Video Games are Real

Category: Charactered Pieces: stories

  • How can a happenstance bucket list lead to compelling characters?

    How can a happenstance bucket list lead to compelling characters?

    Bucket lists are generally grandiose compilations of big events with universal appear. So, you want to swim with the dolphins and go cave spelunking in Chile? Well, who the hell doesn’t want to do those things? Big events do not a compelling character make.

    I believe I’ve taken the bucket list concept to a much more satisfying place, one that celebrates happenstance and relative minutiae rather than expensive plane tickets and vacation photo fodder.

    For a long time, I’ve been paying attention to the unique moments of my life, ones that more often than not seem to materialize without any provocation, but that are nonetheless sources of pride. Here are a few examples of the accomplishments on my bucket list:

    What is the impact of these items in terms of character development?

    The way a character reacts to each of the events above says a great deal about the mental state and lifestyle of the character. Does a character routinely get free drinks on an airplane? If so, how? If not, how would this character react to such a unique gesture? Would a character witnessing a light bulb burn out assume he caused the light to burn out? Was there a big event happening when the light went out, such as a wedding, award ceremony, or something smaller like a criminal interrogation? Who is the day-stranger friend? How did this friend meet your story’s character? Perhaps the meeting was planned without one of the parties knowing. Who was in the car wreck? How was it that our character was in the right place at the right time to witness this car wreck? Why did the character call 911? Was it a prank call? And on and on and on…

    By contrast, a character connected to a big event from a traditional bucket list item (such as skydiving or swimming with dolphins) may simply be the product of a plot rather than a rounded character in his own right.

    Traits implied by a happenstance bucket list puts the focus on the character rather than on the plot. What are some items on your happenstance bucket list?

    Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ratatatratsy/

  • 99 cents, now through January 17th, Charactered Pieces and Murmurs.

    99 cents, now through January 17th, Charactered Pieces and Murmurs.

    All eBook versions of either Charactered Pieces or Murmurs: Gathered Stories Vol. One are only $0.99 from now through January 17th. Why January 17th? Because that is the official release date for my newest novel, I Didn’t Mean to be Kevin.

    Just click a link below to go either directly to the Amazon Kindle store or to the Smashwords pages where other formats can be purchased (including NOOK, Sony, Kobo, iBooks, etc.)

    Please, spread the word if you are willing and able. This is a damn fine deal, I must say, and is a great opportunity to whet your appetite for the upcoming I Didn’t Mean to be Kevin.

    [box title=”Charactered Pieces” color=”#000″]

    Amazon Kindle $0.99

    Smashwords $0.99
    [/box]

    [box title=”Murmurs” color=”#000″]

    Amazon Kindle $0.99

    Smashwords $0.99
    [/box]

  • I lost $ 75.48 on a Facebook ad campaign, and you can too! -OR- Can Facebook ads sell books? Quick answer: no. Long answer: noooooooooooooooo.

    I lost $ 75.48 on a Facebook ad campaign, and you can too! -OR- Can Facebook ads sell books? Quick answer: no. Long answer: noooooooooooooooo.

    (part of my ongoing Search Engine Optimization for Authors series[1]I understand that paid search ads aren’t traditionally umbrellaed under search engine optimization. However, because tracking and optimization is involved, I’m including it in the series)

    Part of being a great author-marketer is knowing how to filter promotion time wastes from time worthwhiles. Some options are simple to filter. “Should I do a Goodreads.com giveaway to attract potential readers?” Yes (all it costs is the price of a few copies of a book to receive interest from hundreds of readers). “Should I rent a billboard for a month?” No (billboards offer either 1) travel-oriented products/services or 2) products with a high profit margin). Some options aren’t so simple. And in the case of the Facebook ad, prominence adds to the should I or shouldn’t I debate. Well, I’m here to help. (more…)

    Footnotes

    Footnotes
    ↑1 I understand that paid search ads aren’t traditionally umbrellaed under search engine optimization. However, because tracking and optimization is involved, I’m including it in the series

  • A selection of my strangest gifts ever given

    I write domestic grotesque fiction, which is a term I think I made up, but is quite suiting to the themes and content of my stories and books. The most famous short story that I think would fit into the domestic grotesque genre is “Good Country People” by Flannery O’Conner (visualized quite creepily in this short film from the 1960s and quite cheesily in this student clip). Take a family situation—usually some sort of broken family dynamic—mix in something grotesque—possibly morbid but not necessarily—and you’ve probably got domestic grotesque.

    As you can imagine, Christmas is a fun time for my family.

    I’ve given quite a few quirky gifts. Though none could be tagged as grotesque, they are representative of the type of mind that would write a domestic grotesque story, I think. Tis the season and all that, so I figured I would share a few that I’ve so graciously given over the years.

    Kangaroo Scrotum change purse

    Lucky Recipient: uncle

    Yep, it’s a real kangaroo scrotum. I bought one for myself years ago and still use it to this day. Quite durable, those marsupial nut sacks.

    Remote Triggered Farting Bear

    Lucky recipient: sister

    Elegantly simple. Place bear near unsuspecting grandmother. Press remote button. Watch rest of family pretend to ignore what they assume is just a more audible version of what grandma does all the time.

    Huggable Swearing Bear

    Lucky recipient: sister

    Elegantly simple. Place bear near unsuspecting grandmother. Tell grandmother to hug bear. Watch rest of family pretend not to be embarrassed as we hear an audible version of what grandma is thinking all the time.

    Zebra/Tiger Table

    Lucky recipient: mother.

    My mother refused to tell me what she wanted for Christmas, so I taught her a lesson by giving her a bunch of stupid crap. This table is probably the stupidest. Lesson learned, mom. I actually gave a zebra table (sans the tiger), but I couldn’t find a picture of it anywhere online. Though I think I like this one better. 2011 gift idea!
     

    Bath towel with my giant face on it

    Lucky recipient: mother

    I specifically made sure to call this gift a bath towel, rather than a beach towel or dish towel, so as to enhance the creepy factor. That face is actual size…if my face suffered from Elephantiasis. that face is actually about the size of a couch cushion. Bonus funny: I’m my mother’s only son.
     

    Way-too-old child footprints

    Luck recipient: mother

    You remember those cute infant-to-toddler foot print pictures that children often make for their parents. This is kinda like that except instead of ohhh-ing and awwww-ing there was much ewwww-ing and therapist calling. I actually think this was a Mother’s Day gift. Either way, ha!

    Might I recommend you do the same? Creep out your family by gifting one of the items above. Or, better yet, mix in some bookage and give a copy of one of my books. Click below to go to heaven.

  • Stranger Will tour stop #44: Pela Via’s blog

    What follows is a conversation between myself and writer and Warmed and Bound editor, Pela Via. Why? We like chatting about ourselves. Or, read a much prettier version at Pela’s blog.

    Pela Via: Thanks for talking to me again, Caleb. You are one of the hardest workers in contemporary fiction; I always love a chance to corner you into a long, stifling conversation. Are you as prolific as you seem?

    Caleb J. Ross: Prolific is a term that seems appropriate at first, but really a better way to say it would be “got lucky all at once.” Stranger Will and I Didn’t Mean to be Kevin, the two 2011 novels, were both written a few years ago, each a year or so apart. And the novella also to be released this year, As a Machine and Parts, was written even later than the novels. This is all to say that I spent about eight years writing the books, but the one year release schedule implies otherwise. I’m actually quite the disappointment.

    PV: Hardly. Your short work is everywhere. Do you plan to release any books in 2012?

    CJR: As for 2012, nothing is contracted yet. But I have plenty to write.

    PV: What do these two novels represent in your writing career?

    CJR: The books both deal with parenthood, but from opposite angles. Stranger Will is about a parent not wanting his child. IDMtbK is about a child wanting nothing more than to have a parent. IDMtbK was written later, and I see it as a reaction to Stranger Will; it is both a personal goal (as in “now, let me see if I can to the opposite of what I just did”) and a reader-based goal (as in “I had better show readers that I’m not as crazy as Stranger Will would imply”).

    PV: Do you feel more official this year, as a writer? I know it’s not your first book, but Stranger Will is your first published novel. Has it helped your ego?

    CJR: The ego has taken a bit of a stroke, for sure. What makes me feel the most validated with Stranger Will is that I have a lot of strangers commenting on the book. With Charactered Pieces, my first book, I would say about 70% of the readers knew me personally. With Stranger Will that number seems significantly different.

    PV: I’m frightened of reaching that place where my work is just barely popular enough to be reviewed by non-friends (and consequently panned).

    CJR: I wouldn’t worry about having strangers review your work. I’ve found that the panning is about the same with strangers and friends. The difference being that friends tend to critique you as a person along with the work (“Wow, I can’t imagine you writing something like this”) whereas strangers tend to focus on the work itself.

    PV: Interesting. So does it sting a bit more, then, when it comes from friends, if they have a complaint? Does it feel like they’re speaking to your general ability as a human and writer?

    CJR: Most of my friends who read early drafts are writers themselves, so I understand that all intentions are good. That said, it can still sting. But the sting is more because of my passion for the work rather than my relationship to the reader.
    (more…)

  • Charactered Pieces gets Ben Tanzered

    Charactered Pieces gets Ben Tanzered

    I have long known that Ben Tanzer is a fan of my story “An Optimist is the Human Personification of Spring” from my Charactered Pieces chapbook. Ben has been kind enough to tell me that very fact, saying to me that it is one of the most affecting stories he has read recently (even telling the world on his podcast). Simply stated, he likes the story, and his enthusiasm and praise is exactly the reason I write.

    So, when he posted some more praise at Matt Bell’s blog, I once again felt the rush of what it means to truly be a writer. I can’t think this man enough (and Matt Bell for hosting the post).

    “As the story unfolded, I knew it would go wrong, had to go wrong, and when it did, it took everything I had not to cry in the middle of the Red line “L” during the rush hour traffic, sitting saying to myself, breathe, hold it together bro, almost home, almost.

    Ross and Ruland grasp that, in these stories anyway, and they hit me, and I was unprepared for it, and it’s wonderful being punched that way. It’s a gift in the way short stories are gifts. Quick and intimate. Sometimes violent. And then gone.”

  • Will you lend me a virtual couch?

    Will you lend me a virtual couch?

    In late 2009 I embarked on a the Blog Orgy Tour in support of Charactered Pieces: stories which took me all the way from my living room to the Javanaut coffeehouse on 39th street and everywhere in between with wireless internet access. Oh, the groupies. But that’s for another post.

    As some of you may know, my novel Stranger Will is set to be released in March 2011 by Otherworld Publications. I miss the road (which remains unmoving just outside my office window). So, I want to do another tour. Announcing the

    Posting for Strange: The Blog Orgy Tour II: Stranger Will: (Unnecessary Colon)

    (I’m still working on the name)

    My goal this time is to embark on a marathon blog tour, from the release of Stranger Will in March all the way to the November 2011 release of my second novel, I Didn’t Mean to Be Kevin (Black Coffee Press). This is quite ambitious, but I’ve been looking for a good way to get burned out on this whole writing thing. I think this is it.

    So my question is: will you help?

    My primary request is for one day’s worth of blog space. I’ll write a post which you will publish a pre-determined date. Simple. This post can be entirely my own, or it can be an interview, or I could write a review of a book…whatever, really. If you have a cool idea, I’m all for it. I would like to try and fit my post content into the content of your site (when in Rome, blog as the Romans blog). If you critique cartoons, I’ll do the same. If you review lit journals, I’ll do the same.

    My secondary request would be for you to spread this tour stop request to all of your lit-reading friends and contacts. Obviously I will need a lot of sites in order to fill the 32+ weeks of tour time. If I average 3 posts per week, that’s 96 sites. Damn. If you know someone with a writing-related blog, please pass along my information. Or even pass his/her information my way and I’ll reach out.

    If you are able to help, please let me know. Though I won’t start posting until the middle of March 2011, I’ll need as much time as possible to organize all of the dates and content with the various website editors.

    Please contact me at caleb [at] calebjross [dot] com. Put something about the blog tour in the subject line, so my spam bots know that you’re cool.

    Already drowning,

    Caleb J Ross