Category Archives: Writing

Letting a plot develop in the subconscious

I’m going to kill off my main character in Listening to the Lost Voices. This is going to be a tricky operation as it will be rife with symbolism and meaning, and he deserves to die well.

I also have no clue yet as to how to go about doing it.

And thus I will place it in my “pondermatic” where it will incubate and develop on its own. This works for me. When I am not certain what to do with the story, into the pondermatic it goes and maybe in a few hours or days I have a glimmer of what happens next.

While the pondermatic is incubating the plot point, I will work on another story. I want to write, and don’t want to waste the desire. This is insurance against the dreaded “writer’s block,” which I mentioned in The writer as a god. I suppose I could do others things, but I am afraid that my new-found dedication to write is still fragile, and so I will write even when I am clueless about the current main thing I’m working on. I’ll just turn to something else…

To give credit where credit is due, I got the term “pondermatic” from my friend Sean McGaughey, the “Ductape Guy” over at For the Sake of the Song and Catholic Roundup.

Are you a creative Catholic? "The Catholicpunk Manifesto" is my new book exhorting Catholics to apply their faith to change the culture for the better!

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The writer as a god

Being a writer is like being a god.

OK, I’m not advocating idolatry, just the idea that a writer can create entire universes, planets, people, places and situations. (I know, “Tell us the obvious, you hack!”)

And this is the kicker point in what turns out to be a series of posts on the creative process: the writer sees the whole story from beginning to end, as a whole. Like God does human history. He sees all of history, from the Beginning to the End, all at once. And naturally, He can see individual parts…

And in this creative process, the writer can do whatever is wanted, I don’t have to write the story in its chronological order (start at the beginning, then proceed on to the middle and finally wrap it up). I can approach the story in any part, scribble new stuff, edit older parts, and even rearrange things.

From a person who has had a bazillion hang-ups concerning writing, and who has really taken to the idea of “writing as therapy,” this is liberating.

As a side note, it can be a solution to “writer’s block.” My typical approach to preventing writer’s block is to have multiple fiction projects going; if I’m stuck on one, I can move to another. The differing parts of a story can have this same affect. Stuck on what to do in one section, move to another section.

I have the idea that “writer’s block” may just be a fear; a fear of completion, of success or failure. A fear of facing the writing process and thinking “Oh, crap, I can’t do this… I’m not good enough.” Hang ups get in the way and the creative process is stopped. I don’t know, I’ve never really experienced the phenomenon, my historic excuses for “not writing” never included it. But I’m thinking that if you “just write,” regardless of how you feel, and have multiple things to do, then it shouldn’t ever be a problem. (Remember the Hemingway quote. )

A god doesn’t get “blocked.” 😉

Are you a creative Catholic? "The Catholicpunk Manifesto" is my new book exhorting Catholics to apply their faith to change the culture for the better!

Know someone, perhaps yourself, who might like Catholic devotionals for alcoholics? Please take a look at my books! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Meat and potatoes writing and other stuff

Some other rambling thoughts I’ve developed since starting Listening to the Lost Voices is the interrelationships between the various forms of writing I care about, namely fiction, blogging and posting.

I have the idea that fiction writing is the “meat and potatoes” of original writing. It is the oldest and most traditional of the three crafts. And probably the one easiest to earn money with (although if you can earn money posting to social networks, I’d be a member of the 1%.)

Blogging is dessert. It is an indulgence for the most part. Not much money, unless you’ve figured out that “pro blogging” stuff and also post enough to draw sufficient traffic and so hundreds of thousands of people can click on your ads. (Although my pride and joy, Sober Catholic is more a service.)

Posting to social networks is snacking. Unless you’re writing to certain Groups or Communities, and thus attract attention and possibly business offers and opportunities, there’s hardly any way to earn money. Indulgent too, but unlike blogging, no easy way to archive your posts. Google’s Blogger service does integrate well with Google+, so there is that… But otherwise what is said today is essentially lost and forgotten in several weeks by most. Snacking.

Setting aside any value towards profundity that this revelation may have, I am hoping my recently discovered dedication to fiction writing helps my blogging efforts. I don’t blog enough. Perhaps with enough good, solid, nutritional stuff being eaten, I can indulge in some dessert now and then. This is where the “interrelationships” part comes in from the first paragraph. Things feed on each other. You write a novel or short story. You blog about it and post about it to Facebook or Google+ while you’re writing it. Audience building, in part. If your blog is a lifestyle kinda thing, stuff from it may work its way into some fiction.

It should be easier to be a writer today. So many tools at your fingertips that were unavailable decades ago, especially in interacting with readers and potential readers.

Are you a creative Catholic? "The Catholicpunk Manifesto" is my new book exhorting Catholics to apply their faith to change the culture for the better!

Know someone, perhaps yourself, who might like Catholic devotionals for alcoholics? Please take a look at my books! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Laying down track…

One of the things that I have learned about myself and writing since starting Listening to the Lost Voices is that in keeping with the Ernest Hemingway quote, “The first draft of anything is shit,” I have to “get over” the less-developed quality of first drafts.

First drafts just do not have the same depth and breadth of the final one. That may seem obvious, but for whatever reason the shallow, boring nature of all of my first drafts had dissuaded me from writing. “This is crap.” And I couldn’t see through to what a nice piece of fiction it ultimately might be. Self-doubt? Low self-esteem? Stupidity? And I’d stop, sometimes for years. There were other things going on which stopped me from writing for long periods, perhaps I’ll get to them someday. But concerning the nature of this post, I had serious problems with first drafts. At once exciting (“Could this be the one?”) and scary (“I’ll be humiliated.”)

It is different now. Why, I don’t know, except perhaps exposure to other writers on social networks has given me insight as to how others work.

I now liken first drafts, and second, third and beyond, to the laying down of track. Just like in building a railroad. You lay down the firm framework to get you to your destination (completed draft) and then afterwards you add the things that always followed when they built railroads out to the American West. At first there’s just the barebones story, and then things develop. As you go over the story in subsequent drafts, you expand upon it: flesh out characters and backstory, build up the world they live in, all sorts of things that would make the story “complete,” and unique to you. Just like in the development of communities along the railroads, hardy, rough “pioneers” settled first, and then more “civilized” types until finally what was Tumbleweed Gulch is now Denver.

In “laying down the track” of this story, I am actually looking forward to the process, at least so that I can get it done and start fleshing out the details. 🙂

Are you a creative Catholic? "The Catholicpunk Manifesto" is my new book exhorting Catholics to apply their faith to change the culture for the better!

Know someone, perhaps yourself, who might like Catholic devotionals for alcoholics? Please take a look at my books! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Listening to the Lost Voices

“Listening to the Lost Voices” is the working title of a short story I am writing. Oftentimes the story “seems to be writing itself.” Which is quite nice as writing can be painful, if the story can help out, great!

In short, it is a story involving a guy named John who can talk to people in Purgatory.

A few nicely odd things about this story: The self-doubt that normally defeats my fiction attempts is noticeably absent. I’ve taken to the notion that writing can be a form of therapy. I also think that pretty much all writing is autobiographical. Perhaps not so much that a writer picks an episode in their life and dramatizes it, but stuff from one’s life can serve as filler or material.

Another is that I am taking to heart some writing advice, which helps defeat the self-doubt I mentioned above. One bit of advice is from Ernest Hemingway, who said “The first draft of anything is shit.” That makes me feel better. Another is “If it ain’t on the page it ain’t on the stage.” I am not sure who said it, but it is something I picked up wayback when in a failed attempt at becoming a television and screenwriter. It originally meant the basic power of writers in an industry where they traditionally are disregarded: Hollywood. Directors, producers, actors get all the glory, but they can’t do diddly-squat until the writer writes and finishes. I have altered its meaning to be that “It ain’t gonna get done unless you get it written.” Profound, I know.

Are you a creative Catholic? "The Catholicpunk Manifesto" is my new book exhorting Catholics to apply their faith to change the culture for the better!

Know someone, perhaps yourself, who might like Catholic devotionals for alcoholics? Please take a look at my books! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

In the Land of My Exile I Praise Him…

I’ve renamed this blog. Why? because I thought it was a little conceited to name it after myself, even though it is mine and is intended to be “my home on the web,” for general “woolgathering, sharing and writing.”

The new name is from the Old Testament Book of Tobit, Chapter 16, part of verse 6:

Tobit 13:6

“When you turn back to him with all your heart, to do what is right before him, Then he will turn back to you, and no longer hide his face from you. So now consider what he has done for you, and praise him with full voice. Bless the Lord of righteousness, and exalt the King of the ages. In the land of my exile I praise him, and show his power and majesty to a sinful nation. “Turn back, you sinners! do the right before him: perhaps he may look with favor upon you and show you mercy.”

(Via USCCB.)

As a faithful Catholic who reads the Bible, I fully understand that life on Earth is a life in exile. Our true home is Heaven, and that land is where we trudge towards on our daily journey.

As a writer and blogger, I seek to employ my talents, whatever they are, to Praise the Lord. He gave me what talents I possess, and therefore I hope to use them to glorify Him.

Hence the name of this blog.

Are you a creative Catholic? "The Catholicpunk Manifesto" is my new book exhorting Catholics to apply their faith to change the culture for the better!

Know someone, perhaps yourself, who might like Catholic devotionals for alcoholics? Please take a look at my books! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Blogging and writing

I have been blogging since January 5, 2007. Not here, but at Sober Catholic and later also at The Four Last Things.

I have always aspired to blogging daily. It has never happened longer than 6 weeks (Lent, I forget what year.) I am consistent, inasmuch as over ‘x’ weeks I’ll blog ‘y’ times, but quite often that consistency fluctuates somewhat. That may sound contradictory, “consistency fluctuates somewhat,” but I mean that I have never given it up and never for months on end to the point that you might think I stopped.

I come up with various schemes. Lent worked for one year, but that got tiring and I was grateful for Lent finally being over. I had chosen Lent as that is of importance at Sober Catholic, what with penance and conversion being main themes. I also concocted the idea of something called the “Wisdom Dose,” in which I’d blog every day on one of the passages in the Bible’s Books of Wisdom. That got intimidating and I stopped.

And I do beat myself up over it, I go through periods when I haven’t blogged, and I feel as if I am a poser, a dabbler, a dilettante, and a fraud. I’d write a few posts and feel cured and move on and re-establish a consistency, and then slack off again. {{{sigh}}}

And so forget it. I’ll blog when I can, not worry about it, and accept the fact that I will probably never be a really high-powered prolific blogger. That may change, as I will never give up the aspiration to being a daily blogger, but I’ll just accept what I do, when I do it, and not worry. What happens, happens.

All righty, then!

My newest scheme is to pick 3PM for a time to blog daily. Why 3PM? Because that is the “Hour of Divine Mercy” Jesus died on the Cross at 3PM and that is a time of importance for some Catholics. As best as my schedule permits, I will say The Chaplet of Divine Mercy at 3PM, and then do a blog post. I may only get a draft in and not published, but that’s OK. God in His infinite mercy decided to pluck me from the wastes of alcoholism, and so perhaps during the Hour of Mercy I can get and maintain the inspiration to blog.

Yeah! 🙂

Are you a creative Catholic? "The Catholicpunk Manifesto" is my new book exhorting Catholics to apply their faith to change the culture for the better!

Know someone, perhaps yourself, who might like Catholic devotionals for alcoholics? Please take a look at my books! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

About that novel

About that Novel I said I was writing.

I haven’t given up. But, as is perhaps common to all writers, I hit a snag. Although I was groovin’ along rather nicely, my main character had to get deep inside himself and dwell on the parents he never met and the reasons why he never met them, and how he felt about all that. Which meant that I had to do all that. And so I pondered.

After a while, this lead me to review the whole project and I decided that the novel was bland. I know that Ernest Hemingway said something to the effect that “The first draft of everything is crap,” (I paraphrase, he used a different word than “crap,” but this is a family blog 😉 ) I’m thinking that even if it was crap, it can still be interesting. This wasn’t.

And so I am shelving this particular venture. Not giving up on it at all, just this expression of it.

The novel was basically an autobiography. Not mine, obviously, but the main character’s. I had thought that writing it in character as an autobiography might be the most expedient way to jam out a novel. A life tells a story, and so I created an interesting life, and he was going to sit down and write it.

I had written a lot of backstory, the main character’s bio and character sketch, a history for the whole reality I created (world-building is fun), and little histories for various planets.

As I’m looking over this creation, I feel that perhaps individual episodes in this guy’s life could make for better standalone stories (short works and novels) as well as other elements in the project’s backstory not involving this guy.

And so we’ll see. I also was kinda drawn to look over an earlier project, which I had also written some backstory on (although not as much) and that looks interesting. I may switch to that, but I have to do some thinking as I have to commit to one of them, or else nothing is ever gonna get done!

Are you a creative Catholic? "The Catholicpunk Manifesto" is my new book exhorting Catholics to apply their faith to change the culture for the better!

Know someone, perhaps yourself, who might like Catholic devotionals for alcoholics? Please take a look at my books! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

A Writer’s Prayer Upon Finishing a Work

I was randomly perusing the Old Testament today and chanced upon this passage from the Second Book of Maccabees:

2 Maccabees 15: 37-39: “Since Nicanor’s doings ended in this way, with the city remaining in the possession of the Hebrews from that time on, I will bring my story to an end here too. If it is well written and to the point, that is what I wanted; if it is poorly done and mediocre, that is the best I could do. Just as it is unpleasant to drink wine by itself or just water, whereas wine mixed with water makes a delightful and pleasing drink, so a skillfully composed story delights the ears of those who read the work. Let this, then, be the end. “

(Via USCCB.)

I thought that it would make a good prayer for any writer to say upon finishing a work. You can replace “Nicanor’s doings ended in this way, with the city remaining in the possession of the Hebrews from that time on,” with something relevant to your novel or short story, but you get the idea.

Are you a creative Catholic? "The Catholicpunk Manifesto" is my new book exhorting Catholics to apply their faith to change the culture for the better!

Know someone, perhaps yourself, who might like Catholic devotionals for alcoholics? Please take a look at my books! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

A Novel, by Paul Sofranko

I have gotten a head start on a New Year’s resolution. As I do not usually bother with such things as they are often broken within days, this one was easy as I have not much of a commitment to keeping it. Since I recovered from alcoholism over 10 years ago, I’ve adopted the “One Day at a Time” philosophy of Twelve Step movements. So this “New Year’s Resolution” is just something to be renewed daily.

I can easily keep that commitment! (No pressure to keep it for the year, “just for today.”)

What is this commitment? To write a novel! And so begins one this blog’s main purposes: to be a writer’s blog.

Over the past year, I have spent some time plotting and planning a science fiction novel. Later I’ll get around to sharing the idea. I have never been too comfortable with doing that.

I have spent much of 2012 writing up character sketches, outlines, and other backstory kind of things to serve as a guide to writing the actual novel.

And so these past few days I’ve started writing it. I have a modest pace, at least 500 words a day. I’ll be happy with 1,000+. So far, I’ve hit the minimum goals,and come close to the 1000 words once. Hey, it’s a beginning.

My target? About 100,000 words. At about 250-300 words a page,which varies depending upon the amount of dialogue and narration, that should put me in the ballpark of a 350-400 word novel. Good approximation.

This particular novel will be one of an open ended series. In other words, there should be more that just this one novel in the world that I am building. In working out the histories of this world, I have even identified certain events which may serve as short stories. Kewl!

I have committed to spending 1-2 hours minimum to the writing of this. I have kept this, although it has only been a few days.

So, that’s that for now.

Are you a creative Catholic? "The Catholicpunk Manifesto" is my new book exhorting Catholics to apply their faith to change the culture for the better!

Know someone, perhaps yourself, who might like Catholic devotionals for alcoholics? Please take a look at my books! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)