Defeating Time Bandits (A post about Time Management NOT the movie)

If you love 80’s movies, you might love Time Bandits. I sure do. But I don’t love things that steal my time, you know, the crappy bandits of time. Time is the one commodity that once it passes it’s gone. You can melt gold from jewelry, you might get better growth from pastures if you tend to them and care for them, but time? It is fragile as they come… and easily squandered.

So how do you make the best use of time?

Well firstly, I’m not the best person to ask all the time. Sure, I might be productive, I might at times have frightening stamina (which can and DOES run out), I might get a lot done in a little time, but sometimes I misuse time… I squander it. And when I see what I could have done, it doesn’t feel all too stellar.

Although there are many tips I can offer to address this, I shall focus on one for the moment: identify the bandits of time.

What steals your time? What app is fracturing your attention? What game is keeping you from your goals? What adventures in multi-tasking has you progressing in a way but coming up short?

For me, there are a couple of apps plus ALL the things I want to do. The difference between winging it and organizing myself is staggering. Last week, I had several to-dos, but I didn’t dedicate time, my list was more creative than strict, and I was distracted by bodyboarding competitions, apps, life, and tons of things.

This happens and the first thing we need to do is to be OK with it happening from time to time but without losing focus or giving ourselves all the slack in the world. It’s all about balance and time has a way of flying away from us. That’s why today, my list was a definitive list. It had allotted time to it. It had order. It had structure and it looked formal enough to force me to commit to tackling it. 11 items, plus the day job… and I got it all done. Bit by bit. Steady as she goes. Wasn’t a writer sprint. Wasn’t pushing through an avalanche, it was staying steady, keeping the list nearby, making time, and STICKING to that time. I have 10 minutes? That’s it. If I don’t complete, I leave until tomorrow as punishment.

Now here’s an interesting thing to note. This approach doesn’t always work. Think of it like a sprain or a headache. Sometimes an ice pack helps. Sometimes it’s sleep. Sometimes it’s even getting the right tisane or tea for the job. Inspiration, to do lists, and writing is much the same. It’s an ever evolving challenge and you have to constantly find new ways of facing those challenges and going for it. That’s because sometimes you need to freshen things up and try something new. Too often people focus on tried and true methods and they get painted into a corner.

Don’t fall into that trap. Be creative. Be adventurous. See what works for you. Give yourself tough love. Give yourself tough attitudes. Be accountable. Be whatever the day or week needs you to be but always focus on finding ways to keep going forwards.

For me, it’s all about keeping the phone away and focusing on the task at hand. I did what I wanted to do… and that creates momentum. So here’s to tomorrow. To visualizing that list, to seeing those lines come from your pen or keyboard, and for those other lines to go across each one of those items.

Peace, love, and maki rolls.

Method to Madness: Matching music and mood

Most of my adult life I've had music playing on walkmen, discmen, crappy MP3 players, iPods, and my phone. Seeing me in college walking with a pair of headphones on wasn't just par for the course, it was a constant of who I was and still am.

At most jobs, I'd be constantly connected, modifying my mood, getting audible inspiration and motivation to calm down, rev up, work harder, work meticulously, and any variation you can imagine. To say I'm symbiotic with music is a fair, just, and pleasant statement I'll never mind hearing.

So when it comes to writing, music and I work hand in hand... or well hand in ear, but you get what I mean.

My musical choices for writing do vary a lot and it will greatly depend on the mood I am or the mood I need to be for what I want to write. For battle scenes, I won't listen to arias and sonatas, I'm going full blast with something that helps me tap into that inner violence we all have within. That spark that smiles when you see a knockout. Heavy metal music is the perfect choice and of that I have plenty of options including Fear Factory, first album by Slipknot, Rammstein, Slayer, Meshuggah, and Sepultura, just to name a few. For something more spiritual, the moment can dictate the song. I've listened to everything from Tool's more ethereal tracks, to Anathema, Nine Inch Nails, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Sigur Ros, Elbow, classical music, you name it.

But the important thing to remember is that we're all wired differently.

When I was a teen I would go to sleep with Darkside of the Moon and Downward Spiral as if either album was a good option to sleep to, SPOLER ALERT: they're not because of the clocks on Time and the brutal guitars on March of the Pigs. Of note is that I can work with music with lyrics and not let it creep into what I'm writing because I'm able to detach myself from the music just enough to reach that state where you start making up lyrics that have NOTHING to do with what is really being sung but which is exactly what your soul hears beneath the layers of voices.

For something sad, Radiohead, the Cure, Beck, and some albums by the Eels definitely help me to get to that mood. But again, that's me and how I modify my perception and emotional state.

What is definitely certain is that everything I write has the flavor of some type of music and I do think it's a very effective tool to take your brain and heart to meet up with where your story is. It's also a good way of being able to tap into those emotions and later disengage with other music.

I say this because for me, my writing is very personal and it is very kinetic as I write it, meaning it can and does affect me. Sometimes positively, sometimes leaving me with certain emotions that I needed to achieve to write something the way it had to be written. The beauty in this is that when I'm done, I can switch the track and lead my self on an audible journey out of that mood into a better headspace. Sometimes it can be while also doing reflections and deep breathing and other times with a walk.

Whatever the case, music is a part of my life and an essential part of my writing. I love writing to a rhythm and my keyboard goes from being a medium to tap keys to capture my thoughts and words and transforms into its own musical instrument. A percussive communication instrument and yes, sometimes you can get in random stances or really just focus on the keyboard as if it were a piano and vary your keystrokes... but still... there's the music again.

So when you have a story to write or you're working on a novel, try mapping out the plot and the emotions you want to achieve on each chapter. When you have a good idea of where you're going, turn your writing into a road trip and set the playlist that best lets you get on the journey and capture your story, your words, and your emotions.

Who knows? You might find something new in your writing or you may find a better rhythm to work on those stories you like to share.

Peace, love, and maki rolls

Ps.: do you write listening to music? If so, what do you listen to and why?

Rant in Estrada Minor: The adventures of Beau and his B.O.

When it comes to aromas, fragrances, Beau had a beautiful name but an awful smell. The type of man worthy of a pictorial or video, he was certainly appealing to at least 3 of 5 senses. Unfortunately his personality was as paper thin as deli sliced salami and his odor ranged much in the same vein, maybe pastrami.

Which goes to show, beauty may be in the eyes of the beholder, but if the smell of someone makes those eyes tear, there’s no way back from that pitfall. Domino effects ensue when he hails a taxi and smoke alarms faint like one of those European Michael Jackson fans.

Still, some brave women endured the stench if only for one night of septic passion with the Dumpster Adonis. The pleasure was almost worth the aftertaste… almost.

You see, Beau’s B.O. was not limited to his skin, but everywhere. It was like a vomit inducing bouquet buffet. The problem is that since smell is directly linked to memory, when women remembered the delicious night of love making, so did their gag reflex.

Beautiful Beau with his horrible B.O.,
An anthropomorphic Pepe Le Peux,
A miasmic maelstrom,
The lover whose touch was forgotten,
But never his scent.

Beautiful Beau with a stench like no other,
Had abs like a God
And a smell to which you would shudder.

Rant in E-strada Minor - Marbles and memory

Within calcified cranial confines, marbles dance to and fro. Some brighter than others, size differentiating them, of course, and all perfectly round in the lies I tell myself. The small pouch of memory holds it all, forgetting some, and clickety clacketing replay on favorites from the playlist.

Ah yes, how the mind plays favorites with mental mirages. Inaccurate depictions of what once was and now shall forever kind-of-sort-of-be from what one perspective can recall.

Have you ever rolled a memory in the palm of your hand? Allowed its warm light to tickle your nerves and show you how awful or wonderful something was not?

Memories lie after all...

And so do we.

We tell ourselves a version of a version of a momentary lapse of reality, registered by the distractedly drunken yet omnipresent mind. The subconscious knows all, yet the ego insists on knowing best what is and what had to be.

Rolling, crashing, banging into themselves do these memories fight for attention. Childlike in their hunger to feed their "look at mes".

Remember me

Think of me

Cry because of me, but also smile a bit without knowing why

Memories are wicked little creatures that change through time. Other memories slam into them, blowing sands off the mental dunes we gaze at from the outside in.

All goes a bit nutty when questions start to mingle with memories... sometimes the Hindsight Brigade offers insight... other times a Mexican hat dance ensues over one particular memory. A merry-go-round of obsession looking, searching, prying for a why. Sure, the hows and whats mingle with the who and where, but the why. The why is never ending in certain memories. A dark infinity sign unraveled into a question mark.

Why this

Why that

Why not this

The search for the unicorn of Because, fathered by closure and teasing at peace of mind.

Memories... how they vary, how they differ, how they swear on the truth.

Sometimes bits are forgotten and other times lies are remembered.

But the marbles remain, even if sometimes they are lost.

Rants in Estrada Minor - Intro

In my interest to continue pushing my writing and show different sides of who I am as a writer, I'll be preparing some rants for my writing enjoyment and hopefully for your reading enjoyment. Some may be happy, some may be sad... the only rule is for it to be a free write and to be written in one sitting with barely a proofread to be had.

Topics will vary, poetry might make an appearance and the idea is just to write for the love of a good write and to create memorable visuals even if they're not the most logical in the world... let's see how this go, shall we?

Stay tuned.

Method to Madness: Let your stories come to you

All too often I see people frustrated about getting writer's block. It's something that happens and from experience I can tell you that the harder you try to force it out of you, the harder it'll resist.

That's because stories are alive.

They have feelings.

They have a mind of their own and will not be forced to do what you want to do when you want to do it.

That's the very reason why I always have multiple projects running. Some people may accuse me for lack of discipline, but if you see my track record, I've been writing every single day for the last several years with very, very, very few exceptions. If I'm not in the mood to write in one project, I work on a blog post, or a poem, or a haiku, or plot points or new ideas, or something.

The idea for me is to never stop, to always be progressing and to let the project that grabs my attention dictate what I will write that day. Sure I'd like to finish some things first, but that's not how I work and muses are temperamental and not to be messed with.

Some people get desperate and frustrated and I understand that feeling quite well.

I have good news though, if you stop forcing, the story will come. It will assault you in the moment you least expect it, but it'll come. In the meantime, read, watch movies and documentaries, free write, write in your journal, write poetry, write haikus, limericks, riddles, whatever, just write. Loosen up that hand. A block is nothing more than rust you need to clear so the hinges work again. Still, the more you feed the mind, the more ideas will come to you.

You see, an obsessed mind can only focus on one thing and honestly, sometimes you need that. However, other times you need to flow, and for a writer, often times that means letting go.

After all, flowers don't beg bees to come for their pollen, and if you enjoy life, some sunlight, and water your brain, the bees will come... oh how they will come.

Peace, love, and maki rolls.

Method to Madness: Dialing into your dialogue

One of my favorite parts of writing is dialogue. This should come as no surprise to anyone who has met me because odds are people wonder if I ever shut up (funnily, I do have my silent hermit moments). So obviously, I loves me some dialogue.

So how do I go about it?

Well first off, you have to know what fuels each character and truly know that person. Think of your best friend or your mom or uncle. Think about those moments when they say something that is so typically them… why do you say that? Odds are that it’s because you know them so well that they have their own style of talking, thinking, and letting loose their mind.

The same goes for characters because just the fact that they’re fictional doesn’t mean they’re not alive.

In my case, I do a lot of introspection with my characters and if I’m ever stuck I actually ask out loud, "ok so what would you say now"… and like some creepy Ouija moment, the hand starts to move of its own accord and I’m just jotting down what they say.

The best recommendation for this is to watch movies and read books. I recommend both because although reading is KEY, dialogue shines wonderfully in a movie because you get an explicit tone, a rhythm, timing, and personality shines through in several things. Watching standup comedians is also very helpful because although they may be raunchy, the best have a mastery of the word that is enviable. Pretty soon, you start writing bodily expressions to complement the dialogue and the words start to mesh together with the character until it gets to the point that while editing you can even find yourself saying, he or she wouldn’t say that, and then you write what comes out naturally.

To me that’s the secret to the best dialogue, for it to feel genuine and believable within you and to play off the personality of the character… to let their soul shine. For this, lots of writing helps and I’ve even seen some people keep journals of their characters to REALLY get in tune with who they are and what they’re all about.

An extra tip is to have index cards with reminders of what drives that character. Another really important thing is that good lines of dialogue can appear like a flash in the pan and you really need to capture them before you forget. For this I have index cards, notebooks, notes on my cell phone, documents on my jump drive, etc. ANYTHING to capture that line because I’ve known to be stuck on a scene only to have it released from bondage thanks to ONE line.

So how about you? How do you go about writing dialogue?

Peace, love, and maki rolls. 

Method to Madness: Finding your space

When you write, one of the biggest challenges is finding a place where you can write without being disturbed. If you ask me, it’s easier for some people more so than others. In my case, all I honestly need is a notebook, some writing device, and more than likely my headphones to help me tune out the world and tune into my writing.

Regardless, I’ve found that at some places I write more than others and in certain cases, some places inspire writing more than others. By this what I want to tell you is that it’s cool to have one place to write, though you might like to check out several places to see if you find another option in case your space is unavailable or to explore different aspects of your creativity.

Truth be told, I’ve written SO much work in local Taco Makers that you’d believe their sauce or chicken is downright magical. But the truth of the matter is much more simple. It’s a place where I sit down and write and people for X or Y reason don’t feel the need to say hi. At other places I go for lunch it’s hard and sometimes impossible to get my own space because of people saying hi or just the level of noise. But there? Boom, writing gold. Still, I also have other places where I can find my own space. The interesting part is how one project or another likes certain places more than other options.

That’s because stories, poems, posts and whatever you create has a mood as well and they know what they like and how to express themselves. For me, tacos apparently seem to resonate with many of my projects, lol, plus it’s a bargain lunch that is among the better options when it comes to fast food.

A nearby cookie shop is also apparently good to me and my writing because I can settle into one corner and people for the most part leave me be or actually add to the experience. It’s the oddest thing because even if I’m interrupted, it’s always in a positive way and in THAT place, I don’t mind, for some reason.

There’s also places I don’t go to or have stopped going to because there’s simply no inspiration there whatsoever. The thing is that I love places that have some natural lighting, I don’t like cave-like places for the most part and although I love people watching, I need the right amount, which changes from day to day. It sounds bonkers I’m sure, but it works.

So the invitation is simple, find your place, your writing nook, and then find a couple more so you have the freedom to change environs in case you need that switch to push through a particular section of one project or another.

Peace, love, and maki rolls.

So tell us, what's your favorite place to write?

Method to Madness: Be a tease

Some books are nice, others are highly enjoyable and others you simply can’t let go of. That last type of book causes you to stay up late and lie to yourself constantly each time you tell yourself you will only read one more page.

When a book is good, there’s no such thing as just one more page. You don’t just want to read more, you need to.

Ok, so what’s the trick?

Be a tease.

Be a terrible tease.

Leave people needing to learn what will happen next.

And one of the best places to tease is at the very end of a chapter.

The beginning of a chapter is also vital, mind you. It’s what gets readers interested, but that last sentence in a chapter? THAT’S where you get someone hooked.

That’s where people fall in love with you and hate you at the same time. When I finish a chapter, I go all out with that last sentence and it’s for two reasons: to have readers want to read more and getting me to NEED to write more.

Think of that person you liked and you couldn’t wait to see again. Think of advertising and how effective it is at making you want more.

Tease.

Hold out.

Give just enough.

And when you’re certain you have their attention…

Tease some more. 

Method to Madness: Hidden treasures

One of my favorite things when I’m tackling a project is the research process. That’s because when I do research, I love digging deep for information about anything.

From dust nebulas to the differences in the fermentation processes of beer, wine and champagne, every bit of information can trigger idea. In my writing, I prefer to not be too rigid because by giving myself space, I can tap into random details that sync organically.

Life is far from logical and the more I’ve rolled with the punches and gone with the flow, the more I’ve been able to enjoy it. Writing is often the same and once I commit a pen to paper, all bets are off and rules need not apply.

By adopting this approach, I’ve been able to take things I see in a cartoon and sift that through a theological filter, before pairing with musical influences, bouncing it off psychological theories and adding a dash of random strands of information to find my story.

And that’s the point. In random bits of information, I’ve often found my stories, hidden in between paragraphs and references. Although I do have a rough idea of where I want to go, there is PLENTY of improvisation in between and that’s how I like it and a big part of how I tackle many a tale.

Rather than strictly adhering to a series of steps in the writing process. I toss the instructions out of the window and found my own way… and at least for me, I find that when I look in the mirror, I see a rich man every day. 

So you want to write a book Part 1: Why and What

Plenty of people say they want to write a book. Few actually do. 

It’s been two years since I published Only Human and in that time, over a hundred people have told me they have a story or that they have an idea for a book. People have been kind enough to ask me for advice, tips and pointers and I always do my best to help out and answer any and all questions that come my way. 

(By all means, if you have a question, email me: jdestradawriter@gmail.com).

So let’s say you want to write a book. The first thing you have to ask yourself is why you want to write a book. If your answer is to make money, get a movie deal or become famous, maybe writing a book isn’t the best option for you, honestly. 

Writing is not an easy way to make a living. It is demanding, draining and is devoid of an exact science. By this, I mean that just because you’re brilliant and a hell of a writer doesn’t guarantee pretty much anything. 

To be honest, I think that if you want to write a book, completing the project should be its own payoff, i.e. Your greatest reward from writing a book is, well… writing a book. Everything else should be a bonus. I say this because if I needed fame and fortune to be satisfied, I’d be under medication right now. By caring about the story and the work, I look past low sales and low engagement. 

Who knows? Maybe your book sells two million copies and becomes an ultra-successful series… but what happens if you only sell two copies? Neither of these outcomes should take away from the fact that you finished a book. 

After asking yourself why you want to write a book, go to the next question: what do you want to say?

If you have something to say, that’ll be what drives your narrative. If instead you want to write a zombie book because they’re selling like hot cakes, ask yourself why you need to sell something that doesn’t really say something that’s true to you. 

Once you've answered these questions, then and ONLY then should you go o the next step to focus on the how.

Something to talk about on our next post.

Cheers

Method to Madness: Slaying the dragons of self-doubt

Self doubt is something I’m quite familiar with. Being a writer, I think it’s part of the makeup of many of us. Behind the bravado we share on each page, there is the terrifying need for approval.

“Is the story good?”

“Will people like it?”

“Will they get it?”

“Will they even read it?”

There is plenty of fear. As an indie writer, my decision was to push through, to insist, to drum out the voices of doubt and to commit to my vision.

People ask me how I deal so well with self-doubt.

My reply?

I focus on my work.

That’s it.

That’s the trick.

To always be so busy that I don’t have time to wonder. I push myself hard to produce memorable words and content on facebook, my books, the blog, twitter, google plus, instagram and anywhere I am because I love connecting with people in my own way.

I have two soon-to-be-released poetry collections, a bilingual collection, the sequel to Only Human, a young adult novel and the physical version of the Daydreams because otherwise I give that self-doubt a chance to take hold of me.

I will coordinate book activities and be a part of the Puerto Rico Comic Con for the same reason.

I surf, I read, I play guitar, spend quality time with my wife, love my family and touch base with great friends for the same reason.

I donate to charity, I help people as much as I can, am happy to answer questions from fans, friends and future writers and will gladly interview people and even review the work of others for the same reason as well.

Simply stated: I have too much I want to achieve to give an audience to self-doubt.

I think about low sales, lack of reviews, low engagement, how to get to more people, lack of likes, how to improve SEO, and that I need more time to do what I want to do. I wonder if people enjoy my work, wonder how long before someone gets offended (because eventually somebody always gets offended) and what I’ll say when I talk to an audience.

But instead of being buried under it, I use that fear to drive me because I am more determined than I am afraid.

I do not focus on results.

I focus on my work.

I pour myself into every poem, every story, every book, every post and every song I create.

There is much I will do in my life and I’m not in the mood to wait for the conditions to be right.

I do all of this because I wouldn’t regret not being read, but could never forgive myself if I didn’t do what I was born to do.

So I choose to write.