D.L. Ryder.com http://dlryder.com/blog Featuring the new thriller, "The 5ifth Cycle" Fri, 07 Sep 2012 18:00:05 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5 Hmm, how odd… http://dlryder.com/blog/hmm-how-odd/ http://dlryder.com/blog/hmm-how-odd/#comments Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:04:20 +0000 DL http://dlryder.com/blog/?p=119 http://www.badblueshift.com/

]]> http://www.badblueshift.com/

LinkedInTwitterShare/Bookmark

]]> http://dlryder.com/blog/hmm-how-odd/feed/ 0 An exorcism of futility http://dlryder.com/blog/an-exorcism-of-futility/ http://dlryder.com/blog/an-exorcism-of-futility/#comments Tue, 13 Dec 2011 20:17:19 +0000 DL http://dlryder.com/blog/?p=64 For some reason, it is a mystery and it fascinates me that it is easier for me to write about writing than it is to sit down in front of my imagination, grab it by the shoulders, confront it with a story and write the result of that confrontation. Then again, maybe I [...]]]> For some reason, it is a mystery and it fascinates me that it is easier for me to write about writing than it is to sit down in front of my imagination, grab it by the shoulders, confront it with a story and write the result of that confrontation.  Then again, maybe I just solved my own mystery.  I’ve reduced the creative process of starting a story into a hostile encounter. Who wouldn’t want to avoid that?

The thing is, I have the story.  I have my locations, I have some lightly drawn incidental characters. I have a strong main character. I know what voice I’ll be writing in. I even have the beginning of the first chapter.  In a nutshell, my next book is ready to come out.  The only thing preventing that from happening, apparently, is ME.

From Pixar's Up

Squirrel!

See, I know that once I start the book, continuing with it to its completion will be easy. And I mean easy in the context of my world of writing. It’s not the writer’s block that gets me. It’s the imagination-induced gremlin that prevents me from starting at all. Once I start writing and I’m into telling the story, nothing can drag me away from it.  Not even my passion for locating and focusing on something shiny.

I do have some excuses.  First and foremost is this profound gift to be distracted by even the most innocuous event, object or idea. Truly, I excel at it. Second (and frankly, as an excuse, this is gold – it would even hold up in court), I just had surgery on my shoulder. “Just” meaning five weeks ago, but in the land of rotator cuff surgery five weeks is a blip on the recovery calendar. It’s painful, I’m on drugs, and I’m stuck wallowing in the misery of a semi lengthy list of things that I cannot do.

The worst excuse is the feeling that perhaps deep down, it’s the thought that it’s a useless pursuit.  I don’t mean life, I mean writing.  And I feel that way before every story at its beginning.  I have to go through that “what’s the point?” phase.  Who cares? If you can convince yourself that something is pointless, it’s very easy to blow it off and allow yourself to be distracted. At least it is for me.

Gordon Ramsay

*@#!

Fortunately, my distractions usually have some creative value, so if I’m not starting on chapter two, at least I’m blogging about not starting on chapter two. And at least I’m writing rather than curling up in a chair and watching one of the fifteen different television shows featuring Gordon Ramsay – the fucking talented wanker.

(I have a soft spot  for Chef Ramsay… I’m not  sure what that says about me. I like to cook, and he’s cute. The rest is just gravy.)

The bottom line, though, is to keep writing, no matter what it is. My favorite thing in college was writing essays. I once wrote an awesome essay about technology, ecology and Roomba, the Intelligent FloorVac (Clever Bot or Minion of Evil?).  I somehow convinced my professor that Roomba was so close to sliced bread that she bought  one.  A? Yes.

I wish I had the answer as to why I’m writing this instead of my book. I might chalk it up to simple laziness, but if that were the case, wouldn’t I be watching Supernanny or Kitchen Nightmares instead of blogging?

As I finish up here, I realize I am getting better.  I’m up and the tube hasn’t been on all day.  Maybe I’ll open up that Word doc and see what I can see.  To borrow a Stephen King metaphor – perhaps if the hole’s big enough, maybe I’ll jump in.

LinkedInTwitterShare/Bookmark

]]> http://dlryder.com/blog/an-exorcism-of-futility/feed/ 0 The 5ifth Cycle Trailer! http://dlryder.com/blog/the-5ifth-cycle-trailer/ http://dlryder.com/blog/the-5ifth-cycle-trailer/#comments Sat, 12 Nov 2011 23:35:03 +0000 DL http://dlryder.com/blog/?p=35

]]>

LinkedInTwitterShare/Bookmark

]]> http://dlryder.com/blog/the-5ifth-cycle-trailer/feed/ 0 Freaking out… http://dlryder.com/blog/freaking-out/ http://dlryder.com/blog/freaking-out/#comments Wed, 21 Sep 2011 18:03:28 +0000 DL http://dlryder.com/blog/?p=21 … okay, all better now, mostly, but I’ve just seen something that I can’t get out of my head. It’s horrifying and hilarious at the same time… We’ll get there.

Have you ever seen or heard something that freaked you out so much that you couldn’t get your mind off it? [...]]]> … okay, all better now, mostly, but I’ve just seen something that I can’t get out of my head.  It’s horrifying and hilarious at the same time…  We’ll get there.

Have you ever seen or heard something that freaked you out so much that you couldn’t get your mind off it?  Is that a sign of too much time on your hands? Or is it yet another symptom of an obsessive-compulsive nature?  No, I did not say “disorder.”

In my opinion, a really well-written short story can have more impact than an equally well-written novel simply because it is so concise and focused, usually, on a single idea or emotion or mood.  It’s like the difference between sucking on a Warhead Sourball and nibbling on a lovely lemon tartlette with coffee.  Sure, they’re both satisfying, but the former precludes one’s ability to carry on an after dinner conversation during its consumption.

Several years ago, I read a short story in the semi-horror genre that didn’t give me nightmares, but rather it prevented me from thinking of anything else while I was conscious. The imagery was nightmarish and the events were so disturbing and disconcerting that I was begging people to talk to me about something, anything that would prevent my mind from going there.  The effect eventually wore off, but it took days and I can say honestly that I was slightly traumatized by the whole thing.

Look away!

Movies have done that to me, too.  The Pale Man from Pan’s Labyrinth disturbed me so much that I can’t even look at the picture of this guy without averting my eyes.  And oddly, I think this is why I was so flipped out by this little Vimeo video I recently saw.  I think there’s actually a resemblance. Pale Man and Freakishly Featureless Floppy Naked Guy.

You be the judge:
http://www.vimeo.com/28501846

LinkedInTwitterShare/Bookmark

]]> http://dlryder.com/blog/freaking-out/feed/ 0 New book, new blog http://dlryder.com/blog/new-book/ http://dlryder.com/blog/new-book/#comments Fri, 05 Aug 2011 22:00:24 +0000 DL http://dlryder.com/blog/?p=1 After years and years and YEARS of writing screenplays and the occasional short story, I finally decided that dialog and brevity were not quite enough for me anymore. So, after roughly a year and a lot of tweaking, rewriting, and editing, I’ve published my first novel, The 5ifth Cycle. It’s on sale now [...]]]> After years and years and YEARS of writing screenplays and the occasional short story, I finally decided that dialog and brevity  were not quite enough for me anymore.  So, after roughly a year and a lot of tweaking, rewriting, and editing, I’ve published my first novel, The 5ifth Cycle.  It’s on sale now and available from this site and Amazon.com.

In honor of said novel, I started this website and blog, and I hope you will join me in what I hope will be a continuing journey – writing, talking about writing, design, publishing, marketing…  And other things, of course, since every time I see something shiny I’m distracted enough to comment on it.

I’ve started the process of writing my next novel, but for the moment, I’d like to bask in the finality of finally getting this first one up and on it’s big ol’ feet.

Please visit the home page of my site if you’d like to see the video trailer!

Thanks for visiting!

LinkedInTwitterShare/Bookmark

]]> http://dlryder.com/blog/new-book/feed/ 0