BRAINPAN LEAKAGE

One of the questions I get asked on a regular basis is –

Murv… Sellars… How is it… That you… Are able to keep… Things straight… When you are… Writing?

As a rule, the odd hesitations between words and phrases sort of freaks me out, but I just figure the person asking was doing way too much Uncle Cidney in their teens while listening to Steve Martin comedy albums. All of us old farts will get that reference, trust me.

But anyway… (No, not a Blues Traveler ref, although it could be)… I usually explain that I am what’s called a “Seat of the Pants” writer. That means I have an idea, I know how it starts and kind of know how I want it to end. I might even know a couple of things I’d like to have happen in between, but the journey to get there isn’t really plotted until I sit down and start taking dictation from my characters.

Now, to keep things straight for them, I have books. As in binders that contain biographical data, etc. Mostly because since I write a series I have to be able to stay in touch with the arc and maintain canon (one n, not two, meaning it doesn’t go boom unless I screw up.)

However, I have to stay on track for a given story arc within a novel as well. That’s where rectangles come in.

“Rectangles?” you ask.

“Yes, rectangles,” I answer.

Behold – the incredible, versatile, and really especially cool, Index Card…

Don't bother trying to enlarge it. I blurred all the info, mwuhahaha...

So there’s your answer… I have a corkboard, a pencil, some pushpins, and a whole lot of index cards…

Bet ya’ thought I was talking about dextroamphetamine when you saw that title, didn’t you? Awww, c’mon Eileen. You know better than that…

More to come…

Murv

There is this absolutely tremendous song by Chip Davis and Mannheim Steamroller. If you own the CD/Album Fresh Aire II, you’ve heard it. If you’ve ever been to one of their concerts, you’ve heard it. In fact, they always play it at the end of their concert. Why? Because, they are going to another place on their tour…

Yeah, I know, “Duh, Murv…”

The thing about this song is that I really love it. In fact, I will find myself humming it often. I’ll even “Guy Sing” it… You know what I mean… That thing guy’s do with songs where instead of just humming, they hum, sing, beat on the furniture,  do vocal sound effects, and generally make an entire show out of humming a song. You don’t see women doing that, as a rule. Just guys. But, I digress…

You see, there’s another facet to the song. It’s bittersweet. It has a great arrangement, it’s catchy, it’s even upbeat, but it means the concert is over. It means the end is near and they will be moving on.

Right now, in my own way, I am tuning up for Going To Another Place.

The fact is, I am living in another place right now. A world that somehow coexists with what everyone else sees as “the world.” It is a place inside my head, and between the pages of novels that are penned by my public alter ego, M. R. Sellars. The thing is, whenever M. R. goes to another place, he tends to take Murv with him, at least for a little while.

Right now, M. R. and Murv are hanging out with some folks that some of you know. There are even some folks there that none of us know. They are in a fictional place, which to them – all of them – is completely and utterly real. Things are happening. The pace is quickening. And, the “end game” is upon them…

Soon, it will be over. Time to pack up, say goodbye, and go to another place. For Murv, the other place will be this place.

M. R. will hang out with the other folks for a while. He always does. But Murv will come back here. He will be shell-shocked, exhausted, and depressed. He’ll miss the folks in that other place. But he’ll get over it. It just takes a little time.

Of course, when M. R. comes back a little while later, he’ll ask about the people and get depressed all over again. And then, before long, M. R. will go off for a visit to the other place again.

Soon after that, Murv will get a call. It will be time for him to pack his bags and go to that other place, so that he can start the music all over again…

Cue Chip and the gang…

More to come…

We hope.