Author: Jeff Deck

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Here’s a quick heads up. The first three parts of my serialized four-part horror novel, The Pseudo-Chronicles of Mark Huntley, are free this week on Amazon.

Find them here:

Part 1: http://amzn.to/1L6iliN

Part 2: http://amzn.to/1Sc0n3A

Part 3: http://amzn.to/1iNM1dR

It’s the story, in blog format, of an underachieving fact-checker in Washington, D.C., in 2004, who uncovers an evil, otherworldly conspiracy — and rediscovers a long-forgotten power within himself. Readers are calling Mark Huntley “thrilling,” “humorous,” and “awesome.” Grab it before this Friday night.

OK, talk to you later this month during our regularly scheduled broadcast.

Are you able to seek out help on a project when you need it?

This has historically been . . . a problem area for me. And I suspect for many other writers as well.

I first gravitated toward writing because it was something I could accomplish myself. Unlike a movie director, I wouldn’t have to rustle up a massive team to build the world in my head. I would play not just the scriptwriter, but also the set designer, the cameraman, the costume designer, etc. My “actors” would never flub their lines or show up high.

Basically I could do it all without having to worry about managing others, or about potential compromise. Then I could put my own name in big letters on the cover of the finished product.

But you know what, any creative enterprise ends up being, to some extent, a team effort. And writing is no exception. Once I finished those novel drafts, I needed an editor to identify my weak spots and offer improvements. I needed beta readers to catch more little stuff and provide valuable gut reactions. I needed a cover designer to make something to catch people’s eyes in the first place.

I couldn’t go it alone. Because I couldn’t get everything right on my own. None of us can.

I still have trouble with the lesson sinking in. I couldn’t just let cover designers do their thing with Player Choice and The Pseudo-Chronicles of Mark Huntley; I had to provide the exact images I wanted, and in the case of the latter, I felt I had to actually lay out the cover myself, and only ceded control on the question of what fonts to use.

And lately, I’m spending far too much time creating entire fucking posters for the upcoming flagship events of New Hampshire Writers’ Week—after conceptualizing, creating, and booking the events myself, creating, collecting, and assessing entries for the contest to determine the events’ speakers myself, and I could go on but it wears me out just writing about it.

Doing all this extra stuff myself scratches the control-freak itch, but it also drives me just a little bit insane. And my wife a lot bit insane. Less insanity would be a laudable goal. So, too, would superior results. Since I’m not actually a real designer, or marketer, or whatever, I ought to be turning to the people who are good and real in those essential fields.

I’m hoping to get better at letting go. Knowing when to entrust pieces of a project in other people’s hands. It’s going to take a little more faith in others, and a little more practice at “project management,” the fine art of making sure other people get their shit done. But these are valuable life skills anyway, no?

How about you—have you had trouble relinquishing control over absolutely every detail on something like this?

Been busy proofreading The Pseudo-Chronicles of Mark Huntley: Part 3. I expect to have it for sale on Amazon on November 3. In the meantime, don’t forget to catch up on Mark Huntley with Parts 1 and 2. Readers are calling this serialized horror novel “awesome,” “thrilling,” and “compelling.” Not bad, right?

What’s your go-to place for untangling mental puzzles?

Our pool closed last week for the season. Although a pool is, as my cousin-in-law memorably termed it, literally “a hole in the ground you throw money into,” I’m going to miss it during the long months ahead. I’m a big fan of swimming and drinking beer by the poolside (or in the pool), but actually my favorite thing to do in the pool is to think.

Last summer, as I was preparing to dredge my story The Pseudo-Chronicles of Mark Huntley out of the virtual bottom drawer of my writing files and give it another go, I realized I had a lot of plot and character questions left unanswered. Why was a certain knife left in the woods, why was this character being pursued by the bad guys, what was the deal with that graffiti, and so on and so on. I struggled to answer many of these questions. I kept getting tangled up in my own story.

And then, as I floated around on an inner tube in the pool one day, the solutions and new ideas just started to flow. It wasn’t a battle anymore to think. It was easy. And all this untangling led to a pretty damn good finished product.

I used the same trick this summer when thinking of plot points and ideas, and solving potential dilemmas, for my upcoming project City of Ports / The Shadow Over Portsmouth (coming next year . . . sometime). This time I was drifting around on a giant float made to look like an ice cream sandwich, but the principle was the same. Get out in the middle of the water, a safe distance away from computers, smartphones, and even notebooks, and just . . . think.

Of course, you don’t need a pool to get some good thinking done! Pardon my first-worldliness here. The shower did the trick for me for years, and still does. I mean, that’s the cliche, and for good reason. Basically, I think you just need a space where you physically cannot turn to objects that will distract you. Your body must be isolated and/or occupied with a task. In that moment of deprivation, we can be free to explore our own neural networks and see what we can find.

The Buddhist monk Thích Nhất Hạnh talks about washing dishes as a form of meditation. He recommends that instead of focusing on the fact that washing dishes is a chore, you focus on the sensations of the act. As a means of bringing yourself into an awareness of the present moment. In a way, that’s the opposite of the creative thinking I’ve been talking about—it’s forcing your mind not to wander.

But I think we can draw  a parallel here. Try to look at each episode in your life that involves non-connectivity—i.e., each task or situation that takes you away from the InterWebs—as an opportunity for mastering your own mind. Whether you’d like it to solve some creative problems, or to just become more in tune with the world around it.

I’ll continue to work on that myself. God knows I could use the practice! I’d love to hear about your favorite places to just think.

​Event update: Part 1 of The Pseudo-Chronicles of Mark Huntley has been getting great reviews. But I’ve still got a ways to go to raise awareness of the book. This week I made an appearance at the Portsmouth library Author Fair (NH). On Saturday, I will be at the Authors Booth at Hooksett Old Home Day (also NH). Maybe I’ll see you there!

Let me know your ideas for what else I should do to toot the proverbial horn about Mark Huntley. And Player Choice too, for that matter!

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