Greg Alldredge's Blog

For the longest time, I have been working on marketing my book. I’ve been writing as well but I must say my focus has been building relationships online to increase the public’s awareness of me as a writer.One of the ways I have been attempting to increase my status is by creating viable content for social media. That is much more time-consuming than you would think.I must say my media presence is larger than it was in May, though I am nowhere near where I need to be. Here are five suggestions for increasing the amount of viable content you create.One: Memes. These little darlings everyone loves them. I think everyone loves them, I love them. They take the idea that a picture is worth a thousand words and we ad words. To me memes are one frame stories, they give you an image and a punchline. They are flashier than flash fiction. Try your hand at creating a meme or two it’s not as hard as you would think.Two: Blog. This is not as easy as it sounds. I find once a week challenging. Eventually, I may have to go every other week or even once a month. The sad thing is I know I could blog on current events in the current political climate in the world, but I can’t bring myself to adding that much negative energy into the already cesspool laden social media world. At one time, I taught government and economics. I would consider myself knowledgeable on both subjects. There was a time when you could say something and the worse you might get is some angry letters. In today’s climate, one wrong statement and you get death threats from one or both sides. I’m too old for that.Three: Author Interviews. I like this, I had been interviewed by a couple of different writers for their blogs and I found their questions probing but most of them; identical. I stole an idea from the actors’ studio, just to be clear they stole the idea before me, but I came up with ten questions that were different. Now writers who are interested can answer my ten questions and I will post them on Independent Voice, promoting them for at least a month. If I feel writers are cheating, I can always come up with ten more questions.Four: Live Video. This is not as easy as it sounds. Anyone who has worked on stage or TV knows how hard it is to go in front of a live audience. It’s even harder when you’re operating the camera, the sound, directing the shot, and trying to string intelligible sentences together. All this is made even harder if you’re in a country that you can’t live stream out of. I am not going to mention the country.Five: Recorded Video. This is much easier, especially in my current situation. Connie’s brother-in-law Ricky gave me the idea for travel log or a book about our journeys. I’m not sure a book about our misadventures would read well, but I thought videos would be great. That led to the creation of “#old people backpacking” a series of short videos shot by Connie and I as we explore the different countries we happen to be in any given day. I will say we need to get a go Pro and a selfie stick instead of trying to use my iPad all the time. I think it will be much easier to use.Helping you to break into social media… These are just five quick ideas I thought of over the past few months to create more meaningful content for social media. Of course, the goal of creating all this content is to increase the public’s awareness of my brand, eventually hoping to sell more books. When I say this aloud it sounds like a vicious circle. Unfortunately, for the time being, I think it’s a circle I need to be in. Now I’m going to go try to finish a chapter in my second book.

I have decided to post this unedited to show a process… hopefully it works.Some days I can sit down and crank out 3000 words. Some days I must drag myself to the keyboard.Today is one of the latter days. Last night I wrote about 2000 words at a setting, today I am finding it hard to even begin my blog. But if you notice I am still writing. Even though it is hotter than Hades here, I have a killer headache and I have not had nearly enough coffee I am still writing.I am sitting here, just doing what I consider free-form writing, putting down what comes to my mind, as I think of it. I will correct major spelling errors and typos just so I know what I am saying. I used to not correct major typos and I found I could not understand what the hell I was talking about.This is better now with word processors, if I had to do it freehand or on the old typewriters I would not be a writer. As an example, before word processors I was a solid c student. I had a hard time typing without error and with correction fluid that could be hell for writing. Added to the fact that my penmanship puts doctors to shame for unintelligibly. I can’t read my own writing.So, after I get my ideas down on paper, no matter how badly they suck, I would go back and read what I have, to see if any pearls had fallen out of my fingertips...No real pearls, but some road apples. I had to explain to a teacher the other day what a road apple was. If you don’t know google it. So, no real pearls for a blog that I can see buy maybe after the editing process I can find something, when my head is not killing me.It looks like I have no idea what my blog will be about this week. If I had to guess I would say process, or even how to overcome a block, but I am not sure either of those apply. I will say this might be a good blog on free-form writing and maybe showing a young writer how to do it. I am sure more experienced writers know what I am doing. Okay maybe good is a strong word, might passable work better?I will say, I am kind of surprised, I have written so many words about nothing. Reminds me a bit of a Seinfeld episode, I mean they were really a show about nothing right? Maybe this should be a blog about not how to overcome a block, or how to waste 30 minutes typing to a certain word count.Word counts. I had never thought of that. I know some writers swear by word counts. I don’t. The scary thing is when I start a story, I am never sure what the word count will be. Depending on the style and the genre, I start with a tale in my mind, but for the life of me I am not sure if it is going to turn into a novel, a short story, or a novella. I just tell the story with how many words I need to get my point across.Maybe that is the gem I have been looking for. Don’t get wrapped up on the word count. Use however many words you need to tell your story.I had no idea when I started this, where it would take me. Hopefully this is a passable example of free-form writing, if you don’t like it, sorry to have wasted your time.Peace out.

The quote in the meme is true. Before, I have written about, trying to control others behavior, and how this will lead madness. I also feel trying to control outcomes you have little to no control over will lead to insanity.So, what does this have to do with writing? Expecting people to behave a certain way will lead to disappointment and or idiocy. Here is a short list of impending disappointments.Your neighbors, or the universe in general will give you perfect writing conditions. Forget it. You will never have “perfect” writing conditions. You will always be too tired, the dog will be too loud, your back will hurt too much, pick an excuse. If you are waiting for perfect conditions to write you will always be disappointed, when you don’t have them, as an extension you will be angry at the universe for conspiring against you and your masterpiece.Friends, family, loved ones, will rush out, buy your book, read it, and love it. Sorry, not going to happen. If you expect it to happen you will be disappointed. You are going to have people that read what you have written and hate it, then to protect your ego they will lie to your face about their feelings. Sorry I sound pessimistic but it is going to happen. Expecting otherwise is insanity.People will review your book. Don’t hold your breath. The statistic that get thrown around is 5% of readers will review your book. I think this is a fair estimation of the quantity of reviews you will receive. I don’t understand the logic of people and their fear of reviewing an item but, very few people will do it. Don’t get pissed when your favorite Aunt Edna tells you she will write a review then never does. It is going to happen. Is the review worth damaging your relationship over?Don’t expect all great reviews. You might believe you have written the best book ever and you belong on the shelf alongside Faulkner, Hemmingway and Poe, chances are you didn’t. That’s okay. The great thing is, like most activities, people become better writers by writing. So, you get a bad review, first thing you should do is thank the person for taking the time to read, then write something about your book, it does take time after all, then move on. Don’t dwell on a bad review. If on the other hand you are getting constructive feedback over and over you might want to consider what is being said. The choice of course is yours, but I have a saying, “If you don’t want a truthful answer to a question, don’t ask it.”You’re going to sell millions of copies and get rich. Odds are, no you’re not. If you’re lucky, you will sell enough books to cover your advertisement expenses. If you’re writing to become rich and famous, I highly suggest you look for another avenue for fame and fortune. Writing is hard work. Making the time and the self-control to do what needs to be done is a pain. Marketing your books and finding people to buy your books can be a full-time job. Odds are stacked against you from the start.Expecting people to do what you can’t control is exhausting. If you can be happy doing anything other than writing I highly suggest, you go it. If on the other hand, you can’t stop the voices, the stories in your head need to come out, your heart sinks when you think you will never be able to create again, maybe you have the grit to be a writer. Just check your expectations at the door and live in the moment, or you will surely be disappointed.

While driving cross-country the last few weeks, and visiting places I have seen in past decades, I was struck at how little some things change. Since I was seventeen I have moved on average every five years. These are not moves within a city or even within a state, some have been out of the country. I have never been a fan of change for change sake but I’ve come to the realization that growth is change.When I was a teenager, my goal was to be the same person as an adult as I was then. How short-sighted can a person be? Thinking back, I should’ve realized when I was sixteen there was no way I wanted to be the same person I was when I was six. How could I be the same person I was ten years before? Even now after I’ve passed the half-century mark why would I want to be the person I was when I was twenty-four, thirty-four or even forty-four. For me that would be stagnation.The thing about driving long distance is it gives you a lot of time to think about things you would normally not think about. So besides moving how do I fight stagnation?Travel: this doesn’t mean you have to travel to the ends of the earth. Start with places that are local to you. Somewhere you’ve never been. These new experiences break the everyday routine I believe many people resign themselves to. Once you feel you have seen all you want to see close by, venture farther out. You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars traveling the world, you can start by exploring your local city, county, or state. Once you’ve exhausted locations at the state level venture forth to other states, and eventually other countries.Education: I can feel your apprehension at this one through the computer screen. Education doesn’t have to be sitting in a classroom, listening to boring lectures. Today it can be so much more. Try new things. This can be something as simple as going to a museum, trying to play a new sport, or learning a new skill. Education, however, you may perceive it to be mundane, helps your brain create new connections. I won’t bore you with the data, but studies suggest learning new skills fends off Alzheimer’s. Even by traveling as suggested above you can’t help but learn new things simply by traveling.Try something new: I have not found the courage to try insects for food. That doesn’t mean you can’t. I have tried more strange foods than many people have even heard of. I’m not suggesting you start off with Icelandic fermented shark or Japanese sea cucumber, but try something different. If you’ve never had Indian food give it a try. Moroccan food is delicious. Normally what we get for ethnic food here in the states, has been Americanized. Try something different, the worst that can happen is probably some gastric discomfort. It doesn’t just have to be food it might be something as simple as driving a different way to work, reading a different kind of book, or maybe even listening to a different genre of music.What has any of this to do with writing? There are times I think writers become stagnant. Not just in their stories but also in their routines and lives. I think it’s important for authors and non-authors alike to live a full and meaningful life. I think you must be happy to enjoy this one chance that we get at life.These were just three ideas to help you fight your stagnation. If this is something that interests you I highly suggest starting with baby steps. The goal is not for to do everything at once. For some of these items you should consider your personal health situation, you should always ask your physician before trying anything that might cause damage to your body, mind, or soul. I hate that I must put a disclaimer up but better safe than sorry. Have a great day, and good luck breaking your stagnation.

I am behind on blog posts, I have decided to start a schedule for blog posts and FB Live posts. I will update each Sunday Morning before 11 AM my time, no matter which country or state I am in. This will be a good time for me, I hope it is a good time for you. From time to time I might change this schedule depending on if I am in a cool place to do a live feed for Facebook.Now to my regularly scheduled Blog post.Names. What is in a name? To me names are very important. I pick my names because I want to say something with the names of my Characters. When I pick a name, I have a vision in my head, I have a hard time finding the characters voice until I have a clear picture of them and their name. I feel names have the power to inform and project a feeling of personality on a character before you know anything about them. I have a hard time starting a story without my players having been named. Even if I name them something ordinary I will have a nickname in my head, at times written down, to remind me of their beginning personality.Symbols, I try to write with symbols in my stories. For me the first symbols I can place on the page is a name. Once something is named you give it power. It becomes something. It becomes real. Before it has a name, it is a phantom an unknown. No history or past, only present. If you want something truly foreign or unknown leave it unnamed. I feel the unknown is much creepier than the named. If a writer describes a man as tall dark and handsome then names them Wilbur, according to my wife an unsexy name, there is a reason, there is a story there. The name becomes the story or at least the start of a story.So, when I named Trevor, Crystal, and Shannon those names were chosen for a reason. Read the book if you want to find out why.

Many times, I have no clue where my ideas come from. Today, however, I do have an inkling as to the Genesis of this blog. Driving down the road my wife gently announced, and I paraphrase here, “You think of strange things”.Now my wife and I have been together for almost 35 years. If someone is going to know me, better than I know myself, it’s going to be her. She also hears all my crazy ideas for books and reads the multiple drafts of everything I write. She has also decided to join me in China teaching, she can be weird too... It would be safe to assume she knows my thoughts as well as I do. I was going call this blog stranger things, but let’s be realistic, that title's been kind of taken.So why weirder things. I find it hard to shut my mind off. If I’m not worrying about something I have zero control over, I’m thinking about something I want to write about, or something I need to do to get ready to do something I might have to do in the future. This can be exhausting.Yesterday in class Doctor Shimko was explaining Symbolism, and what the original Artists were attempting to show. But first a quick joke, how many surrealists does it take to screw in a light-bulb? The answer is, fish.If you didn’t get the joke, it's okay because you weren’t meant to get it. The joke was one of the ways surrealism was explained.But for Symbolism, I think the explanation which struck home for me was the idea: when you’re lying awake at night at 3 AM and you can’t sleep because your mind is thinking about all those things you’re thinking about. When you get so tired you can’t think about anything else, there is a feeling left. That feeling is what Symbolism is trying to reach.This spoke to me. Many nights I have laid awake until I couldn’t think or worry about anything, any longer. There was a time, if I put a name on a feeling I had at 3 AM, it would’ve been dread or anxiety. The feeling of dread has left me. I still worry, I still think about things I have no control over, sometimes until I’m so sleepy I just can’t think about another thing. Now when I finally reach the point I don’t know what I feel. I know I feel, but I can’t put a name to it.Surrealism is the dreamlike quality which as soon as you put a name on it, it’s no longer surrealistic because you’ve named it. A feeling when to normal things are put together that don’t really go together like in a dream. I remember the old REO speed wagon album, “you can tune a piano but you can’t tune a fish.” I think I get it now.That’s surreal, isn’t it?What do you feel at 3 AM?

There was a time, not too long ago I was a grumpy person. Others might have called me much worse to my back, but at the time I couldn't have cared less. How my wife has put up with me for over 30 years is amazing, she really is a saint.About a year and a half ago I decided to make some drastic changes in my life, one of which was to move to China for a new job. There were many reasons for the move, not one incident caused such a drastic change, but one I discovered after leaving was how grumpy people can be.Not that life is perfect overseas, but I discovered something about myself, I probably knew all along, like many people in my circle of influence I complained a lot.There are four noble truths of Buddhism: (Please excuse the use of the four noble truths to prove a point. I am not a follower of the faith, nor trying to convert anyone.)Life is suffering… well that sucks but sounds about right.The origin of suffering is desire… yea, how many people want more than they can afford or… the list goes on really.To stop suffering stop wanting… I can see where this makes sense. Many times, I have wanted things I have no control over, like people to be better people.The path to end wanting is the noble eight-fold path; that is, right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration… this is really asking a lot of a person.This was not meant to be a lecture, but it helps me to understand why I was grumpy all the time. People were not meeting my expectations, and here was the kicker, there was nothing I could do about it. It also seemed I was surrounded by so many miserable people, all grumpy for whatever reasons, but one thing I have found is their grumpiness always seemed to rub off on me.I was in China for almost a year, trust me there are grumpy people in China, they seem to be everywhere, but in my mind, I came back a new person, much less grumpy. Maybe not a better person yet, but I was sure my new armor of calm would help me withstand all the negative energy that swirled around me both in real life and via the interrwebs.Boy was I wrong! Less than two weeks back and I can feel myself falling into old habits, I have started complaining about things I have zero control over. I have found the only solution is to physically separate myself from all the negativity washing over me when possible. To leave the negative people behind when I can, to ignore them when I can’t. It is extremely hard, but for my own mental health that is what I must do.So, lesson of the story, be careful with whom you hang with. They will affect you and your sanity. I truly believe it is better to be alone and happy than with people that will end up making you miserable. Will this work for everyone? Probably not. But if you keep doing the same things you will get the same results. Expecting something different is the definition of insanity.Peace out.

I don't think I have ever suffered from writers block. I think I suffer from writers procrastination. There are just so many cool things vying for my limited focus. In China Internet sucks, at times it feels so slow that is sucking electrons out of the computer.We don’t have cable, there aren’t 500 channels pulling, calling, dragging me kicking and screaming to watch them.We live in a small town there are a half dozen restaurants we frequent but that’s only so long before you have to go back and go to work.The exciting social event in the evenings when it’s not raining are the locals dancing. There’s one theater in town we rarely go to, so I write or read.Here in Texas so many things are competing for my attention. I have my characters finished, I know where my plot is going, I even have a pretty good idea how my second book is going to end. And yet I find myself blogging, playing on Facebook or Twitter, and not writing. I need to take my own advice just shut up and write.

Where do characters come from? Of course, that is a rhetorical question, most characters come from our minds. Character development has always been deeply interesting for me. As an actor, I spend a large amount of time finding those perfect characters to portray on stage. As a director, I am constantly pushing my students to find those idiosyncrasies that will create a memorable character. As a writer, my characters come from inside. I can’t say that none of my characters have some counterpart in the real world, but I would like to think that all of them are more or less creations of my fetid imagination. If I have one fall-back position for characters I am constantly looking at ancient history. My characters could many ways, be called stock characters. I am beginning with certain personality traits that were popularized during Commedia dell’arte. I normally begin with one-dimensional characters and then layer on the added dimensions until I get what I need.  I would say one of the most important things is to always remember each character is the hero of their own narrative. This makes the most evil of characters believable.

I am posting this so I can comment on it more later, a post I made to a former students FB page, and it got me thinking."Dreams always exist. What are you willing to forgo to turn your dreams into reality? That is the part parents normally tell their children the most, but it is the harder lesson to learn. Dreams only die when you give up on them."I spent time considering this before writing more. That and a long trip from China to Texas kept me busy.I have read some outstanding quotes concerning dreams over the last few days, as if the universe was helping my thoughts coalesce into some semblance of order. When I think of dreams I think of those future achievements we have for our younger selves. In Highschool I had a dream to travel the world. Born into a family of a middleclass public servant limited my travel to the Western United States. Don’t get me wrong, my childhood was pretty good for the money we had, I could only wish it on every child.My dream of world travel on my parent’s dime was dead before I began, so I did the next best thing: I joined the Navy. That was and is one of the largest decision a seventeen year-old can make. I would say much larger than picking a college. IMHO picking a college is delaying a decision. For many people that delay can be somewhere between 2 and 20 years contingent on the money they decide to funnel into the university system.One of my dreams was to attend college. No money was waiting to fund a four-year party on my parent’s dime, but the Navy is a very good place to get an education. I received six years of college and the Navy paid for a large portion of it. It was not easy, it was damn hard work, at times working twelve-hour shift, with a newborn and a wife that worked nights but we made it work.So, dreams can come true, over the years I have traveled to twenty-one countries and forty-nine States, living in four different countries and ten States. I currently live and teach in China ten-months out of the year. Many people would hate it, I love it. I am happier in China than I have been in a very long time. A benefit of where I work is I get to travel. I post pictures on FB all the time. You should check them out.Another dream I had was to write a book, it took three tries but I finally finished one. I needed to mature, I needed to grow, I needed to find a story I was passionate about; so, I would not to give up. 51000 words later I finished a book. Some might say it needs more work, that is fuel for later posts, but it is the story I wanted to tell, in the style I wanted to tell it in.Not everyone has the grit to follow their dreams, I think that might be the problem. We live in an amazing time. Things can happen today that could never happen in the past. Your dreams are attainable. You are the one that must overcome the roadblocks set in your way. The real question is, do you have enough passion to follow your dreams? If you consider it too hard, you probably don’t. You will need to age a bit; your dream might change. The dream is the payoff. The cost of the dream is everything you must do, or give-up, to make it happen. It takes time, effort, and hard work to make dreams happen. If you think they will come easy they are not dreams, they are fantasy. If your dream is for another person to XYZ is not a dream but an infatuation, you can’t make others follow your dream.Chase your dreams, they are still active until you give up on them and settle. But as a word of warning, if it is not your passion you will discover soon enough, then you find a new dream, or settle for the mundane life that awaits you. That again is your choice. For some people, mundane works.