Bad Ideas Everywhere!

You there, writer! Yes, you! Worried your idea is terrible? That it will never catch up? That it's worthless and dumb just like you? Well, let's face it. Your idea is stupid. Just like these:

• An abused boy goes to a wizarding school and learns there's more to him than meets the eye

• A group of teenagers are thrown in an arena to fight to death

• A group of teenagers are thrown in an island to fight to death

• A boy reads a book and delves into a fantasy world: The Neverending Story

• A small and weak young man has to leave his village to save the world

• Kids find a magical realm from their closet

• A talented girl fights her abusers

• A group of people stuck in an island of dinosaurs

• A group of washed-up superheroes get back together

• A man gets away before his world is destroyed

And these worthless ideas are only from the last fifty or so years. Before that there are five Thousand years worth of dumb ideas.

The point is: If you have an idea, it's probably dumb, like all of them. Write it down anyway!

-Alex

Why I'm not a writer

I started writing rather late, at the age of sixteen. That's about twenty years ago. That's when I wrote my first film script. It was a dumb about couple of dummies who sell their souls and then try to get them back. It never got shot, thank God!

But it left me hungry for something bigger: The lust for storytelling. At first I thought it was passion for filmmaking, so I came up with a movie called The Knight-Guardian.

But it wasn’t filmmaking per se. Filmmaking is just a good way to tell a story. And that was the key: storytelling.

It's been In my veins as long as I know, probably since my first breath. I don't care if it's movie, novel of videogame. Good story is where you find it. The best story is whatever works best In its own media.

The only limit is where you want to focus on. To me it's writing. Hope you know yours.

Thanks and bye!

-Alex

Alan Janney - What the story demands

Hope my last weeks delve into Outlaw series by Alan Janney gave at least someone a chance to check out these awesome books.

As much as the series inspires me, there's as inspiring person behind the series. Alan Janney is not only a teacher by trade. He’s also one by soul, teaching us to keep striving for our stories.

The Outlaw and Carmine series's are not his only books. He’s also the man behind kids book series Phantom of New York and among many others, the detective series Mackenzie August, by the pen name of Alan Lee.

If anything, the Man is incredibly productive. So time to give his words a go. Enjoy!

When did you first decide to become a writer/storyteller?

I wanted to be a writer ever since I picked up Lord of the Rings out of boredom in 9th grade, sitting in detention. I’ve been an avid reader since. I taught high school English for eight years and I wrote three books during that time. When I published them, they took off.

The first hint of ”Infected” came in the second book. The first one had a subtle built-up towards it with Chase's shoes splitting in half and clothes tearing, as he puts on the Outlaw's mask. Did you know in the beginning, that he and few others have an infection or were you open to other options?

There’s a really great story about Thomas Harris writing Red Dragon, the first Hannibal Lecter book. Hannibal goes on to become one of literature’s greatest villains, but Harris didn’t know that. He was writing the first Hannibal scene around midnight in his ‘writing shed’ in a field, and Hannibal smells what kind of cologne Will Graham is wearing from across and the room, and Thomas Harris didn’t know he could do that.

Hannibal scared him so much that Harris left the room and went for a walk and was afraid to come back. That happened a little bit with Chase and Tank—I didn’t know Chase was sick. And then I didn’t know Tank was. I didn’t even know why he wore white gloves! But I quickly realized, wow, they have this thing that will enhance their bodies so much it’ll kill them soon if they aren’t careful. 

I wanted to write a story about a kid who solves mysteries. Chase Jackson was supposed to be a broke kid at a rich school who played quarterback, but he would solve crime to make money (you can see this a little in book one). However, when I started writing the story, he threw the football out of the stadium and he started getting sick with this disease. Very quickly the book became about something else, because Chase demanded it.

How long did it take to brew from idea to complete first book?

I began writing the Outlaw in September of 2013 and I finished it that December. That is FAST, but I was obsessed with it. I started writing Infected with the hopes of publishing them, but I had a chance encounter with Hugh Howey who told me I should try publishing them myself. So I did, in 2015, and Amazon loved them. Although I’ve written nearly twenty-five books now, the ending to Sanctuary is still one of my all-time favorites. 

The Outlaw series progresses pretty naturally from a small and cute superhero story to almost Mad Max styled post-apocalypse dystopia. Was this planned or did the ideas come up as you wrote?

I knew the Outlaw series was going to be longer than four books and I knew that Katie would play a larger and large role, and I knew the series would end with them on a boat, sailing away into the horizon. But the story really took off into the ‘Mad Max’ style world, and I didn’t plan that. 

The story begins in 2017. All the fantasy elements aside, it's terrifyingly current with racial riots and talks about civil war (that actually happens in the book series). How much did current events inspire the series?

Current events didn’t have much to do with the story. Donald Trump made a big deal out of building a wall in 2016…but I had already written a wall into my story by then. So don’t read too much politics into it. 

Is the Outlaw-verse getting sequels/spin-offs?

As far as my future goes, I’m writing adult books now. Mysteries and thrillers under the name Alan Lee. I would LOVE to write more about the son of Chase and Katie. In fact I already have book one written in my mind. I already have a book written in my mind about another Infected kid living during the fallout of the Chemist. I want to write them…but I doubt I’ll ever have the time. I HOPE so. We’ll see. 

What can Outlawyers expect from your newest series, Phantom of New York?

The Phantom of New York is a fun story for readers who aren’t old enough to read Outlaw yet. It’s three books long. I’d love to continue but I need a publisher for it. 

What advice would you give to aspiring storytellers?

Here’s my advice to aspiring storytellers - read and write a lot. Your first 500k words won’t be very good, but you HAVE to write them anyway. You have to write and then realize it’s bad and write again, and then read yourself to sleep, and then write some more. And tinker and fix it and read more and write, and do that for months or years.

Jot down your ideas. Write down surprise endings and new words. Write down what your favorite things about your favorite books are. And then copy your favorite books but tinker with it, and then do it all again.

Stephen King says you need to write a million words (or about ten-fifteen books) before you’re good enough for people to finish your work. But I don’t think it’s a million, it’s more like 500,000 words. But that’s a LOT so get started!

In conclusion

It IS a lot. But just like eating the elephant, the best way is to do it one bite at a time, exactly what Alan has proven. Alan is definitely one storyteller I'm glad I found.

After some 25 books (and counting!) He definitely knows what he's talking about. But don't take my word for it. Check on it yourself!

Be sure to get the Outlaw and Carmine saga's here. Mackenzie August detective series you can better find with his Pen name Alan Lee.

And don't forget the most important thing, when reading: Enjoy! If you do, please share this interview In your social media.

If Alan's works are familiar to you, be sure to comment below: What was your favorite and what do you enjoy in his works?

Thanks for reading!

-Alex

Outlaw - From L.A to Apocalypse

I was supposed to publish the interview of author Alan Janney today. I know I've already covered his superhero novel, The Outlaw, but that was only after I read the first book.

And honestly, this series has so much more than meets the eye, that I could have an entire blog around it. That's why I think it's smartest to open up something more about these stories, before bringing the man behind the keyboard out...

Notice, that this contains mild spoilers on both The Outlaw and Carmine saga's. So, if they're on your reading list and you want to be surprised by the end (which you will be!), then please stop reading now!

That said, you read right: It has two saga's. The Outlaw, which focuses on our favorite fictional quarterback, Chase Jackson. Carmine is all about his girlfriend Katie Lopez.

This book series is one of my favorite YA series's. It's right up there with Hunger Games and Harry Potter. Though not for the same reasons. Hunger Games and Harry Potter are Hero's Journey, told brilliantly In a way Millennial and Zoomer Kids enjoy them.

Outlaw is character-driven In the same way as these. It starts as a Hero's Journey. Chase has to grow from an amateur vigilante-detective to a celebrity-superhero In contemporary L.A (actually it's the dark not-too-distant future of 2017!).

It turns out, that the reason for his Inhuman reflexes and strength are, because he's In a group, that has been genetically modified, or infected, after birth. This group calls themselves The Infected.

The Infected have enhanced strength and reflexes. Many also have unique powers, like insanely magnetic charisma or ability to read and manipulate minds.

The Infected are lead by two masterminds: Carter and a man known as The Chemist. He’s a Voldemorty villain, with an obsession to Outlaw. Carter is not much better, except his followers don't worship him, like those of The Chemist.

These men hate each others guts and the plot centers around their conflict. Outlaw and his friends, both normal and Infected, fall between these two maniacs. Instead of having to pick a side, they have to do something more basic: survive. And then help others survive as well.

This becomes difficult, as the whole US government is drawn In the conflict, which soon becomes an all-out civil war between normal humans and the Infected. US is torn. Sound familiar?

It's hard to believe, that Alan Janney started this series In 2013 and finished it in 2018. It's so mirror-image of the chaos we're seeing by just tuning on any media. Outlaw starts with racial riots of unsatisfied Spanish communities and then progresses into a point, where The whole Western civilization is torn apart. It's really hard to say, whether to laugh or cry.

This plot could easily become disoriented mess, like Disney Star Wars, but thanks to Alan Janney's passionate urge to drive the story forward and likable characters, it stays enjoyable.

Though I have to admit, that I've only reached to the third act of Carmine. There's still three books to go. Carmine is the second saga of the series, that's post-apocalypse.

Just this progress makes it super interesting. It progresses like Mad Max movies, where The world crumbles more and more between each movie. Imagine if Mad Max had started from Max Rockatansky's time in police academy and then worked its way to end of the world. Hard to imagine, I know. Even harder to imagine, that it just works, like with Outlaw.

Granted, it does over-stay its welcome at times, but then it picks up the pace again and keeps us readers at the edges of our seats.

Outlaw is amazingly energetic and enjoyable series and a welcome addition to a tired superhero genre. Tired? Sure, but only In the mainstream media. There are lots of original superhero stories from passionate writers. Tom Reynolds's Meta and Alan Janney's Outlaw will be classics of this bunch. But there are others, if you know where to look. And there will be more.

How Did you like the Outlaw? What other superhero novels come to your mind? Please comment below. Also, don't forget to share this in your social media. Next week, I'll be interviewing the man behind the Outlaw, Alan Janney himself!

Till then, check out the Outlaw yourself from here! 

Thanks for reading!

-Alex

Monique De La Uz - The incredible power of Words

This is a classic article from my old blog, Author Alexander Greenwood.

I know this kind of seems to break my usual topic, mythology. But this is about one persons survival and growth In the modern world. The novel Eight Words is about danger in a modern society. A society that shouldn't have danger. And it's based on real experience my friend went through and was able to mold it into a brilliant thriller. That's what myths are made of. So, without further ado, my friend, Monique De La Uz.

Note: This article contains spoilers on the novel Eight Words. I highly recommend you to read it first!

Lately I've felt extremely lucky about the people I've met. Ever since I decided to be a professional writer and storyteller, I've found some incredible people in the same situation as me.

One of these is a Floridan author Monique De La Uz, who's just published her debut novel Eight Words. The novel is a drama-thriller based around a teacher Daniella Dean, who gets falsely accused for sexual conduct with her student. The novel is a masterpiece and hopefully, one day, it will be a classic. It's also very much in line with what has actually happened to Monique herself. As she says, the first seventy pages are one on one accurate to what actually happened.

Inspired by mental issues

De La Uz used to work as a teacher in a troubled neighborhood, just like her heroine Daniella. The protagonist is clearly based on Monique, but she's not the only character. During her time as a teacher she encountered several troubled students, some of whom even fell into a life of crime. The book introduces school shooter Jared, who has several traits of troubled youth she met. Monique reminds, that Jared's deed is a cry for help, though not necessary something he'd realize himself, as he is most likely a sociopath or a psychopath.

As it turns out, Eight Words is mostly about mental health issues. Something that's very current in today's America as well as Europe. Monique's state Florida is somewhat diverse and aware of these issues, but there's still work to be done. The characters project all the different stages of mental problems, with Jared being among the worst cases.

Daniella's thirteen year old brother John is bi-polar and has all variations of treatments from institutions to group therapy and medication. His family also suffers as they try to support him for the best they can. This is something Monique tried to include in Eight Words the best she could: The impact on family.

This and the other problems have given Daniella a situational depression, which might be the easiest of these problems. But it's still Something she has to fight to get out of. I won't spoil the story of Eight Words anymore, as you absolutely should read it. But seeing as Monique has clearly fought her way out of it and into success, it's safe to presume that Daniella can survive it too.

After survival

Currently Monique De La Uz lives a peaceful life with her family in Florida. It's been years since she worked as a teacher and had to deal with the false accusation, that started from nothing but eight words. When I asked, if she thought she would ever get back to teaching, the answer was clear "NO"

It might have taken eight words to try and ruin Monique's career as a teacher. But it's Eight Words that will give a strong start to her writing career. Nevertheless, it took years before she decided to write the book. But when she did, it took four and a half months to finish the draft.

After this it was time for beta-readers to have their say. And they certainly did. Monique had to learn to leave her ego at the door and just listen. Especially tough was one beta reader who had Monique rework almost entire book. But she was also right about 95% of what she said and thus gave Monique an opportunity to give us the best possible story.

Although the story of Eight Words is fictional, it's as true as the authoress herself. The characters too are also based on real people De La Uz has encountered during her journey. Some are directly inspired by an actual person, while others are a mix of different people.

What next?

Monique hints in both the book and our conversation, that this won't be the last we hear about these characters. She hinted about something revolving around John, Daniella's bi-polar little brother, who would arguably make a great protagonist in his own story. But right now, Monique is focusing on the marketing of the Eight Words. And well deserved rest. So, only time will tell what we'll get next.

Monique De La Uz is a living example of the eternal wisdom of storytelling: The story is absolutely the best, when it tells the truth. Monique has managed to tell that of both her life and those of her readers. And their numbers will grow in the future.

Thanks for reading!

Don't forget to get your copy of Eight Words. It won't fail you!

-Alex

Borne, Derek Borne - Ultimate Author

Attention! The following information is top secret and meant for your eyes only! If anyone else sees this post, the Mission will be aborted. Be prepared to destroy your devices and flee the country!

Now that I got your attention, it's time I share my knowledge on Ultimate Agent - A novel trilogy from Canadian author Derek Borne.

With the sweet aroma of the best Finnish pizza, I managed to lure him to reveal some highly confidential information on his series and life as a storyteller.

Before that, it's time I share my classified information on this saga. This message will self-destruct In five seconds, so read quickly.

You probably already guessed what genre Ultimate Agent deals In, if not from my spy clishe's, then from the title.

UA is not only an agent story. It's also a superhero story. Imagine Jason Bourne In the Marvel universe.

Epic, sure. But the very Core of the story is the friendship between the two main characters, Brett and Devon, the two agents In secret service called the Ultimate Agent. And the love triangel between them and the third agent, Jade Hathaway. As if that wasn’t enough, the headaches are offered by Russian terrorist Maximus Romanov. But what's the deal with his sister, Valeriya? You'll have to plug In to find out.

But now it's time to let the Man himself reveal few secrets. His name is Borne, Derek Borne.

When did you first decide to become a writer?

Ever since I was little, I loved writing my own silly little stories. I was about 14 when I got a bit more serious about writing. About 3 years ago, though, I decided to finally make the jump to publish through Amazon and get even more serious as a writer.

How long did the idea brew, before you decided to write it down?

It didn’t take much to brew, actually. I’m a pantser when it comes to writing, so things shaped up as I went along. I like being able to surprise myself with the ideas I come up with! 

How long did it take from idea to published book?

Well, I originally wrote it when I was 14, which is 17 years ago now. Because I'm a pantser, it took me between half a year to a year to write

The UA world seems like a combination of Marvel movies and Jason Bourne. Is there one bigger inspiration for the story?

Those are really the main two inspirations. Other than that, I wanted to tell a story about family, and how anybody who comes along in life can become a part of your extended family too.

These characters have been with me for a while, which is what has made it so hard to end the series.

How did it feel? 

I cried 

Some writers come up with the characters first, some with the story and some with the world. What was the first in the UA?

The first thing was the general idea. I was chatting with a friend and we said “Wouldn’t it be cool if there was a superhero who was a spy, or vice versa?” And that’s how the Ultimate Agent was born. I knew I wanted to set it in our world, but still give it enough of a Sci-Fi feel with the tech and abilities.

Would you wish to bring UA in any other form (Movies/TV-show, videogames, etc)? If Yes, what would be your favorite platform?

If UA ever made it to be a movie, that’s the “Ultimate” dream… see what I did there? Anyway, it’s a bit of a toss-up between a feature film or a tv show on a medium like Netflix or Amazon. A show allows you to get even deeper into the story, but either way would be AMAZING! And for video games? Why not? You could play it over and over again just like being able to read the book as much as you want.

Is there a real-world inspiration for Devon and Brett?

Devon and Brett are basically me and the brotherly friendships I have with most of my guy friends. The banter, the teasing, the inside jokes, that all comes from real life buddies of mine.

What about Jade and Valeriya?

Jade is based on a girl I liked when I was 14... but as time went on and the rewrite came, Jade is a lot more like my wife.

Valeriya is just more of the characteristics I love and respect about a lot of my women friends

What about the Romanov siblings? What was their inspiration? Any connection to the czar family?

I’m aware of the Czar family, as I did my research, but there’s no true connection there. When I was younger, I always thought the surname had a certain sinister sound to it and so I ran with it. I knew I wanted to have villains with a Russian background, and it just seemed to fit for Maximus Romanov. When I was younger, before Avengers came out, I originally had Valeriya’s name be Natalia, but then I realized how close it was, so I changed it to Valeriya. As for their dynamic, there’s so much I can’t say without getting into classified territory…

Any classified information you're willing to sell?

Depends on what intel you're looking for 😆 I accept pizza bribes 😜

UA3 just launched. What can we expect from it?

This is an emotionally-driven story with back-against-the-wall tension. This is a story that took a lot out of me to write, and I hope readers will be able to tell how much of my heart I truly poured into this one. When it comes down to it though, when you think you have everything figured out, expect the unexpected!

What can we expect from you next?

Next up, I’m finishing writing a dinosaur/time-rift novel that’s subtly connected to the UA-verse (thanks to a certain cryptid that pops up in the superhero series). It’s my passion project before I move on to other planned spin-offs from the UA-verse. There may or may not be more bigfoot stories to tell 😉

What is your ideal reader?

The ideal reader… I would say is someone who loves action, some sweet romance, loves to laugh, and is super into Sci-Fi. I’ve had 12-year-olds read my work and love it (because I write clean, no sex, swearing, etc.)

What advice would you give to aspiring storytellers?

Write what you know, and be genuine with your storytelling. Write with your heart, because readers can tell when you’re putting books out with a stale story with no heart.

Don’t write for the dollar signs. Write to change someone’s life.

"Write to change someone's life". Could it be said any better? That's not only the dream of every storyteller. It's the power of every story.

I hope you enjoyed this interview as much as I did. I also hope you got the same vision of Derek as I did: He's just like his text. Funny and likable.

Be sure to get the Ultimate trilogy and the anthology of short adventures, Helios Files while you still can. This post will self-destruct In five seconds.

5... 4... 3... 2... 1...

Oh...

Bummer! A dud! At least the book's aren't. Please comment, what did you think of them. Also, be sure to share this so any Ultimate Agent can get their share of information!

Thanks for reading!

-Alex

Hero's Journey - Episode III: The Return

Once the Hero has gone through his initiation, found his treasure or defeated the villain, he still has to return.

Just like Bilbo had a challenge of dragging the dragon Smaug's treasure back home. It wasn't a simple task and the worst challenges, such as The Battle of Five Armies, were still ahead.

The Return from Hero's Journey can be as tough for the audience as to the Hero. It's not a coincidence that third parts of movie trilogies are usually concidered the worst.

The story must come to a conclusion as the Hero must return from his Journey. Though the Hero is now a master of his trade, so are his opponents. He still must overcome them, to return triumphant.

So no rest for the wicked. It's time to Return

1: Refusal of the Return

Just like with call to Adventure, the Hero, who has now grown to his full potential, has a hard time getting out of his comfort zone.

The Dark Knight Rises showed us a broken man, who used to be Batman. Now he was neither Batman or Bruce Wayne. Though a new threat lurked Gotham City, he refused to return before Bane showed himself by attacking Wall Street (or whatever it's called In this version of Gotham).

2: The Magic Flight

As said, the Hero has now all his powers. But so does the Villain. The Hero has to flee or fight.

There are many literally example, like Frodo's Rescue from Mount Doom, as well as Bastian's flight on the back of Falkor. Both of these examples are In the next phase.

Harry Potter also got out of Gringotts, the most secure bank of The Wizarding World, on the back of the dragon that was guarding its vaults.

3: Rescue from Without

Once again, the Hero needs to outside help, when all the odds are against him.

Like Frodo, who after successfully destroyed The Ring In Mount Doom, needed to be saved by the Eagles.

The movie Neverending Story showed an interesting version of the Hero's Journey, where The actual Journey was taken by the warrior Atreyu, but the actual Hero was a boy reading his quest.

As Atreyu failed his Mission of stopping the Nothingness wiping his world from existing, it was this boy, Bastian, who had To save the world of Fantasia. This was literally Rescue from Without. 

4: The Crossing of the Return Treshold

As he had To begin his Journey by Crossing the first Treshold into unknown, the Hero now has to cross the final one into the old world, where he left from.

The challenge is to fit his wisdom and powers to the normal world.

It was fitting that Luke Skywalker returned to his home planet of Tatooine as a fully skilled Jedi Knight, to save his friend Han Solo, whose Hero's Journey now needed resquing from Without.

In Lord of The Rings book, Frodo and his Hobbits friends returned to The Shire very changed, only to see that the old Shire was changed beyond recognition by Saruman.

5: Master of the two worlds

As The Hero has finally overcome all his obstacles and has reached balance with his powers and the normal world.

Luke Skywalker is once more the best example, as he was fully powered Jedi Knight In the end, but also shared the world with his friends.

Katniss Everdeen had To live with her pain after surviving Hunger Games and killing president Coin, before she became a full tyrant.

Life of The Mocking Jay wasn’t easy, but neither was motherhood. All it took was survival. And that's what Katniss was master of. Balance of these two were what brought Katniss to the next, and final phase.

6: Freedom to Live

Now The Hero has reached balance and learned to live In the now. The Journey has reached its end

Just as Katniss had learned to live with her traumas and provide a better world to her children, Luke had To burn Darth Vader's armor to fully free his father Anakin Skywalker.

Sam Gamgee earned perfectly his freedom, after saying farewell to Frodo, who continued to the Gray Havens. Sam on the other hand returned home, living happily ever after with his family. There he edited Frodo's memoir of their Journey, called Lord of The Rings.

In Conclusion...

Now that this three-part Journey has come to an end, I really hope you've enjoyed reading it. There are countless more examples, as Hero's Journey has been around for thousands of years and will be around for thousands more.

Stories and Heroes either become legends or fade into oblivion, as times change, but their Journey remains the same. It's the perfect story. The stuff myths are made of.

If you enjoyed this, please share. Also, whatever examples you have In mind, Please comment below.

Thanks for reading!

-Alex