Yes Today is January Seventh 2018
Despite what the first post says. Juast so you know.
Sunday, January 7, 2018
Thursday, November 23, 2017
Welcome to the Jaded Walker!
Welcome to the Jaded Walker!
My name is Charlie Wayne Bell, and I am the author of the fantasy novel "The Majik of Spark" available on the Amazon Kindle. The rest of the details are available on my Author Page link.
A second book of the planned trilogy is already underway.
The Jaded Walker is not a new blog, but one that I am resurrecting. I have my own topics I like to write about, but what I really want is to hear from you on whatever topics you like. Once we get to know each other, I may even let my meme, the Jaded Walker, weigh in as well.
One of my other passions is the online game "World of Warcraft" and those interested should check the blog "Wild Family Adventurers" for the almost daily dealings of my characters. I now wish I had named the blog something else, but I'm very fond of it now and so the name stays. "Wildshard" is the name of my main character in the game.
There is older content you are welcome to read. I went through a lot before I settled on the final form of the book. It's messy, but then writing often is.
That's my intro.
Let me know what think.
My name is Charlie Wayne Bell, and I am the author of the fantasy novel "The Majik of Spark" available on the Amazon Kindle. The rest of the details are available on my Author Page link.
A second book of the planned trilogy is already underway.
The Jaded Walker is not a new blog, but one that I am resurrecting. I have my own topics I like to write about, but what I really want is to hear from you on whatever topics you like. Once we get to know each other, I may even let my meme, the Jaded Walker, weigh in as well.
One of my other passions is the online game "World of Warcraft" and those interested should check the blog "Wild Family Adventurers" for the almost daily dealings of my characters. I now wish I had named the blog something else, but I'm very fond of it now and so the name stays. "Wildshard" is the name of my main character in the game.
There is older content you are welcome to read. I went through a lot before I settled on the final form of the book. It's messy, but then writing often is.
That's my intro.
Let me know what think.
Wednesday, March 8, 2017
From Website to Blog
From Website to Blog
With my new mandate to restart my art and writing business, I chose to start by setting up my website. I was once an IT (information technology) guy and that included the building of two websites on my own. I can't keep up anymore with the new waves of technology that keep coming up, but I can still handle the easier stuff. I hope.
I retired my last website more than a year ago because it became too unwieldy and difficult to maintain. I'm taking a slightly different approach this time. Instead of a website, I am going to use a Blog, which is like an informal kind of website. The JadedWalker blog that you are reading right now is one of my blogs. I need to upgrade the content and capabilities, though, to get the full benefits of my website-like blog.
I have a tendency to tinker, and the tinkering tends to cause problems I then have to figure out how to fix. So, I'm not going to make changes to The JadedWalker blog. I'm going to start a new blog so I can tinker with it, learning the features and capabilities I want.
My intent is to use that new knowledge to build a new website-like blog that will become my main online presence. I haven't decided whether The JadedWalker will remain separate or be incorporated into the new blog.
Follow along as I figure this out. And anyone with experience with this is welcome to weigh in with suggestions and tips!
With my new mandate to restart my art and writing business, I chose to start by setting up my website. I was once an IT (information technology) guy and that included the building of two websites on my own. I can't keep up anymore with the new waves of technology that keep coming up, but I can still handle the easier stuff. I hope.
I retired my last website more than a year ago because it became too unwieldy and difficult to maintain. I'm taking a slightly different approach this time. Instead of a website, I am going to use a Blog, which is like an informal kind of website. The JadedWalker blog that you are reading right now is one of my blogs. I need to upgrade the content and capabilities, though, to get the full benefits of my website-like blog.
I have a tendency to tinker, and the tinkering tends to cause problems I then have to figure out how to fix. So, I'm not going to make changes to The JadedWalker blog. I'm going to start a new blog so I can tinker with it, learning the features and capabilities I want.
My intent is to use that new knowledge to build a new website-like blog that will become my main online presence. I haven't decided whether The JadedWalker will remain separate or be incorporated into the new blog.
Follow along as I figure this out. And anyone with experience with this is welcome to weigh in with suggestions and tips!
Thursday, March 2, 2017
Hitting the Reset Button
Hitting the Reset Button
Since you are reading this, you know that I last added to this blog on August 3rd, 2016. That's six months ago and then some. This post is my mea culpa. I want to get all the broken issues out of the way so that I can get back to doing what I love to do - writing and drawing. Please hang with me for a few paragraphs, and if you like what you read please sign up and follow this blog.
I'm doing my taxes and came across the paperwork for my home business. Frankly, it needs a great deal of work. I want to do a lot better in 2017 than I did in 2016. I have a lot of ideas in my head and scattered through my PC but I have never really put real effort into getting it organized. I have broken websites galore that I sometimes fuss over but never get anything done about it. I have a sort of finished book that is gathering dust. I have artwork but don't take the time to promote or sell it. So - 2017 is the year I make a real go of it.
I am laying out a business model to help guide me through it, starting with my name.
My Name - Such a simple thing, but I have used so many different names on my work, mostly because my name is so ordinary. I can't even steal from my wife, who's maiden name is Jones. My full formal name is Charles Wayne Bell Jr. Should I use it? The short form is Charlie Bell. Both are very common names. What about Charlie Bell Winningham, from my Mom's side of the family? Eh, not really. Umm, Charlie Bell Jr? Sigh. I grew up being called Junior, which was okay for a kid, but not an adult. The one I like the most isn't even my name: J Walker Bell. "Walker" comes from another thread of our families. The only published work I have online is a short story collection with that name on the title. Thinking on it, I decided to stay with the formal name most people know me by: Charles W Bell, and "Charlie Bell" among friends and family.
So, here is my business model: I am an independent writer and artist. The focus of my work is in science fiction/fantasy and abstract art.
Title: Charles W Bell
Author and Artist
Brief Biography:
I am a published author of several science fiction and fantasy short stories that have long gone out of circulation. I have an unpublished novel that has lain dormant for close to two years. That is sobering and embarrassing, but facts are facts.
I can't recover the past. But it's not all bad. The artist side of me woke up recently. In 2016 I published a booklet showcasing my unique abstract coloring book titled "Uniquely Original Art Coloring Book for Adults." I made some sales. It was a start. I am currently working on "The Gitmo Project," which is a true story about the three years I spent as a child in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
These are just pieces. I need to bring it all together into a plan I can make work. My goals are simple:
(1) Publish my novel "The Majik of Spark."
(2) Expand and promote my abstract artistic work. I am planning a second coloring book of abstract art. In addition, I have had some success including a personal touch by adding a name for a small additional price. Another idea I am working on would present themed coloring books, such as monsters, flowers, flying things, etc, taken from earlier work tied to the same theme.
(3) Continue to meet with writer's groups and participate in events. I miss too many meetings, and my goal is to participate more often. Please poke and prod at me when I fail. I have a terrible memory and every device I've tried to use to keep track of appointments has given up in frustration. But I try.
(4) Continue to do public readings whenever possible. The writer's group has a schedule of events where public readings are given. I should be looking for more opportunities along those lines.
(5) Dust off this writer's blog and work to expand my followers. Before I go, I'd like to add one more introduction. I started calling my blog "The Jadedwalker" back when I was using the pen name J Walker Bell. I also created a gnome-like image of the same name. The JadedWalker is a form of meme I've kept through many phases of my writing. He is my anchor amid the flood of miss-directions I've taken over many years of writing. I continue to learn from him. And from you.
Since you are reading this, you know that I last added to this blog on August 3rd, 2016. That's six months ago and then some. This post is my mea culpa. I want to get all the broken issues out of the way so that I can get back to doing what I love to do - writing and drawing. Please hang with me for a few paragraphs, and if you like what you read please sign up and follow this blog.
I'm doing my taxes and came across the paperwork for my home business. Frankly, it needs a great deal of work. I want to do a lot better in 2017 than I did in 2016. I have a lot of ideas in my head and scattered through my PC but I have never really put real effort into getting it organized. I have broken websites galore that I sometimes fuss over but never get anything done about it. I have a sort of finished book that is gathering dust. I have artwork but don't take the time to promote or sell it. So - 2017 is the year I make a real go of it.
I am laying out a business model to help guide me through it, starting with my name.
My Name - Such a simple thing, but I have used so many different names on my work, mostly because my name is so ordinary. I can't even steal from my wife, who's maiden name is Jones. My full formal name is Charles Wayne Bell Jr. Should I use it? The short form is Charlie Bell. Both are very common names. What about Charlie Bell Winningham, from my Mom's side of the family? Eh, not really. Umm, Charlie Bell Jr? Sigh. I grew up being called Junior, which was okay for a kid, but not an adult. The one I like the most isn't even my name: J Walker Bell. "Walker" comes from another thread of our families. The only published work I have online is a short story collection with that name on the title. Thinking on it, I decided to stay with the formal name most people know me by: Charles W Bell, and "Charlie Bell" among friends and family.
So, here is my business model: I am an independent writer and artist. The focus of my work is in science fiction/fantasy and abstract art.
Title: Charles W Bell
Author and Artist
Brief Biography:
I am a published author of several science fiction and fantasy short stories that have long gone out of circulation. I have an unpublished novel that has lain dormant for close to two years. That is sobering and embarrassing, but facts are facts.
I can't recover the past. But it's not all bad. The artist side of me woke up recently. In 2016 I published a booklet showcasing my unique abstract coloring book titled "Uniquely Original Art Coloring Book for Adults." I made some sales. It was a start. I am currently working on "The Gitmo Project," which is a true story about the three years I spent as a child in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
These are just pieces. I need to bring it all together into a plan I can make work. My goals are simple:
(1) Publish my novel "The Majik of Spark."
(2) Expand and promote my abstract artistic work. I am planning a second coloring book of abstract art. In addition, I have had some success including a personal touch by adding a name for a small additional price. Another idea I am working on would present themed coloring books, such as monsters, flowers, flying things, etc, taken from earlier work tied to the same theme.
(3) Continue to meet with writer's groups and participate in events. I miss too many meetings, and my goal is to participate more often. Please poke and prod at me when I fail. I have a terrible memory and every device I've tried to use to keep track of appointments has given up in frustration. But I try.
(4) Continue to do public readings whenever possible. The writer's group has a schedule of events where public readings are given. I should be looking for more opportunities along those lines.
(5) Dust off this writer's blog and work to expand my followers. Before I go, I'd like to add one more introduction. I started calling my blog "The Jadedwalker" back when I was using the pen name J Walker Bell. I also created a gnome-like image of the same name. The JadedWalker is a form of meme I've kept through many phases of my writing. He is my anchor amid the flood of miss-directions I've taken over many years of writing. I continue to learn from him. And from you.
Wednesday, August 3, 2016
The South Bay Scribes
The South Bay Scribes
I can't put my finger on the precise date, but somewhere along the way I wandered off the path and away from my focus on writing. My last post here was in March, a distant five months ago. My novel, "The Majik of Spark," is finished but hasn't found an agent. The plan to self-publish remains an idea, not an action. I wrote a new story, "The Royal Gramma." It was well received in our writer's group, but other than losing a writer's contest it lays fallow.
During my five month haitus our writer's group drifted apart following the tragic death of our leader, Gerardo. Most of the original group I belonged to simply stopped coming and I eventually lost track of them. The South Bay Scribes took me in, led by Charlie Berigan. I felt immediately comfortable with the new group. The jokes about how to discern between the two Charlie's when getting our attention grew, and to this moment we both still respond to any and all form's of "Charlie." One member of Gerardo's group also came to the South Bay Scribes, Robert, and he also helped draw me into the group, for which I'm grateful.
I met many new friends and they soon got to know me, my writing, and my penchant for endlessly doodling during the meetings. My "doodling" morphed into a sort of artform and the more artistic in the group, like Susan, took my better pieces and fit them into our chap books. I can now say I'm both writer and artist.
My artwork has recently taken a new direction. I'm not sure who to give the credit to, but whoever it was showed me a coloring book for adults. I was fascinated, and did some research. The patterns used in virutally every book I checked was nice, but repetitive. Most books were based on the same set of patterns.
I can do that, was my first reaction. My second reaction was, I can do it better, with patterns that are unique and original, not cookie-cutter. I am now working on marketing my "Uniquely Original Art Coloring Book for Adults."
I can't put my finger on the precise date, but somewhere along the way I wandered off the path and away from my focus on writing. My last post here was in March, a distant five months ago. My novel, "The Majik of Spark," is finished but hasn't found an agent. The plan to self-publish remains an idea, not an action. I wrote a new story, "The Royal Gramma." It was well received in our writer's group, but other than losing a writer's contest it lays fallow.
During my five month haitus our writer's group drifted apart following the tragic death of our leader, Gerardo. Most of the original group I belonged to simply stopped coming and I eventually lost track of them. The South Bay Scribes took me in, led by Charlie Berigan. I felt immediately comfortable with the new group. The jokes about how to discern between the two Charlie's when getting our attention grew, and to this moment we both still respond to any and all form's of "Charlie." One member of Gerardo's group also came to the South Bay Scribes, Robert, and he also helped draw me into the group, for which I'm grateful.
I met many new friends and they soon got to know me, my writing, and my penchant for endlessly doodling during the meetings. My "doodling" morphed into a sort of artform and the more artistic in the group, like Susan, took my better pieces and fit them into our chap books. I can now say I'm both writer and artist.
My artwork has recently taken a new direction. I'm not sure who to give the credit to, but whoever it was showed me a coloring book for adults. I was fascinated, and did some research. The patterns used in virutally every book I checked was nice, but repetitive. Most books were based on the same set of patterns.
I can do that, was my first reaction. My second reaction was, I can do it better, with patterns that are unique and original, not cookie-cutter. I am now working on marketing my "Uniquely Original Art Coloring Book for Adults."
Thursday, March 3, 2016
Writer's Digest 2015 Short Story Competition Results
Writer's Digest 2015 Short Story Competition Results
The results are in and my entry, "The Royal Gramma" did not win any prizes. There were over 6,700 entries. Quoting, the "winner's names will be made public when they appear in the July/August 2016 issue of Writer's Digest magazine. Afterwards, their names and story titles will be posted at www.writersdigest.com. The competition collection has a May 2016 publication date and we anticipate that we will begin mailing in June."
So there we are. I'm disappointed, of course. More than disappointed. I really thought the story worthy of publication. This isn't the end, and I will be working on finding a home for the story.
In other news I am actively working on the "Song of Chord." This is the second book following "The Majik of Spark." The first book is still making the rounds of publishers and literary agents. I am also considering a shorter work based on the trilogy as a means to get more interest in the novel. I'm exploring a number of possibilities.
The results are in and my entry, "The Royal Gramma" did not win any prizes. There were over 6,700 entries. Quoting, the "winner's names will be made public when they appear in the July/August 2016 issue of Writer's Digest magazine. Afterwards, their names and story titles will be posted at www.writersdigest.com. The competition collection has a May 2016 publication date and we anticipate that we will begin mailing in June."
So there we are. I'm disappointed, of course. More than disappointed. I really thought the story worthy of publication. This isn't the end, and I will be working on finding a home for the story.
In other news I am actively working on the "Song of Chord." This is the second book following "The Majik of Spark." The first book is still making the rounds of publishers and literary agents. I am also considering a shorter work based on the trilogy as a means to get more interest in the novel. I'm exploring a number of possibilities.
Friday, January 15, 2016
Writer's Digest Short Story Contest
Writer's Digest Short Story Contest
Writer's Digest does an annual short story competition for all genres. The only rule is that the story has to be under 1500 words. The first place winner of the competition receives $3,000. The top twenty-five submissions will also receive at least $25. The most important prize, though, is that the top ten submissions will be published.
I have several projects in work, but the story I felt was the best for the contest takes me back to the late 1960's when we lived on the Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. When I first started writing the story, I didn't think I had enough content to get close to the 1500 word limit. I should have known better. In writing the non-fiction story about the three years we lived there, I began to remember more and more. Soon, I was struggling to keep the story under those 1500 words.
Judi came to the rescue by pointing out that there was an episode in the story that didn't fit. I liked that episode, which was funny and scary at the same time. On second reading, though, it was obvious that it interupted the flow of the story and did not add to the central theme. The result is a better story - and cutting that scene brought the story back under the word count restriction.
The name of the story is "The Royal Gramma." I sent the story to the Writer's Digest contest. The contest closed on 15 January, and winners will be announced sometime in February.
Writer's Digest does an annual short story competition for all genres. The only rule is that the story has to be under 1500 words. The first place winner of the competition receives $3,000. The top twenty-five submissions will also receive at least $25. The most important prize, though, is that the top ten submissions will be published.
I have several projects in work, but the story I felt was the best for the contest takes me back to the late 1960's when we lived on the Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. When I first started writing the story, I didn't think I had enough content to get close to the 1500 word limit. I should have known better. In writing the non-fiction story about the three years we lived there, I began to remember more and more. Soon, I was struggling to keep the story under those 1500 words.
Judi came to the rescue by pointing out that there was an episode in the story that didn't fit. I liked that episode, which was funny and scary at the same time. On second reading, though, it was obvious that it interupted the flow of the story and did not add to the central theme. The result is a better story - and cutting that scene brought the story back under the word count restriction.
The name of the story is "The Royal Gramma." I sent the story to the Writer's Digest contest. The contest closed on 15 January, and winners will be announced sometime in February.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)