Motivation and Success

Okay, in my last blog post I told y’all why I became a writer and why I write horror, in a weird, looking back into the shadows of the past kind of way. Today I want to touch on what inspires me, who inspires me, and what keeps me motivated. I also want to say a little something about how I can write as much as I do, because that’s something I get asked all the time too, and it fits here. So let’s get going.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what inspires me, but if I was to look deep inside and tell you the truth, I would say that my inspiration comes from me. No one else is making me get up at 3AM to write. I don’t have some huge contract with a scary deadline

looming over my head, there are no threats from my publisher that they’re going to pull my book if I don’t get it done within a few days. I get up and write because I need to. I have this undying need to become successful in everything I do, and writing is no exception. In fact, writing is the prime example of something I need to be successful at. It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do, and I won’t stop until it’s my only means of support.

I have other inspirations, of course, such as other writers, friends I’ve made in the

industry, and the people I look up to. I mentioned Stephen King in my last article, but don’t really need to mention him because Steve inspired just about everyone. Other important influences to my writing are: Charles Bukowski, Richard Laymon, Jack Ketchum, and Brian Keene. I’ve had the distinct pleasure of meeting Jack Ketchum a few times, and Brian Keene is a friend of mine. I’ve had the honor of drinking alcohol with the man and talking about the publishing industry, movies, and all kinds of geeky fan-boy things. To say he is a gentlemen is a gross understatement. When success finally comes my way I can only hope I’ll be as genuine and cool as he has always been. The aforementioned authors inspire me, not because they’re big name, big deal authors, but because they write what they love, they live what they love, and they are always

honest and true to their fans.

 

 

 

 

 

I want my books to be read by tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of people. I want to make them scared, make them angry, make them horny, and make them disgusted. I want them to love me and to hate me, talking about my books to their

friends and writing about them on social media. I want my words to echo in their minds and hearts, lasting long after they read the last page. I want to be the ghost that haunts them.

I’m motivated by the small amounts of success I’ve had, the tiny victories, and the not so tiny ones. In the past couple months I’ve been picked up by a big(er) publisher (Booktrope) and was accepted as a member of the International Thriller Writers. Those two things are HUGE for me. I moved from the dozen or so small presses I’ve been published in to a solid medium (and rapidly growing) publisher. I have about 5 new books coming out and close to 20 books being re-released through Booktrope. There is actual marketing surrounding my books, and more people are going to read my words than ever before. I can’t help but take the motivation from these victories and roll them over. They help fuel me. They motivate me. They push me to do more, to do better, to achieve, to find the success I’ve always dreamt of.

And to accomplish this, I do one thing, and one thing only. I write. I sit down in the morning, long before the sun comes up and sane people hear their alarms. I sit down at my desk, fire up the computer, and I JUST WRITE. I follow a goof formula (for me) that has worked for years. I write for a half hour, then I rest for ten to fifteen minutes. I jump on social media, update my pages, read the stupid shit that’s on there, and then go back to writing for another half hour. Then I get up, get more coffee, have a cigarette, check Facebook, and then I write again. And again. And again. I do that until it’s time to go to work. And then when I come home guess what I do? I write again. I try to get a solid 5 hours in every day. If I can’t, then I do what time and my life allows, but I write every single day. Every. Single. Day.

Okay, Lone Survivor is coming out soon, so I hope y’all buy it and leave me an honest revue. I’ll be posting excerpts over the coming weeks to whet your appetites. I’m also opening my blog up to some guest authors, so you can get to know them a little bit as well. I’ll also be doing guest posts on other blogs, so check Facebook and twitter to see where and when I’m posting. Until next time, my friends.