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Author Archives: Dennis Langley

A Mile in Someone Else’s Moccasins

09 Jan

 

 

 

 

An old Native American saying “Do not criticize your brother until you have walked a mile in his moccasins.”

I have always liked that saying because it helped me to look at all sides of an issue before making a judgement. I’m not perfect at it but I do try to listen to arguments first.

I was never in debate in school and I had to pull out my yearbook to find out if we had a debate team. However, the rules of debate, as I have heard them, is you must prepare arguments for either side because you do not know ahead of time which side you will represent. It would force you to fully understand your opponent’s position before the debate began. What a novel concept! Let’s come back to that idea.

The last two years have been rather challenging for me. There have been many family issues, sale and purchasing of homes, packing, moving and unpacking, liquidating a family members material estate, etc. Because my mind has been tied up with more important issues, I have not posted much on social media. I have scrolled through Facebook on occasion to check up on friends but have not done much in the way of comments. But, frankly, what I have seen on social and conventional media of late makes me wonder if I really want to participate at all.

Individuals choosing to polarize themselves away from long-time relationships because of differing opinions when it is fairly obvious the opposing position is not fully understood. Nor does it appear there is any desire to understand the opposing position. Great wars have been waged and millions of people killed because two individuals were unwilling to openly look at each other’s position.

The next time you find yourself getting angry at a stranger/friend/family member, stop and take a step back and ask why.

Why am I getting angry?

Why is this person acting this way? Don’t immediately answer, “Because he/she is a narcissistic SOB.” If you can, ask them why to their face. You don’t know this person as well as you may think you do. You may not know that they are having the worst day of their lives. Maybe they just found out their child was arrested or their spouse was cheating on them. Bottom line…YOU don’t know!!!

If your response is “I don’t care!” then you’ve found the problem. It’s you!

 
6 Comments

Posted by on January 9, 2019 in Other Strangeness

 

Advice for 2019 and beyond!

02 Jan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I drove into work this morning, the first song I heard on the radio was “Live Like You Were Dying” by Tim McGraw. The basic story line is advice given by a man diagnosed with cancer to his friend. It starts as kind of sad song until the true meaning of his advice sinks in. And, that’s how it hit me this morning. My initial thoughts, when I heard the opening chords, went to loved ones and friends who are battling cancer. Then it dawned on me that this was my first day back to work in 2019 and the advice in the song was actually a mantra that would serve me well in 2019 and beyond.

Live life to the fullest every day. Don’t be afraid to take risks. Be the best person you can be. Cherish the ones you love. Don’t put off your dreams just because it’s hard or others wouldn’t understand. Be kind. Be humble. Be true to yourself, the best parts of yourself. Forgive those who may or may not deserve it, regardless. Have faith in your beliefs.

Now, you won’t find me trying to ride a bull named Fu Manchu or sky dive like the guy in the song. Neither of these interest me. But, I do have dreams and a bucket list. And starting today, right now, I will be doing my best to aspire to the ideals listed above. None of us know what tomorrow will bring, or for that matter, what will happen in the next few seconds. I’ve witnessed life changing moments for enough people, and experienced them as well, to know that tomorrow is a gift we may never get to see.

One of my favorite quotes is, “Life is full of choices.” It’s your choice to make. Take responsibility for it and make the best one you can, every time.

Have a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2019.

 

 
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Posted by on January 2, 2019 in Musings and Odd Thoughts, Other Strangeness

 

The Help Part 2

19 Dec

 

 

 

 

Well, since it has been over a year since I told you about finding a good writer’s group, I thought I should provide an update. We are still going strong even though membership has changed a little. We meet weekly and on average review 10,000 to 12,000 words, typically submitted by three or four members. The amazing part is that we rarely have a week where submissions are less than 7,000 words. That means everyone is putting words on paper with regularity. Some are more prolific than others, but all members receive critiques of their work. The members all have varied backgrounds and interests so our discussions tend to be lively and, in most cases, helpful to the writer in question.

It took several months of submissions, but my entire novel, has been reviewed by the group. As you would expect, holes in plot and character were identified and potential fixes offered. Some of which I may actually use. I was encouraged to hear that the group felt that the story worked, as a whole. I guess I won’t have to scrap it and start over. Whoo hoo! The revision process has begun and will escalate through the winter months to include another full review of my rewrites.

To break up the tedium of revision, I wrote a couple short stories. While they both have supernatural/fantasy components, they are a departure from my other WIPs. Both stories came to me as spur of the moment thoughts. One while I was sitting at a bar having lunch and the other while feeding my cats. And, when I sat down to write them, they flowed out very quickly. They kind of wrote themselves. I have been debating as to whether I should post them here on my blog or try to submit them for a contest or potential anthology. Both still require polishing, so I have a little time to decide.

The holidays have been quite busy so, cleaning up my Site and visiting yours have been on the back burner. However, the fire is on and I’m getting warmed up to make comments on the last twelve months of your posts. Okay, I may not go back that far, but I will be checking to see what you all have been up to.

Speaking of the holidays, I wish you and your families a happy and healthy Yuletide season. Stay safe and keep writing.

 
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Posted by on December 19, 2018 in Thoughts on Writing

 

We Shall See!

07 Dec

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wow! I did not realize how long it has been since I posted anything. For those of you who still are connected to follow me, we need to get you all a life. Ha, ha.

As I sat down and opened up my dashboard I saw that I have 21 unpublished draft posts. I quickly determined that a vast majority of them were the beginnings of rants and angry responses to posts I had read on Facebook or other social media accounts over the past two years. Thankfully, I never clicked “Publish” on them. Unlike much of the unfiltered crap that permeates social media today, I try very hard not to “react”. I think if people would cool off a bit before they fire back, issues could be discussed intelligently without digressing to name calling.

Anyway, my poor site is in need of a good scrubbing. I still like the overall look so that will stay. However, many of the links and contacts I have listed are no longer active. My goal is to clean everything up and start frequent posting  by the end of the year. Yes this year! The plan is to continue to mix up my thoughts and adventures in writing, with other interests: archery, maybe some gardening tips, IDPA, radio controlled trucks, and, if I can keep it civil, I’ll add in some philosophical posts about my observations of the world and its inhabitants. It has the potential to be a fun ride. We shall see.

 
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Posted by on December 7, 2018 in Musings and Odd Thoughts, Other Strangeness

 

The Help

31 Oct

 

 

 

 

When last we spoke I told you that the new goal was to get help. That goal was identified back in January. One of the best sources of help any writer can find is a really good writers group. Now I googled “writers groups” and Google provided me about 236 million potential hits. I cut that down to a manageable amount by picking a state to focus on and decided whether I wanted an online group. I have tried a few online groups and a couple were okay, but I was really looking for some face to face interaction with people I can get to know and trust. So, I waded through the groups based in Wisconsin and cut the number to five. All were within 35 miles from home and each listing advertised that the group members were trying to get published, a key factor in my decision. With high hopes, I sent out five emails requesting contact and additional information.

Group One Response: The reply email said that she was no longer with the group and that she thought they had folded but I could try to contact a different individual. I received no response from my attempts at the second individual.

Group Two Response: The reply stated that they had over 100 members! and that they were full for people submitting work, but I could come by and offer my opinions. In other words, I could critique other’s work but could not submit anything to get feedback. Reading other work and offering opinions is valuable and can help your own writing, but I was looking for feedback on my work.

Group Three Response:  We are a group of seniors who write for fun and get together and read our work to the group. Better, but not there yet.

Group Four Response: We are a group of writers who are trying to get published. We use writing prompts and then read our work to the group for feedback. Because this group met in very close proximity to me, I decided to attend a few sessions. There are some talented writers in this group with some interesting ideas. However, it was not the critique group I was looking for.

Group Five: On their website, the group indicated that they were a very serious group dedicated to getting everyone in the group published. They were, however, full on membership (10 people). If I was interested in joining, I could apply and if my qualifications were acceptable, they might make an exception, or place me on a waiting list in case a member left the group. I had nothing to lose so I put together a short bio of my writing experience, goals and involvement in other writers groups, and sent it in. I was actually shocked when I received an email requesting some additional information including a sample of my work. Two of their group would critique the sample and provide feedback so I could see what to expect and what was expected of me when I critiqued others. A few days later, I received their “crits” and a writing sample that I was asked to critique. I provided my feedback and was then told that they would present my request, writing sample, and crit to the group for acceptance. There was no guarantee that I would be asked to join at this point. Damn, I’ve been through job interviews that were not this intensive.

As it turned out, I was asked to join and honestly, it has been worth the effort. As advertised, the group is knowledgeable and motivated with eclectic backgrounds and styles which makes for a wide variety of comments on a submission. The crits can be hard at times, but the criticism is directed solely at the writing and not the writer. The result is that I can see a huge improvement in my writing and I have a much better idea as to what my “voice” sounds like. Many of my writing “ticks” (Bad habits) have been identified so I can catch them during revision and as I write future stories. The group”s comments have created a lot of revision work for me, but that is the point of a critique group. I always have the choice to act on their suggestions or not.

I know this is the type of group that I’ve been looking for, and needed to take me to the next level, and ultimately help me prepare my manuscript for submission to an agent. My advice is, If you decide you need a writers group, do whatever you must to find a GOOD one. One that fits your needs.

Goal: Get help. CHECK!

New goal: Finish this revision.

 

 
2 Comments

Posted by on October 31, 2017 in Musings and Odd Thoughts, Thoughts on Writing

 

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Dreams and goals

26 Oct

 

 

 

 

“When you give up on your dream, you die.”  – a quote from the character Nick in the movie Flashdance.

This was one of those quotes that hit me like a sledgehammer when I heard it the first time back in 1983. At the time, I had already given up on playing professional football. Although the open tryouts for the Denver Gold sure looked tempting.  Or, going back to school to become a doctor. I was already working in emergency medicine from the back of an ambulance. So, what was my dream?

Over the next several years I would write down some short-term and some long-term goals. It was fun to tick off the goals that I’d hit. And, I rarely got upset if I missed a long-term goal. Usually, I would simply reset the due date and keep going.

Then around 1994 I tried to read “The Sword of Shannara” for the third time and gave up on “The Two Towers” for the second time. I got bored with them. That’s right bored. Now before you Fantasy diehards go off on me or click to another blog, hear me out. I have since finished both works and their accompanying books and I agree they are masterful. But they would not be my first choices to reread anytime soon. The trouble was, I prefer to let my imagination create the scene. I don’t need twenty pages describing a mountain pass or pastoral field. Just give me the basics and I’ll paint the picture. I enjoyed stories that move along and don’t get bogged down with details.

I had been writing character sketches for D&D characters for years. Some of them were pretty good. I convinced myself that I could write a story that I would like to read. I fired up my IBM PS2 Model 50z, opened Word Perfect and started to write. I started with a D&D character I created but never played. I placed him in a setting and pantsed my way through. By the end of the summer of 1995, I had 32,000 words and a half-finished story. For some reason I don’t recall, I set it aside. It remains unfinished. But, I have pulled it out and reread it on many occasions.

No dream but, a splinter was implanted in my brain from this first attempt. During this same time, I had written several nature type vignettes. A friend read them and told me I should get serious about it. “Yeah, okay”. Time passes…a lot of time passes…

Okay, a decade.

Then for some reason, I decided to take a class in something. Not sure what. So, I started doing searches on various things that interested me. I stumbled on The Loft Literary Guild in Minneapolis, Minnesota which was offering an introductory class on writing fantasy fiction.

COOL!

I scraped the pennies together to cover tuition, obtained support from the domestic CEO, and registered. For the next eight weeks, twelve aspiring writers read various fantasy works and dissected them to see what worked. Some of us who were either brave, stupid, or crazy enough, submitted short pieces of our writing for the class to read and critique. I was shocked when my submission received positive comments from the class and the instructor.

Hmm, maybe I should try this writing thing.

I picked one storyline that interested me using another D&D character and started writing. The instructor told us about a writing group looking for more warm bodies. That was the spark that lit the fire to write something I could get published.

Uh oh, this sounds like a dream or at least a serious goal.  

Gasoline was poured on the fire when I was lucky enough to see my name on a byline for a non-fiction article I’d written. No, it was not the great fantasy novel I was also working on, but I was writing almost every day and I saw the possibilities. That was enough of a push to send me to the next level.

Finish the damn novel!

As you may recall from a previous post, I did, in fact, write “The End” on that novel. Okay, check that box off. Most established authors will tell you that just finishing the first draft of the first novel is the hardest part. Some polls indicate that only 5 to 10 percent of people who begin writing a novel, actually finish the first draft! Woof!

So, after a break to let the story settle, I started on revisions. The goal now becomes to turn that stack of words into something that resembles a readable story. This phase of the process, self-editing, is much harder than anyone can explain to you. It does not take long before you tell yourself,

I NEED HELP! But I’m not ready to die so,

New Interim goal – Get help!

more to follow…

 

 

 

 

 

 
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Posted by on October 26, 2017 in Journey into Fantasy, Other Strangeness, Thoughts on Writing

 

An interesting life

08 May

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What has made your life interesting?

Some people might say that they lead a boring life and nothing much happens to them. Yet, I have met very few people that after a few minutes of conversation, I would agree with them. Granted, some people’s lives are more “exciting” than others. But that doesn’t make one life less interesting. Everyone’s life is unique. Even identical twins grow up to be different people. So, what is it that is interesting?

Here’s a little exercise you might enjoy. Pick a famous person that you find interesting. Take some time and write down all of the things that you find interesting about them. Your list may include appearance, type of work, travels, political views, hobbies, events they participated in, etc.

Next, pick a family member, relative, friend, co-worker, or neighbor. Someone you know well and find interesting or admire. Make a list of interesting things about them. As before be as complete as you can.

Now the fun begins!

Write your name at the top of a piece of paper. Without judging whether you think it’s interesting or not, complete a list for yourself. Use the same criteria and categories you used for the other two lists. Include appearance, type of work, travels, political views, hobbies, events they participated in, etc. Don’t think about your answers, just write.

When you have finished, compare all three lists. Are there any similarities? What from list number three would someone else think is interesting? Are there any “mundane” things that jump out as interesting on any of the lists.

If you are really brave, ask a close friend or someone else that you trust to be truthful what they find interesting about you. Be prepared for a few surprises.

Now, for those of you who write, think about your characters. Are they a bit flat? What can you add to their back story to make them more interesting? Did they have a job repairing organs while they went to college? Did they travel to the Yucatan during spring break and got lost in the jungle? Do they carve bear figurines out of soapstone to relieve stress?

A few lines of your story mentioning one of these points can add depth to your character that makes them more real.

So, I ask again, “What makes your life interesting?”

 
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Posted by on May 8, 2017 in Musings and Odd Thoughts, Thoughts on Writing

 

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