Inside the Mind - Ron Glick

I have honestly dreamed about being a writer for as long as I could remember. I was always an avid reader, and coming up with my own ideas for stories just seemed natural. But it was not until I was able to tap into Indie publishing that I was able to realize my dream.

The latest book I am presently writing will be my 13th novel, 31st book overall. Though this will technically be the fourth book in my Godslayer Cycle Series, Bracken is actually labled as the First Interelude of the Godslayer Cycle. Most everyone believes Nathaniel Goodsmith to have died, but his companions seek to prove otherwise. Only before they set out on the quest to learn the truth, Bracken, the stalwart dwarf of the group, gets a message from beyond the grave compelling him to return home to reveal the truth behind his sire's murder. So leaving the quests for the swords behind for a time, Bracken sets out to explore new, previously unrevealed locations in Na'Ril as he travels across the countryside in his effort to do right by his father.

There is a mixture - some characters are just inspired by need (story needs a traitor, so write a character who is destined to betray, that kind of thing), but others are just dynamic components that naturally evolve into the story. Once conceived though, the character creation moves into what I call "method writing", where I place myself as fully into the mind and heart of the character I have created in order to follow the path that the character would naturally have gone. Characters cannot be forced to go somewhere the writer wants - they have to reach the points they do because *they* arrive there on their own, and through their own motivations. And method writing lets me explore not only where a character goes, but why. And if ultimately, the character I have conceived will not do what I created him or her to do, then there is no forcing them to - just see where their own purposes guide them and see how it serves the story...

IRL, I have so many other obligations that sometimes it is impossible to write. Between maintaining a property trust, working on various comic book initiatives (including my revently launched Comic Book Cultural Heritage Archive), plus my own personal interests, it becomes impossible to work on completing entire books if I do not purposefully remove myself from that daily routine. So I try to dedicate a set time to writing, setting myself up in a coffee shop to get myself away from home and all the work I always have that needs doing there. In winter time, it is fairly easy to commit three dYS week to it, but summertime can go weeks between days where I can break away to write...

Honestly, being recognized for the work. When someone says, "I know that series" or "Aren't you that writer?", it gets really exciting - not because I have achieved some degree of fame, but simply that the idea that I have made a recognizable impact with my work.

The largest obstacle for being an Indie author is publicity and marketing. Hands-down. IRL, I live on a fixed income, so I don't bring in the resources needed to hire professionals, and there is only so much I can do on my own to publicize my work...

A thesaurus is a writer's best friend. As humans, we are creatures of habit - and that includes how we speak and write. We lock onto certain words and use them, over and over and over, without even realizing it. Until you start writing and see how redundant one word or phrase becomes when seen in written form. This is where a thesaurus comes in - able to find a comparable word so that the habit of speaking does not work against you with the reader.

I get asked all the time, what do I do to get started. And my answer is always the same: "If you want to write, just write. Don't worry about chapters, or how long it is - just get the idea on paper. Even if it is only a page or two, having the idea on paper is the first step." It may sound like the most obvious advice, but so long as a story is in your head, no one can help you develop it. No one can edit it, no one can tell you what you might need to work on. We all begin at something, and no one is an expert from day one. Never be afraid to seek guidance from those able to do so - particularly from readers of the kind of material you are working on. But to reach those kinds of people, you need to have something on paper to share first...

Mostly, I look for opportunities to speak about my books. I am always looking for ways to start conversations, always introducing myself as an author, feeling out others' interests and seeing whether I can give them a recommendation to read one of my books.

As mentioned, the next book I am working on is the fourth installment in the Godslayer Cycle. After that, I still have four other projects waiting for my time: the 14th volume of Ron El's Comic Book Trivia; the second volume of Monspiracy (the Great Montana Conspiracy Podcast Compendium); the first book in the sequel series to Chaos Rising, Order Falling; and the seventh book in my Oz-Wonderland Series, The Road to Ozmandia.