirely up to you. To begin, write an overall summary of the book, followed by brief summaries of what you hope to accomplish in each chapter.

Example (based on a made up story):

Summary – A dying man John is alone on his deathbed. He is visited by an angel who takes John on a magical journey through his past. John relives and reflects on all the mistakes he made throughout his lifetime. This reflective journey has a profound effect on John’s emotions. He comes to see the wrong he had committed. John tries his best to make amends before he takes his last breath and the clock runs out of time.

Chapter 1- The Dying Man

John is lying in the hospital bed in horrific pain. He’s disgruntled, judgmental, and abusive to every nurse and physician that tries to tend to his dying needs. This chapter focuses on developing John’s character and explains his illness to the reader. John spends most of this chapter expressing his negative outlook on life and showing the reader why he is all alone in his final days on earth.

Chapter 2- The Visitor

It’s late at night and the support staff is down to just a few RN’s and covering Residents. The hospital is quiet and John abruptly wakes from his sleep. A visitor appears in his doorway. The visitor introduces himself as a spirit guide, an angel. The angel briefly explains his purpose to the dying man. He then sneaks John out of his room and proceeds to take him on a magical journey of self-discovery and self-reflection.

—–
Don’t stop here readers. Keep going. Finish up by completing your outline with a brief summary to each and every one of the chapters you intend to write. Once you’ve finished creating an outline, you will have a great roadmap to follow as you begin to write your story.

Tune in next time when I’ll discuss the best ways to capture the attention of a reader as you begin to write the first chapter of your novel.

To Inspire, To Create

The Idea

By David Akseizer

After a few years of rigorous work, I am finally going to be a published author. Please allow me to share my initial thoughts when I first began this endeavor.

Rookie Dave: Writing a novel seems easy enough. Write a solid story, obtain an agent, my agent submits my completed work to a publisher, and in just a few months, my book will be made available to every reader throughout the world. Check, check, check and check. I’ll be rich and famous in no time. (not exactly)

David Senior: The truth of the matter is that a dream is just that until you make it a reality. Unfortunately, none of what Rookie Dave initially thought is factual in any capacity. Writing a book worthy of publishing is hard work that requires zeal and dedication. And when your book is finally in the publishing stages you’ll need to dig deep and muster up more of that…what’s it called again? Oh yeah, zeal and dedication. (more realistic)

This series of short blogs, will provide readers with some helpful hints and tools that are essential to writing a fiction novel, including direct insight into my publishing experience. Learning the process from an authors perspective could potentially help you to decide whether this is something you’re serious about accomplishing. Over the course of several blogs, I will share what inspired me to write my first fiction novel and the details involved in publishing a book from start to finish. So sit back, relax, and prepare yourself for a wild ride.

LESSON 1: THE IDEA 

Do you write well? Most important if you don’t write well, do you at least have a great story to tell? At some point in the publishing process you will have the pleasure of working with a professional editor to hash out grammatical issues and inconsistencies with your story. To begin, I will focus on the creative process involved with writing a fiction novel. We will re-visit the editing process in later blogs. And to be honest with you, I’m still learning to perfect my grammatical skills as I learn to develop my craft.

A great story begins with a great idea. This great idea must be grand enough to support an entire story. A great idea can stem from, but is not limited to, your experiences in life or the life of someone you know. The great idea can also stem from your vivid imagination if you’ve been blessed with the gift of creativity. The fact remains that you need a great idea to write a great story.

To discover an idea, I suggest using the most important sense you have, your eyes. Start off by taking notes on what’s around you. Observe people and environments you encounter on a day to day basis. From there, tap into your imagination. We all have one, so why not use it. Want to write a love story? Focus on the couple kissing on a park bench and start asking yourself how they met or where they’ll be in 5 years. Want to write a thriller? Go for a drive and imagine a high speed chase where you’re a spy evading an evil mastermind who wants you dead. You get the idea. The point of this exercise is to use your senses and to let your imagination run wild. Once you let your imagination take control, you might find the beginnings of a great idea. Document your ideas on paper or using a word processor, such as iPages, Notes, or Word. Then, follow my blog to learn what to do next.

Tune in next time to learn how I develop an outline. Until then!