Writing

New work!!

/ Damean Mathews, Author / Leave a comment

I have been working on a few things this summer, but I started one last week that I am just ecstatic about. It has so much potential and I already feel immensely connected to it. I wrote an intro for the piece to start out and I really can’t wait to share it with people, so I decided it was going up here. On the off chance anyone decides it would be fun to steal it, it’s a copyrighted piece- I am a professional after all. Now, I really want feedback on this. Not many people comment on my other posts, to my dismay, but this one is something that needs a lot of insight. I love hearing what people think of my work, no matter how small the piece is. This particular one is something that goes in a very different direction than my usual works, and I’m very excited to throw myself into a new genre of sorts. One of the things I am reaching for here is to present a piece that reads slightly like a stream of consciousness narrative but one that holds a bit more order and tradition than that. Before I attach the piece I would like to thank my new followers and say that I sincerely hope my attempts here can really help and inspire other authors and allow fans to have an insight into my work and my life as an author. Thank you all for your support and help. Without further ado, here is the intro to one of my newest works. 

                I can’t breathe. My heart is pounding, my legs are throbbing and I can’t breathe. I don’t know how long I’ve been running or how much longer I can keep it up, but I know I can’t stop. The sun has been down for what seems like forever and the faint light is still clinging to the autumn day. My lungs are on fire; my chest feels like it’s going to explode. It’s just when I think things can’t get any worse that I make a terrible decision. I glance behind me to see how close my pursuer is and my foot finds a hole I hadn’t expected to be there. I feel my ankle snap like a twig, the sound ringing out like a shot in the silence. I hit the ground, feel the wind rush out of me and grab my leg. I don’t even have enough breathe to scream as I roll over, mouth open in a terrible grimace and find that my attacker is on me.

                I see now that he is brandishing a knife and realize instantly that he means to use it on me. In the faint light I notice the tell-tale stain of rust on the blade as it arcs toward me, catching the reflection of the tree line I’d intended to be my salvation just before it plunges into my chest and out of sight. My first thought, rather than of my life, is of such a poorly manicured knife and what sickness it could bring if used in a culinary fashion.  I don’t have time or energy to react to the man’s attack, and soon it’s too late.

                I feel the pressure first, like being in school and having the pencil in your pocket stab your skin when you sit down. Before I know it the pressure becomes a white hot poker of misery as split and severed nerve endings begin screaming in a hellish, tortured chorus, the warmth inside my chest spreading outwards as my blood flows from newly opened veins. My last thought is a realization that both allows and solidifies my outcome; I am dying.

Influence In Life

/ Damean Mathews, Author / Leave a comment

As some of you may know, last week I had the amazing opportunity to attend the Appalachian Heritage Writers Symposium for the third year in a row. It was, again, one of the most fun, incredible and informative experiences of my life. In the last three years I have met a number of people who are incredibly happy and successful in the field that is my very dream. I am proud to call some of the highly esteemed members of the Appalachian Heritage Writers Guild very dear friends, and I am pleased to say that my own writing has drastically improved in respect of these symposiums, as has my drive to get my voice out there for the world to experience. I guess every writer feels that way at some point, but the long and short of it is that we do indeed have a story to tell, and we do have our own unique voice in which to tell it, so it makes sense that we do everything in our power to have it be heard. That may not seem important to some, but it is very important. Our voice is our life, is ourselves in essence and it deserves to be heard. Furthermore, the world deserves to hear it.  That is one of the best ways to look at it, I’ve found. We write because the words are in us, and the world deserves to hear what we have to say. Through the symposium I have heard very inspirational messages and have gained some very helpful tips, like starting this blog, for one. This year was no different. I read a story that is very much unlike anything I typically write and reveal, and the audience really seemed to enjoy it. I think that the story, which stemmed from a creative writing class taught by one of my favorite professors and most helpful mentor, Dr. Scalia, is something that I can pursue further, perhaps even turning it into a novel one day. Over the course of the last few days I have also found inspiration for number of other works, some older, one new, and I think that I will be working on them shortly. I hope to be able to place quotes and samples from these works either here, on Twitter, or on Facebook. I hope that you are all interested in these works and that you find this intriguing enough to check out my stuff that is on Amazon. As always, I welcome contact, suggestions and comments. Please feel free to get involved. This blog is intended to be interactive and helpful, after all. I want everyone to have both an insight into my life and work and to know they have someone to go to for any questions they may have about writing. 

Keeping Yourself Motivated

/ Damean Mathews, Author / Leave a comment

Everyone has that one (or more) thing that motivates them like no other. It might be something as complex as running for 5 miles in the morning, or it might be little more than a breath of wind through the leaves of a tree, but no matter what it is, it’s yours. This motivation is something that God instilled in you for a reason, remember that first. Secondly the thing that is really crucial is to figure out exactly what gives you that undying motivation that will allow you to write the next great masterpiece or paint the Sistine Chapel. It might be easy to find at times, but at others it might seem like you’ll never find it, and in these times the urge to give up may be great. Don’t. No matter what, if writing is really your passion you absolutely can NOT give up. Honestly that’s the case with any passion. Particularly one that others might not understand and ones that may not always just spill out effortlessly. However, it would be helpful in times of hardships to remember the times when it does pour out like water, but that’s another story altogether. You have to just sit down and get that motivation- even if it’s just from a memory of the thing that gives you that great inspiration. Not meaning to sound like a preacher here, but it really is the inspiration that moves us all. Yes, you’ll hear people say that if you’re a real writer you’ll write no matter what, and I’m not saying that isn’t true. That isn’t to say, however, that everyone doesn’t have that thing or those things that places the inspiration in your head and heart, it merely means that you can’t use a lack of inspiration as an excuse. Because some people do. There are those out there who use that as a crutch, saying that “I would write, but the motivation and inspiration aren’t there”. That’s shit. If you’re really passionate about something you’ll do it, plain and simple. Yes, it might be hard if you’re not feeling particularly motivated or inspired, but I find that, honestly if you push yourself just a little and get the ball rolling your own work can become the motivation you need to continue. You might look at that statement in regards to the rest of this post and say “well then what’s the point of all this”. The point is that yes, the path we as authors have chosen can be very hard, but it doesn’t mean we can give up. Inspiration can come at the drop of a hat one day and take hours to find on another, but the point is that we have work to do. Our voices deserve to be heard, do they not? We have a story inside of us that wants to be told so why should we place such a simplistic excuse on letting it out? You may also notice that I’ve used the words Inspiration and Motivation here somewhat fluidly and interchangeably despite their technical differences. That’s because, in my case at least, once I’m inspired I’m motivated and vice versa, therefore I think of the two as fairly synonymous. Inspiration or Motivation, whatever you prefer to call it, can leave a serious hole in your intentions when they aren’t there, I won’t pretend that they don’t. But you can’t let that control you or your work. It’s about you and what you want, what you know is best. You have to set out and take the initiative, and very often you’ll find that it leads to a determination that is just as helpful. We all have our little things that help us get started, and they can be very diverse even within ourselves. For instance, one thing that helps me get going- and actually helped me set the real path for my Maverip series- is a good powerful thunderstorm. Anything powerful and God given can give me that feeling at times. Another thing you might find is that your inspiration might change. This is completely natural. The work within you has a mind of its own, your characters often have very real voices, and just as much as our tastes change, so do theirs. What made them present themselves today might not tomorrow. It’s completely normal and actually very interesting in my opinion. So don’t fret if that is the case. That’s about it for this post. The main things to remember are that inspiration and motivation are very important to a writer, but you can’t use them as a crutch or an excuse. When they are there, it’s important not to waste them, and when you have an idea that is nagging to get out it’s important to listen. That might be the subject of my next post. As always, if anyone has any thoughts or comments, feel free to leave them, and if you have any suggestions feel free to contact me with them. 

The Busy Life of a College Author

/ Damean Mathews, Author / 2 Comments

I must first sincerely apologize for my ridiculously extended absence. I have had such a busy time with school, work and moving into a new apartment that it all consumed me and prevented me from being able to post here. However, with over 50 hours of education observation to do, I was able to write a great deal last semester and am now on Chapter 21 of Maverip II. In addition to this I was published once more in Jimson Weed- this time after submitting a prologue to one of my latest inspirations!! What I hope to do with this post is open the doors again to everything that I started and hopefully be able to keep them open. I feel I have failed you all and myself for a while, but with a little luck and even more determination I know I can continue to help aspiring authors get the motivation it takes to get their work out there. I mean, if one slacker from the Appalachian Mountains can get almost a dozen publications under his belt, then anyone can. I would love to be able to get feedback on what sort of things you all want to hear about, also, so I once more invite you all to contact me so I know what sort of posts would be the most helpful to get my voice out to as many people as possible. I ask you all to invite everyone you know to read my blog, visit my sites and if they feel so inclined, purchase my work. I wish you all the best of luck in your writing and remind you to look for my posts again!!

Collection is Published!

/ Damean Mathews, Author / Leave a comment

Hey guys, I am deeply sorry for my absence, but with school, work, life, and all of the stresses I’ve been really stretched thin. But I somehow found the time to finish this collection and put it on Amazon! Please feel free to lend this book from your device to another device; I’m really jut trying to get my name out there and showcase my work as much as possible. Anyway, enjoy!

http://www.amazon.com/The-Reaper-other-tales-ebook/dp/B00FSJX8DE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1381579729&sr=8-2&keywords=damean+mathews

My First Major Publication

/ Damean Mathews, Author / 1 Comment

I want to start here by thanking everyone who has supported me to no end. Your loyalty and guidance has meant more to me than you will ever know. I love you all and I want to remind you that without you none of this would be possible. I thank God for giving me this gift for words that I hope to use to make a name for myself in the world and hopefully inspire countless generations of artists to carry on the great and noble work. Thank you all again.

From there I go on to make my announcement. I have finally self-published my first major short story. It went live on Amazon Kindle sites worldwide a little before 1 A.M. this morning. Thank you all for being here to celebrate with me. I hope you will all follow the link and get your copy of this story that I hope is the beginning of a hugely influential and amazing career. Thank you all again, and as always feedback is more than welcome.

http://www.amazon.com/Reservoir-ebook/dp/B00ED1T5Y4/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1375850563&sr=1-1&keywords=Damean+Mathews

Keeping Your Work

/ Damean Mathews, Author / 2 Comments

Have you ever let someone read your work and asked them for feedback and just be mesmerized by what they said? More specifically have you ever listened to their suggestions and just thought “that changes the whole meaning and purpose of the story, why would I do that”?

Those situations are among some of the ones you have to be most cautious about when writing. Your work is going to have to be something you make your own, no matter how different that makes it from someone else’s and no matter how many people you encounter who may not exactly prefer your style. There are over 7 billion people on this planet and there is certain to be at least one other person in the world who will love your work for what it is. That is your audience. That’s not to say that that is necessarily the person you are writing for, by any means. You are always writing first and foremost for yourself. The work you do is yours to do. The idea came to you, after all, didn’t it?

That is one of my biggest purposes with this post; to remind you all that your work is yours. I can never emphasize that enough. So many times young authors meet resistance or differences of opinion regarding their work and they just give up their ideas to conform to those of others. Originality is one of the most important things to strive for when it comes to the craft of writing. It has been said by many that there are no new stories, just new ways to tell them, and to an extent that may be true. But it is our job, or if you prefer, our blessing, to give every story a new twist and make it our own.

No one else can write our work for us. That is why the ideas came to us. They are our own, and it is our duty to write them and spread them to the world. That is why it is so important for us to not allow ourselves or our ideas to be compromised by the thoughts and opinions of others. They can’t write our work for us, if they could the ideas would have come to them and not us. Granted that is not to say that we should just ignore and blow off all criticism and feedback. We can’t do that either. The key is to find the proper median, and this time, that line is a bit more prominent than others. The limits are similar for every writer in this respect, if they hope to remain unique and individual and not just generic and over-used.

The line is really quite rock solid, but as usual is never as simply cut-and-dry as some may prefer. We must listen to our feedback, look at what we know about our work, and examine the work using the knowledge of our intentions and the thoughts of others. After this we must use our conclusions to either keep, tweak or change our work while keeping both our own wishes in mind and the opinions of our audience, but no matter what we absolutely can not change the real essence of our work. If we compromise our work by making it what someone else wants and losing what we want then we have wasted our gift and really compromised the sanctity of the craft itself. I will write more on this subject and a lot about maintaining the sanctity of literature with my next post. I hope this has been helpful.

Working on a Masterpiece (part 2)

/ Damean Mathews, Author / 3 Comments

As I mentioned before, passion is a very crucial thing when it comes to writing. Your passion will make your audience love your work even more, which is going to help you in the long run of course. But another bit of caution I must throw out there in relation to this fact, and to the first half of this post has to do once more with rejection.

There is a very good chance all of us are going to be rejected at least once at some point or another and we must learn the best way to react. There are a number of ways rejection can happen, just as there are a number of ways we can take it when it does (and yes, one is likely going to rely on the other). One thing that you must not do, however, is despair. Rejection does not mean your career is over. Not by a long shot. You have to keep trying. You’re never going to get published if you don’t get your stuff out there. That is one of the truest things I could say to you, really. You have to try and spread your work before your work can reach the world, and I have to remind you again; the world deserves it. If you don’t send your work out there, it will never get the chance to gain an audience. Rejection does not mean that you are a failure by any means. It just means you have to try all that much harder. The world deserves it, your work deserves it; You deserve it.

Your reaction to rejection is a very deciding factor in your career. You can’t just receive a rejection letter in the mail and then throw your work away and quit. That suggests that writing was never really anything more than a route to fame; which is usually the air mark of someone who wasn’t really destined to write anyway. Your rejection may give you a chance to fine tune your work and turn it into something even you didn’t imagine it could be. There are many possibilities for improvement that are presented us, and we can’t take every rejection as a shutting down of or a direct attack on our work. That will only lead to bitterness and a loss of the real essence of the craft, which is shameful. Too much has been done to the art of writing over the years for those who are meant to continue the legacy to join in on the cheapening of the craft, but alas that too is a different post.

Largely the point of this post is going to be summed up here. Passion is typically the ruling factor in things of the heart, which is what real literature is; a direct line to the writer’s heart and soul. We are all going to be passionate about our work at some point, and many of us are going to be passionate about all of our work all of the time. That is why it is crucial for us to keep a level head when we feel our work come under scrutinization of any sort. If we react harshly it could basically ruin our potential career. I’ve heard of people who have been rejected who’ve gone off on the person who rejected them, taken helpful criticism as cheap shots to their work, given up on the craft of writing and even destroyed their work. This is the exact opposite of what we as authors should do. We, who are supposed to be lovers of the craft, should respect it, and by respecting it we should be able to handle criticism and opinions of our own work and actively work to fix whatever problems that may exist in order to better honor the real art of writing.

My next post will, I think. be about maintaining the sanctity of our own work when under criticism, and making sure our work remains our own. As always feedback is welcome in any form. Hope this was helpful.

Working on a Masterpiece (part 1)

/ Damean Mathews, Author / Leave a comment

Your work has to be what you love. I’ve said that enough that you are all probably very tired of hearing it, but that doesn’t make the information any less relevant. The best piece of literature is going to be written by someone who is passionate about it. “It” being both literature in general and the specific topic the work is centered around. Granted, it also tends to be very enjoyable to read the work of someone who is experimenting with an idea they are interested in, the best work is going to be completed with and full of passion.

Passion is the biggest deal maker, and deal breaker, in this field. That is the big purpose of this post really; to discuss the truth of passion. Passion can give the world a work of art unequaled in its excellence, but without the proper means of distribution the world won’t know it. With your passion will come a very defensive nature regarding your work, and that is what can be our seller- or our killer.

When we attempt publication of our work, we have to find the real market for what we’re trying to sell. That is a very key element of publication. Your audience knows what they are looking for, and they know where to look. What is left to you is to first find the proper agent, company, self-publishing venue, whichever method works for you, to publish your masterpiece and put it out in the proper markets.

In this search you are very likely to meet the bane of an author’s existence; rejection. Whether pushing for a short story, poem or novel, you are more than likely going to meet the face of rejection. This is not necessarily going to be anything against you or your work. Perhaps the person you submitted to just doesn’t accept the genre you write in, or they were just full already. The list of possibilities is endless, but the biggest thing you have to keep in mind is that you just can not give up. If they give you feedback and ask you to make changes, make the changes- but if you do make changes you have to make sure that your work remains your work; you can’t let them take the essence that makes it unique and gives it the feeling you want it to have. But that will be another post.

Rejection is hard to handle, believe me I know from experience, but it happens to the best of us. One great example is Stephen King. In his book “On Writing” he talks about his history with rejection. He got so many that he began putting them on a nail on his wall. Eventually the nail got so full that he had to trade it out for a railroad spike. A railroad spike! And this is Stephen King we’re talking about! My point is that rejection does not mean we give up. Nothing justifies that. Now, I will be back with the other half of this post tonight. As always feedback is welcome.