Blog

In the wild.

Hello!
It’s been a short while, but in retrospect everything has been going well enough that I haven’t needed to update.
I guess that’s sort of a selfish thing to say.
Let me rephrase.

Girl & Boy is my second novel currently in works and it’s been an exciting and nerve-wrecking journey. It’s taken twice as long as my first novel, What’s A Year To Me?, and it’s safe to say it’s going to take longer.
I don’t mean that in a bad way, I intentionally delayed Girl & Boy (Originally due June 30th) because I have been in talks with publishing houses.

I believe in this story so much that I want to put everything into it. I want this book to come out with a bang, and I don’t want to rush it out just because I’m excited.

There have been moments when all I want to do is slam my head into the keyboard, eat profuse amounts of bad food and binge watch TV shows I’ve seen six hundred times.
The only thing I can do in those times is push through or wait for inspiration to strike, and that’s hard. It’s hard to determine which one I should do.

Maybe one day I’ll figure it out and I can write better because I’ll know how to handle it, it feels like I’m in the wild sometimes. But I can still guarantee that writing is getting done and that’s what really matters.

Good to be back!

Jason.

Getting back into shape

No, you didn’t randomly stumble onto an author blog turned into a dieting blog.
What I mean is being and STAYING creative is hard sometimes. Sometimes is the keyword for me because it really is stupidly weird how my head works sometimes.

I’ve read so much recently, and in a way that is my way of staying in the world of reading and writing. Which it really isn’t the case with writing. Maybe it’s procrastinating? Writing, at least in my experience, is like a muscle you need to keep flexing to stay alive and vibrant and keep the creativity flowing and recently I haven’t been doing that. It may be the reason I haven’t updated my blog in so long. Heck, I think that statement works for just about any creative practice!
It’s a muscle you keep flexing, moving, flowing, even if it feels a bit wrong at times.
But why is it that sometimes it feels wrong?
I mean, for god sakes, you’re creating this thing (whatever it is, insert your creation here) and it should be fun as hell all the time, everyday, all day right?
Haha, no.
You should have to at least shovel ten pounds of shit with your hands at some time during a creative process. Well, there are some times when you don’t really have to, but you should be prepared to.

So that’s what it feels like when I come back from a hiatus or a summer that’s so hot with no air conditioning that I can’t sweat out any ideas, it feels like getting the cogs to run again will take a lifetime. I don’t know if anyone else feels this, but when your mind has been distracted by so many different things, it takes a minute to get back into the swing. Read above metaphor for what it feels like (the poop one).

But you just gotta do the thing, man. Small steps!

Jason.

Don’t be afraid of your ideas: Why writers should never think an idea is a bad one.

I have to say that I’ve never done a post like this, but remember this is my opinion. 🙂

Look, I’m gonna be real with you here. If you’re looking at your manuscript and thinking of how to make it just right, do you really have time to second guess your ideas?
I say this because when I’m writing, I used to do just that. I’d scratch my notebook full of ideas and laugh and think of how crazy that would be.
Most of the time, I end up going back to those ideas. But generally not precisely that idea, something similar to it. Which is why these ideas are important because they feed, drumb roll please:

Your subconscious!

Whether you like it or not, your subconscious is what’s taking in the very small details of your life, and it feeds off them consistently. Your ideas will come from it, and that idea of your character dying tragically in a fire, may just work to make your story better. It’s all about execution, always consider anything possible.
Say it with me.

Always consider anything possible!

I’ve started a story countless times, and a lot of the time it ends up completely different to my notes. Just let it all out on your pages. If you’re anything like me, your easily distracted when you’re stuck. So put it all on paper (or word) and then edit it later if it doesn’t work! You’ll probably be changing your story anyway, and it will be for the better. Which brings me to my next point.

For the love of god, be adaptable to change!

When your editor says this or that needs to be changed, it does not mean that idea was wholeheartedly bad and you should go live in a cave and die alone. It means that idea does not fit in that spot, or doesn’t fit to the theme of your book. Novels are all about progression, and if that spark of creativity was too much, then whatever. Feed it to your subconscious, make it into something else. Because that’s what you’re good at, that’s what writers are good at!

So don’t be afraid of your ideas. Embrace every possibility, and find where the big ones fit into your story. Oh, and write it all down. Because ideas fade in about ten seconds. I timed it, it’s true.

I felt as though I had to get this off my chest somehow, but it’s been stirring in my head for quite some time now.
Feel free to add your suggestions below, let’s discuss!

Jason Kendrick.

What’s A Year To Me? is now available on Amazon!!!

What an exciting announcement to make.
What’s A Year To Me? is now available on Amazon!

It’s been a long time coming, but thank you all for supporting and helping me through it 🙂

Amazon US
Amazon UK

What’s A Year To Me? now available for Pre-Order on Amazon!

Click here to Pre-Order the Kindle version on Amazon!

Hello everyone!
I’m excited to announce that What’s A Year To Me? is now available for Pre-Order on eBook/Kindle!

This past year has been such an awesome journey, and I’m excited to bring you what I’ve been working on! The due date for the book is currently June 15th for Amazon and most likely earlier for Paperback however this is probably going to change to earlier. I will let you know if it does.

Jason

March 2015

NewCover Hello! I hope everyone is well, it’s been another month since I was here but I feel this is a good way to keep everyone updated 🙂 A few amazing things happened this month, on the 10th my lovely debut book What’s A Year To Me? went into editing, which was both scary and exciting. In that time I did nothing but sulk because it was almost like my baby went to school! I was so happy for it! And then I got it back, and I feel as though I chose the best editor for the job! She was kind and heart warming (literally almost wanted to die when she said she liked it), but also incredibly critical and willing to kick my ass when something was wrong. I am still editing, I have Uni work that’s due soon so it’s been hard not to spend days and days on the book when I know I have the motivation to do so. And then! The highlight of my March was that I attended Readers and Writers Down Under, which was basically a convention for all Authors in Australia. Most of them were independent, and ALL of them were so approachable and kind. There were Panels, meetups, VIP dinners, awards, signings, and just so much awesome atmosphere. It really motivated me, I met up with my editor and a few other author friends that I’d seen before 🙂 I had such a great time meeting everyone, sharing my book with my editor, and also working on promotional material! I have never been so proud of my work as I am right now, and it’s not even out yet! Until next time, Jason.

February 2015

Good morning!
Or afternoon, wherever you are. *Sips morning coffee*

I have not been updating this at all, and I apologize for that. I went on a trip to the UK, things got awesome, came home, things got a bit sad, and now I feel I’m heading back up to awesome again, where I belong.
SO, I have been working hard on three different novels, that’s right, three. Not simultaneously, I feel like I’ve written enough in each word document to classify that they will one day become something, but right now I’m working on a book that’s extremely exciting to me (like I-can’t-stop-thinking-of-ideas-they-just-keep-coming type of book) so I think that one will come first. Anyway, no glory in the process, just write it!

As for my first novel, What’s A Year To Me? will be hitting the professional edits on March 10th! I’m so goddamn excited for it to finally get the treatment. It’s been a long time coming, mainly due to some booking issues with the editor, but that’s okay! It’s getting done! Hooray! I’m super excited to self-publish, maybe get a designer to help me out with the cover, and then have it all in it’s book-y goodness ready to ship off to buyers, and then have it available on Amazon!

So, there are some personal issues going on, as there always is, life gets in the way, but I feel like my writing hasn’t exactly been affected by it. Which, this may sound weird, it actually makes me so happy that I’m still writing even after anxiety attacks. I’ve had a lot of issues in the past with my anxiety disorder (which you would know about if you listened to my first podcast) when I had high hopes of being a Game Designer, as soon as the anxiety came I had no interest in being that. It really did frighten me, like if I had high hopes of being anything, would I be held back by this thing I couldn’t control? But I came back swinging this time, and I’m still writing, still creating, still obsessed with the profession. 🙂

Okay, so I have a question to end this update. When you read a novel, any genre, and the main plot is based around something you don’t know much about, does it throw you off? For example, let’s say you don’t know much about Video Games, do you continue to read regardless of all the references?

Food for thought.
I love you.

As Always,
Jason.

P.S Also please like my Facebook page for more weird 240 word updates!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jason-Kendrick/404160096408703?ref=tn_tnmn