Lessons from Andrew Ursler

My Andrew Ursler series wrapped up with Arts Collide this week.  I never wrote a series before, nor have I ever tried writing romance.  So it's a good thing it's over because now I have some time to reflect on it.

Have a reason to write in the first place.

I would say that Andrew Ursler is about 80-90% true.  I began writing it a couple of years ago when I thought I was going to get back together with an old flame of mine.  It didn't happen, and how a lot of that played out is pretty much what you get in the stories.  I did drunk dial her after hanging out with a model like in Grind.  We did get together at a coffee shop like in Chocolate.  That date in The Feeling That Something Ain't Right was almost verbatim.  To borrow from Bon Jovi, it's all the same, only the names were changed.  That said...

Make sure it's something you enjoy.

When "Charlotte" and I didn't get back together, my enthusiasm for the stories quickly cooled down.  I didn't want to keep dwelling on it, and I didn't think Andrew should either.  However, I couldn't just call it quits.  The train left the station.  I was on board, and had to keep going.  It's dangerous to jump off a speeding locomotive.  I think the disinterest shows in the writing towards the end.  It got a little rushed as though I wanted to get it over with.  And that means you need to...

Have a plan.

Andrew Ursler was originally going to be a whopper of a series.  Even if things didn't work out for him romantically, I had planned for him to get the other parts of his personal life back together.  But again, when I lost my enthusiasm for the story, I didn't want to see anymore.  The problem is I had no trap door.  This was my biggest mistake.  A trap door is something I heard about from the 1990s sci-fi series Babylon 5.  If an actor wanted to move on to another project, the writers had an exit ready to go without causing too much disruption in the series.  Because my series had no trap door, and because I'd written myself into a hole, I had no choice but to keep going and try writing myself out of it.  In doing so, I struggled to...

Keep up the momentum.

Good fiction is all about raising the stakes.  Andrew drunk dials Charlotte?  Now he has to save face with her.  She agrees to go out on a date with him?  Now he has to ensure he's got her interest.  She wants to break things up?  Now he has to try salvaging the situation.  These are logical progressions, yes, but they fly in the face of having an exit strategy and winding down the story.  A story without a denouement doesn't work.  Even a cliffhanger has at least some answered questions.  Because I wanted the series to have some sort of ending, I prioritized that over momentum, which leaves it feeling unsatisfying.

I hope this all made sense, and helpful too if you're writing a series of your own.  Sure, because the series is online, I guess I could ask Arts Collide to take it down.  No harm, no foul.  But I really can't because the fact is that these stories have been put up.  People have read them, and taking them down won't change that fact, so why worry?  The only thing I can do is learn from my mistakes and move on.

Publications - The Feeling That Something Ain't Right

And here it is, y'all!  The revelation of my secret southern accent.

But really, it's The Feeling That Something Ain't Right, the final installment of the Andrew Ursler series on Arts Collide.  Thanks to editor Ashley Perez for being cooler than pre-CGI Star Wars.

Publications - Conversations in a Dark Truck

Hi, Everyone.

Conversations in a Dark Truck, the penultimate installment of my Andrew Ursler series, is up at Arts Collide.  One more story to go, and we'll see if this drunken lowlife artist is going to live happily ever after.

My Neglected Child

So at the end of the day, I don't have any Jon Snows running around, but I do have a science fiction project that I've wanted to do for years: the alien invasion scenario.  And in spite of my most careful time managing, I never seem to get around to it, which leaves me feeling all kinds of pissed off.

I've been working as hard as I can lately looking for clients to freelance for; even beginning to sacrifice my personal life for it.  I'm also looking for work wherever I can get it, and writing stories to send out to publications, so finding time for my passion project is always an issue.

I think I need to refigure my priorities, and maybe put all my energy and attention into work.  Because, really, what's the point of having a personal life when you can't even pay the bills?

So What Have I Been Up To?

Hi, everyone.

I think it's safe to say I've neglected the blog.  My mind's been all over the place the last couple of months, so I'm going to try organizing my brains as much as possible.

I've been focusing a ton on job-hunting lately.  I did some temp work for Mandalay Pictures over a month ago, and worked on a short film for the New York Film Academy in early-April. Right now I'm temping for the American Film Institute.  I started that last week.  A video production company in Van Nuys also hired me, but they laid me off after a day because there wasn't enough work to go around.

While all that went on last week, I took a break from my daily-job-hunt.  I'm trying to get back into the routine of it, but it's surprising how out of shape you feel after just a week.  I've been spending most of today get reorganized to jump back in.

Aside from AFI, I'm developing a film I'd like to do with a guy I meet during the NYFA short.  He was the props master, but we got to talking and learned he wants to direct as much as I want to produce.  It's in a very embryonic state right now, just as far as me working up some ideas and pitching them to him.  I'm also working on some demo reels to expand my skill set.  Currently, I'm working on a color correction demo, but I'm also going to do a VFX compositing and post sound design demo down the line.

Now, as far as writing goes...

Okay, I actually did toy with the idea of flat-out quitting - I have no short stories in the works since Unholy Spirits in January - but some of my friends have urged me not to.  As far as new fiction pieces, I really can't churn them out in an assembly line fashion (though I've tried).  If something new comes up, then something new comes up.

In the meantime, I'm making a devoted effort towards freelance ghostwriting, which is something I'm no longer ashamed of because work is work.  I joined Fiverr and Elance recently, but Elance is much easier in terms of finding people looking for writers to work on their projects.  Elance sends me a few recommendations a day, and I really just need to sit own, sift through them, and write proposals for the ones I think I could do well on.

All in all, I just have a lot on my plate right now, but I don't like neglecting the blog.  I solemnly swear I'll do at least a new post each week.  Seriously.  Scout's honor.  Even though I was never a boy scout.

Publications - Horse Sense

Hi, everyone.  It's been a long time since I've posted anything, but I wanted to let you all know that a new Andrew Ursler story has gone up at Arts Collide.  There's one more that should be published soon as well.

Taking a Break

Hi, folks.

It's been quiet on the blog, a little too quiet, and I think I owe whoever reads this an update.

A friend of mine recently asked me if I've been getting any writing done.  I replied that I was getting a little bit in here and there, but not too much.  And on top of that, I haven't felt very creative lately.  On top of that, job-hunting like a mofo and focusing more on entertainment and production work has taken up more and more time.

So here's the deal...

I'm not quite giving up on writing, but I am putting my foot on the breaks some.  I know I do have a few more Andrew Ursler stories to be released soon through Arts Collide.  I also want to give more brain power to a science fiction project I've wanted to do for years but haven't had as much willpower to give it until recently.

I really wish I had a better explanation, but the bottom line is that I've got to give more priority towards career development at the moment.