Inspiration – Fellow Writers, Where Do You Find Yours? – Written By Don Massenzio

On Don Massenzio’s blog, I found an extended and very interesting post about inspiration. I’m generally fascinated to hear where experienced writers like Don Massenzio, author of the Frank Rozzani-series, got their inspiration from. In this article, Don informs us about different ways inspiration came to him. Thank you very much, Don!

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It is a great day to start something big – motivational handwriting on a napkin with a cup of coffee

 

2020 – The Year Without Writing Inspiration

2021 is a year full of possibilities. I keep telling myself this over and over.

The pandemic caused me to pause my creative writing for a number of months. The reasons for the lull in my literary creativity are many, but I’d like to believe that most of them are under control or behind me at this point.

As I look for inspiration to jumpstart my writing and to ignite the fire to finish my next book, I decided to go back to those things that inspired me in the past.

I thought I would share these inspirational elements with you to help you find inspiration and invite you to share those things that inspire you to write when you have a lull in your creativity.

Here are the things that have worked for me:

CONTINUE READING HERE

Using a Character Bible – Is it worth it? – Written By Don Massenzio

Don Massenzio, the author of the Frank Rozzani-series, has published a fascinating post about using a character bible. I’m always enthusiastic when I can share an article that shows us an experienced author’s recommendation. Thank you for sharing yours, Don!

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As I embark on my next writing venture after a 2020 hiatus, I realized something. The equation of my age plus the stress of 2020 and the length of time since I’ve written a Frank Rozzani book has added up to me forgetting the details of many of my familiar characters. I remember reading a while back about having a character bible, a book of character profiles. The article I read talked about how this is especially important if you write a multiple-book series with the same characters.

At the time, I said to myself, “I’ll never forget these characters. They’re part of me.” Well, as I get older, I’m pretty sure there are actual parts of me that I’ve forgotten.

As I try to write for my tried and true characters, I find myself searching my previous books for things like dates, names, hair and eye color and other things that would be great to have at my fingertips. As a result, I’m revisiting the idea of the character bible. I thought that one useful resource would be to go to the blogging community of authors, editors and readers and ask for your opinions and experience.

I thought I would begin, however, by telling you what I’ve learned about this tool for those of you that haven’t heard of it or have been using elements of it without realizing it had a name.

What is a Character Bible?

There is no single definition or series of components that make up a character bible. From the research I’ve done, it’s basically a collection of character profiles each of which tell you about the character’s:

• Name – This might seem obvious, but a character’s name is important. Think of Alex Cross and the numerous James Patterson books bearing his surname in the title. To a much, much lesser degree, of course, there are my Frank Rozzani detective novels that all have ‘Frank’ in some form in the title Frankly Speaking, Let Me Be Frank, Frank Incensed (my personal favorite), Frankly My Dear and Frank Immersed.
• Physical Appearance/Mannerisms – The characters height, body type, hair color, eye color, physical anomalies and disabilities and other information about how the character looks.
• History – Information about the character’s backstory, cultural, educational and socio-economic situation and any other relevant information that is material to the plot.
• Personality – What psychological quirks, conditions or flaws does the character have? What motivates him/her? What are his/her desires? What’s missing from his/her life?

Now, the worst thing you can do is dump all of this information about the character into your story in one fell swoop. You can dribble out the information as needed in small doses. The other thing to avoid, however, is your character developing some ability or piece of knowledge from his background out of convenience to get you past a snag in the story without foreshadowing it first.

CONTINUE READING HERE

A New Audio Book Release – kongo.com – Written By Don Massenzio

Don Massenzio has released his new audio book kongo.com. Congratulations, Don! This is amazing!

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I’m happy to announce that my book, kongo.com, is available in audiobook format. The book is a collection of four related long-format short stories/novellas. The Audio Book is available HERE.

kongo.com cover designed by Don Massenzio

About kongo.com

In my book, kongo.com, I have pulled together four separate related stories. Three of them were published as serials on my blog over the past year. The fourth is a brand new story that weaves together the other three. This was an enjoyable exercise and I hope that those that choose to read it will enjoy it as well.

Here is a bit about each of the stories in kongo.com

CONTINUE READING HERE

Demon Tracker Blog Tour – DAY 12 – Don Massenzio’s Blog

Don Massenzio is not only a gifted author, but he is also a very helpful and supportive friend – and he is the editor of ‘The Council Of Twelve’ series books. Who knows them better than he does? When I was looking for help, organizing this Blog Tour, Don Massenzio was immediately saying yes. Thank you so much for your ongoing support, Don! I don’t know what to do without you.

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I’m pleased to host a blog tour stop for the book, Demon Tracker by A.J. Alexander.

A Bit about the Book:

Zepheira is the best Demon Tracker working for the Good side. With her unusual looks, her phenomenal sense of smell, and her bravery, she quickly draws ‘The Big 7’s attention to her talent. They hire her to find one of them. Leaving her familiar surroundings and regular work environment unsettles Zepheira at first. But the challenge to prove herself and to increase the reputation of her infallibility tempts her.

She is convinced she will be a great asset to ‘The Big 7’. Little does she know she will be a much greater asset in Heaven’s fight against Evil. Zepheira suddenly becomes more than a hired tracker. She finds herself an important pawn in the game of love, heat, and fire. Will her courage and sacrifice be sufficient to dance with the flames?

 

CONTINUE READING HERE

Demon Tracker Blog Tour – May 2, 2020 – May 14, 2020

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I’m very proud to present the ‘Demon Tracker’ Blog Tour

from May 2 – May 14, 2020

supported by the following participants:

 

May 02, 2020                 The Story Reading Ape

May 03, 2020                 Vivienne Sang

May 04, 2020                 KM Jenkins

May 05, 2020                  Sue Vincent

May 06, 2020                  Laura Sansom

May 07, 2020                  Raymond Walker

May 08, 2020                  Allan Krummenacker

May 09, 2020                  Jenanita

May 10, 2020                  Nicholas Rossis and Nicholas Rossis

May 11, 2020                   JoHawkTheWriter

May 12, 2020                  Unexpectedly neglected

May 13, 2020                  Don Massenzio

May 14, 2020                  The Paranormal Romance Guild

 

THANK YOU ALL, SUPPORTERS!!

 

Check out the Demon Tracker Trailer and read the Tour posts to find out about the 3rd book in ‘The Council Of Twelve’ series.

 

 

Making a Comeback – Written By Don Massenzio

Welcome back to the writing and blogging world, Don Massenzio!! You were sorely missed!!

Author Don Massenzio

Well, it’s been a while. I used to be a fairly active blogger and writer and, frankly, I’ve missed it.

It’s been months since I’ve made an original post. My job has been very intense and it prevented me from being the blogger and writer that I wanted to be.

What I’ve decided to do is to make a gradual comeback. I’ve got some announcements about audio books that are now available and upcoming writing ventures that I want to share.

I also miss reading some of my favorite blogs and passing them on to my followers.

I might not post every day, or every week for that matter, but i will be on here and I will be reading and sharing select blog posts when I can.

I hope all of you are doing well and I’m looking forward to some interaction, no matter how intermittent.

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Where Do Your Ideas Come From? – Written By Don Massenzio

Don is a very gifted author who is generously sharing his experience and wisdom with all of us. Thank you so much, Don Massenzio!

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As I look at my writing notebook (you should consider carrying one), I see the dozens of story, setting and character ideas that I have collected and I’m both inspired and anxious.

There are many ideas that I want to turn into stories. It’s hard to write one at a time. At any given time I have a book and some kind of serial or short story going at the same time. This is tough with a 50 hour per seek day job and 45 weeks of travel per year, but I somehow manage to squeeze in some writing.

As I looked at these ideas, I began thinking about where the ideas that I’ve recorded come from. It though that telling you some of my sources might help you look at some idea generation possibilities you might not have thought of.

Characters

Continue reading here

 

kongo.com – Now available – Written By Don Massenzio

Finally it’s available: Kongo.com, the new book by Don Massenzio. From what I read and saw it’s another great book by Don. Read more below.

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It’s been a week since my new book, kongo.com, was released. This was an interesting book to write. It contains three novellas that started as serials on my blog. The fourth novella is from an original story that has never been published. The intent of this story is to pull the other three together to show the ultimate goal of this corporation and the truth behind its technology.

In this post, I’m sharing the first part of this story. It’s called 3D life.

3D Life

Continue reading here

Using the KISS Method in Your Writing – Written By Don Massenzio

Don Massenzio provides us with a great post about using the KISS method in our writing. He gives great examples and explains clearly what to do. Thank you, Don!

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I remember 9th grade English. This was the year where my high school began to concentrate on expanding the vocabulary of students. I remember the vocabulary workbooks where we had to focus on the spelling, definitions and usage of words.

We were encouraged to use these newly learned words in our daily conversation and, especially, in our writings.

I learned words like:

Dotard – A person, especially an old person, exhibiting a decline in mental faculties; a weak-minded or foolish old person. (I’m sensitive to this one these days).

Continue reading here

 

Announcing My New Audio Book – Let Me Be Frank – Written By Don Massenzio

Don Massenzio’s second Frank Rozzani-novel is available as an audio book. This is amazing! I read the entire Frank-Rozzani series and I’m eagerly waiting for the next one! These novels are great!

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I am proud to announce that my book, Let me be Frank, has been released in audiobook format. This is the second book in the Frank Rozzani detective series.

Here is a synopsis:

A young girl is senselessly murdered. The police believe the murder to be a random homeless casualty until it is discovered she has ties to Fat Sam and his mysterious past life in the Big Easy.

To read the entire blog post go to:

Announcing My New Audio Book – Let Me Be Frank