tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10662163710024638912024-11-01T01:59:57.110-06:00D.K. Godard -Writer and PublisherA collection of project updates and other random thoughts from an author.
Visit my official web page at <a href="http://www.dkgodard.com">www.dkgodard.com</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175251214596666441noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1066216371002463891.post-65576527304800003312013-01-08T13:46:00.001-07:002013-01-08T13:46:46.132-07:00New blog homeI'm moving my blog to a new home on my domain at http://blog.dkgodard.com. That is all.- Posted using BlogPress from my iPadAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175251214596666441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1066216371002463891.post-90015554053290007062013-01-08T06:08:00.001-07:002013-01-08T06:08:01.444-07:00Day 5 -January WPF ResidencyI had my writing workshopped yesterday morning. It was my first attempt at writing straight up horror. I usually write Fantasy with a lot of horrific elements in it. But the piece I submitted for residency was the final paper from the Readings in the Genre class on Psychos. I got a lot of great feedback on how to pull the reader into the psychosis of the character and to heighten the fear of Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175251214596666441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1066216371002463891.post-92171638369763446482013-01-06T19:50:00.001-07:002013-01-06T19:50:02.176-07:00Day 4- January WPF ResidencyWhat a day! Yep, it was a drink from a fire hose day. It started with the teaching sessions by the students in the fifth residency. The first was about combat. Wow, so cool. The student was in the army for 10 years and then the FBI and SWAT. He explained the psychological and physiological effects combat has on a person. It was so informative. Since my own writing has lots of conflict andAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175251214596666441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1066216371002463891.post-57039362617189607382013-01-06T06:25:00.001-07:002013-01-06T06:25:34.612-07:00Passion - Day 3 experiences at WPF residencyThere is something that stands about above anything else in this program. Passion.Without fail, every single instructor I've had for this program is filled with passion. Passion for writing, teaching, and working with us. That last part is one that means the most to me as a student. They're engaged in their work with us. Throughout the modules yesterday and into the social last night, I was Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175251214596666441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1066216371002463891.post-50692694540159305702013-01-06T04:59:00.001-07:002013-01-06T04:59:55.235-07:00Reflections on Opening ReceptionAt the opening reception, the director of the program announces the theme of the residency. Friday night he gave us seven questions to think about for the week. I had trouble answering a few of them.1- Would you rather be an author or a writer?2- Would you rather be well known or well respected?3- Do you prefer being described as an artist or a professional?4- Would you rather write 1 good bookAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175251214596666441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1066216371002463891.post-2960854798267085052013-01-05T05:30:00.001-07:002013-01-05T05:30:20.102-07:00Day 3 January WPF residency - First day of classesIt is so good to see these people again. We haven't seen each other in person since June. But in many ways it is like we've never left. All that is really different is the temperature outside. At the beginning of each residency we have an opening reception the night before classes in the library. It's a great time to mingle and be around our wonderful staff. This morning we will split into Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175251214596666441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1066216371002463891.post-27827246910537787272013-01-04T06:38:00.001-07:002013-01-04T06:38:02.494-07:00Day 2 January WPF residencyThis is why I'm glad that in the effort to save some money I fly out the day before the opening night. I did not sleep well at all last night. But at least I have some time today to get adjusted to the time difference and nap to be ready for the week. I just can't afford to have sleepless nights for the rest of this week. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPadLocation:Greensburg, PAAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175251214596666441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1066216371002463891.post-64367403741617799982013-01-03T13:56:00.001-07:002013-01-03T13:56:42.406-07:00January 2013 WPF residencyI can't even count anymore how many times I've been on a plane. Some people will spend their entire life never knowing the thrill and turbulence of soaring the sky in a pressurized metal tube. A wise man reminded me recently to just enjoy the experience of flying. It's something we, as the human race, have only be doing for a short amount of time. We take for granted the simple things we haveAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175251214596666441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1066216371002463891.post-88745001162601710762012-11-14T12:07:00.001-07:002012-11-14T12:07:52.616-07:00Real life psychoSo I'm sitting in the break room at work trying to read but there's a really gripping show on the History channel. It's a special on Nazi technology. And then I got my idea for the real psycho to blog about for my Readings in the Genre class. And no, it's not the obvious Adolf Hitler. No, I'm blogging about the horrible Josef Mengele, the doctor from Auschwitz, nicknamed Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175251214596666441noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1066216371002463891.post-655315816954461412012-11-06T12:05:00.004-07:002012-11-06T12:05:39.718-07:00The Killing Joke- DC ComicsWhile I love superheroes, I never collected any comic books until after high school. Most of what I know about the legends of Batman and the Joker is from Wikipedia or my friends growing up. Approaching this comic in the mindset of this Readings in the Genre course I was intrigued not only in Joker's backstory but also in what he was trying to do. He's trying to corrupt Gordon. It's just likeAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175251214596666441noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1066216371002463891.post-14100763103779387332012-11-02T16:01:00.002-06:002012-11-02T16:01:12.228-06:00Building momentumIt's been a long journey to this point. My current WIP is something I began thinking about many years ago. It was the subject of my 2010 NaNoWriMo victory. But I didn't like what I had so I scrapped most of it. I loved the idea and premise. Just not how I executed it. In January 2012, I started my first term as a graduate student with Seton Hill University. &Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175251214596666441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1066216371002463891.post-19190386029322562122012-11-02T06:39:00.001-06:002012-11-02T06:39:27.815-06:00NaNoWriMo 2012 and WIP updateYes, on top of everything else I am doing another year of NaNoWriMo. Hopefully I can get this WIP close to completion for a first draft.Current WIP word count13311- Posted using BlogPress from my iPadAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175251214596666441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1066216371002463891.post-71575674094838591672012-10-29T07:06:00.000-06:002012-10-29T07:06:01.425-06:00Joyride by Jack Ketchum - responseThe latest work for my Readings in the Genre course at Seton Hill is Joyride. Yep, nothing with joy there. Just a psychotic, murderous, rampage for 200 pages. I did not enjoy this at all. I will try to focus on what I have learned as a writer and how to craft a villain.
First, an interesting quote towards the end of the novel:
"A victim will do some crazy things to stopAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175251214596666441noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1066216371002463891.post-11111412973236261072012-10-25T12:25:00.000-06:002012-10-25T12:25:44.061-06:00"In a world like this"-response to the film Seven"It's dismissive to call him a lunatic." This line along with the title of this post really struck a cord with me in this film. Our prompt in our class forum asks: What makes a person's
actions "evil" or "psychotic?" What's the real
difference between insane and sane? So, I'd like to open that up more here.
John Doe feels justified in what he's doing. HeAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175251214596666441noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1066216371002463891.post-85529032851522853092012-10-19T19:55:00.002-06:002012-10-19T19:55:55.945-06:00Responding to "The Sculptor" by Gregory Funaro"And so it was" that I am disappointed in this one. For those that read this one, did you notice how often he used that phrase? It started to grate on my nerves. Queue a pause in reading and a review of my manuscript for over used phrases.
I came into his book with a lot of hope. To date I had heard about Psycho, Hannibal Lector, and Stephen King. But, I hadn't Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175251214596666441noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1066216371002463891.post-39163098594190583992012-10-12T09:07:00.001-06:002012-10-12T09:07:43.187-06:00African cockadoodie oogy dirtie birdie: A response to Misery by Stephen KingUmmmmm.... yeah. This was an interesting one. Misery is the first Stephen King book (aside from On Writing) that I've ever read. I like the style and the story idea. It's creepy and there were many times when Paul is struggling to write that I wondered if that was autobiographical for Mr. King. He certainly captures my plight as a fledgling writer.
It took getting Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175251214596666441noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1066216371002463891.post-70412030225640162572012-10-01T11:11:00.003-06:002012-10-01T11:12:04.922-06:00Responding to Silence of the LambsMy latest foray into the criminal/psychotic mind is a follow-up to Red Dragon by Thomas Harris. I haven't read the novel Silence of the Lambs but I was pleased to see that what I was wanting from the novel Red Dragon was present in Silence of the Lambs. That being Hannibal Lector. I am aware of his cultural significance as the modern Dracula. I was therefore intrigued to Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175251214596666441noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1066216371002463891.post-65754646490527952362012-09-27T13:23:00.000-06:002012-09-27T13:24:31.100-06:00Red Dragon responseI really liked this one. And no, I'm not just saying that to kiss up to my instructor. I've been trying to find something (no matter how small in some) in all the books we've read for the Readings in the Genre course that I can apply to my own craft. Before I get into the "what I learned about the writing craft" from Thomas Harris, I wanted to say that for the most part I reallyAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175251214596666441noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1066216371002463891.post-26007797541671094952012-09-10T12:30:00.000-06:002012-09-10T12:30:18.292-06:00A review of Church of Dead GirlsI most likely would never have heard of this book if I wasn't taking this class for Seton Hill. I learned a lot about the craft of writing and story structure from this and will respond accordingly.
Craft: Point of View
A problem I had with Psycho was that there wasn't enough detail on the psychosis and mentality of Norman Bates. I wanted more than what was given. Then I startAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175251214596666441noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1066216371002463891.post-32510460296503185222012-08-27T09:18:00.000-06:002012-09-10T12:31:02.368-06:00Psycho: A Novel -Robert BlochI recently read this novel for a class I have at Seton Hill University. I came into it knowing the basics of the story. I knew the truth about Norman Bates and had only seen the shower scene from the movie. So, the end was spoiled for me. But, honestly, how many people didn't know what happens in this story?
I was disappointed that there wasn't more content on Bates.  Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175251214596666441noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1066216371002463891.post-65589730081832207182012-07-12T10:24:00.001-06:002012-07-12T10:24:33.748-06:00The curse of the day jobEarlier in June I went back out to Pennsylvania to attend the next residency at Seton Hill for my Masters in Writing Popular Fiction. Now a few weeks later and I am seriously struggling to get back into the grove t my day job. My apathy to the plight of customers has reached an all time low. All I want to do is write and and hang out with my new friends from SHU and brainstorm ideas. But at Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175251214596666441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1066216371002463891.post-76820133717186556672012-03-24T18:55:00.001-06:002012-03-24T18:55:17.915-06:00May the odds be ever in your favorAbout to walk into the theatre to watch Hunger Games. I love the books but it occurred to me this morning that all of us going to this movie aren't any better than the people in the Capitol. We are excited to watch people fight to the death. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPadLocation:W Grasslands Dr,American Fork,United StatesAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175251214596666441noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1066216371002463891.post-89430458986622075412012-02-11T09:32:00.001-07:002012-02-11T09:44:46.662-07:00Archy Sparks and the Think Tank pitchMy 71000 word middle grade science fiction novel is the controlled society of The Giver mixed with the wonder, mystery, and adventure of the Harry Potter series set on a dystopian robot inhabited world where eleven year old Archy has been left disfigured from bullying to resemble the worst criminals in history. Caught in the middle of a plot of kidnapping Archy can either save the people who shunAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175251214596666441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1066216371002463891.post-56128723329852893432012-01-10T10:45:00.001-07:002012-01-10T10:45:08.645-07:00Seton Hill Writing Popular FictionI have been absent from many outlets on the Internet for some time now. Part of this was due to the birth of a child and some of it was because I was doing NaNoWriMo in November. After that I just needed a break before starting school at Seton Hill. This is my first residency for the program and I have learned so much. Not the least of which is that I suck at writing and that any who has read Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175251214596666441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1066216371002463891.post-42073926818333237972011-09-10T08:30:00.001-06:002011-09-10T08:31:02.287-06:00New novelI have finally finished the first draft of Archy Sparks and the Think Tank. I started this draft four years ago. I have found a great editor and will have lots of revisions to do after October. I am excited about this new phase.
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175251214596666441noreply@blogger.com0