Student Debt, Debtors' Prison by Kenneth Buff

I've always joked about it. Having accumulated a ridiculous amount of debt so fast and having received nothing tangible for it. An education is of course a great thing, but depending on your chosen career field, and the amount of student debt it took you to get there, well, depending on how those things went, the situation can sometimes look bleak.

So let me confess. I'm a teacher. I'm a writer too, but teacher mostly. In college I was a dumb kid. I was offered a bunch of money with bad interest rates that weren't explained to me very well, and well, now I'm not so dumb, and I can see the real world implications of what I've drowned myself in. In college taking large sums of money that offer you the chance to go to Europe and drink legally at the age of 19 (that's not what I did or why I went, but it was the popular thing to do for many of my classmates) it's really hard to say no to it. It's also nice to have a little extra when that Geo you've been driving gets struck by a Tundra and you'd like to replace it with an overpriced European car, because hey, Europe is cool, that's why we've got all this money for, remember? But needless to say, I graduated with a lot of debt, probably twice the amount necessary to get the degree I got, and the career field I chose was not a high paying one, despite the amount of work and energy required to teach, and despite the importance teaching has on the future of society. But that's another thing for another time. But my point is, I was dumb. I had no one older than me to look to for advice, and everybody else was taking in the cash too, so who was I to say no? I'm not better than Jimmy. In fact, Jimmy might be better than me if I don't take the money, he's got a new Xbox in his apartment. Who would I be if I were left behind?

So I was dumb. And now I'll pay for it. Not just in the literal since of repayment, but in the sorts of limitations that go with having lots of debt. I try not to look at the numbers, to stare at the interests rates too long, because if I do, I'll feel nothing but an all consuming bout of depression. And as we all know too well, life is very short. Even if you're indebted for half your life, as I will more than likely be, you're still alive. You still eat, laugh, love. Nothing of real value has been lost. And even if it had, wallowing won't water the money tree. So, I choose to stand, instead of fall. Hoping one day I'll work hard enough long enough to find the key to my self-made debtors' prison, but if I don't, if I never see the exit of this metaphorical place, I'll still have my life, and everything that comes with it. What more could I ask for?

That's Why It's An Idiom by Kenneth Buff

I love learning. It's a quality I think every good teacher needs. In my opinion it's a quality every person needs in order to have a life that's worth living. I'm not insinuating you should knock yourself off if you don't have a particular taste for Nietzsche or DIY home improvement projects, but I do think everyone should be constantly striving to understand something. It's really the biggest problem we face, well, if we avoid all the other problems we face. Starvation, cancer, random and cruel death, if none of those things ever happen to us, eventually we run out reasons to keep going, our bodies literally wear out. I think the same goes for our minds.

Now, I've written before about my particular learning style The old learn by failing. It's not a bad strategy. You look at what doesn't work and then don't do that. Only I tend to be the thing I'm looking at that didn't work. There's better ways to learn things. Reading (about other people's failures; about their successes), videos, talking to people. It's really endless in the world we live in. We can become quasi experts in almost anything. You can learn how to publish a book. Build a table. Raise a guinea pig. Whatever it is you're interested in, you can do it. You don't even have to be interested in it. You might need to learn how to do something out of need. Car breaks and you can't afford to pay to have it fixed, but you can afford the part. Type in your car's symptoms into google and you'll find an answer, probably even a video detailing how to make the repair step by step visually. 

The thing that is so awe inspiring to me about getting older is that I feel that I'm becoming a better learner. I'm less stubborn, I'm more patient, and probably not as much of a pain in the ass for other people (though that'll never be fully cured till I'm dead). To me, not only does my life have more purpose since I've dedicated to one of improvement, in gaining more knowledge and skill in the crafts I've chosen to craft, it's also more enjoyable. There's less worry over simple shit. The little things that can eat you up. You know, those things. You know what they are when you see them in other people. When the woman at the grocery counter curses the bag boy for putting the vegetables in the bag with the meat. When the college frat boy threatens to call corporate if they don't return his dirty flat screen at the service desk (yes, there's a pattern here with my examples...I spend too much time inside Walmart). But it's these things, the little things that we think if only they were right. If I could just have this one thing be the way I want it to be. Then my life would be perfect. That's a lie we tell ourselves. A story. Because there's always something else. Nothing is ever perfect. And here's a secret you already know: There is no perfect. Perfect is an idea. It doesn't exist, and it can't. Google defines perfect as having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics; as good as it is possible to be. We know this never happens. We believe we've experienced perfect moments. But even in them we could find things that weren't ideal, but those things just add to our endearment of the memories, the fact that we endured less than Nicholas Sparks perfection and still found enjoyment in any moment makes it that much more special. When really that's just life. That's existence. Things are neither inherently good or bad, they just are, and we assign our feelings towards them and give it a label. I think this is something all of us know, on some level. Our coffee wasn't cold today because we've been spited, it just happened to be cold today for whatever reason. Shit happens. That's why it's an idiom.

But I guess, all I'm really trying to say is that I'm enjoying the aging process. I think it's done me good. I'm sure at a certain point I'll think it's done me bad, and I hope to be lucky enough to live long enough to be able to say that. Because nothing is certain. That's why it's an idiom.

 

Phidelphius Is Here by Kenneth Buff

So that's another one in the bag! You can snag Phidelphius today in ebook or paperback by clicking here for the ebook or here for the paperback. Also, Sunborn, the first book in the series, is on sale today for 99¢, so take advantage and grab both books if you don't have either. They're also both in Kindle Unlimited, so if you're a Kindle Unlimited subscriber you can read them both for free (as well as my other books).

I'd like to say some thanks to a few people for helping this book to be the book it's become. Thanks go to Quinn Baldwin, Sasha Abernathy, and Kyle Frederick. Their comments and suggestions helped shape where the story ended up going, and I'd like to thank them for their time and honest opinions. I'd also like to thank Michael Rubi for being a constant reader of my first drafts, and for helping with cover design, text, and formatting. Thanks also go to Tony Cleeton, thanks for lending your eye. Lastly I'd like to thank my wife. Thanks for letting me spend countless hours working on these things, babe. I swear they'll help pay the electric bill one day (or at least the water bill).

Poem by Kenneth Buff

The nights are lonely. The nights are long. Fill the time, but it all feels wrong.

The door is open, but there's no one home. I sing her song to an empty room, I hear applause but there's no one home. I've loved empty, I've loved strong. I love her more when I belong. I want to belong. I want to belong. It won't be long till I am gone.

 

Phidelphius & Writing Flow by Kenneth Buff

Well, the time is finally here (almost). The art is in for Phidelphius, the edit is done, now the only thing left is the text. My text buddy (or typography buddy, if you will) is in Mexico right now, so it'll be a little bit before that's completed, but the book will be available on Amazon by next week. So that puts me at just under a year between my last publication (Sunborn was published in July of last year), which means I need to publish these guys a little faster if I'm going to meet the quota I've set for myself (2 books published a year). That quota is totally doable for me, I just need to get more efficient at a couple things. Those things being editing (which I'm getting my team to be faster at) and cover art. I definitely write two books a year (at least first drafts), so all there is after that is sanding down of the rough edges and then packaging (editing and cover art). Editing is becoming more efficient as I do much of the final steps myself, but the first major steps of editing I rely heavily on my writing group, which is great because their eyes catch story and character things that need strengthened that I might not otherwise catch without them. And the as for the art, I'm going to play around with covers with a few of my coming titles, trying more of a bear bones approach (one it'll be cheaper, but it will also get the books out faster, which is a win win).

But alas, I started this post to let you guys see the new cover, so here it is:

Pretty cool art, right? My buddy Maciej Wojtala did the art for this guy and Sunborn and Dick and Henry. He's looking for more indie authors to work for, so if you're interested in hiring him, check him out on his site.

 

Filling You In by Kenneth Buff

So, I wanted to fill you guys in a little on where my current projects are. So Phidelphius (the sequel to Sunborn) is going to be released sometime in the next two weeks. The final draft is completed and edited, just waiting on artwork. I have two other completed novels that need to be redrafted and edited several times. Those are Dick and Henry: The novel (real title still to be decided) and a dystopian sci-fi called The Breachers. Dick and Henry will come out first, it'll be released somewhere around the end of the year. Then either The Breachers or Lady Luck will be next. Lady Luck is a dark fantasy that I'm currently working on about a guy who just can't seem to get things to ever go his way.

The process of releasing novels has become a long one for me, but in a lot of ways that's good because it ensures quality control. I'm trying to strike a balance between releasing a good amount of novels a year (2 is ideal) and making sure the edit and rewrites for them are as strong as I can possibly make them. It's been a learning experience, getting down a project flow that works for me, and I'm always adapting as things change. But I'm definitely working on it everyday, writing, editing, and planning out the future of my two current series (Sunborn and Dick and Henry).

Speaking of my series, if you have any comments or suggestions for Sunborn or Dick and Henry, feel free to reach out on here or Facebook, Twitter, or Goodreads. I know some people have expressed their excitement for a full length Dick and Henry novel, but if you have anything you'd like to see in a future novel or story with those guys, let me know. Same goes for Daniels' adventures in Sunborn. If there are certain aspects about that world or Daniels' history that you'd like to know more about, drop me a line. The world definitely gets expanded on in Phidelphius, but the third book in the series (possibly final book) will take things even further, so let me know if there's anything you're dying to have revealed and maybe I'll work it in somewhere if it fits the story's current progression. No promises of course, but hey, you never know.

Character Voices by Kenneth Buff

I love putting little stuff in my writing that comes directly from real life. The car the antagonist of my newest book I'm working on, Lady Luck, is a broken down Buick Skylark. That's the car my best friend in high school (and still best buddy) Michael Rubi drove. The passenger side handle wouldn't open the door on the outside of the car, this feature is also present on the car in the book. The book also takes place in the mountains of Colorado (where I was living for the last year up until just recently), so all the places in the novel are are real places I've been with a bit of my imagination thrown in for good measure (basically combining different parts of different cities into one for convenience and theme). There's other things present in there, but those are the biggies I can think of off the top of my head. I do this in most of my books and stories, I dear say in all of them, and I imagine most writers do too. Want to make a character feel real? Throw in traits that you know a real person has. Take the Dude from the Big Lewboski. The Coen Brothers created the Dude as a composite character of two different people they knew, and one of them actually did have a rug that he said "really tied the room together." Classic character, that everybody loves, and knowing that he's almost a real person somehow makes him even that much more endearing.

I think the easiest way to make a character seem real is to make them like you. But I also think this is a bit of a trap. No matter how hard you try, I think most of your characters are going to have pieces of you in them, unless you're trying really hard to make them not, but I definitely think you should put forth effort to try to do it as little as possible, especially with side characters. For me it's a big turn off when every character in a book has the same voice. When they all talk the same. That's why I focus on differentiating people's speech in my books. In real life people don't have the same vocabulary list in their brains they pull from. I tend to use bigger words for certain descriptions of things, so sometimes when I'm writing a character I intentionally use a word I would never use, because it's right for the character, and it makes them sound different than the main character (who likely sounds like me, unless I'm trying to have him not. Examples of MCs I've tried to have sound different than me would be Dick from Dick and Henry or any character from my short stories). And how the character speaks tells you so much about them without you ever revealing any back story about them. You learn about a character's morals and interests as a story goes on, but you may or may not learn about their education background, their family history, etc. But by watching their behavior and speech you do get a sense for who they are, and you can infer their history, much like you would if you were people watching, or what you may do when you've met a new person and they're still a mystery to you.

So next time you're writing any kind of fiction, be sure to squirt in a little of real life in the fantasy. It's fun to write, and it makes it fun to read, by adding a sense of realism for the reader it makes it that much easier to imagine the world you're creating.

More about Captain America 3 by Kenneth Buff

Okay, so I'm usually not a big Marvel movie fan. I liked the first few movies, but they just kept going, and as they went the fun of the first films died off with each subsequent sequel (Guardians of The Galaxy being the exception). Now, that being said up front, I still see some of them (actually, I think I've yet to skip one, despite initially planning to skip Civil War, I ultimately saw it because so many people said good things) and I review them just how I would any other movie, based on my experience I had while viewing them. And on top of being bored for the first hour of Captain America: Civil War I was also disturbed. The film siding with Captain America's absurd premise that any government oversight is a bad thing is one issue, but that's not the main thing that disturbed me. So he's a libertarian, okay, I can live with that I suppose, but the film goes on to have Captain America be a hypocrite. He claims to have the best judgment, yet throws police officers off stair cases and kicks in their ribs to help out a friend wanted for murder.

Now, I believe I brought this up in my original review, but after being bombarded with #TeamCap comments on the internet, ranging from people in internet comment sections to personal friends on Facebook, I just felt I had to bring it up again: Captain America is the bad guy in Civil War. Spider-Man said it best when he repeated Stark's opinion of the Captain, "He says you're wrong, but that you think you're right. And that makes you dangerous." How many bad guys believe they're bad? How many of them think the law knows what is right? That's the ground Captain America stands on in this movie, that he knows what's right above anyone else, and that you're either with him or against him.

To further my point, take a look at Iron Man's herorism verses Captain America's

Iron Man firing a tank missile at terrorists.

Iron Man firing a tank missile at terrorists.

Iron Man saving the Middle East.

Iron Man saving the Middle East.

Captain America throwing police off stair cases to save Bucky, a wanted murderer.

Captain America throwing police off stair cases to save Bucky, a wanted murderer.

Captain America: Civil War--Movie Review by Kenneth Buff

Captain America: Civil War is the 13th Marvel movie, and the third Captain America movie. So, if you haven't had enough superhero yet, don't worry, this movie, like almost all superhero movies these days, advertises many-many sequels to come.

Well, let me start by saying the only reason I gave this movie three stars is because a little over halfway through we get a battle that is actually fun. And the biggest reason it's fun is the inclusion of Spider-Man. I really wasn't looking forward to a kid Spider-Man, but since he's just a supporting character in a few scenes here for comedy it really works. He shows up to crack a few jokes (the best joke in the whole movie being how Captain America's shield doesn't follow physics at all, summed up the whole movie for me). But on top of the actually funny Spider-Man we have a cool new black superhero named Black Panther, and Ant-Man is back, and he's actually likable in this movie, though not as likable as Spider-Man (the Ant-Man movie was one of the worst movies I've seen in theaters). Those three characters actually make this sequence—the only scene where we get what we were promised, superheroes fighting each other in mass—fun. Everyone else is doom-and-gloom for the whole movie, and honestly rather boring. Even poor Tony Stark has lived past his glory days on screen. There's still the occasional bright moment with him on screen, but it feels like even the writers have grown tired of coming up with interesting situations and dialogue for this character.

The characters and the movie itself seem to be just going through the motions for the first hour of the movie. Nothing really happens. There's some set up for the Black Panther towards the end of this hour, but other than that, it's pretty dull. Another major problem with the first half of the movie is the absent of major side characters who were so important in balancing the main characters in previous movies. Those being Gwyneth Paltrow's Pepper Potts and Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury. The Pepper Potts character was really important to giving some humanity to Tony Stark, and to giving him a straight-man to play off of. None of the silly fantasy characters on the avengers team have that same spark with Tony, so the attempted playfulness (which there isn't enough of anyways) feels flat in comparison. Nick Fury was the character who set up the Avengers, and has been in all the movies previous, so it feels strange that he's absent for no apparent reason when something that threatens the fabric of the team's existence is going on, and even weirder that nobody bothers to mention his absence. (Also, where the hell are Hulk and Thor at? Their absence also leaves a hole in the movie.)

So, other than those mechanical problems, there are some moral problems as well. So, there's an argument at the core of the movie of oversight vs. no oversight for superheros. Iron Man is for oversight, Captain America is against it. So I live in the real world where we want oversight for government (let's use Flint Michigan for example), police (think of the recent documentation of brutality), et cetera, so when a movie is pretending to add some seriousness to it, and wants us to take the argument serious, I have to side with the guy who makes sense, Iron Man. The movie sides with Captain America. Now, that would be fine (I mean, the argument to have people running around doing whatever they want as vigilantes is silly if the vigilante's are trying to be poster children for America, like what Captain America does. Batman is different because his character's struggle is that he'll do anything to get the results he wants, look at The Dark Knight and how he takes down Joker) if the movie then didn't make Captain America a hypocrite. So Captain America argues they have the best judgement for deciding when they should go intervene (he says this after a montage of video plays on a monitor of the cities they've destroyed in the last 13 movies), and then later rescues his buddy Bucky, a known murderer, from a police raid on his apartment, and in doing so Captain America breaks the ribs of several cops, and throws them over stair rails. Yeah, this guy seems to certainly have "the best judgment" and I'm glad a movie targeted at children sends the message by the end credits that he's the one they should look up to. The guy who attacks police rather than have his friend face a court of law for crimes committed.

So, overall the film is better than Ant-Man, Thor 2, Avengers 2 and Captain America 2, but that's about it. I can't really recommend it unless you're just dying to see Spider-Man on screen for 20 minutes.

Switching Gears by Kenneth Buff

It's been awhile since I've discussed my novel plans. I think the last estimated release date for Phidelphius (the second book in the Sunborn triology) was in early 2016, so that would be now. But until recently I was going to settle for a summer release (the data shows this is the worst time to release a new book...and my own data shows this as well) and the reason I was going to wait was because it was looking like it was going to take my writing group at least a couple more months to finish editing the first draft, then I'd have to write the second draft, then have it be edited again and then approve the edits. So that would put me releasing it sometime this summer. But I decided that I can't wait that long to complete this story. I need to finish it. So I'm going through, carving out my second draft, polishing the writing and strengthening the story and the character motivations (I think you guys are going to like where Daniels ends up in this one). Spoke with my writing group, and they're all for finishing up the manuscripts faster. Quinn's actually already finished his edit on the first draft of Phidelphius and will be sending it to me soon, I'll go back over my second draft with his notes, and the notes of the other group members (author Sasha Abernathy being one).

I've been on a long path here, learning as I've been going along. My first four releases I invested a lot of money into professional services, some of those investments were worth the expense, others were not. The editing for my first novel was below par, and was not cheap. I've had it re-edited since, and the response from readers has been noticeable in the reviews. It's because of these experiences that I've been trying to minimize my expenses, adjusting them to the sales I project to make (though, these projections are based off past sales, and it's impossible to predict how readers will react to a given title).

It feels good to be getting closer to my next release. I have several other finished drafts, and a couple of beginnings for others, but Phidelphius has always been the title I wanted to release next. It's a sequel that I think my readers will really love. I've always said there's no point in a sequel if it has nowhere to go, if it doesn't have its own story to tell. And Phidelphius is its own story. I can't wait for you guys to read it.

Returning Home by Kenneth Buff

So I haven't really talked much about this. I updated my author bio, but I never made a post talking about my move. It was a pretty big deal. My wife and I were working, making the most we've ever made at a jobs that we loved, living in a town we'd lived in for ten years. We had lots of friends, and we felt like we were an important part of the community. In retrospect it seems odd that we moved, but my wife and I were inflicted with something I like to call "the grass is always greener syndrome." We had this idea of what our lives should be like, and it was always something different than what it was, even though what we had was pretty great.

I think the reason I haven't talked about it was because it was pretty hard. Even in the beginning it was hard, but as time went on it only got tougher. Being away from everything and everyone I know. Don't get me wrong, Colorado is beautiful. It's very dry, but it's beautiful (never thought I'd say this, but I miss humidity...itchy dry skin is not for me). It's also incredibly expensive, and can be pretentious at times. But more than anything it doesn't feel like home. It's not an unwelcoming place, but at the same time it's not welcoming either. Where when I first moved to Oklahoma 10 years ago I felt very much welcomed. The southern hospitality thing, it's real, and I think I'm now old enough to admit I'm partial to it. Growing up in Kansas, I've always considered myself a northerner (hey, we fought for the Union), but I don't know if I can truly call myself a Kansan any longer. Few of my coworkers here would be able to tell you that I'm from Kansas originally, but most could tell you I'm from Oklahoma. I guess that makes me an honorary Okie, and at this point I feel I've earned it. Sure, there are things I'm not proud of about Oklahoma. Our education system (like many states who align themselves culturally with the South) needs a face lift, but I am proud to say I taught in one of the best districts in the state and am very proud of the work we do in Stillwater. We also have a dark past with race relations with Native Americans and black Americans (The Trail of Tears, The Tulsa Race Riots), much like our nation as a whole has. But home is home. It's made by the people who live in it, and the relationships formed there.

That's why my wife and I have decided that when her master's program is complete, we're returning home. We can see now what we've left behind, and where we truly want to take our future. Can't wait to be home.

 

Why Trump Is Winning by Kenneth Buff

"New York. My City."--Donald Trump.

Trump is winning. That's undeniable at this point. The debate for most people (especially the Republican party) has become, "Why?" Poor Jeb couldn't figured it out, and always seemed bitter about that on the stage. The initial response (after ignoring him didn't work) by most of the candidates was to emulate Trump, to out "Trump" him. This is where Cruz' "targeting carpet bombing" came from, and his "I don't know if sand can glow in the dark, but we're going to find out" stances came from. Rubio backed Trump's "there's going be a wall" stance by saying "First, we must secure our border, the physical border, with a wall, absolutely." 

Since then the candidates have switched to taking a condemning approach, simply saying he's not qualified, but of course they'll support him if he's the nominee. There's been talk by the Republican party elites of a brokered convention, where the party elites would pick the nominee, but that's unlikely. In all likelihood, Trump is going to be the Republican nominee. There's quite a few reasons why he's popular (he plays to bigoted fantasies in a way that no Republican candidate has done before: racism, xenophobia, etc.), and I don't think the Republicans are confused by why those things are working, they know those tactics work because they use them themselves, just not to the extremity that Trump is using them. What they're confused about is why none of their attacks are working. No matter what they say about him, whether it's about Trump University, or the size of his hands (the candidates never go into detail about Donald's racism because they've been guilty of the same crimes, only to a lesser degree) none of it sticks. And I think I know the reason why. It's his "toughness."

That's a huge part of the Trump brand. The take-no-shit attitude that the base he's pandering to love. But it's not simply that he acts tough, it's that he never, ever, let's himself appear weak. On Thursday night's debate it was obvious that both the Fox News moderators, and the other candidates (especially Rubio and Cruz) were going on the offense on Trump. The goal was to weaken Trump, but looking weak goes against the Trump brand. That's why that with every attack someone throws at him, he has an answer, whether it's true or not doesn't matter in a televised political debate, not as far as "winning" is concerned. And if he didn't have a response right away, he'd throw out an insult or an attack of his own. He even goes as far as to deflect attacks about him that happened outside of the debate, as when he assured the American people that his hands are in fact quite large despite Rubio's claim otherwise, and that they needn't worry about the size of his penis, it is in fact huge, and probably terrific. Now, as ridiculous as Trump may seem to someone who cares about facts (and if we're going there, the other Republican candidates only fair slightly better), when you just look at his body language, and his confidence, he appears quite strong. Cruz came off whiny at Thursday's debate, if you were just looking at his tone and the phrases he started his responses with (often with a complaint about Trump, not an attack). Trump also sounded more hopeful this debate, when he wasn't fending off attacks he was talking about being someone who "brings people together," which is probably foreshadowing to the type of candidacy he'll be pivoting to as the general gets closer.

The inspiration for this realization came from an NPR story, where they played a clip of the Apprentice. Trump's about to fire someone, he says, "I didn't like what she was doing, and it was repulsive to me, but worse was the way you took it. I have no choice, and I have to say, that you're fired." This perfectly sums up the Trump brand, and once you know what the corner stone of it is, you can see it everywhere in his candidacy, and you can see that it's working, and at this point, there's probably nothing that can stop it from winning him the nomination.

 

The First Edit of Dick And Henry by Kenneth Buff

It's done. The first step, or I guess second step (had to write it before I could edit it) toward Dick and Henry the novel (still working on that title). I've finished typing up my hand written edits, and I think I'm ready for a nap. Which means I'm going to drink some tea and edit my writing group's pages (hey, it's only 7 pm).

It feels good staying busy. It leaves me with little time to worry and keeps me moving in the direction I want to be going, which is forward. I'm already working over in my head how I'll improve Phidelphius, the sequel to Sunborn. There are some issues with Daniels' motives for entering into a new adventure that my writing buddies have brought up, and I think they're right. And boy, do I have a good motive that I'm excited to thread through the whole novel. It's going to add a lot of depth to the book, while also answering some of those longing questions some readers have had. Well, if that's piqued you're interest, you should join my mailing list. When the book is completely finished I'll send out an email asking for interested reviewers. You'll get a free copy in exchange for an honest review on Amazon and Goodreads.

Well, that's all for now. See you next post.

I'm A Mentor by Kenneth Buff

I've been assigned a mentee through my work. An 8th grader who wants to be a writer. I sent my first email to her today. It was pretty fun. Gave a little background info on who I am, explained my writing habits and my ten year writing plan. As part of the formats required by the program, I had to mention a problem I think that the younger generation will have to address in the field. I said that half the market still only shops in Barnes and Noble. Which really isn't a problem that should be addressed, in my opinion. In time B&B will simply go the way of Borders, along with crumby traditional publishing deals, agents, and the big five publishing companies. I guess a more accurate problem would be trying to set yourself apart in a crowded market place, but even that, to me, is not a problem. If your work is good, then it's good, if people haven't found it yet, just keep writing. Get a day job that you enjoy and write until your hands fall off. If your goal is to get rich quick, then you should find a different career. If you enjoy writing, and the idea of making a little extra money on the side is intriguing to you, then you're living in the perfect time in history, because that is now easy to do. There's also the small chance that you'll have a break out hit somewhere in there (an incredibly small chance), and there's a guarantee that if you keep up with it for a decade, releasing at least two books a year, that you will gain a real supplemental income from your writing, and probably be able to retire from your day job if you're able to live frugally. 

So, basically I want to tell this kid there aren't any real problems with writing, not if you love working hard, but I haven't gotten there yet. Also haven't mentioned yet that you'll need a second job, or that college isn't even required for this gig, just a few good craft books and a writing group, but the whole point of this mentor thing is to push the kid into college, so I'll try not to bring that up if asked. I will however point her into real things that help. A few blog posts by the man, Hugh Howey, and a couple craft books that really set me straight on the craft that is required for good writing.

The Art Of Staring At Numbers by Kenneth Buff

I love to read things that inspire me. Blog posts, craft books, a good novel. They help keep me going when I'm wondering what the hell I'm doing with so many first draft unpublished novels (just finished my third). Lately I've been reading over some of Hugh Howey's old blog posts (I've been reading his blog for a little over a year, every since I first started self-publishing), ran out of new ones so I've been digging into his archived posts. It's good stuff. The funnest ones for me to read (other than his awesome posts over publishing—of which there are many—or life in general, you should really read his post False Summits if you aren't familiar with Howey) have been his posts he made before he made it big, back when he was just a regular old joe with no idea that his little short story WOOL was going to explode into a self-publishing phenomenon. The funnest posts to read during this time period are the ones he writes while WOOL is taking off. He talks about yelling at his wife from the other room about his sales ranking going up by X number. She screams back, "what was it before?" His response is, "I can't remember." Which then leads to a discussion that he needs to write down the rankings if he's going to obsess over them.This is fun for me to read, because it sound so much like what I did (and sometimes still do) my first year of publishing. "Honey, I sold another book today," was said (and texted) a lot during my first year. And I too was an addict (and sometimes, still am) to the refresh button at the top of my browser, as I stared at the ranking numbers of my titles, or the red jagged line that was hopefully going up, and not crashing down. This is something that I'm convinced all self-published authors go through at some point, and it's just nice to see that it happened to the guy who's often considered the first major success in indy publishing (and by major, we're talking Stephen Kind numbers here. Or as Bernie Sanders would say, "Yuuuge!" numbers).

The Fifth One by Kenneth Buff

Well, it's done. Well, the first draft anyway. My fifth novel, Dick and Henry The Novel (official title still pending) has just had it's first draft completed. You'd think I'd be running laps around my living room, and maybe I should. The current draft clocks in at 57,800 words, which is 7,800 more than I planned for, which is good. It's nice to have extra fat to trim off when editing time comes. But who knows, the final book might be 60,000 words. I might go through and see holes that need plugged, or character development or plot development that needs to happen, and I'll squeeze it in, and then sand it down until it fits in like it were a natural part of the table, like it just grew that way all by itself.

But back to why I might be less excited than I should be. I don't know, maybe it's that I know I still have so much more work to put into it. Or maybe it's that this is my fifth book, but I only have two in print (I'm not counting Skeletons or Dick and Henry: The Space Saga—both are short story collections). It could be that I'm just really busy right now, or that I feel like I am. I'm reading and editing the three books by the other authors in my writing group (Quinn Baldwin and Sasha Abernathy both have books up on Amazon, you should go check them out, it's good stuff), working (of course, right?), writing at night, and then (and I think this one is the one that is actually making me feel the most pressure) I'm planning out the changes I'm going to make in my next drafts of both the first draft I just finished of Dick and Henry The Novel, and Phidelphius (the sequel to Sunborn). Phidelphius will be what I tackle next, after I go through and do a clean up of Dick and Henry. I'm getting comments now of things the group has suggested I work on for Phidelphius. I'll look at those, take my own opinions into account, and make the changes that are necessary to improve the book.

I think that's sort of the draining aspect for me, is not being able to share the work right away. Now, I have no desire to publish a book as soon as I've finished typing "The End" (just so you know, I don't actually type "The End," not much point, I'll just end up deleting it later), that would lead to nothing but embarrassment. That would be like filming a movie, and then taking the video without editing it and putting it in a theater. That's going to get you a 30% on Rotten Tomatoes. Those are the movies no one wants to see. When it's a book, their the ones that no one reads. Those aren't the books I want to write. Just wish I could get through the process faster, simply because I'm impatient, not because I detest the process of editing, I actually really enjoy it. Perhaps I should look at it as more of an opportunity to exercise my love of editing, but that phrasing just makes me feel like a manager giving an evaluation.

But anyway, yeah, I finished the first draft of my fifth book, and I think it's going to be pretty good. It's fast paced, fun like the short stories it came from, but has more depth than it's predecessors (or so I hope). 


Editing: Respecting The Process by Kenneth Buff

It’s taken time for me to accept that once I’ve finished writing a book that it’s not fully complete. I’ve of course always recognized editing as important, no one likes a book with typos, but there’s more to polishing a story than just catching miss-spelled words, and that’s what’s taking me a year to become fully comfortable with and even finally enjoy, that thing I’m talking about my friends is revisions. It’s what makes a story really become a story worth reading.  I’ve seen it in my own works and in my friends'. I think it’s just almost impossible to really nail the story you’re trying to tell in the first draft, and even if you do get that story out you were trying to tell, you can still add layers to it with a revision that would elevate your work that much more.

It’s taken me time to realize this. To see that it’s not an insult to my abilities or to my work to run through it again, chopping out the sentences that don’t add to the development of the story or characters, and adding ones that do. I’ve found that once I get going with the process it’s actually quite liberating, because I know that the story is improving. I can feel it in the tone of the book as it just starts to come together and make sense thematically. Every book is different for me, each one needs a different kind of 2nd draft love, but now I know that I need to give it that love, and I do so without any qualms, because I know my work deserves it, and that my readers will appreciate a quality read when it finally becomes available in the Kindle store a year after it’s inception.

Those are the reasons I’m currently sitting on two finished first-draft novels and I’m halfway through my fifth. The process of editing for me is now a long one, but it is a quality one. I’ve found a great group of writers who I trade pages with, we give comments on plot, characters, theme, the whole shebang. It’s because of this group that Sunborn became the novel that it is, a story of a tortured hero who wants to save lives in a world that no longer values life. My group is great, but it’s slow moving since most of us are teachers, so our time is limited. Page swapping happens every two weeks and it takes a lot of swapping before a book is done. But once it is, I revise the book based off of their suggestions and my own thoughts I’ve had after discussing my book with the group, and then after that I send it to my editor, and then from there I take his comments and suggestions and create the final draft.

It’s a process that now makes so much sense to me, and I wouldn’t want to do it any other way, but it’s a process I’ve had to come by from trial and error. I tried the route that some indie authors have suggested, writing fast and hiring an editor who will quickly look it over and get back to you within a week or two. Readers told me how they felt about that type of editing with Bad Dreams (they loved the story, but did not appreciate the poor edit). I had that book re-edited by my current editor, and the final product is now something I’m very proud of having created. But knowing how much better my work is by going through this process, it helps calm me when I stare at my KDP dashboard panicking that I don’t have the Dick and Henry sequel out yet, or the Sunborn sequel (which is written, but has not been revised or had it’s final edit yet), it calms me because I know these books will be so much better because I’m taking the time to really polish them, to make them the best stories they can be by putting in the time to sand off the rough edges and adding another coating of polyurethane. Only in this situation the rough edges are poor words, and the polyurethane are good ones. I swear I’m better at writing fiction than I am self-reflections.

The Force Awakens: Star Wars Episode VII--Review by Kenneth Buff

Thirty-two years after the last Star Wars film, Return of The Jedi, and Lucasfilm has finally given us a sequel. Most of the original cast is back (Billy D. William's Lando is not present, but everyone else is), along with composer John Williams and screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan. But the big question is: is it worth seeing? If you like adventure films, then yes. If you're expecting one of the greatest cinematic experiences of all time, maybe not.

I think it's safe to say that The Force Awakens had a lot of weight on its shoulders. It had to bridge the gap between the old films, paving way for the new trilogy, and do it in a satisfying way while also completely ignoring the prequels. I think in those regards the film is a success. Above all else, this feels like what a Return of The Jedi sequel should feel like. The actors are on sets, the creatures on screen actually exist (they're almost always human actors in prosthetics or they're puppets rather than CGI), lightsabers are hard to come by, and they're is a very clear villain (even if he's somewhat under whelming). It also helps that Harrison Ford is back on screen, giving one of his best performances in recent memory (he's pretty great in Age of Adeline, but it's hard to forget The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull), and Carrie Fisher, C3-P0, and R2-D2 all make appearances, and the best part of their appearances is that they're not milked, they're there to say hello, add something to the forward movement of the plot, and then the new characters (along with Han Solo) continue on with their adventure. It's done well, and mostly feels natural.

Now, onto the nitpicks. The film, while being a pretty decent adventure film and a not bad-at-all Star Wars sequel, is not without its flaws. The first thing that has to be mentioned is the never ending coincidences. The new main character, Rey, just happens to live on the planet the Millennium Falcon has been sitting in a junkyard for ages, she starts it up, flies it into space, and a few minutes later Han Solo and Chewbacca capture the ship, which they have of course been searching for for years. This happens over and over again. Laya shows up out of nowhere when the story needs a new direction to go. R2-D2, who sits dormant for most of the film that he appears in, comes back to life at the end of the film to reveal the location of Luke Skywalker. And the coincidences aren't the only problems with the film. There's also some issues with the hero being over powered and the villain being a huge let down when compared to Darth Vader (or any other villain). There are several scenes in the third acts where Rey and Kylo Ren (what's up with the heroes having one syllable names? Fin, Rey, Poe, Ben? Come on!) go head-to-head, and Rey over powers him, completely negating any reasons there may have been to have a sequel. Because now we know she’s more powerful than the main villain, so what’s the point of having her train with Luke Skywalker? There’s no reason, other than to have the audience relive the training scenes of The Empire Strikes Back. That’s another problem The Force Awakens has: mistaking audience’s desire for a sequel as a call for a remake of Star Wars (A New Hope). The Death Star plot is completely rehashed for this film, along with the Vader Emperor storyline, the Luke and Han relationship (with Fin and Poe), the R2-D2 Luke relationship (with Rey and BB-8) and various others.

Despite these noticeable flaws, the film’s dedication to practical effects and location shooting, along with Harrison Ford’s spot on performance as Han Solo, keep this film from being just another cash-cow remake, and turn it into a genuinely entertaining film.   

Dick and Henry: Themes by Kenneth Buff

Themes are important to me when I'm writing a story. They're basically the heart of whatever it is your writing. When I write a story I usually have an idea of what the theme is going to be when I go into it, but sometimes that evolves. When I was writing Bad Dreams I knew the theme was going to be redemption, and as I wrote it different subplots kept popping up that highlighted this theme in different ways that I hadn't planned on. When I wrote Sunborn I knew the main theme was going to be loneliness, but other themes popped up as I wrote it (greed, self-destruction, etc.). Now that I'm writing Dick and Henry I'm trying to thicken up the story-telling a bit by making sure my themes are present, and that I'm not just creating a longer short story. This is really one of the most challenging novels I've written because the characters are already established, so now my job is to expand on those characters while staying true to their personalities, while also providing an intriguing story with lots of twists and turns that are true to the sci-fi and mystery genres, as well as making sure I have a unique and interesting antagonist.

That being said, I'm really enjoying writing this. It definitely is challenging, but in more of a fun way than a frustrating one. The fun is in taking already established character traits and expanding them, and sometimes turning them on their head. I think this is going to be one of people's favorite stories that I've written, or at least I hope so, only time will tell.

Well, back to themes. There's definitely more than one in Dick and Henry, some are more important than others, but like Bad Dreams and Sunborn, I want one theme to stand above the others as the clear takeaway of the book. I want readers to feel like the story has something to say about the human condition, and that it says it well. I guess for that to happen I need to get back to work. See you guys later.

Ash vs Evil Dead by Kenneth Buff

I'm not a huge TV person. It's really the structure of how TV shows work that gets me. The fact that the story never truly concludes, and as soon as any given story arc is completed another one pops up in its place, detracting from any significance the first arc we were following may have had. That being said, I do occasionally get drawn into a show with an interesting premise or set of characters. Breaking Brad was one of the few new TV series that I completed in its entirety (it was a relatively short series, 5 seasons, and the growth of the character and series was obviously building toward a true ending, not being dragged out until the ratings finally tanked), Mad Men also had me for awhile, along with Walking Dead until I couldn't take any more of the contrived drama and lack of real tension. Well, it's happened again, a show's come out with a premise that's persuaded me to take a chance on it, and that show is Ash vs Evil Dead. Well, you're probably wondering if it's worth watching or not, and honestly, I think it's mostly not, not if it continues with the rut of poor quality episodes we've had for the last three episodes.

Now let me start by saying that I’m a big fan of the Evil Dead series, and that the thought of watching Bruce Campbell reprise his role of Ash, a man who runs around with a chainsaw-limb and a sawed-off shotgun dismembering his possessed friends and family and buries them out in the desolate woods—well, it’s a lot more fun to watch than it sounds. And that’s largely due to the over the top one liners delivered without missing a beat by the series star, Bruce Campbell. The buckets of blood and shit-just-keeps-getting-worse plot of the movies also added to their charm, but it was Campbell’s embracement of the bumbling chainsaw wielding smartass that made the movies worth it. Now, lucky for viewers, Ash vs. Evil Dead has brought Campbell back to the title role where he’s chopping up demons and blowing their limbs off, or at least he is in the first two episodes. After that the show falls into a strange going-no-where pattern, where it feels like the episodes are just trying to kill time until the series can (hopefully) pick back up with some sort of awesome battle, where Ash does what he’s supposed to do, chop up zombies and say cool one-liners. Instead he’s been put into situations that feel unnatural and given lines that come off hollow.

I think part of the problem is that the show is written by at least five different people. I’m not sure how usual or unusual this is for a television show, but the tonal shift from episode two to three is pretty big, and from there it just gets worse, each episode drifting further and further away from the promise of the Evil Dead premise, which is seeing Ash say cool shit and slicing up zombies. Instead we’re given poorly generated CGI demon exorcisms (Since when does Ash take part in exorcisms? This is a dude who chopped up his sister, all of his best friends, and his own hand when they were possessed), speeches that don’t make any sense or carry any weight, acid trips, and really sad attempts at character development in characters that we don’t really care about.

Another problem I think is simply the format. The show was given a contract for 10 episodes, and instead of writing 10 bloody-ass-kicking episodes (I’ve seen 1 and a half of these types of episodes so far, episode 2 being the only one that was balls to the wall good, and episode 1 being a good start) we’ve been given a mish-mash vision of what the Evil Dead world should be. If this were a movie, this three episode lull we’ve been in would last 10 minutes, tops, and we’d be getting some character development, or at least some buildup of tension for the next baddie that would pop up next, instead we get cringe worthy dialogue, that’s neither scary, sexy, or anything else. It’s really just embarrassing, which is especially sad when every fan of the series has waited so long for Campbell to step back into the role.

Now, all that being said, episode two had me believing that this series knew what it was doing, fully embracing the over the top violence and self-obsessed humor of the original films, while also doing something new—that dinner scene with the parents, talk about tension. Where has that been these last three weeks?—and I’m hoping the series takes a turn back that direction. Until then, I can’t really recommend anyone else taking the plunge on the show, unless you’re a die hard Evil Dead fan, and even then, prepare for disappointment around episode 4–5. I hope the series can revive itself mid season, other wise there really won’t be any point checking back with it for the already green lit season two.