book | C. L. Parson

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The Liebster Award

I was nominated twice for The Liebster Award. Charles Yallowitz and Miss Molly nominated me. Thank you both.

This award is designed for bloggers with less than 200 followers.

The rules are:
* Share eleven facts about yourself with your fellow bloggers.
* Make sure to answer the awarder’s eleven questions.
* Ask eleven questions of your own.
* Nominate eleven bloggers for this award.

Eleven Facts:

1. I am a huge zombie fan.

2. I enjoy reading nonfiction books by individuals who do what they love and get paid to do it. I am currently reading Kevin Smith’s Tough Shit. (I hope to work with him some day.)

3. I still dress up for Halloween. I was a werewolf last year.

4. I am still going to college. It takes a lot longer when you can only take classes at night.

5. Anne Rice was a huge inspiration to me as a writer. She also helped convince me to stick through the college route. No one can every take away your education.

6. A poem of mine was published in The Stonepile Writers Anthology: Volume 1.

7. I’m allergic to cats.

8. Though I am a huge fan of horror writing, I can’t help to add a little humor in the mix.

9. Mark Twain is one of my idols.

10. I am paranoid about eating anything past it’s “best by” or “sell by” date, even if it is only the day after the date printed.

11. I married a drummer. He is amazing!

Here are the 11 questions from Charles.

What is your favorite pizza topping?
Tomato Sauce. Doesn’t taste right without the sauce.
Do you have a nickname? If so, what and why?
I had a nickname, but I don’t want to repeat it. Thanks Heath! 😛
Who is your hero?
My parents because they taught me that family is the most important thing in the world. Everything else is merely icing on the cake.
What was the last song you listened to?
Jeannie . Riley’s “Harper Valley PTA”
What is your biggest fear?
It used to be zombies. Now I think my biggest fear is failure.
If you had a choice between riding an elephant or a camel, which would you choose? Why?
Elephant! They are my favorite!
Is there an animal that you identify with? Why?
Probably the wolf. The wolf’s needs and wants are simple, and she goes after them with dedication and perseverance. I feel like I do the same.
What is your favorite season? Why?
I like Fall, while it is still pretty warm. I love summer too, but not when it is Africa hot.
Do you wish I was better at asking questions?
I think you are doing just fine.
In a fight between King Kong, Dracula, and Kenny from South Park, who would win?
Kenny would be dead before the fight ever started. Dracula could try to drain King Kong, but King Kong would simply bat at him as though Dracula were a mosquito. I would have to give this one to King Kong.
Do you believe that everyone has the ability to be an artist?
Absolutely!

Here are 11 questions from Miss Molly.

1. Best day of your life so far. I got this from “City Slickers,” that scene when the guys are riding along with the herd and talking. And like their rules, the best day can’t be the day any of your kids were born.
When I married my husband.

2. If you could be somebody else for a day, who would it be and why?
Anne Rice just to see what else she is working on.

3. What are your three favorite foods?
Pickled eggs, chocolate, and okra. Not always together, but not always separate either.

4. When did you consider yourself grown-up (if you do)? If you don’t consider yourself grown-up, what will be the marker?
I will never grown up!

5. What tokens, charms, special objects do you keep around to inspire your writing or other work you do if you’re not a writer?
I don’t have any tokens or charms to inspire me. Looking out the window helps.

6. If you could make up your own astrology signs, what would the name of your sign be and what would be the symbol? Explain.
Good question. I have no idea.

7. Who was your favorite high school teacher and why.
How can I pick just one? All of my English teachers were wonderful and really encouraged me.

8. What was the last live music performance you attended? How did you like it?
Rammstein. It. Was. EPIC!

9. As a kid, what was your favorite book? Do you still have a copy?
Maniac Magee. My brother has our copy.

10. Someone once said it’s not what we give that defines love but what we give up. Have you ever given up anything for love? What and why?
What haven’t I given up for love? He’s worth it. 🙂

11. What’s your favorite mode of travel?
Boat. I love the water!

Here are my questions.

1. If you could use only one word to describe yourself, what would that word be?

2. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

3. What is your passion?

4. Who was the most influential person in your life?

5. What is your favorite movie?

6. Who is your favorite horror movie villain?

7. Car, boat, airplane, or train?

8. Oxford comma, yes or no?

9. Self-publishing or traditional publishing?

10. Kindle or Nook?

11. Glass half-full or half-empty?

I nominate:
http://carlynross.wordpress.com/
http://abbeywilson.wordpress.com/
http://ansieh.wordpress.com/
http://littlebitofholland.wordpress.com/
http://onegirlvaudeville.com/
http://gwenstephens.wordpress.com/
http://adamnathan.com/
http://writerrbdavis.wordpress.com/
http://jamieweilwritingmatters.wordpress.com/
http://lovelybooksblog.wordpress.com/
http://kerricull.wordpress.com/

Happy Writing!

C. L. Parson

Tags: awards, blog, book, writing

Comments 3 Comments
Categories Uncategorized

How To Tell If You Are a Writer

25 Jan

You read this blog and other musings that are similar, knowing these experiences and reflections to be true and that they are shared by the majority of writers. You are painfully aware that the world, time, your family, your job, school, the dishes, the laundry, the dog, and everything else in your life should take priority in your life, but you cannot deny the itch to write. You know that writing will more than likely fail to feed your family, pay the bills, and put your kids through college. But you do it anyway. Despite everything, you still write. There is no doubt about it. YOU are a Writer.

C. L. Parson

Tags: author, blogging, book, editing, novel, writer, writing

Comments 17 Comments
Categories Writing

Killing My Darlings Part Deux

11 Jan

Time for a mini rant, y’all.

I don’t mind taking an editing machete to my zombie pages. No problem whatsoever. But those suckers won’t stay dead! I have a few pages that are shambling along slower than a brain biter with broken ankles. Every time I go for a head shot and try to kill the pages, they get right back up again.

So what’s the deal? I think the pages are feeding off my fear that killing the pages will hurt the timeline of my novel. My fear is keeping these damn pages alive. No matter what I do, I can’t figure out a way to cut the pages and make it work.

There is only one solution. Completely rewriting that whole section of the book and altering the timeline. *Slams head on desk*

Why does revising have to be so painful? I have no problem cutting pages, but when it means completely revamping my timeline, scheme, and maybe even my character development, it causes me serious anxiety problems. Not because I am so devoted to the original work as it stands. That isn’t it at all. It is because I am lazy and a total face lift of that part of my novel feels like so much work.

Yet it must be done. Crap.

C. L. Parson

I fucking love editing!

Tags: blog, blogging, book, editing, novel, writer, writing

Comments 2 Comments
Categories Editing

Why Write?

7 Dec

When I feel the weight of the world on my shoulders and my insides turn to jelly from the pressure of responsibility, I ask myself this question. Why write? After all, it isn’t the most lucrative career. Much like actors or musicians, only a handful writers break through to become super stars. The rest, who are just as talented, lead lives of mediocrity and midlist, never quite reaching best-seller status. If this were all about money, I would have chosen a career where I could make big bucks. I could have been an accountant, a doctor, a rocket scientist… a contender (come on, you knew it was coming). But instead, I have been working for five years now on an English degree. English majors are not known for their big paychecks. So obviously it isn’t just about the money.

Though I think of writing as my passion and my preferred career path, I still work an average 40-hour-a-week office job. GASP! It isn’t my dream, but it pays the bills. Though it isn’t about the money, I have mouths to feed at home. I can be a starving writer, but I won’t allow my family to starve. Many people would accept the careers they fell into, regardless of whether or not they are passionate about what they do. They wake up, go to work, come home, watch TV, and go to bed. Wash, rinse, and repeat ad infinitum. However, I am not like many people. No matter what I am doing, I continue to fight until I reach full-time writer status, the career I love. At work, I have a post it on my computer. It says, “I am a writer. I write books.” I have this to remind myself not to get too comfortable because there are bigger and better things ahead of me. I just have to get there. Why struggle and bust my ass for something that is never guaranteed? Because it is my passion and when one has a passion, one is willing to shed blood, sweat, and tears for it. My passion is writing books that I want to read. It is as simple as that.

Lastly, I think I write because I have an overwhelming desire to communicate with the masses. Though I write fiction, I try to include real world issues and ideas. Though there may be magic, ghosts, and dark entities, they are just mediums through which I deliver the bigger picture. I strongly believe that art should make a person cry, laugh, nod, or shake his head. As long as it causes a reaction, it is art.

That is why I write; because I have something to say, something that I am passionate about, and I want to get a rise out of you. That is the only pay I need.

C. L. Parson

Tags: blog, book, fun, love, novel, passion, writer, writing

Comments 4 Comments
Categories Writing

A Little More About My Novel “ASYLUM”

7 Nov

What is the working title of your book?

Asylum.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

I go to school in Dahlonega. It is a very cool little town in North Georgia and I thought it was time to write a novel set in the old gold-mining settlement. As for the actual plot, I noticed I’ve read a lot of books about the paranormal and the supernatural, but these books rarely have ghosts. So, I thought it was time to write a scary ghost story. Other than that, it just kind of came to me as I sat in my kitchen. I was working on another book that didn’t really go anywhere. I let my mind wander and came up with the outline for Asylum. I was so excited about it, I scraped the old book and began working on Asylum.

What genre does your book fall under?

Horror.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in the movie rendition?

I would love for Olivia Wilde to play Jet. I believe Wilde would be able to portray the evolution of Jet. There are some emotional and violent scenes in this book and I believe Wilde’s talent would be put to good use in portraying what Jet goes through and how it affects her. As for Sawyer, I think Joe Manganiello would be a good choice. He can be tough as well as vulnerable, a flexibility that is essential to properly portraying Sawyer.

What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

Jet infiltrates the oldest asylum in Georgia to discover the truth behind her sister’s suicide only to be admitted as a patient and forced to fight for her own life.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I hope to go the traditional route and get an agent. But first, I must finish polishing my manuscript.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

A little under two years.

What other books would you compare this to within your genre?

I would compare it to Neil Gaiman’s American Gods only because we both include myth and legend as real beings in our novels. He is certainly a much better writer. I would also compare it to Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stakehouse series because the humor element is similar.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

Eventually, I would like to quit my day job and write full time. I hope to someday support my family comfortably with my writing, so that is really what drove me to finish this book. That and I absolutely loved the plot and characters.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

It is a unique story I have never seen done before. I wouldn’t have written it if it had been done to death. It is a ghost story that contains other horror elements revolving around the cultures of different groups in the US like the Cherokee.

C. L. Parson

Tags: asylum, blog, book, fiction, horror, novel, writing

Comments 4 Comments
Categories Writing

Making Time

26 Sep

I was out to dinner with my mentor and we were both complaining about not having the time to write. We asked ourselves the reason for putting our art on the back burner. We came up with a spectrum of reasons from guilt to America’s puritan heritage. Would it be considered selfish to spend my time writing a fictional novel that has not made me one red cent or washed one dirty dish instead of doing something else that others may deem “more productive”? How could I battle my guilt and self-loathing for locking myself in a room with my computer when I could be spending more time with my family?

For me, it was about making the time for my writing when and where I could avoid the guilt and distraction. After looking at how I spent my time during the day, I decided that my lunch break would be perfect. It would give me an hour where I’m away from everyone and everything and I could just write.

Easier said than done. There are days where I am lazy, and I rather spend my mid-day break watching stupid YouTube videos than write. To be honest, there have been times where I skipped my hour-long writing session. However, these days are few and far between.

It is much easier to write once you have the momentum going. It is like brushing your teeth or your daily BM. Your mind knows what is coming next, so it transitions into writing mode much faster and easier than it would if you hadn’t been writing everyday.

Once I made the time for my writing, I was able to finally finish my book. Maybe it will work for you too.

C. L. Parson

Tags: blog, blogging, book, car, family, novel, time, work, writer, writing