There are all kinds of writing exercises we do to practice our prose, spin up fresh ideas, and to create compelling characters. However, there are two fun little fictional exercises I would recommend more of us do because it helps is focus on brevity, and substance, which can be a problem for so many of us.
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Lastly, don't forget to check out my Vocal archive for additional fiction, articles, explorations of weird history, and more!
For Sale, Baby Shoes, Never Worn
According to popular mythology, the six-word short story was created on a bet by Ernest Hemingway with a bunch of other writers over lunch. He said he could write a full plot in as little as six words, to which he penned For sale, baby shoes, never worn. on a napkin. While this account is much more mythology than fact, according to Open Culture, the exercise is still one that's worth pursuing. Because while it might seem simple on the surface, being able to actually tell a complete story in such a small number of words is extremely hard to do. Once you get used to doing it, though, it can tighten up a lot of your writing, and help you decide what flourishes are a necessity of the story, and which ones are just indulgent accessories that you should probably trim off.
There's a similar exercise for character creation in the World of Darkness tabletop roleplaying game as well. Because while you have a rather expansive sheet that details all the aspects of your character from their name, age, height, and weight, to what physical attributes they possess, to what skills they have, to what magic powers they do or don't wield, but there is a section near the top for a 3-4 word character description. Being able to break your character concept down to something as simple as, "vampire road captain," or, "werewolf computer hacker," may sound like a simple exercise, but it's tougher than people seem to think. However, as I've seen said on different parts of the Internet, if you can't explain something simply and concisely to someone else, then it's possible you don't actually understand it yourself.
In addition to these shorter forms of storytelling, there's one more that I would recommend folks try... the two-sentence tale. While most commonly used to write horror stories, like the ones I've linked in this article so far, you can technically use it to write any genre of story you desire... it just so happens that horror is the genre folks traditionally associate with the format. If you're looking for solid examples of this kind of story, I'd recommend listening to any of the audio dramas I've linked in this post, or checking out the print versions on Vocal:
While you can't make a huge living off of these stories individually (I've only gotten a modicum of traffic to these examples over the years, and it's barely been enough for some Taco Bell when all is said and done), I still recommend the exercise because it teaches you to really condense your thoughts, and to focus on bringing things across as quickly and concisely as possible!
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Also, if you're curious about how to write for tabletop RPGs, don't forget to check out my show Tabletop Mercenary, which you can find on both the Azukail Games channel, as well as my Rumble channel listed above!
Writers, on the whole, have a reputation for consuming all kinds of strange substances while we're in pursuit of our craft. Hard liquor, beer, LSD, absinthe, opium, and even weirder substances have all crossed our desks, even though most of us tend to stick with the caffeinated trio of coffee, tea, and soda.
However, if you're looking for something unique to try to help you focus, and keep writing through the night, I'd recommend that you consider giving Dubby a try!
Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!
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Energy, Focus, and Word Count
This week's update is a bit of a Word From Our Sponsors, because I am part of the affiliate sales program for Dubby energy. However, I wasn't given a check for this review, nor was I sent any free product... I purchased the sample above, and I'm reporting on it of my own volition. However, after the experience I had, I have every intention of getting more of this to help me along in my own writing endeavors going forward.
And if you want to try some of this stuff for yourself, use the code LITERARYMERCENARY for 10% off of your order!
With that caveat out of the way, though...
So, what is Dubby?
The short version is that it's a powdered energy drink that you scoop out and put into your water, shake up, and drink at your leisure. It's got some vitamins, but mostly it's just a way for you to wake your system up, and focus your mind with some fast energy.
The Good
For the past week or so, I've been testing my 3 pack sample of Dubby. The flavors I got were watermelon guava, pink lemonade, and white peach, all of which were pretty tasty on their own. I did half doses of the packets, rather than the full dose, so I had more of a slow drip for the energy that comes with this product. However, even with a half dose, there was still plenty of energy in what I had. More importantly, though, the focus it provides isn't just a promise on the pouch. If you've got your manuscript in front of you, and it just needs you to put your fingers on the keys, this is definitely a solid jumpstart to your evening.
The energy hit (for me, at least) lasts about two hours or so, during which time I can focus well enough to get quite a lot of progress done on a piece. And, at least during my use of the product, the claim of no crash definitely appeared to be true. There was a point where I wasn't revved anymore, but I went back to my baseline standard, rather than dipping down into the negatives thanks to a crash.
The Bad
While there are a lot of good aspects for this product, there are some drawbacks that are definitely worth mentioning, as well.
First of all, while the taste is good, it was a little weak. At least part of that is likely because I was taking half doses of the product, rather than the full pouch. My way of getting around that was to mix it with a non-caffeinated soda like Squirt or Sprite rather than water, which helped fill in the taste gaps. You do have to take it stirred rather than shaken if you do it that way, though, as no one wants to shake up soda, and deal with the consequences (even if the Dubby shakers do work quite well).
The second drawback of Dubby, as a substance, is that there's always a little bit of powder silt left at the bottom of the glass. As a habitual coffee drinker I'm used to getting to the bottom of my cup and dealing with some of the grounds that snuck in, though, so this is just something that I've come to expect at the end of my caffeination experience.
Overall, Recommended
At the end of the day, Dubby won't make you a better writer, any more than it will make you a better gamer, a faster runner, etc. It's not some kind of miracle health drink, either... it's a mix-it-yourself energy drink. But it delivers on its promise of energy, it keeps you sharp, and it doesn't have a crash. It has a bit of a problem with dregs at the bottom of the cup, but other than that, I'd definitely recommend it.
As to which flavor... well, I'd recommend the Dragonade over the other two I tried, but I'm planning on getting my hands on some of the Dubsludge if I have my way!
Support The Literary Mercenary
If you want to see me produce more work, consider some of the following options!
And if you happen to have some spare dosh lying around, and you want to be sure my supply doesn't run low, consider become a Patreon patron, or leaving a tip by Buying Me a Ko-Fi!
Also, if you're curious about how to write for tabletop RPGs, don't forget to check out my show Tabletop Mercenary, which you can find on both the Azukail Games channel, as well as my Rumble channel listed above!
Gregory's fist came swinging for my face. I managed to duck, his knuckles glancing off my forehead. I kept my momentum, going into a low crouch and shooting forward. I rammed my shoulder up into his stomach, driving with my legs and wrapping both hands around the back of his knee. He folded under me, his breath rushing out of him as I rode him to the ground, slamming into his solar plexus. He struggled, lashing out, but he'd lost his coordination. I snatched his wrist and pulled, locking my legs around him in an arm bar. I pulled until I felt every tendon in his arm go stiff.
The sound of the whistle was piercing, and I immediately released my hold in an almost Pavlovian response.
No orders were given. I pushed myself to my feet, and offered my hand. Gregory took it, and I pulled him to his feet. We didn't exchange words as we changed partners. Mikhail stepped into Gregory's place. The whistle came again, and my heart started racing. Everything ceased to exist except for me, my opponent, and application of clinical violence.
Have you ever come across a story or a film like this? Where you're thrust into the middle of a high-speed car chase, a pulse-pounding shootout, or a violent street brawl, with zero context of what is going on? You don't know who the good guys are, who the bad guys are, what the inciting incident is... you just got thrown into the deep end, and you're trying to figure out what the hell is going on.
The term for this storytelling method is called in medias res, a Latin phrase that means "into the middle of things," and if you haven't used it, it's something I would highly recommend.
Who doesn't want to stay and watch the fireworks?
Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!
Lastly, don't forget to check out my Vocal archive for additional fiction, articles, explorations of weird history, and more!
The Advantage of Jumping In With Both Feet
The major advantage of starting your story in the middle of the action like this is that it immediately throws your readers into an exciting situation. No matter the nature of the situation, whether it be a steamy encounter in an underground rave or a rooftop battle against a vampire, bringing your readers in like this provides an immediate hook that is likely to grab their interest. This is particularly true because it allows them to establish context as the story goes along, likely getting up to speed by the end of the first chaper (or the introductory scene if this is a short story).
The other advantage of an in media res opening is that it often allows you to do some literary sleight of hand that you couldn't get away with in other storytelling styles. For example, you could have a bloody shootout between a squad of cops and a gang of cartel enforcers with gunfire ringing out, and blood fountaining from wounds, only for a director to scream, "Cut!" so that you can reveal all of this took place on a film set, and the heroic, iron-jawed detective we were following is actually a Hollywood stuntman-turned-action star. You could also pull a time skip, showing that this scene is the ending of your book, before you rewind back to the start of events, with the audience wondering how you got to that opening scene, or even pulling a bait-and-switch with the scene your audience came in on being a scene from a novel the protagonist is actually writing. There are a lot of different advantages of this strategy.
However, as with any tool in your box, it's important to understand when to use it, and when not to.
Sometimes this isn't what you want to open up with.
Not every story is best with an in media res beginning. Some stories are more deliberately paced, or they benefit from a slow start that leads into the story as it goes. Whether it's a cloak and dagger spy story that wants to start with tension and lead up instead of smash mouth action, or a mystery where a slow ratcheting of danger is more of a benefit to the case as it unfolds, this isn't a tool that every story and every writing style will benefit from. Not only that, but this tool follows the same rules as monsters in horror movies... the less you see of it, the more effective it is. Because if the book starts off with an in media res scene, that can be an effective hook to snag your audience with... but if every chapter starts off that way, it reduces it to a gimmick. While there are always exceptions (such as an action comedy story where part of the joke is the unconventional nature of the writing), generally speaking this isn't a great strategy.
As with all advice, take this with a grain of salt, and remain true to what feels right for your story. But if you want to have a sharp slap in the face to start your story with, and you haven't given this particular method a try yet, play around with it! It may just be the thing that sparks the progress you want.
Support The Literary Mercenary
If you want to see me produce more work, consider some of the following options!
And if you happen to have some spare dosh lying around, and you want to be sure my supply doesn't run low, consider become a Patreon patron, or leaving a tip by Buying Me a Ko-Fi!
Also, if you're curious about how to write for tabletop RPGs, don't forget to check out my show Tabletop Mercenary, which you can find on both the Azukail Games channel, as well as my Rumble channel listed above!
We all have that one local business everyone knows about, but no one ever seems to go to. Maybe it's that cafe on the side street, or the breakfast restaurant just off the square, or that secondhand bookstore that's been there as long as you can remember. While most of us know about these places, not a lot of us actually go to them. Not even once. We see them in passing and think to ourselves, "You know, one of these days I've got to go in there and check out what they've got to offer."
Most of the time, though, we never do. Then one day we're at a stop light, or waiting to cross the street, and we see that business shuttered up for good. And many of us think the same thing when that happens. "Damn... now I guess I'll never get to try them out."
Independent artists of all stripes are small businesses... and just like those bookstores, cafes, and breakfast joints, we need people to at least walk in the door to take a look around so that we don't have to close our doors.
Because we literally need you, or we will have to close up.
Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!
Lastly, don't forget to check out my Vocal archive for additional fiction, articles, explorations of weird history, and more!
Local Businesses Can't Survive Without Support
All of us have seen this happen to businesses in our communities. From game stores to bookstores, from cafes to restaurants, businesses have shuttered their doors and disappeared from the local area. And every single one of them did this for the same reason; because they didn't make enough money to stay open. Maybe there were extenuating circumstances, but at the end of the day the root cause was the business wasn't making enough money to keep going, so it had to stop.
This seems obvious, but it often gets lost in these discussions, so I'm going to reiterate this point. Businesses close because they aren't bringing in enough money. I think that all of us can agree on this point, because if a business continues to turn profits, then it's usually going to at least maintain, if not grow.
Follow me on this, I AM going somewhere...
Businesses need customers, and generally they get those customers through a lot of different strategies. They might:
- Use advertising.
- Offer sample products or deals.
- Host themed events to entice people.
- Offer a unique, quality product.
- Engage online using social media, blogs, and videos.
At the end of the day, though, it doesn't really matter what the business does or doesn't do; it matters if people spend their money there. People who come in and buy things keep the business running, regardless of what the business chose to do or not do. A business can cut their prices to the bone, engage on social media all day, make fun videos about their store, and host raffles and giveaways to customers... if no one buys anything from them, it doesn't matter. And if it doesn't matter long enough, the business closes up, and blows away. That's the life cycle of commerce.
You May Have No Idea What You're Missing
Inevitably when I start talking about the life cycle of business, and pointing out that independent creators are small businesses, there's a slew of people who get defensive on the subject. Some of the most common remarks include:
- "I don't have to buy anything I don't want."
- "No one is entitled to my business!"
- "If they offered a better product, maybe I'd go to them instead."
The list goes on, and I'm not digging through my social media history to find all the examples. However, I feel like a lot of folks who comment on this issue are leaping ahead, or responding to things I did not say. So, I want to step back, and return to the point I reiterated.
Artists cannot survive, and keep making art, if they do not get support from an audience. This is just a simple statement of fact. Whether it's an audience who buys a certain number of books, or who watches a creator's videos, or who listens to their podcasts, or who buys their merch, the source of an artist's income is their audience. Period, full stop.
If no one buys, it doesn't matter what you make.
To be clear, here, you are not personally obligated to be a part of that audience if you don't want to be. You don't have to read anyone's books, watch anyone's YouTube channel, listen to anyone's podcast, or follow anyone on social media if you don't want to. No one is sitting here demanding that you immediately open your wallet, and spend all your time signal boosting the profile of independent creators, and to act like that's what's being said in this conversation is disingenuous.
The only point I want to make (and which I've made repeatedly on this blog) is that consumers need to realize how much power they have when it comes to whether or not independent creators are successful, and what directions their art takes going forward. More than that, though, it's important to remember that all of us are small businesses... and unless you've checked us out, you don't actually know whether you want to support us or not.
That's the message I wanted to deliver this week. Not that you are personally obligated to help me and every other indie creator out there. Not that you owe us anything. I don't want to give anyone The Hard Sell with a side of Guilt Trip.
All I'm saying is to maybe come inside, and have a look around. See whether our work is actually something you want to see more of, and if we as creators are people you want to encourage.
Don't go too crazy. For example, if you see a book that looks cool, read the preview (you can usually get the first chapter or so for free). If an author has free work, like the cyberpunk audio drama above which I made for the Azukail Games YouTube channel, or my Weird War II tale Where The Red Flowers Bloom about a Japanese force dealing with a terrible curse on a Pacific island, check those things out to see if they're to your taste. Maybe read some reviews of their work, or check out their social media posts to see if they're the kind of creator you can jive with.
Think of it like checking out any other local business. If you walk into that weird little cafe, and you dig the vibe, then you should take a look at the menu and see what they've got to offer. If the prices are too high, or the food and drinks are not really to your taste, you aren't obligated to buy anything. If you go into that little thrift store, but most of what you find are knicknacks and clothes that aren't in your size, you don't have to make a purchase that day. If you're lactose intolerant, then maybe the local ice cream parlor isn't going to have something that really fits with your needs... but who knows, maybe they will?
The same is true for independent creators and their potential customers. If you're not into tabletop roleplaying games, or you don't like your games to have their tongues firmly in their cheeks, then you probably won't enjoy my RPG Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic. If you don't like sword and sorcery novels with a rough country edge to them, then Crier's Knife probably isn't for you. If you don't like short fiction, then The Rejects probably isn't something you'll enjoy. And even if you like any of those things in concept, it's possible that when you check them out in more detail that you won't really be sold on the idea.
That's fine.
I'm not demanding that you use the power of your purse, and your social media signal, to immediately support all of us, anymore than I'm telling you to go out tomorrow and patronize every local business in your town. However, I would like it if more people who noticed a small business (or a creator they've seen around) decided to actually check them out instead of saying, "One of these days I'll have to see what that place is all about."
Just take a moment, and check us out. Maybe you won't care for our work, or it just won't do anything for you. Maybe you like the vibe, and you subscribe to our newsletter or follow us to see what comes out next. Or maybe it turns out that our work is the new thing you've been searching for, and you can't believe you were sleeping on us this whole time!
I'm not telling anyone to support businesses or creators they don't like. All I'm saying is actually find out whether you like someone before making the decision to support or not support their work.
Support The Literary Mercenary
If you want to see me produce more work, consider some of the following options!
And if you happen to have some spare dosh lying around, and you want to be sure my supply doesn't run low, consider become a Patreon patron, or leaving a tip by Buying Me a Ko-Fi!
Also, if you're curious about how to write for tabletop RPGs, don't forget to check out my show Tabletop Mercenary, which you can find on both the Azukail Games channel, as well as my Rumble channel listed above!
