Inside the Mind - C. Robert Cales

Certainly not my mastership of the English language. Had I known what my life passion would be I would have paid closer attention in school. As a writer I'm pushed by my imagination, which has been my constant companion throughout my life. It's very proficient in making up intriguing stories whether I do anything with them or not. Eventually it started demanding an outlet. I thought about making movies, but start-up costs were well beyond my reach. Pen and paper, on the other hand, were dirt cheap and that pushed me to take my first step on the path toward the writing craft.

Artificial Intelligence is an ebook only novella that follows twin brothers, builders of fast cars in Atlanta. After work, with all the tools cleaned up and put away, they head upstairs to the apartment they share and engage in their other passion, gaming, more specifically, digital warfare gaming with their 6 man fire team. They play for hours, taking time away from the action for only the basic needs, including sleep. The next day the cycle of creating fast cars and gaming begins again. On a whim the brothers buy PowerBall lottery tickets for a record smashing 4.2 billion dollar jackpot. When the news revealed the winning numbers they had the only winning ticket. One of the members of their fireteam, a local friend spread the word and it went like wildfire. Within an hour an impromptu party broke out in their parking lot. A pickup hauling beer kegs and another pulling a huge smoker grill arrived first and then the people came, many friends, some they hadn't seen in years. They opened up all the bay doors to accommodate a local radio station for their remote broadcast location and shortly after more people arrived. It only took about 24 hours of the constant party to realize that they needed a new place to live and money was no longer a factor. Near Denver a decommissioned ICBM silo has been converted into a high-tech entertainment center, complete with a digital Imax movie theater and performing arts theater, separated by a glittering circular bar. One floor down is the personal visitation lounge with its own smaller movie screen and smaller circular bar. Another floor down in a complete restaurant-quality kitchen. The final floor is an atrium connecting four bedrooms, each with its own digital screen. The DoD computer system that once controlled ICMB launch and guidance has been converted to civilian use and is poised to run everything related to the complex including contracting for all services, contracting with companies of actors and directors, selection of all plays and movies as well as promotions. The site conversion is complete and is being offered for sale. The price would be completely shocking to most buyers.

It is absolutely critical that characters are more than just cardboard cutouts that wander around in scenes, reciting lines. I would say that my characters are built from the inside out. They have depth. I use their thoughts, emotions and five senses to bring them alive. I want readers to meet new friends, fall in love with them. I build an emotional link between the characters and the reader. That bond is essential for truly terrorizing readers.

I spend a couple of hours a day with my fingers on the keyboard, but that doesn't account for the time I spend thinking about the story before I get there. It's difficult to gage because I spend a lot of time thinking about my stories. Admittedly, there are times when it might look like I'm on the PlayStation killing zombies, but even then there is some story processing going on.

Elimination of what I describe as the literary agent / publisher dynamic. Once that impenetrable roadblock is removed it is possible to reach readers directly.

Promotion. I was born to be a writer, but promotion is an acquired skill, something that has always been difficult for me. Writing is my comfort zone and it's easy for me to walk away from acquiring that skill and return to my comfort zone.

I write on a PowerMac Pro, so Pages is automatic for me and very versatile. Most of my research is performed using Wikipedia.

Write every day. Find a place in your daily schedule for your writing time, (preferably the same time every day) and don't let anything interfere with it. Also, passion is a driving force behind good writing. Find your passion and write about it. Be patient.

I don't know yet if it's the final answer, but I seem to have had some success with book trailers on social media.

I'm always working on something new. Right now the file is simply "Working Title". I'm not yet sure about the length. I'm certainly capable of a novel (reference the Reincarnology trilogy), but it's however long it takes to tell the story. I'm not a fan of rushing things.