3 Things I Wish I Had Known Sooner...

Soooooooooo, I haven't written here in forever...about six months to be exact. Why? Because writing is scary business! You're putting yourself out there for the world to see and it's not always a positive experience.

Chronicles of the Dead is proving to be a HUGE project which is bigger and scarier than I thought it would be. Oh well. Challenge accepted! I have great people behind me and I love them dearly - couldn't ask for a better bunch.

However, when you do things by yourself on your own time and money, it helps to have a little knowledge and research done. I have learned a FEW things along the way that I wish I had known ahead of time. Some things I was just plain naive about because I'm such a noob. Anyway, here goes...

3 THINGS I WISH I HAD KNOWN SOONER:

1.) BE SURE YOUR TITLE IS UNIQUE!
This may seem like a no-brainer to most people, but for some reason, I assumed that I had the most unique "of the dead" title I could come up with. Little to my knowledge, another "Chronicles of the Dead" would appear just a measly five days after we sealed our title in stone. I've been working on COTD since 2009 and when I checked, I couldn't find any others. Boo to the other guys for not doing the same. They may have more cash and better equipment, but do they have a better story? Maybe...I'm hoping not! It just blows that I'll never own the dot com because I was a week too late.

2.) DON'T NAME CHARACTERS AFTER PEOPLE YOU KNOW!
Another no-brainer to most people but not me. I've been writing stories with characters named after my friends since high school - no one ever got offended before. But...as I quickly learned...there's a first time for everything. Even though I meant no harm whatsoever, my motives were questioned, I was accused, belittled, unfriended, reprimanded and everything short of burned at the stake. All I do is write and make up stories based on the crazy ideas that come from my own brain. Oh well, you can't please everyone.

3.) THINGS HAVE A WAY OF WORKING THEMSELVES OUT, SO RELAX!
I tend to worry a lot, I get this trait from my mom. When things don't go as planned, I freak out and sometimes for no reason at all. Perfect strangers have come to our rescue so many times with this project that it's enough to make me cry tears of joy. You know those moments when friends let you down and you're left going, "OH MY GOD! What do I do now?" I hate those moments, but out of nowhere, someone will come along and help out and you get the opportunity to network and meet new people - it's awesome! Add to that the fact that I LOVE meeting new people and it equals a recipe for success.

There's also a few things I was glad to learn like film gives you room to cheat and take shortcuts. We can make one house look like three different ones. Also, you don't need a bunch of money. If you're broke, don't get discouraged. Lots of successful people started with nothing. And last, never underestimate the power of saying please and thank you.