Imitation IS the sincerest form of flattery

June 14th, 2013 Jon Bradbury

I watch TV just like everyone else. I also surf the internet, read, and do everything else that one does online.

This how I, and probably many other writers, get our topics, and sometimes get our inspiration. They say no computer is an island. Well, neither are writers. Instead, we are like sponges, soaking up what is going on around us. Never tell a friend you know is a writer about your latest dating disaster. It might wind up in a book.

But that is why there is that disclaimer at the beginning of every book, electronic or print. The following people, places, and events are a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real people, places or events is completely coincidental.

So, when you read a book, think about how much in the book is something that is a part of the author’s life or the life of someone he or she knows.

Then also, there is the little matter of imitation. Every so often, you hear about someone in Hollywood filing a lawsuit against someone, claiming they “stole” an idea of theirs, usually by pointing out the many similarities between their idea and the idea being used by another.

Unfortunately, there are no unique ideas. Everyone comes up with the same idea at some point in time. The difference is in how you use it.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. You just have to be careful, as a writer, with just how much imitation there is, and what exactly you are imitating. Right now I’m working on an idea about a US Senator who hires a beautiful secretary. Shades of Scandal? You bet. I’ve seen the series and love the chemistry between the characters, but I could never successfully imitate that chemistry.

But as a writer, the best part is that I can create my own chemistry between two completely new characters. So I create. But I’m also careful not to imitate too closely.

See you next time!

Peace, out. Namaste.

Jon Bradbury is the published writer of eleven ebooks, including Worst Kept Secret, The Professor, and Sugar Daddy, and is currently hard at work madly producing more. He can be contacted by following his Twitter feed @JonB1969

 

It’s great to have a new computer

May 26th, 2013 Jon Bradbury

Parents often tell their children, when they complain their stuff is not as good as other kids’ stuff, to be grateful for what they have and make do.

But sometimes, you really gotta toss out the old.

My faithful, reliable desktop computer, on which I have been pounding out stories for more than 8 years, is past its prime. It doesn’t process quite so fast as it used to, and if I make it work too hard, it responds by shutting down and coming back up again.

Not the best computer for a writer.

However, I recently made an acquaintance through a fan fiction website, and through that, I was able to earn enough money to buy a new laptop.

It’s not new-new, like the latest and greatest, and it is refurbished, but it is sufficiently more powerful than my desktop to make everything old new again.

I wouldn’t have bought the laptop at all, considering how there were other concerns I could have used the money on, but I had put off buying a new computer long enough that my old one was nearing ancient artifact status.

What will I do with the old computer? Take it to a place that refurbishes old computers and sells them for cheap. Cause I guarantee nobody in their right mind would buy the old computer, and I could not in good conscience gloss over the glaring list of malfunctions. To fix them all would probably cost more than I had. So, new computer.

And so, I now resume my creative ways. I have fallen very badly behind, but with the new laptop, I can now resume my writing.

In the meantime, please enjoy my works out currently. More is coming, I promise.

Peace out. Namaste.

Jon Bradbury is the writer of 11 published e-books including Worst Kept Secret, The Professor and The Favor, and is currently working on new projects. His current e-book, Sugar Daddy, is on sale at Extasy Books. Jon can be contacted by following his Twitter feed @jonb1969.

 

Keeping track of time

May 19th, 2013 Valerie J Long

The longer a story becomes, the more crucial it may be to keep track of your timing. That’s not about the few seconds left before a bomb goes up, nor am I talking about mid-fight timing, but about the overall progress of time.

On the lowest level, you can only squeeze so much action into one day or one night – unless you choose an arctic winter setting or such – so, after a few chapters, you should know whether it’s time for sunset or sunrise. Still, that’s the easy part.

On the next level, you may have to ask yourself whether it’s Sunday or not. Again, that depends on the setting, but for a detective story, closed and deserted offices may offer special investigation opportunities.

I’m working my way up the timescale.

You can’t have full moon for three weeks in a row, nor can it return after six weeks. If you need the moon phases, you must keep track of your story calendar. If the tides are important to your story, you face a similar problem – high tide doesn’t take place on the same hour every day.

I’ve already mentioned arctic winter. In the northern hemisphere, you run into trouble if you need the long arctic night between June and August, just as you’ve thoroughly messed it all up if you need snow in Rome on a hot summer night. If your story runs several months, you better know WHEN you are.

I’m writing stories with sequels that span several decades. There’s no way to keep that all in my mind. I need to keep a calendar with the exact date per chapter. Only this way I can tell that my heroine has missed her birthday again.

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